Hello again!
if this gets posted on sunday and i hit a 3 day streak ill be a happy camper (lol that did NOT happen. only a week late)
On a separate note, to prevent massive burnout I think I'm going to restrict myself to only writing on weekends. It's very likely that I will be a dirty little liar and write during the week as well, but only time will tell.
Oh also, the Arkos fic is out. Feel free to take a look! I have to admit it's not my best work, but it was only ever meant to be an experiment in the first place.
anyway, let's begin the chapter, shall we?
The chase into the depths of the cave was rather uneventful; it only took a few minutes before they reached the now very destroyed 'secret' entrance. Eris's impatience was on full display; she literally melted the stone covering with her magic. Were it anyone else, Jaune would have been impressed by her tenacity, but at this point, he was tired of her running. It could only be described as an act of the gods that she hadn't been killed yet.
"Jinn," Jaune called out, "what are we getting into here? What does the path look like? What should we expect?"
"I should charge you for all those questions," she replied with a pout, her playfulness evaporating as they continued forward. "The path branches out into two directions–."
Jinn was cut off by the path they were about to embark upon; it had collapsed, "I stand corrected, there is only one path." She lightly quipped, "Naturally, the only path available is the longer of the two."
Ozma groaned in response.
"Let's not waste a second," Salem chimed in, despite her clearly exhausted state; it seemed she was fueled by nothing but spite and annoyance. "I doubt the amulet would deem someone like Eris worthy, but I'd rather not find out the hard way."
After a few more minutes of running, the tunnel was suddenly flooded with a bright golden light. It took a moment for it to fade, but when Jaune's vision fully returned, he was completely alone. The cave had changed in appearance; now he stood in a wider, well-lit pathway that had markings sprawled across the walls.
"Ozma!" he shouted, "Salem! Jinn! Where are you?" His voice echoed in the long corridor without receiving any response.
With gritted teeth, he chose to forgo caution and began sprinting in a random direction. It wasn't the proudest moment of his life, but staying stagnant was simply not an option. He only made it a few feet before he had to quickly parry an incoming strike from an unknown assailant. As his eyes focused on the attacker, he was met with the face of someone he never thought he would see again - his mentor, his friend, his partner, Pyrrha Nikos.
a visceral rush of anger flooded through his veins as he gazed upon the form of his dearly departed partner. the worst part of it all was, although the imposter wore Pyrrha's face, she wasn't quite the same; it looked as though she had been altered to suit the time period. Akouō remained the same, but Miló was very different; instead of maintaining its mechashift ability, it seemed to be locked in its sword form. Additionally, she seemed to have the knife parts of Stormflower hung on either side of her waist, each wrapped in hot pink cloth adorned with Nora's emblem.
Other than that, her clothes were also different. She had armor covering her arms and a breastplate that covered her upper torso. She also had her legs encased in armor, covered by a flowing dark blue sash. Although it would be more accurate to call it a waist cloak– it didn't look practical at all.
"State your name!" Jaune angrily demanded as he shifted into an offensive stance; he wasn't willing to play any games while his friends were potentially in danger.
You know exactly who I am, fearless leader" the woman who wore Pyrrha's face said. Her voice sounded as if it were overlapping with another, much like how Oscar had sounded when he first revealed himself to be Ozma's reincarnation.
"No, I don't think I do," Jaune quipped with a snarl. "I'm pretty sure I would remember someone with a face that ugly."
The imposter Pyrrha placed her hand over her heart as she feigned pain, "You wound me, beloved; my maiden heart cannot handle such harsh words."
'beloved'? 'maiden heart'? this woman may have worn Pyrrha's face, but it was as clear as day that this person was a cheap knockoff. even still, that begged the question of how exactly they managed to replicate Pyrrha's visage; was it possible that this thing could read his thoughts? if that were true, they couldn't possibly delve too deeply into his mind. If it could, it was incredibly poor at its job
"You'll be fine. Grimm are resilient pests, you know." Even though he kept up his cocky facade, he couldn't help but wonder just what, or who, was really standing before him. Reasonably, it had to be connected to that sudden burst of light; perhaps it had something to do with the amulet? It was possible, but would the gods really consider Eris worthy?
...
Who was he kidding? Of course they would. The gods had a hate boner for him after all.
focusing back on his opponent, he could tell she wasn't a big fan of his previous comment. Even if his opponent was a beefed-up illusion spell, it seemed that she still had some human pride.
"The time for talk is over," Pseudo Pyrrha spoke as she drew her Off-brand Miló, "let's let our blades speak, shall we?"
Jaune couldn't stop the vicious smile from forming on his face, "let's dance!"
As the golden light faded, Salem immediately surveyed her surroundings. The first thing she noticed was that both Jaune and Ozma were also missing, along with their familiars; only she and Jinn remained.
"What just happened?" she warily asked the archivist, all while cautiously looking around.
"the amulet has chosen a wielder." Jinn said with a tone of absolute bewilderment, "but... that doesn't make any sense! Only the gods can deem the wielder worthy; why would they choose Eris?"
"Because I am the strongest!" The annoyingly familiar voice of the pest in question called out. As the woman approached, a brilliant glowing light emanated from around her neck. "Now that I got rid of those annoying knights, I can easily take you down!"
Jinn leaned over to whisper into Salem's ear, "The amulet may have chosen her, but that power will only persist so long as she has the amulet. All we have to do is steal it."
The plan was simple but effective nonetheless; the only real issue that was present was both Jinn and herself having to conserve mana. Salem was running so low on mana that she couldn't even open a stable portal anymore.
Salem whispered back, "This woman is like a cockroach; we need to throw everything we've got at her."
A worrying vicious smile appeared on Jinns face. "I concur."
Eris didn't even have an opportunity to react as the two women launched their attacks. Salem's ray of dark magic in tandem with Jinn's light magic formed a beam of pure destruction that disintegrated everything in its path; when the smoke cleared, there was no sign of Eris.
"No," Jinn said with not even a single ounce of optimism in her voice. "I refuse to believe it was that easy."
As a dozen of Eris's steps out of the shadows, Salem couldn't help but sigh, "You just had to say it, didn't you?"
Jinn's only response was a huff. "It's not my fault that you can't handle the truth."
The combined frustration of the cockroach-like bandit, the annoyingly long trip, their current situation, and the sassy archivist finally reached a boiling point in Salem's mind.
"Enough!" Salem growled through gritted teeth, all she felt was exasperation and anger, "I've had enough of this... this... shit!" Cursing was a very unfamiliar action for Salem, but it felt utterly euphoric in that moment. "I've had enough of this, I've had enough of you!" She angrily pointed at Eris. "And I've had enough of that stupid amulet!"
As her angry rant continued, Salem felt her mana wildly fluctuating. In that moment, the only thing that mattered was disposing of the biggest source of her frustration, consequences be damned!
with a scream of unbridled anger, a large wave of dark magic pulsed from Salem. The difference in this magic was... subtle. It was far more pure than what she typically cast. The oddity was quickly overlooked by Salem, who used the discovery as a second wind rather than a means to calm down.
The pulse of dark magic dispelled nine of the twelve clones surrounding the group of women; Salem wasted no time in advancing on the remaining pests.
The thought of conserving her mana seemed to disappear as she vaporized the head of one of Eris's clones. Needless to say, she was going on a bit of a power trip.
as Salem finally got down to the last clone, it actually fought back. it seemed as if she had finally found the real one.
"Who the hell are you?" The True Eris asked through gritted teeth. "And why won't you just di–?"
The woman's sentence was cut short as Jinn sneakily ripped the amulet from her neck, shattering the surrounding illusions. Even with them gone, Jaune and Ozma were still nowhere to be seen.
"I wonder if this funny little trinket will deem me worthy," Jinn mused aloud as she playfully tossed it up and down in her palm. "The gods are fickle beings after all."
Eris snarled like a wolf as she shot a fiery tornado of flame and wind magic at the unsuspecting archivist; shockingly, however, the attack never reached its target.
Jinn was surrounded by a brilliant golden sphere of magic as the amulet began to glow in her hand, much to Salem's utter annoyance; it appeared Jinn too was favored by the gods.
Eris didn't seem pleased with that information either.
"No... no no no! I am the only one who is worthy! Not you!" The bandit screamed like the banshee she was. Seriously, Salem wished for nothing more than to permanently silence her.
in an increasingly rare moment of understanding between Jinn and herself, the eccentric woman seemed to agree.
utilizing the amplifying power of the amulet, Jinn's body suddenly glowed with an overwhelming amount of light magic. "You sound like a rabid dog," Jinn said as lance-like beams of pure light began forming around her body. "Allow me to put you out of your misery."
regardless of what anyone said, Salem definitely did not enjoy the look of absolute horror on the womans face.
Eris's face shifted from fear to a sadistic grin in only a second, "I would take you up on that offer... but my backup just arrived."
Jinn and Salem locked eyes as they both scanned the area, but before either of them could react, a powerful blast of wind forced both of them deeper into the cave.
As Salem looked up, she was utterly shocked by what she saw – protectively standing over Eris was none other than Ozma! "You won't harm her," he growled, locking eyes with her specifically, "Never again."
Salem felt many emotions in that moment, but as she stared back into the eyes of her friend, she was filled with a newfound sense of fury. In place of his usual chocolate-colored eyes, vibrant lavender irises now gazed back at her.
"What do you think?" the woman cockily asked as she steadied herself, before turning to Jinn. "You may have stolen the amulet from me, but there's one thing you didn't account for..."
Eris strutted up to Ozma's side and wrapped her arm around his neck. "What do you think happens when illusion magic is amplified?" A vicious grin spread across her face. "Since that thing is like a portable well of infinite mana, any lingering magic that is cast while amplified by it has a tendency to...stick around."
The message was clear; Ozma's illusion spell would likely remain in effect until either he was defeated or Eris was killed. One option sounded more favorable than the other.
Salem didn't quite know what was running through her mind in that moment, but a question slipped through her lips before she could pay it any mind. "Why?" she asked as she returned to her feet. "Why are you doing all of this? What do you stand to gain from the amulet's power?"
It was in these moments that Salem knew she couldn't afford to be naive; unfortunately, she didn't have Jaune with her to cover for her mistakes. With a quick sigh, she focused her mind – it was time to act like the princess she truly was.
Eris immediately responded with a laugh, "oh, are we talking now?" Even with such a cocky response, she made no move to advance forward; it seemed she had a little bit of brains after all. "It's real simple, kid! I'm doing all of this to make myself stronger!" For a moment, Eris's eyes looked as though they were glowing with nostalgia. "One, I'm the strongest in the world, and two, I can finally accomplish my mistress's goal!"
Salem had to admit she was surprised; she didn't take Eris as the type to serve anyone else. "Your mistress's goal? Is her goal worth sacrificing the hundreds that you have here today?" Perhaps it was foolish, but Salem really did believe that there was good in the hearts of everyone, even in the heart of the murderous bandit that stood before her.
"You think you can tug at my heartstrings? Eris questioned with a hearty chuckle. "It won't work; I won't let anyone take my mistress from me.
much to her annoyance, Jinn chose that moment to intervene in the conversation, "Mistress this, Mistress that...is that the only thing you can think about? I was wrong, you're not a rabid dog, you're a branded one."
Eris was not pleased with that remark, "Don't you dare speak of her with your filthy mouth!" she snapped as she shifted her full attention to Jinn. "Laugh at me all you wish, but you won't be laughing when my mistress is done with you! Once we take this kingdom for ourselves, I personally will ensure that your pathetic bloodline ends with you!"
Salem felt lightheaded as her mind fixated on one phrase alone, "...when we take this kingdom for ourselves..."
Those words alone cut off any feelings of empathy Salem might have held for the bandit in that moment. This was her kingdom! Eris had slaughtered her people! The woman was harming her knights! As her mind began to flood with those thoughts, her mana once again began to fluctuate.
tendrils of unstable dark magic shot from her body like solar flares as an eerie calm overtook her face. Salem, however, was unaware of this. the only thing that was running through her mind was ending this human-shaped waste of space...permanently.
"How dare you!" Salem hissed with a hiss as she began stepping forward. "This... is my kingdom! Anyone who threatens it will fall before me." She continued, "I'll burn your home... I'll slaughter anyone who even dares to claim your family name... but in the end, I'll end you in a much more eternal way. I'll make sure history remembers you as the waste of a soul that you are."
Eris looked upon her with fear as she forced Ozma in front of her, "You may talk big, but you're nothing compared to me. Who do you even think you are?"
Salem wasn't often one to pull rank, but she had a realization; her months traveling with her knights had chipped away at her royal pride. Jaune and Ozma treated her as an equal— as just Salem— but that was not the only person she was. "My name is Salem of Everday," she said. "Ten years ago, I was ousted from the Royal Capital, but now I have returned. I am the Princess of this Kingdom, and it is my duty to bring any of her enemies to their knees!"
without another word, Salem focused the leaking mana into a solid spell. The fumes took shape and formed four tendrils of pure dark magic that lashed forward at Eris and Ozma. Eris retorted with an inferno of fire magic, further amplified by Ozma's wind magic; however, it never made contact.
As the searing flames collided with the jet-black tendrils, they, for the lack of a better term, decayed. The dark magic consumed the inferno and used it as fuel for the serpent-like tendrils to grow in size; they now sat at twice their original size and had acquired a glowing purple hue.
Eris jumped back as she wordlessly ordered Ozma to advance. Even as a semi-mindless thrall, Ozma was proactive in his assault. Although he lacked the aid of his familiars, he still had years of physical combat experience to fall back on.
As Ozma rapidly approached her, Jinn stepped in to defend her by blocking Ozma's attack with a gleaming shield of light magic. "I'll handle the boring knight," Jinn said with a grin, "handle the pest will you, Princess?"
Salem didn't have the energy to be annoyed by the remark; "Do not harm him," she ordered as she turned her full attention to the cockroach-like bandit.
a moment of hesitation washed over her as one question flooded her mind, "what did you do to my other knight?" she demanded with a cold expression.
Eris's only response was a nasty smirk. "Wouldn't you like to know?"
that was far from the response she was looking for, salem was certain that the woman would be more willing to talk once she was properly on death's doorstep.
instead of pushing Eris any further, Salem chose to go on the offensive.
although she had no real hand-to-hand combat experience, that didn't really matter when she had a literal magic eraser at her beck and call. perhaps it was a stint of madness that led her to try something so dangerous during the heat of battle, but without risk, there could be no gain. Salem extended her mana to fully conquer the wild magic leaking from her, as it fell under her control, Salem forced it to coil around her arms. it hurt, it hurt beyond belief, but if this was the power she needed to deal with the bandits, then so be it.
With a visceral growl, Salem rushed forward to meet her enemy head-on. In her haze, she chose to experiment further; she recalled a technique Ozma had used in Aegis – Phantom Fist, if she recalled correctly – and sought to recreate it with her magic-coated hands.
using her pupil's own technique – Mana Sight – she monitored the flow of her mana, waiting for the proper time to set off the chain reaction. unfortunately, Eris was not a stationary target; as Salem approached, the woman created even more distance between the two.
In that moment, Salem saw an opportunity for innovation. The basis of Ozma's technique was to deal a large amount of damage to a target at the cost of mild recoil. Since she was already experiencing recoil, what would happen if she caused the mana bubble to prematurely burst by pushing the serpent-like tendrils of her dark magic forward?
taking a deep breath to prepare herself, Salem watched in almost slow motion as her own mana fused with the lustrous dark magic. as the concoction of her own mana and the natural mana flowed past her fingertips, the tendrils of darkness lurched forward by two whole feet before she finally disrupted it.
As the concoction of mana burst, the full force of the magic shot forward, making an explosive sound. The damage was incredible; the impact ripped a hole through Eris's stomach that was the size of a fist. The force of the attack launched the wailing woman against the cave's wall, leaving a massive imprint in the stone.
as incredible as the attack was, the feedback was just as great. Salem's arms were branded with a long scar running all the way up to her biceps; the pain was agonizing, but in the end... "I win!" she huffed with an almost manic tone before dropping to her knees, the total exhaustion of her mana flooding her body with fatigue.
Eris's wailing began to decrease in volume as the seconds passed; her body slumped against the wall, she was no longer really a threat. "How... how could this be?" the woman lamented in a hushed voice. "How could I have possibly failed...?"
Despite Eris being her enemy, Salem still recognized her as a dying woman. She couldn't really place her finger on what influenced her to comfort the dying woman. "You are strong... but that strength became your downfall." It was a lackluster attempt at comfort, but it was an attempt nonetheless.
"What do you know?" the woman bitterly snarled, although her voice wasn't nearly as menacing anymore.
The woman was obviously angry, and it was understandable, but there was something very important that Salem needed to know: "Where is my knight? Where is Jaune?"
Eris snorted as she swiveled her head to meet Salem's gaze. "He's off fighting another illusion; I doubt he'll live."
although Salem tried to maintain her poker face, she couldn't stop an involuntary twitch at the comment, "what exactly do you mean by that?" despite her best efforts, her voice came out much sharper than intended
"That illusion… it's not normal," Eris began in an almost aghast tone. "It was the first magic I cast with the amulet. It's not under my control."
That in itself was horrifying; there were no recorded accounts of non-combat spells going rampant. Before she could interject, Eris continued.
"The spell feeds off of a target and reflects their emotions in a way meant to psychologically hurt the target." Despite Eris being her enemy, Salem had to admit that she was incredibly impressed that the woman was even able to cast such a spell. "It copied me and it… it appeared as my father when he first adopted me. If your knight has any skeletons in his closet, I don't think he will survive."
a shadow seemed to overcast Salem's face as she processed the womans words. if there was any man that could be described as the living embodiment of that phrase, it was Jaune. Eris seemed to pick up on this.
"That's a good expression," she laughed weakly. It seemed as though her time was running out. "In the end, it doesn't matter. Even if you all get out of here alive, I still get the last laugh! Her Majesty will conquer all!"
Those were the last words uttered by Eris of Sevres.
even with the woman dead, Salem was left with more questions than answers. The primary question being just who was this person that Eris had referred to as "Her Majesty"?
Before Salem's victory
As Jinn parried Ozma's attack, her mind was alight with activity. In all her years, she had never seen such potent illusion magic. A flurry of questions raced through her mind as she pondered the odd magic; what was this magic? How did it work? Could she steal it?
these were typical questions running through her mind, as the head archivist of chaville she took pride in the amount of knowledge she possessed. an argument could be made that she was one of, if not the, most versatile mages in all the lands just based on her vast roster of spells alone.
Her opponent, on the other hand, was much more... simple.
"How dare you attack my sister!" the man growled through hazy eyes; whatever he saw had no basis in reality.
"Your sister, hmm? Well, your "sister" burned down my life's work." Jinn replied with a hint of snark; she decided to have a little fun and play into the man's delusions.
"Liar!" he shouted as he raised his staff to strike her, "Gryffin would never do such a thing!"
Gryffin...? What an odd name for a woman. In all fairness, she couldn't speak much on the matter; Jinn was quite an uncommon name after all.
Jinn parried ozma's cane with a lance of light, locking him in a stalemate, "Your name is Ozma, isn't it? You must pay for what your sister has done." Jinn had to admit that she was enjoying this little dramatic act just a little too much.
"I'll kill you for what you've done, Mombi!" he growled as he freed himself from the stalemate and created some distance between the two. "En garde!"
It seemed as if whatever story Ozma was experiencing wasn't exactly linear. Regardless of that, it was Jinn's job to subdue him in a "peaceful" manner. Salem had given her quite a tall order.
Speaking of said woman, it was quite funny to hear that she was royalty. Jinn had been unfortunately enough to interact with several royals and nobles in her twenty-five years of life, none of whom acted like Salem did. It was oddly refreshing.
Jinn was forcibly pulled from her thoughts as Ozma lunged at her with his staff positioned in a rapier stance. Her response was simple, being the well-of-knowledge that she was, Jinn was well-versed in all forms of contact; even unarmed combat against an armed assailant.
Allowing her knees to go limp, Jinn forced the staff to fly over her as she positioned herself for a counterattack. With Salem's plea to subdue Ozma without injury, she had very few options. With a sudden flash of inspiration, she decided to try something new - she would create a new spell!
Any reasonable person who heard that would call her insane; in all fairness, they would be correct. But Jinn was specially qualified in what she lovingly referred to as "sporadic innovation." With only a few seconds to attack, Jinn had to think fast.
Spellcrafting was a very complex craft. Spells usually consisted of two different types of magic that were combined to accomplish a task; typically, this task was one of pure destruction, but that was neither here nor there. Support-type spells – typically defined as those that weren't destructive – had a little more room for creativity.
Generally speaking, support spells weren't used in direct combat like this, but Jinn was about to change that. As a half second ticked by, Jinn divided her mana into three different pathways; one for light magic—to be used as a sort of glue to fuse the spell together, one for earth magic—to be the first set of restraints in the spell, and finally one for water magic—to be the secondary binding in the spell. With the amplification of the amulet, Jinn was confident that it would work.
As the seconds passed and the amulet began to glow, a cocky smirk grew on her face. As the mana left her fingertips, she immediately knew something was wrong; instead of forming into a cohesive spell, it formed like the equivalent of a messy cannonball. As Ozma's body flew back, Jinn whispered a silent prayer that he was okay… not out of concern for his safety, but more so out of concern that the alleged heiress to the throne would want her dead. That would be one massive headache.
Thankfully, the man managed to pull himself to his feet. Shockingly, he had sustained very little damage. "My powers have doubled since the last time we met," he seethed as he steadied himself. It seemed he was experiencing some fresh memory; "You won't conquer me!"
Ozma rushed forward once more, opting to keep his staff in a rapier stance. Jinn didn't have the opportunity to react as the man rocketed forwards.
Ozma's next move sparked some curiosity in her... even through the intense pain. The man hit her with a flurry of attacks – seven by her count – but each of them felt like a dozen individual punches.
Jinn had never seen such a technique before; what was it? How did it work? What was the name of the attack? She needed to know!
It was only by the grace of the gods that she was able to regain her focus before the man could attack again; "I was wrong," Jinn cheerfully admitted, "You aren't so boring after all."
Ozma did not respond.
that was fine, she loved making men scream... that was poor phrasing, thank the gods that no one could read her thoughts.
A loud bang shook the entire cave before Jinn could attack Ozma again; both Jinn and Ozma snapped their heads over to see Eris nearly smeared across the cave's wall. It seemed that Salem was making her job much easier; all she had to do was stall for just a little longer.
"Hey Ozma, what's your taste in women?" Jinn asked with a humorous flair in her voice, attempting to distract him by hitting him with a curveball; "You look like a the type of man who goes for blondes."
Funnily enough, it seemed that Ozma was aware of his surroundings despite the illusion spell; his face flushed a deep red as he forcibly turned his head to the side. That was the reaction Jinn had been waiting for! She knew the perfect technique to use on him.
"Prepare yourself, boy," she ominously began, and a devilish smile formed on her face. "You are about to experience my greatest technique."
Ozma dropped into a more defensive stance as he clipped his staff onto his belt; it seemed he took her words incredibly seriously.
In the end, it wouldn't be enough… No man could survive her secret technique.
The two combatants locked eyes for a moment before Jinn finally made her move. The woman rushed forward, keeping her body low as she closed in on Ozma.
The man tensed as she approached, readying some light magic to serve as a shield, but in the end, it wasn't enough to defend against her ultimate attack.
Jinn struck like a serpent, dodging to Ozma's left side and then pivoting around his back before wrapping a knee around his waist. Using the force from the motion, she forced Ozma to the ground and sat firmly on his waist. Now it was time for the final act, the bite of the serpent! Jinn lunged forward and...
...
...
...
...shoved Ozma's head into her ample chest.
Any onlookers would have been either laughing or berating her, but in the end, it worked! Ozma struggled, but he was unable to escape her iron grip.
The duo remained in that position for a full minute before Jinn felt Death's hand fall upon her shoulder.
"Would you be so kind as to stop harassing my dear knight?" The voice of Salem called from behind her with a frosty tone.
Jinn was many things, but she wasn't stupid; she jumped off Ozma at the speed of someone who had just been doused in freezing cold water.
"Thank you," Salem replied with the most unapologetic tone she had ever heard in her entire life. "Now all we have to do is find Jaune, then we can get out of this Gods forsaken cave."
only a second passed before the distant sound of clashing metal reached the ears of the two women. "I found him." Jinn playfully stated.
Salem's only response was an exasperated sigh as she turned in the direction of the approaching combatants, "Jaune... what did you get yourself into this time?"
Chapter 17 Done! Finally!
I won't lie; this has been the most painful chapter I've had to write in a long time. That is entirely my fault. I tried to add too much into this arc without realizing that I didn't have the proper setup for my ideas.
The original plan was for our quartet of misfits to be split up and have to face illusions of their past mistakes, but when it came to writing it out, the pacing simply didn't fit. I would have needed to have four seperate chapters for each member.
Maybe I'll do a remastered version of the story once the story is finished and weave that in, but I wouldn't hold your breath on that.
In other news, the next chapter will be the finale of the Chaville Arc. I know that there isn't anyone out there who is happier about that information than I am. I've enjoyed writing this arc, but it's beyond time to move on.
Blah blah blah, that's enough of my bitching. Let's move on to the reviews, shall we?
Gizzit: I've thought about doing crossover fanfiction before, but I worry that I am not a strong enough writer to do a crossover any justice. I've toyed around with RWBY crossovers involving Shield Hero, The Legend of Zelda, and Red vs Blue, but like I said, I'm not sure that I am prepared to take that step. As for your stated example, I've never actually watched Castlevania. It's been on my watchlist for a hot minute now, but I still haven't gotten around to it.
TheSlySage: hey man, it's been a while! How have you been? About that PM, if you've sent it then I haven't received it. If FanFiction is still being a pain in the ass, you can message me on Discord at baton0363.
ThatOneRandomDude: You're not the only one who feels that way, bro. At this point, I'm just trying to wrap this arc up in a nice, quick little bow. Next chapter will be the last one.
Louie Yang: You'll have to wait and see! In all seriousness though, I can't say too much without spoiling the end of the story, but I will say this: Just because a timeline has fixed events doesn't mean every event is set in stone.
Vigriff: Hey there! I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying the story! In regards to your most recent review about the story requests, I have thought about doing something like that before! It's going to be one of the first that I write for my reader one shots collection.
The Dreamer: It's always nice to see a fellow Diablo 2 survivor... however I will not stand for this OggDo BogDo slander! OGBog did nothing wrong!
That's all for the reviews!
until next time!
PS It has come to my attention that some of you can't access the new chapters, I don't know how to fix that, but I think I'm going to restrict myself to one chapter a week until FF gets their shit together. This is subject to change depending on chapter length, but we shall see.