Thanatos watched with a smile as Salem was hugging her beloved daughters. After arriving at his palace, he had found the formerly Queen of Grimm eying the Hall with wide eyes of shock, amazement and stupor. He didn't fault her for this as no one knew of such a place… until they died that it.
Earlier, he had to judge the souls of many members of the Blood Fang with Adam Taurus at its head. All of them (except for a handful) ended up in the Inferno. Those who escaped it ended up either in Oblivion (Adam) or in the Limbo.
Anyway, like he promised her, he had then used his powers to summon her daughters who, upon seeing her, instantly rushed toward her, engulfing their mother into a tight hug. Salem had cried in happiness at being held by her babies again after so long and shot her Lord a grateful look.
The embodiment of Death might be many thing (a sadistic bastard, a living powerhouse, a charmer etc) but heartless was not one of them. Thanatos, as he watched the reunion, couldn't help but wondering if one day, he will also have children to call his own…
Maybe if Blanche was willing…
But then another thought entered his head : Blanche was mortal and him… the total contrary. While he would live for another good millennium or more, the White Wolf Faunus would be lucky she got older than 90 years old…
Then he absently stared at his right hand, where a ball of light appeared in his palm. The powers of the God of Light was his to do as he fits and the same could be said from the God of Darkness ' own powers but he didn't like it. Thanks to his victory over the Twin, he was now the only living 'DIVINE' Entity on Remnant.
The embodiment of Life was no more and while he possessed the God of Light's power, Thanatos refused to have another responsibility. He was after all the embodiment of DEATH and had been since the birth of Remnant.
That and he had already too much responsibility on his shoulders…
Then as if the Universe heard his silent internal conflict, an idea sprouted in his head. What if he could insert the Power of Life and Creation in someone's body ? The God of Light was arrogant and didn't deserve the power he inherited… maybe someone should have it.
In this way, the Power of Death and Life will be equal and the Balance will be respected : an embodiment of Death (himself) and an embodiment of Life !
What of the Power of Destruction from the God of Darkness ?
Sighing to himself, Thanatos closed his eyes as he focused on the powers he received from the Purple Hothead and soon enough, he felt half of its power merging with the ball of light while the other half stay within his body.
Satisfied with his work, the embodiment of Death then dismissed the ball before looking back at Salem and her daughters.
"It is time..." he said simply in a calm tone.
The former Queen of Grimm looked back at her Lord with some pain in her eyes but nodded in acceptance as she made her way toward the Blue Door that lead to the Limbo : her new home. Her daughters looked ready to tear up and some of them looked toward him with pleading expressions on their faces.
They wanted to stay with their mother…
Thanatos stared at them for a second before sighing deeply. Those little ones were too cute for their own goods. Beside, he had been thinking about something for a while now so maybe he could kill two birds with one stone…
"Salem…" he called sternly and the woman in question, who was about to open the door, stopped dead on her track before looking at him questioningly.
"I have an offer for you..." the embodiment of Death began to say calmly.
"An offer my Lord ?"
"I want you to become the Guardian of Limbo : you will be in charge of the Souls there and will have the duty to report to me when you think a soul is ready to be judge again… You will have the possibility to go to Elysium to visit your daughters whenever you want… What say you ?"
Salem stared at Thanatos with wide eyes of shock for a moment before a bright smile appeared on her face.
"It would be a honor my Lord ! I will try my best to satisfy you !" the woman declared to him before she found herself being hugged on all side by her daughters.
Thanatos smiled as he clapped his hands once in satisfaction "Wonderful ! If you agree, you will start your job in two days : it will give you the time to being acquainted with your surroundings..."
Salem nodded at him in acceptance. The embodiment of Death then approached her before putting a finger against her right shoulder. Soon enough, a familiar symbol appeared on it.
"It will allow you to go anywhere you want in my domain… But fair warning : don't enter the Black Door… unless you want to meet Oblivion..."
Paling at those words, the former Queen of Grimm promised to not enter that place. Thanatos nodded at her before allowing her to go to Elysium so she could have some time with her daughters. Once the five passed through the White Door, the embodiment of Death sighed before disappearing in thin air.
He had a promise to respect after all…
00/(Elsewhere)/00
Meanwhile, in Vale, doctors and nurses were taking care of the people who got wounded during the Grimm Invasion. Ozpin had been taken into custody for questioning while the Beacon STAFF started to help for reconstruction. Raven, Qrow and Taiyang also decided to help alongside an excited Summer Rose.
Most of the students were okay but some were still being taken care of by medics. Those who weren't either went to help in the reconstruction or went to see their friends and family.
Team RWBY along with Blanche, Emerald and Amber, were all standing with Pyrrha and Jaune as the two went to see their comrades in the infirmery : Nora and Ren. After being told of what had happened, it was no surprise that the two were shocked to hear that their friend Harry James Potter was in fact Death himself.
Nora had complained loudly about how unfair it was for her to have been there to see the Battle between Harry… huh… Thanatos and the Twin Gods of Remnant ! Afterwards, wanting some answers, questions were asked to not only Amber but Emerald as well.
Team RWBY, Team JNPR and Blanche were taken aback by the answer they got : about Amber being the Fall Maiden, the attempt to steal it by a mad woman named Cinder Fall, Amber's meeting with Thanatos and the things that happened afterwards.
The little group had been silent for a time as their minds processed what they just learned. Of course, Amber got an earful from Blanche as the White Wolf was angry at her friend for not telling her anything about her lover. Emerald herself got an earful from many people present with Weiss at the lead.
After all, thievery was not something everyone looked up with acceptance…
"Do you think he will come back ?" Blake asked her teammates and friends as they sat together in a circle.
Her parents had left a while ago with some of their guards to retrieve the bodies of Adam and his followers by the orders of Sienna Khan. That's left her with plenty of time to discuss with her friends.
Ruby, Yang, Weiss, Nora, Ren, Pyrrha and Jaune along with Blanche, Emerald and Amber all stared at the Cat Faunus at the question. They knew who she was talking about of course but yet…
"You know… I still can't believe we were friends with DEATH of all things..." Jaune muttered from his seat as he used a hand to ruffle his hair.
"Yeah… No wonder he was so strong..." Ren answered with a nod of agreement.
"And why he was so cool..." Ruby added with a sigh before looking at her partner-in-crime
"Weiss, I'm surprised that you haven't screamed at him for… you know..."
"A part of me wants to be angry at him for being the cause of my father's death… but for the most part, I'm grateful he did… Because if he didn't, nothing would have changed at all and the White Fang would still be terrorists..." the Heiress explained to the youngest girl with sincerity in her eyes.
"That's true… Morbid… but true..." Yang agreed with a nod before looking over at Blanche
"I bet you feel like the luckiest girl in the world ?"
The White Wolf Faunus blinked for a second before looking at the Blond with a frown of confusion "What do you mean ?"
"I mean you have DEATH himself as your boyfriend ! The look of amazement on your face when he arrived was a DEAD giveaway !"
Groans echoed from the group at the pun… except Amber who snorted in amusement.
"It was a terrible pun !" Blake hissed at her partner with narrowed eyes.
"No it wasn't ! My pun was DEADLY good !" Yang's answer caused more groans to escape them.
"Ruby ! Tell your sister to stop !" Nora told the youngest girl present with what looked like a pleading look on her face and Ren nodded his head fervently in agreement.
"Yang stop !" Ruby flatly told her sister who pouted like a child as she crossed her arms under her bust.
"You guys are no fun !" the Blond Brawler from Team RWBY whined childishly at them.
"Maybe but thanks to you Yang, I'm literally DYING of laughter here~" Amber commented with a toothy smirk.
Groans of exasperation echoed from the group while Yang laughed loudly with humor. Emerald slapped her head with a hand, muttering to herself
"Why did my girlfriend have to have such a lousy sense of humor ?"
Hearing this, the Fall Maiden smirked as she used an arm to grab Emerald's shoulders before pulling her closer to her.
"But at least I have one, my beautiful emerald~" Amber cooed fondly to the thief who blushed madly at the nickname before glaring daggers at the others as they started snickering at her.
"To answer you Yang : yes I'm proud of who my lover is… Not many girls can openly said that they are in love with Death himself…" Blanche began to say with a wolfish grin as her tail wagged behind her.
"True..." Weiss and Blake both said at the same time before nods.
Before more could said however, someone entered the room… well more like people entered the room : Raven, Taiyang, Summer, Glynda, Qrow, Kali… and two other people.
"Mom ?! Winter ?! " Weiss cried out in shock as Willow Schnee herself lunged at her daughter with tearful eyes.
"Oh my baby ! I was so worried when I heard the news ! Are you hurt ?" the concerned mother asked her with pure maternal worry while her other daughter stepped forward with an equal look of concern.
"I'm fine…" Weiss replied shyly while shooting a glare toward her teammates as their eyes showed nothing but amusement at her predicament.
Yang then looked toward Raven who returned the look with an expression of hidden concern. Earlier, the two of them had a little discussion… mainly about why Raven had to leave her husband and daughter behind. While the blond understood her reason and forgave her for that, she still didn't liked it.
"Are you alright children ?" Glynda asked them all with a straight face but we could see the worry shining in her eyes.
The Blond Deputy Headmistress might be a stern and professional individual but she still had a soft side… albeit she barely show it.
"Yes !" they all responded at the same time with nods.
"What a good way to break the ice between us~" Yang couldn't help but cooed from her seat.
Groans echoed from the group, adults included. Much to the Brawler's surprise, Summer was snickering in amusement.
"Is she always like this ?" Kali asked her daughter while pointing at Yang.
"Unfortunately..." Blake, Weiss and Ruby along with Jaune and Pyrrha all grumbled at the same time with Ren nodding in agreement.
Yang pouted at them, glaring at everyone present before Summer took over with a smirk
"I found it be really PUNNY~"
"GRIMM DAMN IT SUMMER !" Qrow and Glynda both cried out in exasperation while the others all groaned at the horrible pun… except Yang who laughed loudly in humor.
Now we knew where she got her sense of Humor… From Summer Rose !
"Summer I love you dearly but please STOP !" Taiyang pleaded his revived wife as he literally went on his knees.
Shocking enough, Qrow did the same adding "Yes ! We already have a person with a horrible sense of humor! No need to add more !"
"HEY !" Yang cried out in indignation just as Summer narrowed her eyes at the two saying dangerously
"Oh… I have terrible sens of humor huh?"
Qrow gulped as he realized what he just said as raised placating hands.
"Well… You see..." he tried to say but then stopped when he heard a snort coming from none other than Raven Branwen.
Qrow shot her a glare but she was totally unfazed by it and only smirked at him in amusement. Looking away from his sister, he looked at everyone present… who were also grinning at him. Then he stared pleadingly at Taiyang for some support… but instead he got something else.
"You are on your own pal !" Ruby's and Yang's father said to his comrade as he backed away from his angered wife whose silver eyes were glued on Qrow's form.
The man stared at his friend with shock before looking back at Summer as sweat fell profusely from his eyes. Fortunately for him, he was saved from whatever his former leader had in mind when two other people entered the room : Ghira Belladonna and another person that caused Blake and Blanche to stiffen in surprise.
The newcomer was a female, Bengal Tiger Faunus with amber eyes, dark complexion and wild black and chin-length hair. Like Blake and Blanche, she had a pair of ears but her body was adorned with numerous tiger stripes-like marks. She was wearing four golden earrings on three of her ears as well as a small jewel on her forehead.
She was also wearing a form-fitting dark gray sleeveless top with white trim with a large diamond cut out of the back exposing most of her back accompanied by a smaller diamond-shaped cutout just above her breasts. In addition, a long gray skirt with white accents (which was shaped inwards towards her calves) and her over the knee black stockings with golden trim alongside two long splits on the side which revealed a pair of black shorts.
Over the dress, she wore a back-revealing long red cape clasped by golden accessories as well as a gray waist cincher with red trim that had a black golden buckled belt over it. Aside from all that, she also possessed a pair of light gray wedged sandals that had red laces which were tied to her calves, as well as a black elbow-length fingerless glove on her right hand. She also had a red rope with a golden bell on her left side wrapped around her waist with a matching rope wrapped around her right wrist.
Blanche was stunned as she knew who it was : Sienna Khan, the Leader of the White Fang !
"Sienna..." Willow greeted the newcomer with a tiny smile.
"Willow..." Sienna greeted her back with a smile of her own before looking at everyone present with calm. When her eyes fell on Blake, the latter stiffened in slight fear but calmed down when the Tiger Faunus spoke in a gentle tone
"I'm not here to sermon you from leaving the Fangs Blake…"
"Then why are you here ?" Blake hesitantly asked her but still showed respect both in tone and behavior.
"To collect the bodies of Adam Taurus and his men… While they had betrayed the White Fang, they still deserved a proper burial..." Sienna explained in a soft tone as emotions showed in her eyes.
Many nodded their heads in understanding at those words. But then something unexpected happened.
"Oh really ? It had nothing to do with you wanting to see Winter ?~" Willow asked the Tiger Faunus with a tiny smirk.
Sienna, hearing this, blushed madly, spluttering in denial and Winter's face turned redder than a tomato while trying her best to not look at the Tiger Faunus. Everyone else just stared at the two in shock… except Ghira, Kali and Willow who all smirked.
Sienna and Winter shot them a glare with their faces still red in embarrassment but sadly, their expressions had no effect on the trio who kept smirking like idiots, amused by the whole thing.
"I hope I'm not coming at a bad time~" a masculine voice echoed from nearby, causing everyone present to jump in slight surprise, taken aback by the intrusion.
Turning their heads toward where the voice came from, they saw a large cloud of mist forming a few feet away from them. They watched with wide eyes as a familiar armored figure appeared in the middle of the mist. Like the last time they met him, he was 12 feet tall in height but they weren't bothered by it anymore.
"HARRY !" Yep they still stick with the name he gave his clone (and the name his parents gave him millenniums ago).
"THANATOS !" Amber called out with a bright smile on her face.
Sienna, Winter and Willow (who didn't met him before) instantly bowed in respect, knowing who he was. The embodiment of Death smiled at his friends before looking glancing briefly at the three
"Rise… Like I said before, you have no need to bow before me..." his voice was filled with slight irritation and kindness.
While three women slowly went back on their feet, Thanatos looked at Blanche with a smile
"As I promised, I'm back..." he said with a tiny smirk and a twinkle in his eyes.
Blanche rolled her eyes in amusement at this but smiled as well as she replied back "Yes you are… and you know… You do look better without that helmet~"
"Well then… I will not rebuilt it~" Thanatos retorted with a grin and a wink which caused Blanche to smirk back at him toothily as her tail wagged behind her in pleasure.
"Wow !" Nora whispered in shock as she stared at the newcomer while Ren's eyes were analyzing him from head to toes. This armor of his was like nothing he had seen before but he had to admit that it was both beautiful and intimidating.
"Excuse me ?" Willow called out softly from her place beside her daughters.
The embodiment of Death, hearing this, turned his head to stare at her with an impassive look on his face, his neon green eyes shining like living fires. Taking a deep breath to get rid of her uneasiness, the current CEO of the SDC gathered all her courage to speak in a calm and collected tone
"I want to thank you..."
"What for ?" Thanatos asked her with a frown of confusion.
"For not only saving our world from whatever those Gods planned to do but also for the kind words you said about us, Mortals..." Willow Schnee answered with a tiny smile on her face but still speaking with deference.
"You shouldn't thank me… I only did what I had to… and maybe because those Twins had it coming…" the embodiment of Death replied with a shrug.
"Oh ? So you didn't fought those Gods to save a certain White Wolf ?~" Yang asked sweetly from her seat while glancing at Blanche who shot her an exasperate glare.
"You are the one to talk Firecracker… If you were in my place and Blake was Blanche, you would have done the same..." Thanatos calmly retorted to the Blond Brawler of Team RWBY.
Hearing, Yang and Blake blushed madly and while everyone was laughing with humor, the two of them glared at him with red faces of embarrassment.
"What ? Even a mole could seen how much the two of you like each other… Same for Ruby and Weiss or Amber and Emerald..." the embodiment of Death began to say before pausing as a tiny smirk grew on his face
"The same could be said for these two~" at those words, he was looking at Winter and Sienna who both blushed again madly, avoiding each other's eyes.
"My Lord please : Can you stop embarrassing everyone ?" Summer asked him with a smirk.
"Maybe in a few minutes~" Thanatos responded which caused some people to widen their eyes in fear before screaming loudly
"NO !"
The embodiment of Death snorted at the reactions before his face turned serious. Upon seeing this, many became a bit worried and some could be seen glancing at one another with slight concern.
"Harry ?" Blanche called out softly to him, wondering what was going on with him now and Amber looked just as concerned.
"My Lord ?" Summer called out in the same tone from her place near her family.
Thanatos took a deep breath before opening his mouth to speak again "I am here to restore Balance..."
"What Balance ?" Sienna asked him curiously.
"The Balance between Life and Death..." was her answer.
Hearing this, some people instinctively glanced at Summer who was now completely pale. Ruby and Yang looked horrified while Qrow, Raven and Taiyang looked ready to step in. Seeing this, Thanatos chuckled a bit before saying gently
"Calm down...I'm not talking about Summer…"
Many calmed down at those words and a quick look at Blake and Weiss told Thanatos that they were relieved by those words. Of course, they would supports their crushes in this. Love was such a beautiful and dangerous thing…
"Then what were you talking about ?" Glynda asked him with a frown of confusion, breaking the tiny silence that followed his talk.
"By killing the God of Light and aspiring his powers, I became the sole Entity in this world… which isn't good..."
"Why ?" Weiss asked him with nothing but pure curiosity.
"Life and Death are two different aspects of the world… They cannot be combined… Its like the Ying and Yang… Don't you dare make a pun right now young lady !" Thanatos began to say before looking over at a certain blond at the last part.
Yang pouted at him for ruining her fun but nodded her head in reluctant acceptance while everyone glanced at her with amusement clear on their faces.
"As I was saying, Life and Death are not supposed to be in one Entity..." Thanatos said calmly to change the subject and return to the main reason of his visit.
Blanche's eyes widened and she realized what he wanted "You are looking for someone to take the mantle of Embodiment of Life !"
Everyone widen their eyes at those words as they looked at Thanatos with shock
"Indeed…" The embodiment of Death said with a nod as he looked at everyone present with a serious expression on his face, showing them the gravity of the situation.
"How will you do that ? I mean, finding the right person..." Pyrrha asked him with a serious expression on her face.
With a smile, Thanatos raised a hand where, in the his palm, appeared a ball of light. At the sight if it, Sienna, Winter and Willow gaped in shock while the others stared in silent contemplation. After all, they had already seen it when Thanatos absorbed it after he defeated the God of Light.
"Behold the power of Life and Creation !" the embodiment of Death declared seriously as he looked at everyone while holding the ball in his hand.
"Quick question : What would happen if one of us absorb it ?" Ruby asked him with slight curiosity and concern.
They all could feel the power radiating from that small ball and while it was a bit intoxicating, no one made a move to touch it.
"Well… In short, you will have as much power as me but you will be able to control Life instead of Death…You will also be able to create whatever you want… but most of all you will be Immortal !"
"It doesn't sound so bad..." Nora began to say before shivering when she saw the look on Thanatos' face
"Immortality has a price : sure you will not age but you will have to suffer : if you have children, you will see them grown, have children who will grown… and you will watch them die of old age while you still look fresh !"
A long silence followed the declaration as they looked back and forth between one another, thinking about what was said. Raven might be power hungry but even her didn't wanted to live forever. In her mind, Death was a natural part of Life and something normal.
Many of the adults were thinking the same while the youngsters were still debating on what to do. Ruby was talking with her teammates while Jaune was discussing with Nora, Ren and Pyrrha. Emerald, Blanche and Amber were also chatting with one another. After a moment of thoughts, they looked back at Thanatos still holding the ball in his hand.
"We do not want it..." Ruby spoke for not only her but her Team as well. Yang, Blake and Weiss nodded their heads to show their agreement.
"We refuse it as well !" Jaune's voice sounded firm as he looked at the embodiment of Death with a serious expression on his face.
Thanatos smiled at them with pride in his eyes before looking at the other people present. The adults all shook their heads and he instantly knew what it meant. Nodding at this in understanding, the embodiment of Death then looked at the remaining people : Amber, Emerald and Blanche.
"What say you ?" he asked them with a raisebrow, having a slight idea of what they were about to answer… or at least what he thought they would answer.
"I have already the ability to go visit you whenever I want… and I am already friend with you… Its all I want… That and my gorgeous Emerald of course~" Amber began to say to Thanatos before cooing the last part at the green haired thief who shot her a warm smile despite blushing a bit.
The embodiment of Death then looked at Blanche when the White Wolf Faunus spoke again "I will do it..."
Not many people seemed surprised by the words.
"Are you sure ?" Thanatos asked her with a serious expression on his face.
"Yes… I have no family left in this world and I want to be close to the man I love more than anything..." Blanche explained with nothing but sincerity before adding with confidence
"And if it means being Immortal to stand by your side… then so be it !"
Thanatos smiled warmly at the Wolf Faunus before nodding his head in acceptance
"Very well…" he said with a sigh before gently tossing the ball of light toward Blanche…
… who didn't have the time to blink when the say ball slowly entered her body. Screams of agony escaped her mouth as a feeling of pain like never before started to spread through her body… to her very soul.
"BLANCHE !"
"MS MOONFLOWER !"
People cried out in alarm but were stopped by a bright light that caused many to turn around , hissing in pain. For a moment, Blanche's screams were the only things people could hear from the White Wolf Faunus as the light was becoming brighter and brighter… to the point, Thanatos himself had to turn around to avoid being blinded by it.
After what looked like an eternity, the light faded and everyone was allowed to look again. At first, they had to blink to be sure that their eyes weren't damaged by the bright light of earlier but, once they were sure everything was good, they looked toward Blanche… only to gasp in shock at what they saw.
Blanche Moonflower hadn't changed a lot physically…well except the size and her eyes. She was no longer a young 6'2' Wolf Faunus, now she looked about 11 feet tall and her eyes, now pupilless, looked like living yellowish fires.
But what caught everyone's attention was not her size or eyes… but the beautiful armor she was wearing.
(Imagine Athena Cloth in Saint Seiya The Lost Canvas with wing-shaped hair clips instead of the original helmet and a rapier instead of the shield and staff)
Made of gold and white, this armor gave the impression that Blanche was a Goddess descended from Heaven to mingle with common Mortals ! The people present were in awe at Blanche's new appearance but the most surprised person present was without contest the White Wolf Faunus herself !
She looked at her new body and armor with stars in her eyes before looking up at Thanatos who had a look of happiness and satisfaction on his face before he cleared his throat. Once everyone's eyes were on him, the embodiment of Death spoke in a solemn tone.
"I welcome you to your new life : Blanche… Your old life is no more... You have now received the powers of Life and Creation and they granted you the guardianship of all Living Forms on Remnant ! Respect yournewduty, protect the Balance of this world and enjoy your Immortality with pride and dignity !"
Blanche's eyes watered as she looked up at him and he gave her a warm smile in response before he found himself being hugged tightly by a crying White Wolf Faunus. Ignoring the cheers of happiness and the congratulations from the other occupants of the room, the two Immortals simply hugged one another happily.
They now knew that they would be together for all eternity… And they were fine with it.
(To be continue…)