Leaning against the wall, I sigh deeply as I hear the showerhead begin pouring in the bathroom next to me. There was a bitter taste in my mouth, and as I remembered what had happened only a few minutes ago, I feel myself grimace, and eventually scowl, in anger.

I quickly place the feeling – it was easy, considering the situation, but that doesn't mean I like it. Hell, the recognition made it sting even worse, and top it off, I've never felt it to this scale.

Guilt

Experimenting is fun, having circles and Golems explode in my face is fine, and I could've destroyed the circle way earlier had I been awake, so it wasn't much of a problem. The problem I have with all this is having dragged someone else into my fuck up, leading to them almost getting killed in the process.

And it was all because of a simple mistake I could've so easily fixed, but in my excitement and the urge to show off, I didn't redraw the fading parts of my circle. The Blaze Powder would have likely affected the nature of my fuck up and linked a portal to Hell directly.

I just know the ritual would've been a success had I redrawn it. I knew it would've, but a slight oversight almost killed me, Gwyn, and Ruby.

This brings me to two questions I want to ask, and I need answers, Game.

Why was I knocked out?

The force of the portal opening shattered your Aura and lowered your total HP to less than 5%.

And? That can knock me out? This has happened before and I wasn't KO'd. What gives?

In the previous instance, your HP was lowered to 20%. Significantly higher.

Okay, cool, but my health has dipped under 5% before. What's the difference between then and now?

This incident was due to sudden, overwhelming force while your battle with Fenrir slowly lowered your HP over many strikes. You do recall what you felt when your HP was low? Darkened and blurry vision, difficulty breathing, and perceived drop in body temperature. You experienced all of this because you were approaching your death.

In this recent case, however, the situation was slightly different. Your body and mind were not capable of registering the abrupt transition from peak health to nigh dead, and in turn, this rendered you unconscious.

...So don't get close to Ritual Circles again, got it. Though, that probably goes without saying.

Next question.

...Should I expect a demon invasion any time soon?

Possibly.

...Oh I royally fucked up this time, haven't I?

Game, don't scare him like that. Listen, don't worry about it. It could happen, but I really, really doubt it would.

Why? What do you mean by that?

Demons could invade, but the possibility is quite low. Currently standing at one in one undecillion in fact.

That… sounds like a big number.

Basically 1 in 1000000000000000000000000000000000000

Oh… oh thank god.

You're welcome.

This could've turned out so fucking bad, a lot worse than "just" almost dying. The world can barely hold out against the Grimm, and you want to fucking mix in demons? Remnant wouldn't survive a day against hordes of the bastards, especially if the Icon of Sin or any of the other Doom bosses are included.

Personally? I'd likely thrive in that scenario. Killing demons constantly, and considering hell has always been depicted as possessing a nigh-infinite number of them, would do wonders for my exp grind. I'd project something like reaching level 400 in less than a month seeing as I can't really get tired. I'd essentially be the Doom guy of this world, only with fewer weapons, and more magic.

Remnant, however…

So, I don't need to worry about demons, for the time being, got it. Third question is…

Wait, you asked for two ques-

Why is Remnant connected to fucking Doom? Why? I don't get it? I thought this was just Remnant, or well, RWBY. And if Doom is connected to Remnant, then does that mean it's connected with another Earth? Does that mean I'm gonna have to get ready for an intergalactic war or fucking Doom guy ripping into everybody here?

No, they are not connected. Remnant lacked a hell dimension, and your… predecessor deemed it necessary to make one. She picked and chose demons from across different universes to populate it. She created a few as well, and one of her spawns-

Alright Game, that's enough.

Look, you just don't need to worry about hell invading, okay? Just move on from it for now. It'd be even better for you if you just forgot about it, trust me.

...Right.

"R-Reid? I'm done…" Ruby says from the bathroom.

"Uh, okay?" I reply in confusion. "Come out then?"

"...P-please don't laugh."

I scrunch my brow in mild confusion, "I'm not gonna-"

The door clicks and opens, the steam from the hot water escaping into the room almost immediately. With a red face, Ruby walks into the room, and my eyes immediately zip down to her thighs. Since her clothes were drenched in extradimensional tomato sauce, and she didn't exactly have anything to change into with her, I had to give her some of my spare clothes.

What she's in now is just one of my simple black shirts covering her torso and reaching right down to her knees. She holds the hem of the shirt down to cover whatever she can, only making the sight a lot… eh, I wouldn't call it erotic. More cute really. Cut-e-rotic, if you would.

"I probably look so stupid wearing this…"

I open my mouth to joke about her indirectly calling my shirt stupid but then decide against it. I don't think she's in the mood for that sort of banter right now.

"Well, I think you look adorable," I say.

"You're just saying that." She replies.

"Not a lie." I shrug. "Just wait a minute for me on the couch over there. I need to… well," I point at my face, still noticeably tinged red from the aftermath of putting that damned Baron down. "Clean this ugly mess."

I could've used water magic, but I needed a moment to myself.

Ruby nods numbly, her face still red, then steps out of the doorway. I head in after her and shut the door behind me. I use both arms to lean forward onto the sink then look at my reflection in the mirror, my face contorting into a mixture of anger, guilt, and disgust.

You know, after now learning that there's almost no real chance for another incursion from Hell coming, a part of me considered the ritual a real success. Not only had I proved the existence of, or rather found, Hell, but I even got plenty of new materials to mess with. Demon flesh, blood, and mana, all ready for examination. With the possibility for demonic golems, potions, or even enchantments after I dissect the corpses. This might sound insane, but it turns out that opening the portal is actually beneficial for me in the long-run.

There are so many possibilities with the corpses downstairs, especially the body of a fucking Baron. Hell, I already have a slew of experiments or possible uses for that brute running through my head. And a part of me is fucking ecstatic that I somehow managed this…

But the guilt and the anger is simply overshadowing all of these other feelings.

I don't have much of a problem with killing, not really caring how I do it either. I've burned people to death, punched their fucking heads clean off, and even sliced them in half. I've seen organs spilled on the ground, heads roll, and blood splattered everywhere, and I didn't have a single issue. I even enjoyed doing it sometimes. Found some morbid catharsis in it.

Though, in my defense, all of my 'victims' were those I felt completely deserved it. Slavers and those who supported them. All of 'em deserve to be sent to the worst depths of hell, and It'd been my pleasure to be the one to do it.

But my dumb ass almost got someone innocent killed. Someone who, before meeting me, had had nothing to do with magic, nothing to do with the fuck ups I caused on occasion, somebody I even consider a friend. Making a mess of things is something I do pretty regularly, and I'm not exactly ashamed of it either because I'm usually able to deal with it just as easily. Dragging someone else into my fuck ups, however, is something I despise.

Because of me and my own damn hubris, I almost got Ruby and Gwyn killed. I couldn't wait the five seconds it would have taken to redraw the circle and I almost got them killed- no, it'd be akin to having killing them myself. I could have gotten the blood of innocent and my own fucking friends on me, and for what? I was arrogant? Impatient?

I shake my head. At the very least everything turned out alright, even if Ruby is probably fuckin' traumatized because of me. And she was already having a bad day too, wasn't she? God, I feel like trash right now.

I take a deep breath and nod to myself, maintaining a blank face before splashing it with water.

The least I could do is make her feel even a little better. Without her, I'd be dead, which means I owe her too much to consider ignoring what's happening with her.

And if that makes things awkward? Fuck it.

It can't get much worse than this anyway.

(Ruby)

With her face still slightly red, Ruby continued to try to cover her exposed panties with the oversized (for her) shirt. She wasn't sure if Reid saw, but she noticed him look down for a split-second. She didn't exactly know what to feel at that moment. Yang and her dad did warn her about creeps trying to get a look at her private parts, but when Reid did it, she felt… almost flattered? It was a strange feeling, but she didn't dislike it.

A part of her wanted him to look more.

Then again, she couldn't just show herself off to anyone, even if she liked Reid, so she tried to hide it. Thankfully, Reid wasn't a creepy guy like she'd been warned about, so he'd promptly gone into the bathroom to wash his face and had left her alone to her thoughts. And as Ruby's thoughts trailed back to those monsters, she shivered.

She was thankfully saved at the last second, with Reid acting more… scary than heroic. She didn't expect him to completely brutalize the monster like he had, but she wouldn't hold it against him. After all, they were monsters, right?

Although, she admittedly wasn't very used to blood, bone fragments, and brain matter flying all over the place. She'd killed a lot of Grimm, even in the short time she'd had to do it so far, but they don't bleed. She didn't have to deal with viscera at all.

She pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind as the door to the bathroom opened again, Reid walking out it and smiling slightly at her. She blushed and continued to tug the shirt down as Reid grew closer, plopping down on the couch next to her.

"Have I mentioned how cute you look in this?" He said, pointing at the shirt.

She almost groaned, but her face got noticeably hotter. "You did."

"Ah, so I have." He nodded. "Oh well, it's worth repeating."

"...What were those things?" Ruby asked. "I've… never even seen or heard of them."

"Demons." He answered, making her freeze. "Actual demons, and that portal I opened? It leads to Hell."

That revelation shook Ruby to her core. Hell exists? And those things were real demons? What could this mean? Do bad people really go there? If so, what happens to them? And if Hell exists, does that mean Heaven also exists?

"It's very hard to believe, I know." He nodded. "Even I didn't know Hell really existed until now."

"Then… how did you know they were demons?" Ruby questioned.

Reid paused, then answered. "By how their magic felt of course. It was. . . Unholy, Chaotic, Repulsive. A lot of things really, none of them good. And their appearance was kinda demonic, wasn't it?"

"T-those things really were demons?" She repeated, her voice but a whisper.

"Crazy, right?" He smiled at her. "Man, I wish I hadn't been knocked out cold. I'd pay to see you kick demon ass. That would've been cool to see."

Her heart skipped a beat, but she looked down in shame. "I'm… not cool."

"Yes, you are." He replied, with a hint of incredulity. "You killed demons, real demons. Pretty much nobody else could ever say that."

"That- that big one almost killed me." She shook her head. "And t-that wolf save my life more than once."

"And? We all need help every once in a whil-"

"NO!" She yelled as she stood up, tears flowing down her cheeks. "No, that's not it! I'm- I'm weak, I didn't- couldn't protect you! I might've gotten the both of us killed!"

"Rubes, it's not your-"

"It IS my fault!" Ruby refused to hear him. "I was so weak when you, injured and only just haven woken up, killed that demon faster than I could ever hope to. I was so weak I got your wolf hurt- I got you hurt!"

"Listen to me, Ruby-"

"If I was stronger, this never would've happened!" She continued. "I could've killed them all on my own without any of you getting hurt!

"But what could I, someone who can't even deal with my own bullies manage?" She chuckled mirthlessly. "I can't do anything. I'm just dead weight."

She choked out a sob, her vision blurring with tears. "I-I should just quit. Hunters don't n-need someone so useless."

Ruby felt him grab her arm and pull her back down. As she sat on the couch again, Ruby hiccuped as Reid embraced her in a hug, patting her head gently as he pulled her close to his chest.

"You've had it a lot worse than I thought…" He sighed.

"I-I'm sorry…" He sniffled. "I'm sorry for being weak…"

"You're not weak, Ruby." He said. "You're-"

"I am weak." She repeated in between sobs. "I should've just stayed home…"

"Ruby-"

"I'm immature, w-worthless, I'm pathetic." Her fists clenched. "I don't even d-deserve to breathe the same air as a hero like you."

"Don't say that." He sighed, though it felt like he was annoyed. "You're not weak, or pathetic, or worthless, or anything else. You're a great and brave girl-"

"I almost got you killed!"

"Ruby!" He shouted, pulling out from the hug to look straight into her eyes. "You saved my life."

She froze.

"If you weren't there, I would have died." He continued, gravely. "But you took to your feet, fought and killed literal demons from hell, and saved my and Gwyn's lives."

"B-but the big one-"

His chuckle cut her off. "If you weren't there, the little ones would've killed me. And to be completely honest with you, I'd rather have been killed by the big one more."

"I-I didn't do it by myself." She looked away. "The wolf would've-"

"Been overwhelmed." Reid continued. "You keep downplaying what you did, but you really have no idea just what you accomplished, do you?"

She looked at him, a grin stretched across his face. "W-what do you mean?"

"Ruby, do you know what would've happened had that portal never been destroyed?" He questioned, prompting her to shake her head. "Demons would've invaded Remnant, opening more portals all over the world and taking over it. In fact, they could've even allied themselves with the Grimm."

"Y-you mean-"

"I mean that if we had failed to destroy the portal, Remnant as a whole would've been overrun."

"W-what?! B-but you were the one who destroyed it! All I did was cry and- and almost die! I didn't do anything!"

Reid laughed out loud, shaking his head. "Ruby, focus! You were the key to destroying it! True, I was the one to literally take it apart, but without you? Everyone would've been doomed. Your dad, your sister, me, and everyone else you knew. All of us were saved by you."

"...You mean…"

"Rubes, you just saved the world." He told her. "You are a bigger and better hero than I could ever hope to be."

Time felt as if it was stopped for Ruby. She did… what? She saved Remnant? She's a… hero? But she's weak. She's worthless and pathetic… right?

But Reid wasn't just talking nonsense to make her feel better. He was right, wasn't he? If Ruby wasn't there, Reid would've been killed and Remnant would've been destroyed. She didn't beat the big demon, but she stalled it enough until Reid woke up.

A certain lesson in Signal resurfaced in her head at that moment.

Sometimes, winning isn't defeating the enemy. Waiting or stalling for backup could very well be the move that brings you victory, and the one that saves the most lives.

She… isn't weak- was never weak. She realized now that she had just unconsciously believed what they said about her, thought that they were right. Strength wasn't in simply beating everyone on your own. That's why Beacon, the school with the best hunters, always worked in teams, right?

"I'm… Am I really a hero?"

"Well, if no one really knew what happened here and today, then you won't be recognized as one." He shrugged. "But I saw everything- er, well, I know what happened."

He lifted her chin up, wiping her tears away. "Even if the world might never recognize just what you did, or crown you as a great hero of Remnant…"

Ruby blushed deeply as he got extremely close to her, their nose practically touching. She couldn't keep her gaze away from his brilliant deep blue eyes, enamored by the beautiful sharp crystal-like orbs of his.

"You'll be my cute little hero…"

Before she knew it, their lips were already locked in a chaste kiss. Ruby felt her heart thumping out of her chest as she closed her eyes. Reid pulled her closer at the waist as she wrapped her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss and eliciting a small moan from her.

A while back, Ruby had seen Yang kiss boys – sometimes girls – and would always gag in disgust. How and why would people ever get so close like this? She could still remember even her mom and dad doing this, and she never understood what could be so nice about kissing… Until now that is.

It feels good.

That's why they kept doing it.

They both pulled away, the younger girl breathing heavier as she looked at her partner in surprise, shock, adoration, happiness – the complete opposite of how she'd felt earlier. The two couldn't look away from the other, and as they got closer for another lip lock, a something buzzed, freezing them both.

Reid stopped and pulled something out of his back pocket, blinking before sighing slightly. "My employee just sent a message saying she left early. Something about a team activity she forgot."

"O-oh…" Ruby uttered. "Um… s-so what do we do now?"

"Well, we could get back to what we were doing," He winked, causing her cheeks to redden further. "Or I can show you one of my favorite things in life. We can do both if you want."

"We can do that…"

"The kissing or the favorite thing part?"

Ruby turned her gaze away, twiddling her thumbs. "...Both."

Reid only laughed at her response.

(Reid)

Aside from the cheesy line at the end, I think last night went perfectly. Ruby's Affection hit 70, and all I could feel from her was overwhelming happiness and a lot of adoration. Her negative emotions were completely muted, and her previous self-loathing had almost entirely flipped over, into pride and self-love. She feels a hell of a lot better about herself right now.

Being told you're a better hero by your own hero should be pretty impactful.

I gaze over at her sleeping form on the couch, then focus back on my cooking. After the whole thing was done, I did like any sensible man would do and watched Dragon Ball with Ruby 'til she actually fell asleep, then I went back down to repair and clean up the experimentation room. Once that was done, I took a break from Golemcrafting and began to test some of the Baron's blood in alchemy, trying to see if I could make some more power-increase potions.

And Velvet… She's honestly a nice girl. She sent a message saying that she basically doesn't want to make it worse with what's been happening at that moment. She most likely heard Ruby crying and left as to not make it awkward for herself or us.

In any case; I'm happy with how things turned out. My high CHA and REP with Ruby did a great deal in convincing her she did an amazing job. She no longer believes herself a failure and I'm pretty damn happy that she isn't blaming herself for everything anymore.

I am the one to blame, after all.

I chuckle slightly. All she did that was "bad" was make me indebted to her. I owe her my life right now, and I'll be damned if I don't pay that back.

"Hnng…" My ears pick up something, making me glance back to see Ruby slowly waking up. She yawns and rubs her eyes, then said eyes widen considerably as she gazes down at her scroll.

"Oh no, I'm late for school again!" She panics, and I watch in amusement as she trips on the blanket and falls face-first on the floor. "Ow!"

I let out a wolf whistle as her panties-clad ass was in view, quickly activating my Sharingan to check every little detail I could. "Nice~"

As if finally realizing where she is and what just happened, Ruby's entire face, neck, and ears erupt into a bright crimson as she shoots up almost immediately. She looks at me, her lip quivering as she tries to let out a threatening growl – oh my god why is she so cute?!

"So… black, huh?" I grin. "In keeping with your color scheme, I suppose."

"Forget what you saw."

"Hahahaha no." I tap my forehead. "Too late. Burnt into my memory."

She growls louder, trying to "threaten" me, but all I do was smirk back at her. She harrumphs and sits on the couch, looking away from me. I laugh in return, pulling out a plate from the drawer. I plate the food, a simple grilled cheese sandwich, on it, then stop the fire.

"How do you take your coffee?" I ask.

"Five cubes of sugar and milk."

"Five cubes of- wait what?" I pause to look at Ruby, who tilts her head at me. "Isn't that a bit too much- you know what, nevermind…"

I make her the coffee with the admittedly baffling amount of sugar in it and leave the plate and her drink on the table in front of her. Ruby blinks then looks at me in confusion.

"Aren't you eating?" She asks.

I sit next to her and stretch my arms. "Nah, not hungry."

"Hm…"

She takes her food as I turn on the Stationary Scroll, AKA Scroll TV, AKA PC, AKA a lot of other shit. Flipping through the channels, I stop at the news. I glance at the time to see it at 11:20 AM, then a slight moan beside me makes me freeze. I turn to Ruby had a face of pure bliss as she chews on the sandwich, making me raise a brow.

"Sho good…"

"It is?" I question.

She hums in confirmation, and I bring up my Cooking skill window. It's at 49, one level away from maxed, but it can't be that good, right? I've tasted my own food before and I never moaned over it. It's pretty average I would think.

Speaking of, I wonder what new profession I should take…

"By the way, your clothes are- where did your food-" I pause as I see her holding her coffee mug near her mouth. "You ate it all already?"

She nods.

… Must be a protagonist thing.

… Now…

How do I address this elephant in the room? She feels a lot better already, but how do you talk about being bullied so easily?

You don't.

And that's the fucking problem.

I left it aside yesterday since I didn't want to overwhelm her, but I kinda need to know what's been happening to her when I'm not around. I don't think I need to interfere much with her being a lot more confident now, but still…

Ah welp, you can never go with being straightforward.

"Say, Ruby." I start. "Something you said yesterday got me curious."

"What is it?"

"You said something about bullies." I say, making her freeze. "Care to tell me what that means?"

Ruby looks at me then sighs, putting the mug on the table. "...It's, well it's as I said. I study at Signal, and since neither my sister nor her friends are around anymore... some people were bullying me."

I nod for her to continue.

"They filled my head with these ideas of me being weak and worthless, and…" She pauses, contemplating something before turning to look at me. "Actually, Reid, there was something I wanted to ask you before…"

"Sure, what's up?"

"I-I know you're busy with the whole 'hero-thing', working on potions and all that…" She fidgets slightly. "But can you… could I train under you?"

...I don't sense any self-loathing or whatever she felt yesterday. She doesn't think she's weak anymore, so why is she asking that?

"Why?"

"Well, you were right, I'm not weak." She nods with a smile. "But I'm not as strong as I want to be either. When I lost to that demon, it wasn't because I was weak, it was because it was stronger than me."

I don't reply.

"If I was stronger, then you or Gwyn wouldn't have been hurt." Her expression hardens. "And if I was stronger, then I would've never lost to Palli either. I've had enough of her and her friends pushing me around, and if I'm gonna beat her in a fight, then I'll make sure to give her one she'll never forget."

Oooh I like the fire~

And I see she's planning to deal with them on her own? I would've offered to help, but I think she can handle it. It's likely better for her, in the long run, to deal with her own problems by herself, after all.

That and I'm not really a fan of fixing the problems of everyone I meet. Sometimes you need to let them handle their own issues, while you offer advice or words of encouragement.

"Wouldn't be training directly under a proper hunter be better then?" I tilt my head with a smirk. "I'm not exactly a good teacher. In fact, I've never taught anyone anything."

"Yeah, but you took down that demon in like, three hits!" Ruby exclaims, her eyes sparkling with admiration. "You're way better than any hunter I've seen. You're even stronger than Uncle Qrow!"

Yeah, my Cold-Blooded Adrenaline perk activated and I kinda used a potion before rushing into that Baron. I don't think I would've been as cool without the boosted stats.

But she doesn't need to know that.

"Well…"

"Please? I know you're busy, but you're the strongest person I know!" She grabs my hand and gets closer to me- she's really gotten comfortable around me now, hasn't she? "Please? Pleasepleasepleaseplease pretty please?"

...You know, cooking is almost maxed out, which means new profession, and I do remember seeing the teacher profession there. I could probably benefit more from it since I'm planning to teach Gwyn how to use magic soon…

I smile. "Sure, why not?"

Ruby grins widely and hugs me tightly. "Thank you thank you thank you thank you!"

"Yeah, yeah…" I pat her on the head.

Eh, I think having a pupil to train could be interesting. There's a lot of things I want to test out after all. Stuff like, just as an example, seeing if Ruby can learn Haki. And if she could, would she have Conqueror's? I know it's stupid, but she is the protagonist, so chances are decent she could learn to use Conqueror's.

Even if she couldn't, Observation and Armament are gonna be a huge advantage when she's pitted against… well, anyone.

If I'm not gonna experiment with rituals for a while, then I can at least experiment the with extent of The Gamer's influence on other people.

Should prove entertaining as well as beneficial…

(Taiyang)

How long has it been since he was trapped in this fucking hellhole? Days? Weeks? Months? You lose track of time when this place is fucking with your head at every chance it gets. Taiyang had barely had any sleep, and he was slowly losing his sense of self with this place's cruel tactics.

He sighed, holding his head in pain. His eyes were bloodshot, his vision was blurry, and his body felt weak. He had already eaten all the rations he had one him, drank all the clean water he had – all of it simply gone. He tried to ration it as much as he could, but he didn't have enough.

That thing… it was worse than any Grimm he had seen in his life. He realized after a while what the Grimm was, and it wasn't that tree that had been chasing him. It was the entire fucking forest.

A whole forest turned into a Grimm by what appeared to be an overpowered Geist. The only theory he had come up with, and he did only come up with it for the sake of not going insane from the visions he was seeing, was that it was a Geist that had possessed a tree and stayed inside it for hundreds of years, killing and feeding on any human or Faunus that stumbled across it.

The way it hunted was… it was cruel. Horrifying, and Tai finally understood why they called this place the Hanged Forest-

"C-Collis?" Tai whispered, seeing a familiar figure in the near distance. He quickly jogged towards it, feeling hope for the first time in what felt like forever.

"Collis, it's you!" Tai laughed, slapping the man on the shoulder. "By the gods man, you have no idea how much I missed-"

Taiyang words froze in his throat and his face paled as he saw a branch stuck inside of the hunter's throat. Dried blood trailed under his throat, eyes, and nose. Tai swallowed a lump in his throat as despair took the place of whatever hope he'd had and crushed it. He knew it was useless, but he tried to check for a pulse, resting two fingers on the man's throat.

The only thing he felt was the coldness of a corpse.

Taiyang let out a shaky breath and nodded in respect to the man, before turning around. What greeted stopped him in his tracks, and before he stared any longer, he shut his eyes.

"You're not real." He ground out.

"Tai dear~ Look at me~" "Summer" cooed. "I've missed you so much~!"

Taiyany took a deep breath and walked away, the mantra of "You're not real" repeating over and over like a broken record. "Summer" followed after him, acting the exact same she did before dying, only making it harder to ignore her.

"Tai… Why are you leaving me?" She whispered. "Stay by me, Tai. This place scares me…"

"You're not real."

"T-Tai, where are you going?" She said. "Please stop."

"You're not real."

"Tai, please…" She sobbed. "Don't leave me…"

"...Y-you're not real…"

"You left me alone once already…" She continued. "Don't do it again, please. I'm begging you! Tai!"

"You're not real…"

"TAI! PLEASE COME BACK!" She cried out. "PLEASE- NO, NO STAY AWAY! STAY AWAY FROM ME!"

Tai ignored the screams of horror and agony of his "wife". As if she was being ripped to shreds by terrifying monsters that would make the Grimm look like harmless animals.

"TAI PLEASE HELP ME!" She screamed, making him freeze. "DON'T ABANDON ME! PLEASE- GYAAAAAAAAAH!"

Taiyang felt tears trickling as he started to sprint away, holding his head in pain, guilt, and grief. He knew he should never even look at her, but her voice, mannerism, looks – everything was so identical to his wife. How? Was the Grimm forest able to read his memories somehow?

He didn't care as he kept running away, the screams of his "wife" haunting him as his knees grew weak. He couldn't continue – he just couldn't. He wasn't strong enough to handle seeing or hearing his wife be slaughtered over and over, he's just one man…

Tai slowed his pace and fell forwards, onto his knees as he sobbed, the screams finally falling into silence. He couldn't take this, not anymore…

He gazed down at his weapon, the blade attached to the gauntlet shining and reflecting his appearance. He looked as though he'd fought for three weeks straight.

He brought the blade close to his neck, breathing heavily through his nose. It was pathetic, weak, and utterly stomach-turning that he'd even think to do something like this, but every man had their limit, and Taiyang finally hit his. Killed by his own weapon, made as a replacement by his sweet daughter…

Daughters…

He let out a long, drawn-out breath before putting the blade away. No, he won't ever do something like that to them. His daughters are expecting him home, and he will not let them down by killing himself. He would not leave them as their mother did.

Taiyang took a deep breath, his resolve burning brighter than it had in a long time.

He swore to survive, if not for himself, than for his two daughters.

And no matter what this fucking forest throws his way...

He will not give in.

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