Universe 1938…

Following deeper into forests and far lands populated with old sand and ancient stones, Blake had finally found her tracks. Footprints and other trails left behind by Professor Gardenia Silva.

Peculiarly without a single Atlesian soldier in sight, one would think that someone of Gardenia's status would be followed by a whole army for escort. Or perhaps at the very least a whole proper excavation team for whatever it was she was doing.

But no, she was all alone. In the middle of this field populated by rocks and dirt. Which in itself was strange to Blake. If what Gardenia was looking for was of any value then it would make sense for the forces of the other Kingdoms, especially those of Ozymandias' court, to also be present in order to make claim of the land.

And yet, it was as if Gardenia was the very first one to set foot on this place to make the discovery. If it weren't for Watts providing Blake with information, it was likely nobody would've any idea the whereabouts of this woman.

With nothing but a shovel and a pickaxe by her side, Gardenia dug deeper into these unremarkable rocks that seemed like they never felt the touch of a human for the entire age of Remnant. Stone after stone with unmarked rough edges and natural signs of erosion. And yet, Gardenia still piled them higher and higher with each passing minute, hoarding them with a careful caressing touch.

Still confused, but determined, Blake walked toward Gardenia. Approaching her with footsteps that made no sound. Skillful not just with the precision and movement of her muscles, but alongside the steady rate of her lungs, which to the layman would look as if she was not breathing at all.

Immediately drawing out her sword, Blake placed the blade right over the woman's left shoulder. Prompting Gardenia to finally notice the quiet raging bloodlust.

"Holy hell," Gardenia cried, "you're that Adam kid, aren't you?"

"It is Blake. Blake Belladonna."

"Huh, that's weird."

"So what is all this?" Blake gestured towards the stones.

"Oh, these. Would you believe me if I told you these are alien rocks from another dimension that landed on our world thousands of years ago?"

"No. I would not."

"It's a working theory. But whatever this is, it's not from this world. Or at the very least not formed by our natural laws. But why am I telling you any of this?"

Emerging from a nearby bush was a young man with dark black hair wearing an Atlesian uniform. He had his sleeves rolled up in an otherwise clean and proper outfit. Most likely someone who would always keep his red tie secured and symmetrical, along with never taking his service cap off his head. His forearms were completely soaked in liquid, either from sweat or water, it wasn't entirely clear. In the end, Blake deduced he was simply off washing his hands.

"Professor," said the young man, "I found us a clearing not far from here. I think we can set up camp there for the night and…"

Before he could finish his sentence, the life from his eyes had already begun to leave the moment he realized his torso and lower body were no longer connected. Seeing the blood squirting out of his body was the last thing he saw before the pieces of the corpses crumbled into a messy pile like one would find in a slaughterhouse.

"You killed Ray," Gardenia commented with absolutely no emotion behind her voice. "He was my assistant you know. He was gonna get extra credits and everything. Poor kid."

"You're going to write in your report that this man died in action in a Grimm attack."

"Oh, gladly," Gardenia said, to Blake's surprise, "this isn't the first time this happened. But I am running out of assistants. Always gotta go get new ones."

Shaking her head, Blake refocused her attention then said:

"I'll cut to the chase. I know you're behind Team GOLD. You're going to tell me everything you've worked on regarding those superpowered artificial humans, as well as any other side projects you may have been working on."

"And I take it that you're going to kill me if I don't do what you ask, yes?"

"Yes."

"I guess that's obvious with you pointing your sword at my face. But do you wanna know about the rocks as well? They're pretty interesting, I tell you what."

"Spare no details."

"You know, if Watts wanted to know all the juicy details, he should've come himself in person instead of sending his lackey to do the dirty work."

A bolt of electrical thought shot through Blake's mind as her eyes widened into shock and a defensive cautious look. Gardenia continued:

"I would've told him myself. I don't really care. I just want him to explain why. I want to be in the loop. I hate being out of the loop. Every moment of it is agony."

"And… you are in pain this very moment?"

Smiling, Gardenia replied:

"Yes."

"Hmm…"

"My Semblance is Read. When I touch anything, I can read many things about the composition, the molecular structure, and even the history. These stones for example, they don't look like it, but there used to be carvings on them. Eroded away with the passage of time. But I can see the chisels hammering away on the surface of these tablets."

"What… do the carvings say? What are they?"

Turning to face Blake, Gardenia's crazed expression was then inexplicably combined with a serious somber look that was difficult to discern. She answered the question with a single word:

"Prophecy."

"Time to move further into the West," Weiss declared in front of General Vulf and Fleet Admiral Maru. "We have the advantage, it's time to push forward."

"Agreed," said Sam.

"They have a god on their side," Maru commented. "We have you, as well as the Queen. But Oz is still hiding out there somewhere, planning his next move. He should not be underestimated."

"Are you saying Oz is comparable to a Maiden?" Sam asked.

"There are things we do not understand about his power. I've never seen anything like it through my years fighting against him. His magick was more straightforward back then. But it's gotten strange lately. His forces are growing stronger by the minute. Just look at what that Oobleck person was able to do, and he was only a second-in-command."

"Maru is right," said Weiss. "I am confident that I can still best them all in combat if we were to confront head-on. But Oz is clearly strategizing around his strengths, keeping his distance."

"Oobleck isn't the only one we need to concern ourselves with," said Maru, handing Weiss and Sam a folder each. Inside containing the profile of none other than Peter Port himself, Royal Alchemist of Oz's court.

"We know a lot more about Port than we do Oobleck," Maru continued. "But he too has gotten a lot stronger. Take a look at these reports over in Mantle. We've already started mobilizing the few military bases we have there to move south into Feldspar. But recently the locals and the soldiers have been experiencing an unexplainable disease."

"What is it?"

"Frankly, we have no idea," Maru admitted. "All the symptoms are different. Thousands of reports of people's limbs being turned elastic and soft like rubber, capable of stretching for a mile in one of the cases. They're completely incapacitated in this condition. Hundreds of other reports are severe fever cases. Some people are feeling cold, others are feeling hot. One case had a victim experience such a rise in body temperature that he exploded."

"What?"

"That's insane."

"People are barfing all over the place," Maru continued. "Some found their bones to be completely hollow, others are missing vital internal organs. It goes on and on. There's no end in sight to the number of odd cases we've been receiving."

"Have you quarantined those areas affected by this disease?" Weiss asked.

"Yes, of course. I've also had my marines investigate the cause. Nothing is decisive yet, but we've found out our water supplies had been contaminated. Some of the local springs and rivers that Mantle had been using for centuries are infected with a strange colorless, odorless substance. We've already sent samples to the lab, but the only thing we've determined so far is that this is no doubt a result of their alchemy."

"You're absolutely certain?" Sam asked.

"It's what the scientists said. I'll send some more samples back home to Atlas as well to get a second opinion, so we can get a more concrete result."

"Let us work fast," said Sam. "These new dimensional cracks in the atmosphere may yield unexpected results. Do we have a way to combat the destruction it'll bring, Chancellor?"

Pausing for a brief moment, Weiss tapped her chin, before saying with cold determination:

"I will stabilize it with my Aura when it gets out of control. But if it turns out that this Oobleck possesses universal power strong enough to rival my strength, the stability will likely be threatened again. Not to mention the hidden danger of Oz's own power, if he is indeed stronger than Oobleck."

"Does Ironwood have a contingency plan for these kinds of events?" Maru asked, folding his arms.

To which, Weiss responded, also folding her arms:

"Not that I am aware of, no."

"It's strange, isn't it?" Sam commented. "How Ironwood is still in a coma? That shouldn't even be possible. He's the strongest one among the three of us Giants."

Glancing over to Sam with a stoic face, Maru remained silent and deep in thought for a brief minute, before turning back to Weiss. He said:

"Chancellor, permission to go on a special mission back to Atlas' eastern waters?"

Unsure of what Maru was up to, Weiss nodded her head regardless, as she knew the power and experience of the Fleet Admiral. He knew things that ordinary marines would not dare learn. He was a man of the Empire, of science. His power came from training, not from magical blood. But he knew many things of Oz's mysticism.

There may be things one could learn from that mysterious world.

Far on the other side of Remnant, in the middle of the desert continent, was a tent housing two injured friends healing from the recent battle. With Neptune tying the last layer of bandages over Sun's torso. The weak shimmers of his Aura were barely visible, barely healing the cuts and blood and char of the Dust powder, flaming from war machines.

"That was a close one," Neptune muttered, trying to hide a gloomy expression.

"No kidding. I think the pills messed up my gut real bad. I haven't been able to take a proper dump for days now."

"Yeah, I guess that means I won't be taking any of those. No thank you."

"I'm still bothered by that electric guy we fought. He's so much stronger than anything I've ever seen."

"That wind guy was something else, too," said Neptune.

"Yeah. I think even Adam might have trouble against them. I mean, they went up against a Maiden."

The moment Sun brought up the topic, a sudden sound spiraling out of the ground came bursting behind them, prompting the two of them to turn their heads to witness a peculiar clay pot rising out of the very soil at the corner of their tent. From the empty pot, dirt slowly poured from beneath the bottom, filling up the pot to the brim until moments later when the moisture started piling up, watering the soil. Within seconds a plant then sprouted from underneath. Growing at a pace no ordinary plant should be capable of, with the small stem immediately morphing into a radiant pink sunflower.

This flower emitted a strange Aura from within, one that rumbled the very air, making it almost a little too stuffy to even breathe. Which ultimately became heavier the moment an arm emerged out of the flower, growing in size at an exponential rate.

First came an arm, then slowly a torso followed, alongside a head – and that familiar face the two of them had seen on the battlefield not too long ago.

Nora Valkyrie – the Spring Maiden.

Rising out of the ground, she dusted herself off as the pot of plant disappeared back into the earth.

"Oh, my Lady," Sun instantly got on one knee, grunting through his pain in reverence.

"Please," Nora said. "Stand."

Complying, Neptune helped Sun up on his feet. They marveled at this magnificent woman, who currently seemed much more ordinary than when she was back on the field. A woman of average height, a bright complexion, and even brighter, orange-colored hair, but wearing a stoic serious look.

An expression that then slowly morphed into a faint smile, bright as the sun as her Aura began to shine. She then said:

"Walk with me."

Now out into the open, witnessing the high noon sun scorching the glorious Western city of Feldspar, one of the strongholds of Vacuo, a place of massive farmlands miraculously springing out of the cruel heat of the desert to bring the people here great exotic spices and year-round crops. Even before the coronation of Nora as the new Maiden, this place had been touched by Dreams of Spring for centuries.

The locals could not truly explain why. But Western priests put their faith in the hands of the Seasons, burning sheep offerings on numerous stone alters all over as a way to honor the power of Spring herself.

Bustling left and right in this scene of a massive market populating the streets, the people walked up and down in a flood, clearing ways for massive military jeeps to go through, carrying massive barrels and supply crates to numerous nearby camps. The soldiers blended in well with the civilians, many donning bright red, yellow, purple garments in combat against the heat striking from above.

Many bearded merchants with intricate turbans sitting in their fruit stands, their grain stands. On one hand, busy collecting funds traded as the crops left onto numerous wagons, on the other hand, bringing in even more fruits, spices, Dust, meat, metal, restocking to the brim as the day moved on without stop.

Here under the warm daylight, the people basked in the glory of a newly crowned sun, growing from crops blessed by a holy touch.

Noticing their divine lady the moment the three left the tent, the people immediately gathered around near and far. Many getting out of their cars, others hopping off their camels and wagons, all for the sake of a moment to meet the one they worshipped on these far West soils.

"It's the Maiden!" Shouted many men.

Thus, immediately alerting nearby priests who quickly came to order the crowd, lining them up in a fashion to make adequate space for Nora to pass through. Walking by the people, she waved to them, nodding in acknowledgement, to then have her bright Aura illuminate everywhere her feet touched. The people marveled, even pointing in shock at Sun and Neptune who followed so closely behind their Maiden.

"I am a devout believer," Nora declared to the two. "That's part of why the holy corpse chose me as the next vessel. I've always been ready to worship. I just… never thought I'd see the day when I am the one worshipped."

"Does the corpse… talk to you?" Sun asked.

Nora answered:

"Not with a mouth like a person, no. I am… still Nora Valkyrie. But I'm different, somehow. Enhanced, combined with the essence and spirit of the corpse. The divine power of Spring merged with me. Making me anew."

"And this is what you want?" Sun asked.

Nora turned her head, while they kept walking, she said:

"The grace of the Seasons is irresistible. I want this, it is part of the faith. You are a worshipper are you not? You should know this."

Scratching his head, Sun chuckled:

"I guess my denomination doesn't quite agree with that doctrine of predestination, and election, and the whole shebang."

"Hmm…"

"Ask her about the time travel," Nepture whispered, nudging Sun.

"Oh, right," Sun cleared his throat, "where did you go after the ritual? You kind of just… disappeared."

"You called me out on the battlefield, did you not?"

"Well… yeah, I guess. But how did my prayer travel back into the past? How does that work? Can you hear things across time?"

"The power of the divine is difficult to explain," she told him. "Even I don't know what truly goes on behind it all. They all just… happen. By the will of Spring, not my will."

"I suppose."

Suddenly stopping short in the middle of the street, the people glanced up in horror now. Turmoil broke out into the streets as all those who came started scrambling back into their homes, pushing off the priests' desperate attempt to limit the sudden madness.

Sun himself wasn't quite sure what was going on until he glanced up the figure floating far in the air above the buildings, one that brought along layers of furious hurricane conjured up by the maddening speed of a god. Powered by thick Aura that sent forth vibrations through into the stones, the windows, and even the massive war vehicles.

The Vacuans scattered like ants, they never even noticed her approaching. One that appeared like a ghost, too fast for them to see coming. Or rather, it should be more accurate to describe the encounter as that of a holy spirit. One to rival the spirit of Spring, that emanated avatar. As she was the only one powerful enough and fast enough to see what all the other mortals could not see.

The Superman – folding her arms as she floated above Feldspar. Barely above a two-story building.

The very moment their eyes locked on one another, the sound of thunder far above in the stratosphere began to roar, ready to strike at Nora's command. With both of their Aura now powering up, knocking over a few fruit stands, even going so far as to trip many people running in the opposite direction.

"It's her!" Sun cried. "Why is she here?"

"Shit!" Neptune readied a stance. "Run! You're in no condition to fight."

"Neither are you," Sun fired back.

"Everybody go back to your homes, now!" One man in the crowd shouted.

Which the priests declared back:

"Do not flee! Hide behind our Maiden. We will be safe in her care."

"Against the Superman?" Sun's eyes widened.

The crowd fell silent, waiting for the moment to unfold for them to know what to do. Nora herself never commanded the Vacuans to do anything. For she knew despite Weiss' intimidating Aura, it was very unlikely that she was here for a fight. Especially not here where innocent civilians might get hurt.

Nora knew of Weiss' reputation, it wasn't in her nature to be excessively cruel to those without power. It was difficult to truly tell, however. Weiss had shown signs of change with recent developments. Her power continued to grow, as did her ruthlessness. The mark of a conqueror.

Nora floated up off the ground, now face to face with Weiss.

"Why are you here, fellow Maiden?" Nora asked.

To which Weiss instantly responded:

"I'm not a Maiden. I am merely here to reiterate the statement I made when we declared war on King Ozymandias. He is the target of Atlas' wrath. Vacuo will not be harmed if they stay out of this war."

"Why don't you take this up with King Theodore?"

"We both know Theodore is not a reasonable man. He is absolutely mad. You on the other hand, you have the will of the people in the palm of your hand. The people see you as holy. They worship you."

"The King is still the King. He was the one who performed the ritual to coronate me as Maiden."

"You don't believe that. As it is written in scripture, divine right is granted by those above in the cosmic sky. Theodore is mortal. You know this. You are a woman of faith are you not? You are chosen after all. Even if I don't appeal to faith, you should think about this rationally. Mistral's Queen is on our side as well. You cannot best two gods at once."

"The only thing you've shown me is how much of a hypocrite you are. You recite scripture, yet you exalt yourself arrogantly. You may have conquered Atlas and Vale, but Vacuo will not be yours. That is final."

Shaking her head, Weiss floated away gradually, intending to leave. But not before leaving one final message:

"I'll give you one more chance to reconsider. We will advance, we will not attack. But if I see your troops out there on the battlefield against ours, I will retaliate. Be sure of that."

"I can read the stones, they tell me stories," Gardenia told Blake. "But my Semblance is not a translator. It merely reads. It retells what happened in its rawest form. But I still have to put them all in context."

"What does this one say?" Blake pointed her sword at the one Gardenia was holding on.

"It doesn't look like it. But this one is actually the work of an ancient Valean priest. He was a craftsman. It's bizarre. He wasn't just a ceremonial guide or a spiritual leader, or even a political one. He sculpted writings on these slabs. A lot of these are genealogies of several different people."

"You said the stones were alien, did you not?"

"Yes, well, maybe, regardless this priest still worked on them. Whether he found them, or created them, it's not entirely clear. Hard to tell. Or maybe… he's drawn to the stone, like fated gravity."

"Huh?"

"You heard me," Gardenia smirked. "I won't repeat myself. You better write this shit down."

Shaking her head, Blake ignored and continued:

"What about this prophecy you talked about?"

"Oh, yes… that. Well, I could tell you all about that. But a favor for a favor."

Catching Blake off guard, Gardenia slipped out of the range of Blake's sword, rolling to a safe distance away while still holding onto the large rock as she pulled forth her Dust revolver. Pointing straight at Blake with a robotic murderous gaze, one that looked as if she had done this a thousand times.

Gardenia smirked:

"The Fleet Admiral will want to know about this. So why don't you tell me what Watts is up to? Then maybe I'll tell you what you want to know."

Professor Watts did warn Blake of Gardenia's capabilities, but Blake still found things hard to predict. She never truly knew what this woman was really thinking, what she will do. It was obvious now that she was not going to come quietly, despite seemingly cooperative just mere moments ago.

Blake decided right then and there, she was going to have to take her in by force.

Powering up her Aura to coat her blade, she was ready to strike. Not before finding six bullets placed right in front of her face in a precise vertical line from her head down to her abdomen. Reacting just in time, Blake sliced the bullets in half, letting the Dust and Aura stored in those bullets burst forth in a miniature blast that knocked her off balance, launching her far in the distance.

"Things are moving to an end point," Gardenia said, "and I really don't like being kept in the dark like this. You understand, don't you? Being placed inside a cell for Seasons know how long. But what I'm really trying to say is – get out of my way."

Pointing the revolver at Blake lying on the ground, Gardenia suddenly found herself holding onto nothing but a gun handle. Only now realizing that Blake had been fast enough to slice the revolver in half, faster than she even realized. She never even saw Blake's sword move toward her, and yet the speed and skill demonstrated was beyond impressive.

Staring at Blake who was slowly getting back on her feet, a little unsure of what to do, Gardenia scratched her head. Until she suddenly realized an important fact. In a chipper voice, she laughed:

"It's a good thing I always carry two guns."

Within the next second, Blake unsheathed her blade at blinding speed once more, and again – sliced the second gun Gardenia was holding in half, like it was made out of butter.

"Well… shit."

They stood there in silence, with neither being sure of what they should be doing. As Blake knew that killing Gardenia was completely off the table. But not knowing if this woman was carrying extra guns, she still held tight on the handle of her sword, prepared to strike at any moment.

And in the end, was only met with Gardenia simply blurting out:

"Well… bye."

Instantly, hopping off into the distance, disappearing from sight. Leaving Blake completely speechless.