So, I'm putting a note here to let everyone know that there's a bit of a retcon to this story, nothing major, just changing the name of the McGuffin from the seasons to something called the fourth wish. And that's only because I'm sick of trying to theme everything around seasons. No plot relevant changes, just a way for me to have a bit more freedom with creation. Which is really good because I don't do well when put inside a box.

That's it. In fact, the only line I even have to edit is the one where Ozpin says "the secret of the seasons will soon be mine." (Or something to that effect.) now it just says the secret of the fourth wish.

I'll also be changing the name of the story short after this chapter is uploaded.

Anyway, that's all the stuff I wanted to update you on. Thank you all so very much for being patient with this story, and I hope you enjoy.

The door let out a dull hissing sound as it slid open, revealing a large stone room engulfed in shadow. There, a small light from the brasier sitting in the center of the room casting a flickering light to the corners, dancing off the edges of the walls illuminating the untouched oriental stone floor.

This room, which had been left untouched since its creation, maintained an air of divine serenity, of peaceful beauty. Any who set foot in this place would undoubtedly be able to tell this was a sacred solemn reflection, not to be disturbed by praying hands or rampant plundering. Not unlike a church in many respects.

This place, despite being buried deep underground, was clearly sacred in some significant way. And while not entirely clear as to why, any self respecting adventurer would know better than to disturb these hallowed grounds.

However, apparently nobody told that to the person who rigged the previous hallway with an assortment of dangerous traps.

"Gah!" Ruby screamed as she and her teammates came blasting through the door, knocking it off its hinges and sending it crashing into the far wall as they landed in a pile on the floor a few feet away from the door.

Slowly, pushing herself up, Yang, who had landed on the top slightly scorched but otherwise fine, let out a soft laugh, rubbing the back of her scaly head as she sat up. "Haha, sorry about that." She joked. "I didn't mean to fall on you guys like that. I kinda wasn't expecting those things to-."

"Hey, nobody cares!" Weiss snapped the best she could underneath the much heavier Barbarian. "Now get off me! You're heavy and you stink! When was the last time you bathed, you brute? Because you smell like a-!"

"Hey! Weren't you saying something about calling people heavy is rude?" Yang asked mockingly, pushing herself down against into the Elf forcing her harder against the Tabaxi she lay on as Yang deliberately made herself as heavy as possible, grinning slyly as she looked down at the bard . "Should start taking your own advice, princess. Otherwise people will-."

"You know what I think? You're all too heavy!"

Immediately the bickering came to a stop as the three Adventurers looked down at the girl on the bottom of their dog pile, her torso sticking out as they lay completely on her stomach.

"Sorry!" Yang and Blake said as they scrambled off her, the Elf joining in only much quieter, turning away as the Tabaxi helped Ruby, quickly walking to the far side of the room while keeping her eyes on the girl.

"You okay?" Yang asked as Ruby got to her feet, dusting herself off and checking on her equipment making sure everything was okay.

"Yep. Mostly my pride anyway." Ruby said as she finished, finding nothing seriously damaged before turning to look around the somber room. "But more importantly, where are we? This isn't like the other rooms that have tried to kill us within seconds. How come nothing happened here yet?"

At her question, the three other members turned to look around, scanning the room as they took in its strange calmness and serenity. The uneasy silence filled each of them with a hint of unease.

"I…think we've reached the innermost chamber." Blake said, turning back to her companion. "I'm not seeing any traps and nothing's tried to kill us yet, so I'm guessing either the cultists never thought anyone would get this far, or didn't want to desecrate their vault with anything that might damage their stored history. Remember, according to the Professor, they wanted to preserve their beliefs. So adding deadly traps ran the risk of harming that goal."

"Right, because that stupid book has been so helpful so far." Weiss grumbled, crossing her as she walked over to the far wall, examining a bunch of rubble. "How about we focus on finding that stupid box and a way out of this place. Because the sooner we wrap up this stupid quest, the better."

"Touchy." Yang said, tucking her hands behind her head as she looked over at the Elf. "You know, you're not the one in charge of the party, right? So how about you stop barking orders at us and conjure up some light. Cause while I might have Darkvision, I can still see why better with some light."

Weiss let out an annoyed tisk at the Dragonborn sarcasm, but held back her tongue, not raising to Yang's bait. Instead, she tapped her foot against the ground a couple times, forming the same beat as the song she had played earlier. Immediately causing the same spell to trigger, sending a couple beautiful orbs of white light floating up, illuminating a good part of the room as they hung themselves in the air.

"Better?" The Elf said shortly, noticeably panting slightly from having to cast so many spells. "Because if so, shut up and get to work. The sooner we're out of here and back to that old man, the sooner we never have to see each other again. Something that, coincidentally enough, whinnying isn't going to help with."

The bard's sharp tone irritated the barbarian, causing her to throw a few jabs back her way. However, the Elf ignored her, simply turning towards another part of the room, further upsetting the Dragonborn who hurled a few more words after her before stalking off to a different part of the room.

But as her teammates bickered, Ruby found herself tuning out their squabbling as she took in the majesty of the chamber she found herself in. Its sacred presence's not lost on the girl despite its state of decay.

The room was large, much larger than the other rooms they had run through, with high ceiling and carved, white stone walls giving it the appearance of a church complete with statues standing guard on each of the four walls, their backs turned toward the room as they paid homage to the four cardinal directions. The floor was equally as decorated, with old, moss eaten rugs covering the decorative carving etched painstakingly into the stone. With multiple different designs commonly used in the ancient culture of the first civilization.

Hey, wait a minute…

Looking around, Ruby noticed that this entire room had a design display similar to the Original Ones. With multiple lines carved into the walls that had a circular design at the center of the ceiling and floor, as well as carving that we're paying respects to the four ways, a Original Ones belief her mother had been researching before she had disappeared.

Strange. This palace was supposed to be built by a doomsday cult. How could they have decorated their most sacred vault with so much Original Ones memorabilia if they were-?

"Hey, you okay?"

Snapping out of her thoughts, Ruby looked up to see Yang's scaly face looking down at her, a concerned look in her eyes.

"Hey, about earlier." She said awkwardly, picking at her teeth with a clawed hand. "I'm…sorry about what I said about your mom. I…I was out of line. So…you know…sorry."

Ruby stared up Yang for a couple seconds, blinking in confusion before she remembered what she was talking about, causing her to jump slightly in surprise. She hadn't expected an apology from the Dragonborn. Honestly, give her attitude, she had expected her to stubbornly push through, not taking responsibility for anything.

To find out she did have some self control/awareness was a pleasant surprise, one that Ruby was more than happy to encourage, even if the sting of her lost childhood still hadn't fully healed.

"No problem. Water under the bridge." She replied cheerfully. "Apology accepted! But next time, how about you be the one at the bottom of the dog pile, okay? Then we'll call it even."

The Dragonborn laughed at this, walking over and slapping Ruby on the back so hard, she almost knocked her over again.

"That's the spirit!" She said cheerfully, grinning ear to scaly ear. "No point dwelling on the past or the future, best to just live in the moment! Best part of adventuring is being always on the move and never in the same place twice. That way nobody can get upset with you and overreact by trying to run you through with a spear after sleeping with their daughters! I mean, we're both girls, it's not like there's any risk of an unplanned-!"

"I'm not sure that's a good message to teach someone. As undoubtedly there's an inappropriate story behind it." Blake cut in, walking over as Ruby let out an eww! An amused expression showing on her masked face. "Though I thought you were a barbarian. Isn't that rogue or bard behavior? Kinda thought your class had more interest in smashing things."

"Hey, I can enjoy beauty when I see it!" Yang shot back, her grin growing larger as she spoke. "Besides, that's classist! I'm ten times more satisfying to sleep with then the princess over there. Bet she'd faint from just seeing someone's priva-!"

"Hush you!" Weiss said in a tone conveying she wasn't listening. "All of you, get over here. I think I found something."

Turning towards the Elf, the three other Adventurers found the girl standing at the far side of the room, next to a huge statue she was looking up at, her lights moving over towards her to illuminate the large stone carving

The statue had three faces, each one displaying a different emotion. Anger, joy, and sadness, each one positioned on a side of its head starting from right to left, growing out of its head giving it an inhuman look, despite it very much being based on one.

Six arms grow out of its body, each one sprouting from the same spot separating based on set, one pair reaching up hold scimitars, each one the size of a pillar over its head, as if in a victory stance, the second, folded around its stomach, holding a bow and a quiver of arrows, the third, resting on its hips where a giant blade rested, stapled to its back by huge leather straps, its gleaming black steel glistening in the light casted by Weiss' magic.

"Huh, weird. Wonder why they made all his weapons real?" Ruby wondered aloud, coming to a stop next to Weiss. "Look at all the careful cuts and ridges. These guys clearly knew their masonry!"

"Humph. Oh please. Like a doomsday cult would know anything about stone work." The Elf said dismissively. "This is probably just a replica of some other work or something. I've seen more impressive statues in my local garden."

"So, I'm gonna take that as you saying you have no idea of masonry." Yang said as she and Blake joined Weiss and Ruby, staring at the statues as the blond knelt down, examining the woman. "You do know that even if it is a replica, someone still had to carve it. Meaning they would have had to hire someone to come here and make it. Though it's kinda funny imagining that conversation with a stone worker."

"Well, regardless of how it got here, I think we can say it's important to the cult somehow." Ruby cut in, noticing the Elf tensing as she rounded on the Dragonborn. "It's the only thing in the whole room, so it must have some significant to the cult

"Well, it shouldn't be too hard to find." Blake said, turning and scanning the room. "It's just a big room with only a single statue. Nowhere to hide a sacred box or anyth-. Oh!"

Breaking off mid sentence, the Tabaxi took a step back, craning her neck back as she looked up at the multiple faced statue, squinting up at it drawing her party's attention.

Acting quickly, Weiss directed her lights toward the top of its head, quickly reaching her limit where they expanded, shining on all four of the statue's faces, immediately showing off what had caught the rouge's attention.

There, sealed between the spike of the statue's jagged crown was a small, oriental box. One that, while heavily weathered, still had the distinctive signs of being painted with different designs on each of its four sides, with a unique lock keeping it sealed tight.

"Well Damn, there's our prize." Yang said, looking up at the crown, taking a step back as she squinted in the darkness. "So, how do we get it down? Cause I don't think I'm gonna be able to knock this thing over."

"Leave it to me!" Ruby said cheekily. Then, without giving any of the other members of her party time to react, she ran forward and began quickly and effortlessly scaling the statue.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Blake called up to the girl from the ground level, concern painted across her face as she took a step closer to the statue. "Maybe you should let me climb it instead. I'm pretty confident in my decstarity and would probably-."

"I got it!" Ruby called back, inching up one of the statue's second set of arms, agile leaping from that to the first. "I grew up on a small island climbing trees and cliffs! I'll be fine!"

"Trees and cliffs are very different compared to masonry." Blake muttered, crossing her arms as she spoke more to herself than the girl. "Besides, how are you planning to get down with that box in your hands? Not sure if you've noticed, but what you're doing right now isn't going to work with only one hand."

Ruby either didn't hear her or chose not to reply, simply inching her way up the arm reach the top in minutes where she stood up on the arm, teetering slightly as she began walking towards the top of the statue's head, her arms spread wide to help her balance, a big goofy grin on her face as she showed off her expertise.

"Told ya!" She called back down, making the Elf roll her eyes.

"Show off." She grunted. Though the superior smirk on her face disappeared quickly as she heard a snort of laughter to her side, making her round on the source.

"Oh please, like your one to talk, Princess." The Dragonborn said grinning. "I saw what you did in the other room. What was that all about? Never seen a bard using their inspection on themselves before. You got some kind of special power there or something, princess? Or is your ego that big that you improved by listening to your own tales of greatness?"

Huffing in response, Weiss turned her nose up, folding her arms. "I don't owe a Brute like you anything." She said hotly. "I will say that I do have some gifts that make me special compared to others, but as for what, I see no need to disclose any such pertinent details to someone of your inept standing."

As Yang chuckled at the raise she had gotten out of the Elf, Ruby ignored the commotion down below her, hopping off the arm of the statue and landed on top of its head, carefully avoiding the spikes of the crown as she did. Steading her feet, the young Fighter pulled her scythe off her back and used it to reach out, trying to hook the box that was sitting right at the center of the thicket of barbs.

"It's like a maze." Ruby noticed to herself she grabbed hold of one of the crown's non-spike rings as she twisted at the waist to try and maneuver her weapon. "Who ever put it here sure didn't want anyone to get it. It's impressive they even got it up here in the first plac-. Oh wha?!"

Upon managing to poke the box with the end of her weapon, the thicket around her suddenly lit up with glowing red lights as rune like rose petals appeared all around the crown, making the young girl let out a cry of surprise as she jumped back, sliding away from the box, immediately drawing the attention of the party on the ground.

"What's going on?!" Yang screamed as she had her companions drew their weapons. "What kind of magic is that?! Don't tell me this stupid cult has another trap that-!"

But that was as far as the Dragonborn got, as before she could finish her sentence, there was a sudden rumble as a sigil appeared on the crown, causing the thorns to suddenly let out a faint glow, color racing through them as they suddenly began to animate, moving like snakes as they quickly encircled Ruby, cutting off the girl's escape route.

At the same time, a blood red mist poured out from the statue's mouth, shifting around in the air for a few seconds before snaking its way back inside, wiggling like a worm as it squeezed in, releasing a strange red liquid that dribbled down the statue that dried instantly, painting it a blood red.

Then, the statue before them slowly turned it head, the one displaying anger towards them, its eyes lighting up as dust tumbled from its shoulders as it rose to its feet, now towering over them, eyes fixing on the intruders before it throw its head back, letting out an unearthly roar that shook the entire room!

"It's an Eidolon!" Weiss screamed, her hands clamped over her ears. "A sacred guardian of the gods and a protector of holy sights! What's one doing here in the hideout of some death cult?!"

"Doesn't matter! I don't think it's going to let us go without a fight!" Blake replied, she too having clamped her hands over her ears to block the noise. "We need to bring it down quickly and help Rub-!"

However before she could finish, the thorns lashed out, moving so fast they were only a blur, l forming a canopy on top of its head, sealing both the box and Ruby in a cone of thorns, the latter letting out a squeak as she was engulfed in complete darkness.

"Ruby! Her companions cried, all three of them rushing forward, surrounding the enemy and preparing to attack in an attempt to save their friend. Yang taking the front, Blake the right, and Weiss the left. With the elf making the first move, firing a ray of frost at the creature. Something that was quickly followed up by a breath attack from Yang.

However, it was futile.

The Eidolon reacted immediately, swinging both scimitars down on the elf and Dragonborn, immediately forcing them to break off their attacks to throw themselves out of the way of the attack, barely dodging as the blade kicked up rock and stone, sending the debris flying in every direction, cutting into them leaving small scraps and cuts across their arms and legs.

At the same time, the statue raises its bow to eye level, taking aim at Blake before releasing, sending what looked like an entire tree flying towards her at blinding speeds.

Reacting immediately, the rouge cartwheeled back, dodging the attack as the arrow smashed into the ground, showering her in rocks as it embedded itself in the ground.

But this was exactly what the Tabaxi had wanted, something she made very clear by charging forward and running up the arrows shaft, using it as a ramp to leap off of, flying straight towards the Eidolon, both blades drawn, a vicious snarl plastered to her face.

Acting immediately, the statue's lashed out with its blade, striking Blake right in the stomach and stabbing the metal into the ground, a blow that would have sliced right through her if she didn't disappear the moment the attack struck her, letting the real Blake, who had hidden herself behind her illusion, land on the giant blade, immediately running up it and towards her opponent.

But before she could get halfway up the blade, the Eidolon ripped its blade from the ground, flicking it up as it came free from the ground, sending rock and dirty flying into the air alongside the rogue, drawing a scream for her throat that was short lived as before she could get it out, the statue's massive fist slammed into her, sending her crashing to the ground.

"Aahh." Blake hissed, immediately regretting it as a sharp pain s flared up from her chest, indicating she had fractured a few ribs on both sides from the attack. The only thing keeping her up being the adrenaline that was pounding through her body.

Nevertheless, she slowly pushed herself onto a hand, reaching up to touch her aching head only to pull her hand back, finding blood on her fingers from a large gash above her temple. Seems the attack had done more damage than she had expected. And while she didn't know the full extent, she was pretty confident in saying it was-.

"Look out!"

Weiss' scream ripped the Tabaxi's head up, just in time to see the Eidolon spinning towards her, swinging one of its two scimitars down aiming to cut her clean in two!

Acting as fast as she could, the rogue tried to get to her feet to dodge, only for her legs to give out, causing her to collapse in the same spot, hissing in pain as she felt the crack in her legs pulsing in protest of having any weight put on it, forcing her to her knees, unable to move as the blade came rushing down towards her, making her to squeeze her eyes shut and and hold her breath, waiting for the killing blow to land.

But it never did.

"Rahh!"

Suddenly, right before impact, a deafening roar echoed out, followed immediately by the scream of metal, then a loud sound of something shattering. Opening her eyes, she saw Yang standing in front of her, holding her now broken axe in two hands as her hair glowed with fire, eyes burning red as she used her berserk state to parry the huge statue's attack, batting the sword away while only being knocked slightly off balance as a result.

"You okay?!" Yang shouted over her shoulder, looking back at the rogue. "If so, move! We need to find a way to bring this thing down before-!"

But that was as far as she got as the next second, the Eidolon's foot lashed out, kicking the Dragonborn in the chest, sending her flying back, crashing into Blake and knocking them both into the far wall, slumping against it in a heap.

Seeing its opportunity, the statue made its move, quickly approaching the two downed Adventurers as it readied its blades, planning to end the fight quickly.

But before it could take more than a few steps, it was suddenly bombarded by a barrage of Blue beams of frost, staggering it slightly as Weiss danced her ballet around it, moving in a circle as she quickly fired her spells from the tip of her blade, moving quickly while making a point to stay well outside its range, all while singing her song to herself, sharpening her movement and attacks as she bombarded the creature.

Unfortunately for her, this wasn't the first time it had faced a mage.

Completely unfazed by the barrage of spells, the Eidolon slammed its hand into the floor before racking it across the ground, ripping it out at just the right moment to send a shower of rocks rain down in front of Weiss, bringing her to a screeching halt as her path was suddenly.

"Ahh!" She screamed as she threw her arms up, attempting to shield her head from the debris that rained down on her, taking her eyes off her opponent as she tried to dodge around raining rocks.

And in doing so, she missed the massive swing from the statue's blade until it was too late.

"Ahhhhh!" Weiss screamed as the huge blades cut into her side, nearly splitting her in two if she didn't roll out of the way at the last moment, narrowly avoiding a fatal blow, but leaving her unable to escape the falling debris that rained down on her, stones pelting her body until one large one struck her in the head, sending her crashing to the ground where she rolled several feet before hitting the far wall with a dull thud.

Groaning, the Elf struggled to get to her feet, only for her to collapse onto the ground, the wound on her side burning. She was in no condition to keep fighting, none of them were. The fact they hadn't had a rest since they had gotten to the castle was really starting to bite them now as this would undoubtedly be a difficult battle at full strength, but all of them had used all their power just getting this far. And now, they had very little left in the tank.

Blake lay on the ground, bleeding heavily as she scanned the room, looking for somewhere to hide, her blades lying a few feet away, still intact, but practically useless against the stone monster.

Yang meanwhile, was right above her, stuck in the wall in a spread eagle position, one purple eye closed as she panted heavily, her axe completely destroyed from both the blade and the shaft, leaving her without a weapon. And while Weiss could see a thin trail of steam escaping from her mouth, the Elf didn't need to speak to tell she wasn't going to breathe fire again for another good few hours.

Groaning softly, Weiss dragged herself across the ground, reaching out for her fallen blade, managing to wrap her fingers around it as she slowly looked over to the undead beast as it approached her, the girl's knuckles turning white as she clutched her beloved weapon despite knowing it was useless, slowly waiting for her demise as it lumbered over, each step shaking the earth as it went.

And as it finally came to a stop above her, blade raised high above its head, a single thought entered the Elf's mind.

"Is this the end?"

Meanwhile.

"Heya!" Ruby cried as she racked her scythe across the vines blocking her path. The blade scraping against the thorns leaving a small slash in them as the girl swung her heavy weapon behind her, gripping it tightly in both hands as she quickly prepared her follow up swing.

Unfortunately, by the time she had shifted her balance, throwing her weight into her next attack, the vines let out a red glow, quickly healing themselves before the blade made contact, leaving the girl just as stuck as she had been moments before, erasing all her work rendering her swing useless.

Growling in frustration, Ruby slid her weapon back onto her back, taking a step back to take in her surroundings.

Given how she was surrounded by a wall of thorns, it was hard to see anything, ( because being a pure human meant she had no stupid Darkvision.) but she could make out the boundaries of her prison by a few flickers of red that emitted from the petals, the only source of light in the whole area.

As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she also noticed that thorny vines snaked across the ground, making navigation tricky and dangerous as one wrong move and she'd get a thorn the size dagger stabbed up her foot. Effectively meaning she was stuck.

Growling in frustration, Ruby swung her scythe, cutting at the vines on the ground, trying to do anything to free herself or at least give her some extra space to move. However, just like the wall enclosing her, the vines grew back instantly, reattaching themselves to one another before expanding more, trapping her further.

"Come on!" Ruby cried angrily, backing up towards the wall to avoid the vines as they snaked towards her. "This is ridiculous! What the hell even are these things?! What kind of cult has so much Original Ones magi-?"

"A new one appears…"

Stopping mid sentence, Ruby froze as a voice rang out in the darkness, pulling her attention to the center of the enclosure where the box now wrapped in thorny vines, where a strange series of lights had started to emanate out of it, flooding the darkness and causing strange runes to appear on the vines, causing them to stop in their tracks.

Confused, Ruby took a tentative step forward, poking the vines with the butt of her weapon, watching them recoil as quickly as a snake. Opening a path for her letting her step down from the corner she had been backed into.

"Approach…"

Jumping as the voice spoke again, Ruby snapped her head up, looking towards the glowing box as the thorns retreated back, revealing a path from her to it.

Hesitantly, the young girl took a slow step forward, walking on tippy toes on the path, eyes flicking to either side watching the vines, making sure they weren't going to attack her again.

But they stayed where they were, letting her reach the center as the vines that held it shift, taking the form of a throne with the container seat on the center, making it seem almost regal as the four different sides continued to admit light.

Unsure of what to do, Ruby performed an awkward curtsy towards the box, the awkwardness of the situation almost making her forget that outside, a massive fight was still raging.

"Umm. Hello, Mr. Box." She began straightening up. "I…umm. I was hoping you'd hear me out and disengage your Eldo…Eilolo…you're thingy from attacking my friends. We don't mean any trouble and we're willing to leave and let you and your…umm. Cult rest in peace."

Unsurprisingly, the box remained silent, simply sitting there unmoving, giving Ruby the impression it was staring at her despite having no eyes.

A few seconds passed as Ruby stood there, dumbly staring at the box waiting for it to do something. And when it became apparent it wasn't, she slowly took a step away, backing away while not taking her eyes off the object as while she knew she had other priorities right now, a part of her still didn't trust the inanimate object enough to turn her back on it.

However, after getting less then two steps back, a rumble behind her drew her attention, letting her turn just in time to see the vines lash out, blocking her path by creating a wall of thorns between her and the far wall, trapping her in the center of the room next to the box as it release a pulse of light, filling the enclosed space and blinding the young girl, forcing her to throw her hands up in an attempt to block her eyes.

However, even with her lids shut tightly, the light invaded her senses, engulfing her whole, and making her entire body tingles as a rush shot through it, whisking her off her feet and sending her flying through space, a blur of colors flying past her as she sped away from the tomb.

"Aaaahhhhhhh!" Ruby screamed, terrified as she felt any sense of ground and gravity disappear from beneath her, leaving her hanging in suspended animation as she flew so fast, she feared her skin might peel off.

But she had no time to dwell on that as the next second, images began flashing past her, memories that were not her own, but forced into her mind with near perfect clarity, showing her strange and horrific events.

She was standing shoulder to shoulder with three other people, one in golden heavy armor, the other two, robes. One pure white, the other green with light armor. They, along with Ruby, were staring off a cliff together at sunset, a feeling of strength and power sweeping through all. Though why, Ruby had no idea.

But before she could try to piece together any meaning in what she saw, the image vanished, disappearing as swiftly as it had appeared, leaving nothing but a faint memory as she raced away in the swirl of colors, bringing her to a different scene, one that she somehow knew was connected to the other even if she didn't know how.

Now, she found herself standing on a battlefield, bodies littering the ground as she clutched a broken, shattered sword, her hands raw, injuries covering her entire body. But despite this, she felt a feeling of awe, of mesmerization as she stared up at a blackened sky, dark clouds bristling with unnatural green lightning.

Beside her, the man in golden armor rose, his face, (which was for some reason blacked out save for the lower half,) was marred in a deep scowl, he too bleeding heavily as beside him, the woman in white robes casted a healing spell, stiffening the blood flow, she took looking up at the event. Only her gaze fell on the hill overlooking the clouds, and with good reason.

There, standing on the hill, a staff fitted with a green gem at the end, stood the man in green, light armor. Hands raised, voice bellowing something out to the winds, his own body crackling with the same green lightning that split the skies, his form coming off as majestic, almost divine! And while she couldn't make out what he was saying, she somehow knew it was important.

But once again, she had no time to process what it was, as right as lightning was ripped from the sky, crashing down on the man, she was pulled away, flying through the swirl of colors once again towards what she assumed would be the next vision.

But this time, instead of an imitate flashing through her head, she was instead thrown onto the ground, landing in a space of pure silver light, surrounded on all sides by what looked like a garden hedge of rose bushes. Each one bore both thorns the size of swords and beautiful black flowers dripping with red blood.

"What is this?" Ruby murmured, turning in a circle to take in her surroundings, eyes wide in shock. Was this the cult's big secret? Their history and heritage? Surely not, right? It was such a blur of colors and nonsense, no way anyone could-.

Suddenly, the bushes to either side and in front of her began to slide open, folding outwards like a curtain revealing the three people from her vision, only this time with their backs turned to her.

"You who bore my will, know that a great conflict is coming." The voice from before said, echoing out from directly behind Ruby, causing her to let out a shrill shrieking and as she jumped and spun around, hopping to catch the speaker.

Only as she turned, she found nothing, only the same rose bushes as before, sitting there exactly as they had before.

"The time of judgment draws near. Soon, all the players will be drawn together, forced into the game once again. This world is once again in desperate need of my power. Soon, the conflict will begin anew, and the fate of the world will be thrust into the balance." The voice said, once again coming from directly behind Ruby once again, causing the girl to spin all around, trying to find the speaker, failing each and every time, almost missing what they were saying.

"Oh child of my silvery light, I beseech you, do not let this world end. Keep the will of the fourth wish alive, outside the hands of that man. He shall destroy the world as he tries to perfect it. You must not let any of them fall into his hands."

Eyes going wide, Ruby felt her heart leap into her throat, almost choking as she felt her legs begin to shake.

The world's end? The secret of the fourth wish? What was it talking about? Did they mean Dr. Bobichy? The man who had sent them here? But how did they know about him? This temple was hundreds of years old, no way the old man could have been alive back when the cult was preparing for their apocalypse.

Right?

"Umm, excuse me, Mr. Mysterious voice. Could you elaborate on that?" She asked, nervously, looking up as she still couldn't quite find the source of the voice. "Do you mean the doctor who sent us here? Or are you talking about your supposed… I mean, theoretical end of the world? If so, umm. I don't really know how to say this, but you've been gone for several centuries and the world is still here. So, I mean…there's nothing much to worry about. I think."

Her words seemed to reach the box as her answer was followed by silence, one filled with an awkwardness that made the fighter shift uncontrollably. She hoped she hadn't made them mad. Not just because they were her only way back, but also because she felt kinda bad for them. They had put all this effort into protecting this place only for their beloved end of the world to not come. Effectively wasting their efforts even if it was technically the better outcomes.

A few more seconds passed in silence. Then, there was a dull groaning sound from below the young fighter, drawing her attention downward, her eyes going wide as she saw her own shadow rising up off the to meet her, face turned toward the girl.

Then, it spoke once again. Only this time, instead of using the creepy, million voices it spoke with before, this time it used a single one. Her own.

"The calamity that wiped us out will repeat again." It/she said, the place where her eyes should be turning a pale silver as she spoke, voice booming out filling the entire room with its presence. "It lives so long as they do, dooming the world as they refuse to learn from their past mistakes. And so, the only way to save my wish, save the world, is to reclaim what was lost. Seek out the remnants of my fourth wish, and finish it before they do."

Reaching out, the shadow held out its hand towards Ruby, palm up as a beautiful red rose bloomed from its center, forming a crest as its skin peeled away showing its roots which were underneath its skin.

"Time is short, little warrior." It said. "You must protect this world from him, from them! For that, I bequeath you this gift. A fragment of my power. You must seek out the rest scattered by the bitter other. Only then may you complete your fate." Stepping forward, the figure came to a stop only a few feet away from Ruby, eyes locked on the girl with an unreadable expression on its featureless face.

"I'm sorry you have to be stalled with such a heavy burden, but my power whigns. I cannot wait any longer. And so, Ruby Rose, I gift unto you this last fragment of my power. Use it to save your comrades, then seek out the others. Once you find them, we shall speak again."

With that, the figure crushed the rose.

Immediately the entire world changed, becoming a swirling vortex of flower petals with Ruby at the center. The many thorny vines retreating at the beautiful petals began to blossom, completely engulfing the girl as she let out a surprised squeaky as a mark appeared on her hand, the same one her shadow had used to summon the rose, the same pattern as the flower now appearing marked on her flesh.

But shockingly enough, it didn't hurt. Didn't even prick. In fact, if not for the blinding red light, she wouldn't have even noticed it was there!

"What is this?" Ruby asked, half stunned half in awe as she stared down at what look like a beautiful tattoo of a six petaled rose marked on her flesh, its beautiful curves inked (for lack of better word.) with the utmost precision, ever line meticulously, detailed, to the point that getting an actual tattoo like this would cost a fortune. "What did you just do to me?" Her questions echoed out as all around her, the world started to crumble away, sliver giving way to white as everything started to fall apart, pieces of the sky raining down on top of her but vanishing before they connected, leaving the girl and her shadow completely unharmed.

"I gave you what little power I could from this vessel. Now you must seek out the others." Her shadow said, a large crack now splintering down its face as well, its voice now shifting, taking on a more older, yet still similar, familiar voice then before. One that made Ruby's voice catch in her throat. "Remember, there are many who seek this power. You cannot trust anyone. They will try to take it from you to use it for their own self interest. And should it fall into someone else's hands, it will eventually fall into his. You must not let him take it!"

The storm of petals had now become a blizzard, the wind now deafening, making hearing her shadow difficult. And when she tried to get closer, she found she couldn't as the wind had begun to lift her off her feet, carrying her back up into the sky back in the direction she had come.

"W-wait! Please tell me what you're talking about! Who take what?! What calamity do you mean? And why do you sound like mo-?!"

Reaching out, the shadow grabbed Ruby's hand, her own now covered in cracks as she began splitting apart, her voice becoming strained as she had to shout to be heard over the wind and her own rapidly splintering body.

"Find the other fragments! Once they are collected you can use them to find me! When we meet in person, I promise to tell you all then!" The cracks had become so prominent on the shadow's body, it had started to disintegrate, the woman disappearing along with the world around her.

"Remember! This is your destiny. The very reason why you were born! Do not let him stop you. Do not let THEM stop you! You are the future I wished for! Don't not let my sacrifice be in vain! You are-!"

Whatever words left the woman's mouth were lost as her entire lower body crumbled away, leaving just everything above the nose and the arm she desperately clutched Ruby with. Her whole being fading away along with the rest of the world.

But right as the world reached its limit, crumbling away to dust, the shadowy woman's face cracked like glass, shattering differently from the rest of the world with the shadows falling away, revealing a human underneath. And while it was only a single eye, the moment Ruby saw herself reflected in the beautiful, familiar silver orb, the young girl felt her breath hitch.

That eye, she knew it all too well. It was one of the eyes she had first come to recognize when she was a baby, the eye of the person who taught her how to walk, how to read. The eye who she always sees when she lay in bed getting a story, the same eye filled with so much kindness and love now filled with heartbreak and sadness that she hadn't seen in over a decade, not since she went missing, not since her entire world had come crumbling down.

Tears stung at the corner of Ruby's eyes. She knew she had to say something, but what? All the emotions of over a decade of missing her, longing for her, needing her to come back home, they all flooded into her, leaving her tongue tied, and her mouth dry.

But before she could properly, she saw something that broke what remained of her fragile, fragmented little heart. Her mother, staring up at the daughter she had lost, shed a single tear, one that rolled down what remained of her face, landing on her outstretched arm, shattering it instantly.

No words could describe what Ruby felt at the moment, her ears bleeding from the wind, her body held helpless by the storm of petals now pulling her away from her most important person once again, the agony and torment in her heart allowed to summon all her strength, to shout one final message.

"I'll find you, mom! I promise!"

Between the wind and the petals, Ruby had no idea if her words had reached her mother. But as she looked down, desperate to get even just one last glance at her, she saw the eyes widened for a second, then soften, squeezing out another set of tears. Only this time, the young girl could tell they were tears of joy, tears no doubt held for the decade she had been missing. The decade she had lost.

And while she no longer had a mother to which to speak, as the petals blinded Ruby vision, she heard the voice one last time. Only now, she could recognize the sound of her mother saying one last word.

"I know you will. Thank you."

And with that, Ruby was flung back through space, leaving only the image of the woman still looking up after her was left, seared into her mind as the the rest of this world faded away.