(Cover made by my dear friend MPTARTS. mptarts on Instagram)

(A/N)

I'M ALIVE! School has been kicking my ass consistently but I got enough time to write out this chapter

Harmgee: Thank you! Small fonts FTW LUL

Spenge: indeed my good sir. Balls!

Essiter: Thank you for the feedback :D. Side Characters need love too, Ren has a solid backstory and I like his character. So I'm gonna use him!

Malkor13: That's fair, It was a little cringy but I mean they aren't really friends yet, Just acquaintances?

Anyways onto the story

(Cardin)

"A real fucking banged up job you did Cardin" Cardin muttered to himself as he faced the arena, Nobody was there except for his most recent friends, Team RWBY, JNPR, and surprisingly CVFY. It made sense, This wasn't an officially sanctioned duel that was going down on an official school record.

"You got this Cardin. A standard two on one, Focus on getting one down and then moving onto the other" Coco tried her best to coach him through this and alleviate the tension but unbeknownst to her, The freshman in front of her was actually a disgraced and decorated veteran. Even if he look and acted like he was still eighteen. He knew how to fight, Or at least he used to think he knew how to fight.

"WINCHESTER"

The shout at the top of the auditorium drew the attention of everybody present, Cardin's face twisted into a snarl when he saw the two confident Kael brothers strutting in without any worry.

"Looks like we drew quite an audience Modi" Magni began as he hopped over the barrier, His armored boots crashing into the ground of the arena, Sounding almost like thunder as the sound reverberated through the room and making a few of them cringe at the loudness. Magni's smile, however, was unfazed.

"And seems like quite a few of them are girls"

Modi laughed as he shot a wink at the girls, Most of which recoiled in disgust.

"Let's treat them to a show Magni"

"You got it Modi"

Cardin rolled his eyes at this little display and propped his mace over his shoulder as he waited for the two to stop their monologuing and for their undecided referee to officially start the match.

"Before we start, I hope you don't mind if we bring in some of our own friends to watch the show" Modi said to Cardin as the auditorium doors opened and confused yet excited students flooded the stadium, Before Cardin knew it. The arena seats were filled to the brim with students from all four years.

"I really hope you don't mind" Magni said with such faux innocence that Cardin knew that he would have been the bad guy if he started to responding to their taunt in the usual Cardin way, So instead of that, Cardin kept his mouth shut and his mind sharp.

"Should we give you a handicap? It is two on one" Magni asked with concern, His voice reaching everyone's ears and the murmuring started. Cardin only snarled in annoyance when he saw the taunting look that Modi shot him.

"No thanks. I'll beat you two regardless" Cardin shot back casually, He could feel the crowds stare of disapproval and hear the crowd degrading him. Words like arrogant, cocky, stupid. All terms that would have been true in his past life, Maybe still even now but he wouldn't know.

"Let's start then." Modi nodded, An automated message playing to inform the duelist about the rules that Cardin tuned out. He had to win this match. If he doesn't win. Someone will die.

Are you willing to trade a life for another Winchester?

The floating text surprised Cardin briefly. For the past week, All he had done was train and ready himself for this day and during those seven days, He had neither heard the grousing of the system nor had he gained anything else from it, It had been silent ever since the tower and a small part of him was grateful that it was. Dying was a new experience and Cardin was not fond of it in the slightest

"The match will start now. 3, 2, 1, Begin"

Cardin readied his aura immediately and readied his shield, Waiting for the Kael brother to strike first. That was his first fatal mistake as he felt the harsh impact against his shield that rattled his arm, numbing it almost instantly as he went for the counter.

He had just barely lowered his shield and taken the first step when he felt something connecting with the side of his knee and sending him tumbling down onto the floor. Cardin gritted his teeth in anguish as he felt the electric shock through his aura. His face twisted in agony but he forced himself to stand.

"oh no. Did we hit you too hard? Magni, I told you to go easy!" The false sympathy was really pissing him off now but he can't let anger get the better of him, If he does. Then he was guaranteed to fail the quest and be the stepping stone to someone's execution. "He can barely stand! We need to call off the match!"

Modi's voice grated on Cardin's eardrums. With a roar of rage, Cardin stood to his feet and brought his club upward only for it to be ripped out of his grip by Magni's swing. The hysterical glee on the man's face as he brought the hammer round for another hit. One that collided with his temple and brought him into a whole other world of pain.

His ears were ringing and his eyes watered. This pain was unfamiliar to him or, at least, this overwhelming pain was unfamiliar to him. This aura should have protected him against all of these vicious attack, That's why hunters were so respected and rouge hunters or bandits with auras were so feared. So little could phase them that unless you have someone with aura on your hand. You might as well give up. So why isn't his aura doing anything?

"What's wrong Cardin?" Modi asked as he swung his sword upwards, The flat of the blade colliding with his chin. Lights flashing before his eyes as aura did it's best to shield him, "I thought you would beat me and Magni? where's all that fire gone?", Another swing collided with his cheek. Slicing a small portion of it open.

Again, His aura was doing so little to protect him and the cheering of the crowd made his head ache, It wasn't ordinary for sure but that doesn't matter, None of this matters.

"WHAT'S WRONG CARDIN?" Magni's hysterical and insane shouting did little to help but at least he wasn't smacking him around like his brother. Cardin spit out a wad of blood and waited. "GET DOWN ON YOUR KNEES AND GIVE UP CARDIN!"

CLANG

Don't lose to them Winchester. I picked you for a reason.

Magni's grin faded as he tried to pry away his hammer only to find that Cardin's grip was absolute. Seeing this, Modi rushed up and thrusted at Cardin only for his sword to glance off, His smile of arrogance quickly faded to one of shock as he caught a backhand that launched him into the walls. Crashing through the concrete and hardlight barrier.

"You know, If I've learned one thing, It's that people usually don't expect overloading aura as an effective method" Cardin said calmly. His hand still holding onto Magni's hammer while it's owner tried frantically to get Cardin to let go, As expected, Magni quickly reached a conclusion that if he can't attack with his hammer. Then he needed to attack with his fist. Cardin stared down Magni as the gigantic man wailed down punches after punches.

Thank god overloading your aura not only means that your receptors are essentially shut off from overwhelming your senses but also that your aura is twice if not three times as dense as regular aura.

"You know I feel nothing, Yet you try so desperately anyways"

Cardin was well aware of his limitation but he felt so at peace, He felt so calm that nothing would ruin his day. He had a huge reserve but this method was draining it like he had just ripped a gash in an inflatable pool. He should be angry, He should be retaliating but he felt strangely at peace.

"I'M GOING TO RIP AWAY EVERYTHING YOU LOVE" Magni roared as he continued to punch, "EVERYTHING! YOUR STATUS, YOUR FAMILY. I WILL MAKE YOU A LAUGHINGSTOCK. I'LL TAKE IT ALL! EVERYTHING."

Cardin caught his punch, Silence reigned the arena as people watched on with bated breath. Waiting for Cardin's retaliation, for his vengeance. They watched as Cardin tilted his head backward, Violet aura condensing and shattering Magni's as Cardin rocketed his head forward into his opponent's face.

"Talk shit, get hit." Cardin replied simply as Magni clutched his nose in pain and fear, He was given no time to recover as Cardin's fist rocketed into his cheeks, Left, Right, Left, Right. Each blow as devastating and powerful as the last.

"ENOUGH, MAGNI IT'S TIME" Modi's voice thundered through the room and reverberated through their bones. To say that Cardin could feel the words was no exaggeration. He could only watch on in helplessness as Magni's fear quickly morphed into hysterical joy and relief and his irises faded to a pale blue before his eyes started to glow.

"Say goodbye Cardin. This is the part where you lose" Magni muttered out, What came after was the unnerving and deranged cackling laughter of Magni echoing the arena as lightning suddenly exploded from Magni and threw Cardin away from him. "Drepa, eyða, mylja skordýrið"

Cardin hacked as he stood back up. He kept his guard up as he watched the dust cloud, Light pulsing from it while the mysterious chanting surrounded his every direction.

"Drepa, eyða, mylja skordýrið"

"Drepa, eyða, mylja skordýrið"

"Kill, eyða, mylja skordýrið"

"Kill, Destroy, mylja skordýrið"

"Kill, Destroy, Crush the insect."

Cardin's brows furrowed as the esoteric words morphed and warbled into recognizable Valean, What they were saying didn't sit well with him either but one thing was for sure, The voices that was surrounding him was still of the Kael brothers and if they were talking. The match was still ongoing.

"FACE ME YOU COWARDS, DOES YOUR NAMES MEAN NOTHING TO YOU?"

A gasp cut through the noise and the world felt silent. Before the joint voice of the Kael's brother started laughing, The deep bass and psychotic laughter started slow but it quickly grew. The two harmonizing voice sounded ethereal yet at the same time made Cardin think that it came from the depth of hell.

The noises shaking Cardin's entire frame grew stronger and stronger before the world fell silent again.

"you... you just made a terrible mistake." The conjoined voice whispered to him. Their voices filled with unbridled glee as something shot out of the dust cloud and sank their fist into Cardin's stomach. He was sent flying through the air before he could even put up his aura to try and block the blow.

The first thing that Cardin felt was the pain surging through his body and overloading every neuron, then it was the nausea and sensation that made him wish that he could vomit if he wasn't so busy trying to suck the much needed air back into his wheezing lungs. The third was the agonizing shock that kept his muscle locked and made his muscle refuse to respond to him no matter how many time he tried to stand.

"Stand Winchester, Your battle is far from over."

"Stand up Cardin. Your battle is far from over"

Cardin coughed as he stood. His vision blurring from the pain yet he stood tall. Without his weapon and without his aura yet he still stood tall. The pride of the Winchester burned bright in him yet his body was running on it's last fumes.

"This is who we are. Not the Kael Brothers, Not Magni and Modi." The figure in front of him monologued, It's figure towering over Cardin with their arms outstretched. It didn't seem in any hurry to finish the fight, In fact it almost seemed like it was waiting for Cardin to regain his strength and footing.

"We are Thor."

Cardin blinked and suddenly he was on the other side of the arena, The earth around him scorched and rubble tumbling down beside him. His jaw was pulsing with pain and his entire body was unresponsive. He tried to lift his left arm, Nothing. He tried to turn his head, Nothing.

"We are the Symbol of strength."

Cardin could hear that clearly, Even through the incessant ringing that he knew was tinnitus. He felt a brief moment of rage. How could he, Cardin Winchester, Be thrown around like a ragdoll. Like he was nothing! Before it turned into despair. Cardin knew his entire body was broken, His spinal cord hanging on by a thread.

"We are everything you wished to be."

Cardin opened his eyes. The Kael Brothers as one, Thor, They called him. Stood in front of his body and raised it's hammer. Lightning burning on the metal as Thor's eyes gleamed. A bloodthirsty grin on his face as he kept the hammer above his head. Dragging out the execution. Cardin could just briefly sense everyone's emotions before that too withered away. His aura completely depleted. His soul trying so desperately to heal it's shattered vessel.

"We are Thor."

FIGHT, FIGHT WINCHESTER. LIVE TO FIGHT ANOTHER DAY.

His conscious screamed at him, Trying to get him to find some way out of this. Trying to get him to survive for just a little bit longer so that his aura could do something. Cardin would have chuckled at the thought if it wasn't for the blood pooling in his lungs and his larynx crushed

YOU HAVE TO SAVE THEM. YOU CAN'T DO THAT BEING DEAD WINCHESTER. STAND. FIGHT.

Cardin stared at the hammer that defeated him. It's metallic surface burned a bright blue with tendrils of electricity traveling through it every second. It's sides engraved with runes and symbols that he couldn't possibly decipher in his state. He would die under a worthy weapon if not a worthy opponent. That's all he could hope for.

WHAT WILL YOU HAVE AFTER ALL THIS? YOU KILLED FOR THIS OPPURTUNITY. YOU BEGGED FOR IT, AND NOW YOU ARE JUST GOING TO WASTE AWAY LIKE YOU ALWAYS DID?

Cardin's noticed something peculiar about the voice screaming at him. It was no longer his own voice that was screaming at him, It was his fathers. Screaming at him about the patriot or family pride. He couldn't give a fuck about any of it. But it felt comforting.

"Any last words? Cardin?" Thor asked. Their tone for once, Was respectful. Their eyes filled with understanding and empathy that Cardin has never seen in the Kael's eyes. Cardin knew that even if he wanted to tell everyone what would happen. He couldn't, His jaw was shattered. Every single bone in his body was broken and his entire system was going into shock from the overloaded pain receptors. Thor must have knew this as well judging from the bloodthirsty grin.

That was the only trait that Cardin found that reminded him that Thor was ultimately the amalgamation of Magni and Modi. And that those two had defeated him with ease, Power that rivaled Yang's semblance and speed that rivaled her sister. If Pyrrha was Mistral's Invincible girl, Kael's were Vacuous Invincible twins

"I bid thee farewell then, May the gates of Valhalla greet you and may you become a warrior of Odin"

FIGHT, I DID NOT RAISE A COWARD. I DID NOT RAISE A LOSER. STAND UP, FIGHT, AND WIN

Cardin watched as the hammer descended towards him. The entire world slowed as the weapon filled his vision. He couldn't hear anything, feel anything or even say anything. This was it, This was his death. Second wind was still on cooldown.

I'm tired

AND? GET UP! FIGHT LIKE A WINCHESTER!

I don't want to be a Winchester. I want to be Cardin.

AND WHAT? BE A LOSER? BE SOMEONE WHO CAN'T SAVE ANYONE? BE THE ONE THAT EVERYONE RELIED ON AND FAIL THEM. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME?

I didn't fail them.

IS THAT WHAT YOU CALL IT? DIDNT FAIL THEM? YOU "DIDN'T FAIL THEM" WHEN YOU COULDN'T STOP THE GRIMMS. YOU "DIDN'T FAIL THEM" WHEN THEY KILLED PYRRHA. AND YOU ESPECIALLY "DIDN'T FAIL THEM" WHEN THEY TORE VELVET IN HALF AS YOU WATCHED.

IM NOT A BLOODY FUCKING FAILURE

THINK CARDIN, THINK, EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE HAS ENDED IN FAILURE. NOTHING YOU HAVE DONE HAS SUCEEDED. WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO PROVE THAT YOU AREN'T A WORTHLESS PIECE OF SHIT THAT I SAY YOU ARE? BECAUSE EVERYTHING I'VE SEEN HAS MARKED YOU DOWN AS A WORTHLESS FAILURE.

But I'm not a fucking failure

Neither are you a Winchester. Winchesters don't fail. Congratulations Cardin. You aren't a Winchester anymore.

Never wanted to be a fucking Winchester. Never will be a fucking Winchester. You know fucking what? I.

"quit."

(Velvet)

"CARDIN!" Velvet screamed as she watched on in horror. The match was going well and people were cheering, They were all excited to see who was going to win. It seemed so one-sided. First it was the Kael brother's tag team combo that overwhelmed Cardin, then it was Cardin who took them down with his aura but something changed after that.

Cardin was flung away and the Kael brothers vanished in the dust cloud and people's excitement became almost feral. That was until Cardin was reduced into a wheezing bloody mess in two strikes. No longer were they watching a spar. They were watching a execution. What's worse? No one is moving to help.

Help him. Save him, Return the favor Her mind urged her to move and so she did, She was a third-year student at Beacon. Surely she could stop this terrible act before it turns into a crime. She can save him.

But before she could, A hand latched onto her wrist, "Velvet.", Velvet turned to see the usually Cheerful and bubbly Nora from Jaune's team holding her back. Velvet gritted her teeth in frustration.

"Nora, Let go. I'm not letting Cardin get killed." Velvet said urgently, She refused to watch her savior die in front of her eyes. Especially not as his opponent monologued in front of his unconscious body.

"You can't. You'll subject him to a far worse fate than death" Nora said desperately. Velvet glared at the ginger before turning around and ripping away from Nora's unusually weak grasp, But she didn't rush to Cardin's aid immediately like she thought she would, "what do you mean, A fate worse than death?"

Nora sighed before biting her lips, Her face twisting as if she was deep in thought, An expression that Velvet has never seen appear on the aloof woman's features before her expression became neutral and serious again. She faced Velvet and started to speak, "You will make him the slaves of the Kael brother if you intervene."

"what?" Velvet asked, unable to hide her shock and disgust. to be enslaved was something she knew too well, not personally but the many, many stories of her species have reached her ears and she knew that even though it was "abolished", Slavery was common place through contract.

"w-what can we do?" Velvet asked, her hand still gripping her camera, Maybe she couldn't stop Kael fully but she could stall or even buy time for Cardin to recover. Aura is a miracle worker after all but a hissing voice in the back of her head reared it's ugly head, Aura can't solve all his injuries and with that much? he's as good as dead.

"we... can't do anything. Cardin, he accepted the challenge and insulted their family name... In Vacou that's..." Nora trailed off. Her voice filled with sadness and regret as Velvet's studies over the year filled in the rest. "In Vacou that's a formal declaration to a duel to the death."

Nora nodded sadly but Velvet's determination burned bright. Slavery may not be the best condition but it would be better than being dead. Velvet pulled out her camera as she turned towards the two duelist now in the arena but her eyes widened when she saw the hammer being brought down. The world slowed as her pupil dilated. Every detail of the scene etching itself into her memory.

The grand and bloodthirsty smile on the Kael's face. His muscle bulging as he swung the hammer down, Cardin's bruised and battered body laying there as his violet eyes lost it's luster and fluttered shut. his body relaxing as if the pain has gone away and that Cardin has accepted his fate.

no.

No.

NO!

NO!

"CARDIN!"

3,614 words

Oh man, I gave myself a lil bit of chills writing this. Hopefully you guys found this chapter entertaining.

Next part should come relatively soon. If not by this weekend(12/9 or 12/10) then by next week!

But oh man, I was going to write a lil longer but then you'd have a 7K chapter. I don't think anyone would complain but then I had a evil thought

That's right! CLIFFHANGER!

Anyways, Tell me what you thought about it! Comments are always appreciated