Wraith

Chapter Twenty Three

Beta: Smithrooks

Noble Phantasm

Vale, many years ago…

People were screaming.

It was almost deafening; the chaotic cacophony of noise as people screamed, the staccato of uneven gunfire. People pushed against Jaune and his teammates like a wave, all trying to force their way past the young hunters in a vain attempt to get away from the Grimm that were no doubt swarming the area - the very Grimm that Jaune couldn't see.

But he could hear them, the enraged howls and screams of hate as they tore into anything and everything around them. The vicious noises of the creatures that wished for nothing more than to end all humanity and everything humanity has ever made. But Jaune was blind to them - not even the barest hint of their existence revealed itself to his blind eyes. Logically, the absence should be their most telling feature for Jaune - the lack of anything in a world so full of everything.

But that wasn't the case; they just weren't there. Try as he might, Jaune just couldn't see the Grimm that now assailed Vale - he was truly blind. He could only see one person he'd consider an enemy: The Prick. Why was Roman Torchwick here? Why would he do this? The man was an arse, but he didn't seem the genocidal type. Though… his burnt orange aura pulsed with just as much fear and agitation as everyone else. Maybe this was a coincidence?

"Jaune!"

The roar of Cardin in Jaune's ear snapped the blind boy out of his panic, the team leader roughly grasping Jaune's right shoulder and giving it a violent shake. "Damn it Jaune!" he shouted, "Get your shit together!"

The panicked rush of people was still pressing against them, but Jaune had found his clarity - all the souls rushed and scrambled about in their frenzy, but Cardin reeled Jaune's attention back into the moment. "I'm fine!" Jaune gasped, still struggling against the press of bodies that tried to escape the overrun plaza, "I can't see them! How many are there?!"

Cardin's aura practically winced as Jaune reminded him of his worthlessness in the current situation, but the larger boy quickly got a hold of himself, as would be expected of any hunter. "Too many!" he grunted, "Team RWBY is pinned down in the centre of the plaza, there are more Grimm than I can count and there are civilians all over the place!"

Not good, the civilian casualty count alone would be staggering if this continued as is; add to that the damages caused by the Grimm? It would be enough to put Vale into an economic crisis, especially considering the upcoming Vytal Festival.

"What do we do?!" Dove cried from nearby, struggling to get past the panicking civilians and to the Grimm.

Jaune… Jaune didn't know. What could he do? Fight the Grimm? He was just as likely to cause property damage or accidentally do friendly fire. The others might be able to help, but… people would still die, and even at just a glance Jaune could tell that RWBY didn't have the aura to put up much of a fight anymore - they needed help. "We need to help RWBY!" Jaune shouted, struggling against the tide of bodies to stay with his team.

"No!" Sky shouted from nearby, "RWBY knew what they signed up for, the civilians should be our priority!"

"Damn it!" Cardin swore, slapping a civilian aside and crushing an unseen Grimm all in a single motion, "RWBY can handle themselves! We need to protect the civvies until help arrives!"

"We can't just leave them!" Jaune cried. RWBY needed help! They wouldn't last out there!

Cardin spun around and grabbed Jaune roughly by the collar, "I'm the leader!" he barked, "Do as I say and we'll all make it out of this!"

With a grunt Cardin whirled around and attacked at another creature unseen to Jaune's blind gaze, his silvery blue spirit resolute in its fury to destroy the beasts attacking Vale.

Jaune grimaced, every moral and ethical part of his mind telling him that the correct course of action was to go and save RWBY… but Cardin and Sky were in the majority here. It would be suicide for him to try and help RWBY on his own - they had to act united, or not act at all.

"Fine!" Jaune snarled, his frustration at the whole situation showing through, "Civilians first!"

Cardin smashed at something else Jaune couldn't see, but even over the deafening noise he could hear the oddly satisfying crunch of bones being turned to powder. "Sky, Dove!" Cardin commanded, "You two are on Guard. Jaune, initiate Fortress and then Spotter!"

Three commands, three different operations being carried out at once. It as an idea adapted from what they'd seen RWBY do in a team spar once - a pre-planned action or series of actions to be carried out upon Cardin's orders. Guard was the easy one; just protect whatever the current objective was - in this case the civilians. Fortress… was less easy. It was based off what he'd done in the last team match against NRVR, except… bigger.

Jaune let the earth Dust slip into his hands - and it was both of them for something this big - with the feeling of both panic and resignation pooling in his gut. He never liked this; he much preferred fire, gravity and lightning.

With a grunt, the stone and concrete ground of the plaza seemed to shift as though it were alive, Jaune's will demanding it bend to his control. Not a moment later the sound of rending stone split through the air, only barely overshadowing that of the chaotic melee in the centre of the plaza.

Like the name implied, the purpose of this manoeuvre was to create a fortress. And Jaune had done… well, perhaps not exactly that, but as close as one could conceivably get under such circumstances.

A massive, circular, stone 'fortress' had sprouted around them, only about as tall as Jaune himself was but wide enough in circumference to protect all the fleeing civilians - and to stop them from running away and making it harder to protect them. The energy required for making something so large was massive, and Jaune felt a chunk of his aura slip away as the walls rose.

But the result was worth it - a barrier between the panicking civilians and the Grimm to regroup behind, as well as stage their offensive from.

The civilians were still screaming and panicking as they ran around like chickens with their heads cut off, but they couldn't escape and make things harder now. It would be infinitely easier to protect them if they were contained to one area. With his first task completed, Jaune mounted his makeshift wall alongside Cardin, the second order ringing in his mind. Spotter was something of an emergency plan; Jaune had the most outright destructive abilities, but two primary factors held him back in a fight - he couldn't see Grimm, and all the powers that caused mass devastation took him a few moments to gather himself. Spotter solved this; Cardin would guard him and kill anything that got too close, and when an attack was ready Cardin would point Jaune to the area that was to be annihilated.

Lightning was to be Jaune's tool of destruction today, as it tended to jump between targets better than fire did - and it cooked Grimm just as well. "Over there!" Cardin gestured to a seemingly blank area not far from RWBY, though Jaune knew that if Cardin said so then it was probably packed to the brim with Grimm.

With a shout of anger, Jaune let loose a thunderous storm of lightning, his hands twitching and convulsing in a not unpleasant way as he cooked the Grimm before him. The smell that assaulted his nose was disgusting - but it was also an excellent indicator that his attack had hit something.

"Jaune!" RWBY were fighting their way closer, but they were still going so slowly… their auras were so low now, barely a flicker of what they were normally. "Jaune!" That was Yang, her voice booming out loudly as she called his name. "We need help!"

The other three were probably calling out as well, but he couldn't hear them. The chaos of the battle was too loud for that; he could barely hear Yang as it was. They would survive, of that Jaune had no doubt. So… knowing that… and with his current orders, Jaune made his choice.

Lightning burst from his now-smoking hands and surged to the far side of the ruined plaza, far from RWBY, and towards where a group of civilians were being… eaten, by the looks of it. Whatever Grimm had been there was cooked as soon as the energy hit. The howls of lupine agony implied that it had been a Beowolf, not that it mattered much now.

Jaune could practically taste the terror that surrounded him; the panicking, throbbing souls of the enclosed civilians behind him. Those that were still trapped outside his makeshift wall… the fear of RWBY and his own team as well. It was like a tidal wave that threatened to drown him if he wasn't careful.

And all that… made Jaune angry.

Furious, even.

Things weren't meant to be this way. Grimm weren't meant to get into Vale. Jaune was meant to be able to fight them, to beat back the darkness that encroached even now. Hunters were meant to protect people… and what was Jaune doing now? Watching them die. The ones within his little fortress were safe enough with Sky and Dove manning the walls and keeping them alive, but the ones outside… they were dying in the dozens, their souls rent from their bodies as the Grimm tore through them.

And worse still, Jaune could feel the endless stream of Grimm that continued to pour from the gaping hole in the ground. He couldn't see them, but he could see the impact they made on their surroundings - and the tunnel was practically shaking with the force of hundreds of the foul creatures stampeding towards Vale.

Vale… where thousands of people lived. His father was even in the city somewhere, though Jaune had no idea where exactly. If all these Grimm made it into the city… Vale would fall. That much was certain. It would be a slow and drawn-out death; people fighting and clawing to survive, their terror and sorrow only serving to strengthen the Grimm and draw more into the city.

Jaune didn't have enough earth Dust to even attempt plugging the hole, let alone make a barrier strong enough to actually hold all those Grimm back. He had his usual copious amounts of fire and gravity Dust, some air Dust, a rapidly dwindling supply of lightning Dust, and a single half-drained earth Dust crystal left.

What could he do? People were dying. Through both facets of his sight, Jaune could feel the suffering of all those around him. The exquisite agony that many faced as their lives were stolen from them, the pain everyone would face if the horde made it into the city.

"Jaune!"

It was Yang again, more desperate this time. She and the rest of RWBY had reached his wall; they had a small group of civilians with them. Easily less than ten or so, but they were still enough that the girls had to slow down and protect them.

This time, Jaune answered the call. "Right!" the section of wall they had their backs to crumbled to powder easily as Jaune pushed the last of his earth Dust to its limits.

The girls and their charges rushed in, and not a moment later the wall was back up again… and Jaune made his choice.

He had promised to save everyone… swore to himself and Ruby that he would save the world. But…

No. He would do what he had to do.

With the last of his earth Dust, Jaune made himself a tall pillar to stand on, easily towering over his little fortress below.

"Jaune!" Cardin roared, "what the hell are you doing?!"

Jaune ignored him.

Air Dust was a fickle thing, better suited to making a gale rather than what Jaune was planning on doing. The two crystals fell into his hands and he felt the power pool in his rings as he gathered his strength. His already half-spent aura quivered as he forced it downwards, the Dust making his will a reality.

A dome of swirling air sprouted from his hands and covered the little fort beneath him - not enough to actually hurt or harm anyone within, but instead supplying vital air to ensure that no one inside would suffocate during the next phase of Jaune's moronic plan. The dome also served a dual purpose - a weak cyclone of air circled around him now, not even close to being enough to harm any of the Grimm, but enough for step two.

The others were probably shouting at him to stop, demanding to know what he was doing, but they would see in a moment. When he saved them. When he saved all of them…

His two rings were occupied serving as a catalyst for the cyclone and the dome, so the next part was going to be... painful.

Fire Dust was, by its very nature, chaotic and volatile. But Jaune had had months to practice now, months to learn how to bend it to his will and force it to do what he wanted - though he had never practiced quite like this. Jaune opened his mouth, and… howled.

Molten fire poured out of his mouth, his aura providing the spark and the cyclone of air providing the fuel. It was absolute agony since he was working without a catalyst and the flames were roasting him inside and out, but within less than a second the cyclone of swirling air became a hellish cyclone of fire and death.

All the people with Jaune's protective dome were safe of course… all they had to worry about was mild heat stroke at this point. Everyone outside the dome however… that was a different story.

Fire continued to pour from Jaune's mouth as he howled in both agony and rage at the Grimm, the flames roasting him just as much as the fell creatures that assaulted the city.

It hurt, it hurt so badly… the terrible burns were only stopped from killing him thanks to his dangerously low aura - aura that dipped ever lower for every second Jaune kept up his furious inferno. Words couldn't describe the pure torment Jaune felt as he forced his soul to power his attack, the intensely hot flames greedily consuming anything in their path.

He needed more though.

MORE!

There wasn't enough aura, his soul was too small for the task. He needed to direct the flames into the tunnel and roast the many hundreds of Grimm in there, otherwise this would all be for nothing.

But Jaune's aura was spent. He hadn't a mere drop to spare…

MORE!

Jaune roared in unimaginable torment as his aura finally failed and the fire began to consume him unopposed.

This was it. His death. He'd failed, epically so… all that effort, all that suffering, all for nothing.

He didn't want to die, though no one really did. Jaune had sworn to be a hero, to protect the people and uphold justice… and this was how he was going to die? Burnt to ashes by his own attack as he tried, and failed, to save Vale.

I failed.

And finally… Jaune died.


Death, many years ago…

Darkness crept into his vision, the searing pain of the fire fading away until it was distant and little more than a background noise. All memory and emotion faded, all things just… washing away under the gentle pull of something unseen. It was almost peaceful, the soft pull as things began to ebb away under the tide.

Everything began to drift away, and that was okay. All his struggles before now were just so… irrelevant. Pointless upon their inception, and pointless upon their end. Nothing seemed important anymore, no one mattered, and nothing had any real meaning.

But… for some reason, he couldn't quite… let go.

He didn't want to let go.

I… his thoughts felt like they were coming across a great distance, as if he were wading through thick, muddy water. I forgot something... What was it? Something niggling at his mind. He wanted to just let it go, to fade away. But… what had he forgotten? It… My name. He realized. I forgot… my name… How could he forget his name? What was it? The thought was such a vile one, so disgusting, that everything seemed to grind to a stop.

What was his name? He'd heard it every day for seventeen years, so how could he forget it? No, no, no… work backwards; he had a family, what were their names? Sisters, he had sisters… seven of them, what were their names? Think!

Violet. Eldest, eyes matching her name, blonde hair.

Hazel. Blue eyes, blonde hair.

Jade. Green eyes, blonde hair.

Amethyst. Navy eyes, brown hair.

Scarlet. Green eyes, brown hair.

Sarah. Blue eyes, blonde hair.

Grace. Brown eyes, blonde hair.

And… Arc, Jaune.

His name.

That was his name: Jaune Arc.

Jaune Arc. He whispered to himself, a sudden feeling of terror creeping up on his spirit as the tug became greater, his memories practically bleeding away even as he struggled to hold them. NO! He wailed in his mind, he didn't want to lose them. Violet, Hazel, Jade, Amethyst, Scarlet, Sarah, Grace… Their faces were slipping away from him, his memories with his sisters being consumed…

It was like a lance was driven through his mind, a sudden painful awareness of what was happening. That noise, that horrible and utterly agony-inducing sound that was just THERE. It wasn't like it hadn't been there before either, it had always been there – he had just never been able to perceive it.

What is that noise? His mind screamed, aware of something terrible pounding away at his ears, what is that damn NOISE?! The sound throbbed and ached, something so indescribable in its torment. It hurts, it hurts so bad…!

Jaune didn't want to die. He wasn't ready yet! He had too much to do, too many things to achieve… Where am I?! He tried in vain to look around, but only blackness assaulted his senses. The fire, the fire! It… killed me? I- I can't remember…

It was all fading, all washing away…

Jaune Arc, he screamed into the silence, Oh God it hurts! That noise, that horrible noise… but- but he wouldn't give in. He wouldn't let this happen. No, no, no, he couldn't go like this. This will never work! I- I will never give in!

Jaune…. Arc… it felt like his name was being washed away now, screaming it into the void around him was so hard… but he would never allow this. Violet, Hazel, Jade, Amethyst, Scarlet, Sarah, Grace. Don't- Don't go…

There was someone there, out in the dark where he couldn't see them. They- they were doing this to him! They were killing him, trying to wipe away everything he was and ever had been.

GET OUT OF MY HEAD! Jaune howled into the void; this couldn't be happening, this wasn't happening. He wouldn't let everything just fade away. Out! Get out! PLEASE!

EVERYTHING.

Jaune tried to scream, but it was deafened by that terrible noise. Still more things faded away, torn away by something unseen to him. That voice, it was so painful to hear. Like just perceiving it was destroying him. Everything was being ripped away, and it hurt so badly. That voice was killing him – it was ruining him. I- It hurts!

Why was this happening? What had he done?! He had wanted to help everyone, to save all the people that needed saving. This was crazy, he didn't deserve this! No one deserved this!

Images flashed through his mind: his sisters, his mother, his father, his team. Pyrrha stuck there though, not her aura or soul - Pyrrha, something he'd forgotten. Red hair, green eyes… Pyrrha, is that you? He begged, he screamed. Don't leave me…! I don't want to be alone! I- I don't want to go!

FORGET EVERYTHING.

No… please… don't let me forget… It hurt. It hurt so badly, like his soul was being ripped apart into a thousand pieces… but he didn't want to forget… Jaune… Arc. It ached, oh God how it ached. Violet, Hazel, Jade, Amethyst, Scarlet, Sarah, Grace. Why did it hurt? Why was this happening?

NO MORE WHAT YOU WERE: MEMORIES, EMOTIONS, ALL IS NOW MINE.

Darkness, and for a single moment Jaune felt like he could simply let it all go… to be at peace in the soothing void. He had the choice, he knew he did. He could just let it go, let it all just wash away and this torment would end. He could sleep; sleep forever in a peaceful, dreamless darkness.

But… Vale. The fire, the Grimm, the people… he couldn't, wouldn't leave them. No, no, no. He made a promise. He swore he would be a saviour, that he would protect anyone that couldn't protect themselves.

JAUNE ARC, he howled, Violet, Hazel, Jade, Amethyst, Scarlet, Sarah, Grace! He clawed and scratched despite his apparent lack of anything to do that with, a furious anger enveloping his mind. You will NOT have me!

Silence, blessed silence. Everything stopped, swirling darkness held still for but a moment.

I ACCEPT.


Vale, many years ago…

Everything exploded into focus for Jaune. The ebbing of his control over the fire and air Dust, the impossibly gorgeous colours of the world. His aura was empty, as empty as it had been moments before his death just now. And it had been his death – of that he was certain.

But for this single moment, Jaune knew he wasn't alone; he couldn't describe it, but he felt like he was drawing in infinite power from somewhere. Like his soul was swelling from this borrowed strength.

And above it all… Jaune felt hungry.


1


A/N

Okay… shit happened.

So Jaune (Nihilus) just died. And there is the single greatest sign that Nihilus and Jaune are different: Jaune just accepted and went with his death (even if it didn't stick) whereas Nihilus clawed and struggled violently to stay alive.

Another interesting thing to take note of is the end of this chapter - Right there is the first time Nihilus ever uses his semblance. And the number at the bottom… can anyone think what that number is? What it means?

Reviews:

Shaded Azure:
Thanks for reviewing.

Nihilus is many things, including a dotting father. Though I suppose I can see your point.

Tobi14:

Thanks for reviewing.

Ruby will do many things in her fight against Nihilus, but she is still Ruby Rose. To make more of those bullets she would have to kill someone that has done nothing wrong, and that she will not do.

Nihilus is OP for many reasons - the most obvious being that he has the full powers of a maiden as well as around fifty years of knowledge on Dust usage taken from Cinder and Amber. This, however, barely scratches the surface with him. It will be explained more next chapter, but Nihilus did something as is now unlike anyone else on Remnant.

Oh, and he does have close quarters skills. He just doesn't bother with using them unless the situation calls for it - which thus far it has not.

Nihilus is an extinction level threat - if he felt so inclined then he would quite easily be able to wipe out everyone on Remnant. But this isn't what Nihilus wants, never was, never will be. Pyrrha (Nihilus' Pyrrha) was strong, but not on the same scale as her husband.

I couldn't quite… translate the rest of your message. So if you have any further questions or comments please leave them in another review.

Guest:

Thanks for reviewing.

I try to respond to all reviews, regardless of length or content.

Again, I'm going to try to order this response so it's easier to follow...

The theme is actually preconceptions, more specifically, morality. While equally as unoriginal as desire, it is what I lean on for this story. This is shown through the many years ago segments with the history of Nihilus. In the present day Nihilus is the villain, of that there is no doubt, but I wanted to destroy the 'good' and 'evil' preconception by showing that people aren't just bad because they were born that way or something.

Nihilus' speech is meant to be irritating; he speaks about things only he would understand, and then he makes absolutely no effort to try and explain what he meant. When the many years ago segments catches up to the events of chapter one (where I stop writing them basically) Everything Nihilus says will make sense because the reader will have context.

The Lord of Hunger isn't a self given title, the only name he chose for himself was 'Nihilus' - and that was only when he realised that no matter what he did, it would never matter. Lord of Hunger is childish and makes him seem like he's just some cliche villain - exactly what the desired result was when he was given that name. They wanted to kill all sympathy for him, and it succeeded.

Nihilus is insane, and while his personality doesn't really resemble that of what it started as (canon), there are reasons for this.

Information censorship would be extremely common on Remnant - for the exact reason shown in Volume 3; the masses getting into a panic and then attracting an army of Grimm. The media wouldn't ever find out that Hunters may accidentally kill people - telling everyone would only cause distrust and panic, and draw Grimm in.

I never said Penny has no emotions, only that she lacks an actual soul. She is a machine - expendable and her 'life' is worthless when compared to that of a human.

Penny is seen destroying Bullheads full of White Fang goons, I would be surprised with any of them survived. As for not caring for civilians, she does - and she is doing what is mathematically the better way of saving as many as possible; killing/capturing Torchwick before he can do anything else (not that she succeeded).

Nihilus' grasp on reality isn't exactly reliable - and he calls Pyrrha illusion because he refuses to believe she is alive, not when he felt his Pyrrha die. He calls her interloper because he doesn't really appreciate her being there, but tolerates it for Jaune. Oh, and no. The powers of the Ring(s) are still in full effect - Jaune's death makes no difference.

llyNihilus has got a melee weapon - and technically it has been shown in the many years ago segments multiple times already. It is not Crocea Mors. He will only ever use this weapon in very specific situations.

I know in canon that Jaune is more like a knight - you want to see that? Stop reading fanfiction and go watch RWBY.

Read this carefully: I don't have time to make larger chapters. I can't merge chapters if I don't have time to make more content. What you see is what you're going to get. In regards to authors notes: I don't explain things, I give hints. I answer reviews, and I answer what questions I can without spoiling anything.

Nihilus' personality is very 'Jaune-ish'. Very 'Jaune-ish' for the Jaune he grew into, rather than the 17 year old boy with nothing but fluff in his head.

Again, Nihilus has a melee weapon - he just doesn't bother using it unless he feels like it.


Thanks for reading, and please leave a review!