Disclaimer: I own neither the series nor the characters.
When Sapphron had heard her brother wanted to start a cult (well, in his own words, "bring back a long dead religion), a plethora of emotions had gone through her.
Shock, surprise, even a small pinch of curiosity before settling down to a state of "eh".
To be fair, that was how Sapphron reacted to most things.
She, however, also felt an odd combination of apprehension and excitement for what was to come. It sounded downright fantastical, that her younger brother was about to go out and start his own religion. There wasn't much for a young lady like her left to do in Ansel before she moved out to Mistral in the upcoming months. Getting wrapped up in some wacky adventure seemed like the perfect way to cap-off moving out of her home town.
It would have provided a hell of a story for Terra too.
Unfortunately, Sapphron had forgotten something important.
Said thing was lazily sitting on their family couch, using the old family heirloom to switch the channel of their TV. Oddly enough, followed by placing it on the seat next to him, as if it was watching along with him.
That's right. Sapphron had forgotten her brother, Jaune Arc was…to put it nicely, flippant.
Jaune was the type to get excited about one thing and then totally forget about it. Poet? His poetry was awful and he gave up in a month after realizing he couldn't make a living out of it. Musician? They had a guitar also known as the hat rack 2.0. Dance Guru? That one did last but it was a shame his dance troupe broke apart. Also, that you apparently needed more than one person to be in one.
The latest one that had lasted for quite a while was Hunter. Sapphron blamed the comics for that one. The worst part was that this one was rather dangerous so when Jaune had declared he wanted to start a religion or something everyone in the family happily went with the asinine idea. Even if it would be somewhat ironic that the only Arc son would become some sort of priest.
And now, it seemed that had reached its end.
Sapphron approached her brother on the couch, eyeing the large stack of (hand-made) flyers next to him.
"How'd the haul go today?"
"Nothing, as usual." Jaune replied, eyes still on the TV. "I don't get why it's so hard to get people to join up my newly made religion."
"Well…" Sapphron took one of the flyers. All it had printed on it was some weird symbol and that cult-y name. "It would help if people knew exactly what this was about? Like what would they gain from this?"
It had been two weeks and even Sapphron herself didn't know what it was. From the few times she asked her brother, all she could get were some vague answers about believing in the Two Brothers or something. It sounded like even Jaune didn't know what he was offering which must have led to him not getting anyone to join him up.
From the way he came home every night with a stack of untouched flyers, it seemed like that was the case. It was almost sad how unprepared he was but Sapphron liked to think her brother was smarter than that and would first think of the necessities in things before jumping into them.
Well, it wasn't like he would've tried to become a hunter without any prior training or experience, right?
As if to prove her point, Jaune turned to her and shrugged. "I don't know. The knowledge that something out there is helping you or that there's a power out there you can believe in wholeheartedly?"
"Like Mom to her soap operas?" Sapphron shook the flyer in her hand. "I mean, if you're really serious about this than why did you choose a fairy tale of all things?"
"Uhm…" Jaune quickly glanced to Crocea Mors before shrugging. "It came to me in a dream?"
"And why the Two Brothers of all things? That will definitely draw away the female crowd." Sapphron paused for a moment in thought. "Or maybe not for a certain type."
"You got me there Saph." Jaune shook his head before suddenly glaring to Crocea Mors by his side. "What? How was I supposed to know you both didn't have any down there?"
Sapphron ignored the spectacle of Jaune arguing with the weapon. This new habit of his was somewhat worrisome and the family were close to staging an intervention but they instead decided to use the resources for that for Sapphron's going away fund which she didn't mind at all. If she could get herself a nicer apartment with Terra than Jaune could talk to his weapon as much as he wants. Besides, the twins had theorized Jaune was just jealous of how they both finished each other's sentences.
Better than calling it his babies or whatever. Now that was for full socially awkward weirdos.
She turned back to the flyer while Jaune turned back to the television blaring something about a Solar Eclipse later. While they've had their fair share of them, this one was being quite hyped up as it was a rare once in a century or moment when the moon's debris wasn't too far apart from each other and created a perfect circle. Although what did draw Sapphron's attention was the symbol on the flyer. It was oddly familiar and, knowing her brother, was downright plagiarized by something he had seen in the attic. After all, the only comic book characters he had come up with were knock-offs like Y-ray and Ziz.
"Hey, bro. Where'd you get this symbol anyways?"
"Uhh…someone told me about it."
"Weren't you the only one down there in the attic when you made it?"
"I meant, someone told me about it before and I realized it would be a great symbol for my religion." Jaune obviously lied which Sapphron let go. Whatever. Still, it was oddly…
"Ah!" Having an epiphany, the female Arc lifted a fist in the air, unintentionally also crumping the flyer Jaune had worked hard on in her hand. "Now, I remember! Wasn't this the same one on the old shrine out back?"
Being kids in a rural area, there was not much to do in Ansel except to explore the nearby forest. It a place that was surprisingly void of Grimm and the Arc siblings had used that for many a game of hide and seek. And, in the barest of Sapphron's memories, was a set of steps that led to an old abandoned shrine…or hobo shack. Hard to say with how dilapidated and overrun by nature it was.
Really, she only remembered it because she could never forget being dared by everyone else to go in only to be run away when she heard something moving nearby. That symbol had been the first thing she noticed before screaming and getting the dodge out of there.
Such a test of courage was an Arc sibling tradition, done when a sibling turned thirteen. No doubt Jaune must have stolen it from there when it was his turn, even unconsciously.
Sapphron turned back to the sofa, excited to explain to Jaune to what she found…only to find him missing. The family heirloom that had been next to him was missing as well. The wind coming in grabbed Sapphron's attention to see that the front door was now open, as if someone had fled and would definitely be punished for not closing it properly.
Could it be?
Meanwhile, Jaune, who had just gotten up to get a soda, bringing along with him Crocea Mors, froze. His eyes widened.
Of course! The old shrine out back! Maybe, that could give him a hint on what to do next!
He should definitely check that out…after he got his snack. No need to rush, it wasn't going anywhere.
Jaune brought his arm down once more, the sword in his hand cleaving through with little to no resistance. His sword that hadn't been once maintained throughout all those decades it hadn't been used was somehow as sharp as any other weapon.
A path of destruction was all that was left from his wake. His right arm was already aching just from holding up Crocea Mors, much less swinging it any longer. Yet it felt like he wasn't even half way through with his battle.
Willing his body to move, Jaune grit his teeth as he raised the sword once more and swung down, letting gravity help with powering its slice.
The tree branch fell, having been chopped off its owner. It joined the other various branches and shrubberies that Jaune has cut down as he made his way through one of Ansel's many backwoods.
Odd. It does seem like there truly aren't any Grimm here.
A voice spoke up in Jaune's head, its inflections almost synchronizing with the yellow glow of Crocea Mors. It was almost as if the weapon was talking but the sound didn't come from it.
"Well, yeah." The sole prophet replied, in between huffs. It was nice to be able to talk to the gods without anyone looking at him funny. "This part of the woods never had any Grimm. I think it's because no one lives here so nothing draws them in is what I heard."
While the Son of Man is right in one sense, he was also wrong in the other. The Grimm lands were teeming with Grimm and no one dared live there even if they wanted to. Either something is keeping the Grimm out...or eliminated them regularly.
This time the shield, still in its sheath mode hanging by his waist, glowed purple as the God of Darkness spoke up. Jaune found it unfair that he was the only one able to see these glows when they spoke up while the rest of his family couldn't
That must mean this shrine being devoted to us can hold some truth. Even now I feel a slight pull towards its direction.
No, that's just from all the swinging the human is doing. Well, even a base will do for now.
Indeed. We should've started with getting a shrine set up before recruitment. Rather than coming to the masses, they first need a place to know where to find us like of old.
"People used to do that?"
Back when we were still of this world, yes. The God of Light agreed. It was always odd that that initially brought me young sheep only to kill them in front of me. It took a while before the humans got that out of their system.
"And you did what they asked for? Wishes?"
While I am no Djinn, I did grant favors within reason. As long as it wasn't asking for much.
Which meant he never did. Interrupted the God of Darkness. Understand Son of Man that the age back then was when humans could still use magics of their own. You can only imagine the kind of requests mortals who could already control the elements would need a God for.
"Like what? Bringing back the dead?" A silence was the only reply Jaune receive, one he could tell was not from a lack of answer but forcibly given. As he cut down another branch, he changed the topic. "So, they went to both of you for favors, I think I get that. Was there a difference? Or just preference?
Silence was back only this time it was definitely the type where the God of Darkness didn't want to speak up. In his stead, the God of Light answered.
For whatever reason, my sibling resided in lands that were teeming with Grimm and dangerous obstacles so rarely would there be a person who'd come to him.
...few did. Only the most desperate. I only wanted to hear those that would dare traverse such lands to ask the favor of a God.
Still, Jaune thought, as he cut down a particularly thick foliage, it sounded much lonelier than necessary.
I can sense your rude thoughts, Son of Man.
Before Jaune could react, the purple light that enveloped his shield disappeared. He could almost imagine hearing a condescending "Hmph!".
Trying not to feel too bad about what he couldn't have prevented, Jaune shook his head and continued making a path through the overgrown forest. Of course, he wasn't just doing this for the exercise or needless destruction.
If he created a straight path here to the shrine then it would be easy for people to visit. Or, at least, that was the plan. As he swatted down another innocent tree branch, something the God of Darkness had mentioned popped up in his head.
"Hey, uh. God of Light?" He stopped mid-swing to address the sword, or the god in the sword. "You sure you're okay with this."
It is of no concern Jaune. Being trapped in a sword is not the same as having your body trapped in a swinging device. There are no organs that trigger nausea or anything that would simulate the feeling of being dizzy. As I am, I am just a sword. It is still quite refreshing to have been awoken after so long."
Jaune couldn't even begin to wrap his head around the idea. Even if he imagined it, he still would think of it as his body substituting for his weapon with his torso for the blade. Or would that be his legs? His arms?
"Also, is it really okay if I use you like this?" 'This' being a glorified hedge trimmer. "Your power won't run out?"
I suppose it is a good time to bring it up. My brother's spell had connected all three of us together. You now only have the slimmest amounts of what you humans call aura as it had used up your future potential reserves as well.
"Like...time travel?"
Not entirely. Whether you die today or in the next century, you humans have potential. That was tapped into to not only reawaken me but also to link all three of us together. To put it plainly, it was as if you traded your ability to ever drive one of those automobiles to walk alongside my brother and I.
"So, I lost all of this aura, right?" Whatever that was. "I can't use it?"
That you still have it is part of our connection. However, it is rather minimal. I believe you should be able to take exactly one hit before it breaks, no matter how strong or how weak the blow is.
"Huh."
So, a onetime save? Jaune could live with that. Who needed a force field when he had a shield anyways? Putting aside any of his other worries, Jaune continued his "gardening" while the God of Light quieted down, perhaps to conserve energy.
After around an hour what felt like a full work-out, Jaune had never been so glad to see a set of stairs, forgetting entirely that he still had to climb it. His arm was numb, he was breathing heavily, and his heart felt like it was about to explode out of his chest. Thankfully, he had only come in his trademark Pumpkin Pete hoodie and jeans.
He'd probably have fainted half way if he had tried on some armor. Maybe he should have listened to all those times his sisters told him to start training if he wanted to be a Hunstman?
However, just as Jaune was about to face plant himself on the steps, he felt his body freeze. Not from the muscle failure, but from a soft sound.
Ring.
It sounded like a bell.
Something is there.
The God of Darkness spoke up, having come back from his exile. Jaune felt it too. An overpowering stare that threatened and pushed down on his whole being. And it was coming from above.
Feeling the tire in his body be replaced by wary and worry, Jaune looked up. More on instinct, his shield was out and raised.
At the top of the steps stood a beast he had never seen before. Its light grey body was almost as tall as he was even if it was just sitting up on its hind, with the front right foot propped up on a large marble ball the size of his head. Its legs were muscular, each one looking as thick as a tree trunk. He'd have called it a lion but it looked too fierce to be one with the head resembling closer to the dragons he'd seen in picture books.
But what really drew his breath were the flames. The mane and tale curled like white hot fire. They shifted in place as if they were live flames. Even its hot breath created steam, it's large muscular chest softly moving the golden bell attached to a gold necklace it wore.
On instinct, he knew this was what had always scared his sisters when they went up here. Not just them...possibly even the Grimm. While it sat there regally, watching him with a judging stare, Jaune knew it could pounce on him on a moment's notice, crushing his skull with one swipe of its paws.
He tried, out of pure self-preservation, to raise his sword once more but his arm, having never swung a sword in his life, was practically numb after all that forest slashing. He could've switched it to his other hand but knew having a working arm hold up his heavier shield was more important.
At least, his mouth was still working.
"That's..."
...Not a Grimm.
Jaune's eyes widened at the God of Darkness' words. That thing, the beast before him, wasn't a Grimm!? Just what were they feeding the animals here in Ansel!? He knew he was in the right when told his mom they shouldn't have started to use those super fertilizers that made larger crops! Now they created large flame lions!
All for what, mom? Larger than usual tomatoes!? He preferred them cherry sized, thank you.
W-well, he had two (depowered) gods, right? There was no way he'd lose...probably.
With what he hoped was an impressive stance, Jaune raised the sword in one hand to awkwardly tap his shield in the other. He hoped it would show dominance, that there was no need to fight.
That only had the flame beast get up from its resting position on all fours, its tail of white blue flames even more apparent now. The rest of its body lacked fur so the tensing of powerful muscles underneath grey smooth skin was apparent. Even nature itself seemed to hold its breath, as the wind dramatically stopped.
...Welp, it was a good life.
Jaune raised the shield before him, closing his eyes and bracing for the impact of death.
He waited...and waited...any time now.
When his bones still weren't crushed, Jaune dared to open his eyes to see the beast still up there, still watching him, before, finally, turning around and walking back to the shrine.
"Is it...not going to attack?" Jaune asked warily, peeking out from over his shield to the now absent beast.
I believe it means you no harm for now. Rather than an attacker, that animal felt more like a guardian.
If it wanted us destroyed, Son of Man, it would have done so without revealing itself.
Both made a fairly good point, the God of Darkness even more so with how monstrous the thing looked. So, with his past fatigue behind him and also thanks to a healthy dose of not wanting to keep the thing waiting, Jaune made his way up the long set of stairs.
When he finally got to the top, the beast was nowhere to be seen with only the image of the old Shrine entering his view.
The Shrine was still as rundown as it was in Jaune's memories, maybe even more so, as he walked up to the entrance. It was probably mostly red like the pictures he's seen of such in his Minstralian comics but time and overgrown moss could only leave him guessing. The pointed roof had holes where sunlight seeped through. The building was, at least, rather tall, something definitely majestic in its heyday.
When he finally reached the main entrance, the doors were already open, if they had ever been closed. The wooden sliding double doors were wrapped in moss and vines, another hint that they had been open for a long while now, possibly even since the last time he's been there.
He couldn't remember if he ever closed the things during his test of courage.
The main building of the shrine was really just one large area. The holes on the roof provided great illumination to what was on the ground, a large image of the symbol Jaune had made up back when he had first met the two Gods.
A large Yin Yang sign was sprawled across the ground.
The large bicolored sphere drew his attention the most as there wasn't anything else that could really be called worth looking at. On one wall was a large board with nails sticking out of it. There were a few pieces of wood hanging from it but it was mostly worn down and clearly needed replacement. The walls of the shrine didn't hold any images and if they did, they had faded long over time.
At least the colors of the four central pillars were still there, although that may have been just from their build of presumably marble and obsidian with two white and the two others black.
Jaune made his way to the center of the shrine, right at the center of the symbol on the floor, but glancing around it really was just empty. No doubt robbers, animals, or just the simple passage of time had ridden of anything inside.
Was this really going to be his new base?
"So, you guys can't just use magic to fix this place up?" He asked his weapons hopefully.
If we had more power, perhaps. But for now the best we could do is glow, replied the God of Light. I'll admit it does need some work.
Are you kidding? This is already better than any shrine I had.
May I remind you, brother, that you didn't have a shrine. Just the landscape of destroyed earth.
There was a pause and Jaune had the oddest feeling if his shield could shrug it would. Still, this didn't exactly fill him with confidence.
Perhaps jumping into this whole prophet thing without much thought was a bad idea?
Jaune!
Behind you!
Two voices yelled in his head and, more in instinct than practice, Jaune turned around, barely avoided tripping over his feet, and raised his shield to meet face to face with the beast he saw earlier.
It was close, barely a few feet away. There was no time to attack to defend. He might as well have been already dead.
However, the large beast, instead of raising a claw or leaping at him, simply lowered its head to drop something by Jaune's feet. Something dark shaped like a rectangle besides the slightly larger triangle on the top.
Jaune held up his weapons, unsure of what to do and hoping he could catch any sudden attacks. The beast stood unmoving, never having moved after having dropped whatever it was. It almost felt like it was waiting. Waiting for him.
After another tense minute, the Arc swallowed.
"I…I think I have a bad idea."
Slowly, Jaune started to crouch, never once taking his eyes off the monster. Leaning down he took the piece of wood with his free hand, his shield strapped to his arm. He then held it up to give it a good look. The paper pasted to it was faded yellow but, somehow, the words written in thick dark black ink was still as clear as ever.
Please protect the shrine.
After taking a few seconds to digest what he read, Jaune looked up from the wood and to the towering beast before him. For the first time since they met, Jaune didn't feel any fear from it. It all seemed to click in to place.
This was a promise made with someone.
Someone had written this down as a wish and the creature before him had enrolled itself to do so. This had been a shrine after all, a place where people prayed and entrusted their wishes to.
"You...you've been doing this the whole time."
A mighty nod.
For a second, Jaune could look past his terror and see the beast for what it was, a guardian of the shrine. A place that not even the Grimm dared to thread. Past its aura of power, he could see multiple scars and scratches that littered its body. Just how long had this been there?
"And now..." Jaune took a glance back down to read the words once more before looking back up. "You're entrusting this to me...to us?"
No reply this time. The beast just watched Jaune it's body as still as a statue besides it's flowing fiery hair.
Jaune considered for a moment. The guardian in front of him was strong, it radiated power. No Grimm existed in the forest either due to its actions or just from the pure aura of it. And here he was, already exhausted from just making his way over here from just cutting down tree branches.
The differences between the two were too obvious.
"And you think it'd be okay?"
Again, no reply. It seemed the beast wouldn't make the choice for him.
If he accepted this now, there was no turning back anymore. He wouldn't be able to quit or change his mind like his previous trivialities. Because if he agreed to hold onto this, then he'd be taking over the promise on the wooden plaque.
And an Arc never goes back on their word.
But then again...hadn't he already pledged himself when he met those two Gods? Wasn't this everything he wanted to be?
A poet? He'd make his own bible.
Musician? He'd make his own hymns.
Huntsman? When wasn't there Grimm to deal with it?
In the end, one factor was what decided it: That this chance was thrust upon him in the first place.
His family was supportive, sure, but in a way that they knew he wouldn't be able to accomplish something. They'd accept what he wanted to do but there was never any support, just the knowing looks that he'd be right back where he went.
The two gods entrusted him with a mission, more forced out of circumstance than anything. They didn't really have a choice at this point. He was sure if they weren't powerless, they wouldn't be here with him.
Friends...what friends?
The sad truth of Jaune Arc's life was that this was the first time anyone had believed he could do anything. And it took a giant muscular monster to do it. Did it say he could do it? No. But it had offered the chance for him to prove himself which was more than anyone had ever expected of him.
And Jaune wasn't going to let it down.
"I'll do it."
Roar!
The guardian beast threw its head back to let out a loud bellow. It wasn't the primal beastly roar Jaune expected but it sounded closer to the sound of a gong being struck, an echo stretched out by the deep clanging of bells.
The beast gave one last look at Jaune, eyes like marble filled with expectation before it went back to the pose it had made when he had first seen it: back straight as it sat up, with one paw on the ball it carried with it.
Amazingly, its skin, which shone with a grey luster, started to turn darker and it was only after a few moments, when even its glowing mane darkened, did Jaune realize what was happening. Its expression hardened, not from any facial movements, but from the tip of its face to every muscle on its body turning into a dark grey stone.
However, as the beast turned more and more inanimate, the orb it held on its paw started to grow brighter and brighter. It was as if it was absorbing all color, all life, from the turning creature. When the process had almost finished, when all that was left was a fantastical statue, the light coming from the orb was already glowing brighter than the sunlight leaking above.
Could this be?
It seems so. With this much power, we may at least regain our forms.
"Wait, so you could use whatever that is?" Jaune spoke up. "So, you guys will have bodies now?"
Would that mean he'd lose his weapons? Or have to carry them around?
Ha-ha! Be honored, Son of Man. For once, the God of Darkness actually sounded excited. Jaune would dare think of it as joy. You will be the first in millennia to witness our godly containers. Just to warn you, I may not hold back and just unleash my dragon form right here.
Brother, we do not want to destroy the shrine. The God of Light sounded more restrained but Jaune could easily pick up the pure relief in his voice. Jaune Arc, please allow us to touch the orb.
Jaune had no reason to deny their request. If what they had told them was true, they had been locked into his family heirlooms for what sounded like centuries. Did his family really go back that far?
Anyways, the light from the orb was starting to hurt his eyes so Jaune complied. He raised up the still sheathed sword with one arm and the other to shield him from the obnoxious luminosity.
He then lightly tapped the end of the sheath of Crocea Mors to the orb.
Jaune wasn't prepared to be blown back by a sudden force that could have rivaled a bomb. He didn't even have time to realize his aura had activated to protect him, immediately breaking from the force created. His whole body was knocked of its feet and landed with a thud.
He hadn't even noticed how the shrine had started to darken. Up above the streams of sunlight were softening as, unbeknownst to Jaune, the time for the solar eclipse had arrived.
All across the planet, people looked into the sky to see darkness creep up on the bright ball in the sky, light only being able to escape from its edges. After a few more moments, the dark circle centered in front of the sun, as if it was only a single holy ring that lit up the sky.
As the whole Arc family looked up at rare phenomenon, Sapphron had to wonder where her brother was. His specially made eclipse viewing glasses, framed with butterflies and glitter, were on the table unused.
As all of Remnant looked up at the sky, no one, not even the people at Ansel, noticed the explosion of light that escaped upwards from the nearby forest up to the total solar eclipse above. The beam swirled a color of purple and yellow, shooting up into the sky as if to reach out to escape the planet and reach the heavenly bodies themselves.
None were able to witness the event that happened in the small shrine which was more monumental than even the one above.
Not the Wizard in his chair.
Not the Witch in her castle.
Only one.
Jaune Arc stood up, his body aching. His back hurt like it had been smashed through a table. Still, such things didn't matter as he got up and witnessed the tower of spiraling dualities rushing into the sky. His blonde hair was blown back by the wind but his feet stayed firm as he made his way close to it. He didn't have to move far as it had taken up the whole space the yin yang symbol did.
His blue eyes stayed high above, almost as if, on instinct, he knew that something was coming. Maybe it was the way he was linked to them or maybe it was that he had been created by them but Jaune knew he was meant to witness this.
The Return of the Gods.
When the swirling lights started to slow down, Jaune held his breath. His eyes widened as he waited to bear witness to what a true god looked like.
Finally, the tower dissipated into a brilliant shower of glowing particles, both gold and violet. Jaune looked up the space above, breath still bated, to see what had happened.
He only found empty space.
Still holding his breath (and getting slightly dizzy from it), he turned his head left and right to see if he missed them. Even from the giant hole that the pillar had punched through the shrine's roof, the sky was oddly missing what Jaune assumed to be godly beings.
Maybe, it was because they were already godly that he couldn't comprehend them? Something like they'd be too much for his mortal form to comprehend?
Jeez, he really should've brought those Eclipse glasses.
Just as he was about to faint from lack of oxygen, a shrill shriek from below made Jaune gasp in surprise.
He turned to the sound of the voice to see a sight even odder than the Shrine Beast, the large pillar of swirling light, and when Sapphron tried to cook.
"Oww…"
"Just…what is this stinging sensation?"
At the center of the shrine, the middle of the now visible Yin-Yang symbol, were two girls unceremoniously sprawled across the floor. Jaune would guess a little younger than him, looking around the same as his sisters did in phots when they were thirteen to fourteen.
One had short dark auburn hair matched with soft red eyes. She wore a loose white garb that resembled a simple summer dress. On her arms were absurdly loose white sleeves that reached to her wrists. Wrapped by her shoulders was a long pale cloth that ended with bronze armaments. The oddest part was the large mirror hanging by her neck along with the golden headdress that bore the symbol of the sun on her forehead.
She looked to be having a hard time breathing.
The other had long flowing inky black hair, much darker than the others. She wore a dark once piece dress with pale gold highlights thought it was hard to notice with how translucent white cloth layered over it, held up by an obsidian chest plate with two red tassels. She too wore absurdly loose sleeves, black gold highlights that matched her dress. However, the bottom of those sleeves was cut up to look like black tendrils for whatever reason. Over her head was a silver halo that didn't look to be suspended by anything.
She also looked to not know how to breath, with there were inconsistent gasps of air in between moments of stillness.
He blankly stared at them, not knowing what to think or feel as he watched both girls struggle to even get up on their hands and knees. It looked like they didn't even know how to stand.
Either as an answer sent from the literal heavens or as a giant fuck you, a paper floated down from the sky and levitated before Jaune.
He held it in both hands as he read it.
Yahello, descendent!
It seems you have stumbled upon my biggest blunder. LOL
This is Laety~
So, I, like, was just minding my own business when I stumbled upon this cave. It was wicked wrecked up shop. Seemed like a hobo was living here. Yuck, right?
Those two wanted to end the world but I was, like, no way, I had a date with this cute guy next week.
Long story short (I seriously hope you guys don't need to write in your time. Hurts my wrist like hezz), anyways, I sealed them up with some stuff because you can't just end the world right before a girl gets busy, right? Downright rude
Anywayzz, if you're reading this, then that means you have reached the Arc Shrine. Upon certain conditions (Feeding a ton of souls, blocking out the sun), the seal will allow them to have bodies.
But, like, human bodies.
This is in the hopes that one day they can look past their own faceless faces and see things from our mortal sides. Yellow can only come out in the morning while Darky is at night unless the eclipse is still up. Something about compatibility?
Also, you could use the shrine to power them up. Just, like, fulfill requests on the bulletin board and they should be able to absorb that Faith stuff.
Or not. Like, I don't care.
I'm dead by the time you're reading this.
Anyways, do what you want, kay? I'm seriously done with all this shrine maiden stuff.
Maybe I'll become a huntress.
Ciao~
P.S. If you are reading this, then I totes succeeded in my date and was able to get the bloodline continued. Score!
Finishing reading the letter, Jaune averted his gaze back to who were supposedly the creator gods of his world.
"Why do I feel so…limited?"
"To go from infinite to this form…"
Both seemed to have adapted rather quickly from "just functional enough to continue living" to "Looking like they wanted to stop living". The one with shorter hair was staring at her shaking hands with a face of absolute shock while the one with longer hair was as still as a statue but her hollow emerald eyes showed just how the very idea had burned any light within.
Before Jaune could say anything else or even feel anything about the situation, another slip of paper floated down.
Also, like don't die. There will be things out there to kill the three of you.
…maybe, it wasn't too late to start that dance troupe.
"I think I understand the situation now." The short haired girl, who turned out to be the God of Light, nodded her head, a small frown on her face. "To think it wasn't as easy as we'd thought it'd be."
"You humans are too wily." The long-haired girl, the God of Darkness, frowned as she crossed her arms. "To think we'd be stuck in these."
"So, you guys, uh, girls, really have bodies?" Jaune asked. Right now, all three of them were sitting cross-legged at the center of the shrine. Jaune had just explained what he had read on the letter which the two took surprisingly well.
"Why are you girls anyways? Aren't you "Brothers." Jaune paused for a moment before waving his hands in front of him. "Not that there is anything wrong with that.
"The term brothers was just something we picked up from you humans," answered the God of Darkness. "In truth, we never had what you mortals call sexual organs as that would imply the need for offspring or to pass ourselves on. Our very being was already perfect as it was so there was never any need."
"It is as my brother, or now, sister says. This must be your descendant's doing." The other sibling nodded before lightly patting her self on various places. "If it helps, this body seems to lack what you mortals call a penis just as my previous body did. Although it does seem to have a- "
"Stop!" Jaune held up a hand, his cheeks lightly red. The girl just tilted her head innocently. "You're telling me you're really, uh, real?"
"Somewhat. Watch this, Jaune." Jaune turned to the God of Light as her body started to glow into a singular color before it dissolved, leaving only a familiar sword. Before Jaune could express his surprise, the sword started to glow the same before turning back to the young girl.
The God of Light held out her arm, as if admiring it. "Currently, our bodies are actually made of your aura boosted by the bit of Faith that Guardian beast had given us. It has the same functions as any female body it just also…isn't."
"And it sounds like we can only do it during certain states of day," spoke up the God of Darkness. She turned above to the hole where the eclipse was finishing up. "It seems this body will be fading soon as it is still technically day."
If Jaune could recall, the Tale of Two Brothers went that the God of Light created in the day while the God of Darkness destroyed it all at night. Was that part of the fairy tale somehow related?
"Anyways," the God of Light coughed into her fist before turning to Jaune with a crimson stare. "This does not change anything Jaune. We will use this shrine as our base and, as the letter said, gather faith."
A small hand pointed to the board Jaune had seen earlier.
"Those must be the requests she was talking about." The God of Light closed her eyes and nodded to herself for a moment before turning them back to Jaune. "After we get this shrine fixed up, you and I are going to go out and promote the shrine when the sun is still up."
"Okay." Jaune nodded at that. At least that meant he didn't have to be by himself anymore when he handed out flyers.
"Also, you may call me Light so as not to confuse the citizens." She stood up, patting a hand on the mirror that covered her chest then reaching it out to him.
"Sure, Light." Jaune received her hand with his own and shook it down once. In a way, this felt like meeting the Gods again. Maybe because he could actually see a face now.
However, instead of letting go once they were done, the God in a girl just stared at their hands that were still locked.
"Uh," Jaune awkwardly spoke up seeing as she didn't look to be letting go any time soon. "What's wrong."
"It's just…your hand is quite large Jaune," she simply replied. It was true, his hand enveloped her tiny one. Finally, she let go. Her expression was contemplative. "How odd."
Not knowing what to say to that, he then offered the hand to her sibling.
"What about- "
"That sort of thing is not my type, Son of Man," replied the God of Darkness. "If you so need it, you can call me Darkness."
"Darkness then." Jaune nodded, pulling back his hand to his side. She nodded before giving him a hard stare…which she didn't seem to be stopping
"What's wrong now?"
"You're too tall," was the blunt reply. Well, he was almost twice as tall as them. He remembered how much all his sisters complained when he had finally, finally, hit that growth spurt a few months back.
"Uhh…thanks?"
"Hmph." As if giving up on that front, the pale girl who happened to be a God sat back down. "That last note is something we should be concerned about. When sun sets, we shall do training here, Son of Man."
Before anything else could be said, the form disappeared, not in a shower of light, but in a portal of purple murky darkness. All that was left was a familiar shield in its sheath form.
It wasn't like Jaune was going to say no to being trained by a god. Today had showed him just how weak he's been. He wouldn't be able to keep his promise with the beast if he stayed this way after all. At the very least, he should be able to get to the shrine without losing all his breath.
If it wanted to, he would have died.
Speaking of which,
"Hey Light. What did they mean by enemies? Is that just for the Grimm?"
"I see. You have not realized yet, Jaune. You see, even if we created this land, that does not mean we are the only gods dwelled within it." The girl's eyes met his own. There was an odd lack of luster in those red pools. "Did you think humans couldn't create their own gods as well? Creation is quite something. In fact, I do feel a bit of my power has returned to show you."
"Then you can help fix this place up?" Jaune excitedly asked. This wouldn't just save him a lot of time but it was pretty cool to finally see some godly powers up close.
"Actually, I may just have enough power to…"
Closing her eyes, the girl held her hands before her, palms faced down. In a second there was a flash, and two long objects appeared in her grasp.
"Here."
Jaune took the object without a word, jaw still on the floor from having witnessed magic for the first time. It was long, hard, and rather sturdy with one end heavier than the other.
It was a broom.
"This reminds me of the old days when I'd wake up to find everything I created destroyed." The girl that was now definitely one of the creator gods of Remnant puffed up her chest in pride, hands at her side with one hand holding her own broom. "You could say I'm quite good at cleaning things up."
Jaune wanted to ask more but the goddess was already off to one section to sweep up the dust. The Arc only had to glance up, at the huge hole on the ceiling, to know his true battle started now.
He sighed and began to work.
The floor wasn't going to sweep itself after all. Unfortunately.
Sisters! Sisters! The seal! They have been-
We know, Brother. The seal that had long since shielded those two away from our wrath has been undone.
If it wasn't for that pesky mortal, they would have been defeated and we'd have the Grand Authority of the planet by now.
Does that even matter? No one believes in those two anymore. Even their True Names had been long since buried behind fairy tales of feuding siblings.
Indeed, Sister. Even the spirits and phenomenon gather more faith than they. Even their own creations have grown their own Authority.
"Their", you say? The Grimm have long since become our own. They do not cull to destroying those under our Authority but only the humans those two had created.
Then what are we waiting for? Let us all now go and crush those two while they are still weak!
It is because they are weak, we shouldn't attack, Brother. They would be too busy trying to regain their power while we can plot behind the scenes.
That's right, Sister. Even giving a mortal's lifetime, they will still be too weak to face us. To truly destroy those two, we need to destroy the bastions of their powers before they could get to them. It is a shame even we can not get to them.
That damn Wizard... how goes that Witch's plots? I admit I still do not trust her. She has after all, held an Authority of Goddess in the past. Who knows if-
She still foolishly believes she could summon those two, nothing more. When she has gathered them all up for us, we shall swoop them away and take the power for our own. Or destroy them if needed.
That will be the end of those two. And it is about time that we correct that Witch on what being a true Immortal means.
So, for now, do we do nothing then? And if the others hear about them?
We are only after the relics. It wouldn't be sporting to not let them have their fun. Besides, if those two could eliminate the competition for us, then all the better.
AN: We're back baby! Hopefully no yearly updates anymore. I kinda realized it would be boring to have them be just observers/commenators so here we go. Time for some initial development.
I actually have an outline this time for, at least, two arcs before canon Vol 1. Jaune's still 15 so we have time. Honestly, I was hoping to wait for a more knowledge of the Relics but fuck it we could do some original arcs before we get to Beacon. If ever.
The Gods' human forms are based on Amaterasu and Tsukiyomi from Shadowverse/Rage of Bahamut. Honestly, I just really liked their designs enough I wanted to use them somewhere so here we are.
RWBY 7 ep 1 is also fucking hype but I know this dance by now. So were the other volumes at the beginning. This time I'm just going to enjoy the ride and ignore all the flaws (if they can be)