Cold...

One of the things that Allen felt at this moment. Heavy breathing as he barely stood in the middle of a god-forsaken battlefield. Cold air pricking at the exposed skin of his body, the tattered remains of his exorcist uniform hanging off by mere threads from his shoulders.

He looked at the chaos and destruction that littered the once beautiful capital city of France. The ruins of Lyon. There wasn't any rhyme or reason to why such a city was the destination of a battle between the Exorcists and The Clan of Noah. In fact, it could have been any city.

Any place in the world could be littered with bodies crumbling to dust or the decaying corpses of monstrous creatures whose very blood was poison to life itself. Any location would have the last remains of Fallen Exorcists, their lifelines, be abandoned next to the corpses of their masters. Their innocence weapons...

And any piece of land would have been a fitting end for the Earl of Millenium, the damned monster responsible for such pain and misery as he sat nailed to a piece of rubble in the city's center by Allen's Sword of Exorcism.

Allen caressed the stub on his left side that was formerly his arm. Transforming his claw into his sword was done carelessly and out of surprise when the Earl attacked him so suddenly in the battle, so there was a slight pain due to lack of preparation when he summoned the powerful blade. Like something tied multiple weights to his left side and it was slowly numbing.

Silently, he watched as the Earl's comedic appearance shifted, the demented clown-like costume simply crumbling to dust to reveal the host inside it.

Mana...Walker.

No, it would be an insult to call this creature the same father figure Allen looked up to. The same person who adopted him. The same one who cared for him. The same being who he mourned for years and made a promise to.

It wasn't him. He just wore the man's face gleefully, smiling up at Allen as a bit of blood trickled down the corners of his mouth due to the injuries he sustained. "Heh. Funny. You used to flinch when you saw this face."

"...I got used to it," Allen replied. He stumbled next to the Earl and sat beside him on the same piece of rubble, the two looking upon the ruins of the city center. It wasn't bad enough that it was irreparable, but the damage would take to heal.

The Earl sighed. "I've made so many mistakes in the past decade and a half."

"Regretting your choices now?," Allen questioned.

"Just two. Letting you live as a child and relying on this body."

Allen's face remained uninterested. He didn't know if there was anything that remained of Mana in the Earl's body, but enough was there to flinch and hesitate, giving him the opening to shove his blade through and impale the First Noah upon the ruins they now lean on.

"Even when he's so far gone, Mana still manages to push me forward."

The Earl gagged. "Ugh, Mana D. Campbell. What a horrid turn of events those years ago. He and Nea. Their brotherly bond. Their humanity."

"His name... was Mana Walker, you dark clown. And that humanity you gag at was the reason for your downfall."

The Earl shrugged, coughing a bit as he leaned his back and stared across at the starry night sky. "Maybe so. But you do realize that all you bought was a little bit of time for humanity, right? Give it a few centuries or millennia, and my memories will awaken in another host. A new Earl will be born, a new Noah family, even new Akuma. And you won't even be there to stop me."

Allen closed his eyes and sighed. As much as he hated to admit it... the Earl was right. The Noah genes would simply re-appear again in a few years. The Holy War would restart. Except next time, Humanity might not even have as much of a chance. There's far too little innocence remaining for 2 or 3 dozen Exorcists in the future when they'll be needed again. Maybe slightly more? It was hard to say.

The Earl and the Noah Family did destroy a good third, maybe close to half of the 109 innocence shards, the only material that can be crafted into weapons capable of giving an edge in this war. If they reappeared and build their numbers up again? Humanity would barely stand a chance if any at all. This war... it'd meet a gruesome end with its dark victors.

But...

Something tugged at Allen. Something that pushed him to stand up and walk forward for a few steps before dropping to his knees. The Earl watched him, slightly curious.

"You won't make it far," the first Noah called out. "Your injuries are too severe and, even with the help of your innocence, your body will break down before help will arrive. Why make the end more painful for yourself."

Allen took a few breaths and stared at the Earl. "Actually, I just needed to get a few steps away so I won't be interrupted."

"...Come again?"

Allen placed his right palm flat on the ground, a white glow slowly expanding on the floor as a melody played in his head. The speed of the glow's expansion began to increase, slowly covering the area of the battlefield. The Earl simply watched for a moment before letting out a laugh.

"T-this is your plan? You do realize that distance isn't a problem. No matter how far this mortal form dies from civilization, as long as humans with the Noah Gene exist, it's only a matter of time."

Allen turned around and faced the Earl, and only then did the creator of Akuma see the smug look on the teen's face. "Yes, I know. But... what if you died in a place where there was nowhere for your memories to go?"

…

The Earl blinked a few times and then stared at Allen with wide eyes. "No... no no no..."

Allen slowly nodded. "Oh yes. I believe most affectionally call this... Karma?"

"No... NO!"

"It's kind of funny, don't you think, Earl? If I remember correctly, you once tried to trap me and my friends on a collapsing Ark, our souls doomed to an abyss between dimensions. A very dark, empty , abyss?"

Allen tried to resist laughing at the morbid actions of the Earl as he desperately tried to remove the Innocence sword that pinned him to no avail. He then grabbed a piece of stone and chucked it at Allen, hoping to break the boy's concentration to stop the numberless gate from activating. Instead, his target simply tilted his head to avoid contact with the projectile. And the Earl was far too weak currently to summon up enough Dark Matter for anything more powerful.

He resorted to pleading with the boy. "You must stop this, child! Do you plan on taking yourself out with me!?"

Allen stared at him and simply shrugged. "I have regrets but I can push them aside to secure humanity's future."

"It's not just about regrets, Walker! If you do this, your soul will have nowhere to go! The very void you send us to will be our final destination. We will not even be able to return to the helix of life! Do you not understand?! You will trap our souls in the dark. We will not feel, we will not breathe, we will be trapped in endless darkness, constantly conscious!"

The young exorcist gave him a sad smile. "But no one else will suffer and this war will end."

The Earl's expression turned to one of horror. This boy wasn't just suicidal, he was mad! His movements became even more erratic as everything began to sink into the glowing white ground. If he disappeared, the Noah family would become unable to return without the Millenium Earl as the anchor to their existence. They will quite literally fade.

And the worst part is... it will all be the result of this damned child. The Earl glared at him with hate-filled eyes.

"ALLEN WA-!"

He never had the chance to finish his scream as the rest of his form sank through the gate. Allen was right behind him as he stared up at the starry night sky one last time before closing his eyes. Who knows, maybe if he's lucky, his soul will simply fade out in such cold darkness...

After the Ark gate swallowed him and the remains of the battlefield, there was absolutely nothing to tie the existence of a holy war fought in the shadows. The gate swallowed everything. The corpses of Akuma that crumbled to dust, the last of the innocence, the bodies of the fallen Noah family. All that was left was a few ruins in Lyon that would be removed, rebuilt, and forgotten in the next few decades to come.

It was a beautiful night in the world of Remnant. Not as unnatural as one would think, except for this time. A shower of shooting stars that could be seen on every continent. Even in places where light didn't dare to touch and the night was eternal. This sight would go on for a few minutes before it seemed to fade out like an illusion.

But... there was one place that shone brightly for longer. Allen lay on a bare road, in a ruined city as he slowly came to consciousness. He blinked a few times as he stared at the Ark gate that floated above him and crumbled into specks of light that disappeared as they touched the ground. The sigh reminded him of a snowy day. Beside him lay his Sword of Exorcism. Dark, dried blood stained the center of the blade. As soon as Allen took notice of it, his breathing nearly stopped as he looked around in horror.

Did he fail? Did he subconsciously take the Earl simply to another place on Earth? Did the reveal of the fate that would fall him make him fearful enough to change his Destination? He quickly looked around, trying to find a trail. Even a feeling with what little power the 14 th Noah left in him for some connection that would lead him to his target to quickly send him to the void before he perished.

...He felt nothing.

He didn't even see a trail of blood or anything for that matter. Considering the Earl's wounds and the location of Allen's sword, it'd be impossible for the man to have disappeared without a trace. He needed to calm down for a moment. As he began to breathe normally, he realized a select few things. For starters, his connection to the Earl.

It was gone. Not that he didn't feel them or anything. It was just... gone. There was no feeling of it severing or anything. It's like it didn't exist. He couldn't make heads or tails if his plan had truly worked. The second was his own body. All the injuries he accumulated in that last fight were... gone? No, they weren't gone. They seemed to be healed as he traced the newfound scars littering his torso where deadly wounds once took place.

And then, the real kicker. As the Ark Gate fully collapsed, he was met with the glow of the bright moon shining down on him. The view wasn't something he considered beautiful. Granted, it was in its own strange way. But it terrified him because half of it was shattered! Pieces, shards, and chunks floated in the sky as if they simply floated in the same direction the satellite followed in its orbit.

Allen took a few, large, nervous breaths before sitting on a piece of rubble. So... ruined city, shattered moon, fatal wounds were somehow healed, no traces of the Earl if he even somehow ended up in the same place. Safe to say he wasn't in France anymore. Or on Earth. And if this was purgatory or some strange afterlife, he was not sure.

The first step he took was to take in his surroundings. The ruined buildings around him crumbled onto each other well enough. He quickly transmuted his sword back into his arm, the material of the parasite innocence weapon changing from solid steel to something soft as skin yet much more durable and denser than anything in the realm of humans. Slowly, the arm reattached to his shoulder seamlessly, giving it the appearance of it always being a part of his body.

Unlike his normal, pale skin, the arm itself was pitch black from the shoulder down with arrow-like marking decorating his shoulder blade. Allen had found this slightly odd for a moment, considering it was a more crimson color mere moments before, but simply shrugged the idea to the side. He never truly did understand the evolution an innocence weapon takes.

As soon as the fingers formed, Allen clenched the hand into a fist, as if testing the appendage before sighing and looking up at the buildings surrounding him once more. They leaned onto each other like dominos. Within moments, Allen was using every stone and edge he could as he began climbing the ruins with impressive speed. Within seconds, he found himself on the tallest one and began to take note of the view.

Barely a few buildings, if any, were still in one piece and working order. However, not too far from him, he could see something akin to a shopping district. Shuddering at the cool night air, he began to make a mental list of any items he might need to salvage to survive. He barely got a second chance at life; he was not about to lose it due to hypothermia.

By the time he made it safely down the building and down the sidewalk of the streets. There was something his mind began pondering. What happened to this city? It didn't seem old at all. In fact, it appeared to be quite modern, perhaps even more advanced than he's familiar with. Some items he could only assume their function.

There were bent poles that he assumed were lamp posts. Some signs that he couldn't recognize the meaning off by the colors alone. Not to mention some... oddly shaped auto-mobiles? And quite many in fact. Whatever strange world he found himself in, their ability to create a large many of these vehicles impressed him. In England, auto-mobiles were still unique and they were among the noble population. And even then, most nobles preferred the use of carriages or trains.

Something he took notice of was the signage with writing on them. They revealed the original purposes of some of these buildings. Jewelers, Giftshops, ...and something called a realtor? Allen was taken aback by that last one for a few moments before shaking his head. Each of these signs also included one detail that seemed to repeat. 'Mountain Glenn'. Perhaps that was his current location?

Although, the city didn't appear to be near any mountain and he doubted it was on the peak of one either. He could usually tell by the air quality.

Before he could continue his thoughts, however, he heard a small crunch beneath his boot. Staring down, his eyes widened in a small bit of horror. Beneath him lay the shattered remains of a skeletal arm, protruding from a burial of rubble beside him.

Shakily, he knelt down and gently traced the remains of the limb. His true horror was due to the size of it. It was small, covered by an equally small and thin sleeve of a shirt. He knelt down and gently held his hands over the metacarpals of the remains, droplets of tears falling on top of the back of his hands.

There was very little he could do after all except hope that whatever child was buried beneath this rubble had passed on as peacefully as possible. Wiping his eyes with his forearm, he continued on his journey, soon arriving at the broken-down entrance of the shopping district. The doors laid ruined in front of him, and whatever glass ceiling the place originally had been long shattered as the broken moon shined its light on the reflective shards.

Allen took a breath and searched the remains of his clothes. There were times Exorcists found themselves searching ruins for lost shards of innocence or using caves to hide out. So, the Science Division of the Black Order created a sort of kit that each Exorcist carried on their person. That same kit was stored in two separate pockets in his uniform in the pouches on his thighs.

Said materials included protein bars, which lacked incredibly in taste, simple first aid, and... a small silver orb with multiple slits decorating it. The protein bars were more than likely broken into crumbling pieces in their wrappings and the first aid kit probably had suffered some damage. But Allen was thankful that the silver orb he pulled out was still in one piece.

Twisting it by its center, the slit glowed for a moment before the entire silver orb followed suit. Soon enough, the orb was glowing a warm yellow as the area around Allen became a beacon. Not far from his location, a pair of red, glowing eyes stared at the traces of light coming from the shopping district a few blocks from it before the large shadowy figure dashed to it.

Meanwhile, Allen was currently removing the rags that remained of his shirt and coat and replacing them with something of a similar color scheme he found at a somewhat intact clothing store. It was a strangely designed jacket in his eyes with a hood.

The colors matched the primary black and secondary red color scheme he originally sported with his Exorcist uniform. Unfortunately, he was unable to find any shirt that properly fitted him that wasn't decayed or torn. Still, it was a start and it kept him warm enough.

His next task would be the acquisition of supplies. Currently, he came across a few packages with images of food on them. However, most of what he opened was filled with a green mold, leading him to believe that whatever delectable treats or snacks that were once stored in them had long passed their expiration.

In fact, the only edible thing in the first shop was lollipops. Although, Allen would prefer not to rely on them considering that, after he stocked up on supplies, his next step would be to find any form of civilization as quickly as possible. Chances are he'd have to rely on the land and whatever he could gather after a while, so it'd be best to stock up on as many edible non-perishables that he could acquire.

This is why he grabbed a large backpack from the store, stuffed a few clothes that he could, including underwear for obvious hygiene, and still left enough space for food and other supplies before heading to what appeared to be a grocery store in the shopping center.

Or, at least, it seemed like it. There were a few cutouts promoting some goods he was... not entirely aware of origins. In fact, he came across many things that seemed to confuse him. Posters of shows at places involving a theater, or he at least assumed. However, most of the posters depicted epic battles that made the shows too good to be true. Some had very... detailed images. One was something called 'Pacific Grimm' which depicted a silver, humanoid machine with a glowing chest and a date. 07.12.13

Allen blinked at that. Despite his... less than open response to machines, shivering at the memory of Komlin, he was more than interested in what the story behind the poster was. Then it was the date. If the 07 and the 12 meant July 12, what did that make the current year? 1912? And that was assuming he was still on Earth, which he doubted slightly.

If knowing was half the battle, he had lost before the fight began. All he had was the name of a ruined city he was dropped in and that's that. Sighing, he continued forward and entered the, mostly intact, grocery store through the broken-down door.

While it seemed relatively untouched, the light from the orb in his hands showed another story. Most of the containers were burst open, leaving dried food stains, some were leaking, and some had mushrooms growing off them. The smell alone made Allen gag, but he's smelled worse just from one of the jobs he did to pay off a bit of his master's debt.

He shuddered at the memory and buried it deep. Very deep. Preferring not to remember even the number of pounds he had to pay off in the English continent alone.

Moving on, there were some containers and foods he managed to find that were still sealed, lacked mold, AND still smelled slightly fresh. A few he was actually familiar with. Like hardtack, a multitude of water bottles, and some oats. As for the others, their contents were explained by their packaging.

For example, Allen was curious about the contents of a cereal brand called 'Pumpkin Pete'. He quickly paled and tossed the box aside when he saw the... ingredients and warning label on the corner on the back of the box. Another was something akin to his protein bars. 'Dust Preserved Hunter Bars'. Apparently, these were more for long-term physical activities. He pondered how the tiny, powdery particles made from waste matter can preserve food at all, but he decided to leave it to a small bit of doubt.

So, he quickly opened the packaging on one of the bars and took a quick bite. And, against all odds, the treat was actually more delectable than he had originally thought. And quite filling after he finished it, grabbing as many as he could and tossing them into his newly acquired bag.

As Allen began to leave the store, he pondered his next move. Naturally, he'd need to find civilization or something close. Like a town, perhaps? To do so, he'd need a map or something that can give him the lay of the land. Maybe... a book shop-

He paused and quickly hid behind a pillar, shutting off the glowing orb of light in his palm as he listened. It was subtle, almost unnoticeable. But he was an Exorcist trained in noticing the unnoticeable. Calmly, he began to quiet his breathing and listened. A growl, feint and low. Peaking around the corner, he tried to pinpoint where the sound was coming from. But the shopping center was empty.

At least, that's what he thought before a few pebbles fell down in front of him. He quickly looked up and saw... it. The best description he could give it was a creature with pitch black fur, bone-like protrusions from its joins, and a white bone-like mask with red markings. If Allen didn't know any better, he'd almost mistake it for an Akuma. But the best reaction he got from it was when his left eye twitched.

It wasn't a demon of the Earl, but it was dark in nature. He could figure that much out. Calmly, he looked around for any forms of cover he could hide behind before he realized something at that last second.

...There was another source of growling.

And in that split second, he managed to duck and avoid an attack from another of the creatures as it smashed through the pillar he hid behind with a roar. And if his luck wasn't bad enough, the one from the roof jumped down and growled with a third of these dark wolf creatures turning the corner from another area of the shopping center.

'A pack of three,' he assumed. 'Hard to say if they were the cause of this city's ruins or its new inhabitants, but that doesn't really matter now. Best to avoid becoming a new bone for these creatures to munch on.'

Allen got into a fighting position, bringing his left arm up with his entire right side leaning back.

'Crown Clown... Activate!'

He awaited the familiar glow of his arm transforming to his command. Only to blink in surprise and then dodge to the right as one of the dark wolves lunged at him. The other two also lunged right after, but, with an impressive show of acrobatics, Allen jumped on one of their heads and leaned back to avoid an attack from the third as it slashed the very space he originally occupied.

Once more he attempted to activate his arm. And once more, it failed. He even resorted to tugging at it from his wrist in some desperate attempt to transform it in his Sword of Exorcism, but even that proved futile. He resorted to a tactical retreat from the creatures as they began to regain their bearings and chase him.

Now, Allen was very athletic. He had to be to move and fight the way he did when combatting Akuma. He could even put up a fight against a Level 3 Akuma for some time without his innocence and even take a beating from a Level 4 for a period of time. He was durable. He was strong. He was fast. But he was still human. And all these strengths were only slightly above average for a normal human being. It was only his skills that allowed him to utilize such abilities in combat to seemingly inhuman levels.

Which was his advantage in this current predicament as these dark wolves chased him. While they had much stronger physical attributes, the slightly ruined yet still smooth floor of the shopping center caused them to slip and miss whenever they got close. Meanwhile, Allen's boots were designed to handle even smooth terrain like this, allowing him to dodge many of the close calls with only a few nicks.

Currently, he did have a plan, but whether it succeeded would depend on whether his innocence would listen to him! He had one last thing to try to activate it, but if it worked, it'd mean his abilities have downgraded. He could only hope that wasn't the case.

Soon enough, he led the dark wolves right where he wanted. A dead end with his back against the wall. They cautiously surrounded Allen, blocking his escape as they eyed him with glowing red eyes. Allen took a deep breath and brought his left arm back, palm facing up as if reading for an uppercut.

He maintained eye contact with the pack of three as if urging them to attack first. And soon enough, they took the bait. As if they knew Allen had nowhere to go. But... that doesn't mean he was out of options. At that moment he let out a roar and shouted as his arm gained a light green glow.

"Innocence, ACTIVATE!"

The next moment, all three of the wolf creatures were cut vertically into pieces. Allen stood, having not moved an inch, as he lowered his now transformed arm. Where originally a black-colored limb was attached, a monstrous adamantine claw with a supernatural glow at his scapula joint now took place.

He felt some annoyance set in. It seemed like his innocence synchro rate had gone down from 100 percent to 83 percent. Sighing, he deactivated his weapon as the limb returned to a normal, humanoid form once again. He stared at it, clenching and opening his hand.

"Perhaps that last battle with the Earl has left some lasting damage."

His attention was once again on the remains of the creatures, only to find them slowly disintegrating. While it did pique his interest, he had to move quickly. Chances are there were probably more of these creatures in the city. The sooner he found a map, the better.

He quickly ran through the shopping center once more before he managed to find a small book store. Just like every other shop, it was in ruins and most of the items on the shelves were in equal disrepair. Books were torn, pamphlets had their colors and writing faded. It was amazing he even managed to find a map at all. Or... so he thought.

Looking at the map of the world actually confused him even more. Suffice to say, it was now fully confirmed he was no longer on Earth anymore. Just the continent, or what he believed they were, alone made his eyes widen. Sanus, Anima, Solitas, Menagerie? He opened the map more and found that it divided the information of each continent, including locations like cities and... settlements? Shaking his head, he searched for his current location.

"Glenn... Glenn...," He repeated. "There!"

Tapping his finger upon the grey icon of the city and the name of 'Mt. Glenn' written under it, he stared at the icons and the references of the distance. It was amazing how thorough the map was. Reaching into the pouch of his pants, he pulled out a small compass. The glass was cracked slightly but it was still within working order thankfully. He set it down and stared at the wall to his left to give him his bearing of North.

'Assuming by the state of the city, this place has been abandoned for at least two decades. Hard to say how accurate this map will be but there seem to be three settlements a few miles out. Looks like they're deep in woodland areas though, along with this capital city, Vale. Perhaps it'd be best if I stopped by one for assistance rather than make the distance to the city in one go. I highly doubt these creatures are only in this city. Perhaps the area surrounding it as well?'

Allen hummed to himself. If these creatures were the cause or the current inhabitants, it was highly likely that there were more than just the three he fought. For some reason, his hand unconsciously began to roll the silver orb that could produce light. It was more than likely the cause of attracting those creatures.

Attracting...

He blinked a few moments as a smile found itself on him. 'There were a number of automobiles still in good condition outside. Perhaps one would still be in working order, granted I'd have to learn how to use it on the go. And while I did notice a wall surrounding the city from my vantage point, there were enough breaches in it that I can leave through. These creatures are a slight problem if they chase me, but an ample distraction should work.'

He hummed thoughtfully. 'If I use my innocence to launch a large pile of rubble far enough that these creatures will be attracted by the noise, I can use an automobile to head in the opposite direction and leave from one of the breaches. Not a perfect plan, but it should last me until I can safely arrive at one of these settlements for assistance.'

And just like that, Allen packed up the map and compass and began to leave. Or, so he was about to until a book caught his eye. 'Grimm Identification'. Normally, such a title he'd simply pass by. If not for the fact that the creatures he just fought were on the very cover of the book. He thought it best to bring it along as well.

It took him close to half an hour to find a vehicle that was both still in one piece and was close to one of the breaches of the city wall. Next, he transformed his innocence back into the large, adamantine claw and grabbed a handful of rubble carefully. The next moment, he chucked it and watched them sail across the sky and hit a few buildings in the distance as he quickly hid.

It didn't take long for them to hit their targets as he could see the top parts of some buildings cave in with loud impacts. He flinched at that.

'Perhaps I used a little too much force.'

He was taken out of his stupor as a large orchestra of roars followed suit and a multitude of black forms began to converge at the area of impact. He gave it a few more minutes till he was certain there weren't any creatures nearby before smashing the car window and opening the door. That, and also pulling out the skeleton and searching it for the key to the ignition. Quickly, he tossed his bag of supplies in the back seat and started the car as the machine rumbled to life.

Smiling, he pressed his foot gently on one of the pedals, only for the car to simply rumble in place. Blinking in confusion, he tried again but the vehicle didn't budge. Allen looked around for anything that he could have missed. His heart skipped a beat as he heard very distant roars again. The 'Grimm' as he had learned more than likely heard it.

It was slowly becoming more nerve-racking. He'd seen automobiles in his travels with his teacher. But there were more levers, buttons, and nobs until his eyes landed on a stick with a button on the side and set to P. Quickly, he pressed it moved it down to R, and tried again. And while the car did move, it was not in the direction he wanted. Trying again, he set the stick down to N, but the car stopped moving again. And he could hear the roars of the Grimm nearing.

Taking a deep breath, he set the stick to D and slammed his foot on what he assumed was the accelerator. And just like that, he took off with a thankful sigh. A mirror on the left side of the driver's seat and also at the top of the car showed his rearview and Allen could just barely make out the dark shapes of the wolves as they watched him speed away, unable to catch up. He let himself laugh out of relief the minute he drove right out the breach in the wall.

Reaching with one hand on the steering wheel and the other into his pockets, he pulled out the map again along with his compass. Based on the area he left Mt. Glenn from; the closest settlement was Ashborne around 180 miles away. Sighing, he could already tell this was going to be a long trip. But he could only hope it remained simple as he followed the road that slowly became gravel and then dirt within a few moments. To his right, the sun was beginning to rise and he relaxed into its warmth.