The Knights of Grimm - Act 5 - The Oncoming Shadow

Chapter 24 - The Relic of Destruction

Vir Nominis Umbra

His fists smashed effortlessly through the Vault Doors, and he pried them open, not even needing the Schnee Access Key that Weiss had taken from her father. That very key would have never slowed him down, it simply would have stopped Team R.W.B.Y from getting to it if Weiss hadn't got it from him. The False God stared at the Relic as it floated in the domain.

Surrounded by a flaming domain, the sword hovered above the ashes. He approached the domain door slowly, his hand clenching into a trembling fist. But he closed his eyes and exhaled, knowing that this must be done. He took another step forward...

... but suddenly a Hardlight Wall formed in front of him. Three more surrounded him and another landed atop his head. He barely even flinched at the trap, and he exhaled, raising his hand at the wall of dust. It blasted lightning against his fingertip, but he felt nothing at all. He chuckled sinisterly, turning around. "I wondered how long it would take for you to make your move... boy." Vir Nominis Umbra stated, turning to see Whitley.

With his last life left, he stood in his Atlesian Knight body.

"I'm not going to let you do this, Umbra. The world will not be destroyed by your hand. And I will keep you trapped here if I must." Whitley stated, fists clenched. Umbra smiled and chuckled, crossing his arms and one leg over the other as he looked at the boy, leaning against the Hardlight Dust Wall. It constantly sparked against him, but he never moved an inch, never felt a thing.

"Well... what are we gonna do now?" Umbra asked with a smile. "Want me to pose as your sister so you can imagine torturing her?" He suggested, his body transforming from the body of the Soothsayer into the form of Weiss Schnee. He glared at Umbra in his sister's body and he gasped, mimicking her voice perfectly. "Oh, no! Please no, Whitley! Be better than this!" He cried out, but even though he replicated her body to perfect detail, his mannerisms were always enough to prove that he was not who he was hiding as.

"I don't care about what happens to Weiss. I know she killed Father..." Whitley stated. The body of Weiss that Umbra controlled crumbled away into ashes and the Soothsayer stood before him in the box.

"Your tone... is curious. You do not sound saddened by this news." He stated.

"Why should I be? Do you really think I'm that blind? I may hate my sisters for leaving me alone with him... but I know what he was. He was an egotistical liar and a killer who hurt us all... I was just forced to play the part to survive. Of all the things I hate my sister for? Killing him is the one thing I have ever been proud of her for doing... now I don't have to lie anymore." Whitley stated, standing before Umbra.

He smirked at the boy. "Well... well... you have surprised me, Whitley. Congratulations... few people manage to do that. Count yourself amongst the few who have." Vir Nominis Umbra explained, then he approached the wall in front of him, staring Whitley down.

"But... pray tell me... what do you think is going to happen now? Do you really think these meagre walls of dust can hold the likes of me?" He asked him.

Whitley clenched his mechanical hands, unable to answer his question, which made the False God chuckle darkly once more. "Oooh... I can't tell because of the metal hide on you now... but I think you're sweating." He stated.

Whitley raised his hand and activated something on his wrist, making Umbra turn around. He saw the massive magical doors slowly close shut, magma forming and sealing it completely. Amongst all the white and chrome walls and high-tech machinery, this volcanic door to a place between realms was truly quite a chilling sight. "Ozpin truly was a mastermind, wasn't he? Able to create such stunning vaults to protect the Relics, but he went one step further with this one, didn't he? He truly made sure it was somewhere that I could not find... or... that would be more challenging for me to find." He stated.