Wraith
Chapter Thirty
Beta: Smithrooks
Ascension to Lordship
Beacon, many years ago…
Pyrrha stared at the television in RWBY's dorm with her eyes wide in horror. She and RWBY had opted to stay at Beacon and watch the fights from the TV, but… but this was…
"MORE! MORE! MORE!"
Her friend was screaming. Jaune Arc was wailing in apparent agony as he writhed around on the ground, his maimed face contorted into a sickening expression that would haunt her nightmares forever.
The two men that had rushed to Jaune the moment he started screaming collapsed on either side of Jaune, the video camera clearly showing that their bodies had become ashen and very, very dead.
"UNCLE QROW!" Ruby screamed in anguish, her face completely distraught.
"DAD!" Yang cried alongside her sister, face just as pained.
The two men, one blonde with blue eyes, the other with greying hair and red eyes… they were dead. Their corpses were freely displayed for all to see over international television.
This couldn't be happening, this can't be happening. You couldn't kill people just by touching them - that just didn't work.
"HUNGRY!"
Pyrrha could only stare in horror. Jaune wouldn't do this, he couldn't have done this. He wasn't a murderer, he wasn't a bad person. Jaune was apathetic at times, but he still cared for everyone. He wouldn't have just… he couldn't have just…
"HUNGRY! MORE! I NEED MORE!"
With a deeply sickening feeling of dread and horror clawing at her gut, Pyrrha watched as the crowds began to flee the arena, but… but it was wrong. People were collapsing, some just dissolving completely to dust as they tried to flee.
"Warning! Threat level nine detected!"
Why… why hadn't they shut down the broadcast? Pyrrha jerked on the spot. She needed to get up there, she needed to see what on Remnant was going on.
Amity Colosseum, many years ago…
MORE.
It was like an ache, a terrible pain on a level Jaune was barely able to comprehend.
The corpses dropped to the ground on either side of him. It felt so good for just a few moments, just a second of sheer bliss on a level that Jaune had never before experienced.
MORE. HUNGRY.
Out, out, OUT! Jaune wanted MORE!
It hurt, the absence of the bliss. Like having part of him missing on a deep level. Jaune couldn't stand it. He wanted, needed more.
"MORE, MORE, MORE!"
It was like the floodgates opened, sensation washing over him in a deep and unforgettable way he would never be able to describe. It was all he wanted, all he needed. Power flowed through Jaune in a manner that totally eclipsed anything he had ever really felt before.
People were… screaming? Jaune couldn't tell. He didn't feel sick anymore, but his head was pounding with such terrible pain that Jaune couldn't focus. It hurt, it hurt…
"HUNGRY!"
Strength that was not his own was powering him at this point. Too much too fast, Jaune felt like he was going to explode - but even then, he still wanted more. He needed more.
There wasn't enough. Thousands of tempting lights oozed around the stadium, all screaming, begging, for him to reach out.
"Warning! Threat level nine detected!"
The words meant nothing to Jaune. He was so hungry, he needed more. He felt the trickle of the bliss, but it was so far away, like it was coming across a great distance. He needed to touch it again, to grasp onto it with both hands!
"HUNGRY! MORE! I NEED MORE!"
Was that Cardin above him? It didn't matter, Jaune needed to touch the aura. Why was it fading? Cardin was his friend, he didn't want him to be hurt.
Blind hands reached out to stop whatever was draining away Cardin's aura, Jaune had to stop it! It… it was hurting.
Bliss, bliss, bliss, bliss.
Pleasure on a level beyond the physical slithered through Jaune's soul, the purest ecstasy blinding him as his mind felt utter ascension.
Gods it was good, like a drug fix. It was addictive, so very soothing.
Then it stopped.
The change was jarring. Going from heaven to hell, the feeling of absolute bliss replaced with the harsh absence and utter lack.
"Cardin?" Jaune whispered. Where… where had his friend gone? Why did he hear screaming? No, no, he didn't hear screaming, he felt screaming. It was coming from inside him. Deep, deep…
HUNGRY!
Jaune wailed, absolute torment overtaking him. He- he needed more. Whatever that feeling was, he needed more.
He had to reach, reach out and feel it… the aura. It was just there. He needed it. But it hurt. God how it hurt him. The absolute pounding in his head that went beyond suffering on a physical level, it was like he was missing a part of himself.
Jaune gripped the sides of his head, the agony welling up to a crescendo.
MORE.
HUNGRY.
FEED.
Jaune reached out, his aura expanding until it covered the entire stadium.
Jaune fed.
Beacon, present day…
Jaune stared at the grisly sight before him, the tainted sword making a sickeningly wet sound as Nihilus pulled it out of the corpse of the older Ruby Rose. That sword was wrong to look at. The metal of the blade didn't shine in the sun, the blood didn't glisten, all light just faded upon reaching the blade.
It was a tool of hatred, that much was very clear. Jaune could feel the rage within the weapon, though he wasn't sure quite how that worked - but the feeling was there nonetheless. He wasn't sure how he knew, but that sword was a beast of its own. A thing with its own will, the will to see all things die.
There was a whimper from next to him.
Jaune nealt by the fading form of what used to be Weiss Schnee, but was currently Violet Arc. Something was wrong with her - worse than before. In her waking moments at Atlas she had screamed her agony, but now she was worse off. Formerly porcelain white skin rotted and gnarled, a deathly shroud descending upon the stolen body with a haste that Jaune couldn't quite grasp.
"Psst!" And they were here… Team RWBY and his own team weren't nearly as subtle as they thought they were. Or maybe Jaune was more perceptive thanks to the rings; he had felt them edge closer the moment Nihilus and the other Ruby had begun their battle. "Jaune! Quickly, come with us!"
Little Ruby was a dear, but she lacked perspective. Jaune was the only thing stopping Nihilus - he couldn't leave. Not yet. "Ruby, run away!"
She tried to protest, "But we-!"
"You would do well to obey him!" Nihilus descended upon the withering form of his stolen daughter like a shadow, mild distress clear on his face, "Leave and live, or stay and die - I care not which!"
Jaune watched as Ruby's eyes widened. They needed to leave. Jaune's death may have changed him, but he still cared about his friends - even if he'd only known them briefly. "Do as he says, Ruby!" Jaune commanded, making sure his voice was loud enough that the rest of RWBY plus NPR could hear him from their hiding spot. "Go! Now!"
"But I-"
Jaune didn't wait, he couldn't. He clicked his fingers, a flood of utter fury threatening to overwhelm his ailing soul. But he wouldn't let it! He was in control!
A small explosion tore at the ground at Ruby's feet. Not enough to actually hurt her in any way, but enough to force her backwards.
Jaune pretended he didn't see the betrayed look in Ruby's eyes.
"Violet," Nihilus whispered from behind him, "Violet, I'm sorry…"
Jaune watched as Ruby stepped away, the impression of betrayal and hurt lingering even as she and the others receded from his awareness. This was for the best… this had to be. If they stayed they would have died, and while Jaune already knew he could never forgive himself for the things he had done, if he allowed them to die he would have no other recourse but to… end it.
It was only the right thing to do…
"I've failed…" Jaune turned back to Nihilus, his eyes settling onto the lord for only a moment before flickering to what used to be Weiss Schnee.
It was getting worse. Thin trails of blood seeped from her eyes, ears, mouth and nose. She was still breathing, still existing, but she looked like just the slightest breeze would kill her.
"Nihilus," Jaune asked lowly as he knelt beside the robed man, only dully noting that the tainted sword from before had vanished, "what's happening to her?"
Keep him distracted. Keep him away from cities. Otherwise everyone would lose in the end.
"I've seen this before," Nihilus cried, actually cried, "her soul is too small to sustain the body. Too small to exist individually…"
Jaune wouldn't lie and say he understood that completely, but he got the general gist of it. The purple light he'd seen Nihilus force into the body was hardly even a pinprick, it almost didn't exist at all with how tiny it was. "Is there anything you can do?" Jaune asked softly.
Nihilus reached forth with his right hand, his ghostly white fingertips just brushing over her brow. "A different host, maybe." Nihilus' eyes flashed yellow, and in a single instant the stolen body of Weiss Schnee crumpled to ash, the grey pile bearing no resemblance to what she had been a moment ago.
In his hand, the faint stab of purple light hovered unwaveringly. That was Violet - the real Violet. Not the stolen body she'd had moments before, but the stab of soul light that used to belong to a little girl. This was what she had become… So much less now.
Nihilus' gaze snapped to Jaune with startling intensity, sickly yellow eyes boring dangerous holes into the younger Arc. "But you…" Nihilus leaned closer to Jaune, "you're different than I am. You lack the knowledge, but you are different. I can fix that."
Jaune leant back. "What are you talking about?" He didn't like the sound of this 'fix' Nihilus mentioned. Last time Nihilus rooted about in Jaune's soul, he had been revived from the dead into a life he half didn't want anymore.
Nihilus' hand lashed out with a speed Jaune could barely follow, his pale fingers connecting with Jaune's chest for the barest second before everything changed.
The world around Jaune shifted and snapped, the dizzying sensation of motion without actually moving extremely unsettling to his already frayed nerves.
Everything was black, there was absolutely nothing anywhere. Jaune tried to move, but he had no form in which to do so. He merely existed, nothing less, and nothing more.
He could practically feel as something gazed at him. A stare that originated from nowhere and ended somewhere. The profoundly unsettling sensation of someone unseen to Jaune taking him for all that he was, looking at every single speck of Jaune's existence.
The unseen eyes considered Jaune, an idle hum seeming to permeate the sheer nothingness around them.
The world snapped again, Jaune jerking in place as he suddenly found he had a body once more.
Jaune opened his eyes, the idle waters of a lazy beach greeting his sight. It was raining, but the colourful specks of light that drifted downwards never seemed to reach the ground. "Where am I?" Jaune asked aloud, his voice barely audible over the gentle lapping of the waves.
It was dark too, the only source of illumination being the tiny lights that fell around him, so varied in their colour and form...
"I knew you would come, Jaune."
Jaune spun around, his eyes widening as they settled onto the faintly smiling form of Pyrrha. An older Pyrrha. She looked to be in her late twenties, still as gorgeous as her younger self - but a more mature sort of beauty.
"I had faith that you would be the one to reach this place, Jaune." She smiled at him, the glittering shards of not-rain making her look radiant.
"Pyrrha?" Jaune asked. Was this the Pyrrha that had been speaking to him? The Pyrrha of Nihilus' world?
"This is where your wishes will be granted," Pyrrha's red hair fluttered in a wind that didn't exist, "we are inside the deepest reaches of Nihilus' soul."
Wait, what? That wasn't right… why would she call him Nihilus?
Pyrrha's green eyes drifted upwards, gesturing to something in the sky.
Jaune looked up, his mind shuddering to a stop a moment later. A massive black… orb. Riddled with cracks that the other little lights escaped from, an incredibly faint whitish haze just barely covering the sheer blackness of the orb itself.
"That is all the power and knowledge Nihilus holds within him." Pyrrha grinned with pure euphoria.
Something is wrong with her.
"It has taken form in Nihilus, but you too can wield the strength to shatter worlds." Pyrrha's emerald gaze settled back onto him, "All you need to is offer it your prayer, only then will you truly become the invincible hunter you always dreamed of being. Now please, Jaune, hurry and accept the power I offer you!"
This isn't Pyrrha. The realisation was like a bucket of ice water being dumped over his head. Pyrrha wasn't like Nihilus or Jaune, she didn't seek power for its own sake - and she didn't understand those who did. She wouldn't be doing this.
Jaune rubbed his fingers together. "Who are you? Really?"
Pyrrha bowed her head, "I am Pyrrha Arc, as you see."
Jaune raised his hand, fingers poised and ready to click at a moment's notice - he could wipe her away. "Answer me!"
She couldn't be Pyrrha. But if this wasn't Pyrrha, then who had been speaking to him earlier? This one, or another?
Pyrrha sighed, her eyes taking on an odd mixture of elated and sorrowful at the same time. "It is true, I will not deny that this is no more than a mask. However, the personality of Pyrrha Arc that was recorded and recreated for this purpose is undeniably not Nihilus."
Jaune kept his ready position, ever wary of a possible attack. This… not Pyrrha had just acknowledged that she had attempted to lie to him. Who knows what she could do next? "Are you the will of Nihilus? Something he created to serve him?"
Pyrrha blinked, her emerald eyes changing once they opened again. The left eye was a deep ocean blue, the right a warm brown. "I am. That interpretation of me is not incorrect. I, however, have my own will, and my own desires. I am the one you have been speaking to, but Nihilus has taken control once again."
"No way." Jaune didn't dare do anything. This wasn't Pyrrha, but it was close enough. She knew Nihilus, what he was and what he used to be. But she had also admitted that she was no longer in control. "If that is the case, then why isn't Nihilus himself speaking to me? What is he playing at, offering me all his power?"
Pyrrha smiled, her hand reaching out to cup Jaune's cheek lovingly. "Well, Jaune," her mismatched eyes looked so sad, so pained, "that is something that you should know far better than anyone else could possibly know."
Jaune didn't push her away, too captivated by her loving caress. "What?" he asked softly.
Pyrrha's hand settled onto his chest, her gaze still adoring, "You learned how to save the world the moment you met Nihilus. So I will do exactly as you have done - I will grant you the power to carry out your wishes, and ultimately answer your prayer."
What was she talking about? Prayer? Save the world? "What are you talking about?" His voice was soft now, agitation diminished by the affection she was showing.
Pyrrha stepped back, her warm hands leaving him and the cold setting in a moment later. A quiet sigh escaped her mouth. "I have no choice. The only way to make you realise is to have you go and explore that same question through your inner self."
Jaune blinked, his mouth opening to speak again. But as he opened his eyes, everything changed. The scene of the beach with the faintly glittering lights had vanished in favour of the new location.
Jaune looked around, his eyes adjusting to the greater lighting quickly. Dull carpeting, four beds, small television. This was… his dorm room in Beacon? No, no… not his. It was slightly different. Blank grey posters of nothing on each wall, all the colours of everything dull and lifeless. The beds were at a slightly different angle than what JNPR had when Jaune briefly resided there. It was similar, very similar, but also different.
This was… Nihilus' dorm when he was in Beacon? Nihilus was blind, so that would explain the lack of colour, and he had probably been placed on a different team - so that would explain why it was a different room. It was empty though. Jaune could feel that there was a second presence, but it was still empty. "This is-"
Jaune's words were cut off, the small TV blinking on. The colour was stark and different compared to the lack of colour in the rest of the room. On the screen, two massive white boats powered through blue waters.
"Three hundred on one ship." The voice was sudden, jarring. It wasn't Pyrrha, nor was it Nihilus. Too low, too calm. It sounded just like Jaune-
Jaune. It was his voice.
"Two hundred are on the other."
"What the…?" Jaune wasn't sure what on Remnant was going on. Ships? Numbers?
"Five hundred total passengers and crew, plus Jaune Arc. Let's assume these five hundred people are humanity's last survivors. Giant holes simultaneously open up in both ships, crippling them. Jaune Arc alone has the skills needed to repair a ship. Now then, which one of the ships would you fix?"
The image of the two boats froze just at the right angle for Jaune to see two gaping holes.
That… was a shitty choice either way. They should all survive. But Jaune knew well enough that the world didn't work that way. Nihilus had taught him that. "That's simple," Jaune sighed, "the one holding three hundred people."
"As soon as you make that decision, the two hundred passengers on the other ship kidnap you and take you prisoner. They demand that you fix their ship first. What will you do?"
"I would…" It was taunting him. That wasn't fair, how was he supposed to deal with that? Diplomacy wasn't an option, obviously, and with the knowledge and strength imparted from the rings Jaune only knew one course of action that would be successful. It was terrible, but it was the only thing that-
There was a scream, a terrible pained howl followed by silence. Jaune rushed over to the window so he could see what was going on, ringed fingers shoving the curtains aside in his haste to see-
Jaune blinked and found himself somewhere else again, but this time he felt sick. He was on the boat… of course he was. Charred and ashen bodies littered the deck around him, some bleeding, most cauterized by extreme heat, but all dead. Dozens of them. Men, women and children - all dead, all burnt.
"You would kill all two hundred passengers." The voice was all around him now, "That is correct. That is the Jaune Arc that we know."
Jaune blinked again, the boat and its legion of corpses vanishing. He was back in the room again. The people… that wasn't fair. That was the only solution Jaune knew would work. It was the only solution he was certain about. It was terrible, utterly disgusting. But he'd killed more people when he'd first gotten the fire Dust ring. And if it was necessary...
"Next, the surviving three hundred abandon their damaged craft. They split themselves between two new ships and continue their journey. This time there are two hundred on one and one hundred on the other. But again holes open in the hulls of both ships at exactly the same time."
"Wait…" Why was this happening? Jaune wanted, no, needed to speak to the not-Pyrrha again.
"The hundred in the smaller ship take you prisoner, and like the others demand that you fix their ship first. Now what will you do?"
That… why was it asking that?! "You already know!" Jaune hissed, a deep feeling of utter shame welling in his gut, "But you-!"
Jaune blinked, the world changing around him again. This time Jaune recognised it immediately. This was a place he would never forget. How could he? It was a nightmare in reality for him - the Beacon of Nihilus' world. The main tower of the school gone, the charred ashes of hundreds of soldiers scattering the ruined courtyard. This was where Jaune had murdered all those people… he felt sick just looking at it all.
"Yes. You made the right decision."
Anger flared into Jaune in an instant upon hearing the voice. How dare it say that? That wretched scenario it presented was… wrong! "No!" Jaune barked in the empty and dead space around him. "That's impossible! How can that be that right decision?! Two hundred survived, but three hundred died so they could live - the scales are tipped the wrong way!"
"No. Your calculations were correct. Is this not what you wanted? To be a hero? If it saved lives, the lives of the saved must be worth more than those you destroyed."
Jaune opened his mouth, but his voice died as he found himself back at the beach, the not-Pyrrha staring back at him with her blue and brown eye and a loving smile.
Anger erupted like a volcano. "This!?" Jaune demanded of her, "This is what you wanted to show me!?"
She didn't speak, only smiling and looking on kindly.
"Yes. This is your truth, the answer that lies within Jaune Arc. The man that will accept all the power we have to offer."
Anger shifted to panic; he wouldn't accept anything it had to offer him! "No! No!" he shouted, "This is not what I want! I wanted to be a hero, the strongest hunter in the world - so there would be another way!"
"You already know the path to strength, the method the greatest hunters used in order to gain their power."
"Like hell! How is that fair?!" Jaune hissed.
"But it is. The goal you have tried to hard to accomplish and failed to do on your own is now open to you beyond the scale of any hunter before now, your will can make it fair."
Jaune opened his mouth, but the world shifted around him. Gone was the beach, instead Jaune was… home? The house he grew up in back in Dorme, the house that was now little more than a pile of cinders thanks to Nihilus and the alternate version of Yang. Seeing it cooled his temper slightly, the nostalgia was nice…
Jaune blinked, his head jerking back in surprise when there was suddenly… his father standing before him. John Arc, scary man sometimes. "Dad?" Jaune asked quietly.
His fingers moved with power other than his own, something else guiding them. A single click, an eruption of fire Dust, and John Arc was enveloped in the flames; his charred black remains dropped to the ground a moment later.
Jaune staggered back in horror. He didn't- that wasn't him! i
There was a noise behind him.
Jaune whirled around in horror. His eyes widened as they settled on the woman who had snuck up on him.
Jane Arc. Loving mother, beautiful woman, kind to a fault, dead.
Dead for about ten years. Died the same way all of Dad's teammates had. Grimm.
"Mum?" Jaune half asked, half begged.
His fingers clicked again.
Her smouldering corpse dropped to the ground.
Jaune retched in disgust, his empty stomach heaving to expel something that wasn't there. He'd just… he'd killed…
The world shifted, broke and changed again.
Jaune fell to his knees as he found himself back at the other-worldly beach, Pyrrha standing there with her expression frozen in place.
This was wrong, this was all wrong… despair welled up within Jaune's broken soul. What was the point of this? What was the point of any of this? He just wanted it to end. He wanted it all to end…
"You truly are Jaune Arc. The one worthy and willing to bear all the suffering in the world."
He didn't want to… he didn't even want to be a hunter anymore. Jaune just wanted to crawl into a hole and die…
"Now, the final question."
Two more people phased into view before Jaune. Ruby Rose, the fifteen-year-old one, stood to the left of Pyrrha, a smile on her face. She was still and unmoving, but her silver eyes watched Jaune intently.
Violet Arc, not his sister, but the daughter that he'd never had. Her gorgeous purple eyes contrasted with her fiery red hair beautifully. Like Pyrrha and Ruby she was still as a statue, but her eyes were screaming at him - a look of agony untold.
A weight settled into Jaune's right hand, only the barest glance on his part identifying the object. Guilty Thorn… the wretchedly hateful sword Nihilus had used to kill Ruby. The blade radiated hatred – just holding it made Jaune feel dirty.
But it didn't matter… nothing mattered…
"Three remain, will you save two? Or choose one?"
It was vague, but Jaune knew what he was meant to do. Ruby Rose, or Pyrrha and Violet Arc? Save two or choose one… it wasn't fair…
The blade in his hand felt like it weighed a tonne.
Why was Nihilus doing this? He already knew Jaune's answer to this. The questions with the boats had made it clear enough what Jaune would do…
Jaune staggered to his feet, Guilty Thorn stagnant and furious all in the same moment. He had to… Nihilus would do something otherwise. Jaune stepped over to Ruby.
Violet's eyes were screaming at him. Begging, pleading, all of it. But he wouldn't, he couldn't…
"I'm sorry, Ruby," Jaune whispered brokenly, the edge of Guilty Thorn slicing through her throat. Blood sprayed over Jaune's face.
Ruby slumped to the ground without so much as a whimper.
Jaune's face was slick with Ruby's blood, his horror dying as it morphed to just… emptiness.
He felt hollow.
The world changed, the image of the beach fading away like sand in the wind.
He still felt the blood on his face.
Jaune was in a bedroom. The not-Pyrrha in a nightgown as she leant on the backboard, Violet playing around in the blankets.
He could still hear the sound of the waves…
Violet popped out of the blankets, her face split into a massive grin of simple joy. With a pleased shout the little girl jumped at Jaune, the elder Arc reflexively catching her and allowing the little girl to cling to his chest.
"Welcome home Daddy!" Her face was smiling, her words were kind, but her eyes were screaming. Utter torment, begging for something, for help… "Oh I'm so happy that you're finally back!"
She kissed his cheek, but Jaune only felt empty.
Pyrrha leaned forwards, a smile on her face and her differing eyes filled with nothing but love. "You understand now, right? This is all the power of Nihilus granting your heart's fervent desires."
She looked at him with such love, such kindness…
Violet giggled again, messy red hair bobbing as she did. "Yeah!" She kissed his cheek.
Jaune looked at them.
"All you need do now is to accept it," Pyrrha's smile was near manic with rapture, "together you
and Nihilus can bring back your wife, take back your daughter!"
Jaune looked at them. So easy would it be… so easy to accept the power they offered. With the strength of Nihilus Jaune could right all wrongs, destroy the Grimm and save the world. There were near a million people on Remnant, and Jaune could save them all, every single one of them… Jaune could be a hero, a defender, an arbiter of justice…
But once upon a time, Jaune had wanted to be a hero. A hero. Someone that people could look up to… he wasn't, and never could be that now. Jaune was a murderer, he had taken lives, and he had forced the hopes and dreams of hundreds to just die. Jaune wasn't a hero, he could never be a hero. A hero was the untainted, the people like Ruby… but not like Jaune.
Real heroes didn't want power for the sake of power. Power was best suited to those that never sought it.
Jaune wanted the power. He wanted it so badly. Part of him screamed that he would never abuse it, that he would be fair and honourable to all.
The other part of Jaune knew this wasn't true. No one was completely unbiased, no one completely above petty wants. He would eventually abuse it.
All that power, all that might that Nihilus was offering…
If Jaune took it then he would just become a second Nihilus. Just another Lord of Hunger.
Just another monster.
Jaune cradled Violet close to him, hugging her with all the love his withered heart could muster. "I won't be able to see you anymore…" he whispered.
Purple eyes screamed at him, begging, pleading, demanding… "It's okay!" she chirped, "Don't worry about it, I'll be happy just as long as you and mother are with me from now on!"
Relief, joy, sorrow. All washed through the eyes of the puppet of Violet. Nihilus was just using her image, making her dance to his tune. But she could still hear him. "Thank you…" Jaune breathed, sorrow heavy in his voice. She was family, maybe not in the conventional way, but she was still his daughter. "Daddy loves you. If nothing else, I swear that's true."
He loved her, loved the daughter he had never had. And because he loved her, he had to set her free.
Jaune rubbed his fingers together, the cold feeling of utter emptiness growing stronger. "Goodbye… Violet…"
Her eyes thanked him. Her head tilted to the side, not understanding.
Jaune clicked his fingers.
There was no rage, no soul-deep anger. All Jaune felt as he killed his daughter was emptiness.
Her ashen body thumped to the ground.
The not-Pyrrha jumped in shock, rising from the bed with a scream.
Jaune clicked his fingers again, flames enveloping the spirit in its entirety. Jaune wasn't sure whose souls Nihilus had fused in order to create the false Pyrrha, but they too were laid to rest by Jaune's hand.
A moment of silence.
"Violet! Violet! Violet! Violet! Violet! Violet!' The wraith-like form of a ghost swooped into the room, the creature hurtling towards the charred corpse of Violet.
Jaune raised his hand to snap his fingers and kill the wraith, but it slapped Jaune's hand aside. Only then did Jaune get a good look at the thing's face. "But why?! Why would you do this?!" It howled, "You killed our daughter!"
It was Jaune. But it was Nihilus.
Older, perhaps about thirty. His face was horribly scarred – three diagonal gashes shearing it in twain, glassy and very blind blue eyes staring with such visceral hatred. This was Nihilus. The real one. Not the stolen corpse he walked around in, but what he had really looked like.
It went to move again, but Jaune didn't let it. Both hands grasped at the neck of the older Jaune Arc. Fingers tightened, the emptiness in Jaune's spirit replaced with the utmost grief. Tighter, he had to hold tighter…
The real Nihilus gagged, his suffering clear, but his mounting anger clearer. "But… why?" He choked, "Why do you… refuse us? And our power?"
Jaune tightened his grip, tears welling up in his eyes as the smell of the charred bodies caught his nose. He had to, it wasn't the right thing to do, but he had to… "One million people on Remnant-"
The scarred dark Arc's face twisted hatefully, his expression monstrous as he struggled against Jaune's choking grip. "I curse you!" He screamed hoarsely.
But Jaune continued as if he were never interrupted, "versus you two-"
"The Lord of Hunger curses you!"
Tears ran down Jaune's face, and he could feel the bones in Nihilus' neck begin to flex, "That's why-"
"SUFFER-!"
"That's why-"
"TIL THE DAY YOU DIE!"
Jaune sobbed, "I have to kill you-"
"I will-!"
"And I will save the world." Jaune was no hero, he was just as much the villain as Nihilus was. But salvation and damnation were the same thing in this case.
"NEVER FORGIVE-!"
The vertebrae in his neck finally gave way with a violent crack of bone, Nihilus' head snapping backwards as his neck was broken.
Jaune had never felt so empty before.
Slowly, the world began to dissolve around him, the warm room washing away in a twisting haze of color and broken emotions. Jaune stared at the three corpses until they too disappeared, the charred smell lingering in his nose even as his hands tingled from the murders he had just committed.
Finally, reality gave way and the inner world of Nihilus faded away in its entirety.
Jaune was back in the courtyard of Beacon, the pile of ashes that used to be Weiss Schnee still fresh on the ground. Slowly and with a deep sense of depression, Jaune looked to the still form of the robed lord beside him.
But something was wrong. Nihilus' body was crumbling even as the dark Arc stared at Jaune with a look of utter betrayal. The elder man just stared at Jaune, his body becoming ashen and transient even as Jaune stared back.
Moments passed, Nihilus now little more than a spectre of ash resembling something vaguely human.
"I will remember this…" wind blew, and there was nothing left of Nihilus, but even then the voice lingered. "I will never forget, Lord of Betrayal…"
Jaune could only cry.
The Lord of Hunger was dead.
328
A/N
Sorry for the delay, I've had a busy day…
Anyway, who expected that to happen?! Nihilus is 'dead' (technically he was anyway, so really not much has changed there…), and the two people that young Nihilus killed accidentally were actually Taiyang and Qrow (gasp). Shit is getting serious.
Oh, and young Nihilus killed another 325 people as well. But, eh, minor details…
Reviews:
The Powder Keg:
Thanks for reviewing.
That's okay, I'm sorry for not being able to PM my answer.
I tried hard with the fight to convey the emotional impact more than the physical, to show the profound emotions of the two as they spoke for the last time.
Ah yes, Crocea Mors. The final fate of the sword isn't actually all that far off, so you will see soon enough...
And thank you! I try my best to make this story the best it can be!
TalonIbnLaAhad:
Thanks for reviewing.
I wanted the fight to show the pain and regret of their former friendship, Ruby finally letting go of her ideals and Nihilus verbally pouring out years worth of hatred. I'm glad you liked it. As for why he didn't do something crueller when he killed her - pity, and perhaps some small shred of empathy. Nihilus knows that Ruby killed his daughter, but he also knows that she a victim of being lied to and being blinded by hatred - Nihilus never actually hated Ruby. He was extremely angry, but it never escalated to hatred.
The issue of actually stopping Nihilus is a tricky one - something RWBY (the ones he killed anyway) likely wouldn't have ever succeeded in - Nihilus is functionally immortal, and they kept trying to kill him. At most, they may have destroyed his body eventually, but that would just piss him off enough to go nuclear. That being said, Nihilus is more fragile than one might think - but I won't spoil anything.
In regards to Salem: Yes! she is indeed a character. I can't quite remember if you (or someone else) asked this earlier, but Salem has a role to play. Bear in mind, however, that Wraith is the story of Jaune Arc and until she takes an active role she won't be included (don't worry, that comes later). And for reference - Nihilus can actually 'see' Grimm, just not in a convenient way (again, later), and he is fully capable of just going Scorched Earth if things actually get serious.
I loved your review, thank you for taking the time to post it!
Tobi14:
Thanks for reviewing.
Like to show an extreme end result first since it serves as a hook to draw in readers, thus allowing me to gradually show how that character became the way they are.
Ruby knew she couldn't win, this was her way of saying goodbye. There was no forgiveness there, but perhaps there was acceptance.
Nihilus has had an extremely rough go at life, though I won't deny that much of that is self imposed. He is insane, cruel, and terrible - but he is a product of what the world made him.
Shaded Azure:
Thanks for reviewing.
Three complete souls, including his own. When the counter was at one that was just his soul - but the addition of the two (actual characters) that he just killed the counter is now three.
Yes. Actual characters.
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to review!
Seriously, review. Reviews help me write - especially given that I have exams coming up and they always give me the desire to find a nice warm hole to crawl into and die. If you review I'll take my laptop with me so I can keep writing right up to the moment of my death.
