White like Snow | Destiny X RWBY

Illusion/Catharsis

There was a time before the Devils. There was.

It was simple.

Just a stray wandering the desert with a single question: 'what is this?'

A somber, floating voice to remind me of the dangers of this new world. A burning in the back of my skull pushing me towards...

...Something...

I look left and see a broken highway. Grass and weeds colonizing debris and the seemingly endless amounts of rusted cars all the way from the edge of the world to the other side of the horizon. Some piled on top of each other, some swerved off the road or upside down.

Their former inhabitants reduced to bones or becoming one with nature.

I look right and see sand. The arid expanse made my tongue dry as I sought an oasis. There was none. And I didn't require refreshment.

Still...I thought about that temptation. It was uncomfortable to theorize.

Now, on this balcony under the sun, I look up from my hands and see a bustling city. People grumbling about prices of goods, law enforcement bearing down on them, a distant chant of opposition in the distance growing louder by the second.

For a moment, a single moment... the weight comes down upon me.

I feel...

...Something...

Eretria: "You ready to go?"

9:30 AM.

Ah...

Business and all.

We rode out into the arid expanse. I debated the whole time.

Between awkwardly shifting back and forth, chasing my ambitions and regressing.

Even though she specifically instructed me to hold on. 'Course, she's the only thing I can hang on to.

Cold steel swiped her back. I flinched away and settled for nothing.

We didn't talk. Probably my fault. It had been like this almost the whole morning.

Dust and other assortments kicked up behind the bike, spewing back out at the world. Dark clouds loomed overhead. They shaded us and half the valley.

I watched intently.

Thunder rumbled.

The tune repeated in my head. Over and over.

Well, anyway, Cockburn said this was a dainty little place. Doesn't seem so bad.

A cozy town with a main street, a few houses on the hillside and farms lining its borders.

Dream catchers were erected on every wall, window and walkway. Most had Grimm symbology, though I recognized very few. Beowolves and Ursa - I think their names were.

We slowed, parking next to a red saloon labeled, 'Red Rover'.

Eretria: "Bigger than I thought it would be."

"Cozy. Kinda place I'd like to settle in. Maybe have a nice homestead on the hill."

Eretria: "Asher Gold, retiree?" She said in amusement.

"Asher Old."

She chuckled.

Eretria: "One of your worst ones yet."

"Many more to come."

Just like that, we're cool again.

Yeah, I don't know how it works either.