A.N. (4/3/23) - First chapter of April, here's your scheduled Monday release chapter!


Atlas (17) - Dream

She was floating.

Even though she was falling, she was floating at the same time. The world passed by in a blur leaving details behind as her mind failed to comprehend them. On instinct, her sense of self began to settle as her surroundings slowly shifted into a recognizable form.

A place with no sense of top or bottom.

A realm without heaven or earth.

A blue celestial sphere.

It was peaceful. The shape remained undisturbed and complete. Even as time passed outside and was filled by this blue sea, there was nothing inside the celestial sphere. Like the hanged man, it was a viewpoint that was reversed from the norm. From the perspective of the outer sea, the celestial sphere represented the boundless sky.

World Egg.

The center of this world. In alchemy, an egg represents the hidden meaning of the world as well as the soul. Swapping the exterior and the interior, this inversion of everything was a sight truly indescribable unless one witnessed it personally. And within that blue sea, multiple things swam through it. Her consciousness naturally drew the attention of the ones closest to her, and she felt information pass through her as well as something else.

It was a familiar sensation.

Supposedly, it was because she carried a Magic Crest. The deep feeling of disgust as if a part of her arm was constantly tingling. A persistent discomfort that would plague her for the rest of her life in exchange for the benefits it brought. Her eye was the same, one more tool that came with its own set of side effects due to its foreign nature.

Because of that, as well as a combination of multiple other factors, she found herself seeing a vision. Or rather, she supposed it could be called an old memory that was not her own.

While it was not unusual to see visions at the depths of one's mind when in a sympathized state, this was something else. The lines of her Magic Crest swam around her until an illusion began to form at the forefront of her consciousness.

And thus, she saw the truth.

Darkness swallowed everything as a black shadow attempted to paint over the planet's texture. It was indiscriminate in what it covered, and she was no exception. Even though there was no escape, someone reached out to her in a vain attempt at safety.

Hope.

A distorted fragment beyond anything that she could imagine on her own. It was a glimpse into the past that was blocked off by the taboo within herself. Going through the memories of her mind by using her crest as a medium to prevent the curse of coercion from activating.

But it was not enough. The curse instantly flared as it noticed this attempt at subverting its role, and she felt something stab at her mind as her consciousness abruptly cut off.

}-{

Rin woke up with a start.

Her body felt exhausted and only her mind remained clear. The fact that she retained awareness of what occurred while she was asleep didn't alarm her. After all, this was not the first time she had that vivid dream. One could even say that this was the result of her magecraft hacking, something that she had poured her efforts into over the past four months.

And yet, she still failed in the end.

"Dreaming is a privilege of the living, so I suppose I should count myself lucky that I'm able to get this far."

Those words were a reminder to herself that what she attempted to do still had consequences. If she messed up the spell formula or calculations, the curse would have instantly killed her and made all of her precautions and safeguards worth nothing. Ideally, she would have the aid of another magus watching over her while she did this. But if that were the case, then it would have been more efficient to simply connect her magic circuits with them to multiply the speed of calculations.

In the end, intervention through magecraft was not her specialty. The techniques that defined such a field come from various thaumaturgical systems that she had no time to invest in. Unless she was one of those geniuses from the Atlas Institute, there was a limit to how much she was capable of achieving.

"And yet, I finally found a clue that may tell me how I came here."

A Noble Phantasm.

She couldn't explain it, but Rin felt like she desperately had to discover the origins of where it came from. It was an irregularity to this world just like her, and the chances that they originated from the same place were too high to dismiss. If she managed to figure out how it came to this world, then maybe she could discover the reason why she was here as well.

This was the first clue that she had encountered during the two and a half years since she woke up in this world. Desperate couldn't describe the full depth of her emotions, and it was probably more accurate to call it an obsession at this point.

Rin needed to find Jax Asturias no matter what.

Straightening her back, she stood up from the seat where she slept and walked toward the cockpit where Ironwood was.

"You're awake?" Ironwood gruffed. "I assume that you're well rested by now?"

"More or less," Rin replied. "How far away are we from Argus?"

"We should be reaching the city soon. Remember that we're avoiding the usual flight routes, so we'll have to land a small distance away from the city. Once we arrive, however, you can take the lead and direct us to where we need to go."

The decision to come to Argus happened yesterday while they were hashing out plans with the others. While Marrow would investigate Amoncio Glass with Pietro as support, the two of them were going to learn more about the Crown and its members. For that, Rin offered up a solution of how they could get more information about them, necessitating that they had to go to Argus.

Since only Ironwood knew her true nature, it was natural that the two of them would pair off on this side quest.

"I understand that your 'source' is being held at your place," Ironwood began. "But I was under the impression that you had moved everything you needed to Atlas when you transferred over months ago."

"Well, it's not exactly easy to transport a person without anyone noticing."

Marcus Black.

To be honest, she regretted the fact that she had ignored him for so long. Her impulsive decision to capture him and experiment on his Semblance all those months ago had yet to pay off, even more so when she later decided to move to Atlas full-time until the city repairs were done.

But now, the two of them were here to interrogate him for information about the Crown. After all, he was the first person Rin had met who exhibited the traits of someone empowered by them.

"Just a reminder, I'll have to key you into my workshop's security system before we go in so that they don't perceive you as a threat and attempt to liquify your organs or something."

"Please tell me you're joking."

"If you think that's crazy, wait until I tell you some of my stories about when I used to go ruin diving."

Ironwood didn't press, which disappointed her somewhat. It was rare that she got to share her past exploits without having to worry about someone discovering her secret. Only Pyrrha had the opportunity to hear such tales, and that hadn't lasted long once she learned that Rin would be moving to Atlas.

Speaking of Pyrrha…

"Have you heard any news about the Vytal Festival?"

"The attack seemed to affect preparations for the Amity launch, but it seems that it should be leaving on schedule this week," Ironwood informed. "One of my secure channels informed me that the other council members are pushing to advance the launch date though. It's still up in the air at the moment, and I'm not certain whether the Mistral Council is getting involved or not."

She had asked because Pyrrha was supposed to be in Mistral at that moment. The red-haired girl was going to be training to relearn all of her skills now that she no longer had the support of her Semblance. After so long, Pyrrha seemed excited again at the prospect of facing off against so many opponents now that she was supposedly on equal terms without her 'cheat'.

That did mean the two had fewer opportunities to talk with one another, but the two frequently conversed through messages and calls whenever they were both free. Other than Terra, Pyrrha was the only other friend that she maintained contact with over the past few years.

"We're touching down."

The aircraft they were traveling in slowly descended, and the two exited a few minutes later. Taking their time, they traversed through the forest until they came upon what appeared to be a hiking trail. Using her knowledge of the local topography, Rin took the lead and had them enter a side entrance into the city where their arrival wouldn't draw much suspicion.

Argus was on the road to recovery.

Most of the buildings were no longer damaged, and there were barely any signs of what took place all those months ago. People were walking on the streets again with no fear in their steps, which probably had to do with the occasional patrolling soldier posted around every other corner or so. Rin watched fondly as a young couple held hands with a young girl she presumed was their daughter as they stopped at an ice cream vendor. It was these small insignificant moments that she missed, and only now that she returned did she witness it once again.

"It's good to see that our troops are maintaining the peace," Ironwood muttered. "But then again, it should be easy with no real threats to face. Once we are done with the current situation, I might pay my respects to Specialist Cordovin for performing so well after returning to her post."

The citywide bounded field was still holding strong according to her senses, preventing Grimm from easily entering and maintaining her hold over the territory. Even now, Rin could feel the land reacting to her reappearance as mana soaked her circuits and rejuvenated her. Since this was the place where she invested most of her thaumaturgical foundation, she was experiencing the full benefits of the leylines and ambient mana.

"Hm?" It was then that she finally noticed something wrong. "General, it appears that we might have to take a detour for a moment."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not entirely sure yet." She took out a pendant from the pocket inside her mystic code and allowed the chain to stretch. "If I have to explain it, the flow of magical energy feels weird. Give me a second to observe it and I might give you more details."

The pendant shook slightly.

Rin frowned. "Weird, it should be swaying more with the ebb and flow of the earth. If it's this unresponsive, something might be wrong with the city."

"Everything looks normal to me."

"Trust me, you can't get this kind of reaction unless there's a problem with the land."

Holding the pendant close to eye level, she closed her eyes and concentrated her attention on it.

Focus, she told herself. Make yourself as small as possible and stretch your senses to the extreme. Reinforce the image of the circuitry between the sacrum and the fifth cervical bone. Compress your sense of self and let your consciousness fill the world. Allow the magical energy to flow through your blood and into the nervous system.

Her eyepatch revealed itself as she shifted her vision to a different channel, and she opened her eyelids to view the world.

A trail of light shone within her sight.

"This way."

Ironwood followed her without question, and the two took a different path as they exited the main road and went into a more secluded area. Already, Rin could feel the difference in the air as a desolate feeling began to creep into her mind.

"What is this…?"

Even Ironwood felt that something was unusual with the area as they came upon an unfamiliar place. Rin did not recognize where they arrived but spotted a lone figure attending the place.

It was a man sweeping the ground. His appearance suggested nothing special, but the look of sorrow on his face was obvious to anyone that looked at him. Seeing no other choice, Rin went toward him before clearing her throat. Just in case, she also reapplied the illusion around her eyepatch even as she continued using the mystic eye.

"Excuse me, what is this place?"

He looked up. "Are you from out of town?"

"I used to live here a few months ago. But after what happened…"

"Say no more." He nodded, already understanding. "Well, I guess you wouldn't know then. As to your question, I suppose you would call this a place of remembrance of the fallen. But put it in simpler terms, most could call this a cemetery."

"But where are the headstones?"

The man shook his head. "There aren't any. Before you ask, I have no idea why that's the case. You'd think that we'd want to remember all those who lost their lives in that tragedy, but weirdly enough, it was a unanimous decision to have it this way."

Ironwood joined the conversation. "Are you the grave keeper of this place?"

"I suppose you can call me that. It's mostly a voluntary position, although there is someone else hired to maintain the place." The man gave Ironwood a curious look. "You look military. Did you come from Atlas?"

"Yes," Ironwood replied. "We're doing a follow-up on the restoration efforts to help the city recover. After this, we'll be submitting a report to the council to let them know that things are looking better."

"I see." He glanced at Rin. "Although I wouldn't expect someone so young to be part of this job."

"She's a huntress-in-training."

It was a lie, but the other man seemed to accept it. "Fine, then I won't bother you any longer unless you have any more questions."

"No, we're fine. Apologies for taking your time."

He shrugged and went back to sweeping. Rin and Ironwood waited until he was far away enough that they wouldn't be overheard before they spoke.

"Did you figure out what's wrong yet?"

"I think so," Rin answered. "The biggest clue is the fact that there aren't any graves here."

"Is that important?"

"Graves are a form of giving form to the idea of death in our world. It defines the idea that there might be a realm beyond life, and that we would eventually start on the journey to death. You could view death as the process of going to another world, a world that people define as the land of the dead." She paused. "In other words, graves are a path to another world."

"Are you saying that the underworld is real?"

Rin shook her head. "Not exactly. It's more like graves are an extension of the underworld itself, although it might have a different meaning to the one you're imagining. Because death is a concept that we cannot truly understand until we experience it, graves are a link between this world and the next. You could call them doors, or probably windows to perceive death."

"So what does that mean? How does having a graveless cemetery affect things?"

"It's not my field of specialty, but I suppose it might affect the local spirits somewhat."

"Are you talking about ghosts?"

"Yes, they exist. Rather than being the souls of the deceased, think of them as the memory left behind that is inscribed upon the world. Most of the time, they dissipate quickly. But every now and then, you get exceptions where spirits linger longer than most."

"So this place is haunted?"

"A little bit of yes and a little bit of no."

"Care to clarify?"

"I'm just as confused as you are. But if you're asking if it's a problem right now, then I'd lean more toward a 'no'. It's not like there's a dangerous spirit on the loose or anything. The only issue is that this place feels weird and that it makes people creeped out."

He sighed. "So we came all this way for nothing?"

"No." Rin deactivated her mystic eye. "It means I'll have to look into it later. But for now, we can continue with our original objective. Sorry for the detour."

The two left the park, not realizing that had Rin observed longer she would have noticed which direction the flow of magical energy was going. Even then, it would have likely taken her a few hours to determine for certain, but had she noticed she would have not been so quick to leave this matter alone.

After all, the flow of magical energy was being directed toward the direction of Sanctum Academy.


This chapter is mostly to set things up for the future, although I guess it's mostly filler for now. Most of the things introduced here won't pay off until the next arc, but I will give a hint and say that it's related somewhat to what's happening in Volume 9 of RWBY right now.

The underworld stuff is based on things introduced in Lord El-Melloi II Case Files (Book 6) while the World Egg theory is based on the anime special of Case Files (the one where Waver gets involved with Shell Projection and stuff). It also has some relation to the final threat of this arc, although I'm still figuring out the exact specifics of how that will go down.