In the absence of life, something yet grows.

Day 22

I arrived at Mantle early in the morning after a night-long flight, where I was informed about the intricacies of my task there.

Dust Mining facilities, effectively mines, controlled by the Schnee Dust Company were completely wiped out by an unknown force, leaving the inside completely devoid of Dust, rendering the facilities nothing but a cave system on ice.

Cameras that could have gathered information about the intruder, were quickly rendered useless at about the time of the invasion.

I thought nothing of it at the time, after all, considering how important Dust is as a resource, every bad actor in the greater scheme of things on Remnant should be eager to secure a stock of it. I thought it could have been the work of an organized group, yet I keep being reminded of the picture Ozpin showed me.

Multi-colored formations on the ice, oddly shaped crystals akin to the formation of Bismuth, and the complete lack of Dust. I wanted to wait before drawing any conclusions.

Before that, allow me to write about Mantle.

The City of Mantle... By Ra, where do I begin?

The city is located in the middle of a frozen wasteland inside a crater. Heaters located all around the city serve as a way to ward off the deadly cold all around.

Atlas is located directly above the city, in fact, I'd go as far as to say that the crater in which Mantle was built was created when the floating landmass named Atlas was lifted off the ground.

This has very interesting implications. I wasn't able to experience Mantle's culture like I did to Vale, but I can speculate, and then compare my speculations with the actual truth once I experience it.

The people of Mantle, whenever the climate allows for a clear sky, experience six months of night and six months of day due to the geographical location of the city on the planet and the position of the sun. I thought that the City of Atlas would completely block sunlight, but I suppose that's not an issue, as the sun never actually rises above a certain point on the horizon. However, Atlas denies the denizens of Mantle sigh of the stars regardless.

Currently, I am of the belief that the people of Mantle hold great resentment for those living in Atlas due to the physical geographical discrepancy between the two, seeing that one is physically superior to the other. This geographical issue holds no truth on the dynamics of superiority between the two cities, however, it cannot be understated that the mind of a sapient being is very imaginative and that given enough time living physically beneath a whole other city, naturally, feelings of inferiority would begin to form.

The opposite is true for the people of Atlas as well. Living physically above a city, and looking down at said city for a long enough time, will breed thoughts of superiority regardless of the individual.

This thought of mine was formed, not without cause. Apparently, the processes of being granted admission to step on the floating landmass of Atlas are strict enough that Ozpin, a council member of Vale, was not able to argue a good enough case to allow me there.

I was informed of the existence of a 'Visa' that needs to be previously accepted before the voyage to Atlas even begins, presenting the motive for the visit, time visiting, and some other documents I failed to memorize the name of.

In contrast, I was allowed into Mantle after telling the person who interrogated me that I was going there for 'research'. Ludicrous, I know.

I did speak of those woes to a passenger on the flight, and I was informed that it was possible that my entry was denied due to my race. I see now that I have to further understand racial dynamics on this plane, more so than ever before.

Alas, once at the entrance of the mineshaft, I was presented with two bodyguards who would personally escort me down the mine. Two machine soldiers. Atlesean Knights, they were called.

They did not attempt to converse with me, so I didn't attempt to do the same since they didn't appear to have sentience like the Battleforged I've met in my travels. These golems have no soul.

The mine's entrance already painted a very bad picture of what waited for me inside.

Rails used to lead down into the shaft, but now, the rails on the entrance have been half-turned to dust, their surface was porous and brittle, soft to the touch like a pile of packed flour.

Fearing for the worse, I checked the mana of the place, naturally for being a cave It should be able to produce all sorts of colors here, however, only colorless mana was present.

That is expected for a Dust Mine if my research is proven correct, that is. Dust takes the identity from the mana pool, turning it colorless, and adding magical properties to the Dust. That still doesn't explain why the land itself produces colorless, however. The Dust takes away the identity of the mana pool, not the mana source itself.

That is very bad.

I ventured deeper into the mines, careful with my every step. The ground was covered by the white dust, its surface was brittle, giving out by every step I took, covering my feet in that soft flour-like material.

In no time I reached the first floor of the mine. I shudder to even remember what I saw there, and the implications of what's in there.

The floor, the walls, the ceiling. Colorful formations of bismuth-like rock. There was no mana left. Only wastes. Those formations shared the same consistency as the rails and floor, giving out as I touched them.

Despite my hopes, the path leading deeper inside the mine had caved in, and the specialists outside told me that their scans showed that the entirety of the lower floors had been completely covered with Ice.

I've done a bit of investigating, starting from the inside. The flour-like substance on the ground and walls are nothing but footprints of whatever passed through there. There is a problem with that theory that I will get to shortly.

After investigating the entrance to the lower floors, where it had caved in, showed no sign of the bismuth-like formations or the crumbling dust around or inside after I dug a for while, thus, whatever it was that caused it, did not go down.

My running theory is that I ran outwards, and into the frozen wastelands.

Allow me to explain why the footprint theory is horrible. There are two kinds of footprints there. The crumbling dust on the floor and walls, and the bismuth-like formations. That implies that two separate entities pass through there, and both move outwards.

I asked if there were ever sightings of strange creatures found inside the ice, but that proved to be a fruitless line of thought, nothing big enough to destroy the cave lived inside the ice, only small Grimm that were usually dealt with haste, and are easily predictable by the vibrations they create in the ice when digging.

The truth of the matter is. Whatever it was that did that, did not come from the ice, however, neither did it come from outside the cave because that would leave their signature footprints, and considering it hadn't snowed in a month there the snow couldn't have covered their tracks.

I have no reason to doubt the thing's possible ability to fly, but should I suggest such a thing to the researchers I'd be put in an institution for the mentally ill.

The eye of Ra watches all, and I know it is watching me. However, I feel like I've been being watched by something else for a while now. Was I being watched before arriving in Remnant? Was I being watched before then?

Something I fail to fully grasp is afoot there. But there is simply nothing I can do in this matter other than to document.

I informed the people on the mine that it wouldn't be able to produce Dust anymore, and then I left just as quickly as I arrived. I couldn't stay there for long, not when my stomach acted the way it did.

Genuine fear is what I felt. Still do.

Writing this on the flight back to Beacon, I keep my eyes on the skies. Whatever it was that did that, It is still here. I must inform Ozpin of this threat.

I don't care for the Grimm and their monstrous tendencies to destroy all that is created, I don't care if the natives believe that the Grimm are the ultimate threat to their well-being. They are wrong and I must warn them of their mistakes.

Ra willing, I won't let Remnant become another Zedikar.

I don't have the strength to fight them, nor do I believe that I will be able to witness the carnage that will befall this plane without spilling my guts should the worst come, but the warriors here will. They are braver and stronger than most; than I.

Ozpin sent me there because he's never seen something like that cave, and he's also never seen something like me, so he must be ready to accept a truth he's never thought of before.

The Eldrazi are here, and the fault probably lies with me.

A/N: Hello, I've returned with another page of this diary.

Avakai: Y'know... That... Is actually a really good idea I wish I had before. So, if you go back on each chapter, you'll see that I've added 'days' as in, how many days have passed since Theos arrived in Remnant and has taken his time to write. This will also be added to every chapter as of today.