A short-long month… (4).

Merry Christmas! (Belated) Apologies for the delay in posting, there is a small explanation for the delay at the end of the chapter. By the way, this is the last chapter in Remnant and it’s about 10,000 words long.

As always, if anyone wants to support me or just read 3/7 chapters ahead, that’s possible on my (P)(A)(T). If not, I still appreciate you reading!

Have a great afternoon and enjoy the read!

(P)(A)(T)/CalleumArtori

[...]---[...]

[8 Days Until the Return to Terraria]

"It's the first time I've seen a Semblance evolve this quickly," Ozma commented. We were in my Spiritual Realm. I had come here to check a few things. "Not unheard of, but this speed... How long has it been? Two weeks?"

"Pretty much that," I confirmed, reading the information in front of me.

-//-

[Mystery Devourer - Rank C >> C++ (Evolutive)]

Description: Your body holds a faint, ancient memory of a world where the supernatural was a distant dream, where mystery was just that—mystery.

Your soul, however, was unaware of this sensation. From the moment of its creation, like everything else within your body, it sought to mimic it.

But how could something like the soul, birthed in a supernatural and mysterious manner, imitate something that denied its very existence? The answer was simple: it couldn't.

Thus, like your body, your soul adapted—adapted to the sensation of a world where the supernatural did not exist.

If your soul couldn't deny mystery, then it would devour it until nothing remained.

Function: Consume and absorb anything categorized as a [Mystery] and process it.

The stronger or more resilient the [Mystery], the more Aura is consumed in the process.

[NEW!] [Mystery Devourer] partially evolved after consuming part of the divinity of the being known as the "God of Light," along with the remnant divinity contained within angel and fallen angel feathers.

Its fangs sharpened, making it easier to devour any [Mystery] related to [Divinity].

[...]

~ Divinity, devour'it ~

~ Devour and consume ~

-//-

Something similar had also happened with the Shadowflame. The flame hadn’t gained any new abilities, but its fourth ability, marked orange, underwent a slight modification.

-//-

Ability(4) - Orange: The Shadowflame's damage and temperature increase when used against beings with the attributes [Fallen], [Fallen Angel], [Angel], [Good], [Evil], and, to a moderate extent, [Divine].

Any being connected to the Christian Pantheon (DXD) will find it harder to resist the Shadowflame.

[NEW!] The being known as the "God of Light (Remnant)" will take increased damage from the Shadowflame.

-//-

Besides the term "lesser" being changed to "moderate," Big G and his entire pantheon in DXD weren't the only ones affected by the Shadowflame anymore. The Brother of Light had also joined the list.

"I'll need to show this on stream tomorrow..." I muttered. It was nighttime, and the stream was offline. Turning to Ozma, I added, "I’m heading to Nightmare Isle to check a few things. Want to come?"

"I don’t see why not. I don’t have much else to do anyway," he shrugged.

We walked casually along the bridge connecting the islands. The Mini-Pylon remained in the same spot it had been since it arrived in my Spiritual Realm, floating in the sea at a distance. I was pretty sure I could move that thing, but there was no reason to. Its current location was as good as any.

"The island's grown too much... I’ll move it a bit farther from the main island later," I grumbled, glancing at Nightmare Isle in the distance.

Although I had given part of my nightmare energy to the Shadowflame to consume and "purified" another portion with my spiritual energy—which also caused it to grow—the island had become massive, roughly twice the size of the main island.

"Any specific reason for that? Could your nightmare energy corrupt spiritual energy?" Ozma asked, looking around with a wrinkled nose. "Or is it just because this place stinks and feels gross?"

"It’s more the latter than anything else. My energies don’t interfere with each other unless I want them to—unless something else meddles, at least," I explained as I knelt down and touched the island's purple soil. It was still swampy but seemed sturdier.

"Fair enough," Ozma nodded. "Why a swamp?"

"It's the swamp biome from the Don’t Starve world, where the Deerclops came from. I don’t know the exact reason, but it is what it is," I shrugged and stood back up, continuing to walk.

Ozma followed as I inspected the island, observing how the Nightmares were positioned and how the twisted plants grew. I had a general idea of all this; I didn’t really need to "check" in person since this whole place was a part of me. Still, I had little else to do and wanted to see how everything was with my own eyes, so I decided to come and check it out myself.

We stopped at the center of the island, right in front of the mud lake, which had also expanded. The Shadowflame, floating above the lake, remained the same size, but I could feel it had grown stronger without even looking at its status.

"If I didn’t know better, I’d think this was a GrimmPool," Ozma remarked, gazing at the lake with curiosity, though his nose was wrinkled. "It’s very similar—the same sense of sickness and malice, but in this case, I’d say it’s sins."

"Speaking of which, I need to check those GrimmPools later," I mused aloud.

"I’d tell you to be careful, but I don’t think that’s necessary."

"I was thinking of jumping into one of the GrimmPools."

"I take that back. Be careful, and don’t kill yourself," Ozma sighed, and I chuckled.

After "exploring" Nightmare Isle a bit more, we returned to the main island and went to the back of the beach house. Tyrian was tending to the garden, while Nero lay on a tree branch nearby. I sat on the ground and leaned against the tree trunk. The Nightmare-Cat jumped onto my lap as soon as I did so.

Ozma sat leaning against the fence a few meters away. We stayed silent for a few seconds before he commented: “Did you know harems are allowed in Remnant?”

“Who paid you to say that?” I pointed at him, hastily. “Yang? Or was it Blake?”

Either one of them could have done it. Damn! What kind of random topic was this?!

Ozma didn’t even bother hiding his laughter. “No one paid me; I’m just making an observation. I imagine you know why.” He pointed.

“Ugh…” I looked away, stroking Nero on my lap. “Is this some kind of lecture or something?”

“Far from it,” he denied, then asked, “Do you know why harems are allowed—for both men and women?”

“Mortality rate, probably,” I guessed.

“Exactly. That and the fact that Huntsmen and Huntresses have never made up a large portion of the population. Often, someone is left without a partner. Very few end up in relationships with civilians.”

“Completely different lifestyles.”

“Vale’s police already have a certain stigma about dating civilians; with Huntsmen and Huntresses? It’s even worse. The number of couples between Hunters and civilians is tiny,” Ozma sighed, shaking his head.

“The vast majority of Hunters, men or women, who are in relationships end up with two spouses—husbands or wives. Ruby and Yang’s father was like that. Even though Taiyang lied to his daughters, claiming he was always monogamous and had relationships with Raven and Summer separately—probably out of fear they’d follow in his footsteps—look how that turned out.”

He laughed, thoroughly amused, either by Taiyang’s story or the expression I was probably making.

“It didn’t end… Maybe it won’t. Most likely, it never will…” I sighed, frowning. Ozma stayed quiet, letting me speak.

“Do you know how many girlfriends I had before Saya?” I motioned with my chin. He shook his head. “None. Surprised?”

“A little,” he admitted.

“I lived my whole life without romantic relationships. I only had casual dates, one-night stands. I never had to think beyond fleeting moments of pleasure on the bed of some cheap motel.” I closed my eyes as I spoke, my hands still stroking Nero’s fur.

“I can fight for days and nights, stand on the brink of death countless times, have my body broken, shattered, and pieced back together, burned and frozen.” Ozma listened silently. “I wouldn’t even mind fighting a god if necessary. But dealing with feelings, with relationships?… That I never knew how to do. I still don’t…”

Few things were truly taught to me. Almost everything, I had to learn on my own. But dealing with feelings and relationships wasn’t one of those things. I never needed to learn. To be honest, I thought I’d die alone, back on Earth. And I was fine with that…

Ozma stretched one leg and bent the other, resting an arm on his knee.“You know, I’d forgotten… It’s really something easy to forget.” He nodded to himself.

“What?”

“That you’re only twenty-one years old,” he said. “You’re just a young adult who, until a few months ago, was a civilian—”

I interrupted, “That doesn’t excuse my cowardice in pretending to be ignorant.”

“Cowardice?…” He pondered for a moment. “Maybe not.” He didn’t deny it. “But it explains a little. Have you talked to Saya about this?”

I turned the cat in my lap and started stroking Nero’s belly.

“I have. I talked to her when we were in HOTD and a few days ago.” I licked my lips. “Do you know what that silly girl told me?”

Ozma stayed silent. I continued.

“‘I’m selfish, and I’d like to have you all to myself, but I know I won’t be able to. Many other women will appear.’” I snorted, recalling the memory, both amused and irritated—mostly the latter. “It’s ridiculous. I told her that. I told her I didn’t care how many women appeared. If I was in a relationship, I’d be faithful—I wouldn’t cheat. Want to know what she said in response?”

“She said: ‘I know that if I asked, you’d be only mine. But I also know you wouldn’t be able to bear the weight. You’re going to become stronger, more influential, more powerful. I know I’m arrogant sometimes, but I won’t presume I can hold the Sun in my hands.’”

It was absurd, and I partially blamed the bizarre world she was born into. She’d practically told me, 'You can have other women, as long as you don’t forget me.' It was a cliché, and part of me was deeply disgusted by it.

“Many would have been happy with that kind of permission,” Ozma pointed out.

“None of them are in my situation,” I countered. “On Earth, I didn’t think I’d make it past twenty. I did. These days, I don’t think I’ll make it past twenty-two, let alone thirty.”

His eyes widened slightly. “You think you’ll die live on stream.”

“I hope not, but I think so... How many times have I already come close to dying?…” I sighed. “I know the enemies I’ll face, the battles I’ll throw myself into… All it takes is one mistake, one slip-up, and the broadcast ends.”

"Monogamy was my normal my whole life. It still is. But I don't rule out the possibility of a harem. It'd be foolish not to consider it, given my situation…" I looked up and met Ozma's gaze. "But not now… Not now… Not before I at least have a reliable way to travel back to the worlds I've been to… Not before I feel like I won’t die in the next fight..."

“And when do you think that will be?”

“… I don’t know.”

I wanted to believe it would be soon, but I was too pessimistic for that...

[...]

[6 Days Until the Return to Terraria]

I drowned myself in work after the conversation I had with Ozma. No one seemed to suspect the reason—or at least, I don’t think they did. I spent the last two days working on the Proto-A, crafting the arrays and Mystic Symbols for the entire ship, both inside and out. I completed two, maybe three weeks' worth of work in just three days.

My only breaks were to eat with everyone and, occasionally—rarely—play a game or two. Roman had invited me to play cards, saying Taiyang had given up on the game. Sometimes, Ruby invited me to hang out at the lake, swim with the others, or simply float around.

I didn’t refuse those invitations. As foolish as it was to bury myself in work to avoid thinking, I knew my time left in Remnant was short, and not enjoying it would be even more idiotic than I was already being.

It must have been around three in the afternoon when an Atlas ship appeared on the horizon, flying toward the lake. I sensed its approach from afar and could feel who was onboard: Penny, James, Winter, Amber, Dahlia, Team JNPR, CFVY, Glynda, and a few others I didn’t recognize.

“I get why half of these people are coming, but what about the rest?” I ignored the unknown faces, though one of them was bound. But why were Teams CFVY and JNPR here?

(“If I had to guess, to apologize.”)

“To apologize?… For what?” I muttered.

(“…You really didn’t care, did you?”) Ozma sounded oddly impressed. (“For how they treated you before, after the fight with Salem. They must be feeling guilty about it.”)

“That’s… entirely possible.” I sighed. I knew they’d felt bad—I noticed at the time—but I hadn’t thought much about it since. “Well, let’s go greet them.”

I didn’t bother questioning how Ozma knew that, given he was "dead" at the time. He probably watched the recording of the stream or heard someone mention it in the (CHAT).

No one seemed surprised to see the ship land near the Proto-A; I had already warned them. The first to step out of the ship was made of metal.

“SAL-U-TA-TIONS!” Penny shouted before spotting me. She then flew straight at me. “Devas!”

My vision was blocked by her torso as she hugged me tightly, followed by an explosion of messages from Stark and the appearance of a gear before yet another burst.

[(MOD)GeniusBillionairePlayboy]If it isn’t everyone’s favorite robot girl: Penny!

[(MOD)Jarvis]I thought I was everyone’s favorite robot, Mr. Stark, even though technically I’m not a robot.

[(MOD)GeniusBillionairePlayboy]You’re our favorite robot BOY, Jarvis. Penny’s got the female spot; you’ve got the male.(Iron Man emote sighing and saying: “Parenthood is hard.”)

“Good to see you too, Penny. But you’ve got to be careful; you could break someone’s neck doing that.” My voice came out muffled. Penny let go, jumped to the ground, and kicked up a little dust.

“I know, but my data says you’re resilient enough to withstand even a high-powered anti-Huntsmen sniper rifle shot, so I wasn’t worried.” She smiled before pulling something out of her skirt pocket—my phone—and handing it to me. “Here, I kept it safe for you.”

“Thanks.” I tossed the phone into the VoidBag. Saved me a trip.

I turned to look at the others. James and Glynda seemed exhausted; Winter looked worn out, though less so than those two. Amber was staring at me, while Dahlia gazed around in awe. But it was Teams JNPR and CFVY who caught my attention.

As soon as I looked at them, they hesitated before Jaune growled and stepped forward, bowing nearly ninety degrees.

“I—we want to apologize, Devas.” He acted as the spokesperson, but the entire Team JNPR and Team CFVY followed his lead, even Amber, for some reason. I hadn’t even spoken to you, woman!

…But I could feel their sincerity radiating.

Ozma was right. I sighed, placing a hand on Jaune’s shoulder—he stiffened—helping him stand upright.

“There’s no need for apologies, and I mean that for all of you.” I looked at each one: Pyrrha, Nora, Ren, Jaune, Coco, Velvet, Fox, Yatsuhashi, and Amber. “I’m neither upset nor hurt. Don’t worry about it.”

The people I actually cared about didn’t react the same way as they did, and that’s what truly mattered. The rest? I barely cared.

The atmosphere felt lighter—so to speak—after my words. Glynda seized the moment, stepping closer and locking eyes with me.

“Ozpin is in there, isn’t he? Winter told me he is. Get him out here. I need to beat the hell out of him for leaving me with that damn mess!” She growled, completely livid.

Stark’s message explosion was oddly fitting.

[(MOD)GeniusBillionairePlayboy]This one’s gone full psycho. Careful—I had an ex like this once; it ended with jail time.

Mentally agreeing with Stark’s warning, I replied, “The body’s still mine; keep your BDSM kink away from me!” I knew she was a dominatrix!

“I don’t care! Swap places with him or stick him in one of those Nightmares, or I swear I’ll…” She didn’t finish, but I had a feeling the next words would have been “have a heart attack.” At least, it seemed that way to me.

But she did say something useful.

“I hadn’t thought of that… Ozma?”

(“It might work… But honestly, I’m not in the mood to try it right now…") His voice echoed in my head and Ruby’s phone, as she had joined me. Jaune shrank as she looked at him, even more so when Yang did the same.

“I’ll bring Atlas crashing down and take the Relic of Creation to make something that’ll pull him out of you…” Glynda muttered to me—or to Ozma, in this case.

“That’s entirely possible,” Jinn chimed in, confirming Glynda’s idea. “I mean, the Relic of Creation can create an item to extract a soul from a body, but it would return shortly after if the user requested another creation.”

“Don’t encourage the crazed two-meter-tall woman, Jinn.” I glared at her. She had the audacity to feign innocence and stick out her tongue.

(“Let’s do it... I’m terrified of what an overly-caffeinated, furious Glynda might do.”)

“I don’t think she can hurt him,” Roman pointed out, gesturing at me. “Not even close, actually.”

(“Oh no, I’m not worried about Devas. I’m worried about Atlas. James’ military would be obliterated.”)

“I’m too tired to argue or refute that statement,” James sighed.

Before Glynda could have a heart attack or stroke from stress, I closed my eyes and focused. Ozma approached the nearest Nightmare, which happened to be humanoid, besides Tyrian—a Beowolf—and placed his hand on its head. It took a while, but after about five minutes, Ozma’s body went limp, and the Nightmare’s eyes took on a very human look.

I pulled Nightmare-Ozma out of my Spiritual Realm.

“This is entirely unsanitary and unpleasant. It feels like I’m submerged in liquid waste and warm, molten garbage.” Ozma’s voice came out of the Nightmare’s mouth, sounding thoroughly unsettled.

“Noted: never possess a Nightmare.” I wrote the statement in the air with an imaginary pen and stepped aside. “Don’t kill him, folks—my Nightmares are disposable, but Ozma is not. I don’t know what would happen to his mind if the body dies.”

Maybe Ozma knew the answer, but he chose to remain silent and merely nodded. Arguing against me wouldn’t help.

Nightmare-Ozma’s body began to float, restrained by Glynda’s semblance, but he tensed his muscles and resisted, eventually dropping back to the ground. Her semblance still surrounded him, but he could move.

He wasn’t using Aura—his soul was in my Spiritual Realm—yet somehow, he was tapping into nightmare energy and the physical strength of the Nightmare’s body to fight back.

“I won’t die without putting up a fight.” He waved a clawed hand at Glynda.

“You’re not going to die, don’t worry… But fight? Oh, you’ll definitely try…” She smiled. Nightmare-Ozma, wisely, bolted in the opposite direction.

“While those two have their BDSM roleplay, how about a barbecue?” Qrow suggested, glancing at the direction Ozma and Glynda had disappeared into.

“I want barbecue!” Millia jumped out of my pocket and formed a tiny hand, pointing at Qrow. “You, Grill Wizard, light the grill!”

“That’s the coolest and cutest title I’ve ever been given…” Qrow muttered. “If anyone messes with the slime, they’ll answer to me.”

“You’re not the first to say that,” Yang patted her uncle on the shoulder, “and you definitely won’t be the last.”

A message popped out of a stereotypical wizard’s hat.

[WiseWizardGleam]Young Millia has earned much protection. Not that it’s unwarranted.(Emote of an old wizard nodding sagely)

As everyone began to settle into the party, I overheard Ruby mentioning something about apologizing to Jaune to Yang, who sighed and went off to help Qrow. Amber approached me, accompanied by Dahlia. The Summer Maiden was the first to speak.

“I must say, this is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. The desert has its charm, but nothing like this.” She continued to look around, still in awe of the islands.

“I told you traveling the world was worth it,” Dahlia nudged Amber before turning to me. “Devas, right?…”

“As far as I know, yes. Amber, I presume?” I retorted.

“Yes, as far as I know,” she chuckled lightly, then sighed. “You’re the one who saved me, aren’t you?…”

“Jinn made the potion, Winter anchored your soul. I just helped here and there.” I shrugged. “You don’t owe me anything if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“Exactly what Winter said you’d say…” She murmured to herself. “Even so, thank you. If it weren’t for you, Jinn wouldn’t have left Haven or acquired the materials for the potion, and Winter wouldn’t have been able to copy the parasite. Like it or not, you saved me.”

I simply nodded. After a brief exchange of words, we joined the others. When Glynda returned, carrying the relatively intact Nightmare-Ozma, I invited her, James, and Penny to the stream.

[Invite sent to person: Penny Polendina - Accepted! Nickname: P.E.N.N.Y][Invite sent to person: James Ironwood - Accepted! Nickname: AtlasGeneral][Invite sent to person: Glynda Goodwitch - Accepted! Nickname: G-GWitch]

Penny stuck with her official callsign, saying it felt appropriate. James lacked creativity, and Glynda, in her own words, chose the nickname she’d had in her youth.

I considered inviting Dahlia and Amber but decided it wasn’t necessary.

The only members of Team JNPR and Team CFVY I was more attached to were Jaune and Velvet. Maybe I’d invite those two later...

("You let her win.") I commented mentally, with my mic muted.

("I have no idea what you’re talking about.")

("Even though the Nightmare body was strange and you didn’t have good control over the nightmare energy, Glynda is physically and mentally exhausted.") I laid out the facts before repeating: ("You let her win.")

(“…Perhaps, but it doesn’t matter.”) Ozma didn’t deny it this time. (“And, without a very good reason, I’ll never possess one of your Nightmares again. It’s disgusting and utterly vile.”)

(“Let’s hope that reason never comes up.”) Because if it did, things would have to be dire…

[…]

[5 Days Until the Return to Terraria]

The day passed peacefully. All the newcomers to the "lake vacation," as Ruby dubbed it, decided to stay. James mentioned that he had handled most of the pressing matters, and Glynda explained she’d granted the students three weeks off—a reward for the world being rid of a major threat.

A smart move, if you asked me.

Around two in the morning, when most were asleep and the few still awake were drinking by a campfire Dahlia had effortlessly created, I ended the stream and announced I was going to meditate and work on something in my Spiritual Realm. Then, I headed to the ship. Sneaking away unnoticed was relatively easy.

I found Blake and Yang near the Atlas ship. James had told me about one of the passengers I hadn’t recognized: it wasn’t a crew member but Adam. The idiot had helped Watts try to infiltrate Amity while I fought Salem. His squad had been decimated by the Ace-Ops, and Watts was locked in a cell in Atlas.

Adam hadn’t been executed on the spot only because I’d asked James to capture him if he showed up. I knew Blake wanted some sort of closure. Like it or not, Adam was already a dead man—no court would spare him.

“Do you want to talk to him alone?” I asked. Blake had said she wanted me and Yang there when I told her about Adam, but that didn’t mean she wanted us inside the room.

“I… Let me speak with him alone first. After that…” She sighed. “I’m not sure… What’s going to happen to him after this?”

“Death or life imprisonment.” It was one hundred percent death, but I added the other option to ease her mind a little.

“…I’ll speak with him alone, then. I have things I need to say to him, but… Can you both stay by the door?” She asked, her voice fragile.

“If you want to talk to him while I hold him by the throat, just say the word.” Yang smiled. Blake returned it with her own, looking calmer.

The conversation Blake had with Adam involved yelling loud enough for me to seal the air around them to ensure no one else could hear. There was a lot of crying and venting of frustrations. It felt like something I shouldn’t be listening to. From Yang’s expression, she seemed to feel the same.

Blake came out about half an hour later, with Yang accompanying her back to the Proto-A. I stepped into Adam’s cell.

“You’re less messed up than I expected you to be.” I said to the Faunus. He was missing an arm and an eye, but aside from that, he was relatively intact.

“Here to gloat at my misery, monster?” He spoke with little energy but kept his one eye fixed on my face.

“Monster? Rude. I’m human. And no, I’m not here to kill you.” I sat in front of him, about a meter away, crossing one leg and resting an arm on my knee.

“I felt what you did. Everyone did. Your sin… You also killed the witch… No human could do what you did...” He shifted slightly, making himself more comfortable. “So, are you here to kill me?”

“I wouldn’t waste my time. But tell me, did Sienna know about your actions?”

“Would my answer change anything?”

“Whether the White Fang’s base in Menagerie turns to dust, along with everyone inside it, or not.” I wouldn’t actually do it—I’d simply arrest Sienna and hand her over to James—but Adam didn’t need to know that. I was already a monster in his eyes, so I might as well play the part.

I felt his muscles tense, and fear spiked. He answered hastily.

“No! She didn’t know. I ignored her warnings! No one but me and my men knew!” He was telling the truth—I could tell.

"Then you're even more of an imbecile than I thought..." I sighed. "What did Salem promise you?"

He hesitated but answered, "... Two hundred years of peace for the Faunus. Menagerie would be free of Grimms if Vale fell and you were captured."

"It's a good deal. Well, partially. There are flaws, like what would happen when someone figured out what you did. Being the only place not attacked is, at the very least, suspicious." Not to mention refugees and everything else. On the surface, it was a decent deal—almost.

"It was, in any case. The witch is dead, and nothing has changed. I've just failed again... Once more..."

"You know, you're acting more rationally than I was told you would."

"Blake?"

"Yes, for the most part." Jinn had also told me some things about Adam. I didn't agree with anything he had done, but I understood the hate.

"She didn't lie. I was acting like a wild animal before," he muttered. "Being alone in a cell for days makes you think, reflect. I could have done better... with her... with everyone... Why are you here?"

I drummed my fingers against the cell's metallic floor. Letting the silence fill the space for a moment, I finally answered.

"Boredom, in part. But, to be honest, I wanted to talk to you, just to satisfy my curiosity."

"Heh... Curiosity. How funny." He laughed, clearly forced. "Tell me, you claim you're human, but if you were a Faunus, what would you have done in my place? Would you have sought vengeance, like I did?"

"Not peace?"

"I stopped lying a long time ago." He scoffed. "I was—I am—angry. I didn't want peace; I wanted revenge for everything humans did to my kind—to me. Revenge or peace?"

"I like to think I would have sought peace, but I know myself too well to believe that would be true," I replied. Ozma stayed silent, simply listening to everything.

"Then we have something in common. I once thought that way... What does that say about which of us is worse?"

"Who knows...?" I stood up. "Want to know what I'm going to do now?"

"Kill me?" He was afraid; I could feel it. But he didn't blink as he stared into my eyes.

"No... I'm going to fly to Atlas and force Jacques to change how he runs his company. Either that, or he loses everything." His wide-eyed expression was full of shock, surprise, and disbelief.

"... Why?" He spat. "You're human."

"And what stops me from doing the right thing?" I turned and began walking toward the cell's exit. "It was a good talk, Adam Taurus. Goodbye."

"Your name..." he called after me. "What's your name?"

"I'm sure you know it," I said without turning around before continuing. "Devas... My name is Devas."

"Devas... I’ll die with that name in my memory, know that... Human." He didn’t thank me or say anything else.

I sealed the room behind him, leaving him alone.

[…]

I reached Atlas in less than an hour after speaking with Adam. My maximum speed, combined with magic and the Angel Graves, made me the fastest being on the planet by a wide margin. Jacques was awake in his office, almost as if he had been expecting me. He wasn’t—the shock, surprise, and fear on his face were genuine.

“D-Devas?!” His voice was high-pitched, but he recovered quickly, motioning to the chair in front of him. “To what do I owe the visit? Please, have a seat.”

"I think you know why I'm here." I leaned on the chair but didn’t sit. His fear spiked.

"Y-You came to kill me?..."

I huffed in amusement. "Funny, that’s the second time someone’s asked me that today. The last guy is still alive. As for you... Let’s see."

Jacques trembled more than a leaf. I wasn’t going to kill him, for a simple reason: he was Weiss’s father. Even though she didn’t like him, killing him would destroy my relationship with her and Team RWBY. I valued their friendship too much for that.

Besides, the chaos his death would cause would negatively impact Atlas. Remnant was already reeling from recent revelations. Adding this to the mix was unnecessary.

"Do you know what that stream was, Jacques?" I asked.

"N... No." He was still stammering. "What was it?"

"Something of mine. To summarize: the broadcast, The Stream, is sent to various worlds." I explained, leaning against the wall. "I’m not even from Remnant; I came here because a friend was in danger... Do you think I’m lying?"

“No—”

"Don’t lie, Jacques. I’ll know." My eyes glowed orange as I brought the Echo Humanitatis to the surface. I had to restrain myself to keep him from having a heart attack. "You don’t believe me, obviously. And you have your reasons; magic is one thing, aliens are another. But think: what would I gain by lying to you?..."

"... Nothing." He managed to squeeze the word out. "Why?… Why tell me this?"

"A warning. Think, Jacques. I came to Remnant; other worlds watch me… What’s the next step?"

The clock on the wall ticked three times before Jacques responded.

"Can you bring people from other worlds to Remnant?…" he ventured, hesitating as if afraid he was wrong. He wasn’t.

"And what do you think will happen when I not only bring others to Remnant but connect the worlds, creating a doorway?… Not all businessmen are monsters like you, Jacques, chasing profit at any cost. Many won’t like what you do in the mines…"

Stark was one of them. He sought profit, but not at the expense of others' lives. When he realized what his weapons were doing in terrorists' hands, he stopped and changed. Stark would destroy Jacques's company if I brought Stark Industries to Remnant…

"Your choice, Jacques: how long do you want your empire to last?… Because many of these companies will have me as an ally… You won’t." My voice echoed like a whisper. It wouldn’t last long—not with him at the top.

"... What should I do?" he asked, unable to look away.

"It’s simple, Jacques. Improve. Change how you treat Faunus in your company; don’t exploit them. Forget your cheap labor and extra profit." I stared him down. The room’s shadows darkened, and eyes began to blink within them. "I want a public statement from you in twenty-four hours. I want changes in two days…”

My shadow twisted, extending toward Jacques’s shadow. He didn’t take his eyes off me but saw his shadow move, eyes blinking within it. I let him close his eyes in fear; when he reopened them, I was no longer in the room, but my voice still echoed:

"As I said, Jacques, don’t lie. I’ll know…”

With Weiss’s father sufficiently terrified, I strolled leisurely through the mansion.

("I thought you would kill him.") Ozma’s voice echoed in my mind.

"I considered it, but he’s Weiss’s father. As much as she dislikes him, killing him would destroy my relationship with her and Team RWBY. I value their friendship too much for that," I explained aloud.

"Besides, the chaos his death would bring would negatively impact Atlas. Remnant is already confused enough thanks to the revelations from a few days ago. Adding that to the equation is unnecessary."

("Fair.")

I stopped walking as I reached Weiss's mother’s room. The guards didn’t even notice when I entered. There she was, half-naked, no bra or underwear, wearing only a sheer babydoll, sprawled on the floor with her head propped against a chair, a bottle of liquor in her hand.

She looked a lot like Weiss, but older, with twenty years of alcoholism weighing on her.

"Here we go again…" I sighed, lifting the woman with the Bone Helm's hands, which materialized on my head with a mere thought. After fixing her clothes, I laid her on the bed and placed my right hand on her head.

Slowly and carefully, I began to absorb her negative emotions. I couldn’t do much for deeply rooted trauma or her alcohol addiction, but I could at least alleviate most of it.

After some time, I sprinkled a bit of Purification Powder on her. I wrote a quick note, leaving it on the bedside table along with some pills infused with healing potion. Then, I jumped out of the window and started running through the air, heading back to Proto-A.

"That should help her..."

("Willow?")

"Weiss."

[…]

("What’s your plan? Are you going to kill Raven?")

"No."

("Because she’s Yang’s mother?")

"That’s part of it, but not the only reason. Killing Raven would leave a void in the Mistral underworld, which would have a ripple effect on the population."

("She’s already affecting them negatively. Raven pillages and kills,") Ozma pointed out.

"For now, yes. But I’ll change that. I don’t think she’ll refuse if I ask her to alter the tribe’s ways…" I looked down at the tribe below me. I was standing in midair, supported by the Angel Graves.

("She won’t dare,") Ozma agreed before adding: ("But why?")

"Why what?"

("Why do you care enough to intervene?")

"Why do I care here but didn’t do anything before or elsewhere?"

("Exactly.")

"… Yang and Qrow, mostly. I’m not going to play the vigilante, but Raven, aside from being a Maiden, is family to those two. They don’t hold her in high regard, but knowing a family member leads a bandit tribe must leave a bitter taste. At least for Yang."

("Fair enough.") I could sense Ozma's mental shrug. The question had been more out of curiosity than anything else.

With the conversation over, I let my body fall from the sky. I relished the freefall as much as I could before twisting midair and landing silently.

The bandits were awake — some of them, at least — gathered around fires, talking about, of all things, me.

"That thing made things easier for us. So many villages evacuated, just waiting for us to grab all we can carry," a stocky man with two scars across his forehead said, gnawing on a chicken leg with his mouth full.

The man next to him, younger and with a cigarette dangling from his lips, spat on the ground. "The problem is the lack of people. No people, no brothels. It’s been too long. What’s the point of having money if we can’t spend it on women?"

"You could always try your luck with one of the tribe’s women," a third man suggested, taking a swig of beer.

"I like my dick attached, thanks. I’m not risking it with any of the women here. They’re all nuts," the younger one mocked.

"But you have no problem with disease-ridden prostitutes?"

"Few really have it, and I use protection anyway," he shrugged. "I’m not into STDs, and I don’t want a kid. I’m one of a kind, and that’s fine by me; I don’t need a copy of myself running around."

I listened to their conversation while walking among the tents. None of them noticed me. At that moment, I was just a shadow in their peripheral vision, thanks to my nightmare energy. I spent some time wandering around Raven’s camp, eavesdropping on murmurs and whispers. Even couples inside their tents… those I ignored.

"No mentions of rape, in a bandit tribe?…" I murmured. "That’s… unexpected. A good kind of unexpected."

("I don’t have all the details, but Qrow told me one of Raven’s changes was that anyone caught committing rape is castrated on the spot and then executed. She also implemented a rule where anyone who takes in an orphan — if one of the tribe’s members dies — receives extra spoils until the child turns twelve,") Ozma explained.

"… I’m genuinely surprised." I waved at the air. "The saying is true: even a broken clock is right twice a day."

Still, it was more than a little hypocritical for Raven to enforce an orphan adoption rule when she’d abandoned Yang with Taiyang to play at being a bandit.

I found Raven in the largest tent of the tribe. She was awake, speaking with a woman who had short brown hair, blue eyes, and wild clothing. Vernal — I heard Raven call her. They were discussing a route to loot as many abandoned villages as possible before the villagers returned.

"We have about one or two more days," Raven said, pointing at the map and tracing a line with her finger. "If we follow this path, we can move farther away from the kingdom. Maybe that’ll buy us another day."

"I could go ahead on foot. I move faster alone than the whole tribe, and you can open a portal for me," Vernal suggested. "We’d gain more time that way."

Raven stayed silent, analyzing the map carefully.

"We can do that after moving away from the village we’re near. We’ll start at dawn. I want us a few miles out before stopping." She decided. Vernal simply nodded in agreement.

I started clapping.

Raven froze, turning immediately while drawing her sword, and Vernal assumed a fighting stance. Both stopped when they saw me. I’d seen sheets of paper with more color than their faces in that moment.

"Good plan. But I’d follow the continent's edge before stopping at a village near the sea." I walked up to the map, tracing my finger like Raven had earlier, stopping at a coastal village. "Most coastal villages haven’t been evacuated. Your men were complaining about not being able to spend their money. If that keeps up, morale will drop when you go back to raiding, and someone might do something stupid."

I turned to face Raven, sensing her Aura shift. She was about to activate her Semblance.

"I’m not here to attack anyone, but if you try to flee, I might change my mind." I blinked, and my eyes glowed orange. Raven’s Aura settled.

"… What do you want?" she forced out. Her voice didn’t waver, but I could feel her emotions: Raven was terrified, very terrified, and, for some bizarre reason, aroused…

... What the fuck?

("Raven loves strength. To her, strength is everything. That’s one of the reasons she got with Taiyang. He was the second strongest man in their year and remained so until graduation,") Ozma explained.

("Who was the strongest?") I asked, ignoring the two women.

("Qrow. I’m pretty sure Raven didn’t go for her brother only because a child between them might’ve been born with some defect due to inbreeding. To her, that would’ve been a weakness.")

I blinked. Alright, then…

Raven slowly pulled out a chair and sat down. Vernal, still frozen, only moved after Raven ordered her to, taking a seat next to the leader. The conversation was brief. I didn’t want to waste time here, and it boiled down to threats.

‘Do it, or I’ll rip the Maiden power from your soul, break your arms and legs, and throw you to Qrow to be spoon-fed.’

I won’t lie, Raven’s "no rape" rule worked slightly in her favor. After forcing her to confirm she would change the tribe in some way — frankly, I didn’t care how — I cast a few Nightmares into the shadows of everyone present and left.

I returned to Proto-A before dawn.

[...]

[4 Days Until the Return to Terraria]

“My mom called me this morning.” Weiss found me as soon as she woke up. She hesitated for a moment before hugging me, sniffling against my stomach. “… Thank you.”

I returned the hug briefly before responding, “It’s nothing…”

The rest of the morning was calm. Winter came to thank me, though far less emotionally than Weiss. James asked if I had anything to do with Jacques’ announcement on the CCT about reforming the Schnee Industries. I denied it, but he didn’t believe me. We carried on regardless.

Around noon, the topic of musical instruments and singing came up. Amber asked Weiss what it was like to be a singer. I was listening from a distance when Yang shouted my name.

“Devas, come here for a moment!” I jumped off Proto-A and landed beside them: Ruby, Weiss, Yang, Blake, and Amber.

Dahlia was with Jinn, Glynda, and Kali, the four chatting with their feet in the water. Roman was playing cards with James, Qrow, Taiyang, and Ghira, trying to convince Roman to bet a seat on the Atlas Council. Neo was sunbathing on a chair next to Winter.

Teams JNPR and CFVY were swimming, joined by some soldiers on the shore along with Penny. I was sure Penny could swim, but for some reason, she opted to try fishing instead. Millia was nestled in my shirt pocket as usual, while Lucy rested on Ruby’s waist. The axe seemed content these days; Ruby made a point of clearing twenty to thirty trees daily.

“What is it?” I asked. “Someone died?”

“Why do you always ask that?…” Weiss pinched her nose.

“Nah, we just wanted to ask something: do you play any instruments?” Ruby asked, taking over for Yang.

“That depends… I can play one song on several instruments, but that’s about it.” My two friends and I on Earth had made an effort to learn this one song on as many instruments as possible.

[(MOD)JinnOfTheLamp]You know you’ll have to play the song now, right?(Chibi Jinn pointing to the left emote)

I ignored the message and glanced left, where Jinn and the others were approaching. Not just them; the people in the lake were swimming toward the shore as well.

“Did you tell everyone?”

“Maybe…” Jinn hummed. “Music?”

Shaking my head, I pulled a piano from the VoidBag. After setting it up, I began playing note by note: re mi fa sol la RE DO la re la sol fa mi…

The tune was upbeat, and I refused to sing, wanting to see if anyone on the stream recognized it. I wasn’t disappointed.

[AdvocateOfGenderEquality]It’s Bad Apple! Hell yeah! The meme is real!(Generic guy screaming with joy emote)

I could play this song on about twenty instruments. As Kazuma once said, “The meme is real. If it makes sound, it plays Bad Apple.” I made sure to honor that.

[…]

[3 Days Until the Return to Terraria]

“Are you sure this is the place?” I asked, standing in midair above the ocean.

(“I’m pretty sure it is. It’s been a good two hundred years since I threw the Relic of Choice into the sea. My memory’s a bit fuzzy.”) Ozma’s voice echoed through the stream.

Jinn also responded, this time sending a message from a pirate ship sailing in the distance.

[(MOD)JinnOfTheLamp]It’s about a kilometer west, then dive. That was the location before you invited Ruby to the stream and messed with my sight. It shouldn’t have shifted too much.(Chibi Jinn shrugging emote)

“Let’s dive, then…” I murmured, heading to the spot Jinn indicated. When she told me to stop, I jumped into the sea.

I didn’t have thalassophobia, and no Grimm here could harm me, but sinking into the ocean’s darkness, with all sound and light vanishing, was unsettling as hell…

The pressure was manageable; my body had adapted due to the gravity training I’d been doing daily. Still, I had to use gravitational magic to avoid being crushed as I descended further. Lack of air wasn’t an issue; I could hold my breath for a long time. I was almost certain my skin would start absorbing oxygen from the water if I stayed submerged long enough… but that would be an experiment for another day.

What really screwed me up was the internal pressure on my lungs. Being compressed from the inside was horribly painful, and I needed time for my body to adjust.

At the bottom, eight thousand meters below sea level, I ordered the Nightmares to search for the relic while I inspected the ocean floor. They were in their ‘hallucination’ form, making them intangible and immune to pressure, the only reason they hadn’t turned to paste.

It took about twenty minutes to find the Relic of Choice. In that time, I ended up killing a few Sea Feilong, gaining their ‘template’ for the Nightmares. The largest was about forty meters long, which was pretty massive. I stored the relic in the VoidBag without even analyzing it. This thing was almost useless to me; I’d figure out whether to melt it down later.

[AsuraLady]Can we leave? I don’t like the ocean, let alone the bottom of it. Just watching is giving me chills…(Pink lion hiding under blankets emote)

[(MOD)GeniusBillionairePlayboy]PTSD from that horrible thing in DS’s mind? I know the feeling…(Iron Man launching missiles into the sea emote)

Ignoring the messages, I emerged from a small submarine and started swimming toward the surface. The ascent was smoother; my body had already adjusted to the pressure. About half an hour later, I broke the surface.

“Now, where are the GrimmLands again?…” I murmured. Jinn gave me the location, and I arrived there an hour later.

The GrimmLands were exactly what I expected. Everything reeked of death, bad feelings, and sin. Literally, it smelled like sulfur, and almost everything was black: the Grimm, the ground, the trees, even the sky, which, despite it being day, was dark with a blood-red hue. This place must’ve been even more terrifying at night—more than it already was.

[TheBestAndMostBeautifulThief]I’d recommend not jumping into that very ugly, evil-looking pool of Grimm tar.

[BrowCranwen]I agree with the thief. I think taking an acid bath would be healthier.

[AdvocateOfGenderEquality]Is encouraging him to jump wrong? I kind of want to see what happens…

[(MOD)GeniusBillionairePlayboy]It’s wrong, but I also want to see. Against my entertainment, I say: Don’t jump. It’ll hurt.

[(MOD)RedHuntressLive]DON’T JUMP! (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻

[AsuraLady]DON’T YOU DARE JUMP! ┻━┻ ︵ヽ(`Д´)ﾉ︵ ┻━┻

The messages popped up randomly, floating in my vision, staying just long enough for me to read them before vanishing, devoured by tiny Mini-Grimm.

“I won’t jump… I think.” I waved the messages away with a hand gesture and crouched down, observing the GrimmPool. “Is this where Salem dived in?”

(“One of them, yes. I don’t think you’d die if you fell in there… But it would hurt. A lot.”) Ozma warned.

“That much, I know. I can feel the destructive force within it… It’s like a dark, diluted version of the God of Light’s divinity.”

(“The younger brother’s divinity?”)

“Not quite… It feels like something he personally touched or created. Almost like the relics.” I scratched my chin, noting how I hadn’t trimmed my beard. “Let’s do a simple test…”

I pulled out a Nightmare and tossed it into the GrimmPool. It died instantly — actually, it exploded, overloaded by the miasma. The second one lasted a bit longer, but only because I commanded it not to absorb anything.

“Interesting…”

I spent the next few minutes experimenting, throwing more of my Nightmares into the GrimmPool. The one that lasted the longest survived for about five minutes before being consumed by the black sludge. After that, I tried some Grimm. They weren’t affected by the pool.

Or rather, they could be if they absorbed the miasma like my Nightmares, but they didn’t. The GrimmPool didn’t consume them, presumably because they were already aligned with it, unlike my creations.

Once the tests were done, I placed my hand into the pool’s black sludge. It burned — badly — but that was all. The miasma tried to corrupt me, to turn me into a Grimm, but it failed miserably. It had more success trying to destroy me, but my regeneration handled it. After a minute, I withdrew my arm.

“It’s useful, but less than I expected…” I murmured. With a thought, I began pulling the sludge into the VoidBag. “At least I found the perfect fuel for Shadowflame.”

Absorbing the pool’s energy might be beneficial, but feeding it to Shadowflame was the better option. I could grow stronger on my own; the flame needed fuel. Until now, I’d been feeding it with my own energy and a few fallen angel feathers. This sludge would become its main sustenance.

I spent the next hour draining every GrimmPool I came across. Eventually, I discovered they were all connected to a massive underground lake, and I realized I couldn’t drain everything. Well, I could, but the liquid regenerated on its own.

“This crap is tied to the world itself…” It was like Salem, but unlike her, I couldn’t destroy it. The sludge emerged naturally from the ground in this part of the planet.

It was like the world’s resentment, something either artificially created by the Dark Brother or stirred by him. I had no idea how to destroy this system…

(“At least this might reduce the number of Grimm being generated.”) Ozma tried to sound optimistic.

“Yes… It might even help with the kind of Grimm spawned by people’s negative emotions…”

(“You’re irritated.”) It wasn’t a question.

“Frustrated is the right word.” I sighed. I wanted to eradicate the Grimm, but that was impossible.

Even if I destroyed the pools, the Grimm would still spawn from the negative feelings of everyone on the planet. But yes, I was frustrated.

“Let’s get out of here. This place reeks. The only dark and rotten land I like is the one I own.” I kicked the ground and flew away, heading back to Proto-A.

I took two things from the GrimmLands back with me: the black sludge from the GrimmPools and everything inside Salem’s castle. It was just sitting there, so I saw no harm in taking it…

[…]

[1 Days Until the Return to Terraria]

I thought I could avoid this. I couldn’t…

The day had passed normally — or as normally as things could in this place: card games, barbecues, sweets, random antics. An example was Neo using her Semblance to make Jaune think he was losing his mind. She subtly altered his vision, making everyone’s eyes flash pink at random moments.

It was so quick and discreet that Jaune genuinely started to believe he was going insane.

It was around one in the morning when I ended the stream. That’s when Ruby ambushed me. She seemed to have been waiting for this exact moment because she appeared almost immediately after I turned everything off.

“I came alone… The others thought it’d be better if only I talked to you.” She was in her pajamas: loose white pants with pink hearts and a thin black shirt with a small heart on the chest.

(“What are the odds this isn’t about relationships?”) I asked Ozma.

(“Denial? Shameful…”). The old wizard chuckled before cutting the connection between our senses, granting privacy to me and Ruby.

“Sit down. Let’s talk.” I gestured for her to take a seat. I was on the roof of Proto-A, nearly finished with the temporary matrices. I was planning to paint them once we returned to Terraria.

I used magic to stir the air around us, keeping the warmth in and the cold out. Though I didn’t feel hot or cold easily, I knew Ruby did — especially in such thin clothing. Inside the ship, the heater worked fine, but out here in Mistral, it was about five degrees at night.

“Do you know the group chat you made when we asked? The one with Yang, Weiss, Blake, Saya, and me?” she began.

“I do…” I had a feeling where this was going the moment the request was made. “You talked with her and figured out how she thinks?”

Ruby nodded, her cheeks slightly flushed. “Yes… We did. And we also figured out how you think. You don’t want a relationship right now, do you?”

Saying I didn’t want one was an overstatement. If I could have peace, just live with my family and friends, I’d take it.

“No, not right now…”

… But that wasn’t possible. Not now.

“I knew it…” Ruby murmured. “It’s fine. I’m too young anyway. But I’ll turn sixteen next month. Yang and the others turned eighteen a few months ago… We can wait.”

Of course it’d be like this… Fuck it! Goddamn hell!

“Your birthday’s next month?” I asked, shifting to a different subject.

“You’re changing the subject,” Ruby retorted.

“No, I’m genuinely curious. I won’t dodge it.” I could avoid it, but I’d never run away. “I’ve never been much of a fan of birthdays, so I let it slip… I guess I owe the other girls a present too…”

At least I knew Saya’s birthday: August 21st. I had sent her a gift. It wasn’t anything grand since, at the time, I hadn’t mastered Mystic Symbols and Runes well. I ended up buying the best staff I could find in Terraria and sent it to her.

“Hmm…” Ruby stared at me. “My birthday is October 31st, on Halloween. I still find it odd how the holiday’s name is the same…”

“Coincidences.” I shrugged. Hesitating, I added, “Mine’s November 1st.”

Her eyes practically lit up. "It's the day after mine! Or almost... considering the time difference, but the date is close!"

"Yeah... close..." She noticed my lack of enthusiasm.

"You don't like your birthday, do you?"

"... No." I replied. "Let's leave that story for another time. Let's get back to the topic."

Ruby didn't press further, just watched me for a moment before standing up and walking toward the edge of the ship.

"That was all." She turned around, hands behind her back, smiling. "I just wanted to say that I'll wait. I don't know about the other girls, maybe they'll change their minds... But I won't."

Then, she simply fell backward. I knew Ruby wouldn't hurt herself from the fall, but apparently, my body didn't share that certainty. In an instant, I appeared beside her and caught her in a princess carry before gently landing.

"I knew you'd do that." She poked my chest before leaping out of my arms. Before I could react, Ruby kissed me on the cheek. Less than a second later, she had vanished, her own cheeks flushed. Only her voice remained in the distance:

"... Good night."

I sighed and looked up at the moon. It glowed softly as my thoughts drifted.

… Sigh.

[…]

[6:16 hours Until the Return to Terraria]

My last hours in Remnant were calm. Nothing happened — no surprises, problems, or arguments. I just relaxed, chatting with everyone, playing games, or simply doing nothing.

I raced Ruby, both on land and water. Penny decided to join, and Zwei jumped into the water right in the middle of us three.

I fought Yang, Qrow, and Taiyang all at once. I held back and used it as an opportunity to test some new styles I had been planning.

I played cards with Roman, James, and Ghira. No one cheated this time, just a fair game. Ghira ended up winning.

I played the piano while Weiss sang. Lucy sang too, but only I listened to her. Weiss really had a beautiful voice; Lucy just needed to hit some notes right.

I trained with Atlas soldiers, team JNPR, and CFVY. Jaune apologized again. I just told him it was fine.

I practiced magic with Amber and Dahlia, with Jinn helping here and there. The two were talented, learning quickly.

I talked with Kali, Blake, and Glynda about a book they were reading. I had to ask Jinn for help since I hadn’t read the book in question. Something about a man with two souls.

Curiously, Neo didn’t try anything. We just had ice cream together — Millia, Neo, and I.

When there were about six hours left, I decided to take a nap. I wasn’t tired, I just wanted to relax in peace. Close my eyes and enjoy the calm. I took out a reclining chair from the VoidBag, lay down, kept my feet on the ground, rested my body against the back, and let my head lean to the side.

I didn’t quite sleep, but it was close. Still, I could hear everyone’s voices around me.

"Is he asleep?" Blake was the one who asked.

"Maybe? He's not in the Spiritual Realm. If he is, he's not with the camera." Weiss replied.

"Professor Ozpin says he's not there." Ruby said. Ozma had probably written something in the CHAT.

"Can I poke him?" Yang stepped forward, but Taiyang put his hand on her shoulder.

"And what if he reacts by punching you, thinking you're a threat?"

Yang and Ruby laughed. "He won't, don't worry." The younger sister replied, before pushing Yang away. "Let him be, he must be tired."

After that, no one else approached. I could hear the conversations, whispers, and murmurs around me — the rustling of leaves in the wind, the breeze itself, the lake water, the fish and the insects nearby.

Unknowingly, I entered a state of absolute tranquility...

Everything felt connected. Predicting the movements around me became almost instinctive: one step here, an arm movement there, a word followed by a sigh. It was strange and confusing, but also incredibly natural. For a brief moment, I almost felt the movement of the planet itself… It was calm, it made sense… then I 'woke up.'

"That was... weird." I shook my head and got up, looking at my phone. "Ten minutes... That's it..."

I spent the last minutes packing everything and saying goodbye. I stored Proto-A in the VoidBag and 'stole' some islands from the side. I strapped Lucy to my waist. Millia returned to the Slime Staff. Jinn transferred her mind to my Spiritual Realm, leaving her body in the relic, which I stored in my inventory.

“Well… It was a nice month.” I waved to everyone. Ruby ran over and hugged me one last time before stepping back, her eyes slightly teary. She went to the side, where Yang was carrying a box, picked it up, and handed it to me.

“I know you can probably sense what’s inside, but open it later… It’s a gift the four of us made.” She smiled before taking a few steps back and standing beside the rest of Team RWBY. “See you later?…”

"... Always." I looked at the box in my hands before placing it in my inventory. "See you soon, on The Stream…"

I looked at the countdown. When it hit one, I closed my eyes and focused as hard as I could, pushing my instincts to their limit.

First came the 'change.' The air around me wavered, while the world seemed to spin with the mana.

Then, the mana itself twisted into an infinite spiral. My head ached trying to comprehend it.

I felt the connection with the Runes and Mystical Symbols I left in Remnant begin to weaken. It was a strange process — slow and fast at the same time, an instant stretched by my perception. Until, suddenly, I couldn’t feel anything from Remnant, no matter how hard I tried...

No runes, no Mystical Symbols, none of the Nightmares left in the shadows of various people… No people… No one...

Then the environment changed. My senses shifted. The first smell was of rain and blood; the touch, the feel of the air; the sound, raindrops; the taste, something that seemed rotten. Finally, I opened my eyes.

The first thing I saw was the clearing where I arrived in Terraria for the first time.

"I'm back..."

… Home sweet home.

[...]---[...]

[Edit: There was a family fight here during Christmas, I was angrier than I’ve been in years and didn’t have time to write, and in the little time I had, I couldn’t concentrate. The chapter I posted on (P)(A)(T) is something I found "not good" because of that. It felt ‘stuck.’

That said, Devas has started to move, in case anyone wants to know.]

Terraria… Home sweet home.

Well, first of all, this author's note will be a bit longer. I want to give a summary of what I thought about this arc. Here we go:

Overall, I liked the arc. Of course, due to real-life issues, it ended up dragging on. I picked up the arc to read a few days ago and realized I could have summarized several parts, skipped others, and added a few more. Nowadays, with my current mindset, the arc would’ve been much shorter.

My writing has changed a lot from the beginning of the story to now. I think this arc was where the biggest shift happened, something I’m glad occurred.

As for Remnant, well... Devas will return there later. There are still some unresolved matters, both emotionally and regarding the story itself: the gods and everything else.

Why did this arc happen now and not in the future? Or better yet, why did it exist at all? A few reasons:

Originally, there was supposed to be another world before Remnant. I changed this because I thought it would be boring. If I had sent Devas to that world first, he would’ve destroyed Remnant in two days. Salem would’ve died just by his presence. I ended up changing that. The world he was supposed to visit still exists; he’ll go there in the future.

As for Team RWBY... Well, I never planned for any romance with them here. In the future, that might happen, as I left it open-ended, but not now, for several reasons. It’s not because of Saya, as I explained in the chapter, but because Devas is fundamentally messed up mentally. He is improving and has been since everything began. I plan for the next world to be where he gets close to 100%.

A few comments about Lemons. There won’t be any canon ones... I think, for some time. I’ve always focused the story on action and exploration, with Devas jumping from world to world, discovering things, collecting items, and so on, but I haven’t ruled Lemons out. Day [2] is missing for a reason; maybe I’ll put something there, I just don’t know if it’ll be canon or not.

About Neo... Well, she is, by a large margin, my favorite female character in RWBY, with Ruby being second and Weiss third. As for the males, in case anyone wants to know, they are Ozma, followed by Qrow and Jaune, both tied.

Some commented on Neo being somehow pulled into Terraria... Frankly, I thought about doing that, just because it would be funny, and having her annoy Devas would be fun, but I chose not to. It would mess things up and wouldn't make sense overall. She returns, of course, and has a bigger role in the story in the future, which I plan to explore.

To be honest, of all the characters, the one who fits best with Devas, at least in my opinion — feel free to disagree — is Neo.

Why did Devas get so many upgrades? He... didn’t....

Honestly, he got stronger, but most of it was just developing what he already had. He unlocked Aura and gained his Semblance, as well as obtained the Relics, but his magic was something he simply hadn’t developed yet. The Nightmares were something that would’ve emerged over time, even without Remnant. His second racial trait was something he just hadn’t used, and he’s had Shadowflame since Jille Village... Devas simply refined himself.

Speaking of his racial trait... — Terraria nerfs Devas — There are no divine beings, no humans. This takes both of his racial traits out of play, not to mention that he’s a Foreigner in the world, something I’ll explore in the future.

Finally, Ozma, Salem, and Jinn: the three new members of the asylum Devas calls his mind. Jinn was someone I always intended to come with Devas; Salem and Ozma, not so much. Why did I drag them into this mess? Because of how the story unfolded, especially between Devas and Ozma. Salem was more philosophical, but I won’t waste her character.

Comment any doubts, curiosities, or whatever. I’ll reply without spoilers. If you want to ask about the RWBY arc or something I forgot to mention, feel free!

PS: The Coin has nothing to do with Fear and Hunger. I know the game, I’ve beaten that hell in almost every ending, but I can’t write about it. Why? Simply because I hate that crap. Rusty nails everywhere, damn it!