RWBY: FaLSE Tale

Chapter 45: A man who cannot command himself will always be a slave.

Chapter 45: JWV Goethe, "Zahme Xenien"

Lucifer kneels on a small circular platform of metal, wearing a pair of black linen trousers that are baggy down to the knee, but then are tightened over the full lower legs. He kneels in the center of the ring, his palms laid flat up with the left under right, with the thumbs doing the same on the palm. Being shirtless, his black stripes show with them following his spine and ribs, a red paint follows the pattern over his black cybernetics until it reaches the forearm where the arm turns white with red. Taking in deep breaths, he follows the rhythm that comes from all around him, a light roar like a dragon snoring, heating up the room with a glowing tangerine. Once he closes his eyes, flames reach to his space, growing up with the exhale, and shrinking back down with the inhale, continuing as so until finally it reaches a still point of being on his level every inhale, and growing to his kneeling height on the exhale.

Taking in a deep breath, he begins his following of the path that his book retelled. First he must look to his lowest within, the base of the tower that makes him, the roots that dig under for the trunk to grow. The survival, what keeps him living on and trying to fight. Yet there is no true growth, when it is blocked by fear…

A shrouded figure of shadow stands over him, looking out from a small box, his large hand clasped over his mouth. In the figure’s other hand, a curved kukri glows to red life, steaming in the cold air. It cuts deep into the throats of his, feeling the heat pressed against his flesh as his aura. Unable to scream, just able to bite at the hand and scratch at the wrist. A pale blue light emanates and fades from him, pulsing and shining away in pixelated dust. He bites the hand of his attacker, biting through the flesh of the palm and only continues. Biting and biting all he could do, piercing through the aura with elongated fangs. The attacker drags the dagger out, cutting off the head that sent out excruciating pains for only a few seconds, dragging him into darkness…

In pure darkness, a dim light of purple begins to illuminate the space around him. Standing on a carpet of violet velvet, the ground is a black stone brick and there are no walls in sight. Just humongous pillars of skulls, but man and grimm made to stand as one thing to support a ceiling that is never seen, with sconces of purple flames dangling from them in large bowls. Further flames begin to grow, creating a path ahead of him, stretching out a light that reveals stairs that go up and up, until a wall is finally revealed. A large throne of obsidian with a giant humanoid made of a dark purple mounts the seat of power, having large horns that curls back like an ibex. Snarls begin to surround him, and as he stands up, he reaches for his hip, grabbing at air, he looks up to all around him, shaking as the red markings of grimm shine in the darkness beyond the pillars. The throne erupts in red flames, expelling themselves down the path at him…

The flames grow white, burning hotter and brighter, scratching at his face until they turn a pale blue. A woman’s hand pushes onto his right eye, pale blue flames expelling from it. A small explosion knocks his head off his body, he sees her cynical smile from her pale lips, her long black hair flowing with the ends glowing a bright blue. His head strikes a solid object, letting out a loud thunk that knocks out his vision to bright white…

Blinking, he sees puffy clouds that are white, blue, orange, and pink… Sitting against a large rock covered in snow, the sunset is but a distant sight at the ends of the sea. Beside him, a white mare snorts hot breath onto his cold face. Like that of a ghost, the mare’s semi translucents let him make out the shades behind her to just a further white and gray mountain.