A Viewing of a Would-be Lord

by BlackJackHero

After stepping through the portal created by The Blacksmith, Team RWBY and Jaune are brought not quite where they expected to be. Time in their world frozen as they are made to react to something they never could have imagined. Who all will join them as members of the audience, and just what were they brought here to witness?

(Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the idea behind this fic.)

---

"Balance is an ecosystem, an organism, a living breathing thing. Thus, balance cannot be restored with force or calculations."

The five teens looked away from The Blacksmith and watched as two threads emerged into one red thread. The three other threads: white, purplish black, and yellow, join the red one.

"True balance finds its own equilibrium. It only requires love and the patience to see things through to the end."

Jaune, Ruby, Weiss, Yang, and Blake watched as the four strings of light dove into the soil, causing four flowers to grow and bloom.

"So how did The Brothers get to Remnant?"

The blacksmith looked at Yang briefly before she answered.

"The Ever After could no longer bear the Brothers' experiments. And so, the Tree built them a special doorway to a greater beyond where the Brothers could try creating worlds of their own."

The space around the mystical forge shifted to show The Brothers, in their humanoid forms, standing before the door of the Great Tree. The Brothers looked at each other, sharing a nod before they entered and left the Ever After.

"A doorway that would remain open for the Brothers' return, and any of their creations. And what truly remarkable things they accomplished. Whenever the Brothers' creations have come to the Ever After, the five of you will have had a greater impact than you know. Just like Alyx and Lewis did before you. Just like others will after you."

The wooden figurine of Somewhat appeared on the Blacksmith's palm. Ruby picked it up with both of her hands, thinking back to her various memories with Little.

"One small kindness, in one small moment, would be such a marvelous transformation".

The reaper smiled at Somewhat's figurine as tears welled up in her eyes.

The Blacksmith held up a statuette of The Curious Cat before she spoke again.

"Much like one act of dishonesty…caused an unfortunate change…"

"When Alyx broke her promise to the Cat..."

The Blacksmith nodded at Jaune solemnly.

"A terrible thing to have a broken heart... And there's nobody to send them back to the Tree for repair."

"What'll happen to Neo?"

"Don't worry Ruby Rose. She will have the chance to return her broken heart…and become something new. Such is balance."

The Blacksmith capped her sentence by flipping and holding something out Jaune hadn't seen in quite a long time. Alyx's knife.

"That's…Alyx's knife! Wait, how do you have this?"

"When Alyx's life ended, she chose to leave a part of herself behind. A wish to fix what she had broken."

Jaune tentatively reached out and accepted Alyx's knife, before being engulfed by a glowing light. An apparition of Alyx appeared, smiling, and after the visage faded, Jaune was now back to his younger self, with the exception of white streaks in his hair. Jaune looked his reflection over with the knife, before a profound joy welled up in his chest.

"I…I can't believe it. It's been so…"

The blonde froze for a moment as his eyes widened, The Blacksmith wearing a small smirk as she knew what Jaune was thinking while his friends looked a touch concerned.

"This… is what I sounded like?"

Weiss couldn't help herself, and a small laugh, an honest one, escaped her. The Blacksmith nodded to herself, before summoning a portal, resembling the ones made by Ambrosius. The five friends looked at it as Ruby voiced a question over her shoulder.

"Where will this take us?"

"Not where; when you are needed most."

Ruby smiled and nodded at the Blacksmith. The Blacksmith smiled before returning to her work table as Team RWBY and Jaune prepared to walk through the portal, but as she sat, something felt…off. Incredibly so, in fact, she looked around, before eyeing the portal the teens were in the process of stepping through and seeing an unfamiliar, otherworldly energy surrounding the portal, but as she stood and prepared to yell out-to warn them to stop, it was too late. The five teens walked through the portal, and into the unknown.

---

As the five emerged from the portal, they opened their eyes, expecting to be greeted with the sun and the desert heat of Vacuo, but much to their surprise, they were standing alone in a space filled with countless, never-ending stairs. The five looked around alarmed, and just as Weiss turned around and prepared to take a step towards the portal, it vanished from existence, leaving them in the quiet and otherworldly space.

Seeing as leaving the way they came was no longer feasible, the five deployed their weapons as they took a makeshift formation.

"Girls, Jaune? Please tell me one of you sees something. Anything?"

"Considering this definitely isn't Remnant, I'm not sure that'd be any better."

Ruby and Blake's comments echoed, despite this not looking like a closed space. Yang grew curious before leaving the formation, causing the other four to look at her a bit worried, and watched as she peeked over the edge. Deciding that they were safe for the moment, or at the very least, not in any immediate danger, the other four joined her and looked over the edges of the platform from where they were closest.

The space below them was filled with these stairs as well, but also, an empty void that reminded all of them of when they fell off the platforms created by Ambrosius and ended up in the Ever After.

"Well…That doesn't look promising."

Weiss's dry comment earned a nod from the blonde brawler.

"Sooooo, Blake, has something like this ever come up in one of your books?"

The faunus girl shook her head, but before she could find a response, the sound of footsteps began to echo, causing the five to look around trying to find the source. Their heads moved on swivels as they each tried to locate who the footsteps belonged to. Blake shuddered after a moment, before looking up as her eyes widened.

"GUYS!"

The four of her friends looked to her, alarmed by her shout, before seeing her looking straight up and seeing two figures walking on the stairs high above them, upside-down. Weapons in hand, they watched as the pair continued to walk among the stairs holding an inaudible conversation, oblivious to anything that'd been going on. There was a moment where the group looked amongst themselves, unsure of what to do, before Ruby swallowed a gulp and yelled out.

"Uhm…? Hello, up there?!"

The group watched on bated breath as the pair stopped moving and looked down to where Team RWBY and Jaune were. The two seemed to have a conversation between themselves, before one of them motioned for the group to join them, after which, a path of steps appeared in the air before them, spiraling up to where the two figures were now waiting. The group seemed hesitant, before Ruby eventually decided to make her way up the stairs first, running, causing her friends to do the same.

A few moments later, and they were all on the same set of stairs as the two individuals-wait, where was the other one?

The man looked at their expressions, before nodding at them with a smile, causing them to widen their eyes and turn around as they heard someone incoming.

"SALUTATIONS!"

A quintuplet of shocked expressions preceded the group of five friends being absolutely leveled upon the stairs. Blake, Weiss, and Yang all shook the dizziness from their systems, as they turned to see none other than Penny Polendina, giggle-crying as she held on tightly to both Ruby and Jaune, who were both stunned into stillness.

For a moment, no one could say anything. Ruby looked down to the awkward mess of ginger joyously crying as she had an arm around her neck. The moment, back in the Ever After, when she'd learned that Penny had died started to replay in her head, followed by the last time she'd seen the former android. Her hands shook and tears started to well up in her eyes as she struggled to form words, her friend's name dying on her lips as she settled for simply hoping that this wasn't some sort of cruel joke.

But Jaune?

Weiss was the only one who knew what happened to Penny, or rather, how she died, as neither she nor him had said anything besides that their dear friend had sacrificed herself. The Schnee watched as Jaune's entire being seemed to stop. His breathing slowly became erratic, and as he looked at the girl who'd settled into crying softly as she held her head in between his and Ruby's, everything started to hit him.

One by one, every interaction he ever had with Penny, every conversation, every word he could remember began to overlap in his mind. From the moment they met, him thinking he had made another simple and awkward friend like himself and Ruby, to the moment he fulfilled her last request.

Tears had started to stream down his face as he began hyperventilating, his hands grasping at Penny and pulling her against his chest as he let out a scream that no one knew he'd been holding. Yang, Weiss, and Blake stood silently as they watched Jaune scream until his voice failed him, the space echoing the emotion in his voice. After a minute, he stopped. Sobbing quietly to himself before he whispered out, though his words were clear to hear.

"Thank you…For being alive."

The girl nodded her head before Ruby joined in on the hug, followed by the rest of her team. The group stayed like this for a minute or two before separating. The group began to dry their tears, though Jaune kept a hand on Penny as if she'd suddenly disintegrate if he let go. The first thing the five who arrived from the Ever After noticed was that the path that allowed them up to the stairs they stood on now had fallen away. Though, they didn't feel as if they were upside down.

"Penny, what is this place? How…How are you alive?"

Ruby's question caused the ginger to smile, before she turned and motioned to the person she'd been walking with. The group's attention turned to see a man a few inches taller than Jaune, and at least a few years older than them. He had caramel skin, and curly, black hair, part of which was pulled back into a bunny tail, the rest falling down into curls behind his neck. He wore a pair of round-frame sunglasses, and jeans with a plain white, long-sleeve button down, and when a few of them squinted, the edges of a tattoo peeked from just under his left sleeve.

The group stared at the man as he observed them before he finally spoke.

"Ruby Rose,"

The group was set on edge by the man suddenly knowing her name, before he continued.

"Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long, Jaune Arc."

A few weapons were about to be redeployed, but Penny jumped in between the group and the man with her hands outstretched.

"There's no need to fight friends! Sir is a friend."

"...Sir?"

Yang's comment was mirrored by the rest of her friends, but caused Penny to smile before she dropped her hands and nodded.

"Indeed! He's the one that brought me here, and lets me stay."

The group took in that info as their eyes never left the man. There was a tense silence as everyone was waiting for something to happen.

"You all…aren't supposed to be here yet."

This caused them to look at him confused, Penny included. She approached him before standing a few feet away.

"Sir? You didn't bring them here?"

"No Penny, I did not. Which means that it did. What a pain."

"Sir! Isn't this great?! That means it's working!"

The man slapped a hand to his forehead before pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I'm happy that it's working, Penny. But it won't be much good for us or anyone else, if it suddenly starts bringing in people from where and whenever."

The girl made a face of understanding.

"Ah, I see your point Sir."

The man groaned again before he spoke again.

"Penny, how many times have I told you to just call me by my name? No 'Mr.' or 'Sir'?"

The girl smiled as she saluted the man and answered his rhetorical question.

"Seven-hundred seventy-seven times counting just now!"

A sweat drop appeared on the man's head as he waved Penny over and walked to the edge of the stairs. The ginger bounced over to him as team RWBY and Jaune walked over to them a bit concerned with how close to the edge they were.

"Hey! Be careful, you two are standing on the edge."

The still unnamed man glanced over at the five before a smirk appeared on his face as he looked at Penny.

"Hey Penny, think they can keep up?"

The girl looked a bit giddy as she started to bounce where she was standing.

"Oh! OH! Are we gonna do the thing?!"

"Well, we're relatively pretty far away right now, so that's really the only way to get there without spending a few cycles doing something as boring as walking back."

The former android gave a big smile as the two of them faced forward, keeping their eyes on the five visitors. The man raised his hands to either of his sides before clapping them above his head, causing the space to ripple. There was a stillness that had the group from the Ever After waiting for something. But after a few seconds of nothing happening, Yang couldn't help herself.

"So…was that supposed to do-"

She was cut off as the corridor of infinite stairs exploded out suddenly. The group shielded their eyes from the light, before beginning to open them one by one, earning looks of awe from each of them.

Colors. Every Color imaginable, and ones they couldn't even begin to describe wrapped around them as platforms and stairs were easily seen all over what had previously been the corridor. Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, and Jaune managed to tear their eyes away from the spectacle in front of them to look back and catch Penny and the strange man sharing a look before leaning back and letting themselves fall off their platform, much to the immediate alarm of the group.

As they scrambled to peek over the edge, they scooched back as the two who'd just fallen over the edge were suddenly…falling upwards?

The two continued to ascend, the man with a smirk and his hands in his pockets while Penny waved to Ruby with a smile before shouting out.

"Come on, Slowpokes! Keep up!"

The group looked amongst themselves, before getting a slight running start and leaping off the edge, finding them in the same situation as their friend and her acquaintance. They were each falling awkwardly, but the man grabbed everyone's attention by pointing towards one end of the corridor where a bright light, almost like a star in the night sky, was shining.

"That's where we're all heading. Don't think about traveling like this as anything you've done before. Just-"

The man was about to speak again before hearing the sound of a weapon going off, and looked to watch Yang shooting off rounds behind herself to move faster and control her flight. The man was surprised, but looked back to see the other four of her group doing the same, before glancing over at Penny.

"They're pretty good."

"Aren't they?!"

The man adjusted his glasses before he spoke again.

"It'd be bad form of us as hosts to let them get there before us, hmm?"

The excitable ginger's eyes widened as she grinned.

---

A pair of doors were kicked open as the mysterious man and Penny came walking and skipping in respectively. Following behind them were the panting forms of Team RWBY and Jaune.

"How…the hell…did they…beat us to the light?"

A round of groans was Yang's response as they continued trying to catch their breath. Once they stood to their full heights, they were a bit surprised to find themself in…a theater?

"...Why are we at the movies?"

Blake's comment earned a laugh from the man, who took a seat on one of the arm rests nearby before responding.

"That's a bit complicated, but I'll go ahead and explain that in a moment. Let's go ahead and get everyone's questions out of the way for now. Go ahead y'all."

The group looked amongst themselves before they began firing off questions.

"Where are we!?"

"What is this place!?"

"Why are we here!"

"How is Penny here!"

"Who are you?"

The man nodded at them before he took a thinking pose and began to answer.

"Alrighty then~ To start, not in any particular order, y'all can call me Jack. Next up…Where we are…Okay. So, you all remember being in the Ever After, correct? Well think of this as a space equivalent to that, but not exactly. See this place was created both before and after the Ever After first sparked itself into creation."

Jack looked over the confused and slightly dumbfounded faces of the teens before he continued.

"Try not to think too hard about it. Now, this place goes by an infinite number of names, and I mean that quite literally. Penny and I call it the Omni-Strait, or OS. Think of it as…actually, better idea; are any of you familiar with the term, 'Multiverse?'"

The only one to raise their hands were, shockingly enough, Ruby and Jaune, which caused the other three of the Ever After survivors to look at them surprised.

"Comics."

The simultaneous answer earned a laugh from Yang, a bemused chuckle from Blake, and an exasperated facepalm from Weiss. Penny giggled where she was standing as Jack resumed.

"Well, think of it like that, but not as…comic-y as what you're imagining. To explain at a surface level, think of this space as infinite, unending, pure possibility. Alternate timelines, fused universes, things of that nature. The OS is a place where anything that existed, exists, or will exist can meet. It's a place that ignores every rule, while also obeying them-most, of them."

The group was lost for words before Blake thought to herself before voicing another question, cutting Jack off.

"What…are you? I can't see this as a place where humans can just do whatever they want."

The man took a slight breath before thinking for a moment and answering her.

"The people who are born here, not visitors like you all or new residents like Penny, are called Observers. We do as our name implies. I've seen every important moment of each of your stories more than a dozen times a piece.

"Well that's not creepy at all…"

The man had the decency to look sheepish at Yang's comment before bowing his head lightly and then continuing.

"Anyway, us Observers do quite a lot. We observe each other's streams of creation, and make our own that flow either from each other's or from where you all were plucked: The Starting Line. That's basically Remnant as it has always been, is, and will be. As it is supposed to be."

"Please, hold for a moment. You said that you…Observers, review each other's creations…Are you meaning to say that you and the other Observers can create alternate universes and timelines on a whim?"

"That's correct, yes."

The group felt like they needed to sit down, before they found themselves seated in the middle row of the theater spontaneously.

"Now, that's not to say that all of us do. Most Observers will only ever observe, but then there are those like me, who want to do more than simply observe. The desire to theorize, to test, to create; that's what makes the Omni-Strait expand."

The five newcomers of the OS settled into their seats as they attempted to better digest this information, as Ruby cleared her throat before speaking up.

"So…how is Penny here?"

The girl in question smiled where she stood as Jack sighed before answering.

"...Let me try and explain this. When people from The Starting Line die, there is a chance that the world isn't done with them. Take Penny for example; she 'died' once, but she made a return later in your lives. When she was turned into a human, and died a natural death, her existence on The Starting Line was through. So, instead of letting her soul fade back into energy, I decided to bring her here."

The group looked floored by this information as Jaune was the first to find words.

"Can…Can you do that? Wouldn't that break some kind of rule? Or…something?"

"Not at all. Other Observers have done things similar to this as well. I know one that actually has you in a position similar to mine, and others that use different individuals from across the Starting Line. But let's table this for now, I need to see why you were brought here."

The group watched as Jack looked up to the screen.

"Well? Why did you bring them here?"

The screen remained black for a moment before it came to life and started emitting a humming sound. Suddenly, millions of images flashed across the screen in a matter of seconds. The group, not able to understand any of what was shown or happening, turned to Jack only to see his eyes glowing white. He was staring up at the screen as if in a trance, and after another minute, the white from the screen returned to blackness, but this time, the screen was giving the impression that it was awake. At the same time, Jack shook his head before massaging his eyes.

"What a pain…"

"What's wrong?"

Jack looked over at Weiss before removing his hand from his face and answering her.

"Well. I was right to assume that the screen brought you here, and I know why. It wants to show you all something, and I'm pretty sure it won't let you all go home until it has."

The looks of alarm crossing the features of the five were palpable, and Yang was the first to stand up from her seat.

"What do you mean we can't go back!? We can't just sit here and watch whatever while Salem is on her way to Vacuo!"

The man scratched the back of his head before looking back at the screen.

"A little help please? You're the one that brought them here after all."

The screen remained black for a moment, before it began to show static. The static began to clear up, and eventually, a clear picture of Remnant showed up. Team RWBY and Jaune wondered what the screen was trying to show them, before it changed the picture to a faraway shot of Vacuo. It kept getting closer until they were able to clearly see inside the city. It changed pictures once more to show them some of their friends: Team SSSN as well as Ren, Nora, and Oscar were helping to hand out food to the survivors of Atlas.

Jaune teared up a little looking at Ren and Nora, having not seen them for years, before Blake asked an important question.

"Why isn't anything moving?"

"Because you all are here."

All eyes were on Jack as he elaborated.

"You all are key players in the destiny of Remnant, and you aren't where you're supposed to be. So if you aren't there, Remnant quite literally can't move progress past that moment in time-not that anyone there will ever notice. And once you leave, you won't remember any of what happened here."

There was a silence before Jaune spoke up.

"When we first ran into you, you said we weren't supposed to be here yet. What did you mean by that?"

"Well, I guess that question leads into why we're in a theater, so that'll be a good way to cap this all off. Okay, so, I originally was building this room in my section of the OS as a space to bring you and many more here to watch different things from different universes. Only, I was planning to borrow those versions of yourselves and the others from when you all were just starting out at Beacon. The theater isn't finished quite yet, and we've only run one test so far, and while it was promising, it caused some…let's say, concerns. Turns out, apparently the screen doesn't need me to operate it for it to bring others here and show them things."

The group stared at him for a moment with suspicion as Ruby asked a question.

"What were you going to show us?"

"Sorry, Ruby. No spoilers."

The group didn't seem to care for this answer as they all made their own faces of displeasure.

"Alright now, none of that, let's just take our seats so that we can see exactly what the screen wanted you to see."

As the five once again took their seats, Jack moved a few rows behind them and was about to walk down the aisle before he noticed Penny moving to join him. He walked over before whispering to her.

"What are you doing?"

"Taking a seat?"

The man turned her around before gently pushing her towards where her friends were.

"I know you missed them, and they missed you too. Go on, sit by your friends. I'm not going anywhere."

The girl gave him a smile before jumping and taking a seat between Jaune and Ruby. As Jack finally took his seat in the center of the row, he spoke out just as the lights began to dim.

"Also, since I know how important snacks are at the movies, just think about whatever you want to eat or drink, and it'll appear before you."

The group looked amongst themselves, and all eyes were on Ruby as she closed her eyes and thought about her old favorite, cookies. It was only a few seconds later when she heard a gasp that she peeked an eye open to see a tray of cookies greeting her. With a tentative bite, she soon melted into the chair as she began to dig in.

"You know…everytime I see her do that, I get jealous that I don't have her metabolism. I mean, I wish I could just chow down on all the sweets I want. Momma's gotta stay in shape after all."

"Actually,"

The visitors, sans Ruby, turned to him as he spoke.

"Here, anything you eat isn't going to cause you to gain weight. It'll all taste exactly how it's supposed to, but you won't ever get full. Simply put, all the enjoyment of dining without any of the drawbacks."

There was a moment of silence before Yang had surrounded herself with deserts of every kind, some she likely didn't even know the name of. Blake and Weiss were quick to do the same with their dishes of choice, while Jaune settled for a plate full of meat and fried food. As everyone was now content for the moment, the lights dimmed completely as the sound of stone striking stone was heard, followed by sparks of light.

"The fallen leaves tell a story."

The screen showed a person with their back turned, hunching over some kind of stone as they slammed a hammer down.

"The great Elden Ring was shattered…In our home, across the fog, the Lands Between."

"The…Elden Ring?"

Ruby's slight comment earned no answer, even once she turned back to send a look at Jack, who merely nodded up to the screen.

The screen had changed from a close-up of the hammer, to a faraway shot of the coast, before fading out, replaced by the image of a golden-haired woman with her hands lifted as if she was being crucified.

"Now, Queen Marika the Eternal is nowhere to be found…"

The screen changed once more, to show a haunting picture: one of a man, also with golden hair, being restrained as a troupe of hooded assailants were carving some type of symbol into his back with their sinister looking knives.

"And in the Night of the Black Knives, Godwyn the Golden was first to perish."

On screen, as the music continued to subtly build, a woman garbed in white with a hat resembling one might imagine a witch wearing appeared with some sort of scepter in her hands, before the image shifted to show a being covered by a tattered cloth robe with either tendrils or horns sprouting from below his hood, stabbing his cane into someone's shoulder.

"Soon, Marika's offspring, demigods all, claimed the shards of the Elden Ring."

"Wait! Demigods!?"

The group looked mildly alarmed as they heard this looking to Jack for some clarity, even Penny.

"Just watch. I'll explain what I can after the scene has been set."

The group all turned around, their interest peaked in this other world, but also, their worry.

A creature, also with these protrusions on its face, appeared next, a bloody trident in one hand, and in the other a small child garbed in white, with again, golden hair. They lingered on screen for a moment before a serpent was seen feasting in a man's skull, a golden throne behind them.

"The mad taint of their newfound strength triggered the Shattering."

A field of corpses was shown, before transitioning into one of a bloodied woman, a warrior, with scarlet hair and a metallic arm, blade in hand, standing before a giant with golden armor, wielding a pair of colossal blades in either of his hands, roaring down at her.

"A war from which no lord arose. A war leading to abandonment by the Greater Will."

As the screen went black again, the music became more pronounced as a statue appeared on screen, in the center of an overly crowded catacomb.

"Oh, arise now, ye Tarnished. Ye dead, who yet live. The call of long-lost grace speaks to us all."

The screen went white as the music continued to climb. A man appeared, restrained, a giant lion's head behind him as he was impaled against a tree by a mixture of swords, arrows, and spears. Most notably, a spark of golden light near his torso.

"Hoarah Loux, chieftain of the badlands."

The screen changed to show a malnourished man with gray skin, covered in tattered rags wearing a strange golden mask, crawling before another golden spark.

"The ever-brilliant Goldmask."

Next, a bare woman, covered only with a blanket, was seen laying next to a corpse wearing some kind of crown sharing the space under the blanket with her, was seen looking towards a corner, where a golden spark was shining.

"Fia, the Deathbed Companion."

The screen changed to show a man being hung by chains as a crowd threw all manner of objects at him. He wore hideous armor, but notably, also had a golden spark appearing near his chest.

"The loathsome Dung Eater."

The music seemed to be reaching its peak as it shifted to show an armored man in a coffin, covered in possibly coins of some sort, with the statue of a gargoyle presenting a staff unto him, a golden spark hovering above his heart.

"And Sir Gideon Ofnir, the All-knowing!"

The music faded away, as did the image, and all was still for a moment. The scene changed to one of a single tiny flicker of gold, floating down quietly before settling in the open palm of someone lying on the ground.

"...and one other. Whom grace would again bless."

The figure's fingers twitched as they literally came to life.

"A Tarnished of no renown."

The figure slowly began to get to their knees as the camera focused on their midsection, a pair of stab wounds on both their chest and back visible.

"Cross the fog, to the Lands Between,"

The camera shifted once more as we watched from behind him as he made it to his feet, the dark fog around him brightening as a light shone directly ahead of him.

"to stand before the Elden Ring. And become the Elden Lord."

The room was quiet as the screen went bright white once again, and a visible pause symbol appeared, causing everyone to turn towards Jack.

"What's…wrong with this world?"

"I'll be frank; this is one of the most depressing, depraved, and horrific worlds out there. This land, the Lands Between, has been ravaged every which way countless times. Unknowable outer powers, demigods, and the risen tarnished warriors vie for control of this world, and every important world changing event has taken place on this continent."

The teens digested Jack's answer to Weiss, before they each began to hold looks of thought. Eventually, Blake was the next to find her question.

"Who are the demigods of this world?"

Jack seemed to think it over before he decided to speak.

"I suppose it isn't too much of a spoiler, since their names will come up eventually. The first of the demigods to be born was Godwyn the Golden, followed by the omen twins, Morgott and Mohg, the Lord of Blood. After them were Lunar Princess Ranni, Praetor Rykard, and General Radahn. Finally, the last two of the demigods are Melania the Severed and her twin brother, Miquella the Unalloyed, but they were special. There's also Godrick the Grafted, but he barely manages to qualify."

"And…all of these demigods, have been trying to fight over the future of their world for…however long?"

"With the exception of Godwyn and Miquella, most of them have, yes. Now, I think that's enough questions for now, it's time for our story to begin."

Jack looked up to the screen, causing the others present to do the same, as a title appeared in the white of the screen.

The _, _, _, and _ of _ _.

"Why is it blanked out like that?"

"For effect. The screen must think it necessary for the story it wants to tell you all."

The group looked back as the title faded away and the scene changed, the story finally beginning.

The Tarnished rose from the ground as he studied his surroundings. He was in some sort of church, and upon quick inspection, saw a dead woman's corpse sitting near the door. As he was about to make his way over, he looked down and noticed his state of undress, before looking over to the side and seeing a set of clothing folded and waiting for him. It was a mixture of white and blue cloth, and leather, and he looked it over before beginning to put on the outfit.

"Have to say, our Hero here seems to be a trained warrior. You can tell with those muscles that this isn't someone who sits around."

Yang's comment wasn't responded to, but everyone agreed with her observation.

He went over to the woman and noticed a message left for him, scrawled in blood, reading 'Dear Tarnished, though the path be broken and uncertain, claim your rightful place as our Elden Lord!' The man stood there for a moment before noticing something behind her. Moving consciously so as to not disturb her body, the man grabbed two weapons hidden behind her, a pair of scimitars. He brandished them together and tested their weight, before noticing a shield as well. He looked at it for only a brief second before deciding to leave it there, apparently not a fan of wielding a shield over an extra sword.

He moved away and opened the twin doors of the church, revealing that he was on some sort of cliffside, and the landmass ahead of him had no way over in sight. But as he took a step to stand at the edge of the church's path, he looked over to the left to see a path leading towards a bridge and some kind of courtyard.

"Hey Jack?"

"Hmm?"

"Who was the lady that was in the church with the guy on screen?"

"Not entirely sure. The prevailing theory amongst us who peer into this universe is that she was this tarnished Finger Maiden...before some things happened."

"...Finger…Maiden?"

"Very special ladies in the Lands Between. But I don't wanna tell you what they do just yet, since part of it will come up relatively soon."

The Tarnished followed the path before slowly entering the courtyard, where a large statue of Queen Marika stood, cracked and having weathered from time. The tarnished looked up at the statue, before feeling something was terribly wrong. He looked around, his head on a swivel, trying to figure out where the threat that he felt was, before he looked back at the statue in time to see a shadow leap from behind the statue. He quickly rolled back in time to avoid being crushed under the weight of the hostile.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT THING!?"

The teens were looking on in equal parts terror and disgust as Jack decided to answer Yang's outburst.

"A Grafted Scion: an amorphous mass of bodies, this one wielding two swords and a greatshield. Remember when I said that this world was depraved and horrific, consider this a precursor to the rest of what you're going to experience as we watch this world unravel."

As the creature roared, its weapons beared at the man aggressively, the Tarnished brandished both of his scimitars.

It was at this moment that Ruby noticed a tiny detail.

"His hands are shaking…He's terrified."

The group focused in, and sure enough, Ruby's claim was correct, causing the teens to feel a sharp pang of pity for the man as he and the abomination stared each other down for a moment.

The tarnished grit his teeth before deciding to move first, running towards the Grafted Scion. As he closed in, he raised his scimitars to go for an attack, but was met with sparks as his weapons slashed against the greatsword the creature was wielding. The man's eyes widened as glancing back at the creature it reared back onto two limbs before beginning to stab forth towards him with both of its rapiers.

The tarnished warrior dove to the side evading the initial twin thrusts, before as he found himself jumping backwards, a stab of the rapier from the scion caught him near his stomach. A bit of blood left escaped the tarnished's lips as he got back up to his feet as the scion charged him again, causing him to growl.

Blake's ears perked up a bit as she heard the sound escape the man on the screen, but brushed it off.

The man stopped covering his wounds with his hands, instead choosing to bear both of his scimitars, managing to avoid the telegraphed attack the abomination launched, before countering with a x-slash to its backside. The scion screeched something ungodly, causing the tarnished to cover his ears, which would prove a fatal mistake. The mass of bodies turned around and swung its shield, catching the tarnished and sending him flying back before his head smacked against the stone of Queen Marika's statue, before his new trajectory watched him fall off the edge of the cliffside, causing the screen to slowly fade.

"Damn…that's a pretty ugly way to go, but at least he went down swinging."

Blake nodded before adding in her own thoughts.

"Yeah, but what I want to know is why the screen went through all the trouble of bringing us here to show a guy that was going to die this soon into the story of the world."

Everyone turned to Jack who held a somber smile as he answered Blake's question.

"There's something else you should know about this world first. This world, the Lands Between, is a place where natural death isn't present."

"Natural Death?"

"That's right Ruby. This land as a whole has been given the same treatment as Salem. Just imagine it: hundreds of thousands of souls, both innocent and not, living so long that they inevitably lose their sanity and become husks of who or what they once were."

The teens looked down hearing that. A world full of people like Salem?

"Keep in mind, they can still die due to being killed, but the idea of living and dying of old age is unknown to them. Now, the reason why it wanted to show you this, is because the journey of our Tarnished is only just beginning, and unlike any other soul in the Lands Between, he is quite special."

The teens felt the screen beginning to brighten slowly behind them, causing them to turn around.

The picture returned to show the Tarnished lying face-down in a cave, part of his body laying in water as the rhythmic sound of water drops echoing as they fell from their stalactites. The screen hung on this scene for a moment, before a golden glow began to shine from nearby.

As the glow began to subside, the sound of something moving through the water grew louder, until moments later, a hoove appeared a few feet away from the tarnished.

The picture changed to show a two-horned horse leaning down to sniff the man's hand, curious of something before its rider, a young woman it sounded, rubbed its neck as she spoke.

"Don't worry, Torrent. Fortune is on his side. We found him here, after all."

The horse made a sound in response as the woman stepped down from the steed. The camera switched to a first person point of view for a moment as the tarnished momentarily regained consciousness as the woman knelt in front of him, before he blacked out once again.

"One of his kind is sure to seek the Elden Ring, even if it does violate the Golden Order."

An unknown time later, the man once again awoke. But as he pushed himself from the ground and to his feet, he noticed that whoever the woman was that discovered him before seemed to have dragged him towards a drier part of the cave. After looking back to the darker end of the cave, he turned around to see stairs leading up to what looked like the door to a crypt. But before it were a golden tree missing its leaves, and a large hole which sat in front of a chair with the ghost of a man looking down.

As he prepared to move, a glow came from his side before he pulled two flasks from his belt, one red and one blue. Tied around the lip of the red flask was a note reading, 'To your health, the cerulean flask is unto your spirit.' The man pocketed the note before returning the flasks to their new resting place and beginning to walk towards the ghost.

"...Brave Tarnished. Take the plunge. Of learning, and remembrance. Recall the arts of war. And your warrior's blood."

The man stood there after hearing the ghost's words, before looking down at his twin scimitars. The sound of him clicking his teeth was heard before he moved away from the hole and started towards the steps.

"Seems like the guy on screen thinks he's too good for a brush up on his fighting skills, even after fighting that scion thing."

"While that is part of it, knowing what I do about the hero of our story on screen, I can also say that another part of it is that unlike many other Tarnished, he recalls all of his skills, every moment of his life before his death. Let's just say that those weapons aren't what he would prefer to wield."

The room turned towards the man behind them as he finished his reply to Yang's observation.

"Wait…you know who he is?"

They received no answer, save for the man nodding his head up towards the screen, silently telling them that he wouldn't be sharing his knowledge. At least, not yet.

The Tarnished looked up towards the closed door at the top of the steps, but his eyes were drawn to the golden sapling that'd sprouted in the catacomb. He approached it and knelt down inspecting it, before finding a glimmering golden seed at the foot of the sapling. He picked it up and inspected it, before preparing to toss it away, but as he made the motion to do so, he stopped. Something was telling him, this conspicuous seed was of importance, far greater than he knew at the moment, and so instead, he deposited it into a pouch on his waist.

"What was that thing he picked up? A gold seed?"

"Yes, quite literally. I'll explain what the seed's purpose is once he takes his first steps outside of this tomb, since I don't think it'd count as too much of a spoiler."

Moving towards the double doors, he pushed them open before moving into the connected room and seeing a golden ray hovering in the center of the room, as well as an entire deeper part of the tomb behind a wall of white fog. Curious, the Tarnished approached the wall, before attempting to pass his hand through the fog and failing, being repelled and barred passage by the fog. Looking to the side, he noticed a statue of two imp-like creatures on top of one another, and one of them had some sort of sword-shaped stone embedded in its head, while the other held an open slot.

Understanding that it must be missing a key, and that it must look like the item stuck into the other head of the statue, he approached the golden ray hovering in the room before unsurely reaching his hand out. A pulse of energy rang out from the golden ray before he moved past it and continued into the next room, which housed a strange circular platform surrounded by pillars. He moved forth and stepped on the center of the circular stone, and felt the centerpiece of the platform sink down below him, causing the now apparent elevator to activate and ascend him to the entrance of the catacomb.

As the elevator slowed to a halt, he looked up and saw stairs leading to a metal door. Grunting, the man climbed the stairs before reaching down and beginning to heft the metal door up, and once he finished getting the door to rise, he stopped and took in the scenery before him.

"Wow…"

Jack watched as the screen's visitors drank in the sight of the land before them.

A myriad of sights flooded the Tarnished as he took his first steps into the land. A castle resting at the top of stone outcrop, trees with leaves of golden-green, the remains of broken architecture that…admittedly seemed a bit out of place, the ruins of what could still be identified as a church, an insanely large and broken stone bridge leading towards some kind of stone tower, and most memorably, the giant golden tree reaching towards the heavens shining for all to see.

"That, everyone, is The Erdtree. Originally, the tree was known as the Crucible. It was and is akin to life itself, and was where all life once blended together. As such, every so often the aspects of various creatures grew on the human body long ago, things such as feathers, scales, and horns. These were signifiers of divinity in the primordial times, but as their world advanced, they became marks of impurity, causing those who bear these features to be known as cursed pariahs. Following me so far?"

The group nodded in response, causing Jack to continue.

"I won't go too much in depth just yet, but I'll tell you all a bit more. The Crucible eventually became the Erdtree once Queen Marika secured her station in the Lands Between. The Great War, a conflict that spanned centuries, saw the extinction of the Fire Giants and their Fell God, as well as the sealing of the Flame of Ruin. Queen Marika the Eternal declared a new age following the Golden Order's victory and ascension. The sap of the Erdtree once it turned to amber was considered the most precious of jewels, being buried somewhere that was in some way connected to the Erdtree or its roots was considered the highest honor. The Erdtree became the single most important place and thing in these lands, eventually becoming an object of faith somewhere along the line."

As the Tarnished continued to stare out over the landscape, he felt the presence of another, and scanned the area before seeing a man garbed in white with some sort of mask, both his clothes and mask stained with a bit of old blood, staring at him a few meters away from another one of the golden rays hovering above the ground. The two locked eyes, and the strange man beckoned the tarnished towards him.

The Tarnished debated internally before walking forth, visibly on edge. As he stood a few meters from the man, he spoke in a voice that could only be described as that of a charlatan.

"Oh yes... Tarnished, are we? Come to the Lands Between for the Elden Ring, hmm? Of course you have. No shame in it. Unfortunately for you, however, you are maidenless."

"D...Did he just say he gets no bitches?"

Yang's question finally earned an honest reaction from Jack, who spit out his drink and hollered from his seat a few rows behind them. After a few moments, he wiped his mouth and everyone's attention returned to the screen.

"Without guidance, without the strength of runes, and without an invitation to the Roundtable Hold…You are fated, it seems, to die in obscurity."

The Tarnished seemed to respond, judging by the nodding the white-wearing man was giving.

"Why can't we hear what The Tarnished guy is saying?"

The room turned around to see Jack looking back at them as he answered.

"Likely another thing the screen has decided upon as necessary for the experience of peeking into this world."

The group accepted the answer for now before returning their attention to the screen.

"Luckily for you, however, there is one shining ray of hope for even the maidenless. Me. Varré. Take care to listen. Are you familiar with grace? The golden light that gives life to you Tarnished. You may also behold its golden rays pointing in a particular direction at times. That is the guidance of grace. The path that a Tarnished must travel. Mm, indeed. Grace's guidance holds the answers. It will lead you Tarnished to the path you are meant to follow. Even if it leads you to your grave."

The group watched as The Tarnished seemed to respond again, and Blake chose this time to make an observation.

"This place seems to have a heavy belief in fate and things being out of an individual's control. But the way they treat the idea of death is so…bizarre."

Jack spoke out from behind them as he decided to re-add some context.

"Remember, those who are considered Tarnished have already died once before. They fear what they have already experienced far less than someone who has yet to die."

The group digested his words before turning back to the screen.

"Grace's guidance will reveal the path forward, most certainly. To Castle Stormveil, over on the cliff. The home of the decrepit demigod, Godrick the Grafted. It's time you set off, I should think, to where grace would guide you. If you seek the Elden Ring, maidenless as you are."

The Tarnished walked off and away from the man and looked over the small outcrop of rock, and only now did he notice something between him and church ruins that the light of grace seemed to point towards. A large man and equally large horse adorned in golden armor, patrolling the path leading to the church. Both the man and the horse were larger than either had any right to be, and the giant halberd the man carried with blood staining the blade loomed as the pair watched over the path.

The Tarnished looked at the knight, waiting for it to turn and continue up the path away from him, darting down the rocks and taking a path to sneak around it, not even entertaining the idea of facing off with that intimidating foe.

"Honestly, I don't blame him. I was stuck in the Ever After for…I don't know how many years, and had to fight things that almost killed me more times than I'd like to remember."

The Tarnished waited for the horseman to head back down the church before slipping by into the ruins of the church to see a man sitting by a fire at the opposite end of the church, and a site of grace floating in the center. Not wasting any time, the warrior walked forth and communed with the ray of gold, before walking over to the man.

"...Ah, you are a Tarnished, I can see it. And I can also see...That you're not after my throat. Then why not purchase a little something? I am Kalé, Purveyor of fine goods."

The Tarnished said something that couldn't be heard, but they didn't have to wait long to be able to figure it out once they heard Kalé's response.

"Ah, just woken up have you? I understand. Unfortunately, I can't help you until you acquire some runes. But allow me to give you a piece of advice, free of charge. Consider it a gesture of good faith that we'll have a fruitful relationship as seller and buyer. You see that path outside the church leading towards the forest? It leads to a set of ruins where a handful of Godrick's soldiers have formed an outpost.

Inside the ruins, just off the paved path, you'll find a monolith that will illuminate your map of the surrounding area, and just a stone's throw away from the monolith, a ray of gold outside a large stone gate. Last I saw, they even captured two caravan carts, which usually contain rare weapons. But be wary, Tarnished, as those soldiers will attack on sight. However…if you manage to slay them all, you could find yourself enough runes to purchase some of my goods, which may just save your life."

The screen paused as the group looked back at Jack.

"Go ahead, I know you have a few more questions."

Weiss was up.

"Runes?"

Jack held up his hand as a glowing golden orb appeared in his hand.

"Consider it the currency of the Lands Between. Runes are…a bit hard to explain, but I'll do my best. So, you all see the state of this world, well, something that doesn't hold intrinsic value like the currency of your world would be quite useless here. Runes are tiny, miniscule, itty-bitty pieces of the Elden Ring. Runes can be turned into strength, and when something is slain in these lands, their killer inherits however many runes that person or creature was worth. And so, since they play such a pivotal part for those that vie for the title of Elden Lord, all trade conducted in the Lands Between is with runes or other items that the many Tarnished who roam the lands no longer have use for."

Weiss accepted this answer as everyone turned back to the screen to see their protagonist leaving Kalé behind as he made his way towards the pass.

The Tarnished walked towards the path, where a single soldier carrying a torch was patrolling. The foot soldier caught sight of him, and ripped their straight sword from its sheath before beginning to move towards him. The Tarnished with his twin scimitars in hand, walked forwards to meet his enemy as the foot soldier suddenly rushed forth and unleashed a downward slash.

A slash that the Tarnished ignored by moving slightly to the side. He paused for a moment, clearly bewildered by the lack of skill in his enemy, and proceeded to dodge the next few attacks the same way. Getting a clear look at the foot soldier, he saw that his enemy looked like a withered corpse. Feeling that he wouldn't learn anything more of value, the Tarnished swung one of his scimitars deftly and beheaded the foot soldier.

As his enemy took their last breath, a thin stream of golden light transferred to him. The Tarnished took a breath to focus on feeling the difference, before looking down at his slain enemy and beginning to rummage through his pockets.

"Smart. I don't support grave robbery, but in this world, I think it's a justified requirement for survival."

Weiss's comment got a few hums of agreement.

As he stood up from the body, the only thing of note he found were a few crossbow bolts, and a strange rock. He seemed to debate tossing it, but figured he'd ask the merchant about it after he was done with his business at the ruins. Figuring he may as well collect as much of these runes as possible, he looked around the thin patch of forest and spied five more soldiers going about their business, and dispatched them before continuing.

Two hours later, the Tarnished was coming over the hill and saw the ruins just outside of some sort of stone gate. He approached the ruins via the path, and as he drew closer, the lone foot soldier guarding that path into the ruins caught sight of him, before picking brandishing their polearm and greatshield, and charging forward only to be cut down in two strokes of the Tarnished's scimitars.

The Tarnished decided to leave the body behind to check for supplies later, not wanting to get caught off guard. He could see other soldiers either sitting around the camp or patrolling, and opted to do some basic scouting that would allow him to better understand the enemy forces.

Some time later, as the sun had moved to a new position in the sky, the Tarnished was kneeling on the hill as the camera panned over his shoulder to see what he was drawing in the dirt with a stick. A rough outline of the ruins with squares signifying buildings or obstructions, lines signifying thin walls, and 'X's signifying enemies.

There were fourteen enemies remaining in the outpost as he'd already killed one: twelve regular soldiers, their weaponry involving warpicks, straight swords, brass shields, and crossbows. There were two wolves as well, but most notably was the patrolling soldier that seemed to be the leader of the camp, some sort of officer or knight. Not only was his armor and weaponry of a higher quality, but even how he walked compared to the other soldier was different. He carried a greatshield and some sort of spear, so he'd likely want to single him out if possible.

The Tarnished tilted his neck to the side, earning a crack before standing up and stomping out the map he'd made. He decided he'd begin trimming off the number of soldiers around the north side of the camp first using the hill-ish terrain and the caravan carts to ambush his targets.

Sneaking around the eastern end of the camp towards the north side, he waited until the knight turned to patrol towards the center of the camp before making his way towards the soldier guarding the cart. He decided to only wield one of his scimitars at the moment, and quietly stabbed his weapon through the soldier's back and out through his chest, catching him as he fell. He left the body in view and hid by a wall as he heard the metallic footsteps of another soldier.

"You know, I'm not sure what I was expecting, but he's taking a really methodical approach to dealing with this outpost."

Everyone turned to Jaune as Yang spoke up.

"What do you mean? Isn't this what anyone else would do in this situation?"

Jaune shook his head before speaking.

"There's a difference between knowing what could or should be done and actually being able to, or needing to do it. I'm sure any one of us could waltz through this camp singlehandedly without the need for stealth because we have aura. But he went as far as to scout the camp ahead of time, take notice of their weapons, their patrol paths, their number, everything that he could use to his advantage."

"Jaune's right. When I was in the White Fang, most of our raids involved guerilla tactics. We often scouted days in advance to make sure there wouldn't be any complications or differences that we didn't account for. Also, while the way he fights is brutal, it's effective given the situation. And did you see how he caught the body of the soldier as he killed him to avoid making too much noise, but left it out to draw another soldier to investigate?"

Everyone seemed to understand as they turned their attention back to the screen.

The next soldier came around the wall and was quickly stabbed through the chest as the Tarnished again lowered the body to the ground before moving on to the next three soldiers on the hill. Three more bodies later, he'd gone around to the south side of the camp. He hesitated for a moment before making a judgment call and heading to where two soldiers were sitting in a portion of the ruins with high walls.

He watched as the foot soldier that shared the central path with the knight turned and began to walk east, before quickly vaulting over the wall, keeping a hand on the ledge as he went over, using the momentum to drive his scimitar into the face of the soldier. He pulled the curved blade from the body as it began to lean over and ripped his other scimitar from its sheath before rushing and delivering a cross slash across the other soldier's torso. He lashed out with a kick, sending the corpse backwards and out of sight from the foot soldier before rolling into better concealment himself.

He gave himself a minute, and after not hearing the patrolling soldier sounding the horn he carried, he figured it was safe to go to the other side to deal with the two soldiers and two wolves. The Tarnished hid around a corner, and as one of the soldiers got close enough, he pulled his enemy around the corner before stabbing into their chest with his scimitar. He dropped the body to the side before peeking around the corner to see one of the wolves looking directly at him before growling.

The Tarnished wasted no time leaping out from around the corner to lunge forth with his scimitar. He managed to pierce the beast's skull, but found himself in open view of the other wolf and soldier from this section of ruins. The body language of the Tarnished suggested he sighed as the wolf stood and howled, the mysterious protagonist watching as the other two foot soldiers and the knight turned to his direction and began to move with a purpose.

"Well, his element of surprise is gone, but on the brightside, he trimmed off all but five."

"That is true. However,"

Everyone turned to Jack as he began to address Ruby's comment.

"While you'd think he'd have the upper hand after reducing the enemy's forces to a third of their number, unfortunately it's a bit more complicated than that. You see, while I have no doubt the hero of our story here is more than capable of dealing with the remaining enemies, I can say that he's operating under a bit of a misestimate."

"What do you mean?"

"Simply, he was right to try and single out the knight, but he couldn't know how many worlds apart a foot soldier and a knight are."

Everyone turned back to the screen a bit worried.

The Tarnished wasted no time killing the closest foot soldier, but when he made to cut down the wolf, it jumped back and retreated to stand near the knight, which was now approaching carefully. Seeing that he was about to be cornered, the tarnished warrior vaulted the wall and dropped down into the open field, making his way to the open path to try and narrow the area from which his enemies could approach him.

As he did, he saw that all that was between him and returning to Kalé to purchase the supplies he needed were two soldiers, one wolf, and the knight. The knight continued to approach slowly, their greatshield raised and ready to respond to any ranged abilities the Tarnished may have been hiding. Of the two foot soldiers, one of them was rushing towards him with a warhammer, and the other was keeping pace with the knight.

The less wise of the foot soldiers was cut down in an instant, but as he turned back to see the knight and the remaining soldier now jogging towards him, he noticed the wolf was nowhere to be seen. Instincts that had to have been honed over unknown years of fighting guided the Tarnished to roll to the side just as the wolf went sailing by where his neck had been.

As he got to his feet, he had to roll again to dodge the downward swing of the knight's polearm. As he got to his feet, he was finally clipped by an attack, the swing of the soldier's straight sword catching him on the upper arm. The camera changed to show the lower third of the Tarnished face, showing a grimace that turned into grit teeth, likely a growl, before returning to an over the shoulder perspective as he guarded against the soldier's attack firmly, catching them off guard, before retaliating with a heavy strike that liberated their insides.

Blake felt a chill run up her spine for some reason as she saw the Tarnished grit their teeth, but didn't know what the uneasiness she felt was.

The knight pressed forward and tried to bash the Tarnished with their shield, but in a moment of creativity, the Tarnished used the shield as a platform to turn and spring towards the wolf that had been trying to sneak into his blindspot again, landing above it and driving one of his scimitars into its skull.

Now it was just him and the knight. Once again, he brandished both of his curved swords as he walked towards his enemy. This time, the knight took the initiative and charged forth. They went for another overhead strike, but staggered back as they were given a slash to the abdomen. Their offensive halted, the knight received two more cuts before lashing out with their shield and managing to catch the Tarnished, sending him sprawling back a few feet and knocking the breath from his lungs.

The Tarnished made to get to his feet, but as his elbows pressed into the dirt to push himself up, the knight wasted no time and was already standing above him with their partisan aimed down at his torso and driving the blade down. The Tarnished turned his body to the side, causing the blade to instead pierce his side, blood staining his clothes.

The knight raised their greatshield, intending to bring the bottom down onto the head of the Tarnished, but was unprepared for when the Tarnished grabbed the pole of the partisan to hold it in place, before pulling himself up a bit and swinging his scimitar at an odd angle that he normally wouldn't have been afforded, allowing him to slice directly at the thin opening between the breastplate and helmet. His opponent stiffened, and when he looked to the end of his scimitar, he knew he'd succeeded when he saw blood covering the tip.

The knight stumbled backwards before falling onto their back, dead. The Tarnished layed there for a few moments, the camera shifting to show his perspective, black fluttering at the edges of his vision. Looking down and seeing the partisan blade still lodged in his side, the camera shifted, falling to his side as one hand reached up to grip the polearm near the head, and the hand on screen began to writhe as the sound of the blade being removed was heard.

"I'm glad he beat those soldiers, but isn't taking the blade out bad in this situation?"

Jaune was the one who addressed Ruby's question.

"There's no one coming to save him. Unfortunately, leaving it in and breaking off the head from the rest of the weapon would be better until he could find something to patch himself up, maybe some herbs or anything like that, but it looks like the blade went deep enough that he isn't getting up from the ground until it's out. This is really the only choice he has."

The room returned their attention to the screen.

As the polearm was dropped to the ground beside him, the Tarnished clenched a balled fist as his chest rose and fell slowly. At that moment, he remembered something. He reached down to his belt shakily, before retrieving the crimson flask and remembering what the note said. Figuring there was nothing to lose, he uncorked the bottle before bringing it to his lips.

As he did, the camera panned to his torso, where the wound on both his arm and his side glowed the color of blood before miraculously beginning to heal.

"Whoa…"

"That would be a Flask of Crimson Tears."

The rest of the theater waited for Jack to explain.

"If you all remember the note the woman left for him, the red flask was for his health, and the blue flask was for his spirit. Now that you've seen what the red flask does, I assume you can guess what the blue one does."

Weiss was the one who asked the next question.

"If it restores his spirit, what exactly would he expend the essence of his soul for?"

"That is actually a good question. The answer would be sorceries and incantations, as well as Ashes of War."

" Ashes of War?"

Jack waved his hand in the air as he responded to Penny.

"Don't worry about them right now. When our protagonist happens upon one, I'll explain more in depth then."

Unlike the others in the theater, Penny wasn't the least bit upset at being denied an explanation, instead smiling in response before everyone turned back to the screen.

A moment later, the Tarnished rose to his feet before looking around at the bodies left in his wake. As he sheathed his scimitars, and began to loot through the bodies, which took a small amount of time, he ended up finding a few weapons, of which he'd have to carry back with him to Kalé in order to sell, and more strange rocks, of which he now had nine.

With the bodies of the soldiers looted, all that was left to do was to butcher the wolves, which thankfully the screen skipped past, showing the sun going down. As the camera returned to the Tarnished, he was seen sitting by the site of grace just outside the gate that sat beside the ruins. A few sticks holding skewers of meat, mushrooms, and a collection of other vegetables he must have foraged were seen cooking by a small fire he'd made while he was looking down at a small blade in his hands, and a now partially filled map lying on the ground.

The screen panned back to show how the Tarnished found a set of stairs in the ruins, which lead to a room containing a chest, and inside, this small blade. He slipped it into his pocket, before looking at the large cloth he'd taken from one of the caravan carts in order to haul all the weapons and reusable armor that now belonged to him.

As he reached forward to pluck a skewer, he stopped. Something felt odd, as if some presence was watching him. Suddenly, he looked to his side, and moments later a small haze began to appear before gathering to reveal a hooded woman.

"Greetings…traveler from beyond the fog. I am Melina…"

The woman stepped forward and pushed her cloak behind herself revealing impossibly clean clothes, but what drew the attention of the Tarnished more were the intense scars covering both of her hands. As she pulled back her hood, she showed herself to be a fair woman with a tattoo over her closed eye.

"I offer you an accord."

There was a silence as the Tarnished saw her gazing down at his hand, and realized that he'd unconsciously brought one of them to his blade. Taking it away hesitantly, he nodded towards her.

"Have you heard of the finger maidens? They serve the Two Fingers, offering guidance, and aid, to the Tarnished. But you, I am afraid, are maidenless. I can play the role of maiden. Turning rune fragments into strength. To aid you in your search for the Elden Ring. You need only take me with you. To the foot of the Erdtree."

"That's the second time someone has called the Tarnished that. What does being maidenless mean exactly?"

Jack sighed as everyone looked back to him as a wet towel had materialized over his face while he answered Blake.

"That's a good question. So, do you all remember what Varré said? 'Without guidance, without the strength of runes, and without an invitation to the Roundtable Hold'. Those are all things that without access to would make claiming the throne of Elden Lord an impossibility. That is the purpose of the Finger Maidens. To guide the tarnished, and more importantly, convert runes into power."

"Runes like, what Kalé told the Tarnished to go get?"

Jack nodded at Ruby.

"Exactly. Runes are the literal value of someone's soul in this world. Every enemy slain is another sum of runes accrued. To the tarnished however, runes are more than just a way to barter for supplies. Through the finger maidens, a tarnished can take the runes they gather, either by finding them or appropriating them, and use them to grow. The finger maidens resonate with the tarnished, seeing their thoughts, their desires, and their past as the process changes runes into permanent strength."

"Why are they called 'Finger Maidens,' and what about the Roundtable Hold?"

Jack just looked back up to the screen as he waved off Jaune's questions.

"Later."

Melina stayed silent as the Tarnished seemed to think this offer over. The Tarnished eventually nodded towards the woman, and she returned the gesture.

"Then it's settled. Summon me by grace to turn runes into strength. Ah, another matter. I bequeath to you this ring."

"...That was fast."

Yang snickered at Weiss's dry comment.

"Use it to traverse great distances. It will summon a spectral steed named Torrent. Torrent has chosen you. Treat him with respect. Next, I will give you this pouch. Bottomless and weightless, to allow you to better carry your spoils."

"Wait, she's the lady who saved him in the cave before, isn't she?"

The Tarnished accepted the pouch and the ring before observing his new companion. She was gazing at the site of grace, and it was clear he said something from how she turned to acknowledge him.

"What exactly is this, you ask? This tiny golden aura is the grace of the Erdtree. This light once shone in the eyes of your Tarnished brethren. But now it is all that guides you…Or so I hear. The rays of grace, that guide you through your burden. For now, I humbly suggest that you focus on the first hurdle of your long journey. Upon the cliff, in Stormveil Castle, is a shardbearer. A demigod who inherited a fragment of the shattered Elden Ring. If the rays of grace signal the castle, then the Elden Ring beckons you. As an ally by pact...I pray that you are fit...Fit to face the challenge presented by the Elden Ring. To fulfill your purpose. To become our Elden Lord."

The Tarnished said something in response that caused Melina to look away from him, down to her burnt and scarred hands.

"Me? I'm searching for my purpose given to me by my mother inside the Erdtree long ago, for the reason that I yet live, burned and bodiless. Also, there is something for which I must apologize. I've said I would act the part of your finger maiden, and yet I can offer no guidance. I am no maiden. My purpose was long ago lost…"

The two sat in silence as both the golden ray of grace and the fire illuminated them as the moon began to rise in the sky. Eventually, the Tarnished reached forward and pulled a skewer from where it was roasting by the fire, and prepared to eat, before seeing Melina staring at him with an unreadable expression. The Tarnished noticed her gaze wasn't on him, but on the skewer he was holding, and instead held it out towards her.

For a moment, Melina looked as if she was going to decline, but instead, she reached forward as she spoke.

"Many thanks for this meal, Tarnished..."

The Tarnished reached forward before taking another skewer and beginning to eat. After a minute, he noticed that Melina still hadn't touched her skewer aside from holding it, but then he noticed she was studying it quite intently. She'd poked the roasted food on the stick, smelled it, and even brought it near her ears to listen to it continue to sizzle and pop, and now she was just staring at it.

"...So…is anyone gonna ask the question?"

Jack looked at Blake before speaking, gathering the room's attention.

"Her behavior is very strange in your eyes-at least, that's what I assume you are referring to."

Seeing Blake nod, Jack continued.

"The explanation is actually quite simple. This is her first meal."

The room kind of halted at that, but Jack opened his mouth to continue, knowing his guests would want more context.

"I meant that literally by the way, when I said that this is her first meal. Due to her circumstances, Melina doesn't need to eat, sleep, or anything else that we would. Though her presence is physical for the Tarnished, no one else can see, hear, or interact with her aside from the horse, Torrent. The way she's acting right now reminds me a lot of Penny when I first brought her here."

The group looked to the former android in question, who smiled before Jack continued.

"Something for you all to digest: when you enacted your plot to save Penny's life in Atlas, she only had maybe a half hour to live as a real human girl before her story ended. When I brought her here, and she saw there was no fighting, and that all there was to do was explore and witness the many worlds, I had to spend an hour watching as she did all sorts of things to explore her humanity. Poking and pinching herself, jumping, running, walking, and for a while, just breathing. And to this cycle, whenever I make us something to eat she hasn't had before, she starts doing that adorable thing she does. The giggle-crying. You should have seen her when she tried wasabi for the first time."

The girl blushed, playing with the bow on her chest as she muttered.

"I like green things...And…I thought it was ice cream…"

The visitors of the realm were silent for a moment, before a few chuckles turned into full on laughter as they all began to laugh. Penny was still blushing as she continued to fumble with her bow as the screening continued.

The Tarnished watched as she brought the skewer near her lips before taking a bite. He watched as Melina began to eat the skewer in earnest, throwing etiquette to the wolves as she openly savored the taste of the meal. The tarnished watched as she finished off her skewer slowly, and realized that he finished his own at the same time due to observing his new companion.

He looked to the remaining skewer, before a hidden sigh rolled off his shoulders as he reached forwards and split the skewer in half, sharing one end with Melina.

"That was really kind of him to split half of his food with her."

Jack made a sound that got the room to look back at him as he responded to Penny's comment.

"Strange isn't it? Our capacity for kindness despite ourselves."

The room was quiet at that before Blake spoke up with narrowed eyes.

"What do you mean?"

Jack leaned back in his seat as he looked up at the screen, eyes focused on the Tarnished.

"Our ability to be nice, even when that isn't our conscious intention. Our Tarnished fellow on screen: his actions just now are surprising given the context I have. I'm guessing that he offered the food he scavenged to Melina since it would be in his best interest to get along with the person who's sole goal is to help him. So him offering the first skewer isn't too unbelievable, but him willingly splitting the last one? It's fascinating to me, and I wish I knew what caused him to do it. Was it pity, a whim, curiosity, genuine kindness? I'm sure I'll understand more as this screening continues, but regardless, that first skewer wasn't offered out of kindness or politeness, it was offered with his benefit in mind."

The audience digested Jack's words as the screening continued.

After Melina and the Tarnished finished eating, they sat near the fire a while longer in silence. Melina watched as the Tarnished studied the flasks she'd given him in the cave, before he pulled out something that caused her eyes to widen. A golden seed.

"A golden seed? How auspicious."

The Tarnished turned to her as she explained.

"Those golden seeds are rare, but they can increase the number of times your flasks can restore you. All you need do is drop the seed into either flask. If you wish, I can also move restorations between flasks. You need only ask."

Melina watched as the Tarnished proceeded to drop the golden seed into the red flask, a bright shine following seconds later. The camera watched from the side as the Tarnished swirled the flask around, studying the crimson contents, before returning it to his side. A stretch of the neck later, Melina watched as her companion stood from the site of grace and kicked out the fire he made. After doing an equipment check, the Tarnished was ready to go, and looked over to see if Melina was ready, but saw her beginning to fade into specks of light.

"Worry not, Tarnished. I can only maintain this form for so long when away from grace, so I will travel with you in spirit. If ever you need of me, think of me when at grace, and I will appear."

And with that, she was gone. The Tarnished looked back to the path that would lead to where Kalé was, before glancing down at the ring given to him by Melina. He brought his fingers to his mouth, and with a whistle, was visibly caught off guard when the spectral steed seemed to summon itself under him as it materialized, seating him in the saddle once it was fully corporeal.

A hour's casual ride later, the Tarnished and Torrent arrived at the church, but as he pulled on the reins to bring the horse to a stop as they entered through the broken portion of the wall, an ethereal fog began to appear above the ground. Looking around as he stepped off of Torrent, the steed fading away much like Melina, he took notice of Kalé sitting where he had been previously, though he was visibly asleep against the pillar.

Something was odd here, and that much was apparent when the Tarnished looked up into the sky above and saw the sky. A supermoon, but unlike any he'd seen. The moon should be a deep yellow, instead, it was a pale blue, but only near the edges, the center of the moon was dark, impossibly so, and seemed to be filled with stars.

"Whoa…"

"Is that how the moon always is?"

Everyone looked back to Jack to see a strange expression on his face as he stared at the screen intently with his brow furrowed. Moments later, he noticed everyone looking at him, and sighed before answering the question.

"No. This moon is special, but even I'm not sure as to how or why."

"...This way, Tarnished…"

The Tarnished turned to reveal a woman garbed in white with a large witch's hat sitting on the broken part of the church's wall. He approached her cautiously, but as he did, he noticed that her skin was blue, and that she had four arms, but most notably, a ghostly half of a face floating, seeming attached, to her own.

"May I have a word?"

The camera sat behind the Tarnished as he nodded.

"A pleasure to meet thee, Tarnished. I am the witch Renna. The moon tells me that a Tarnished has brought into his service a spectral steed of much renown. And upon your arrival, I understand the revelation is of thee. Thou'rt possessed of the power to call forth the spectral steed named Torrent."

The Tarnished nodded in response, and the woman returned the gesture before continuing.

"I was entrusted this, for thee. By Torrent's former master. 'Tis a bell for calling forth spirits. Summon them with it, from ash unreturned to the Erdtree. The spirits will obey thine command but briefly, as they recall battles past. Now it is thine. To do with as thou wishest."

The Tarnished stepped forth and accepted the bell before the woman crossed her hands again and spoke.

"Forgive mine intrusion, Tarnished. I doubt we shall again meet. But all the same, learn well the Lands Between."

The witch looked up to the moon before she spoke wistfully.

"How long will it be, I wonder...Before the Tarnished tire of obeisance to the Two Fingers?"

Before the Tarnished could say anything in response, the woman faded away in specks of light.

"..."

No one in the theater knew what to say after the interaction. The woman seemed mysterious and transcendent, but also had this air that made it seem as if she wasn't to be trusted. No one asked Jack, but they all had a feeling she'd be a major character in the story down the road.

The Tarnished watched as the fog at the ground dispersed, before the strange moon disappeared, replaced by its normal countenance. As this happened, the Tarnished turned to see Kalé awake, and looking in his direction as if nothing had happened.

"Back already, Tarnished?"

The Tarnished stood there, likely perplexed before shaking his head and walking forwards towards the merchant.

"Good. Very Good. With you possessed of runes, we can now do business. And if I may make a recommendation, you should buy yourself a crafting kit. It would allow you to make basic items on your own. Essential really, if you intend to survive out here for any duration. The kit costs a bundle, and I admit, I do take my cut. But the important thing is that you survive. Every customer counts, after all."

The Tarnished thought on the words before nodding, and the man reached forwards, as if to shake hands. Once they made contact, the Tarnished watched as a small stream of golden motes transferred from his arm to the merchant's before Kalé pulled away and placed the crafting kit in front of the Tarnished on the ground.

"I'm glad you took my warning to heart, so allow me to give you another piece of free information. The crafting kit comes with a few important instructions and recipes, courtesy of myself, but you'll need to look for recipe books, such as the three I have here, in order to expand your knowledge of potentially life saving crafts. Now, is there any other business you wish to conduct?"

The Tarnished pointed out a few things, his voice still unheard before Kalé responded.

"These two volumes of warrior cookbooks will cost you five-hundred runes each, and the missionary cookbook is worth a thousand. The spyglass is five-hundred as well."

Instead of reaching forward to shake hands and exchange runes again, the Tarnished began to retrieve the items he'd looted from the bodies at the ruins and laid them out in front of the merchant. When all was said and done, Kalé looked over the spread of armor and weaponry, appraising them before he spoke.

"A full set of foot soldier's armor, along with a dozen weapons…This will cover what you wish to purchase and then some. Might I suggest you buy these pots then? They are the container used in a great deal of recipes."

The Tarnished stayed motionless for a few seconds, in thought, before nodding, concluding the transaction as Kalé moved the bartered items of his in front of the Tarnished, and his new stock onto his blanket in front of him.

"A pleasure doing business, Tarnished. Allow me to express my gratitude by giving you one last piece of free information."

"This Kalé guy is pretty generous."

"Yes and no."

"Sorta."

Everyone looked towards Weiss and Jaune, who looked at each other since they spoke in sync to answer Ruby's comment. As the others waited for an explanation, Jaune gestured towards the group, letting Weiss have the floor.

"Thank you. You see, Kalé is a businessman. He's treated everything thus far as a transaction, and he only cares about the prospect of having a customer as well as earning either goods or runes. When the Tarnished arrived penniless, he knew he wouldn't be able to make any profit off him as he was, so instead, he pointed him towards where he could acquire both runes and equipment to spend and sell to him, framing it as 'free' information. He wasn't technically lying, but he marketed himself and his goods to the tarnished with what is made to look like generosity."

The other guests nodded their heads at the explanation, and Jaune cleared his throat to expand on Weiss's point further.

"To add to what Weiss said, when the Tarnished got back, the first thing Kalé sold him was the crafting kit. And only after he sold it to him did he bring up recipe books, which he just so happened to have multiple of to sell. He isn't being malicious, just self-involved."

Weiss smiled as Jaune finished adding his two-cents, agreeing with what he said.

The Tarnished watched as Kalé retrieved a folded piece of paper from his bag, before he motioned towards the Tarnished.

"You made sure to visit the monolith in the camp, didn't you? Then allow me to mark something for you on your map."

As the Tarnished pulled his map from his pouch, he handed it to Kalé, and after a moment it was handed back to him, a red circle surrounding what looked to be a structure of some sort.

"When you have the time, I'd take a trip to that spot on your map. The information this particular someone gives me is always valid, so that means that at the Third Church of Marika, a Flask of Wondrous Physick awaits a new owner."

As the camera hung over the Tarnished's shoulder, Kalé's expression shifted to one of understanding seeing whatever expression the Tarnished was wearing.

"Don't know the value of what that little item is, do you? Well, from what I understand, it's like those flasks you keep on your belt, but when you drink it, special effects are bestowed. Could be useful for when you go to ransack Stormhill Castle and challenge Godrick the Golden, but it'd add a day's travel on horseback there and another back at least. Whatever you choose to do, it's been a pleasure."

The merchant was about to return to playing his instrument, when the Tarnished held out the strange rocks and knife he found on the soldiers and in the ruins.

"Ah. How fortunate for you. You found a handful of smithing stones I see, and a whetblade as well. Both are used in the process of smithing and retooling weapons, but the whetblade will be more useful once you've collected a few Ashes of War. See that anvil over there?"

The Tarnished turned his head to see a rusted anvil and a pile that could easily be turned into a fire.

"Anvils such as those serve as a place for you to do some rudimentary smithing on your weapons. Eventually, you'll need to seek out a blacksmith to care for your weapon, unless you just happen to be talented in the trade. Those stones on the anvil: feel free to take them. They don't belong to me, and have been here longer than I have."

The Tarnished nodded before walking over and picking up the stones. As he was walking towards the broken wall of the church, Kalé spoke one last time.

"There are others of my people who yet survive in these lands. If the mood takes you when you meet one, then offer them some trade, won't you? My people, wanderers all, have long been spurned by the grace of gold. Which is why we cannot settle, but instead are forced into this pitiful, unceasing journey. But thanks to that, things are not so different for us now, though the Elden Ring is shattered. I think this makes us kindred spirits of sorts. Your people, the Tarnished, and mine."

The Tarnished turned back to see Kalé beginning to play his instrument.

"Perhaps you don't need to hear this, Tarnished, but…see that no harm comes to my kin. We have a saying, we wanderers. Lament not your solitude. Expect no sympathy. No regard. Nothing. But if anyone dares harm us, show them no mercy. That is our code, so to speak. Just how we are, deeply unforgiving…"

The merchant became absorbed in his music, and the Tarnished took that as his cue to leave. As he stood at the broken wall of the church, the man took out his map and as he began to think.

---

The audience was a bit caught off guard when the screen froze, and looked to Jack whose eyes were now glowing white again as he looked up at the screen. A moment later, his eyes dimmed back to being normal as he slapped a palm to his forehead.

"What a pain."

The others looked around before Ruby spoke up.

"Is everything okay?"

The man stood up before moving to the entrance of the theater room.

"The screen is deciding to add a few more people from your world to the audience."

They watched as Jack opened the door to the theater, revealing a shimmering wall of white. He took a step back before three figures were pushed through the wall. The three looked around confused, but before they could freak out, Jack held a palm out towards them as he spoke.

"Sun Wukong, Ilia Amitola, and the departed Sienna Khan. I've brought you here to witness something. I will explain everything in a moment, but we're waiting for our last two guests."

From behind Jack, Blake stood up seeing so many people she personally knew and walked over.

"Sun, Ilia!"

The two looked over and were shocked to see Blake, followed by her friends walking up from behind Jack.

"Blake?! What are you doing here-what are WE doing here?! Where is here!"

Blake was about to answer before Jack the three newest guests out of the way and reached into the shimmering white wall with both of his hands. Seconds later, he began to walk backwards and as he did, two more figures were pulled through the wall.

"Mom!? Dad!?"

Ghira and Kali Belladonna looked around completely confused before their daughter barreled into them and pulled them into a hug. The two adults were shocked to be in a theater, but upon realizing that their daughter was here too and hugging them, their shock was replaced as they both began to hug her back.

The room let the moment persist for a bit before Jack cleared his throat.

The family separated as Jack stepped forward and spoke.

"Now that everyone is here: Ilia, Sienna, Sun, Mr. and Mrs. Belladonna, if you wouldn't mind giving my eyes your attention for a moment."

The five looked confused, but their eyes suddenly started to glow as did Jack's, the Observer manually inputting the information that the other guests who'd already begun watching the viewing had into their minds. A few moments passed, before finally everyone's eyes stopped glowing, and now looked at the room not in confusion, but in wonder, and in one's case, skepticism.

"Now, I'm sure you all want to catch up, but we can only afford a tiny bit of that right now, since I have a feeling the screen will get impatient. So, you all do that, while I go and answer Sienna's questions over there, since I can see her glaring at me suspiciously."

The room looked to the tiger faunus, who was indeed staring the man down. There was an awkward moment before Jack gestured for Sienna to lead him wherever in the theater she felt comfortable speaking, and the mood lightened enough for Blake as well as her friends and family to start conversing.

On the far end of the theater away from everyone else except for Penny, who'd elected to join the two for the conversation, Sienna began speaking.

"Why am I alive? And why am I here?"

They were questions, but the tone made it quite clear she was demanding an answer. She watched as the taller man reached up and flicked the halo above her head.

"I'll summarize. You're still dead on the Starting Line, and your story there is over. Here however, I'm free to manipulate this space as I place and do what I want in my cozy corner of the OS. Penny here is much like you,"

The man gestured to the girl beside him as she waved to the woman before he continued.

"Her story on Remnant was over, so I decided to bring her here, and offer her the ability to stay. I imagine this is probably a preferable alternative to going back to being dead on the Starting Line. After all, there's no afterlife there, and Remnant doesn't allow reincarnation for non-Afterans save for Ozpin."

The man stood from the wall he'd been leaning on and held his hand out.

"And just like with Penny, I'm extending that offer to you. To become a permanent resident of this theater and be free to explore the Omni-Strait whenever we aren't entertaining our guests. Though, I will warn you: in the future, others may join you and Penny, and you may not care for them too much, but if you're willing to move beyond your differences, I think you'll be able to find common ground to walk on."

The woman looked at the man and the girl for a moment, scanning them for any signs of deception, before she sighed, clearly frustrated as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"I apologize if you were hoping or expecting to be sent back to Remnant to pick things up where you left them. If you have reservations, you can take as much time-"

"No need. I accept."

Jack seemed a bit surprised at her answer while Penny's smile widened before Sienna spoke again.

"Like you said, when I died, there was nothing. No Heaven, no Hell, just…nothing. I died before I even realized what happened, without a chance of fighting back, and was gone. It's only common sense that I'd want to avoid going back to that."

Jack and Penny looked at each other, before Jack shrugged his shoulders and reached above the shorter woman's head again, this time grabbing her Halo and tossing it away, causing it to disappear in a flash of light. Penny squealed before jumping to hug Sienna, who promptly moved out of the way, causing the gingerette to face plant gently, not that she seemed too bothered by it.

On the other corner of the theater, Yang had walked up next to Blake, and upon noticing how close together the two were standing, Kali got her daughter's attention before speaking.

"Kitten, shouldn't you introduce us to your friends?"

Blake's eyes widened, and she turned to the side before gesturing to her friends.

"The tall blonde guy over there is Jaune: he's the leader of our sister team, JNPR. The one with the black and red hair is Ruby, my team's leader, and I think you both already know who Weiss is. She and Ruby are partners"

The girl in white gave a small and polite bow, to which the two adults seemed pleasantly surprised before nodding at her with small smiles.

"And this is Yang. She's my partner on Team RWBY…and my girlfriend."

This got a few reactions out of the group. Ghira and Kali were surprised for more than one reason by this, remembering the year that she and Sun had been on Menagerie, but quickly schooled their features as they went to greet the blonde girl. Ilia had been, surprisingly, indifferent to the news, but Sun on the other hand?

Very few people caught what his face didn't portray, the way his tail stiffened for a moment at the news and his hands clenched, the slight twitch at the edges of his lips. Thankfully, the moment was broken up as Jack walked over with Penny and Sienna.

"Sienna…"

The group moved to the side as Sienna walked forward to speak to Ghira and Kali.

"Kali. Ghira."

"We heard that you'd…"

"Yes. It was Adam."

The mood around the faunus members of the audience, as well as Yang, soured a bit before Jaune looked around and noticed something.

"Um…Jack?"

The man looked over to him, as did everyone else.

"I could be overthinking things, but…I just noticed that everyone the screen brought here is connected to Blake in some way."

The room looked a bit caught off guard by the observation, before looking around and noticing that he was right. The man looked at him before nodding his head.

"You are absolutely correct."

The room watched, now a bit guarded now as Jack sat on the armrest of a seat to speak.

"The audience the theater chose to bring here is all involved with Blake, which has to do with what the screen is wanting to show you. Although, the audience it originally wanted was not gonna fly yet."

"...What do you mean?"

Jack looked toward Ruby as he answered without hesitation.

"The screen originally wanted to add Mr. and Mrs. Belladonna, as well as Cinder Fall."

The room went deathly quiet at that, remaining silent until Jack spoke again.

"I vetoed that, and gave the screen a counter offer. Instead of Cinder: we'd add Sun, Ilia, and Sienna. That said, I want you all to know this now, Cinder joining this audience is likely an inevitability."

Jaune's eyes had hardened, and the members of team RWBY all looked ready for a fight before Jack spoke again.

"I have no idea who all the screen will wish to add, but I can make a few guesses. They'll likely show up in future viewings, since the screen will need to adjust to taking in this much emotion at once, which should be a few screenings. I just wanted to prepare you all."

"And what about…him?"

Jack looked towards Blake before he answered.

"I presume you're talking about Adam. No. I give you my word that Adam Taurus will not be a member of this audience."

The girl let out a small breath before she nodded to the man. The room didn't know where to go from there until Jack looked up to the screen and nodded.

"Alright everyone, find yourself a seat. The screen is getting antsy."

Everyone quickly found a place to sit before the image of the Tarnished unfroze.

For better or for worse, the camera watched from behind as the man's head turned to look up at the castle on the hill, before he summoned Torrent and began to ride. The sky changed once more, the moon beginning to near the point where it would no longer be visible while the other side of the horizon was beginning to turn purple, a sign of the slowly approaching sun.

As he arrived back at the site of grace where he'd spoken met and ate with Melina, the Tarnished disembarked from Torrent, but did not will him to disappear, instead having him stay where he was as he knelt by the large stone gate, taking out his newly bought spyglass before peering ahead.

He was able to easily spot four foot soldiers, two to each side, as well as two extra enemies, each of them on either side of the block ahead, but the biggest problem was the strange giant kneeling over the rock overhead.

Seven enemies wasn't too tall an order, but that giant creature had him cautious, and looking back at Torrent as he thought back to his near end to the knight earlier, the camera transitioned to show the Tarnished riding on Torrent as the horse was in high gear, barrelling down the path as the large monstrosity had landed and turned to chase.

Looking ahead, there was another foot soldier ahead, along with three of what he could only assume were militiamen, aiming at him with crossbows. He swung one of his scimitars to destroy the first arrow fired, while Torrent took initiative and swerved to evade the next three. Looking back, the giant was so much closer now, the squished bodies of what the Tarnished had assumed to be its allies visible from between its legs.

Looking back ahead of himself, the camera showed the audience where the Tarnished was looking as an idea came about. The exit of this natural tunnel was ahead, and seemed to be too narrow for the large beast chasing him to follow. As Torrent raced forth, the horse seemed to understand what the Tarnished wanted, and as they were close enough, jumped over the foot soldier and highwaymen before continuing to speed past the exit. Looking back, the Tarnished saw as the giant creature crashed into the end of the tunnel before letting out an angered roar.

The ride continued for another few minutes before eventually the Tarnished saw the familiar rays of gold indicating grace at a shack up ahead. Torrent slowed to a stop before the Tarnished got off of Torrent and communed with the grace. Or, he was about to, when the sound of soft sobbing was heard. He slowly took a step back before peering into the shack, and saw a woman huddled up against the wall of the shack, crying.

He stared for only a few more seconds before communing with the grace and deciding not to rest, instead moving on to the last bend of the hill.

"This man isn't a kind soul, is he?"

"Hmm…Hard to say. He does things that sometimes don't make sense given the context, something you'll hear me say quite often, but he also has the capacity to be kind, and to certain individuals, much kinder than with others."

Ghira nodded at Jack's words as the viewing continued.

The Tarnished made short work of the blockade awaiting him at the top of the hill, and was now walking through the tunnel slowly. As he continued around the bend of the tunnel, eventually he came to the outlet on the other side, and as he stepped through the winds surrounding the castle were blowing fiercely.

He took a moment to compose himself, looking at the castle and whatever he'd have to face within, before beginning his approach.

"FOUL TARNISHED."

A booming voice drew the attention of the Tarnished, who looked up to one of the spires to see a large figure appearing out of golden flecks of light.

"What…is that?"

"He is an omen."

"Omen?"

"They are humans that were 'cursed' upon birth, fated to live the rest of their lives as these ogre-like creatures. Horns and other animal aspects plague their body, and when one is born, if it is to a common family, they would try to cut and shave down their horns, which is almost guaranteed death. If they are born to a family of status, they are locked away in the sewers of Leyndell, the Royal City, where they will live and die."

The mood dampened in the room as the large being continued to speak on screen.

"In search of the Elden Ring. Emboldened by the flame of ambition."

The camera shifted to a close-up of the omen, and they saw that he wore a coat seemingly made of rags, with his horns and gray skin on full display, a large wooden cane held in his hands firmly. The camera shifted to a side angle, revealing the omen's tail as he bent slightly and jumped from the spire to a couple dozen meters across from the Tarnished, kicking up a cloud of dust as he landed.

"Someone, must extinguish thy flame."

The vitriol with which the omen spoke was a bit unsettling as he moved into a combat stance as he spoke once more.

"Let it be Margit the Fell!"

Orchestral music sounded off and began to play in the background as the Tarnished pulled both his scimitars to his hands and readied himself. Margit wasted no time in initiating the duel as he ran forwards before leaping into the air, stabbing his large cane into the spot the Tarnished had once been.

The Tarnished was not willing to let such an opportunity go to the wind, and immediately left four slashes on his opponent before Margit pulled his cane from the earth, bringing it across his chest for a wide swing. As the cane moved trying to land a blow on the Tarnished, the smaller combatant rolled to safety behind the omen, but was given no chance to use his positional advantage as Margit had quickly jumped and turned to face him again, summoning a golden dagger in his free hand and making two quick swipes before jumping away.

The Tarnished staggered for a moment before reaching down and pulling the red flask from his belt and taking a swing, feeling himself turn right as rain in an instant, before stowing it again and rearming himself. Margit went for a heavy overhead slash that missed, but followed it by jumping to side and winding up another attack across his chest, the Tarnished risked heavy danger but managed to leave two cuts on the omen before rolling to the side as the impact of Margit's cane left a crater in the ground.

The Tarnished saw this as an opportunity as he was now behind the omen, but was proven wrong when spun his body, causing his tail to swing and smack into him, sending him flying back towards the ledge. He'd almost fallen off, but managed to save himself by catching hold of one of the many armaments stabbed into the ground, no doubt left by a fallen warrior. As he pulled himself back up to his feet, he winced slightly as he looked down to see a deep gash on his hand.

Margit was approaching him slowly, but the Tarnished was forced to drop his scimitar to have not fallen off the ledge, and his intention of reclaiming it was obvious as his foot inched in the direction of his second blade. Before he could fully commit to this however, Margit summoned two golden daggers, throwing the first at where the Tarnished was, and the other, where he was rolling to.

The man managed to evade both, and was only a few meters away from his weapon before he noticed Margit rapidly descending towards him with his cane primed to impale him, and was forced to leap back before the omen landed in between him and his goal.

The Tarnished watched as Margit stared at him with contempt before his tail swiped the scimitar off the ledge, forever robbing him of his other blade. The man didn't despair though, instead grasping the hilt with both hands as he steadied himself.

The Tarnished took the initiative, running forth and evading two swipes of Margit's cane and leaving two slices on his opponent for each missed swing. The growl that escaped Marget was followed by him summoning another of his spectral daggers, but what he did next caught the Tarnished off guard. He sliced in front of him as he jumped back, landing a cut on the smaller combattant and putting him off kilter as he'd overswung.

As he landed from his jump, he threw the dagger he'd summoned, landing a clean hit as it went straight through his leg, keeping him in place for a moment before it faded away, but unfortunately, the damage had been done.

Two more daggers followed, one to his other leg, and the other through his stomach, causing him to sink to his knees. The camera shifted to show his perspective as he looked down at his body where he knelt, blood trailing down from his mouth as his breathing was heavy.

He looked up to see Margit with his cane held at his side.

"Thou'rt where thee belong: on thy knees. Let this be an omen to all Tarnished who would chase after the Elden Ring like dogs. Put these foolish ambitions to rest."

And with that, he stabbed forth with the tip of his cane, going straight through the chest of the Tarnished, who began to fade into what looked to be dust. As the cane was removed from his chest and he fell forwards, dead, the screen darkened.

"...Is that it?"

Jack looked over to where Blake and Yang were, the former of which had spoken up.

"The screen brought us here just to show us some nameless guy getting killed by someone he had no chance of beating in a different world?"

She was, perhaps understandably frustrated, but as the screen began to brighten again, Jack chuckled as he got comfier in his seat.

"You have no idea."

The Tarnished's body shot up from the ground, and as he first checked his chest to see if he was still injured, he noticed he wasn't injured anymore. But his hands, they were trembling, no, his entire body was, as the memory of death was fresh at the front of his mind. Taking a few moments to compose himself, the Tarnished looked around and saw that he was back at the grace he'd rested at with Melina.

"Okay, what is going on!?"

At Yang's outburst, Jack took a sip of his drink before answering.

"You see: our Tarnished here isn't like the others. He is very special. No one knows quite why, but whenever he dies, death doesn't take him. He is instead sent back to whatever grace he spent the most time at recently. Many of us Observers speculate on if he is something like the Chosen One of this world, but there is no concrete evidence that supports or refutes this. Regardless, our Tarnished can't die, and so his journey isn't over yet."

The Tarnished looked around before thinking of Melina, and was greeted by the familiar ethereal sound of her arrival. Turning around to face her, he saw her looking at him with a mixture of disappointment and hope.

"How odd…You…died. Yet here you stand. Who are you, Tarnished…No. That matters not, instead, let us meet this blessing with the courtesy of thieves and take full advantage. You remember your battle against the omen, do you not?"

Melina nodded, pleased at the fortune she'd been given when the Tarnished nodded to her in response.

"Good. You know how your enemy fights, you know when he is weak. All you need now is to acquire the runes necessary to elevate yourself to a position far above your fated foe."

The Tarnished seemed to say something, but Melina closed her eyes and shook her head.

"That won't be possible, Tarnished. Upon your demise, your soul surrendered whatever runes you were worth. But despair not, for there are plenty of enemies waiting to be put to rest. Neither the castle nor the Erdtree are going anywhere, so let us take our time to amass the strength needed to continue this journey successfully."

The Tarnished nodded in response to Melina, before feeling a nudge behind him. He turned around to see Torrent standing behind him despite not having been called yet. The Tarnished unsurely reached out and stroked the horned horse's neck. He looked back to see Melina already having disappeared, before moving and jumping up to ride Torrent.

As he rode through the gateside ruins, he continued down this path for an hour or so until eventually he came upon a path leading down to what looked like what had once been a body of water. He stepped down from Torrent and looked at what he decided to call a lake, seeing strange, unsightly creatures roaming the space, but what caught his attention most of all was a bonfire surrounded by a large number of people carrying weapons and torches.

Looking down at his scimitar, the Tarnished pulled it into his hand before beginning to walk towards the group of people. But as he drew closer, his instincts forced him to stop and look around, feeling a disturbance-feeling that he was no longer the one hunting.

The camera watched from behind him as he looked from side to side, checking ahead and behind himself, before looking up, the camera shifting to show the world from his perspective as a large shadow dove from the edges of her peripheral vision.

"No way…"

Ruby's comment went unacknowledged as the audience was too shocked at what had just touched down in the lake, absorbed as they watched the scene unfold.

A torrent of flames cascaded from the skies as the bonfire and the group around it were immediately incinerated. Not but moments after, a large brown dragon touched down before sniffing the air and looking in the direction of the Tarnished.

As flames began to lick at the edges of its maw, the tarnished whistled before turning and feeling Torrent appear from under him and take off at top speed. Since the spectral steed was the one doing the running, the Tarnished allowed himself to look behind and see how close the danger was, and upon seeing the flames drawing very close, kicked the heels of his boots into the sides of Torrent, who sped up in response.

As they went up the hill they'd traveled down to explore the lake, the Tarnished didn't feel heat pressing at his back as before, but he didn't need to turn around to know the dragon was chasing him, its great wingbeats reverberating through the air.

This however, was where things took a dire turn. A crossbow bolt came from the side right in front of Torrent's eyes, and caused the horse to rear back and accidentally force the Tarnished off the saddle. As the warrior scrambled to his feet, he was about to calm his steed so that he could remount, but upon hearing the roar of the dragon, he looked to the side where a gout of flames was now burning across the ground from the sky towards them.

Thinking quickly, the Tarnished kicked off Torrent's hindquarters, sending himself back far enough that the flames only nipped at him warningly. Torrent was startled by this and ran forwards before disappearing into light, dispelling himself for the moment.

The Tarnished, seeing his steed was now safe, got to his feet before running up the hill. A few warriors of some kind on horseback saw him, but upon seeing the dragon in the air chasing him, retreated back to their camp, giving the Tarnished a clear path forward.

The game of cat and mouse continued like this: the Tarnished using trees to protect himself while trying to make for safer ground, and the dragon burning everything away in its pursuit of him. Eventually though, he'd gotten too close to the rock face and no longer had any trees to aid him. Pulling his scimitar from his side, he prepared for a fight, though this was for naught.

He was slammed against the rock face by the tail of the dragon and the camera shifted to show the swimming vision of the man. As the tail pulled away, the Tarnished fell to the ground and attempted to find his second wind, but became alarmed when one of the dragon's front legs grasped him and took to the air.

The dragon began to fly north, and was slowly getting higher and higher, but as the Tarnished looked down and saw how high they'd already gotten, he knew that to be brought wherever this beast was taking him would be death, and would rather take his chances falling the distance.

He tried to take a swing at the dragon's leg, and the energy left him just as he was about to make contact. He tried once more, but the blade bounced off since he didn't have the force. The camera shifted to the perspective of the Tarnished as he seemed to gather himself and will himself to a third swing, this one managing to break through the hide just enough to surprise the dragon and force it to unclench its claws, causing him to fall.

The sound from the viewing vanished as a faraway side-shot of the Tarnished falling through the air took over, revealing the giant fragmented bridge looming in the background. The camera went back to the perspective of the Tarnished as the man looked up at the dragon, the beast not bothering to turn and pursue him since death from such a height was inevitable. The man struggled for a few moments before managing to right himself in the air, though unfortunately, without a safe way to land.

But as he was falling, the wind rushing past his face felt different, and as he focused on the rapidly approaching ground, he saw what looked like a well of air rushing up towards him. Before he could ponder or attempt to figure out what it was, Torrent appeared under him, putting him into the saddle.

The Tarnished didn't look the gift horse in the mouth as he noticed the winds starting to curl around Torrent's legs, and as they hit the ground, they landed with a softness that should by all means have been unthinkable.

"Excuse me, Jack?"

"Yes?"

Kali turned to where the man was sitting and asked the question everyone had.

"Would you tell us what that windy field that saved the Tarnished is?"

Jack nodded before looking up at the screen.

"Those are called Spirit Springs. They're basically little areas scattered around the Lands Between that exist to safely expedite travel up or down long vertical distances for horseback riders, or any other kind of steed really. Not much of a story that anyone knows behind them either, just that they exist and they're for travel."

The room nodded before turning back to focus on the viewing.

The Spirit Spring calmed down and dissipated before the Tarnished rolled himself off of Torrent and onto the ground to look up at the sky, the camera shifting to a far away shot that kept his face hidden as he did.

The screen hung on this moment for a short while, the only thing anyone was able to make out about the warrior was the rise and fall of his chest as he gathered himself in the empty field. A few more moments passed before the camera shifted again as he sat up and made his way to his feet.

Torrent was looking over at him from where he'd begun to graze a bit, and made a soft sound as the Tarnished patted his neck. The man looked around, studying his new surroundings before seeing an odd sight: a door hidden in the small rock face of a hill, with a kneeling ghost next to them. Cautiously and curiously, the Tarnished made his way over to investigate, Torrent following behind him. Once he was a few feet away, he was able to hear the defeated rambling of the spirit.

"...Unthinkable…our hallowed resting place is violated. To refuse the Erdtree's call to return, to live within Death…sickening."

The ghost continued to repeat himself, over and over as the Tarnished stepped away and looked at the doors. For a moment he was unsure, but something was compelling him to explore whatever this was. Stepping forwards, he placed his hands against the doors and pushed them open, revealing stairs leading down into a catacomb.

He began down the first few steps, before looking back at Torrent when the steed made a disgruntled sound. The Tarnished looked at the horse, and wondered what it was trying to tell him, before watching as Torrent began to kick one of his front legs forwards. The Tarnished wasn't understanding until he saw how Torrent's hoof would flicker every time it was past the doorway of the catacomb.

With a neigh, Torrent vanished to wait for when the Tarnished would summon him again, outside the confines of the underground area. The Tarnished turned back to the stairs before continuing to make his way down. A few minutes of walking like this and he eventually came upon a site of grace.

He communed with it and sat down, allowing himself a short ten-minute break to rest and heal from his encounter with the dragon, before standing and moving on.

As he made his way down, he came upon a heavy door long sealed shut and oxidized, the image of what anyone could only assume to be the Erdtree engraved into it.

He studied the room a bit, taking in the two statues holding candles on either side of the door, as if guarding it. He stepped forward and attempted to push the doors open, but to no avail. The shoulders of the Tarnished revealed a sigh as he turned to the right, where more stairs leading down were.

He began making his way down when an unsettling sound drew his attention, something akin to a rattle. He went a bit further and looked around seeing nothing aside from a pile of bones on the ground, before continuing past them.

Suddenly, he swung around with his scimitar drawn and watched as the bone pile assembled itself into a skeleton wielding a small shield and a short sword. It looked around before promptly being disassembled by the Tarnished, who continued further down the steps into the catacomb.

As he made his way into the first large room of the catacomb, a skeleton appeared from his right only to be immediately destroyed a second later. But, as his most recent foe fell to the ground, the Tarnished was caught off guard by a shallow slash across his back from the skeleton he'd first come across. He was confused, but as he looked over to the side where the skeleton that he'd just destroyed was, he saw light coming from the bones as the many pieces began to move towards each other.

The Tarnished understood what had happened, and quickly destroyed the skeleton that'd surprised him, before making his way over and destroying the chest cavity of the second skeleton, and then doing the same to the first. Making his way to the bend of the room, he heard the sound of skeletons forming, and saw that two of them had bows, and the other two had swords and shields.

Dispatching them quickly, the Tarnished's body language was showing that he was growing irritated, and when he looked down, it was clear as to why. The handle of his scimitar had cracked. A little bit more combat and it would no doubt fall apart, leaving him with an uncomfortably thin metal handle. Looking down at the swords that had been wielded by the skeletons, he saw they were far too old and worn to be of any use as replacements to him.

He was about to make his way forth to continue down the obvious path, before spotting what looked like a hidden path to his right. He weighed the two in his mind before deciding to head to the right. The room the path lead two was guarded by two skeletons, which were killed quickly before the Tarnished saw another thin path to the left, wondering if this path led to the same room the other would have led him to.

As he came upon the next room where he was on some form of upper level, three skeletal archers assembled themselves before beginning to fire their arrows upon the Tarnished. He dodged them easily, and killed them one by one before looking down at the state of his scimitar. The handle was actively falling apart now, the wood able to be pulled from the metal without much force at all.

He tossed the weapon to the ground before beginning to look at the bone piles for a blade to use, even if it was only a dagger. The blades the skeletons on the upper level carried were all in sorry states, but then he noticed something. Hanging over the edge of the second level was a body, and something was poking out from under it. Making his way over, he quickly moved the body to the side as the camera began to slowly peek over his shoulder.

A katana.

The Tarnished lifted the weapon gently before pulling the blade from its sheath, expecting to see a rusted or broken blade, but was greeted with a shining glint of steel. Within half a minute, the saya was tied to his waist as he jumped down the lower floor. He saw a room at the end where a lever was waiting, and made his way over before stopping as he noticed a strange, glowing white flower to the side.

He studied it for a moment before cutting off the top half of the plant and pocketing it, and making his way over to the lever. He looked around, making sure there weren't any traps before pulling the lever, a series of heavy mechanical noises following soon after from the direction he came from.

Turning back, he didn't see any more skeletons, and walked briskly back to the heavy metal doors, which were now open. He traveled down the now accessible staircase until he came across something truly strange: a golden wall of fog.

"If I may have everyone's attention for a moment."

The room turned to give Jack their attention as he was now standing.

"We're reaching the crescendo of our first viewing, so now would be a good time to ask any questions pertaining to what we're watching."

First up was Ruby.

"He was dual-wielding scimitars before this, does he know how to fight with a katana?"

"I suppose I should explain about the Tarnished as a whole, not just our protagonist. To start, weapons forged in the Lands Between carry the 'image' of their creators. Any weapon created in this world can be picked up and used by a Tarnished as if it had been their own, as if they'd honed their skills with it all their life. Furthermore, when a weapon is either special enough, or wielded enough, the weapon can be bestowed an Ash of War, which is akin to the memory of the most prominent wielder.

Ashes of War let the Tarnished warriors use the special techniques or maneuvers of past wielders in exchange for some of their soul's light. So to answer your question, any Tarnished could know how to fight with any weapon, but yes, this Tarnished-our Tarnished, knows how to use one even without that trait."

Sun raised his hand next.

"How long is this gonna be? No offense."

"None taken. And it'll take as long as it needs to, so I'd expect to be here for quite a while."

Finally, Sienna chimed out.

"What is that golden wall?"

"That. Is the hardest question to answer at the moment. Not really sure as to what it is, and I don't believe any of the other Observers do either. The prevailing theory is that these fog walls serve as indications that, once you have entered, there is no going back. Succeed, or die: a trial set by the Erdtree to test the Tarnished."

The room didn't seem to have any more questions at the moment, and Jack sat down.

"Here we go…"

The Tarnished gathered his resolve before pushing through the fog wall, and coming into a large room with six pillars. At the opposite end of the room were large roots, a chest off to the side, and most notably, a hooded figure in armor sitting on the ground.

The figure rose to their feet before pulling out a wicked looking black dagger and beginning to stalk towards him, their gangly figure a bit unnerving. As he drew his katana, all of a sudden, the figure crouched low before beginning to rush him at an extreme speed.

The Tarnished jumped back before having to move his head to the side, the camera shifting to look over his shoulder as the upwards slash missed his head by mere millimeters, though, something about the Tarnished was off now.

"Huh…He's…Calm. Before, he was shaky, even when he had two scimitars. But now, with that katana, he seems comfortable."

Everyone found themselves agreeing with Jaune as the viewing continued.

The Tarnished watched as the assassin-like fighter went to swipe with their dagger, but he stepped forwards and shoulder checked them, causing them to stumble back before landing two heavy strikes followed by two lighter ones. His foe quickly regained themselves before going for a feint attack, which earned them another two quick slashes to the upper body before they did something that caught the tarnished off guard.

Their dagger began to emit a red and black flame, before they slashed towards the Tarnished, the hit landing and dropping him to his knees. The flames wrapped around him and continued burning as he got to his feet despite the pain.

"What was that?!"

Jack looked to Weiss before answering.

"I can't give you an explanation just yet, since that would be a spoiler of cosmic proportions, but, let's just say that getting even grazed by that flame has the potential to become fatal."

The weight of Jack's words sunk in as the viewing continued.

He dodged a few swipes before kicking his enemy away after a terribly timed slash, and pulled his flask from his lips and took a swig. However, as he did, he didn't feel himself heal as he should before noticing only some of his injuries healed as they were supposed to, the others having gone untouched.

The Tarnished grabbed his sheathe before holding it in his off hand. As the assassin dove at him again with a swipe from the side, he planted his feet firmly before swinging the hand holding the sheathe down towards the wrist that had been swinging towards him with blade in hand. He deflected their wrist and brought them to their knees, before stabbing them through the chest with his katana, twisting it, and kicking them off of it.

The Tarnished could feel the flames more acutely now, and took another swig of his crimson flask noticing how low the shine was and figured he had one or two more swings before he was out. He looked back at the assassin, and as he prepared for their next move, they jumped into the air and vanished. The Tarnished was instantly on guard, looking around to see where they'd reappear from, but was caught off guard when the assassin swirled around him before dipping him as if they were dancing and slamming their dagger down towards his heart.

Just barely did he manage to twist enough that the blade went more to the side than intended, but it gave him a chance to leglock and fall on the assassin, sending both of them to the ground before he rolled away and pulled his crimson flask to his lips and held it their as he downed the rest of the contents.

As he finished the contents of his crimson flask and stored it back on his belt, he looked over at the assassin who'd gotten back up to their feet and seemed to be assessing him. As the two of them began to circle each other, the flames licking at the body of the Tarnished went out, before the two stopped and took their stances.

The standoff held for a moment before the assassin lost their patience first and charged at the Tarnished. He held his position, composed, while readying the katana in his right hand for what he was planning. As the assassin was now uncomfortably close, they swung the dagger from his right towards his head. The man began to twist as he brought the katana in his right hand towards his left, sheathing it in a familiar stance as he ducked his head, the protrusion of the black dagger's blade catching and cutting his headwear.

Blake's eyes widened as she jumped to her feet, staring at the screen with a dropped and trembling jaw.

As the headwrap fell, the camera shifted to show the man's hair now revealed to be short and black with red tips, and two ox horns at the front of his head. And as he looked up with his katana poised to draw, a blue eye and a blind eye sporting a brand took up the screen before the Tarnished's voice was heard for the first time.

"Die."

A slash too quick to see and the assassin fell to the ground in two pieces. The man did a quick swing of his sword to the side, flicking the blood off masterfully before beginning to slowly sheathe the blade, the screen turning black at click of the hilt and sheath meeting.

The blackness on the screen was taken up by white letters as the title re-appeared.

The Resurrection, _, _, and _ of Adam Taurus.

The lights in the theater undimmed, signifying that the viewing was over for now, but as it did, everyone looked over to Yang and Blake, the latter of which was frozen in abject terror.

For a few moments, no one said anything. None of the guests knew what to say. The reactions around the room were a variety as well. Blake was beginning to hyperventilate, as was Yang, though she was doing a better job at holding in the desire to do so as she held her girlfriend. Ruby, Weiss, and Jaune were all concerned but didn't know what to do or say at the moment, and Sienna was glaring at the screen.

Jack read the room before letting out a sigh that got everyone's eyes on him as he muttered under his breath.

"What a pain."

---

(A/N) Hey y'all, been a while.

Yeah, as I'm sure you can guess, this 23,000+ word chapter was what was taking up my attention for the last few months. But, I finally got it out, so be sure to tell me what you think!

See y'all soon!

B.J.H.