Chapter 15

The Final Sunset

By the time Atlesian reinforcements arrived, the floating islands were swirling with the darkness of Grimm, and the screams were only enhancing that intimidation. Enhanced, armored Grimm were all over them, and not letting up for a second. Several Atlesian warships were already dysfunctional, and ten times that number of huntsmen were already out of combat, either killed or wounded.

But on the other end, hundreds of Grimm have already been slain. It was clear now that Merlot would not go down without a fight. Those who didn't believe in the Grimm had no trouble killing them, but for people like Ruby, people who knew that Grimm had souls deep down, it was the most heart rending thing. Toothless and Hiccup were able to cripple the right flight force of the Grimm after a while, and slowly after that they began to gain a foothold. But then enhanced, mutated Lancers swarmed from their hives and wiped out an eighth of the center strike force, only managing to lose about two or three in the process.

It was hard for the warships to strike the Grimm since they flew so close to the huntsmen and armies. Pretty soon, though, Atlesian Sentinels dropped from the sky. These armor suits gained the momentum that the huntsmen needed. Half the islands were now under their control, and at the center was Merlot. For some reason, he seemed more calm than he should have.

Seeing this, Ruby, Toothless, and Hiccup all rushed to the center. Before they got near, though, Merlot was able to send a wave of energy. What seemed like an attack seemed to halt the technology that kept Toothless airborne. They landed several islands away from Merlot, with a legion of Grimm between them.

"You have to make it to Merlot! Otherwise this whole battle is for nothing!" Hiccup shouted over the screeching Grimm.

"But what about you?" Ruby replied. Hiccup pulled out his sword. However, the Monstrous Nightmare saliva was instantly extinguished by the wind. "Here!" Ruby then tossed him a vial of fire Dust. He folded the blade back, inserted the vial, and unfolded it again. The flames were then both stronger and more resilient to the wind, and the flames seemed to infuse into the blade itself.

"That'll work." Hiccup smirked as he sliced a Grimm in two. "Make it happen, Ruby!" They then resumed their fight, slashing through the wall of Grimm. Ruby didn't know or feel it, but the entire time her eyes shone with a brilliant silver. However, Ruby could feel a twitching in her arm, a feeling that was clearly not a muscle spasm.

Until finally, she reached the island right next to Merlot. All he did was smirk. "Not very impressive, if I'm honest. The only reason you're here is because of those eyes of yours."

Ruby only unfolded Cerulean Rose and pointed it at Merlot. "I am Ruby Rose, huntress of Beacon Academy and slayer of the Black Death. Unless you want to come with us with a few less limbs, I suggest you surrender immediately."

"Oh! Why such hurtful thorns for such a beautiful rose? But then again, that's not really you talking, is it?" Merlot gave a smart grin. "Yes, you're not the only one outside that damn mountain that knows about your little gift. The ability to cross universes- such an outstanding power! And Iserrule has that power tenfold! You must understand, I simply need to build his army! It's a noble cause, I assure you."

"Noble my ass, you just don't want Iserrule to decimate you." Ruby snarled with eyes shining brilliantly.

Merlot sighed. "You really are a clever girl." He rushed her with his metal hand, which she blocked in the same interval. They were at each other's throats, each one trying to wear the other down.

In the next moment, Ruby activated the thruster in her foot to deliver a devastating kick to his other arm. But somehow, it didn't break, despite the overwhelming force. She then saw a metallic gleaming under his sleeve.

"And you're not the only one improving their body." The skin peeled away from his arm to reveal more metal.

"So that's it. You've turned yourself into a madman for power. You tore yourself to pieces just so that you could defeat me." Ruby growled as she used both her semblance and her thrusters to sweep his legs and kick him near the edge of the island. "But if you think you can go up against the culmination of a thousand humans, seeking justice and honor, you better think again!" Her voice echoed with voices from ages past, each one equally as powerful.

Merlot growled in rage. "You're right, I can't." Toothless roared in the distance, a blast of blue fire blasting through a dozen more Grimm. Merlot grinned as he said "But an amalgamation against an amalgamation is more than enough." Merlot then raised his hand, and black energy emitted from it. Ruby could see, even from her spot, that Toothless reacted to it.

"No." Ruby gasped, the glow in her eyes fading. She knew what he was thinking.

"So you know the truth, don't you? And yet, you overlooked it so willingly." Merlot said with a wide grin. "You knew that you never heard of a Night Fury before then. And in that book that you looked through so many times, you saw that a Night Fury was of knowledge. The page that never existed until that moment. And you didn't give it a second thought?"

Ruby then remembered the graves in the forest. And then, she remembered knowledge that was entirely false, but at the same time completely true. The lake in front of Beacon, false knowledge. The death of Summer Rose, complete lies. Her very history, a lie.

"You see now. And you know that Toothless is neither Grimm nor Dragon. He is both. But that little bit of Grimm in him. That one little bit is more than enough to make him… revert." Merlot then balled his fist. The energy intensified, turning into a powerful ball of darkness that seemed to connect to Toothless. Toothless came crashing down on the island. He was writhing on the ground. Blood seeped from his scales as his claws began to glow red.

"No. No, STOP!" Ruby screamed.

"It's already begun. It cannot be stopped, nor can it be reverted. But please, O great silver eyed warrior, try." Merlot grinned.

Ruby knew it was useless to try. The influence of the darkness was too great for her to revert.

The bones grew over his scales as the blood red markings began to glow all over him. The technology all over him tore off, and he became a completely different being. The conversion was complete. Toothless, the kindest soul and most fierce fighter, was now a mindless beast.

"Toothless… please, no!" Ruby exclaimed.

"The Grimm have no regard for human life. Not even yours. Kill her." The blue fire began to build up in its mouth. Ruby knew he was building for a blast that would tear through her aura. It was then that she noticed a white light in the palm of her hand.

In the timespan of a microsecond, she saw a flash of a man with ultimate power with a malformed arm similar to a cannon. After that, a ball of devastating white light, then nothing but death and destruction.

"NO! PLEASE, NO! STOP!" Ruby screamed. She scrambled away from Toothless, not in fear for her own life, but his.

The light intensified, and her hand was stuck aiming at Toothless. She tried to move, but it wouldn't go anywhere.

"PLEASE, I'LL DO ANYTHING! JUST MAKE IT STOP!" Ruby was crying now, the light was almost blinding.

"W-What the hell is that!?" Merlot exclaimed.

"GET OUT OF THE WAY! RUN!" Her voice cracked as she screamed for mercy. For both herself and Toothless.

Merlot tripped over himself trying to run away. But the Grimm within him made him halt. "I don't believe your job is done, Doctor." A dark voice whispered into his ear, a voice only Merlot could hear. His eyes widened in horror as his body was taken over by the demon within him.

"LET ME GO!" Merlot exclaimed.

"STOP IT!" Ruby begged, but the light only grew stronger. Eventually, neither side could hold back anymore. Both she and Toothless released powerful blasts of fire and light, which engulfed half the islands. It was a firestorm for those outside the blast radius. When the light faded, a tide of wind and water was sucked into the center. Islands collided, creating a gravitational chain reaction, which made the wind even more powerful.

And at last, calm. The sun set on the final day of the universe. The death toll for this battle was greater than any battle before that. Half the islands were turned to dust, and the other half were in pieces. Some islands even lost too much Dust and fell into the lake.

"Where's Ruby?!" Jaune shouted. They were searching every corner of the islands to find her, or at least a hint of where she's gone. Dark clouds began to form above.

"There's an island in the center, still intact!" Weiss exclaimed. They all rushed over to the island through a path of floating rubble, along with Weiss creating a few glyphs to help the trek, and saw, through the smoke, a shadow with a cloak.

"Ruby!" They all exclaimed at once. But what they saw was beyond what they could imagine. Her arm was extended, with her left hand tightly around it. Her expression was that of terror and pain. And her body was no longer of flesh and blood.

She had been turned to stone, along with Toothless and Merlot. Like the shadows of those in the center of a devastating blast, all that remained was their lifeless bodies turned to stone.

The dark clouds began to swirl overhead. A voice of dread began to whisper in their ears.

"The eyes have now been blinded. Dread, sorrow, misery. It is only of human nature to mourn for monsters. Hatred, anger, loathing. It is of human nature to hate what it doesn't understand. Life, death, cycle. This is the infinite loop which humanity will now and forever undergo. War, bloodshed, accusations. It is of human nature to pursue peace, but always push it away. Life, world, universe. The three things that must die to end suffering. One day, you will understand all that I do, and why I destroy the world."

And in the final word, all in this universe ceased. And one more light was extinguished.

To be concluded

Rose of the Underground

Escape Reality