"Allow me to introduce you to our new ally : the embodiment of Death itself, THANATOS !"
A long silence followed Salem's words…
Thanatos stared at the Queen of Grimm's followers with hidden amusement at the looks of fright, shock and horror they were shooting him. He had imagined it ever since he and Salem bring up the idea of this meeting… and the results were even more amusing that he anticipated !
Sure he had to change his size a bit to further scare them while unleashed a small portion of his aura to add more salt in the wounds but he is NOT regretting it ! Far from it, the look in their faces was a sight to behold !
His use of the Riddle to answer Tyrian's question was simply the Ravenclaw Part of him speaking. He had looked in his books for some riddles about Death and this one, while being a bit long to his taste, was still pretty good.
When Cinder questioned him about how he could be the embodiment of Death, he might have done a bit much by showing the true face of Death… But hey it worked perfectly ! He had discovered this ability not long after creating his clone and to be honest with himself, he preferred his 'normal' form.
He discovered more and more abilities but he kept them in his pockets for good measures… Mainly because he wanted to use some of them against the Twin Gods once they are summoned back on Remnant.
"W-Why a-are you here ?!" Emerald asked the embodiment of Death with nothing but pure natural fear after a few moments of silence.
Thanatos was used to this as after all, it was natural for the Livings to fear him. Apart of the prospect of leaving loved ones behind and the dying process itself, people tend to fear the unknown such as what happen after Death comes to claim them.
When the embodiment of Death turned his head to look at Ms. Sustrai, the young girl flinched in fear, paling a bit more.
"Emerald Sustrai… Thief of profession..." Thanatos began to say in a calm tone which caused Emerald to froze in both shock and fear.
"To answer your question young one, I am here to finally meet my ally's inner circle… among other things..." he added in a softer tone that caused many to blink in surprise at the change.
"Lord Thanatos here agreed to help us in our quest to summon the Twin Gods back !" Salem said once he finished speaking with a pleasant smile on her face as she glanced at him.
At those words, many people present looked a bit happy but the paleness on their faces was far from gone.
"But why would Death want to help us, Mortals ?" Arthur asked his Mistress in respectful tone while warily glancing at the intimidating armored man beside her.
It was not the Queen of Grimm who answered him…
"Because they played with Lives of others and gave things that wasn't theirs to give in the first place ! And by doing so, they forsaken themselves !" Thanatos began to say in a calm tone before it went colder.
The coldness he used at the last words caused many to shiver in fear as if a cold breeze had entered the room.
"But I'm also here for another reason..." Thanatos added calmly as he turned his green gaze at another occupant of the room.
Cinder Fall
The woman in question flinched when Death looked at her and couldn't help but gulping loudly in nervousness. At her side, Emerald looked at her with worry, wondering what Death would want to someone she saw as a friend. Mercury merely raised an eyebrow in interest.
"Cinder Fall… You have stolen a power that wasn't yours to possess… Either you give it up now or I will take it… by force !" Thanatos threatened her in a dangerous tone that caused the other people present to back away from him.
The ashen-haired woman paled even more at those words but then when he spoke those words, she felt no more fear… but anger. Shaking her head, Cinder's amber eyes narrowed at him while literal fires appeared in them.
"The Fall Maiden's power is MINE ! And MINE ALONE ! I will not give it up !" The ashen-haired woman snarled at the embodiment of Death with barred teeth.
At her side, Emerald was looking at her with wide eyes of horror and fear while Mercury allowed a tiny smirk to grew on his face. Arthur and Hazel glanced at one another with deadpan expressions and Tyrian looked at the scene with some trepidation. Salem, her, sighed deeply, knowing that it would happen.
Thanatos stared at the angry young woman in front of him with an expressionless face before opening his mouth to say with a fake tone of resignation
"By force it will be then..."
Just as those words left his mouth, he unleashed his full aura causing many to stare at him with dead paleness and pure fear. Many wanted to flee but their bodies weren't answering ! Cinder Fall, her, was staring at the Being in front of her with nothing but pure fright.
Her bravado faded as quickly as it came…
Thanatos raised a hand (the left one) in the air as a purple ball of energy formed it his palm. Cinder soon screamed in pain as she felt like her very soul was pulled away from her. From the spectators' point of view, they saw a transparent copy of her being pulled out of her body and they understood that Death was claiming her soul !
"Please stop !" Emerald begged the embodiment of Death after a full minute watching Cinder screaming in agony and pain.
Thanatos merely glanced at the Thief before focusing back on his task. However, his aura did diminished a bit to the point that everyone could breath properly now. And it was fortunate because some of them looked ready to faint at any moment.
Soon enough, a little ball of yellow-orange energy was seen coming out of Cinder's body and a grin of satisfaction grew on his face as he extended his other hand to catch it. Once he felt the ball in his hand, he smiled softly before stopping his process on Cinder. His aura was now completely lowered now…
The Transparent-Cinder returned into the body of its owner and Cinder (the living one) gasped in both relief and slight pain once her soul re-entered her body. The ashen-haired young woman then looked back at the armored man with pure anger especially when she saw the yellow-orange ball in his right hand.
She tried to use her Maiden Power on him but to her shock and horror, it didn't worked at all !
"No… No…" Cinder whispered in horror as she looked at her hands, trembling in realization that she was no more possessing the Fall Maiden's powers.
"Yes… The Power of the Fall Maiden is no more yours and will return to its rightful owner..." Thanatos said in a calm but stern tone before sending the ball of energy away.
Cinder looked away from her hands to look at him with nothing but pure fury.
"THIS POWER IS MINE !" she roared in anger as she lunged at him.
The embodiment of Death merely raised an eyebrow at this before lazily raised a hand in the air. Cinder gasped when she felt herself froze in the air with a finger touching her forehead.
"You shouldn't have done that..." Thanatos said to her coldly but also with a tiny smirk as his neon green eyes brightened a bit.
The ashen-haired young woman opened her mouth to say something but then her eyes went back into her skull before she fell on the ground with a loud 'THUMP'.
"CINDER !" Emerald cried in alarm as she rushed toward the unmoving body before nudging her repeatedly.
But the woman didn't make any sounds nor answered Emerald's pleas. In fact, Cinder's body was now deadly pale and her eyes had whitened a lot.
Thanatos waved a hand above the body and the transparent figure they all saw before came out of it. Normally, Souls are invisible to Humans but Thanatos wanted everyone here to see what he was about to do. Emerald, her, was staring at it with tears in her eyes.
Arthur's eyes shined in amazement as he was maybe among the first people to see how a Soul looked like. Tyrian was grinning evilly as he was never a big fan of Cinder in the first place. Hazel looked at the scene with slight interest while internally being a bit amazed by what was currently happening. Mercury, him, looked emotionless.
"YOU BASTARD ! RETURN ME TO MY BODY THIS INSTANT !" Cinder's soul screamed to the embodiment of Death in anger.
However, Thanatos ignored him as he stared into her eyes which allowed him to see her memory. He saw how she had been treated as a servant by people who were supposed to raise her, her first murder, her meeting with Salem and the promise of more powers…
Once he finished 'reading' her, the embodiment of Death's face turned dead serious (pun intended) as he stared at Cinder's soul
"Cinder Fall… You have been found guilty of numerous crimes and by my title of Death, I sentence you to a life in the Inferno !" Thanatos' voice echoed in the room in a tone of finality.
Cinder's soul then felt itself being pulled somewhere and she started begging 'NO PLEASE ! I'M NOT READY !"
But her pleas were ignored as with a final scream, her soul disappeared before everyone's eyes, leaving a stunned audience behind.
A few seconds of silence passed afterwards as Salem and her inner-circle stared at the place where the soul disappeared.
"Where did she go ?!" Emerald asked loudly in alarm and panic.
"Her Soul now reside in a part of the Underworld… and where she will stay for all eternity..." Thanatos explained calmly to her.
The Thief's shoulders slumped in sadness as her eyes were filled with sorrow. The embodiment of Death felt a bit sad at the sight but knew he had no choice.
"She didn't loved you young one… She merely used you for her own goals..." He said to her thought telepathy which caused her to stare at him with shock.
She wanted to deny it but who was she to contradict Death ?
Then both their attention was caught when Salem's voice echoed in the air.
"Hazel ! From now, you will take Cinder's place in Vale and make sure our plan still go on !"
"Yes Mistress !" The muscular bearded man respectfully responded to the Queen of Grimm.
Thanatos already know what the the full plan was thanks to Salem telling him a few days back so he just ignored it for now. Beside, as long as he got to face the Brothers, Salem and her inner-circle could do what they wanted.
"Arthur ! Once this meeting is over ! I want you to return to Atlas with Tyrian to find more clues about the Relic !" Salem ordered to the scientist who groaned a bit.
Both at the thought of returning in the same area than Ironwood but also to have to support Tyrian's tendencies and eccentricities.
Speaking of the Scorpion Faunus, he was cackling like a mad scientist… until he saw the glare Thanatos sent his way, which caused him to stop while shivering in fright.
"Speaking of the Relic…" Thanatos then said to the Queen of Grimm who blinked at him for a second before a flash of remembrance passed through her eyes.
"My Lord… We now have a new Relic at our disposal...Hazel bring it to us at the start of the meeting..." Salem began to say respectfully while looking at Rainart who flinched when Death looked at him.
"Show me..." Thanatos ordered her with a stern expression on his face.
Salem smiled as she looked at Hazel again before nodding her head "Bring the package..."
The muscular man nodded at once before leaving the room to retrieve the box he bring with him earlier. Thanatos, along with everyone else, waited for Hazel to return with the package. Emerald, her, was staring at nothing as she seemed deep in thought.
The embodiment of Death shot her a brief glance before sighing softly. Ms. Sustrai loved Cinder… like a lot… It was easy to see it...but Cinder didn't loved her and only saw the Thief as a pawn. Thankfully, Emerald will find her soul-mate soon… whoever it is.
A few moments later, Hazel re-entered the room with a box in his hands and carefully, he deposited it on the table, bowing to his Mistress who thanked him with a nod as she approached the box. Smiling, she opened it before picking what was inside : a golden ornamented lamp with a blue sphere in the middle.
"My Lord… Let me present you the Relic of Knowledge !" The Queen of Grimm declared to the embodiment of Death whose eyes were now locked on the artifact.
"Finally… No we have 3 out of the Four Relics and one step closer to our goal…" Thanatos said with ravishment as a smile grew on his face.
"Yes my Lord and soon, the last Relic will be ours !" Salem retorted pleasantly as she putted the Relic back inside the box.
"But Mistress… With Ironwood still at Atlas, it is really difficult to gather informations !" Arthur announced from his seat.
"Wait ! We heard Ironwood will go to Beacon for the Vytal Festival… Maybe we can use this opportunity..." Mercury declared from his seat beside Emerald.
Salem hummed as she thought about it while Thanatos shot a brief glance at the boy.
"It might work… Arthur ! Once you and Tyrian are in Atlas, I want you both to remain hidden… Once Ironwood will be at Beacon, you can resume your research !"
The Atlesian Scientist and the Scorpion Faunus all nodded their heads, accepting their Mistress's orders.
"Hazel ! You and the young ones will go back to Vale and resume your activities…" The Queen of Grimm then said to the muscular man who nodded his head in understanding.
Mercury sharply nodded his head while allowing a tiny smirk to appear on his face. Emerald, her, absently nodded but her mind was clearly elsewhere… Thanatos shot her a glance as pity filled his entire being. While he didn't regret ending Cinder's life, he did regret causing pain to the young girl.
Again, he hoped she find someone to love soon…
"Huh Mistress ? What will you do about that ?" Mercury inquired while lazily pointing at Cinder's dead body.
The Queen of Grimm glanced at the corpse before saying in a tone of boredom "I will give it to the Grimm to feast on later..."
Emerald wanted to protest but Thanatos putted a hand on her shoulder before shaking his head once she looked at him. The Thief shot him a small glare but seeing he wasn't affected, she looked away, her shoulders slumping a bit.
The embodiment of Death released his grip on her shoulder while giving her a look of hidden sympathy.
She needed time to grieve after all…
Then he paused when he felt something entering his domain and sighed deeply in slight irritation.
His duty was calling !
"I shall take my leave now… Another soul had just entered my domain..." Thanatos explained to Salem in a calm tone before adding to himself
"Beside… I should say goodbye to Amber..."
"I understand My Lord… I will call you later..." Salem declared with a nod of understanding.
Thanatos nodded at the Queen of Grimm before disappearing in thin air.
The people in the room were not really surprised by his departure but were in fact relieved. I don't think I need to tell you why.
"By all means this meeting is over !" Salem said in a stern tone once her Lord vanished before watching as her followers slowly left the room.
Using her powers, she called some Beowolves to take care of Cinder's body. Not at all caring anymore about the girl who clearly wanted nothing more than power. Beside, her mind was still thinking about how close she was to have her revenge against the very Beings that cursed her so many millenniums ago.
00/(Time Skip)/00
A few hours later (2 to be exact), in the Underworld, Thanatos (who was now 8"5' again) had just finished judging the new soul that recently entered his domain : the soul belonged to an old Leopard Faunus. The embodiment of Death, after seeing the soul's life, sent him to the Limbo as the Old Faunus did committed some crimes but not unredeemable.
After the meeting with Salem, he had to judge 6 different souls and a good portion of them ended up in either the Limbo or the Inferno. No one went to Elysium or to Oblivion. There were days like this…
Once the soul passed through the Blue Door, Thanatos left the Great Hall to head straight toward the Library, looking for the only occupant of the Palace. As he walked, his armor disappeared to be replaced by white robes.
Soon, after entering the Library, he found her reading one of his many books. Ironically, it was one about the use of Elemental Magic.
"Amber ?" he called out softly and she looked away from the book to look at him
"Hey Harry ! What's up ?" she greeted him warmly while putting the book down.
Thanatos smiled at her before it disappeared a bit to be replaced by a bit of sadness. Seeing this, Amber slowly got out of the sofa to approach him with a look of concern
"Harry ? What's going on ?" she asked him worriedly.
"You are soon going to go back among the Living…" Thanatos revealed to her with a tiny smile.
"Really ?" Amber asked him softly but we could see the joy in her brown eyes.
"Yes… Cinder Fall is not more and I sent the part of your soul to my clone at Beacon along with a small order… Soon enough, you will no longer be in this Palace..." Thanatos responded with some sadness.
The Fall Maiden looked at him with sadness before the two of them embraced one another tightly.
"I will miss you Amber..." the embodiment of Death whispered gently to the girl in his arms.
"I will miss you too..." Amber whispered back with emotion before adding
"If only there was a way for the two of us to meet again… apart of you know… dying..."
"There is still my clone at Beacon..." Thanatos replied with a raisebrow
"Yes but it is not the same !" Amber retorted sharply.
The embodiment of Death sighed as he agreed with her completely. It had been strange to live with someone after millenniums of being alone but now… he was used of having another 'person' to talk with during his breaks. He had missed this feeling…
Amber, in the short time she had spend in the Underworld, managed to warm his hear to the point of seeing her as a sister figure… and a close friend. Looking down at the young woman, he thought of the coming loneliness once she will return to the World of the Livings.
Then an idea passed through his mind…
An idea that might help the both of them !
"Amber… I might know how to keep contact..." Thanatos said to her and she looked at him with shining eyes while pushing herself away from him.
"Really ? How ?" Amber asked him excitedly.
"Show me your hands..." he said to her gently and the Fall Maiden extended her hands forward to him, wondering what he planned.
Reaching down to touch the back of her right hand, Thanatos closed his eyes as he whispered something in a language unknown to the young woman
"Από σήμερα σε σηματοδοτώ ως φίλο του θανάτου! Είθε να είσαι προστατευμένος από εμένα μέχρι την ημέρα που θα πεθάνεις! (From today I mark you as a friend of death! May you be protected by me until the day you die!) !"
Amber then winced when a sharp pain came from her hand and she looked down to see something appearing at the back of it. It was a strange symbol consisted of a vertical line and circle enclosed by a triangle.
"What is it ?" she asked him curiously.
"My symbol… You can be sent here whenever you want to visit..." Thanatos said to her with a soft smile.
"Really ?! But isn't it a little against the rule for a Living to go to the Underworld without being… well dead..." Amber asked him with a raise-brow of confusion.
"Technically yes but you have been sent here half dead so..."
"Fair enough !" Amber nodded before hugging him tightly… which he returned wholeheartedly.
For a long time they staid like this but then Amber gasped when she felt herself slowly being pulled away and looked at Harry/Thanatos who smiled gently at her
"It is time… Good luck up there and remember to not tell anyone about me… No one would believe you anyway..."
Amber sighed deeply but nodded in understanding. If she started running around while telling everyone that Death was a nice guy with a physical body, things would not go well for her.
"See you soon… Fall Maiden..." Thanatos said while a short mock-bow.
Smirking, the young woman retorted back playfully "See you soon… Lord Death~"
Grimacing at the title, Thanatos sadly didn't have the time to retort when Amber disappeared from her spot. Sighing deeply, the embodiment of Death then stared at the ceiling, whispering "Good luck Amber..."
00/(Elsewhere)/00
At the same time, in the World of the Livings, Harry James Potter was standing near the machines keeping Amber alive. He had entered the Vault a few minutes ago even if it had been HOURS since he received both orders and the Maiden Power from Thanatos. He received them during a class with Professor Port (URGH !) and needless to say that he had to reassure his friends that he was fine after seeing him shivering.
Thankfully they believed him and left him alone for the whole duration of the class. 2 hours of suffering before he had some freedom. When the others left the classroom, he sneaked away from Team RWBY and Team JNPR to go straight to the elevator leading to the Vault, using his power to be invisible.
That's bring us back to the present…
A visible Harry looked through the glasses at Amber's peaceful face before whispering while summoning the Maiden Power in his left hand
"It is time for you to be complete again, Amber..."
Then he used his other hand to open the machines to expose the girl in all her glory. Without thinking, Harry lowered his left hand toward her chest, pressing the orange-yellow ball of energy against it until it fully entered her body.
However, he quickly disappeared out of there, knowing that the machine was surely attached to an alarm that will warn the Headmaster of the intrusion. Harry went to hide in the shadows while using his powers to remain undetectable.
What about Amber ?
A few seconds after the ball of energy entered her chest, she opened her eyes with a gasp. Slowly, she looked at her surrounding and sighed in both happiness and relief at being back among the Livings. Thanks to Thanatos, she knew her body had been placed under Beacon Academy, in a Vault so she wasn't so surprised. Looking at her left hand, she was surprised to see the faint trace of the Mark Harry/Thanatos gave her.
Her attention turned away from her hand when she heard footsteps approaching her and she saw two people rushing toward her. She recognized one of them at being Ozpin, the Headmaster of Beacon Academy. The other was Glynda Goodwitch, the Deputy Headmistress.
"Amber ?! You are back !?" the old man cried out in surprise as he looked at her from head to toes in shock.
The woman by his side looked stunned but relieved.
"Yes… I'm back !" Amber responded with a tiny smile while hiding her left hand behind her back.
"How is it possible ?" Glynda whispered in shock as he looked at the Headmaster.
"Whoever stole her power must have died…and it return to its rightful owner..." Ozpin explained with relief as he sighed deeply while hugging the new awakened girl.
Amber hesitantly hugged him back : if she had woken up a few weeks ago, the Fall Maiden would have hugged him with tears of happiness… but now that she knew the truth about him and Salem…
She was more cautious about him but had to play the part to avoid suspicions. As she and Ozpin hugged one another under the warm gaze of Glynda, an invisible Harry James Potter silently made his way out of Beacon.
His mission here was done after all… and Thanatos would surely want to see what he did today.
(To be continue…)