Chapter 93: Knowledge

Chapter 93: Knowledge

DISCLAIMER: This story is NOT MINE IN ANY WAY. That honor has gone to the beautiful bastard Ryugii. This has been pulled from his Spacebattle publishment. Anyway on with the show...errr read.

Knowledge

Ozpin and I ended things shortly thereafter, agreeing to meet up the next day, after he'd had time to research and make arrangements for Ruby. The nature of the situation was such that it left an undercurrent of tension, but I reminded myself that if nothing had happened in at least a decade, we'd probably be safe for another day or twoand if not, that I could probably cross the city and reach Patch in a matter of seconds. For the time being, I had other things to worry about and consider, so I decided to trust him and hope for the best.

Even so, with everything that had happened to me recently, I felt justified being a little cautious and so kept my awareness running full blast all the way back. Between the fact that it was the dead of night and the route I took, I didn't encounter anyone, but if I had I probably would have scanned them thoroughly. By the time I reached my own house and stepped inside, I was fully aware of the locations of everything within the radius of a city block. As such, I felt no surprise when I saw Adam and Gou sitting on the couch together, the former looking bored as he tried to find something worth watching after midnight.

"Hey," I greeted. "Sorry for ruining everything."

"It's fine," Adam said, apparently giving up now that a more interesting distraction had come along, turning off the hologram projector. "What happened?"

"I managed to convince her to go home without any more trouble," I shrugged, figuring he was talking about Yang. "Something else came up that needed attention so I had to bail afterwards, but Raven's daughter will be fine, except for her ego. Do you think Raven will be upset that I knocked her through a wall?"

Adam shrugged a shoulder, not seeming to care much. But then, he was probably drunk on top of the late hour, so I guess that was to be expected.

"Raven never hesitated to stop me when I did something she thought was wrong," He answered. "Didn't mind kicking my ass in a fight, either. If there's no lasting damage, I doubt she'll be too upset considering what could have happened. Everything okay, though?"

"Just" I sighed, hesitating for a moment before answering. "It seems that mission's going to haunt me longer than I thought. Some complications came up."

He grunted.

"Your mother?"

"Well enough, I suppose," I mused. "II think I'll be able to regrow her missing limbs eventuallythe others, too. I'll manage."

He looked me over careful for a moment and then nodded back slowly.

"What are you going to do now?" He asked.

"Keep busy, I suppose," I said after a moment's consideration. "There's a lot to do, you know. For my family and everything else. It seems like I'll be staying in Vale for the time being at least; I'll need to tidy up this place for when my sisters and grandmother come by. For now, I guess I'll be training my healing skills a lot, on top of everything else, butwell, who knows? There's a lot of work to be done witheverything, really, and then there's the stuff I need to talk to Raven about. I"

I trailed off and shrugged, smiling a tad helplessly.

"After that," I continued, wanting to say it out loud. It was just a minor thing, especially compared to my most recent discoveries, but what Onyx had warned me about earlier had begun to grow on me. "I'm not sure. To be honest, at this point I really don't know what's going to happen next. A friend told me that caring for my mother while sherecovers might mean moving in with someone in my family. That might be a local thing, like moving across town, or it could mean going a lot farther. I have family all over the placemy grandmother in Mistral, some sisters in Vacuo, and the others move around a lot. I could end up anywhere, now."

Adam listened quietly as I talked, watching as I moved to touch a picture on the wall. My father's smiling face stared back at me, the fading corpse of a creature too massive to fit completely into the frame behind him. For the longest time, I'd known my father was invincible, because before that I'd prayed that it was true. It had to be true, because he'd always come home.

But he hadn't this time and never would again.

"It's odd," I said, feeling sad and yet somehow smiling at my father's younger looking face. "It doesn't matter where I am, really. As I am now, I could swim between the continents, no problem, so it's not a matter of distance, and I don't really care where I end up, you know. Butsomehow I feel unrooted, now. The more I learn, the less I seem to know and I'mhuh. I don't feel uncertain, but I feel"

I paused for a moment to mull over the words and try to describe how I felt. But I really wasn't sure of that myself. So much had changed in a day, leaving my mother crippled, my father gone, and me lost in a scheme that seemed to go far beyond me. The Grimm, the Riders, and their master waiting somewhere behind it allI wasn't afraid of them, oddly. Well, at least not beyond the logical fear, the awareness of their numbers and raw power. But I did feel confused, like there was something I was doing, a puzzle I had to solve, but there was so much I couldn't see that I had no idea what.

It was at once a new feeling and a very familiar one. Before this had all happened, I'd been unsure of what to do with my life, but certain of where I stood. I had my home to return to, my parents to catch, and I'd thought in time I'd find my own goal. And nowI had, but somehow it didn't seem to make things clearer to me; I felt just as confused as before.

But I guess that's life.

"It's okay, though," I exhaled, leaning forward. "Whatever happens, wherever I go, I'll figure things out and keep going. I'm not afraid of change justsad, I guess. Because I realized there are things I won't be able to go back to anymore."

The room was silent for a moment after that, Gou looking at me with worried eyes while Adam's expression was firm. His emotions, on the other, seemed turbulent; uncertainty warring with concern.

But at last he answered.

"Hey," He offered. "If you do end up moving, tell me where, okay? I have to travel a lot, tooand if there's a call from Jian Bing, I suppose I could go a little bit out of my way, even stay awhile. Keep you from progressing into the lonely emo state you'd inevitably fall into without exposure to my general magnificence."

I couldn't help but smile at that, glancing at him with a raised eyebrow.

"That's very noble of you, Adam," I said.

He bobbed his head to the side in acknowledgement, sniffing slightly.

"It comes easy to me, since I really am better than everyone else," He shook his head, eyes closing behind his sunglasses.

"I'm lucky to have you around," I replied, lifting a hand to my chin and furrowing my eyebrows. After a moment I moved my hand away, fingers splaying as I pursed my lips. "I guess. Anyway, looks like hauling around that ego is tiring you out, Adam. You want to stay here?"

He grunted. Something vaguely along the lines of an affirmative.

"You can use my room, then," I shrugged. "It's not like I do and I'll spend the next day or two cleaning the house anyway. Go before I have to carry you."

He grunted. Something vaguely along the lines of a thank you, mixed with a question.

Given how eloquent and personable he was now, I couldn't wait to see him with a hangover in the morning.

"It's up the stairs, third on the right, left side." I said. The grunt I got this time was probably a complaint over being given complex directions, but he left and I kept an eye on him as he followed the path I'd given him.

When he was gone, I looked down at Gou and scratched him behind the ears.

On the other hand, I could continue to increase my Wisdom and make progress towards an even larger number of skills, if more focused. Decisions, decisions.

I decided to increase my Wisdom over two hundred for now and wait and see what I got from it before deciding on what to do with the rest.

By raising WIS above 200, you have gained three random abilities related to your transcendent understanding.

The skill 'Psychometry' was created.

The skill 'Delusory' was created.

The skill 'Tranquility' was created.

By raising WIS above 200, you have gained the passive skill 'Unity.'

By raising WIS above 200, you have gained the passive skill 'The Soul Within.'

By raising WIS above 200, you have gained the passive skill 'The Hidden Heart.'

By raising WIS above 200, you have gained the passive skill 'The Unseen Form.'

My physical body took a deep breath, smiling a bit as I felt the changes take hold, but dismissed them for the moment as they disrupted my line of sight. The infection was gaining speed now, enough that I stood and had Bai Hu turn to face me, looking me over as I continued to change.

You have received the Status Effect 'On A White Horse He Rides [Intermediate].'

You have received the Status Effect 'On A White Horse He Rides [High].'

You have received the Status Effect 'On A White Horse He Rides [MAX].'

Title 'White Tiger of the West' unequipped.

Title 'The White Rider' equipped. This title may not be unequipped while the status effect 'On A White Horse He Rides [MAX]' remains.

The armor grew over me differently, nowwhether because I was Jian Bing or for whatever other reason. Armor segments made their way down my tail as other layers formed over my blackened skin. Even the mask was different this time, eyeless and smooth like the reward I'd gotten for Conquest's defeat. I didn't look anything like I had fighting Conquest, but instead had horns rising from my head and jagged ridges on my armor. Oddly enough, I didn't have any problems seeing in this eyeless form, as if the front of my mask served as a strange, compound eye. I flexed my fingers and swung my tail, carving a ridge in the ground with a flick of it, noting that unlike my previous, towering form, I had barely changed in size this time.

Yes, it seemed that even for me, the infection adapted to my body. Though many of the internal changes had been similar, this form was built far differently from the first. Perhaps with more practice and testing, I'd figure out more on why, butsimply confirming it was enough for now.

Then there was only one thing left to do.

As one, the Tiger and I knelt at the edge of the circle on opposite sides of Crocea Mors. I let my Aura flow into the earth, remembering the feeling I'd had when I'd used my grandmother's Dust so long ago, and realigned myself with the revealed song.

"I, Jaune Arc," I murmured, voice sounding oddly smooth for my monstrous form. "Call upon the ancient contract of ages past to summon thee. I hope that you heed my call. Come, Earth Elemental!"

The ground within the circle's center shattered as if struck by my father's hammer, nearly exploding outwards before being sucked back into some invisible center. It liquefied, briefly shining with the light and heat of magmaand then there was a man standing there, as tall as any of the Elementals around him. Hair the color of dark earth and skin of bronze, he looked at me with eyes of literal gold. He wore no shirt, but had bands of gold around his wrists and throat, each gleaming in the moonlight. He stared at me for a long moment, as if contemplativeand when at last he spoke, it was with a rumble in my thoughts, like a small earthquake in my head.

You have summoned me and I have come to ask why.

If he was at all off put by being in front of a human looking Grimm and a glowing Tigerman, he didn't sound that way.

"I'll begin in accordance to the ancient rituals," I said in answer. "My real name is Jaune Arc. You have heard my true name; please tell me yours."

There was the rumble of another earthquake and I was gone. I felt the world turn beneath my feet, what seemed to be still in constant motion. Tectonic plates crashed together like the hammers of gods, driving mountains towards the sky and spewing fire and smoke. I saw a desert, a wasteland devoid of life, and watched as it changed into a green pasture full of towering trees. My awareness expanded, fractured, and I saw the earth beneath me flowing up to consume my body and leave me a statue, a demonic gargoyle set into the ground.

And then I felt my body breaking, wearing down like mountains did and being worn away. It hurt, it hurt terribly, but I'd known it would, just like I knew what would come next.

The Elemental laid a hand on my head and the stone skin broke off and fell away. I felt something warm and steady comforting me, like the whole world loved me and mourned with me for my recent loss. I felt a happiness, too, like coming homelike knowing that wherever I was, this world was my home.

I am with you. The Earth Elemental said. My name is Ereb. And yours is Jaune Arc?

"Yes," I said, taking a breath. My mouth was hidden, but I was smiling.

Then I stand with you, Jaune Arc.

"Yes," I said again. "We are together, Ereb."

Then we are one, as the ancient contract dictates.

"Our souls are one."

I am Ereb.

"I am Jaune Arc."

And until our souls meet their ends

"We will be forever one," I swore again.

Ereb nodded, golden eyes gleaming as he smiled slowly and inclined his head.

Then know that even if the whole of the world stands against you, I will be by your sideand I will grind them to dust.