Chapter 48: Rising Eclypse
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Ruby and the others had been walking across the black sands for some time now, tracing her steps back through the way they came. There weren't any Grimm guarding the entrance like last time, and crossing the bridge was simple, without the resistance of that… giant monstrosity from before.
The whole land was barren and empty, save for the ruins that were swallowed up by the black desert.
"She couldn't have left, could she?" Jaune asked as he walked behind Ruby, sword drawn and shield raised as he looked around.
"Big bitch like her? Doubt she'll leave that easily." Blaire stated as she walked next to Ruby, "She put in effort to make this place, or at least, manifest it in Reality. She won't toss it out that easily."
"Kind of makes you wonder where all the Grimm went, though." Xera said, trailing beside the two with Sky, "Can she reabsorb them for energy?"
"Doesn't seem like it. If anything, I think she uses this sand to make them." Blaire noted, "Besides, didn't you notice it when you were here last time? The thing she had with her?"
"That gem?" Sky asked.
"It would explain why she drew Dante in this realm in the first place, and wiped away his immortality." Akihito explained, "As far as we've been made known, two Gems of the Ancients have been destroyed. The third was never found or located."
"So she has the third?" Xera replied, glancing to Akihito as they roamed around. Beating her suddenly felt a lot harder, if she has something like that.
"Seems like it." Asahi spoke up, "There was a rumor a while back that someone had it in their possession. Naturally, you can imagine the mad scramble it caused as people from all over searched for it. But it was never found. All we can guess at this point though is that Scylix must've gotten her hands on it somewhere along the line."
"And now she can use it against us, huh?" Skyla asked, glancing past Xera to Asahi and Akihito. "Makes this interesting."
"Doesn't matter one bit." Blaire said, "All we've got to do is kick her ass and exhaust her Gem's powers. Seeing as we've got three major damage dealers, myself included, we'll wipe her out before she even gets the chance to collect herself."
"Those things can be exhausted?" Xera asked this time.
"In theory, yes." Leo commented, "Observing the instance with the rogue Angel Aultus, our brother kept pressing the attack until the Gem's magic was exhausted from healing or usage of outstandingly powerful attacks."
"So in theory, if we smack the utter nonsense out of her repeatedly and just dodge most of her attacks, she'll tire out on her own." Ciel noted.
"Sounds easy enough." Sky noted as well.
"To whom exactly?"
A voice boomed out across the planes, making everyone halt to a still as they readied themselves and their weapons.
"I didn't expect you to be back so soon. Rather, I didn't think you'd come back at all. Especially without your King aiding you."
Ruby eyes darted around the planes, searching for the voice and looking out for any attacks that would have come their way.
"And yet still you're here. Tell me, is the boy still alive after the catastrophe he suffered? Or did he succumb to his wounds?"
"He's still alive!" Jaune called out to the woman.
"Is that so?"
Moments of tense silence filled the air after she spoke, but shortly, wisps of black smoke gathered in front of the group, forming the woman they had come to defeat.
"Well well… I figured the stronger bunch would have come on their own, but you humans came here as well. I'm amazed really that you'd even consider coming here again after seeing my power."
"We ain't scared of you!" Nora called out, shaking her fist at the Dark Entity woman.
"So it seems…" Scylix said, taking a few steps forward, "What do you hope to accomplish here without your 'savior'? Some small form of success? Vengeance? You couldn't so much as lay your hands on me last time."
"This isn't last time." Ruby said with a bite in her tone.
The woman chuckled to herself, stopping in place as she raised up her hands, dozens of black serrated chains with dagger-like tips forming from behind her.
"Very well, little Rose. Come. Have your retribution." Scylix called over, a chilling smile on her face, "If you can, that is."
With no more words needed, Ruby was the first to zip forward in a flurry of red rose petals, scythe raised to reap the Dark Entity.
Loud crashes echoed across the waters, metal striking metal and unleashing powerful shockwaves that shook the waters.
Dante and the cloaked girl struck at each other without pause, the teen doing his best to counter the girl with each of her violent and powerful slashes. Dante kept leaping back to prevent the girl from completely overpowering him, but she was still too strong for him up close.
Whenever he tried putting distance between them, the cloaked girl always closed the gap within an instant, never giving him a moment to rest, much less make a counterattack.
As they came to a clash, Dante tried to overpower him with his own strength, but the girl proved to be much stronger than her form let on. She tried to hit him with a punch, but the teen immediately dodged his head to the side, only for his face to welcome a powerful back spin kick and send him flying.
Rubbing away the blood from his nose, Dante immediately surged forward with his sword at his side and let out a heavy swing, expecting to blow the girl away with his attack. All that happened was the cloaked girl skidding backwards slightly until she surged forward the next instant, her sword point leading the way.
Dante swung his blade inwards across his body to parry the stab, and spun around using his momentum to go for a stab of his own. The girl's empty right hand, coated in white Aura glanced over the blade, pushing it out of the way and allowing the girl to backhand Dante across the face.
The teen tumbled and rolled across the waters, plunging his sword in the ground to stop himself from rolling any further.
Blood started to slowly seep through from between the segmented armor covering his right leg, Dante breathing heavily.
"It's over, Dante. Your time has passed. Just sit down quietly and pass on, already."
The teen began chuckling silently as he staggered up onto his feet.
"Not a chance in hell."
"Your defiance is meaningless! Can't you see?! You aren't anything close to what you used to be!"
"And who the hell would want to be that pathetic loser?"
The cloaked girl went silent, standing atop one of the white marble ruins and looking down upon Dante.
"I don't want to go back to being that person without life in him. I'm done with that. From now on… I'm going to be living the way I want to." The teen said, pointing his thumb to his chest.
"You have no say in this matter."
"That's what you think. Powerful or not, I won't let you stop me. I will beat you into submission if I have to, and I will make you take me back to that place."
What's going on with her? This isn't right… If she were serious about killing me, she could have done so from the start. I was never a match for her in any of the times we sparred together. The difference between us was just that great.
The girl's hands clenched tightly, the leather grip of her sword's handle creaking from the pressure.
Her body suddenly became a blur, and reappeared in front of Dante in an instant, plunging her sword into the ground as she delivered a brutal punch to his stomach to make the teen keel over.
As he fell, the girl was relentless with her next series of attacks, and continuously punched Dante in the stomach, lifting him up into the air even until she spun around and did another spinning heel kick to his face to launch him back.
I don't understand her… She has me at a complete disadvantage… So why am I feeling all of these conflicted emotions from her?
With an angry roar of her own, she stepped forward and delivered another devastating punch to Dante's face, sending him flying into the ruins behind him. With a harsh crash, his back slammed into the white marble, knocking the wind out of him as he slouched back into his embedded image, taking short and heavy breathes to restore his breathing.
"You're done, Dante. You've been finished ever since you stepped foot onto this World. Just let it end once and for all… and relinquish this duty you've loathed for many years now."
A chance to stop…
…
Dante's eyes closed, his breathes a distant echo. When he opened his eyes again, he was somewhere else, somewhere Dark. Looking around, the entire space was pitch black and empty, the only thing in front of him being the obsidian path that lead deeper into the darkness.
With no other place to go, he walked, and kept walking. The pain in his leg eventually faded, allowing the teen to move into a spring, his bare feet pattering against the cold obsidian beneath him.
The path seemed endless, infinite. But Dante noticed the the path expanding greatly in a wider fashion, almost creating a plateau of crystal clear obsidian.
Was this the end of the path?
Dante's eyes focused in on something further in the distance, his feet taking him closer in a slowly and steadied pace, cautious of the figure he spotted.
The closer he grew, the more he could make out its shape. It looked as though it was a girl, made completely and solely from shadow, sitting down on the cold ground, a black sword plunged into the crystal floor.
"Who are you?" Dante called out, his voice carrying out through the space in an echo.
The figure's head lifted up, and slowly turned around, a pair of perfectly round and glowing white eyes staring at the teen as he took a cautious step back.
(Dissidia Final Fantasy NT OST - Trial of Bahamut/Massive Explosion)
It stood up slowly, shifting its body to face the once immortal before it looked over to sword next to it, using its left hand to draw the weapon out, and twirl it in her hand into its normal position.
Dante looked to his own right hand, seeing no weapon in it.
So he made one.
White and black Aura gathered in his hand and formed an Aura Longsword that shined slightly within the darkness of the abyss.
Without word or warning, the two dashed forward, blades crashing into each other with a loud "clang" that echoed through the world of darkness. They broke their clash and assaulted one another with quick slices and stabs, countering each other with each movement they made.
Dante's body in here wasn't in the same condition as it was out there, so his body was able to move as he liked, allowing him to use his strength and speed appropriately to combat the shade.
But something strange happened with the shade. Amidst the occasional hollow, echoing roars, she began using some of Dante's abilities from his Semblance.
When she kicked away the teen, she made three quick slices, each one loosing a black, arcing wave of Aura that homed in on Dante with startling speed. The teen countered with quick and powerful swings of his own, cutting the waves apart before they could harm him.
As soon as he countered the first volley of attacks, he looked up in the air to see the shade leaping towards him from above, spinning her body quickly twice. Each spin unleashed a treacherous volley of Aura, forcing Dante to flee as fast as he could whilst the swords exploded once they made contact with the ground.
From the fiery blasts of black Aura, the shade leapt through them like a madman slicing at Dante rapidly in a blinding flurry of slashes. The teen was able to move as quickly as she did, but only so he could block or parry the relentless onslaught.
The two clashed blades briefly, but not before the shade delivered a swift side kick to his stomach to send him back on his heels. Dante let out a load roar and swung his blade down, unleashing a wave of white and black Aura that traveled in front of him to keep some pressure off of him.
But that shade ripped through that super dense wave of Aura like it was nothing, and dashed over the obsidian plateau to meet the teen head on.
The more he fought with this shade, the more he felt like he knew her, or at the very least, should have recognized her. It was slowly coming back to him, her form, her features. But her name… her name was the only thing he couldn't remember. And the more he clashed with this shade, the more it felt like she was trying to beat the name back into him, so he could remember it.
It was on the tip of his tongue, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember it.
As he kept fighting, his frustration at his inability to remember only grew, but it only served to throw him off, allowing the shade to gain the upper hand and push the teen back. Whatever attacks he made for, the shade countered as perfectly as he would've done. Whatever Aura attack he used from his Semblance was shattered and broken by the specter's sheer might as she continued pressing the attack.
It didn't matter to Dante that he was losing. He didn't care about winning at this point. All he did care about was to remember this shade's name, who was mercilessly and painfully trying to make him remember it.
Blasts of black and white Aura filled the void, the two coating their swords in torrents of their respective Auras and striking at one another with brutal swipes, their swords unleashing shockwave after powerful shockwave with each strike. When they got close enough together again, both shade and teen swung at each other as hard as they could, loosing their Aura's as they worked to devour the other, eventually resulting in an explosion that sent both of them backwards.
Dante rushed forward as soon as he caught his breath, and met the specter head on, the two exchanging another set of blows without moving from place. Eventually, they clashed once more, but finding his strength, the teen managed to force up both of their swords, except in the shade's case, it's weapon flew out of its left hand. Before it could move back any further, the girl's right hand grabbed the sword once she brought her arm across her body and made for an upwards cut.
Letting out a loud battle cry, Dante swung his sword down as hard as he could, his weapon shattering the shade's own blade into dozens of pieces. But it didn't cease action then, for it grabbed the blade's pointed half that had been broken and moved to stab the teen with it.
(End Song)
He had his chance to end it all there, to cut the shade down and end the fight.
But he didn't.
Instead, the teen grabbed hold of the shade's hand to still her.
They both stood there, motionless and staring at the other until the black specter dropped its fragmented weapon, and ceased tensing up, relaxing herself.
She made to drop to the ground, and Dante followed her, gently lowering the two of them towards the cold obsidian ground, letting go of her hand once it was clear she would not attack him again.
He felt the connection between them going strong, but he still didn't quite remember her name.
The shade's eyes lit up once it felt Dante's hand grab hold of the one he previously restrained, interlocking his fingers with the shade's as he closed his eyes, and let the connection flood through him entirely.
It was coming back to him now in its entirety. Her form, her features, her mannerisms.
Her name.
The teen's platinum colored eyes slowly opened as he let out a slow exhale, staring directly into the shade's own glowing eyes, making sure it would hear him.
"I remember you. I… remember who you are."
He felt the specter's hand shaking, not out of fear, but joy at the statement as she squeezed the once immortal's hand, waiting expectantly for him to call out her name.
"It's been a long time, since I've seen you. But I remember… who you are now." Dante spoke softly, as he held both of the specter's hands and interlocked his fingers with hers, "Your name is…"
(Guilty Crown OST - Krone)
"Why do you care so much about somebody like me?" The boy asked as the snow fell around him, "Why can't you just leave me alone?"
"Because I won't be like everyone else!" The little fox girl proudly stated, "I… I want to be here with you and no one else!"
"Just leave me alone already..! You're only just..!"
"I promise I won't leave you like everyone else!"
The boy spun around, looking at the fox girl as she took steady steps towards him.
"When there's no one else around you… I'll always be there at your side! When you feel like you're cold and alone, I'll be right there to hold your hand! And… when you feel empty inside..!" she said, walking up and grabbing hold of his hand, "I'll fill up your heart with love!"
The boy couldn't hold himself back anymore as the tears flowed. He even tried to hide it by covering his face up with his arm, but the little fox girl wasn't fooled, and so, she gave the boy a tight and warm hug.
"Do you… do you really mean all of that?"
"Promise!" She cheerfully told, her gaze growing stern shortly after, "And if someone's being mean to you, I'll kick their butt's and chase them off!"
The boy chuckled at her proud and brave statement, wiping away the tears from his face as he looked on at the girl with a genuine, happy smile.
"You little fool…" he said patting the top of her head, "You leave all the fighting to me."
(2:39)
Kit held her breath throughout most of the fight.
But… she wished it was more back and forth, and not so one-sided.
The hooded girl was right. Dante was in no shape to fight, and she was winning. On top of that, Kit couldn't even step in. Regardless of her own skill being dwarfed by the two in front of her, this was their fight.
And like Dante said, it was a fight they had to do.
Kit couldn't get in the way of that. But… that didn't stop her from stepping forward and hitching in her mute throat when Dante slumped over and stopped moving.
He… couldn't lose again.
Not now.
"Like I said from the start…" the cloaked girl said as she took slow strides forward, "It's been over for a long time already, Dante. Give up."
The once immortal's fingers twitched briefly before his hands grabbed the edges of the marble and slowly pulled himself out from it, his feet touching the ground once again as he staggered up onto them.
Looking down to his sword, he saw that by now, the entire blade had been destroyed entirely, leaving the weapon as nothing but a bladeless handle.
A brief moment after, a perfect, crystalline barrier of white Aura surrounded Kitsuki, shielding her body entirely.
"So you have enough Aura left to do something as trivial as that? You should focus on your own survival instead of a bystander's." The cloaked girl said.
White and black Aura pieced itself together from the hilt of Dante's weapon, forming a glowing blade of his Aura as piercing, platinum colored eyes focused in on the girl in the distance, the teen taking slow and steady steps towards her.
"If you won't go down quietly into the dirt..!" The cloaked girl said, clenching the leather grip of her weapon tightly, "Then I'll just have to force you down into it!"
The edges of her white cloak brimmed with a blaze of black and white Aura, and within the next moment, her body surged forward with blinding speed, sword raised above her head.
When she got close enough, she swung down with an echo that bounced throughout the whole area. When she looked down, she saw Dante standing perfectly still, blade raised up with a single hand and blocking her entirely. When he looked up, his platinum eyes shone with power, making the girl gasp in shock.
(4:03)
Before she could make any sort of movement, Dante's arm forced her away with his sword, unleashing a powerful blast of white and black Aura that sent her flying. She crashed into the ground, bouncing a few times until she flipped up onto her feet. Looking up, she already saw Dante was upon her and swung down.
The immense force from that single blow sent her back on her heels, as Dante was the one now who relentlessly attacked her without pause. Every single swing or block of her own was meet with force too great to cancel out the attack, much less stop it in place to allow her a moment's rest. Each time she retreated, or moved away to out distance between herself and Dante, he was already there, continuing his attack.
At last, the girl thought she had an opportunity once she locked blades with Dante once again, but she soon found her right arm had been grabbed hold of by Dante's left hand, held firmly in place.
She didn't realize at first, but horror struck her once she realized what Dante's next move was, seeing him rear back his sword as a violent torrent of white and black Aura surged from the blade with great intensity, winds rushing past them as the cloaked girl struggled to break free from Dante's vice grip.
"Let me go!" She shouted, using her left hand to punch Dante in the face repeatedly.
But he didn't let go. His grip remained firm and tight, and when he was ready, he let go of his sword momentarily before grabbing it immediately in backhand style, and swung his blade upwards with every fiber of strength he had.
(4:59)
The result was a blinding rush of white and black Aura, that when made contact with the girl, exploded outwards into a sea of Aura that quickly filled up the space in its entirety.
Front the outside of the enclosed space was a monolithic box of white and black Aura, that began cracking apart until it finally exploded into hundreds of pieces, a sea of white and black Aura flooding out from it, and slowly disappearing from sight.
Kitsuki opened her eyes once the blinding blast had died down, and looked from behind her shield to see the cloaked girl falling to her knees yards away from Dante, her pure white coat now a scorched and smoldering black.
The teen himself stood where he was a short distance away, swiping his sword outwards and down from his body as the formed blade of Aura disappeared, leaving the weapon as a bladeless hilt once more.
(End Song)
The last remains of the girl's Reality Space blew away with the wind, leaving the three out in the open field in front of the building the cloaked girl had made for them to all stay in.
Dante's eyes looked back to the structure, noting how much it looked like one enormous log cabin. It was big, sure, but it still gave off that homey feel that one would get if they lived in the mountains. If anything, it resembled something more of a resort with how big it was.
"I told myself… it was always for your sake…"
The teen's eyes shifted back on the cloaked girl, who sat there on her knees, hunched over.
"Everything I was to do, it was to be done for you. To spare you from as much as I could without totally interfering with your life, and impeding your progress as you grew stronger."
Dante took steps forward, the black armor of his Shadow Skin making soft, metallic thuds as he moved closer to the girl, and knelt down in front of her.
"Your suffering was supposed to end the day you defeated Aultus, not continue. And now, that I sit here and think to myself, I was only subjecting you to further pain…"
His hand moved towards her head, but she stopped him.
"Don't… I'm… I'm…"
"It's alright." Dante spoke, feeling her hands loosen up and allowing him to pull down her hood, "I think we both know… that it's time to take off the mask and let it go."
When he pulled the hood down, the first thing he noticed was her hair. It was pure white like his, short and near chin length in the back, but two long bangs near the sides of her face dangled down, barely touching her shoulders.
On her face was a porcelain white mask that was heavily chipped and on the verge of breaking. For the most part it remained faceless, only having two slanted black eyeholes.
Dante's fingers gently touched the front of the mask, and slowly pulled the mask off to reveal the face behind it. She was young, seventeen from the looks of it, which placed them at the exact same age. And her eyes… they were a bright sky-blue color, with tears currently streaming down from them.
"I had a few memories pop up of you. Do remember that night at Mountain Glenn?"
"I-I do…"
"Never quite figured out who that was… Or who they meant to me… But I know now that I look at you, you're that person."
"I am…" She said in shaky breathes.
"It's good to finally see you without that silly mask on, Dawn."
The girl's head jolted up when she heard her name called, and that only made her breakdown more as she started sobbing, Dante moving in closer to give her a hug.
"I'm..! I'm sorry..! I'm so sorry!" She between her cries.
"It's alright. Just let out, little sister. Let it out." He said patting her on the back.
"I just… wanted to help…"
"I know. You don't have to worry about all that anymore. It's done and over with."
He held her there the whole time, letting Dawn cry as much she needed to. Dante recognized that she may not have had it as difficult as he did, but she most certainly had her own difficulties to deal with this whole time.
Thinking about it almost made him cry even. Almost.
For now though, he gave his sister the hug she needed, a hug that had been long overdue for both of the siblings.
"Dawn…" Dante said as he pulled away and looked her in the eyes, "You need to take me over there. The others… they don't know what I know. They haven't realized the truth like I have. That's why I have to be the one to go back… and end this once and for all."
Dawn nodded her head, understanding her brother's words as he helped her up. Wiping away her tears, she sniffled once more, grabbing hold of his sleeve and tugging it.
"I've… I've kept my identity from you all this time. But… there are two more things I've kept you from you."
Dante turned around and faced his sister, watching her reach behind her cloak and slowly pull out something unexpected.
"It was in my possession the whole time. I don't remember who it was, but a long time ago… they told me to return it to you only if the circumstances were dire. And…" Dawn said, letting out a deep exhale, "I think the situation we find ourselves in counts as dire."
The once immortal reached out and firmly took hold of Dawn's gift, bringing it closer to him.
It was the sword he saw in his mind when Kitsuki came to help him. But this wasn't just any sword.
This was her.
The sheath in his hands was thin and colored grey, detailed with a cross of black cloth just beneath its crown and tipped with a black metal, diamond shaped end-cover. The metal adorning the top of the sheath stayed true to that thin, sleek design, shining with another black metal, almost petal-shaped guard to the sheath's opening.
Then there was the sword itself.
Dante's hand found its way to the imprinted leather grip, and drew the blade from its place of rest, handing the sheath to dawn so that he could look upon his sword.
His real sword.
The blade he looked upon was colored pure white, spanning four feet in length. A shallow bevel outlined the blade, making it the Longsword's sharp edge, the bevel itself at least half an inche wide. Along the center base of the blade were intricate black runes etched into both flat sides of the blade, which spanned all the way from the cross guard almost all the way to the tip of the weapon, just a foot short of the tip.
The cross guard was of the same color of the blade, pure white, with thin, cross guard branches at least half a foot long, taking on a diamond-like shape with beveled sides and smoothed corners. Two half inch prongs were found on the ends of the cross guard branches that pointed upwards and downwards the blade, retaining the same, diamond shaped bevels the cross guard branches did, only bigger.
The center of the guard, on both sides of the weapon, had one final corner, reaching forward and encasing the center of the blade itself in a short, rounded, central protrusion resembling a diamond-like shape, merging with the blade's surface itself.
Below the cross guard was the handle that was a foot long, the beginning of the handle bound in leather-like material that had an imprinted grip for better handling. Below the leathery grip was the rest of the handle, the metal colored pure white like the rest of the blade, and taking on a round shape. The pommel was simply a round, black metal cap that widened out slightly at the end.
Dignity. Elegance. Strength.
This sword embodied all those and more… and it was his and his alone. He could feel his power flowing through it, and the sword's own power flowing back into him.
Dante and his sword were becoming one again.
As the thought ran through his mind, white and black Aura surged from the blade making everyone take a step as the sword flew out of Dante's hands and floated in the air. It then plunged itself into the ground, and let out a bigger flash of light, blinding the siblings and the kitsune with a blinding sea of white and black.
As the waves died down, Dante, Dawn and Kitsuki and looked on towards were the blade once rested, seeing something else in place of the sword.
A person.
She had slightly messy platinum colored hair that reached down to graze the sides of her neck and pass her chin, framing calm, reflective, platinum colored eyes with black pupils that were slightly slitted, staring at ground.
The armor the woman wore was almost reminiscent of a wraith. Black-steel colored, plated gauntlets rested on each of her hands, and built up into armor along her arms, the joints revealing black fabric just beneath them as the metal disappeared beneath tattered, white-trimmed black cloth over her shoulders. It was almost like a short cowl to wrap around the upper part of her torso, draped behind her nape and linked together with a black chain running over the cloth covering her ample chest.
Two more chains linked from the sides of that chain ran up into a triangular formation, the top point coming together to a thin plate of black metal guarding the base of her neck, a thin chain running around her neck and connecting to the edges, keeping the small, thin black plate in place
Her waist sported the same black-steel metal that her arms did, pushing up into her large bust slightly, the thin plated armor layering down over her shapely hips before the armor broke away into two outer pieces that covered the outsides of her thighs, resting against the black cloth, robe-like dress she adorned. A white-trimmed slit opened up in the skirt of her attire that started just at her right hip, trailing down and fluttering open to reveal her legs and provide better movement.
The hem of the cloth had more hues of white fading the tattered ends of it from black to white, the lowest reaches of it reaching her shins. Black half-leggings adorned her legs from the mid to low thighs and down, disappearing into front-armored boots, intricate and shining around her black-clad feet and protecting the front base of her shins.
The only thing on her head was a simple, black armored headpiece, minimal in design and just as intricate as the armor adorning her boots. It wasn't a full headpiece in the slightest, it just covered her forehead, tracing down to just over her nose as the two other pieces traced down from each of her side-bangs all the way down to just the sides of her eyes in pointed ends. Her face was otherwise unobscured, and her eyes weren't blocked in any way. The headpiece itself almost took on the shape of the tip of a trident, acting primarily as a forward guard on her head.
A black sword strap sat tied around her armored waist, and was connected by a black-steel buckle, her sheath hanging down and resting against the armored plate covering her left thigh and hip. The sheath itself was the same sheath Dante had given Dawn to hold once he drew the sword. It was thin and colored grey, detailed with a cross of black cloth just beneath its crown and tipped with a black metal, diamond shaped end-cover. The metal adorning the top of the sheath stayed true to that thin, sleek design, shining with another black metal, almost petal-shaped guard to the sheath's opening.
Silence filled the air as a breeze swept through the land, Dawn and Kitsuki standing in awe behind Dante as he approached the woman bowing to him on one knee. They stood there perfectly still and silent for a few moments, until the once immortal smiled at her warmly and spoke.
"Welcome back to the World… Eclypse."
The woman that was named by Dante lifted up her head to meet his gaze, her platinum colored eyes meeting his own platinum eyes as she offered him a small smile of her own.
"Good to be back at last… My Master." she spoke in a soft, calm, gentle voice.
The teen leaned down and extended his hand, Eclypse reaching out with her armored hand and gently grasping Dante's, gasping slightly when she did so as she slowly stood up with his help.
She was touching him… She was able to touch him and speak to him after all this time…
At this point, she could no longer keep her composure as her eyes narrowed, barely able to contain her tears as she pulled herself forward and latched onto Dante tightly.
Now that she was here… actually here… she didn't want to ever let him go.
"I missed you too." Dante said, returning the hug just as warmly, "Go a little easy though, I'm still in rough shape for the most part."
Eclypse's grasp loosened only a bit to allow Dante to breathe better, but she still clung to him tightly enough that when he turned around to face Dawn and Kitsuki, she spun with him.
With all the memories flooding back into him about her, the once immortal was starting to remember just how silly Eclypse could be at times in spite of her usual calm and stoic behavior.
"I… I don't understand…" Dawn said, dazed by what she had witnessed, "All this time… the sword was a person?"
"Or the person was a sword." Kitsuki signed in return.
Eclypse glanced at the two with an indifferent expression momentarily, startling the two as they took a step back.
But she did nothing and ignored them, returning to cuddling Dante and rubbing her face against his.
"B-Brother…" Dawn called out to a rather calm Dante, "You seem to know who she is, and she seems to know you…"
"I am Eclypse." The girl responded simply, looking their way.
"Y-Yes, we understand what your name is, but… What are you..?"
The girl grumbled silently to herself, and returned to burying her face in Dante, "Can't be bothered to explain."
"Brother?" Dawn asked looking to the teen, only to get a sigh from him.
"I… haven't fully worked the details out myself yet… But, I'll tell you what I can later once we're done with all this." Dante said, not bothered at all by Eclypse's nuzzling.
"I am his sword and shield. Also, I am exclusively his. That is all you need to know." The girl responded as she continued her cuddling.
"E-Exclusively his..?! E-Explain yourself!" Dawn demanded.
"Do I really need to explain what that means?" Eclypse asked, her brow furrowing slightly to hint at frustration, "Very well. It essentially means that I am his for life."
"W-What?!"
"Guys… please?" Dante pleaded with the two girls.
"I must agree with Dante." Lucifer's voice spoke out as he approached the group of four, "As much as I enjoy the sight of youth flourishing, niceties such as this should be saved for after the current business is concluded, no?"
The King stopped before them, eyeing Eclypse curiously as she eyed him back cautiously, standing and peeking over Dante's shoulder from behind the teen.
"So this is the secret you've kept hidden from me, young miss. Or perhaps, I should call you 'niece' now that I've ascertained your identity?"
"Niece..?" Dante questioned, a sudden realization hitting him, "Wait, then that means..!"
Lucifer gave Dante a slight bowed as he wore a smile on his face, "Hello to you too, nephew."
"Now it makes sense why you were as involved with me as you were…" the teen responded, "But, if you knew…"
"I didn't, until recently. And when I did learn of my relation to you… Well… you can understand fully why I came here as quick as I did when I sensed you were in danger."
"But how did you know I was here even? How could you feel me all the way out there?"
Lucifer sighed at Dante's question, "Everyone you knew, or once knew, felt it. It was like a pulsewave of dread that suddenly washed over every person you've bonded with in any way, shape or form. It was then, at that moment, I knew I had to do something. As for how I knew the location of this World… Dawn made sure to take the occasional trip, and kept me notified of your progress and well being."
"After that sham hearing before you were exiled, I started to devise a means to save you, and possibly even help you through the trials you would face. I knew not where I could keep you out of harm's reach until H spoke to me of Remnant." Dawn explained, "After he explained to me where he would drop you, I already set my plans in motion, and hid my identity to prevent myself from being recognized as your sibling, or someone related to you, in case troubles followed us over."
…
Faulting her for that wouldn't have been fair. She was right to take caution and hide herself like she did.
"And? What is H up to these days?" Dante asked.
"Nobody knows." His sister replied, "He hasn't been seen ever since your sentencing. The Plane of Angels aren't even sure if he is still alive or hiding somewhere."
H was crafty and devious, even by an Angel's standards. If he weren't an Angel like he was now, he most certainly would have be one of the greatest of Devils. He was good like that. It's why out of all the Angels Dante met, H and Siegmyer were the only two he ever truly respected, trusted, and called friends.
If H wasn't seen for this long by anyone… then he was definitely up to something.
"I agree with you on the issue, Dante." Lucifer spoke up, approaching the teen with his hands behind his back, "I think you need to be the one to return to that place and finish this business with Scylix once and for all. Not because of anger, not because of revenge. But because like me, you too have realized the truth behind her actions, and why she has done all that she has."
…
All of this wasn't simple minded mayhem. Scylix had her reasons. Apparently good enough reasons to draw him in and take away his immortality using an ancient Artifact, one that Dante had made sure to destroy entirely down to the last molecule.
She had purpose, purpose that was strong enough that she would become a Dark Entity willingly and make a deal with some unknown to gain the power to create Grimm.
"Therefore… It is by your hand, and your hand alone, that all of those should come to an end." Lucifer spoke, revealing what he had behind his back.
They were clothes. But they were an all too familiar pair of clothes he once wore.
He couldn't have been happier to see and receive them.
"Lady Kitsukami made these from scratch after you left, and kept adjusting the sizes every year to accommodate your growth. Though, after seeing how tall you've gotten so suddenly, I went and adjust it for you myself, since we're on short time." The King said, extending the clothes to the immortal as he reached out and grabbed hold of them.
Lucifer's height was a perfect six feet, same for Ecylpse, and Dante stood just a little bit taller than them. From his estimation, he had to have been at least 6'3 now…
To think he had grown that much simply by waking up…
…
Thinking about it clearly, it made sense to him. As a person, all his time on Remnant, surely he had grown stronger raising himself from the ground up again. But as a person, he had never truly grown. That was virtually the case ever since he woke up on the bus heading to New Wellington back on Primordial. Physically and emotionally, he had never truly grown. Afterall…
How could someone grow if they weren't actually living as someone, or if they weren't being who they truly were?
They couldn't.
For the first time in two years… he had actually grown up as a person.
…
That, and he was satisfied with physically growing up, specifically with how much taller he was.
Thinking about it actually put a smile on his face as he imagined being taller than most of the people he knew. It was almost like a tiny dream come true…
Shaking his head free of the thoughts, Dante looked down to his hands to stare at the clothes he had been given, rubbing a thumb over it to feel the soft, yet durable fabric. There was truly nothing else like it. Just holding it in his hands brought back so many wonderful memories. And it made him think of how many more he'd make soon enough.
"Well Eclypse? It's your first day back in the World and all, but… Ready to get back to work?"
"Always, Master." She replied, offering the teen a warm smile.
"Good. We'll be back in five minutes." Dante told Lucifer, Dawn and Kitsuki, "After that Dawn… we head out, and we end this."
Ruby's back hit the dirt hard, Jaune throwing his already injured self in her path to stop her from going any further.
Bolts of purple and black shot at them with startling speed, but Akihito stood at the front of the group, a hand raised as his white flames focused to the front. Their density made the flames a viable shield, but the bolts were persistent with attempting to pierce through, despite the Aura the kitsune was focusing to push them back.
Blaire rushed forward past Akihito, Greatsword in hand and blazing with crimson flame as she dug her feet into the ground and let loose a mighty swing, unleashing a brutal wave of that split apart into three bursts that twisted and turned in the air, making their way towards their intended target.
Ceasing her current attack on Akihito, Scylix raised up her arm defensively and let the flaming waves crash into a thin, purple barrier of Aura. Swiping her hand outwards, the woman brushed away the dying flames, looking down upon Blaire and the others down below.
Everyone was worn ragged, even Leo and Ciel who currently knelt down to recuperate for a few brief moments. They weren't out of breath like the rest, not really, but they were still heavily injured after Scylix focused most of her attacks on the siblings. And it was through those attacks the two siblings discovered something startling.
They weren't healing like they used to. Their bodies were being healed by their Aura.
Critical attacks that they would have brushed off normally actually harmed them, and forced them to retreat. And the greater the injuries they suffered, the more they felt their Aura draining away to quickly rectify the serious damage, and then slowly went to work healing all non-vital injuries.
It was as if their Aura was copying their immortality's healing mechanisms.
"Are you finally beginning to understand now?" Scylix called out as she stood in the air high above them, "You aren't a match in the slightest against me. If that so-called King were any smarter, he should have pressed the attack to end things there and then, but he was too foolish to do so, and gave up his chance at victory to save the useless boy."
"Shut your mouth you skank!" Ciel shouted, jolting up to try and run at the woman.
Her injuries however were still present, and caused her to fall forward, just about ready to hit the ground. Luckily, Musashi had caught her, and held Ciel back from trying to move any further.
"Why are you getting so upset about me speaking the truth little girl? Everyone here knows that fact is truth." Scylix said, black and purple Aura forming behind her to create a chair for her to sit down in, "This is why you people are so weak in the face of a greater power. Your morals interfere with the decisions you should be making in order to guarantee your success. That is why I stand high above you, without a scratch on me, while all of you are injured and scrabbling around in the dirt."
"You're sitting, actually…" Sky replied with a glare, the girl stabbing one of her swords into the sand next to Xera as she clutched her stomach.
The boy himself was busy clutching at a bleeding arm, his black sword hanging loosely in its grip.
Scylix's gaze flicked to the brunette, her eyes flashing a brief blaze of purple as piercing bolt headed straight for Skyla. Ciel blurred in front of her, and swung her scythe like a bat at the incoming bolt, and with some struggle, managed to launch it behind her, exploding in the distance.
With the attack fended off, the white haired girl fell to one knee once again, panting heavily from the exhaustion her body was suffering.
All of it was so foreign to her… But regardless of that fact, she still did her best to keep herself going.
"Don't go throwing yourself in front of people like that. You're going to get hurt." Skyla breathed out, pushing herself up to her feet before yanking her sword out of the ground.
"Heh… Nothing new there… when it comes to getting hurt... Still though… I'd hate to die to her of all people..."
Sky took a step forward to rest a hand on Ciel's shoulder, moving in front of the girl to put herself between the white reaper and Scylix, "Then don't die. And since when have you thought of death anyway? I thought you were immortal."
"Yeah, well… Not anymore apparently…" Ciel whispered, making sure Scylix couldn't hear her."
"Talk about poor timing," Sky murmured to herself, sliding her swords together for a moment to rid them of the sand in a vibrational burst.
"Why do you insist on standing in my way? At first it was fun to test myself against how I'd fare against all of you at once, but now, even that means of entertainment is gone." Scylix said, eyes scanning over the group down below, "This fight is meaningless. Your struggle is meaningless."
As the Dark Entity spoke, the others saw a small, glinting flash behind her throne in the sky, and saw Ruby high above, armored black legs giving off a brief shine as she swung her Scythe for Scylix's head.
But something strange happened. Her weapon had stopped.
To her bewilderment, Ruby was pulled over the black chair of stone, seeing the woman's hand clutching the bladed edge of Crescent Rose, and dangling the girl in front of her.
"You thought I wouldn't notice your sudden disappearance? You give me far too little credit."
Scylix's other hand moved forward, pinching her middle finger and thumb together and flicked Ruby away from her in an intense burst of wind, making her crash back down in the blackened sands below.
"I must admit Ruby Rose, your spirit amongst the rest of your peers is certainly admirable. Not one time have you thought throughout this fight you and your 'friends' would lose."
The reaper in red only staggered up onto her feet, glaring up at the woman high above.
"That optimism however… is nothing but human foolishness."
Scylix pointed a finger down towards the girl, a small sphere of purple and black Aura charging at her clawed finger nail as the four streaks of her Aura gathered to make it larger.
"If I can't crush your spirit slowly over time like I had originally hoped… then I will simply erase you from the World of Remnant entirely."
The others made to move and come to her defense, but a snap of Scylix's fingers, and black chains sprouted out from the ground, quickly latching onto and wrapping up everyone within their range to hold them down. While their movement was surely hindered, they could also feel their Aura's slowly being sapped from them, draining their strength as Ruby stood alone now against the witch.
"Your struggle has been most amusing, Ruby Rose. But that struggle ends here." Scylix stated, the sphere of Aura at her fingertip now the size of a large ball, "I'll give you a moment to pray."
She wasn't scared of her, or what she could do. One thing was certain however, and that was Ruby wasn't going to take it lying down. The trembling in her hands settled down, and she grossed Crescent Rose tightly, waiting for the impending attack.
Narrowing her eyes at the girl, Scylix straightened out her finger, and the sphere discharged into a massive, cone shaped blast of purple and black Aura. With how wide the blast was, and how fast it was coming, doom was certain for Ruby.
The blast collided with where she stood, kicking up large clouds of sands as it went on continuously, seemingly without end.
The Dark Entity, chuckled silently to herself with her victory all but assured, but her eyes widened after she looked closely into the blast, and saw something strange peeking out from it.
A pure white blade.
That same blade churned within the blast of Aura and sliced outwards, completely erasing the destructive blast in one fell swing. As the dust began to subside, Scylix kept her eyes glued to the center where the sword came from, and watched the sands clear out.
What she saw next, was completely unexpected.
A tight, thin, white fabric coat with long tattered split tails moved gently in the breeze. The only sleeve that could be seen was the left long sleeve, it's cuff trimmed in black, and the arm it covered holding up Ruby. The chest remained slightly exposed towards the center of the wearers sternum, the rest of the white fabric moving down to cover him completely down to his waist, where the coat began to split off into its split tails.
The inner lining looked as though it were black from what the insides of the tails showed. A black obi was tied in place around the wearer's waist, keeping up the pleated white, hakama pants that covered his entire lower half up to the ankles, showing off a pair of black tabi socks that disappeared with the cuffs of the hakama. White zori sandals adorned the black clad feet as well.
Most interesting however was the right side of the wearer. The right sleeve was cut away in a clean fashion, making that side sleeveless. But it's what adorned the arm that stood out the most. Black, twisted plated armor covered the person's entire right arm and hand, making the fingertips clawed slightly. The armor layering the arm wasn't bulky in the slightest, but looked as though it were perfectly molded to features of the wearer's arm. Another eye catching feature were the glowing white, elegantly etched, line patterns that spanned the entire armored limb.
In that same hand however was a sword Scylix didn't recognize, but even from where the woman stood, one glance at the tool made her understood it certainly had to be powerful.
Taking in the sight before her, she looked up to the man before her, recognizing the chin length white hair that was now slightly messy, but not the eyes he had. They were sharper, fiercer. But most importantly, they weren't bright sky blue.
They were a shining platinum.
He seemed quite a bit taller now too.
Lowering her hand, Scylix watched the teen below lower his sword, and audaciously turned his back to her walking over towards the group that remained in chains as they looked at him in awe. A single swipe of his sword in their direction, and the chains shattered like glass the moment after, liberating everyone from their bindings.
Getting close enough to them, the man gently put Ruby down and knelt down to her, watching her open her silver eyes slowly to meet his in surprise.
His left hand reached out, and gently patted the top of the reaper's head, who let out a small squeak from the touch. The teen stood up fully a few moments later, smiling at Ruby and everyone.
"Am I late for the party?" Dante asked the group.
"No, this is your usual arrival time," Xera replied, standing a little straighter as he leaned on the one leg that wasn't hurting right now.
His gaze flicked to Ruby too, just to see if she was hurt by any of the backlash of the deflection.
"I'm never late you know. I arrive exactly when I mean to." Dante stated, placing his left hand on his hip.
"For some reason, you sounded really old and grayed just now," Sky spoke up, glancing back at Dante too. Though for Ciel's sake, she still kept most of her attention on Scylix.
"Well…" The teen replied, moving his hand to curl a few locks of his white hair between his finger, "I guess I finally grew up at last."
"Cool, I want to hear the specifics later." Xera said, turning his attention from Ruby to Scylix now, "Especially how you're on your feet… and the new eye color."
"Good thing we'll have that sit down later then."
"Big brother..!" Ciel called out, staggering forward a bit towards her sibling and falling into him.
The pain wasn't nearly as bad as it should have been… but the numb and weakened sensations she felt across her body made it hard to move as she gave her brother a hug.
"There there…" he said giving her a head pat, "Everything's okay now."
Dante let go of Ciel and placed her in Skyla's care, allowing him to straighten himself out as he looked upon everyone once again.
"You did great everyone. Take a breather in the meantime." He said as he turned around, walking forward a few steps, "I'll take over for now."
"You shouldn't be so reckless, Dante." Akihito spoke up as he walked over next to the teen's side.
"You look like a mess yourself, Aki."
"That is a matter of perspective."
Dante chuckled silently at the kitsune's remark as he kept his eyes focused on Scylix.
"It'd put my mind at ease if you were here keeping them safe."
Akihito sighed, taking a few steps back towards the group, "Very well then. If that is your wish, then I will comply."
"Thanks."
Speaking his words, the teen took steps forward, stopping at the sound of Ruby's voice.
"Dante-"
"It's okay, Ruby." He spoke out, turning his head around and flashing the girl a smile, "It'll be over in no time."
She… felt relieved to hear him say that but… there was something new to him. Something different that put her mind at ease as she returned the smile, wiping away a happy tear and giving him a nod.
As Dante trekked the black sands, Scylix stood up from her throne in the distance, and slowly began to hover down, letting her feet touch the ground as she watched the teen continue his walk towards her.
He stopped however, enough distance between them as another breeze from the red skied world swept through, blowing up the tails of his coat-shirt.
"At first when I saw you, I thought 'This couldn't possibly be the same boy from before'… And yet, no matter how much I attempt to mentally discredit what I am seeing before me… it would seem you are still very much Dante indeed."
Dante remained silent, his eyes trailing off behind the Dark Entity. She took note of this action, and turned her head around slightly to see what he was looking at. From what it seemed, he was staring at a location fairly distant from their current position.
"Are you… looking behind me to determine an area of safety to fight in?" Scylix asked with a twisted smile, "A sweet gesture towards your comrades… But all the same meaningless."
Dante's shark gaze focused back on the woman, who raised up her hands as they cracked with purple Aura.
"Didn't you see it yourself? Your allies have been wounded and weakened. And amongst them were some, I dare say, far stronger than those human pets you've kept alongside you this entire time. Do you really think with you being here you'll make that much more of a difference?"
The white haired teen remained where he was, platinum eyes focusing on his left arm as he lifted it up and stretched it around in circular motions, clenching his fingers as he did.
"Listen and listen well, Dante." The woman proclaimed, "No matter what you, or your little friends do here today, nothing will change the fact that all of you will perish and die meaningless deaths." Her right hand extended out towards the teen in a sort of accepting manner, "You may as well give up now, and surrender your lives to m-"
Her words were suddenly cut off as Dante's left hand grabbed Scylix by the neck to effectively silence her. With just as quickly as he approached the Dark Entity, the teen just as quickly kicked off the black sands, his body shooting up into the sky like a bolt of lightning, with Scylix in tow of his vice grip.
The others looked on in awe from below as winds rushed past them, and Ciel took to stand once more as she loudly, and tearfully screamed, "KICK THAT SKANK'S ASS BIG BROTHER!"
Scylix continued her flight with Dante high above in the skies, struggling to try and free herself from the hand tightly gripping her throat, but she couldn't. He was too powerful.
They came to a sudden halt, and all the woman could do was watch the teen grab her by the ankle, spin her around a few times so that her back faced him, and deliver a crushing, powerful round kick to her back that sent her rocketing back down into the sands below.
Even when she made a thunderous impact with the ground, Scylix's body still continued to move back from the tremendous force of the kick, creating a destructive trail in her wake. Her body finally stopped when it crashed into the ruins of a small castle, the entire structure exploding and crumbling into thousands of pieces as it fell atop her.
From on high, Dante slowly descended until his feet touched the ground, allowing him to walk across the black grains of sand towards the trivial pathway of destruction he had just created.
He waited for the sands and dust to clear up, and was going to wait further to allow the Dark Entity to stand back up and face him.
…
…
YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
He's back folks, and better than ever! To clarify, this… burst of power Dante is experiencing is only temporary, not permanent. The only explanation I can tell you is to think of what's happening as a power surge. But how did this surge happened? You should know. Because as of this chapter, she's been officially introduced.
YES INDEED! SHE IS FINALLY, OFFICIALLY HERE! And her name is… Ecylpse! I cannot tell you for how long I've waited excitedly to introduce her fully into the story! Literally, each chapter I got closer, the shakes were getting worse and worse with excitement. And like she stated, she is his sword and shield. More on that soon enough.
The final battle with Scylix has begun. And even with Dante standing back up on his feet with new power burning through him, he's still in for the fight of his life.
To be continued next time.
That's all I have to say, so with that...
I highly recommend you all go check out the freaking amazing story Rogue Huntsman written by Xera Stark. The story overall is absolutely fantastic and is a must read, so I suggest you seriously read it. You won't want to miss out on this story. Plus, I'm working on it with him as a co-author, and my characters are in it too. So if you want to see a sort of alternate story and such with my characters in it, go on over and give Rogue Huntsman a read.
And hey! Go check out HydraFLow's story Lost in Binary! It's equally as awesome and entertaining, and tells Rogue Huntsman's story from his characters' perspective, like how Knights of White and Black (my alternate story) tells the tale from my character's perspectives.
Questions? Ask them anytime. I will try to answer without spoiling.
Please remember to review, follow and favorite this story if you really enjoyed it and want to continue seeing more of it. And hey, even tell others about this story! Remember that your support is what helps make this story grow even larger and what helps improve it. With that, I bid you all an excellent week/weekend!
Bye-bye now!