6-4: Inferno
And the Ashes After

"Take cover!" Three voices shouted out in unison, and though two of them belonged to the intruding humans, the Sentry followed the orders all the same.

This was hardly the time to be squabbling, after all, and Lyra was sure the rest of her friends felt the same way, so rather than question it, the deer-faunus immediately retreated to the closest piece of cover. The air immediately heated around her as she darted into a nearby building, and she didn't bother looking back as she slipped out of the way. Lyra trusted her allies enough to know that they'd find some sort of safety from... whatever the hell that was. Fortunately, since she had been in the rear of the group, the closest shelter was actually the guard post, somehow standing despite all the attacks that it had seen.

From the safety of the structure, the deer-faunus had a chance to collect herself, and she immediately began setting up her weapon by the window, her hands moving instinctively as she peered back out onto the battlefield.

And what she saw was unnerving. The spot they had been standing in moments ago was engulfed in flames, the smell of ash and burned soil filling the air as the massive grimm towered over them. It was grimm, right? It certainly looked like one, an Ursa if its silhouette was any indication, but one that was far bigger than it had any right to be. Even more disturbing was that, rather than simple bone plates, it was covered by dust crystals.

She was certain of it.

Already, she felt at a loss. Sure, she had been stationed outside the kingdoms for most of her White Fang career, but none of Lyra's experiences were enough to prepare her for the threat that stood before them. This went beyond any criminal attack or corporate-sponsored incursion she had defended against; those were skirmishes at best, and rarely included things on the level of huntsmen. And even if they did, the Captain and his Lieutenants were usually enough to beat them back, which meant that her duties lay solely with suppressing grimm.

At the same time, there were few grimm raids she had witnessed that truly compared to the beast before them. Most simply ended before they began, with a simple show of force being enough to deter the beasts. Even the closest comparison she could remember was an ill-fated goliath encounter, in a posting she had before she was assigned here. The problem was, that goliath had been a single beast, a lone survivor that had been the target of a lone huntsman or something. Yet, even injured, it had destroyed their outpost, its death throes enough to claim lives.

So what did that mean for them? That goliath from her memory was nothing compared to the gargantuan beast of grimm that stood before them. After all, how did a dying beast compare to an aged creature of destruction, let alone one that was somehow fueled by dust?

... But that didn't mean she'd give up.

She'd fought grimm before, and she'd fight them again! Heck, she was carrying one of the heaviest weapons their fortress had! They had meant to use it as a deterrence for the Bullheads, or perhaps insurance in case they stumbled on one of the larger security walkers.

So if they were going to use it anyways, why not use it on something that actually deserved it?

The Sentry continued fortifying her position, the anti-material weapon propped up against the window as she loaded the first dust cartridge. The process was worryingly slow, and Lyra mentally cursed the fact that she was operating it by herself. If Sienna was here to assist her, they would've already fired the first shot by now; the fact that her grizzly-faunus friend enjoyed heavy weapons was a problem at times, but she definitely knew her way around weapons.

Still, all that meant was that she took a bit longer to load fist-sized shell, and after a few moments, the deer-faunus had aligned her sights back to the battlefield, eager for her first shot. She was ready to start this.

At least, she thought she was.

A frown formed on her face the moment her attention shifted forward, just in time to catch sight of a certain tiger-faunus charge headfirst at the beast. His strides were disciplined and swift, closing the distance almost instantly as the White Fang Captain carried himself towards the massive Ursa. The rush was admirable as he charged through the flames, but it had the terrible side effect of completely blocking the Sentry's.

That in itself was enough to annoy the deer-faunus, since she was ready to shoot the stupid grimm. Her mood only worsened, however, when she caught sight of a second figure immediately following behind the first. Lyra certainly didn't expect to see the white-haired woman of the Schnee Dust Company to join alongside the White Fang Captain, given how delicate she looked. Few could match the Captain, after all, yet the Schnee was easily keeping up, her pace matching his own as the white-haired woman readied her blade. To say nothing of the fact that she was a Schnee.

...A Schnee.

The faunus clenched her teeth as she repeated the name in her mind, the grip on her weapon tightening for just a moment as she glared at the woman's figure. Like many others in the White Fang, the deer-faunus had lost friends and family to the Schnee Dust Company, all for the sake of their bottom line. There was no love between the Faunus and the Atlas-based mega-corporation, and for good reason, and she was no exception. Likewise, her reasons were nothing special, as the childhood she had spent in a corporate mining town was a common story for most faunus in the White Fang.

Lyra wasn't the first child who had to grown up in rusted shanties, trained in prospecting Dust crystals while she accepted silent glares from underpaid security thugs, nor would she be the last. Really, she knew full well that, as long as the kingdoms allowed companies like SDC and Rhinestone to continue their work, nothing would change. Faunus would be exploited for no moral reason, and people will continue abusing them without repercussion, unless something forced them to change. That's why she joined the White Fang, wasn't it? To protest and encourage some sort of change.

She clung to that thought, slowly forcing herself to calm down. It took a few deep breaths, but she gradually accepted the fact that frustration at this point in time wouldn't change a thing. They had something far more important to worry about, and the Ursa before them didn't care about silly things like discrimination. It took a bit of effort, but Lyra slowly loosened her grip, no longer tensing at the sight of the Sch-... Huntress before her. Pushing away frustration was never easy, but the Sentry's life had offered her a bit more patience than most. And though her anger at SDC was great, she was still lucid enough to know that one should never blame a child for the actions of her father. That, if nothing else, was the greatest lesson her childhood had taught her.

And the moment she reaffirmed that thought, the faunus felt a weight lift from her shoulders. An abrupt sigh escaped her, not even realizing that she had held her breath as she felt her tension fade away. The air seemed less... muddled than before, and the weapon at her side no longer filled her with a sense of irritated tension. The oppressive heat from the fiery Ursa waned, and Lyra felt herself will with an odd sense of clarity as she finally settled her thoughts back to the battle at hand. Once more, she took aim.

Only for an Aged Creep to dive right into the line of fire.

The grimm exploded violently as the massive shell impacted the its plated face, and while the monster itself would no longer be a problem, the damage had been done. She was all but certain that the creep had deliberately gotten in the way, and the sudden interception had been enough to alter the bullet's path. Rather than striking directly at the Ursa's face, her shell had collided into its shoulder, shattering one of the many crystal shards that dotted its hide, and a gout of fire flared from the massive beast.

Her best chance at ending this entire conflict had been ruined by some stupid lizard grimm, and now that her rifle had alerted the entire area to her presence, they would be in for a much more oppressive fight. Already, more creatures joined the fray, and Lyra's snapped her focus to the direction where the monster had lunged from, only to see a growing stream of grimm as they crawled out from various husks and wrecks. Creeps tunneled out of the ground while Beowolves clamoured over fallen debris, adding to the mass of monsters as they eagerly joined the fight, lunging forward with bestial purpose and unnatural hunger.

Their frenzy was redoubled as the fiery Ursa unleashed another terrible roar, no doubt attracting even more grimm to their fight as its voice breaking through the air once more. That howl easily carried itself to her sheltered position, and the deer-faunus flinched at the bellowing sound, willing herself to focus less on the field and more on her weapon. However, this thought alone wasn't enough to take her attention, as the sound of similar howls filled the air, only to be interrupted by the clash of metal meeting bone.

The Sentry caught sight of the rest of her allies, her attention shifting to the front of the grimm horde.

While the Captain and the Huntress fought against the massive foe, the two Lieutenants and the Rhinestone Security Veteran had turned their attention to the smaller grimm, meeting the swarm half-way. Her companions had rushed forward to meet the surge of beowolves and creeps, but what caught Lyra's eyes was the fact that the human chose to stay back. Part of her wanted to call him out on his cowardice, but that portion of her mind was quickly silenced as she felt aura gather around the older man. He held an arm outstretched, standing still for a few seconds as aura began gathering in his palm, a fleeting torrent of violet light that gradually molded itself into the shape of a massive shield. Once that had finished, he too joined the fray.

That was enough to spur her own actions onward. The mechanical pace she took as she reloaded her rifle grew more fluid, more directed as she fitted another oversized slug into the weapon, with only a few seconds passing before she fixed the weapon back to the giant grimm once again. She wouldn't miss this time, even if it was thrashing and moving so haphazardly.

Moving... No. That wasn't right.

Sure, the fiery Ursa was technically moving, snarling at the group as it bared its fangs at them, feral cries slipping out between the sounds of its snapping jaws, but the monster didn't actually move from its spot. Instead, the Ursa stood its ground, each motion punctuated by a menacing growl as its gaze bore down at the Captain and the Schnee, its terrible maw snapping at the air whenever they tried to get close. Heavier strikes made by the two were preemptively stunted, either with a swing of its massive forearm or with a deadly snap of its jaws, while lighter strikes were evaded or deflected entirely by the beast.

It was fighting tactically, and while that in itself was worrying, it wasn't enough to explain the sudden apprehension that had taken hold of her instinct. It wasn't just fighting intelligently, she realized... The grimm was fighting conservatively. Unlike its younger kin, the crystal-covered Ursa wasted none of its movements, shifting only enough to counter or parry the Captain's and Huntress's strikes. But why?

Lyra's answer came moments later, her eyes widening as the beast stood up its hind legs for just a moment, only to slam its entire weight downwards to the ground, all four of its armoured limbs striking the grass and soil, igniting the surrounding turf ablaze. It didn't stop there, though; Once it was on all fours again, the grimm arched its back, exposing the crystalline spines that dotted its hide. Each of the massive spears began to glow, as crystal after crystal shifted from a muted grey hue to a vibrant red sheen, and the Sentry had no idea what the monster was planning.

"Get into the buildings! Take cover!"

From the Veteran's sudden outburst, however, he did. She didn't question the sudden orders, nor did anyone else in the field. A glowing symbol appeared beneath the Huntress as she shot backwards, while the Captain rained for a moment longer. Rather than retreat right away, the tiger-faunus activated his semblance, a bellowing voice that echoed the Veteran's orders as Lyra felt her body lighten. The rest of her allies felt it too, and within seconds, all had found refuge.

Just in time for the Ursa to act. One final roar signaled the beginning of the end, as spike after crystalline spike shot out from the beast's hide. She could hardly keep track of them as they flew upwards into the sky, filling the night sky with an unnatural glow, illuminating the air above with a sheet of embers. The sight almost reminded her of the Vytal festivals that the Kingdoms prided themselves in, as though it were fireworks that had been launched into the air... But what awaited them was something far more sinister.

The crystal spears reached their apex. The stars themselves seemed to watch with bated breath as the gravity took hold, as the burning pilum began their ruinous descent.

And from above, destruction rained.

"Okay, what the hell was that?!"

Qrow was a man who could tolerate a lot of things, given the proper motivation. Really, the terrible blood-curdling roars of countless grimm was a daily occurrence in his line of work, and one that he usually ignored whenever he had important things to deal with. Yet, the sound that just echoed out was one of the more chilling cries he had heard, and was more than enough to stop the huntsman in his tracks. There were few things that sounded so deadly, and that singular cry made all the others sound like mewling whines in comparison.

There were very few things Qrow could think of that could sound that angry, and the few things he could think of were all reasons enough to stop their impromptu language lesson. As much as he would've liked to continue it, the threat of a rampant goliath or something equally dangerous was a higher priority than making sure the mummy person could articulate himself. Really, now that he thought about it, why was he going through the troubles of trying to teach the man? That's definitely something Ozpin would sort out in his own time, right?

... No, Qrow knew the answer to that little question just fine. The mummy's little blurb from earlier, while completely unintelligible to him, carried a certain tone to it that hit a bit too close to home. Sure, the spoken language is different, but it seemed that body language and word inflections carried over between his language and whatever it was his bandaged companion used. Those nuances by themselves were more than enough to drive the huntsman to drink, and he had he not been interrupted by the roar of the-

Right, the roar. Whatever else didn't matter at the moment, least of all their language session. Besides, it wasn't like the man wasn't making progress; the mummy had called him a bucket multiple times, and the huntsman's growing suspicions told him that that was on purpose. Which meant that his little friend had understood more than he thought.

"So yeah. Since you seem to understand the important things, I'm gonna cut our lesson short." The tone he used for his next words were a far cry from the surprise he had uttered earlier. Qrow composed himself in a more professional light as he turned his attention to the mummy, trying to gauge the other person's response as he spoke. Which was hard, since he was essentially staring at a featureless mask "... Instead, you're gonna follow me while I go help stop whatever it is that's throwing a tantrum out there, alright?"

Silence. That's... not a good sign. Then again, a half-hour crash course in rudimentary language was hardly enough to teach a person all the essentials for conversation. Qrow adopted his teacher tone once more, deliberately slowing down the pace of his words as he pointed towards the mummy.

"You... Follow... Me. Okay?"

The mummy tilted his head to the side. Was that him asking 'why'? Then again, the word 'why' isn't exactly something you teach through simple word association, so he could sort of understand the confusion. Once more, Qrow spoke out, this time gesturing to himself, then the direction where that roar from earlier had originated from.

"Me... Go... Roar. Investigate. You... Follow... Okay?"

This was getting ridiculous. Again. The huntsman brought a hand up to his forehead, pushing back a growing migraine as he-

"Okay."

Huh. That was easier than he thought. Alright, now that he's gotten that out of the way, he'd better figure out what that roar was. The red-eyed warrior quickly took out his Scroll once more, pressing a few buttons on the device as he dialed a familiar number. From the corner of his eye, he could see the mummy staring back at him, curiously examining the slab of black machinery in his grasp. If he had the time, he'd explain the thing, but time was one of the many things they were currently short on.

"C'mon, let's hurry up." He tilted his head towards the hole in the wall, and after receiving a nod from the mummy, stepped through the opening. Once he was certain his companion was behind him, the huntsman turned his attention back to the Scroll, a frown forming on his face as he waited for his 'partner' to pick up. Under normal circumstances, he'd be annoyed that the meticulous Winter Schnee would let a phone ring for this long.

Then again, under normal circumstances, the sky wouldn't be filled with fiery red things descending downwards.

"Get down!" Qrow's eye widened, his voice rising instinctively as he shouted to the mummy. At the same time, he followed his own advice, quickly diving into cover behind a slightly destroyed mechanical Ursa. Sure, he could've simply avoided them, but that was much harder to do when escorting another person, and the Qrow didn't know the mummy well enough to gauge whether or not he could survive a volley of whatever those things were. So the safest option was for both of them to take cover, and considering how many bits of wreckage now dotted the courtyard, cover wasn't exactly hard to come by. Still, he needed to figure out what those things were, so the huntsman turned his attention skyward once more, slowly peeking over the metallic husk-turned-shelter.

They were spikes. Red spikes. Of dust.

Was this some sort of silly wasteful weapon that the army was using? It's depressing, but he could definitely see this as the result of some misinformed corporate board-type person who didn't know any better, attempting to dabble in military-grade weapons by adding dust to everything. He could definitely see this because he had seen this before.

The first spike met the ground, and exploded violently. Dirt was violently kicked up by the sudden blast, forming a miniature crater as fragments splintered outwards, blanketing the region in a crystalline haze of shrapnel fire.

Okay, maybe not. Well, perhaps Winter finally snapped? She had always been a bit of a high-strung character, so maybe a previous mission had pushed her over the edge, and the crazed Schnee had decided to waste her father's Dust supplies on the violent eradication of grimm. A small part of him immediately discarded that idea, but Qrow found it worrying that the majority of his mind had considered the idea plausible.

"Did Winter really snap?"

Qrow asked no one in particular, his mind churning as he watched a second, then fifth, then ninth spear land in front of him. Within moments, damage to the courtyard multiplied tenfold, scattering metal, dust, and fire everywhere. For the most part, his robot corpse-wall was enough to ward off the larger pieces of slag, and his aura protected him from the fire and smaller bits, but Qrow sincerely doubted that his piece of cover was durable enough to stop one of those spikes. He saw first-hand what it had done to pavement and concrete, and the-

"I'm facing off against the most dangerous grimm I've seen to date..."

The what? A sudden voice pulled the huntsman out from his thoughts. His face instantly turned to the source of the voice, and a few moments later, his mind registered whose voice it was.

"Barely struggling maintain its attention while the Commander calls for air support..."

Commander? Does she mean Jared? Qrow's mood instantly brightened at the implications of that statement, before his mind processed the rest of her words. Grimm? Attention? Air support? He might've have been distracted, but the huntsman wasn't a fool, and it only took a moment for him to truly understand what Winter was talking about. And what he had said.

"And you have the audacity to interrupt me, just to insult me?"

Unfortunately, the sudden rise in volume caused to Qrow visibly wince, which was a mistake. Hesitantly turning his attention back to the scroll, he saw an angry Schnee glaring straight at him, even as the sounds of clashing weapons and gunfire erupted behind her.

"Sorry Ice Queen." His apology came quickly, reflexively, and dismissively. Her anger was swift, palpable, and equally short-lived, as both of them knew that they simply did not have the time to fool around. A loud explosion erupted beside him, and Qrow felt his aura flicker as a fragment of molten slag struck at his arm, an even that Winter clearly saw. Both hunters turned to the task at hand, his eyes narrowing as he looked up into the sky once more. "But what the hell is going on right now? Don't tell me Jared's told the mercs to carpet bomb the entire complex."

"You heard me the first time. We are currently engaged with a dangerous grimm." Qrow's eyes widened at that little admission, but chose not to say anything. Instead, Winter confirmed her report with a simple gesture, shifting her Scroll to the scene behind her, giving the huntsman a full view of a terrifyingly huge, flaming, dust-infused Ursa.

An Ursa that looked remarkably similar to another dust-infused grimm that they had encountered earlier. The hunter's brow furrowed as he stared at the monster, examining the familiar swirls of colour that wove itself into the grimm. This one seemed far less... structured, as the lines of red and orange flared to its extremities, swelling to form thick crystals on its black and orange plate.

"Wait, is that...?"

"Yes."

Winter's affirmation was enough to worry the huntsman. Those infusions, as they had learned first-hand, had caused a Ursa mutate to something far worse than a month-old deathstalker. And that was just an Ursa Minor, with barely any power or experience. The problem was, this new Ursa was not a simple Ursa Minor. Its size alone was enough for it to rival the larger beasts he had seen in Mistral, and that's not accounting for its unnatural dust abilities.

"I assume you've completed your prior objective. If so, please make your way over to our location by the now-ruined sentry tower."

His eyes widened as the huntress spoke once more, her request quickly bringing him back to the task at hand. Of course! Now that he was actually on speaking terms with the mummy, they might be able to get him to reverse that crazy dust thing. And he had no doubt that Ozpin would be interested in their bandaged friend as well, once all of this blows over. The best part was, beyond Winter, himself, and maybe those White Fang members, nobody knew the mummy existed. Especially not their enemies.

"Don't worry, I can do better." This was the perfect windfall. This entire mission wasn't a huge waste of time after all. With a hopeful grin, Qrow turned around to face the mummy, eager to ask him about the dust and the grimm. With any luck, he'd be able to reverse the thing just as easily as he could start it. "Hey, do you mind-?"

... There was no one there.

"... Do I mind what?"

Winter's confused voice echoed from the Scroll. Her confusion only deepened as she watched Qrow slam his forehead into his metallic cover.

Nox's brief interaction with the local warrior had taught him many things.

Firstly, the syntax of their languages likely differed drastically. Sure, there were some similarities with some of the more simple strings, but there were just as many differences between their spoken tongue, especially with the more convoluted statements. The few words that he had absorbed had given him a small selection of verbs, nouns, adverbs, and adjectives, all of which provided a base for him to build up his understanding of the local language.

Unfortunately, from what he could tell, those were the primary things that drove the language. He would need more research, but there were fewer situations that depended on a word's intonation, and the local method of communication seemed to depend far more on context than syntax. To say nothing of pronouns, naming conventions, or his general ignorance of the world's written script.

Still, it was better than nothing.

The half-hour session had proven to be a bit more productive than he had imagined, and the Xelor was surprised to find that he did not greet the event's termination with enthusiasm. That was more promising than anything else, however, since it was indicative of his desire to continue pursuing his studies on the local populace. All things considered, it was a shame that the individual had to leave so abruptly, as Nox had intended to ask him where the nearest population center was, assuming he could figure out the proper structure for phrasing the question.

Ah well. He'll manage on his own. For now, they shall part ways.

Incidentally, the second thing that Nox had learned from his little session with the local warrior was that the resident populace was ignorant and intellectually lacking. To a self-destructive degree. The mere notion that the man had honestly expected Nox to follow him was a testament to this fact. Had the red-eyed local forgotten that he was the one who had antagonizing him? Even if it was a simple language misunderstanding, surely the man had enough sense to realize that their interactions were not amicable.

Yet, he asked Nox an absurdity all the same. Was everything on this planet that outrageous? That... Stupid?

That question stewed in his mind for a few moments as he made his way through the corridors. Sure, it was a trivial question, but it also served as a distraction from the entire incident with his-. No, with the dial. It certainly wasn't his anymore, and if one of those hypocritical gods truly wished to manifest there, then Nox will have nothing to do with it. An altercation at this stage would be... disadvantageous for him, especially since he hadn't found an alternative for Wakfu yet.

Which wasn't quite right either. His alternative for Wakfu was the same energies that those shadow beasts held, but Nox was still unsure of how to manifest it. For now, he only had his dwindling Wakfu reserves, and these crystallized powder-fuel fragments. Enough to claw his way back from this failure, but certainly not enough to confront a threat. So, the only logical course of action was to liquidate what few assets he could, and leave.

And muse about the stupidity of the local races.

Was that an unfair statement? Of course not. His first interactions with the two dominant species, the humans and the shadow creatures, were both offensively rude and amusingly short-sighted... Though the humans were far more foolish than the shadow creatures. Sure, the shadow creatures were initially hostile, but this was limited only to a few individuals, and quickly faded away in exchange for accepted co-existence. Some even chose to assist him, which was a welcome change from his incompetent Grambos; even if a shadow wolf was incompetent at simple tasks, it could still be used as a basic combat tool. Grambos have no such advantage.

But even Grambos cease hostility eventually. The local human populace, on the other hand, has shown a worrying tendency to repeatedly antagonise him without context, time and time again. Firstly, when he approached this settlement, the Xelor was attacked without provocation. One might make the argument that he had arrived with the Shadow beasts, who seem to have a vendetta against the humans, but that argument quickly crumbles when you consider the fact that he has never openly attacked any of them. He was visually distinctive from the shadow beasts, and even a simple tofu could recognize that something not attacking you probably isn't attacking you.

Nox sighed at the lack of insight from the local species. An apt response, considering where he had found himself. Once more, Nox had found himself standing before a few more locals, dressed in some stupid outfit as they pointed their firearms at him. He was partially to blame, since he had willingly walked through one of the encampment's exits, despite having knowledge that the local savages were around. Still, the encounter was enough to prove his point, as the local humans began shouting at him for some stupid reason all while flailing their toys around.

The Xelor merely stepped around them. A few shots struck him, but the damage was... negligible, even without his Wakfu.

After all, he was no stranger to fighting without Wakfu. He was Nox, and had survived the brunt of Grougaloragran's firebreath during their little fight. What did these annoyances hope to accomplish? Unless they were volunteering themselves for study.

A shame. Their enthusiasm was useless, given his current circumstance. Nox dismissively waved his hand at them, shooing them aside as he stepped deeper into the forest. After all, he'd need to rebuild his lab before conducting any further studies.

And judging by the fact that the only thing he held control over were his Noxines, this new lab could not rely on his dial.

To some Xelor, that might've been a challenging endeavor... but after everything he's been through, such a task was hardly worth mentioning to Nox.

"Understanding the cube was, I might concede, an impossibility. Turning back time? An... infeasible endeavour." He chuckled to himself, his eyes focusing on the forest around him. Honestly, he was not worried about this meaningless world, based on what he had seen. "But surviving here? Trivial. Learning the language of the humans? A minor project. Uncovering the secrets of this world's power? An interesting experiment."

"All things that will eventually come to pass..." The Xelor's voice drifted off as he tore his eyes away from the trees. Instead, his gaze wandered upwards, both his eyes and his Noxines pointed skyward as he stared up into the endless expanse above. "But this?"

The stars were... foreign to him. The constellations, the light tint of the atmosphere, the lack of Wakfu... Everything was so different. For the first time, he saw the moon that hung above this alien world. He had seen it before, of course, but this was the first time he truly appreciated it. After all, it was a celestial body. In the World of Twelve, some considered it the seat of the gods.

Whether he believed that or not didn't matter, since this was not the World of Twelve; This was a new world. An alien world, foreign and seemingly devoid of the energies of creation. A world that carried its own power, born from its own soil and crystals, and fueled by its own people.

And above this world was the moon, drifting high above them all, towering in the center of the night sky as a celestial symbol of permanence.

In all its broken glory.
"I don't know what gods lived in this world, nor do I care. Their sky, their toy, their silly little mural is shattered. That alone is enough.
I promise you this."

His voice was solemn, directed skyward to shattered fragments of white and grey, all witness to the thoughts and memories that flickered through the Xelor's mind. It was fitting, wasn't it? His new vow would be made to some nearly as broken as he was.
"Everything that happened, happened because the gods allowed it."

Through the moon above, he could saw the shattered fragments. Four tiny shapes sat before a two taller pieces, bundled in a single cluster.
"The Past."

Another piece drifted alone. A large as the two before, surrounded only by one other fragment, too broken to be whole. All wrapped in emptiness and void.
"The Cube."

Was it raining now?
"Ogrest."

No, of course not. As always, He was just seeing things. As always. As always.
"The lie."

The forest was dry. Branches crunched underfoot. Ignored entirely by the world, and those treading above.
"The harvest."

Tread carefully, branches give way to something more. An animal, a log, a venerable stone. All above, yet all ignored the same.
"The Dragon."

So on he marched. Unbidden and undisturbed.
"The Plan."

Until he came to a clearing. The end of the forest. The end of the line.
"The Child."

He stopped. A glance behind him, to see if he was being followed. He saw no path behind him, behind the trees.
"The Clock."

Nox turned forward once more. Faced with neither trees nor mountains nor fields. Merely cliffs, and an endless ocean below.
"The End."

How long had he walked? The moon had waned. He felt... tired. But in the distant oceans, he saw the sun peak. It was day? How long had it been?
"The Void."

He had no clue where he was, but one thing... One thing stood out beneath the sun. It was far, a tiny speck on the horizon, barely a dot in the crimson sky and the ocean blue.
"But this? This alone will be something I achieve by my hand."

An tiny island. His lens flickered.
"So long as I live,"

A distant island. Once more, his lens peered, straining to see the end.
"And I can see that goal, I promise you this."

A port. A town. A beginning.
"This will be the day your legend scatters."

So it begins.

AN: I am so sorry for my terrible delay. I have no excuse that's contextually relevant for the community. Academics were a thing for April, but then I just couldn't kick myself back into gear near the end of May.

Also, this format is more of a rare exception to the general formatting standards I've had up to this point. It was made because my mind decided to be flowery about the thing, but if it's too obnoxious to read, feel free to inform me.