A/N: Can anyone see this update? Yes? No? Maybe so? Do let me know!
Happy New Year and Happy Hundred Chapters! Site finally seems to be working...I think. Proper updates will resume tomorrow, I'm off today, enjoying some whiskey with the lads in about an hour.
In the meantime, have this little tidbit to tide you over. What we have here is something new, a teaser that may or may not be depending on feedback. Don't have a working title yet, still workshopping that, if anyone has any ideas on that front, have at it. Blood for Blood sounds good, but I'm not certain.
As ever, I own no quotes, references, themes or memes. Not a wit or one. They're tributes, one and all.
I'm just a humble author trying to make his way in this wild world, one word at a time.
Time and feedback will determine if this should become a story. Simple as that.
In other words...everything is up to YOU, the reader. Do let me know~!
Oh, and one last thing. This little ficlet isn't about our golden boy...
Canon has been slightly tweaked. You'll soon see...
More details will be added.
"Let me tell you a story. Not about a certain blond. Heavens no, this isn't about him.
This is the tale of another. Of he who gazed upon Gods.
And denied them."
~?
Blood for Blood (Teaser)
Long ago, a Man challenged the Brother Gods to a game.
With naught but the clothes upon his back, the sword in his hand and the fire in his eyes, this Man stood before them and posed three questions to the Brothers.
"Are you just?"
"Are you merciful?"
"Are you all-knowing?"
Such were his words to Light and Darkness.
"Show me proof of such; answer these questions, and I will grant you a gift unlike any other."
The Brothers considered this mortal and the gifts he offered. They were gods, they reasoned. They had all there was to have, and knew all there was to know. What gift could he possibly grant them? What did he have that they did not? What did he possess that they could not?
Still, they accepted his challenge, confident they would surpass it with ease, as they had all others.
In the end, pride was their hubris, ambition their folly, ignorance their downfall.
When they failed to answer to his satisfaction, the Man chided them for their foolishness, saying:
"You claim to be just, yet you cursed a grieving woman to immortality. You claim to be merciful, yet you demand she suffer rather than be released to rejoin her beloved. You claim to be all-knowing, yet she deceived you not once, not twice, but THREE times. You speak to me of balance, yet now you would take the gift of magic from this ENTIRE world for the mistakes of a few. I will not allow it. For all your vaunted claims at divinity and the powers pertaining to them, you are no true gods. You are liars, deceivers, children playing with powers you do not understand. As such you have no place in this world."
His words angered the gods; none had ever spoken to them in such a manner before.
The God of Darkness snapped his mighty jaws at the man! "You dare to question us?!"
"I dare to replace you," the Man said. "I am the only God this world needs. My children will inherit this world. Not yours."
Turning his burning eyes upon them, he raised his sword to the sky:
"And so the gift I grant you is death."
Infuriated by his words, they Brothers attacked!
In an instant the Man became a burning giant of violet flame and met them in battle.
The war waged for three days, shaking heaven and earth alike, but in the end, there was a victor.
He slaughtered the foul serpents and drove them from our world, never to return.
But as they perished, their blood soaked his body; they pooled their powers and unleashed a terrible calamity; a dark curse upon him, sealed him deep within the earth and scattered his descendants to the winds.
There he sleeps at the foot of the mountains, cursed to relive his every mistake in his dreams.
Only in our darkest hour will the blood of the innocent shall awaken him.
Such is the tale that has passed through our family.
Such is the tale we commit to memory.
Such is our promise to Him.
Blood for blood.
(.0.0.0.)
Lie Ren prayed before the shrine as Kuroyuri burned around him.
He prayed as his father had prayed and his grandfather before him and his great-grandfathers before that.
Generations of his family had dwelt here in Kuroyuri, protecting this place, refusing to migrate to Mistral with the others, denying the great cities.
But this time, he did that which none had dared to do before.
If he could save Mother and Father from the Grimm...
.
..
...his life was a small price to pay.
He stabbed his chest, burying the knife deep.
It hurt. It hurt so much. This would kill him, he knew.
He prayed the Ancestor would honor his sacrifice.
Blood flowed forth, dribbling into the stone. Into the dirt.
The ground split with a horrible crack.
Someone emerged.
Crawled out of his tomb.
His outfit was bleak and battered. His face pale, eerie eyes gazing out beneath disheveled bangs of black hair. He was missing an arm and was covered in dirt, scratches, and bruises besides. Yet despite that, he looked strong. Powerful. Resplendent in dark majesty, regal in his stoic silence.
"Please, honorable ancestor..." Ren rasped the words out, slumping to the floor as his lifeblood left him. "Save my father and mother! Save Kuroyuri...!
The young man considered him for a long moment and in that moment, Ren couldn't shake the feeling of being judgement.
"My bloodline still prospers, I see."
The man drew the dagger from his chest, took the blood and ran it across his face. From there, he laid a hand on him, and his wounds closed. Life came back to him despite the blood he'd lost.
Ren sputtered in disbelief, pawing at his restored chest. Was he going to live after all?
"Blood for blood." the dark-eyed man muttered. "The oath given is honored."
He did not speak beyond that; he simply unsheathed his sword.
Looked to the rampaging Nuckelavee in the town square, now.
Narrowed his burning eyes upon the abomination.
A lone word parted his lips.
"Burn."
The beast burst into black flame, flailing across the plaza with an agonized shriek.
The Awakened Ancestor drew his sword and stalked after it.
That night, death haunted Kuroyuri.
A/N: Hello, Sasuke. You're in for a wild ride.
I'll let you guess which iteration of him this is. Ought to be obvious.
Ozpin and Salem are in for a baaaaaaaaaaad time.
Aaaand there we go. As ever, reviews keep me alive. Without them, I cannot write.
So...in the Immortal Words of Atlas...Review...Would You Kindly?
Hope you enjoy this new year, and may it be filled with lots of luck!
(Previews)
"Honorable ancestor, we offer you our thanks for saving our lives."
Lie Ren's father bowed deeply, and his mother with him. Oh, right. He should probably do that.
After only a moment's pause, the young boy remembered to the same.
Their savior said nothing...until his stomach growled.
An Ren chuckled.
Nora wouldn't let go of his sleeve.
Sasuke sighed. "Release me."
"No!"
"Listen you-
"I said no!"
She was going to cry, wasn't she? How annoying.
Irritated, he looked down at her. "Where's your mother."
...gone. She ran when the Grimm came.
He knew what Naruto would say.
What he would do.
Damnit...
Salem sensed something, a presence she'd not felt since...wait.
She knew this presence...
Could it be?
EDIT: And there we go. Hope this piqued your interest.
See you all tomorrow, one way or another.
Warm regards,
~Nz.