Howdy and welcome back to The Fallen. I'll admit this chapter was harder to write as I hadn't planned some of the things that happen in it but it felt natural for it to be there so I was thinking things up while writing. I would like some feedback on how these parts are to you and just your general thoughts on the chapter but otherwise, I hope you enjoy.

-OtherwiseR00K


-Forever Fall Forest Several Hours Later-


Dull golden eyes watched numbly as the forest sped by from their seat on the moving train. Shirou had left Vale a couple of days ago and had been wandering through a forest of blazing red. He wasn't sure what they called the forest but from a few low whispers his ears picked up from the passengers it seemed called Forever Fall. He wasn't sure why they were called that.

After a day of walking, he came across raised train tracks. He'd decided to follow it knowing it'd bring him somewhere and had gotten lucky to hear the typical horn of a train in the distance. Afterward, it had been relatively easy to get on after latching himself to it by using Medusa's nail chains.

A few minutes later he was sitting in the passenger cabin as if he were meant to be this whole time. No one batted an eye, far too engrossed with the forest around them.

Shirou had learned a few things after his departure from Vale, mostly due to the journal he'd taken off the corpse of a dead cultist he'd killed. Most of it was filled with religious jargon but the later parts were filled with notes, phrases, places, and names. One name in particular stood out to him, Salem.

The Grimm Goddess herself. Shirou now had a name to the title, though the cultist who wrote this referred to Salem as if they knew her. As if she was a real entity. One that told them to head for Vale to flood it. How the cultists would flood it, Shirou didn't know.

Back to the goddess, Shirou heavily doubted that Salem was an actual Divine entity. He could feel this world's mana signature and it was only slightly better than Earth's. If anything Salem was probably an entity similar to a Dead Apostle.

Dead apostles could be easy to kill or very difficult and Shirou would admit he's had run-ins with the entire scale. Death followed any apostle and deaths on mass usually attracted Shirou to the area, whether he'd be capable of killing them was another story. The last dead apostle Shirou had encountered was a few hundred years old. It took a lot from Emiya but he'd killed the thing in the end.

Salem could be a monster similar to one but he wasn't sure. Emiya was only comparing her to one without any true information. He was only assuming this by the ramblings of a cultist who would be so blinded by their faith they'd tell you a rotting corpse was the most beautiful thing they'd ever laid eyes on.

Faith did many things to people-

Emiya walked past several beds filled with people connected to cords in their spines. The unknown fluid flowed into the spine but Emiya didn't know what it was doing exactly. He was aware of what the people a part of the cult believed it did but all he saw were men, women, and children who looked far too sick to be saved.

-and blind them to what they wanted to see was one symptom of many.

Shirou looked back to the case sitting in his lap, trying to figure things out. Perhaps he should've spoken more to that man, Ozpin if he remembered correctly, on what was happening. Ozpin had implied something much larger was at play.

Emiya immediately discarded the idea. He didn't work well with others and his methods were sure enough to piss someone off. Besides he wasn't one to trust easily and simply preferred working alone, the viper den that was the Clock Tower instilled a natural paranoia in him that saved his life more times than he could count.

No, he needed information. As much as he could get his hands on and fast. Shirou was completely ignorant of the political environment of this world and was thankful that the surrounding area was at least familiar. He didn't know how he'd have managed if this world was completely unrecognizable to his own.

Plus there were those humans with animal features, that little girl he saved having rabbit ears flowed to his mind as well. Shirou had seen several of them while he was wandering Vale and assumed they were rather normal if no one reacted to them. However, he did notice an occasional glare directed at them from normal humans. These, Animalistic Humans, were probably looked down upon for their features. It wouldn't surprise Shirou as humans from Earth tended to hate each other for skin color alone.

Shirou glanced at the interior of the train car and decided it would probably be best to just try to find a library wherever he ended up. He only hoped there was a library.


-Evernight Castle-


"Egk!" was the only sound Cinder could make as she collided with a stone pillar. Not enough force was put into the strike that sent her flying to make her go through it but enough for her aura to shatter on impact. So nothing was cushioning her fall as she fell half the length of the pillar to the stone floor.

Cinder gasped for air but was denied by the metal boot that stomped on her chest. Said metal boot belonged to the knight above her, clad in iron and metal forged by Salem herself. The woman in the armor was part of a small sect of knights chosen by Salem; the knights were some of her most devout followers and were the most zealous.

"Pathetic!" The knight sneered under her helmet while applying pressure to Cinder's ribs, "If you can't even last three minutes against me then you have no chance against a Maiden! You would be broken long before you even got to them! As you are you will not be not good enough to be a part of our Goddess's holy army!"

Cinder's mind flashed red, her voice finding itself as she yelled in fury. Though her aura was broken she still attempted to pull her semblance out as she pressed her hands against the boot hoping to heat it. Unfortunately, the knight gave no quarter and stomped on Cinder's chest hard enough to break her ribs.

Cinder tried to gasp another breath but could not find herself able to even take one, the knight did not care as she grabbed Cinder by the throat and hoisted her up. Cinder once again tried to gasp this time through agony but nothing would go to her lungs.

"To me, you're nothing but a pathetic urchin taken off the streets of Mistral by Brother Tyrian in some twisted act of kindness. The utter fact is the goddess herself has seen fit to task you with this responsibility but you are weak in spirit and body. This does not mean you will be this way forever but you must prove your worth to me and our goddess."

The knight released Sender from her grip and allowed the girl to fall to the floor with a small crack king sound emanating from her chest. Cinder gasped for air and succeeded in getting some to her lungs. She lay there for a moment before the knight spoke once more.

"Stand," the Knight commanded as she brandished her broadsword toward the girl, "prove you have even a hint of the spirit our goddess has sensed within you."

Cinder gasped raggedly before weakly pushing herself up. It was utter agony to move as she felt her broken ribs roar in protest but she would not be quelled by simple pain. Her destiny was waiting for her and she would not be denied by the knight in front of her.

The knight watched as Cinder pushed herself to her feet and weakly took a stance. CInder's eyes burned with the determination to see her destiny through and the knight was simply an obstacle in her way, one she would destroy to get what she was destined to have.

The knight looked at Cinder, not a single emotion could be read from the black metal before she took a step forward.

"That's enough," a smooth voice said from the darkness. Immediately the knight's stance changed, once a solid stone wall now kneeled in complete servitude toward the one who spoke. Cinder could barely move but she twisted her neck just enough to see Salem calmly approaching them from the door to the training hall.

"My dear knight," Salem said, CInder watched as the night seemed to shudder at her voice as if being addressed by Salem was the greatest pleasure she'd ever felt, "you put too much pressure on poor CInder."

"M-my Goddess I'm simply doing what you tasked of me," the knight said, her voice seemingly quivering before she got it under control.

"And you are, I simply believe you misinterpreted my meaning."

The knight flinched.

"Though I believe that to be no fault of your own. I simply believed you would know what I meant without truly explaining," Salem moved toward Cinder who still stood though her breathing was ragged and she gasped every few seconds, "The knights are my sword and shield, the bishop's my heralds, and the acolytes my hands. All of you have a role within my kingdom and Cinders is to be my dagger."

Cinder trembled as Salem's hand came to caress her cheek. It was a soft and motherly action one that meant she cared for the one in front of her. Salem turned her head slightly, looking at the knight behind her through the corner of her eye.

"Cinder is meant for a destiny none within the world could understand. By no means am I asking you to tone down her training with you or not give her your all, I am simply asking for you to not be so brutal with her. Do not torture the girl or give her the same treatment as those who trained you. When it comes to Cinder you must be a tad more gentle."

A warm feeling encompassed Cinder at that moment. It wasn't the feeling of love or the warmth of someone dear, no it was the feeling of her aura starting back up. Salem had restarted her aura and seemingly amplified it as she could feel her ribs set back.

"Fractures, scratches, and bruises are all allowed for her training. Pain is a great motivator but do not forget you are training her for something else, not to be another knight."

"Yes, my Goddess," the knight answered.

"Good, now you may continue your training and all I ask is you do as you were told," Salem says as she gently takes her hand from Cinder's face and walks once more to the door. Cinder and the knight watched as Salem left the training hall.

Cinder takes a deep breath, feeling the air move into her lungs as easily as it usually was. She savored the feeling that had been taken for a few short minutes but it made her appreciate it just that much more.

The knight stared after Salem, still kneeling where she once stood. A moment passed and the knight rose once more, her great was raised once more. It seemed the knight wasn't going to take much of a break.

Cinder looked at the knight and toward the floor behind them. Her weapon had been shattered by the knight and as such she could only rely upon her fists. So, accepting it as it was, she raised her fists and shifted her feet. Cinder and the knight stared at each other ready for the clash that would soon commence. Only one thing echoed through Cinder's mind before the knight rushed forward.

She'd last longer than five minutes this time.


-Ansel-


It was midday by the time the train came to a stop at the station. It stopped within the walled town called Ansel, which Shirou learned after it was announced as soon as the train stopped at the station.

Shirou stepped off the train and simply went with the flow of the crowd. They took him through the terminal while most met with someone standing in waiting, embracing each other as if they hadn't seen one another for a long time. Others simply walked on.

Shirou looked around as he walked through Ansel. He watched the people so he could try to figure out the general mood of the town he was in and noticed a peculiar difference between the young and old. The younger people looked happy and seemingly carefree but the older ones had the look of veterans.

It was mostly the older people as well, all of them carrying some kind of weapon on them. Each bladed one found itself in his inner world while the others he simply had to glance at and he'd know what it was but would admit to thinking they were entirely unnecessary. A halberd that could switch to a cannon. A rifle that turned into a broadsword.

Entirely unnecessary.

Shirou shook his head, he didn't understand gun-swords but from what he could tell it seemed to be standard in this world. If every single weapon he came across was a mix between a gun and a traditional weapon he was going to gain a lot of incomplete weapons within his world.

Guns were weapons he'd engrossed himself in to give him a way of conserving Od from just shooting swords at his enemies. If he did that he'd always be wasting the mana he had and drain himself easier.

That was why he had his custom long-slide pistols made. To lighten the load on his reserves. As Shirou was thinking he unconsciously brushed his hand up against an inner pocket holding one of the pistols as he continued forward.

He passes building after building eventually turning right into what he assumed to be the town square. It wasn't particularly large with a circular road surrounding a grassy patch with a single tree in it. Around it were mostly shop fronts but the largest building was the one he was truly looking at.

A big brick building with stone stairs leading up to the entrance, on either side, held what looked to be animals of some kind but he didn't recognize them. Perhaps they were the Grimm he'd heard of. But what got his attention was the big bold letters displayed above the entrance.

ANSEL MEMORIAL LIBRARY

It seemed Shirou was on the right track.


-Evernight Castle-


Arthur Watts walked through the dimly lit halls of Evernight Castle on his way to his Mistress' throne room. A few minutes prior Arthur had been working on a prototype for a communications system that was imperative to his plans but had gotten a message from a contact within Vale. It was bad news on the infiltration of Vale Salem had ordered.

The entire Vale chapter had been wiped out before they had truly got off the ground. All by a single person if the report was to be believed.

This worried Arthur as Salem had seemed dead set on gaining some kind of foothold in Vale. Even if it was a small one then again it made sense to Arthur that it had failed. Ozpin was, after all, the protector of Vale and Arthur was aware of Ozpin's immortality.

Ozpin has been battling Salem for, well not even Arthur knew, and considering the amount of time both of them could've been alive perhaps they were also slipping on the details. Either way, Vale was a very risky gamble which simply didn't pay off.

Now Arthur had to report this failure to Salem, and he would admit he had no idea how she would react. Salem was usually kind to people who failed her, sometimes even spinning it into a partial success as she had done with Tyrian and Hazel with that silver-eyed warrior but Arthur knew even she had limits to her forgiveness.

Arthur remembered all too well the fate of a former member of Salem's circle after a colossal failure in Vacuo. She had dragged the man kicking and screaming to the pools around the castle and tossed them into one. Their screams as they were dragged down still haunted Arthur on occasion.

It didn't help that he simply couldn't get a real read on her. Arthur supposed being immortal gave someone time to work on their poker face but it still bit at his pride a little. He was usually very good at getting a read on someone's character with but a single meeting.

Arthur shook his head and continued on his way before turning a corner and being greeted by a large wooden door guarded by two knights that could be mistaken for statues because of how still they were. At his approach, they turned their heads toward him and followed his every step until he came to stand directly in front of the door.

"Pardon my intrusion," Arthur began, "but is the Mistress busy? I have some news from Vale."

They looked to each other and back to Arthur the one on the left spoke, "Our goddess is in the middle of a meeting."

"So, am I to wait out here?"

"Yes."

Arthur sighed but didn't bother trying to get through. His first couple of weeks here had taught him the knights do not listen to anyone other than Salem. Now if Salem were to command that they listen to someone else's command they would but otherwise, they would only listen to Salem.

Arthur walked over to a wall and went to pull out his scroll to continue working on his communication codes when the knights tensed for a moment, "You may enter."

Arthur looked at the knights with some surprise, "Truly?"

"Yes."

Arthur was befuddled for a moment but didn't take any more time and went up to the door as the knights opened it for him. Arthur entered and the large doors shut behind him with a loud thud.

Salem sat on her throne with the regal nature befitting of a queen, which Arthur supposed she was. Though on her left was one of those bulbous grimm he'd seen once or twice, they acted similar to a scroll though it was only once-way and the grimm had to be connected to the other for it to work.

Arthur could hear a voice speaking madly from the Grimm and watched as Salem listened. Arthur couldn't exactly make out the words as they were going so fast but he could recognize who was speaking, Tyrian Callows.

Salem seemed amused at the serial killer's ravings, "Of course, dear Tyrian, you have done well."

More ravings before the voice cut off. Salem's smile slipped and she turned to look at Arthur expectantly.

Arthur bowed lightly and walked forward, "Mistress, I come with news of the Vale chapter-"

"They have been wiped out," Salem said, cutting off Arthur.

Arthur looked surprised and was caught off his game, "Uh, yes, h-how were you already aware?"

Salem did let amusement take hold of her face as a small smile formed on her lips, "I'm aware dear Arthur, because it was reported to me from a pawn I'd sent long before the chapter."

"Oh, my apologies then. It seems I'm late."

"No apologies needed, Arthur."

"Ma'am, if I may, why would you send someone ahead without the chapter?"

"Because the ones I sent to start a Vale chapter were meant to be disposable," Salem admitted, she continued at Arthur's surprised face, "Vale is simply too guarded for me to gain a foothold the same way I've done for Mistral and Mantel, Ozma is aware of any tricks I could employ and even though they did get in the walls they were very careful and had not done anything to be singled out. Until the ritual."

Arthur nodded, "So, you wanted them to be wiped out?"

"Yes, for it would put my pawn in a good light. They have infiltrated the Vale government and have a Seer within their home, which is how they informed me of this 'tragedy'. I've had them live in Vale since their childhood but have made sure to have a good hold on them. Though now they'll be under far more scrutiny so I've ordered them to destroy the Seer and so they are fully on their own but I have faith my pawn shall see they're mission through."

Salem turned her head up, a pondering look upon her features, "Though I admit it surprised me to learn Ozma wasn't the one to wipe them from Vale. It does appear an unclaimed piece has appeared on the board once more."

"Should I work to identify them?" Arthur asked.

"Yes, but have your main focus on your plans. I hope you will have a plan by the time young Cinder is ready." Salem responds.

Arthur bowed his head, "Thank you mistress and I will as I have years to plan."

With nothing more to say Arthur took his leave. Walking back toward his lab his mind was wrought with fantasies of his dream becoming reality. He would make that fool Ironwood and Atlas as a whole suffer for choosing Pietro over him.


-Ansel Memorial Library-


Shirou closed the large leather book and leaned back into the chair he was currently using. Hours of research had revealed many things to him, the one thing standing out though was the name of the world he found himself in. Remnant.

That name had many connotations that followed it and Shirou was sure that the people who lived in this world never really thought about it but Shirou couldn't help but wonder what this world was a remnant of—had it, at one point, been a splendid utopia? An Eden for those who lived here?

He shook his head, focusing on what once wasn't why he did this research.

Shirou thought back to what he wanted to learn and oh how much he did learn. For one, there were only four established kingdoms on Remnant.

Vale, where he appeared, and the cultural melting pot of the world.

Vacuo, a large desert after its landscape had been ravaged by wars and sandstorms.

Mistral, an old kingdom with a history of crime and beauty in its architecture.

Atlas, a newer kingdom built on the corpse of the old and the most technologically advanced kingdom.

Four main kingdoms but many smaller settlements that are connected to them and supported by them, just like Ansel. Shirou was honestly a little surprised he hadn't found much on religion in the Kingdoms, considering a cult existed he would think bigger religions would exist.

Maybe he was just reading the wrong books but he was positive that religion should've come up at least once in historical texts.

There was also no mention of the cult so he only had word of mouth to go on and the place mentioned in the journal the most, Mistral with Mantel a close second. Shirou was sure that the cult was in Mistral in some way, and probably had a stronger influence as well with some of the things the journal had mentioned about Vale.

Especially a name that came up that seemed to be utterly despised by the person writing the journal, Ozma. It seemed this Ozma was in charge of Vale and had been keeping the cult out of the kingdom.

Shirou didn't know of an Ozma but he remembered the man he saw in that warehouse, Ozpin if he remembered right. Could he be related?

Before he could continue that path of thought he was interrupted by someone clearing their throat behind him. Shirou turned to see the librarian he'd seen on his way in, a human woman with platinum blonde hair and vibrant green eyes wearing a cream-colored sweater and long black skirt. Her most noticeable trait was her inflated stomach signaling the woman was expecting.

"Excuse me sir, but the library will be closing in a few minutes," she said kindly before moving back toward the entrance.

Shirou grunted and grabbed the books he'd been reading and stacked them on top of each other. He turned toward the shelves and looked for the missing pots he'd grabbed the books from.

A few minutes later he was walking back toward the table and as he passed grabbed his case. He slung it over his shoulder and continued walking toward the entrance of the library his thoughts moving toward his next destination until he was interrupted again.

"I've never seen you before," the pregnant librarian said as she stood outside the library door, "I'm assuming you're new to Ansel?"

Shirou looked at her, confused as to why she speaking to him but answered anyway, "I'm just passing through."

"Oh, where are you going then?" she asks, her face inquisitive.

Shirou didn't answer for a moment, his mind going over everything he knew about the cult. The journal had made mention of Mistral several times and to a lesser degree Mantel, with what he knew it was probably best to head to Mistral.

"Mistral," he answered.

At that, the woman's face brightened and she looked pleased, "Oh, so am I and my family."

Shirou looks at her in confusion. Why would she tell him that? They didn't know each other.

"Do you have a way of getting there?" she asked.

"Walking," Shirou said attempting to step past the librarian and get on his way. Unfortunately, it seemed the librarian saw fit to stand in his way. He frowned at her, vibrant green meeting molten gold and she only smiled.

"Oh, no, walking across the continent won't do, no sir," she said, "it'd take you three months just to reach the dock town facing Mistral."

He could make it faster than that.

"And once you reach Anima you're likely to be robbed!"

He highly doubted any bandit could stop him.

"So I've decided that you will come with us!"

What?

"My family always heads to a settlement in Anima for a vacation and you happened to luck out as we're going tomorrow."

What?

"So you will come with us," she said with finality before grabbing Shirou's arm and leading him away from the library and to her home in Ansel.

All the while Shirou couldn't help but wonder what the hell was happening.


So what do you think? I went over a few things I wanted to introduce to the villain's side while also showing what Shirou got out of ridding Vale of the cult but it also shows he missed one. That singular pawn will come back up eventually but I'm unsure how long it'll be so I'll just place them in my pocket for a while. Another thing is Cinder's place here, I wanted to show how she was brought up in this world as her backstory is different but she's also been with the cult for a while, only recently has she been selected for the Maiden powers. Also, we learn a bit more about the hierarchy of Salem's cult.

On the other side of things, we have Shirou, who is still navigating the world and learning far more than he knew before. This is also where a certain character comes in to push forward the plot, if you've read any of Coeur Al'Aran's works I'm positive you'll exactly who this woman is though I admit I changed some details about her for my story. Also, I'd like to know if anything came off as odd in this chapter, while I was writing it I couldn't shake the feeling I'd done something wrong so I needed an outside perspective.

Well, that's all I've got so please review and tell me what you think so I can get better. Thank you all for reading and have a good morning/afternoon/night.

-OtherwiseR00K