Memories, Fire, Sins…
Extreme summary: Not born as heir.
Very brief summary: Work issues.
Not-so-extreme summary: Had a crappy week, not so great, barely had time to breathe, but hey, here's the chapter!
Honestly, I want to go back to posting things normally, every 1/2 days, but it's TOUGH. If everything gets better (BECAUSE DAMN, IF IT DOESN'T GET BETTER!) the schedule will return to normal.
If possible, comment—I want to know how the story is after this little hiatus.
Oh, and read the note at the end of the chapter, some important things happened in this chapter and I explain some things there.
Well, that said, as always, if anyone wants to support me or just read 3/7 chapters of my 2 stories, that's possible on my (P)(A)(T). If not, I still thank you for reading my stories, thank you very much!
Finally, good night and happy reading!
(P)(A)(T)/CalleumArtori
[...]---[...]
“Nice to meet you all, I’m Jinn, but I guess you already know that thanks to the stream!” I only partially paid attention to Jinn's cheerful introduction as we landed.
At least she remembered to put on a dress and look presentable. She even asked me for a summer hat to match.
“We know… I’m Ruby!” Ruby replied, looking Jinn up and down before speaking excitedly. “These are Weiss, Yang, and Blake!”
“She probably knows us, Ruby. Spirit of knowledge and all that.” Weiss commented beside her.
“Nudist spirit…” Blake murmured. I could hear her despite the noise of the Bullhead's engine and Yang’s snort indicated she heard it too.
“I know about you, but I don't really know you.” Jinn approached the four and started circling them while observing, before Ruby mimicked her movements. The two twirled around each other, giggling.
“It’s been about six… actually, seven months since my vision got blurry.” Jinn explained as she circled Ruby. “I have knowledge about you four, but thanks to the stream, the information is a bit scrambled. If I focus on the stream, I can’t see anything!”
She seemed excited about the blindness of her clairvoyance. That was around the time Ruby got her phone, wasn’t it? My thoughts wandered a bit.
The four of them, five including Jinn, chatted quickly for about two minutes before they realized I hadn’t come down from the Bullhead’s roof, even though Ozpin had turned off the aircraft.
“Devas, are you okay?!” Ruby shouted from the ground before jumping up and landing next to me after a bit of a stumble. “Did something happen? Why didn’t you come down?”
“I’m just reflecting on my mission choices…” I commented vaguely, looking at the daily missions. “Sit down so you don’t fall, you were spinning around for a while.”
Jinn seemed immune to dizziness, probably due to her physiology or magic, maybe both. Ruby didn’t have that advantage.
Thanks to Jinn, the Spring Vault, and the quick return to Beacon, I had forgotten to check the three daily missions available from the stream. Just before we landed, I quickly pulled up the screen to see what I received today.
Imagine my surprise when I saw one of the three missions shining in all the freaking colors of the rainbow…
Seriously, I even checked to see if I had used the Rainbow Ticket by mistake, but no, it was still there in the VoidBag.
“Here, it’s easier for you to see.” I jumped down from the Bullhead after seeing Ruby had calmed down enough to follow me and swiped to the mission screen, showing it to the five of them.
-//-
[World Mission]
Rarity: Rainbow.World: Amalgam World.Time limit: None.
Mission Description: A normal world, a normal Earth, with one small difference… It contains several ‘worlds’ within it.
Animes, Movies, Series, Cartoons, mostly Slice of Life, some with a certain level of power, a place full of surprises and random missions at every corner!
Explore the world as “The Streamer” wishes, meet the ‘important beings’ of the world, whether they are significant to their stories or just secondary characters, help them or ignore them, it doesn’t matter, follow your heart and have fun!
Objective: Enter the world!
Reward: Minimap Update (Missions). Mission Book.
[..]
NOTE: BIG worlds like MARVEL, DC, BLEACH, DXD, FATE, etc. are not included in Amalgam World!
NOTE: “The Streamer” cannot accept the mission while on an emergency mission!
NOTE: “The Streamer” can return to ‘Terraria’ after one week in Amalgam World and return to Amalgam World after one week in TERRARIA!
NOTE: Before the destruction of the “Wall that separates and seals the World,” the maximum continuous time limit in Amalgam World is 6 months!
-//-
I was happy that this mission appeared and, at the same time, a little sad… I only had one slot to store missions, and unfortunately, it looks like I’ll have to discard the mission in the Hotel Transylvania world…
Some people might think I kept that mission for Mavis, and I won’t lie, she was part of the reason, but a small part.
The main reason I wanted to go to that world was to meet the version of Dracula who didn’t succumb to revenge and chose to focus completely on protecting his daughter and his people, ignoring everything else.
I respected the guy, simple as that. I hope I get another chance to meet him.
“Amalgam World…” Jinn murmured, her eyes shining. “The stream has the power to merge worlds?”
“Probably, but there’s a chance that this world ‘emerged’ naturally.” Infinite possibilities in an infinite Omniverse… “I’ll save this mission for when I return to Terraria.”
I had two months until whatever was going to happen there happened. Spending a week or two in this Amalgam World to see what’s in it wouldn’t hurt.
“There are few rewards for a Rainbow mission. Aren’t they the rarest?” Yang pointed out.
“As far as I know, yes, but the rewards are just for entering the world.” I pointed to the text on the screen. “The real rewards are probably from the many missions that exist there.”
An update to the Minimap about missions and a mission book? I could already see the ‘!’ and ‘?’ points on the Minimap where the missions existed.
“What is this ‘Wall that separates and seals the World’?” Weiss asked as we started walking.
“That’s the second time this Wall has been mentioned, isn’t it?” Ruby skipped alongside me with Lucy at her waist. “A similar message appeared when you tried to invite Dylan to the stream, didn’t it?”
Looks like they had watched the past streams they hadn’t seen.
“I’m sure I already answered this question when (CHAT) asked.”
“Saying: ‘It’s a wall that’s probably very big’ isn’t really an answer.” I’m sure it wasn’t Blake who spoke, but a manifestation of (CHAT)’s dissatisfaction in the form of a cat-girl.
“It is, and nothing you say will prove otherwise.” I quickly pointed ahead where Glynda was waiting for us. “There, let’s focus on the really important things, like a two-meter-tall woman with a whip in hand and very irritated.”
The look she was casting in our direction made team RWBY shrink instinctively. I placed a hand on Ozpin’s shoulder, who was walking silently beside me, and gave him a gentle push.
“Something tells me her target is you. Have fun.” Ozpin sighed and walked towards Glynda with very short steps.
“I need to have a conversation with the headmaster. Could you take care of my class in the meantime, Devas?” Glynda asked without diverting her gaze.
“Can I do it my way?”
“As long as no student loses a limb or dies, feel free.”
“Yay!”
Jinn was the only one who seemed happy along with me.
[...]
“Glynda offered you all as a sacrifice in exchange for Ozpin’s life.” I walked around the arena while the students were seated. “Because of that, I’ll be making some changes to this class compared to your usual ones. Raise your hands if you have any questions.”
Every hand went up.
“No questions? Great!” I clapped my hands, and Jinn laughed behind me. “By the way, this is Jinn, she’ll be my assistant teacher today.”
“Am I getting paid?” Jinn asked with a cheerful smile.
“Probably.” I shrugged. “You can bill me later since I’m the one who hired you.”
“Well, let’s start by explaining the class. First, we’ll have the class here, no Emerald Forest today.” I heard some sighs of relief and others of disappointment. “Second, the spars will go until your Aura reaches the red, not the yellow.”
I fired a few shots into the air when the voices started getting loud and continued.
“Grimm won’t stop when your Aura gets halfway. I’m being nice by stopping at red. If you didn’t have class tomorrow, it’d be until your Aura breaks.” This quickly silenced the murmurs.
I scanned the room before stopping on someone specific.
“Pyrrha, did Glynda use the notes I made in the last classes?” Pyrrha nodded; Weiss looked annoyed that I hadn’t chosen her to respond. “Great, that saves me some work! Any volunteers to start today’s class?”
Several hands shot up, with Pyrrha’s and Ruby’s almost breaking the sound barrier. I pointed to them and two others who had raised their hands: Cardin and Sun. Interesting...
“Any questions from you four?”
“She’s blue.” Cardin pointed out with remarkable wisdom and insight.
“Jinn is blue, you have eyes, and that wasn’t a question.” I sighed.
This wasn’t the first time I’d heard that since entering the class. Jinn drew attention, and although no one had pointed it out, the murmurs were inevitable.
Jinn herself didn’t seem to mind. Knowing ‘everything’ probably made you immune to many things, but I thought it best to address this right away. The feelings I could sense from Cardin weren’t good, even though they were somewhat contradictory.
Anger, disgust, and slight repulsion, but also shame, anguish, and fear. The latter directed at himself. Did he think Jinn was a faunus?
“Pyrrha, Ruby, step down please, not you, Sun.” The two looked unhappy with my words, but Ruby noticed something in my expression and nudged Pyrrha to step down. “Blake, Russel, Dove, and Sky Lark, step up.”
I gestured without turning and pointed for Blake to go to Sun’s side while the entire CRDL team stood on the other side of the arena, with me in the middle.
“You know, it’s not my place to ask what happened to make you like this.” I looked at Cardin. “Frankly, I don’t even care, but as your teacher, it’s my job to teach you lessons, be they combat or life lessons.”
I continued before anyone could speak, Jinn stepping back to sit next to Ruby in Blake’s seat to watch.
“I’ve heard some rumors here and there, something about someone saying faunus are animals…” Cardin turned red, a mix of shame and anger. “I don’t agree, but for this class, we’ll use those rotten rumors as a scenario. Blake, Sun, hand over your weapons, please.”
Sun looked confused and offended by what I was implying; Blake didn’t hesitate, she knew me well enough to trust me.
“Animals don’t need weapons, right?” I sang as I placed Sun and Blake’s weapons aside. “This first fight will be team CRDL against Sun and Blake unarmed.”
I walked to the back of the class, ignoring the disapproving, confused, and angry looks from the students, especially the faunus.
“Oh yes, Ozpin told me the lights are a bit unstable due to BS reasons.” Bullshit reasons. I stopped next to the breaker panel. Blake’s smile was bloodthirsty when she realized what I wanted to do.
“Remember, the fight ends when the Aura of everyone on one side hits the red…”
With a few simple touches, the whole class plunged into darkness. I could see as if it were day, as could the faunus, their eyes glowing like small fireflies throughout the class.
I pulled the Scrolls from everyone who tried to light up the place into the VoidBag.
“No Scrolls in the classroom.” My voice echoed through the dark room thanks to nightmare energy.
“What are you waiting for?” My eyes glowed orange like two small flames as I walked to the corner of the room.
“… Start the fight.”
The fight lasted five minutes. Sun and Blake didn’t take a single hit.
[…]
“Some people would say it was childish of you to do what you did,” Jinn commented as she walked beside me. The class had already ended; I hadn’t done anything too elaborate other than a few fights and pointing out some things I thought the students could improve on.
“Yes, maybe it was,” I didn’t deny. “But it’s better for Cardin to learn the important lessons here than out there. He may be a bully here, but there’s always a bigger fish.”
I wouldn’t have done it if I weren’t the ‘teacher’. To me, if the guy didn’t improve quickly, expulsion was the only option. Cardin could do something ugly out there if he graduated still with that mentality.
Still, a part of me felt sorry for the kid. He had hate and anger, but much of it was directed more towards himself than the target of his racism. It didn’t justify his actions, but something must have happened for him to be like this.
“Do you want to know why he’s like this?” Jinn sang with her eyes shining in a soft blue.
“No, at least not like this. If I’m going to find out, it’ll be because he came to me himself.” I ignored Jinn’s pout and kept walking. I had said if he wanted to talk, he could find me; now it was up to him.
Ozpin and Glynda already had the boy in their sights too. If he didn’t improve… Well, I won’t be sad for him.
“I thought the girls were going to come with us to see Amber.” Jinn sang as she took light steps. She didn’t like shoes for some reason, not even slippers or anything that covered her feet.
“I don’t recall mentioning that we were going to see Amber.” I opened the elevator door and checked to see if it was in normal mode and not that damn slow-ass turtle mode. “Don’t your powers get scrambled when you’re closer to me?”
The closer she was to me, the less Jinn could ‘see’, and if she focused on the stream and her phone, her clairvoyance was effectively blind.
“I don’t need my powers to know that… Well, maybe a little, but not much.” Jinn stuck out her tongue. “I saw what happened to Amber, saw Ozpin’s attempts to heal her failing. It’s not hard to connect the dots with his arrival to me.”
“Can you heal her?” I asked. Jinn didn’t even open her mouth and pulled out her phone.
[JinnOfTheLamp]: Yes and no. I have the knowledge for it, but I lack materials, assistance, and many of the means to do it. I can heal her, but not alone. Of course, I don’t know what you’re capable of, nor your friends from the stream, maybe it’s simpler. (Emote of a Chibi Jinn spinning gently).
“I see… Well, let’s see what we can do then.” I looked at Jinn chatting on (CHAT) and continued. “About the Summer Maiden, do you know where she is?”
[JinnOfTheLamp]: Do you want the sword?… Uhmm… I know where she is, or was in the case. As I said, things are confusing, it’s like I’ve developed double vision. In one vision, I can see a world where you don’t exist; in the other, confusing fragments of that. Many things have changed. (Emote of a Chibi Jinn spreading her arms).
“The original timeline…” I murmured. I had changed things, a lot apparently. “Have they changed for better or worse?”
I had never stopped to think about it so deeply, but my existence could change things not only for the better, but for the worse…
How many lives had I indirectly ended… How many were saved only by my existence?
“Let’s go, we have a Maiden to save.” I stepped out of the elevator with calm steps. It didn’t matter… I had already decided that I would bear whatever consequences my actions brought, whether for worse or for better…
Jinn didn’t verbally respond to me, but before stepping out of the elevator, I could see it on her face.
Her smile was beautiful.
[...]
"Were you whipped?" I couldn't hide the amusement in my voice as I saw Ozpin's downcast face.
"Not literally as you might think. But Glynda, Qrow, and James had some words to say." Ozpin sighed, but I could see a faint smile on his face.
His emotions were at peace too. It seems like everything went well.
"How's our patient, Jinn?" I glanced at the blue woman who was examining Amber. Even though Jinn already knew her condition, she still wanted to check personally.
"Not too good, but you already know that, so I can speak freely." Jinn didn't remove her hand from Amber's forehead. "You mentioned having a meeting with your viewers about healing Amber, didn't you? What did you decide?"
"Nothing concrete, just some theories here and there about how I would do it with the abilities I have." My eyes turned orange as I looked into Amber's soul. The Grimm was still dormant.
Jinn sighed, stood up, and pulled out her phone.
[JinnOfTheLamp]: We can heal her, but it will take time, weeks actually... This is the part where you start pulling things out of the VoidBag for me to see if we can shorten that time. (Emote of a Chibi Jinn innocently winking).
"No hidden agenda there, I imagine." She made an 'X' with her hands, not hiding her smile. I sighed, pulled out some items, and began pointing to them.
"Life potion, regenerates vitality. Mana potion, same as the last one, but with mana." I pointed to the two bottles, then to the boxes, and finally the herbary. "Various plants, see if anything fits, what they do is written in that book."
Jinn bounced around everything that appeared out of 'nowhere' and began inspecting everything she could touch. She spent some time looking at the plants before moving on to other items.
"What's this?" Jinn poked the giant toothpick with her finger. "Looks Grimm-ish."
"Nightmare Fuel. I still don't know what I'm going to do with this thing, actually. " Toss it in the mud lake inside my spiritual kingdom and see what happens? Probably.
"And this? Looks like Dust, only neutral?" She held up the Mana Stones in her hand.
"Mana Stones, basically Terraria's Dust. Use the ones next to it if you can, those are less rare." I pointed to the Artificial Sapphires; unlike the mana stones, I had a ton of those.
Jinn nodded and moved on to the next item.
"And this? It's familiar somehow..." She spun the box in her hands before opening it. "Blue hair strands?"
“Hair of a water goddess with the sacred attribute.” The shock on her face was amusing to watch.
"The hair of a goddess?!" She spoke, half whisper, half shout. "How do you have that?"
"Traded for alcohol." Or that's what Kazuma said Aqua spent the gold I gave him on. Just details.
Jinn looked at me strangely before smiling.
"I don't know if you're lying, but that's so cool!" She carried the box with the hair and a few more items over to Amber's side before returning to inspect the rest.
Ozpin also walked around the items, looking at some things here and there in the meantime. This continued for a few minutes before Jinn stopped and turned to me as I pulled out the ShadowFlame.
It had been a while since I talked to this little guy; I just threw some slime cores for him to eat and then threw him back into the VoidBag, but I guess it was time to put an end to this little game.
"What's this?" She circled around me. Ozpin also stopped messing with a random plant and turned to look at the ShadowFlame.
"Hellfire, basically." The concept of 'hell' was the same in Remnant, so I didn't bother explaining. "I've had this guy for a while, but he still refuses to accept me as his master... Or that was until recently."
The ShadowFlame's response was to casually float within the collar, as if deciding something.
The ShadowFlame had been calmer, more docile for a while now. It had calmed down a bit thanks to Sun Breathing and even more so after I got nightmare energy.
At this point, the denial of this little jerk was just out of spite; he had already 'accepted' me in a way, it just lacked something...
“And you decided to bring Hellfire here because... exactly?” Ozpin looked at the ShadowFlame on the table along with Jinn. He had more respect in his eyes, unlike Jinn who had more curiosity in hers.
"Burn the Grimm within her soul to ashes?" Jinn guessed.
"I don't need that to kill that parasite." A simple poke with nightmare energy and that thing would explode. "No, it's for another reason..."
I picked up the ShadowFlame collar in my hand and lifted it to my face. When a flame came out to hit my face to annoy me, since burning wouldn't happen at all, as the heat was weak, I opened my mouth and activated my Semblance...
"KRIRKRIKIRKSI!"
...Then I bit into the flame, literally tearing off a piece of it and chewing it.
I felt my Aura starting to drop rapidly as I chewed the fire slowly.
I didn't even need to chew to be honest, much less swallow as I did. My Semblance was basically instantaneous if I had enough Aura for what I was trying to devour, and in this case, I did. It was all basically a show for the ShadowFlame, who, by the way, seemed quite terrified.
"It's not the best thing I've ever eaten, but it'll do." It had a spicy taste. I licked my lips and brought the collar closer to my face, showing my teeth. "Here's your ultimatum: accept me as your master or be devoured."
The ShadowFlame shrank back, trembling erratically, before relaxing and floating casually again.
At the same time, some messages from the stream appeared in front of me.
[Fear of the ShadowFlame conquered!]
[Respect of the ShadowFlame conquered!]
[The ShadowFlame recognizes you as its master. Touch the flame to initiate the bonding test!]
"Of course, there's going to be a test..." I muttered, half annoyed and amused by the messages. I ignored the looks Ozpin and Jinn were giving me and the various messages in the (CHAT) and asked the stream:
"What's this test about?" I really didn't expect the stream to respond to me, but to my surprise, another message appeared in front of me.
[Your sins burn your being. Can you endure the flames of hell?...]
I had to contain myself from laughing and throwing the collar against the wall. Of course, it would be that, what else would a hellfire do, after all?
"That... Are you going to accept that now?" Ozpin asked me after seeing the message through the stream on his phone.
"It won't make a difference where I choose; the test is the same, and if I got this right, it'll be over quickly," I sighed. "But no, I'll do it later, tonight." It was better for me to accept this as soon as possible too; the longer it took, the more sins I would accumulate.
Something told me I wouldn't have help here; it would just be me, my sins, and the fire.
We continued talking, Jinn, Ozpin, and (CHAT), where the meeting attendees were, for almost an hour before deciding we had enough to start healing Amber's soul.
Well, Jinn, Ozpin, and I had enough, since (CHAT) only offered ideas and bits of wisdom here and there. We'll wait to start the 'big plan' tomorrow when Serafall gets her act together and sends me the feathers she owes me.
"Can I keep this?" Jinn shook the box containing some items: Mana Stones, Artificial Sapphires, some plants, and a few strands of Aqua's hair. "I want to do some experiments."
"Go ahead." I waved my hand and put everything that wasn't Jinn's box into inventory.
"Where am I staying, by the way?" Jinn hummed as we rode the elevator. She seemed excited. "Do I get a room?!"
"Doesn't your Lamp have space inside it?" I glanced at the Lamp on my waist. Jinn had placed the box of items I gave her inside.
"Yeah, but I don't want to stay in there. I've been in there for a few hundred years; I think I've had enough." She pouted.
"I need to see if there are any vacant rooms." Ozpin scratched his chin.
"You can stay in my room; I won't be using it tonight, so we can figure out what to do tomorrow." I made the offer to Jinn. If she wanted her own place, I didn't mind giving her mine. I wouldn't use that room much anyway.
"Or you could have a slumber party with the girls." I teased, amused, seeing the green dots waiting for us in front of the elevator. When the doors opened, I could see the four members of Team RWBY in pajamas.
Jinn's, Ruby's, and, oddly, Weiss's eyes lit up at the idea.
("Slumber party, yay!") Lucy vocalized perfectly, catching Jinn's attention.
Wasn't this the first time Lucy had spoken in front of her?
"The axe talks?!" Jinn's eyes gleamed with joy. That reaction is familiar...
"The axe talks." I confirmed.
"Lucy talks!" Ruby exclaimed, holding up the axe.
("I TALK!") The axe Ruby was holding shouted.
"I'm surrounded by crazies..." Weiss pinched her nose while Yang laughed, and Blake shook her head.
"I must say I'm quite sane, Miss Schnee, I can confirm that. I've been crazy a few times in the past, but at the moment, I'm fine." Only Ozpin and I laughed. Jinn and Ruby were focused on Lucy, while the other three seemed horrified.
"You're kidding, right?" Yang asked slowly.
“Of course I am, Miss Xiao-Long.” Ozpin nodded and began to walk away. Yang, Weiss, and Blake visibly relaxed. “I'll take my leave then, it's already late. Good night.”
"Night." I waved to the man walking away.
I didn't feel like pointing out that he wasn't kidding. Some things were better left unsaid.
"Are you really going to do this?" Ruby asked worriedly as we approached the front of their dorm. "It sounds dangerous."
"It's not as dangerous as you think." I reassured her, dispelling her concerns. I wasn't even sure if that was true. Something told me it wasn't. "Don't worry, I'll be fine."
"Why choose the Emerald Forest of all places?" Blake looked out the hallway window overlooking the forest.
"It's quiet and empty."
"It has Grimm." Weiss pointed out. "The ones attracted by malice and negative feelings that a test involving sins will probably release plenty of!"
She had a point.
"I can protect myself even in the test." I made the Bone Helm appear on my head quickly before it disappeared. "That and I'll set up Runes and Mystic Symbols to protect myself."
Not to mention my little friends in my shadow, but they were a last resort.
Precisely because of the Grimm, I also want to go as far into the forest as possible. If they're attracted, let it be to me and not to Beacon or, worse, Vale.
"Don't you dare turn off the stream." Yang poked my chest with her finger. "We may not be able to help with this weird test involving purple fire, but if something happens, we'll be there in a second!"
"I won't, I promise." I maintained eye contact with Yang before she looked away. "I trust you guys if I need help."
"Even me?!" Millia jumped out of my pocket and onto my shoulder.
"Even you, Millia." I ran my finger across the top of the slime. "But you have a girls' slumber party to attend tonight, so no evil forest for you."
I picked Millia up in my hand and placed her in Ruby's palms. Jinn seemed pouty about it, but she got over it when Millia made a point of jumping onto each of their shoulders before returning to Ruby.
When we arrived at Team RWBY's dorm, I pulled out some snacks, sweets, savories, and a few cakes.
"Trying to become our sugar daddy, Devas?" Yang said with a tone between amusement and mischief. "Sugar, for the sweets, go on, that was good."
"That was awful!" Ruby yelled with a layer of red coloring her cheeks. The entire Team RWBY was blushing, actually, even Yang, who had made the pun.
"I. Must. Not. Kill." Weiss pinched her nose and repeated the words like a mantra.
"Has she always been like this?" Blake turned to Jinn, of all people, to ask.
"Yes, she has, and you know it." If Blake didn't know, Jinn would have to answer for (CHAT).
"The food is for Millia, actually. If she wants to share, that's another story." I finally responded to Yang's question. "Be nice to her, and she might give you some snacks."
"I'll share, I'm nice! :D" Millia jumped excitedly into the dorm before spotting Zwei, who was asleep, and going to him. "A dog!"
For a moment, when Zwei woke up and opened his mouth, I almost... almost kicked the dog into the wall. Luckily, I managed to hold back since he just wanted to lick Millia, who didn't seem bothered.
"I'll be off then; you know where to find me." I waved to the six, seven with Lucy, eight with Zwei, the infiltrator, and bid them goodbye. "Good night, and have fun." Something told me I wouldn't.
Several 'good nights' later and a few more minutes of brisk walking, I was in the clearing where I killed Tyrian. It was far enough away and somewhat symbolic, in a way.
I circled the clearing calmly, placing some Runes and Mystic Symbols on trees and metal plates before connecting everything with a sequence of Mystic Symbols written on a Wall Creeper web rope.
After finishing the matrix sequence and connecting everything, I threw several dozen Artificial Sapphires into a metal pot that would energize everything.
It wasn't the best barrier possible, but it would serve to protect me in case something went wrong.
I mentally commanded my Nightmares to stay alert in case something happened. It was a pity they still couldn't stay in any shadow other than mine; I was still figuring out how to do that, or else I would have infested the shadows of the trees with them.
After all the preparations, I went to the center of the clearing and stood still for a few minutes in silence, lying on the ground and gazing at the broken moon of Remnant, or part of it, since it wasn't a full moon and much of it was hidden by the planet's shadow.
I was hesitating, I knew that... A small voice kept whispering in the back of my mind:
You don't need to do this. You're doing fine as you are, why go through something that will clearly be horrible?
You don't need to do this...
In a way, that small voice was right. I didn't necessarily need the ShadowFlame; it wasn't necessary, especially with Jinn who could tell me where the Summer Maiden was so I could get the Relic of Destruction.
That's not to mention the magic she and Ozpin could teach me. I had already talked to both of them; they said they would help me without any problems.
But still... I moved my eyes to the Shadowflame status screen.
[Rarity: Blue (Previously Red) (Absurdly weakened)]
Red... This thing was of Red rarity...
I played Terraria; it was actually my favorite game. I knew the rarities well, I didn't know how they translated into reality, but in the game...
Red was the second-highest rarity, with the highest being only Red items with very good prefixes. There was no way I wouldn't want that, especially with the enemies I knew I would face.
Not only in Terraria, but in other worlds too... MARVEL, FATE, and others...
Why interfere?
The small voice kept whispering in the back of my mind:
Things would work fine without you, and if they don't, it's not your fault... It was going to go wrong anyway. Why do you need to try to fix everything?... You're not a hero...
Indeed, I wasn't a hero...
"Let's go then." With a push, I pulled the Shadowflame necklace out of the VoidBag.
...But screw it, many of them are my friends. I don't need to be a hero to help them.
I knew the shit many of them would face. Stark had endless enemies ahead, Rin had the damn Fifth Holy Grail War and the fucked-up world that was FATE, Percy was Greek, a Greek demigod actually, his family was a mess.
Not just for them either. I wanted to help them for myself, I wanted to be part of their stories, see these worlds, meet these people. It was selfish in a way, but I never said I wasn't selfish.
I wanted to be part of all these stories, see everything, meet all of them!...
I raised the Shadowflame necklace with my left hand up to my face and looked at the purple fire for a few seconds, before pulling the necklace away and slowly extending my right hand...
You don't need to interfere...
It's true, I didn't need to interfere, I never needed to... But I wanted to.
...So I touched the flame, my sins burning me.
[...]
POV: Third Person.
What were sins?...
Mostly, sins were actions, thoughts, or behaviors immoral, contrary to norms, be they of a society or religion.
That would be the answer from a book, but... What or who really defined them? How were they judged?...
What were sins?...
If sins were defined based on a society... Which one?... Which world?...
Remnant, Terraria, Earth? Which one... Which Earth? Among all, which society?...
The human could be considered a citizen in more than one world, in more than one society. Which of these would judge him? Which of these fueled the fire slowly rising up his arm?...
The answer was simple: None.
The Human didn't belong to any world; his Origin at this moment was just a distant memory.
And if sins were defined based on a religion... Which one would it be?... In which world?... Which god?...
The human wasn't a believer; he knew of the gods and their pantheons. He didn't doubt their powers or existence, but he also didn't place his faith in them, much less was he their follower.
If the human didn't have faith in the gods, didn't follow them... Which god would judge him?... Dictate right from wrong?... Decide the weight of his actions?...
Which god would condemn him for his sins?...
The answer was simple: None.
The human wouldn't be judged by a god; his existence was an Anathema, his being wouldn't be judged by the Divine.
But then why?... Why did the fire keep rising up the human's arm until it consumed his body completely?...
What fueled the fire? What fed the flame?... How were the sins being judged?...
Who was judging the human?...
The answer was simple: Himself.
Who would judge him besides himself? Who would punish him beyond the Echo of his memories? Who better than a human... To punish a Human?...
When the Shadowflame was whole, complete, and at its peak, its main task was to judge the souls that went to the domain of its master...
The Shadowflame always obeyed its master... Always followed the wishes of its master...
Sins didn't carry equal weight for everyone...
The human didn't scream, didn't grunt when the pain began, even when his flesh seemed to burn, even when his mind began to be consumed by the flames, even when his soul burned in the fire.
His title wouldn't protect him here, whether because the human accepted the test willingly, or because, subconsciously, he didn't want help or interference.
His sins were his and his alone.
When the fire covered his entire body, when his vision was completely taken over by the flickering of the purple flames, slowly, the human sat down on the ground, folding one leg in front of his body and resting his arm on it.
In his hand, the human held the chains of the Shadowflame necklace, now empty, swaying back and forth slowly.
Just like the necklace, the grass on which the human sat was unaffected by the fire, not burned by the flames.
The human took a deep breath, the cold air burning his airways, now on fire, the heat increasing...
His unfocused orange eyes were the only part of his body that could be seen from the outside, shining like two flames of their own, incessantly, unyielding.
Not closing, not blinking even once.
Flashes of memories flashed every second in the human's mind, each action judged as wrong increased the heat of the flames, their size.
The plant life around was unaffected, the heat didn't affect the ground, the air, nothing but the human was judged, burned by the flames...
The Grimm?... None of them approached; for the first time in their existence, since their creation, they feared something beyond their creator, instinctively they knew...
That fire, that flame... Would burn not only them, but even their creator to ashes.
The memories continued quickly, retreating one by one like a film running backward, slowly feeding the flames.
Lionheart paid for his sins, his punishment was death, a fair consequence for the evil he had done…
"...To death."
But a part of the human wondered if it was truly him who should have enacted that punishment?…
The flames grew...
Tyrian's death was a blessing to the world, his punishment was inhuman, but deserved, fair, his sins were immense...
"Sins are sins..." The human murmured one last time... "I will bear yours as well..."
But just like the Nightmares, made of sins... Tyrian Callows occupied his place within the human's spiritual realm as his servant.
The flames grew and grew...
The Deerclops was a monster, consumed by pain and loneliness, made one with his energy. His death was quick, merciful, and painless. Would the people of WinterHord judge him for this?...
How many died in WinterHord?... How many innocents fell due to his inefficiency in killing the beast, in destroying the hallucinations faster?...
[Ninth mark: 12042/14289 (Failure!)]
Many...
The flames grew and grew and grew...
How many goblins did he massacre? It was to defend himself, to defend Jille, but did that absolve him of everything? How many parents, siblings, and children did he kill that day?...
[Sixth mark: 1182/1239 (Failure!)]
The human remembered... There were many...
In war, there are no winners or losers... But a part of him felt guilty...
The flames grew and grew and grew and grew...
Could he have done more to help the people in the Takagi mansion? If he had been faster, if he had remembered before Alice and her father, could the man still be alive?...
What happened to the students he left with Shido on the bus?... It wasn't the human's fault that they chose to follow the man...
It said: Teacher Devas.
Maybe he could have saved them...
The flames grew and grew and grew and grew and grew...
He didn't need to kill Millia, maybe he didn't need to kill the Mother Slime either, but even if the human had no choice...
"Did he feel pain before dying? Did he call for his mother before bursting into flames?"
...Taunting her with the death of her children right after she left her seal was right?...
The flames grew and grew and grew and grew and grew and grew...
The memories receded even further, before Terraria, before the supernatural existed, where mystery was just mystery...
Sins were still sins...
Did he need to be cruel to his neighbor just because she was deceived just like many more by the books and movies his 'father' had made?...
If he hadn't been delayed in coming home because of a fight at school, would he have made it home in time to help his grandfather who had had a heart attack?... Called the ambulance earlier?...
Maybe there would have been time?... Maybe he would have survived?...
The flames grew and grew and grew and grew and grew and grew and grew...
Did he need to react as he did and fight as he did at school whenever someone talked about his 'father's' movies and books and called him a monster, a demon?... They were just kids...
The human was also...
... But sending them to the hospital in their injured state, was that right?...
The flames grew and grew and grew and grew and grew and grew and grew and grew...
The memories receded more and more, racing back rapidly to the beginning, back to the start...
The flames exploded in size and heat... The human at the center of it all remained silent, looking forward with unfocused, pained eyes...
His First Act...
Guilt raced through the human's mind as it always had...
The flames grew and grew and grew and grew and grew and grew and grew and grew and grew...
Everything was fire, the color was purple... The forest was engulfed...
Born of a sin... Sinning at birth...
"I will accept everything..." The human murmured within the flames. His voice was low and hoarse, tired... “All my sins...”
He blamed himself, even though he shouldn't... His sins still burned... The human embraced the heat...
The flames froze in the air like a picture, a paused film... The memories ended, the connection was made... More than perfect...
The Shadowflame had a master... And would never have another...
The human shook the necklace one last time before it disintegrated into dust. Then, he reached his hand upward... No order or thought was needed; the flames returned, receding to his hand like a loyal dog without a word.
The human stood up, his clothes intact, his flesh and skin untouched, but the pain had been real... His mind was tired for the first time in a long while... His body sore, exhausted... His soul fragile, weak... His Aura...
"Sins are sins..." The human took a deep breath, his bright orange eyes clear... Then he began to walk back to Beacon.
... Glowing in purple.
[...]
This chapter, this 'test,' is what I wanted to convey about Devas, about what he feels and thinks. I don't know if it was obvious before, but he doesn't think very highly of himself; his self-esteem is somewhat confusing, as Yang had commented.
"So confident in himself, yet at the same time so insecure."
Devas has some issues in his mind, some quite serious ones. I believe I made implicit what they are in this chapter, in the part about his memories.
I also want to mention that the names of the second and third racial traits of the Devas were revealed in this chapter, albeit implicitly. Anyone who figures it out or thinks they have, feel free to comment.
Well, finally, there's Shadowflame. I saved this 'character' for this moment, for these memories and feelings of Devas. Nothing better than his reward from Jille Village, where he took the 'first step,' where I showed what Devas was for the first time, to 'close' this circle, right?
Well, it's late again, I apologize for the delay.
As always, good night and happy reading!