Arcane Manifest: A RWBY Story

Chapter 2: Immortal Steel

Pyrrha awoke and shot up as she coughed from the large amount of rubble and dust from the cave in. She tried to look around, but without any form of light, she would remain blind. She felt around in the dark, eventually finding Miló and Akoúo beneath a rock. She began to call out for Emrys, hoping he'd survived the cave in. The last thing she remembered was when he made a barrier of some sort and shielded the two of them from the attacks of the Deathstalker. She continued to feel around in the dark until she felt a hand grab her arm, screaming; she turns around and punches the figure in the gut with her eyes closed. Opening them, she sees a lie blue light hovering over Emrys, who was curled up in the ground holding his stomach.

Emrys: " *groans*..why?...ow..*groans*."

Pyrrha: "Emrys!! Oh! I'm so sorry!! I didn't know you were behind me, and I just..it's just muscle memory. Here let me help you up." Slowly helping Emrys up from the ground.

Emrys: "Welp. If it's any consolation, you hit like a car. You alright? No injuries or wounds?"

Pyrrha: "I'm all fine, thanks especially to that shield you made." Pyrrha couldn't see it, but a tiny bit of red appeared on Emrys's cheeks, quickly turning to hide it.

Emrys: "It's no problem, least I could do. Now, how about we try and find our way out of here. Which means we need more light."

Emrys's eyes turn a bright white as he claps his hands together and says a set of words Pyrrha didn't know. After he spoke the phrase, a small ball of light floated up from his hands. It hung over their heads as it shined a bright light that covered the entirety of the room they were in.

Emrys: "There, this should help...Woah, it looks like we won't have to worry about the Deathstalker."

The two looked to the far side of the room to see the remains of the Deathstalker as it lies beneath the rubble from the cave-in.

Pyrrha: "I hope Jaune didn't try to rush back into the cave."

Emrys: "I'm pretty sure he didn't. Or we are going to be in really big trouble."

Pyrrha: "It doesn't look like there's any way back up, but there does seem to be a tunnel extending downward."

Emrys: "Well, you're the front line fighter; I'll be right behind you. Don't worry, though. You can have the light." Reaching upward, he gently grabs the ball of light and directs it to hover over Pyrrha.

Pyrrha smiles as she begins to head down the tunnel Emrys following beside her. As they walked, the light changed intensity as they continued into the smaller area as not to blind them. Emrys watched ahead, but Pyrrha was more focused on the floating orb of light. It seemed like a handheld version of the sun; its light never flickered or died down as they walked. Even at times, Pyrrha would quietly blow at the orb, but the ball never seemed to be affected.

Pyrrha: "Emrys?"

Emrys: "Yes, Pyrrha?"

Pyrrha: "Since we have the time, do you mind actually explaining your semblance and what these abilities of yours are?" Emrys chuckles as he looks at her.

Emrys: "Man, you got a real itch for my secrets, but as you've seen a lot so far, I think you deserve the truth. But before I tell you, I'm going to have to explain..a lot."

Pyrrha: "We have the time."

Emrys: "Well, have you ever heard of the First Human Generation?" She shakes her head. "Makes sense most about them is merely speculation. But simply put, they were the first set of humans made by the Twin Gods. These humans were gifted with extraordinary abilities, not semblances, but they could call upon and manipulate Magic. Magic is energy that exists in literally all things, believed to have existed before the Gods. With Magic, one can do things that seem impossible. Many people theorize that the Twin Gods wiped out the First Human Generation, but they didn't lose their history and stored knowledge. Many different tomes and books were collected that originated from their time. The only problem was that the language the books were written in was in a dead language. Their language had all but enthralled my father, and he went out of his way to collect the books and tomes trying to learn their language. But for as much as he tried, he could never figure it out."