The Knights of Grimm - Act 4 - Whispers of Arkhonex

Chapter 99 - A Mother's Love

Summer

Ruby stared up at her with total disbelief...

"Mom?" She gasped, her silver eye bulging wide, and Yang lifted her head from the floor with the same shock on her face. It had been years since she last saw her... she had assumed it was some kind of hallucination for a while, but now? No... this was real... she had become something else.

Something more.

The Higher Demons all turned to face her, the Whisperer glared at her, and his body cracked and shattered before her eyes. Yet he remained, an apparition which showed its true form to her, a humanoid shape forged from floating shards of mirror glass. As each shard floated through the air, each member of Team R.W.B.Y saw something completely different. Ruby saw both Roman and Tyrian, Yang saw Adam and Mercury's faces, Blake saw Adam and Fury and Weiss saw her father and Death. All people who had brought them some measure of pain in their lives, and for Weiss it was very recent.

The Onyx Phantom stared at her, and yet it could not mirror itself either, also showing its trye form, a dark humanoid silhouette forged from smoke and flames with a jagged grin of molten teeth and long burning hair. It was clear that since Summer was dead that the Higher Demons could not change their forms to best suit her, something that already put her at an obvious advantage. The Onyx Phantom could not use her own tactics against her, and the Whisperer could not use painful memories against her either. The Lord of the Wood stared her down, the only one which did not need to change its appearance from the Leshen.

"Summer Rose... the Squire of Light standing in shadows..." The Whisperer poetically chuckled as he held out his shattered arms, hands clasping into fists. The Onyx Phantom chuckled sinisterly as he paced around, forming weapons in his hands.

"You're far from where you belong, Squire." The Onyx Phantom hissed.

Squire of Light... the things that Kragen believed in, that the souls of the good would rise again in a blinding light against the darkness.

How he hoped he could stand amongst old friends and loved ones again.

Ruby held her side, feeling the hot sticky blood leak from her wound, wincing as she lifted her head back up at her mother who protected her with her Scythe. She remembered the name of her mother's Scythe – Blossoming Rose. However her mother's scythe was far superior to Crescent Rose, something the Higher Demons seemed to be keenly aware of. The Scythe looked remarkably similar to Crescent Rose, except it was double ended, as if a mirror were between it, two scythes on both ends.

"Whisperer, Onyx Phantom, Lord of the Wood – a pleasure to see you at last." Summer said as she stood her ground, staring the Dark Entities down. "You look shocked. Not a fan of seeing ghosts? From how many souls you've reaped I would've imagined you'd be quite used to seeing their faces." Summer stated as she refused to move from her spot. The Lord of the Wood slowly moved, its burning coals in its skull watched her evilly as it paced.

"I guess we are not used to those we have taken to return long after they were vanquished. It seems we did not strike you down hard enough." The Onyx Phantom laughed as he stared her down, she rolled her eyes and stared at him with a sigh.

"I guess some things are not so easily forgotten." Summer said as she shrugged her shoulders.

"You surprised us, to be sure, but your journey will not end in Victory. Remnant will face the same fate as every Universe that has come before us. We will save you from the decay." The Whisperer assured.

"No... not this time. Everyone hits their stride... but every streak ends eventually." Summer assured, spinning her Double Ended Scythe through her fingers.