56Consider this a cute little side-project that may or may not get updates depending on how popular it becomes.
Remnant's Serrated Sun
Chapter 1
"KILL HIM!" Raum howled, "HE MADE US DEFEND THE SLAYER IN ORDER TO WEAKEN US-!"
Raum screamed as the Athame slid into his-Argel's-their back, the warp-borne poison ripping through their very soul like lightning. He screamed as Argel Tal could only gape in surprise at the sudden blooming pain in his spine before his legs collapsed out under him as the knife slid out, the singular being that they'd become being torn to shreds, and those two halves of the once-whole slowly being eaten away by the inescapable entropy of Erebus's Athame. Raum felt Argel's panicked call, grabbing onto his outstretched and pleading soul just in time before he could slip away entirely. They began to fall, their 'sight' fading and all sensation devolving into the horror-inducing sensation of a drop that would never end. Their shared voice was not lost on them though, and so they made a pact to themselves, a promise that, while impossible to fulfil, would give meaning to their final few moments of existence.
"I WILL KILL YOU EREBUS!" Raum and Argel howled as one, "I SWEAR ON MY SOUL, I WILL REND YOUR FLESH, SHATTER YOUR BONES AND DEVOUR YOUR HEARTS! AS RAUM OF THE SEVENTY-TWO/ AS ARGEL TAL OF THE VAKRAH JAL, I BIND MYSELF TO THIS CONTRACT NOW AND FOREVERMORE!"
The two souls that were once one cried out in rage and hatred, a cry promising death unto their betrayer before they were silenced and fell to oblivion.
}-{
Raum was not sure how long he fell, how badly he had been damaged by Erebus' Athame. The best he could describe the sensation was like an infinite fall through nothing, all while suffering the unending sensation of burning. He wasn't quite sure why he and Argel were still clinging on to this pitiful existence when it could all end if they just let go. He attributed it to their shared rage, the last thing they'd felt and the emotion that was still burning within the scraps of their existence thanks to the contract they'd made with themselves. When he wasn't screaming in pain and was somewhat lucid, he was a bit confused as to why he was angry. Betrayal and power-grabbing was the very essence of a daemon's existence, especially one as powerful and as rare as him. Of course he would be upset that he was both figuratively and literally stabbed in the back, but that was par the course of his unnatural life.
What surprised him after a few eternities of suffering was that he wasn't only outraged at Erebus's slight against himself, but also to his host Argel. If you wanted to be pedantic, Argel and Raum were also technically one and the same, two beings merged on the metaphysical level with a bond just strong enough for them not to be separated in death, but that was besides the point. Hate, bloodlust, trickery, all were things that daemons felt and acted on regularly because it was their very nature, the sensations that made up their very existence. Yet to find that he was empathising with a material being, regardless of Argel being his host (or technically another part of him) was… strange.
No. No, he would not be reduced to a state as pitiful as feeling sad over the death of a fool who couldn't slay their killer! Even if that fool was his other half.
…His other half.
Something hurt more than normal in that moment. He ignored the entropy devouring his essence little by little and felt a deep, deep pain. If he had a mortal body, perhaps he'd feel this pain in his chest.
Then there was… something. The scent of blood, the smell of battle. His fall was slowed to a mere float and they frantically felt around. They weren't dead, not yet. Entropy had eaten away at most of their essence and it would fully claim them sooner or later, and the chance to somehow get back at Erebus, however slim, was one they'd gladly take. There was something there, something hostile, something like… another daemon! Another contender! An enemy! RaumArgelTHEY bared their teeth, fists clenched as they rushed forward, ignoring the entropy clawing at their existence as they roared and tore through the skin of reality.
}-Beacon's Forest-{
Glynda Goodwitch, renowned huntress and Headmistress of Beacon Academy, was caught off guard. With Beacon's entrance exam only a week away, she was naturally tasked with the thinning out of Beacon Forest's Grimm population, enough to ensure that there was still a decent challenge for those taking the exam while dealing with the Grimm that were too far above the examinees' levels. Everything had been going fine up until now, Glynda having cleaned out a few troublesome Diablo Deathstalkers and even a juvenile Wyrm that was making a mess of the ground and trees. What she hadn't expected was a type of Beringel to have been stalking her the entire time, and worse yet it was a horned subspecies that feasted on raw Lightning Dust in order to increase its already formidable strength: A Rajang.
It attacked while she was catching her breath from her tussle with the Wyrm, Glynda barely dodging out of the way yet still being clipped by its knuckle right above her brow. The skin practically burst open in a spray of blood as its sheer strength ripped through her thinned aura, concussing her on the spot and sending her flying towards a tree. She sharply tucked and landed on the bark feet-first, grunting as she sprung off to the side right before the Rajang's fist blasted through the wood, splinters flying before it turned on a time and launched itself at her while spinning like a lightning-wreathed drill.
She enveloped her own body with her semblance and yanked herself out of the way just in time as it ripped through the air she once occupied, Glynda stumbling as she tried to catch her balance and bring up her riding crop, Decoris Nox. Her aura was healing her wound and concussion, though far slower than she would have liked. She was already tired and her aura depleted from her previous encounters, not to mention it healing her would come at the cost of her augmented strength and already weakening defence. She bit her lip and forced her aura to stop healing her, hissing as blood began to cloud the vision in her right eye. She knew that she had to maximise her Semblance output and control as much as possible and readied herself for the Rajang's attack.
It pounded its chest with its fists, lightning flying off its knuckles before it slammed them down, the stringy fur on its back pulsing bright yellow as three waves of lightning blasted out from the point of impact, Glynda ripping a tree from its roots and using it as a shield. The sheer kinetic force of the descending lightning brought her to her knees as the tree exploded, her muscles spasming from the discharge and slowing her reactions even further. She knew what was coming up next though and automatically responded, Decoris Nox aiding her in the concentration and precise use of her Semblance as she brought as many shards of burnt wood under her control, sending them spiralling towards the Rajang. She knew that to stand still for even a moment was to die: the Rajang reared back and belched a beam of pure lightning that vapourised the wooden shards she had launched at it. Glynda had already dove off to the side, legs buckling under her as a wave of nausea and pain made her vision swim before she grit her teeth and forced herself to her feet, her wrist making quick and sharp movements as she gathered nearby stones and fired them at it like bullets from a shotgun.
It snarled and swatted the rocks away, reeling in pain as many of them punched into its hide, though it was quick to recover and roared in rage, leaping backwards to perch on a tree, lobbing spheres of lightning from its mouth to just barely miss Glynda as she frantically dodged in a zigzag pattern before it blasted off and curled into a spinning cannonball. The ground imploded under the electric mass as she leapt over it, baring her teeth as she grabbed the largest possible boulder in her semblance's grasp before roaring and bringing it down with as much force as possible on its greatest weakness: its tail. The boulder shattered into dust on impact, Glynda barely managing to catch her footing as she took in huge gulps of air.
'That should stun it long enough for me to call for ba-!'
"Grurururhahaha…"
Her blood ran cold as she sharply looked over her shoulder to see that it was mirroring her by looking over its own. It however was laughing, and she saw why: the tail of a Rajang, when hit hard enough, normally caused it to reflexively shut off its empowered state, due to the supposedly sheer amount of pain. This Rajang had no tail. They both pivoted simultaneously, Glynda panicking as she threw up a wall of Glyphs layered upon each other conjured from her aura while the Rajang threw a right hook. Its fist ripped through the Glyphs like a hammer through glass, finally blasting into Glynda's ribcage and sending her flying through the air before her momentum was sharply arrested after she smashed through a tree, the second one stopping her as she slid to the ground, vomiting bile and blood as her aura shattered. In the back of her mind, she was thankful that it gave out on the second tree, any earlier and she'd be permanently paralysed in the best-case scenario.
Granted, she was currently suffering from several broken ribs, bruised organs, torn muscles, innumerable fractures and exhaustion, so this wasn't exactly the best situation to be in either. The Rajang pounded its chest, slamming its knuckles into the floor and bellowed in triumph, yet she wasn't idle. She'd shakily taken out her scroll and sent out a distress-signal, though whether Bart or Peter would be here on time was a different matter. Calming herself as much as possible, she continued to glare at the beast, now slowly making its way towards her, and gripped Decoris Nox. She was well aware of how often she'd used her semblance, and though she was more than experienced enough to have massively cut down the amount of aura needed to use it, she still understood that running out was an issue that had to be addressed. Inside Nox's handle lay a depleted dust-crystal filled with her excess aura. She slowly drew upon it now, feeling her bones slowly knit together and the pain of other injuries slowly lessen. She dealt with the concussion first, her mind clearing rapidly before she simply focused on filling her reserves as much as possible. The Rajang wasn't stupid however. On the contrary, it was a startlingly intelligent Grimm and knew that something was up. It narrowed its beady eyes and snarled, muscles bunching, preparing to pounce and finish off its prey. Glynda tensed as well, glaring defiantly at the Grimm as she prepared to either take it down or hold it off long enough for her colleagues to arrive.
Only for the air beside the beast's head to tear open and a fist to blast into its jaw, shattered teeth and black ichor spraying from its mouth as the creature was flung backwards. An invisible weight slammed onto Glynda as she watched with a slack jaw, the fist followed by a man over seven feet tall and rippling with muscle. His mouth was open in a roar that was equal parts adrenaline-fueled rage and what she thought was terror, yet he charged forward all the same to brawl with the Rajang, barehanded and completely naked to boot.
She watched in awe as he sprinted with perfect form. Nobody that large and that muscular should be able to move that fast, yet he did. Instead of tackling the Grimm, he smoothly transitioned into a full-body elbow to its ribs, the sound of a bone snapping ringing like a gunshot as it screamed in pain. Its scream was cut short as the man used the same arm to smash the back of his fist into its face, an elbow hammering into the jaw as its eyes closes reflexively before he stepped in hard, grabbing its outstretched arm and spinning, executing a perfect shoulder-throw on a creature that was over twice his height. He mounted the beast in the blink of an eye and proceeded to try and cave its face in. What looked like a storm of wild and random blows was, to Glynda's startled realization, a series of perfectly executed attacks aimed at the Rajang's weakest parts. A descending elbow to its brow, a hammer-fist on its jaw, a left hook to its chin, all within a heartbeat. She was about to scream a warning as she saw it breathe in deeply, sparks crackling from the corners of its bloody mouth before it spat another beam of lightning point-blank at the man's face. He slipped to the side right before it fired, the beam just barely singeing some of his messy black hair before he rocketed a fist into the bottom of its jaw, snapping its mouth close. It hacked and coughed wild gouts of lightning as it sharply sat up and tried to grab the man in a deadly embrace, yet again he responded so smoothly it was as if he knew what it was about to do, slipping behind it, grabbing its horns and shooting a flying knee-strike to the base of its skull. The horns snapped off as it stumbled forward, shrieking in rage as it turned and threw the same devastating punch that had laid Glynda out. The man stepped in and wrapped his arms around its neck, once more using its own momentum to throw the Rajang over his shoulder. Before it could land however, the man sharply pivoted around, muscles straining as he kept his grip tight on its neck.
*CRACK*
With its body falling one way and its head yanked another, its neck snapped almost instantly. The glow from its furry hide faded and its body began to disappear, evaporating into a black smog and leaving behind a crackling pelt with black scales and crystalline fur. Contrary to popular belief, dead Grimm didn't always leave nothing behind; the older and more powerful one was, the more likely it would adapt to its environment or outward circumstances by attaining new parts, like a secondary set of biological armour or even weapon. Given that this Rajang was very old, powerful and experienced, the size of its pelt didn't surprise her. That wasn't her focus though.
The man was hyperventilating with his back turned to her, sitting down and seemingly staring at his shaking hands. She stifled a groan and stood up, slowly making her way towards him. Getting closer, she could see that his body bore numerous scars, and beyond that there seemed to be… technological insert-ports of some kind embedded into his skin, all of them symmetrically placed. To her shock, he'd suffered some scrapes and gashes from the rough and jagged skin of the Rajang, though they'd already scabbed over. For him to have suffered those wounds in the first place meant that he didn't have aura. She halted as his breathing rapidly become much slower and calmer, the trembling in his hands stopping entirely before he slowly clenched and unclenched his fists. He perked up and sharply turned to look at her, giving her a good look at his face.
He was handsome, his features evocative of those native to Vacuo with his tanned skin, high cheekbones, almost cat-like blue eyes and a rigid jawline. He looked down himself and raised a brow, Glynda coughing into her hand and looking elsewhere with pinking cheeks as he grabbed the pelt and began to wrap it around his waist. She only caught a glimpse, but that was more than enough. He signalled a simple 'ahem' and she turned around to look at him again. Even sitting on the ground, he was almost as tall as her, astonishing given that she herself was well over six feet in height.
"…hello," He greeted with a respectful nod, his voice a bit hoarse but otherwise deep, soft and articulate.
"…Hello to you as well," Glynda greeted cautiously. "How did you get here?"
"…I'm not sure," He admitted as he begun to stand, "Tell me, where exactly am I? And what form of daemon was thaaaa…"
The moment he stood up, a wave of exhaustion crashed into him, his superhuman biology unable to compensate and immediately shutting down in order to help him recover as rapidly as possible. His eyes rolled into his head and he almost face-planted into the floor had it not been for Glynda catching him with her semblance, rushing over to him and gently laying him on his back. Using one of her more subtle abilities of her semblance, she closed her eyes and placed a hand on his chest, sending her aura through him to examine him for any internal injuries. It was a slow process, as the more detailed of an examination she wanted, the more aura she would have to use to better 'feel' and 'see' any potential issues. What she hadn't expected was to 'see' was some kind of fibrous… layer directly underneath the man's skin. Then ribcage, the thick bones fused together. A third lung, smaller than the other two. A second heart. And then, something looked back at her, a single eye burning a baleful blue in her mind.
"We will live. Now GET OUT."
She reeled away, her heart racing as she landed on her backside. Peter and Bart found her like that, just staring at the man. She should have been terrified, and she certainly was frightened for a moment. But above all else, she was absolutely fascinated by this anomaly peacefully sleeping in front of her.
'Who are you?' She wondered.
}-{
"He's… he's unlike anything I've ever seen!" Professor Akemi Peach said, her eyes practically shining as she showed her examination results to Ozpin and Glynda. "He has nineteen additional organs or altercations, and all of their functional capabilities are through the roof! His hearts are so strong that you could blow up one and the other would keep him going, even in the middle of a fight. His skin is like military-grade Kevlar without losing any softness, somehow. Don't even get me started on that secondary layer under his skin!"
"So we can rule out Atlas as a possible point of origin," Ozpin summarized, well aware that Peach could possibly go on for hours about a new discovery, especially one as unprecedented as this.
"Without question," She confirmed, "They might be the best when it comes to mechanical augmentation, but this is…" She struggled to find the right word, "Flesh-crafting on a level that nobody should be capable of."
"Is he… human?" Glynda asked.
"He seems human enough to me," Peach nodded, "At least according to his bloodwork. Getting that needle in took some real work, lemme tell ya, not to mention just how fast his blood clots. Had to find a really strong anti-coagulant just to finally get it into a tube. Still though…" Her face took on a more concerned look, "…those organs… they might be part of his body and carry his DNA, but all of them looked… implanted."
"…Are you suggesting that he was… forced to undergo these changes?" Glynda said, a sickening feeling working its way up her throat.
"I don't know," Peach sighed, "…I just don't know."
There was an uncomfortable silence that hung over them for a few moments before Ozpin spoke up.
"Glynda," He said with a certain tone that made her want to groan, "You said that he seemed calm and reasonable when talking to you before he passed out, right?"
"…Yes?" She answered slowly, already not liking where this was going.
"And correct me if I am wrong, but we're predicted to be over-occupied in terms of oncoming first-years, right?"
"No thanks to you, yes," She grumbled.
"Akemi," He turned to the other professor now, "I think that you can confirm that for all intents and purposes, this man is superhuman in his potential abilities?"
"He could probably flip cars with one arm," She snorted. "His potential power-to-weight ratio is plain stupid."
"Then I propose we integrate him into our staff," Ozpin said simply, as if he was suggesting a particularly tasty dish off a menu.
"Ozpin!" Glynda snapped, "With all due respect, we have no background on this man who, if I have to remind you, ripped his way through thin air. We already have Ruby Rose, don't push your luck on this!"
"Glynda," He said seriously, all jest gone from his voice and shutting her up, "He beat a Rajang Variant. Without aura. Naked."
She snorted and looked away, silently conceding the point. That wasn't even mentioning how skilfully he beat it.
"…Headmistress my ass," Glynda sighed, "I'm just here to clean up after your whims, aren't I?"
"And you do a damn good job, to which I thank you," Ozpin said with a cheeky grin. "Now all we have to do is ask him nicely and see what happens from there."
"Ask me about what?"
The hunters whipped around to see the man standing in the doorway, still dressed in the Rajang pelt. They hadn't heard or even felt him approach, but they certainly felt the way his gaze analysing each of them in a mere moment, however unthreatening he was trying to be.
"…you're still supposed to be asleep," Peach deadpanned after a moment.
"I had a very nice bed," He replied, understanding that he was quite intimidating and seeking to cut the tension. "Though I think my clothing leaves a lot to be desired."
"…I wouldn't say what you've got on makes you undesirable," Peach said with a raised brow and a grin, the tension largely fading as Ozpin chuckled and Glynda sighed.
"Thank you," He bowed, politely taking the complement. "Your accommodation of me was very kind of you, in all seriousness."
"It's the least we can do," Glynda stepped forward, feeling compelled to speak, "You saved my life after all."
"It was… unintentional," He admitted, "Though I do not regret doing it."
"I should hope not," Glynda said before she outstretched an open hand, "Glynda Goodwitch. The man behind me is Ozpin, who for better or worse is my boss."
"…Argel Tal," He returned the greeting, gently clasping her forearm in a warrior's grip, much to her pleasant surprise. "And where exactly am I?"
Argel was cautious. He and Raum had died, of that they were sure. He had no idea where he was. Another planet? This clearly wasn't Nuceria, and the Warp here was shockingly calm yet rich with energy, if it could even be called the Warp as he knew it. With Raum within him, he would normally be able to better feel for daemonic or other warp-entity activity, but the only time that had happened was when he was first reborn into this world and fought that ape-like daemon. And it was a daemon, no question about it. It was a shard of a god given its own sentience but forever bound to the will of the god it was once part of. For it to be able to physically manifest and remain so stable was… odd. Not to mention the people standing before him, specifically the two women. They weren't psykers, but something similar yet entirely opposite. Where a psyker drew power from the warp and filtered it through their own mind to affect reality, these people made use of their own soul for power and protection.
"Interesting…" Raum mused. "And that man is very powerful."
Argel stared at the white-haired man and was shocked. Raum was correct of course, but the nature of this man's soul was similar to that of the World Eater Librarians' ability to combine their psychic might into a single astral being, except that this man had many, many more souls amalgamated into his very being. Not to mention, he was a psyker as he understood it.
"Well, Mister Tal," Ozpin said, very aware of how intently the man was staring at him and feeling the need to move the topic along, "You're currently in Beacon Academy, one of the four Great Hunter Academies of Remnant."
"I see…" Argel nodded, at a loss for words. Definitely a different planet, but for the whispers of the gods to be completely absent…
"I take it that you've been quite isolated from our society for a long time," Ozpin guessed, a smile showing that he wasn't trying to be rude.
"You could say that, yes," Argel lied. He wasn't the best at lying, but if the situation was as strange as he thought it was, then revealing his origins (no less the literal daemon merged with his soul) wouldn't exactly be wise to tell the full truth yet. He almost snorted at the irony: a Bearer of the Word, refusing to enlighten these people to the truth.
"Would it be accurate to say then, that you're currently in need of a place to stay and some employment?"
"What would you have me employed for?" Argel asked, a brow going up and a little smile to his lips.
"Well, according to Glynda's report, you're clearly extremely adept in dealing with the Grimm, not to mention your physical strength. We may need to conduct a few practical tests to see the extent of your capabilities, but if you should choose, I would be happy to welcome you as part of the staff here at Beacon."
"Staff?" Argel parroted, incredulous at just how casual this man was being.
"Indeed," Ozpin nodded, a cheeky grin on is face, "It's our duty to teach the next generation of Hunters how to defeat the Grimm, lest they take over humanity's refuges."
"…So what you're saying is everyone is aware of these daemons?" Agrel asked.
"Indeed," Ozpin confirmed rather simply, noting the rather antiquated term that Argel used to describe the Grimm.
Argel was impressed. Different realm or not, for these humans to so casually make daemon-slaying a professional occupation was astonishing. If ever there was a place to be reborn, it would be this one. The planet's level of technological advancement was quite high (going off how complicated yet ordered their medical equipment was) and its people evidently used to daemonic incursion, the perfect place to resupply and retrain both himself and Raum. What better place to do it than in one of these Academies?
"I cannot say I'll come to a decision right away," He said, "But I would like to stay and observe this place for now, if you would allow me."
"I would be happy to accommodate you, Mister Tal," Ozpin said, his eyes gleaming as if he'd haggled for something particularly valuable. That was fine with Argel. He didn't know how long it would take, but eventually he would find his way back to his reality and make good on his promise and flay the skin from Erebus's bones.
"First though," Ozpin's voice broke through his, "I think it would be more appropriate to find you some proper clothes."
"I wouldn't go that far," Akemi purred, Argel unable to stifle his amused little huff of air as Glynda sighed in exasperation. Things certainly wouldn't be boring around here.
TWBY Continued...
So? What do you all think? Lemme know! Peace out!