Ruby: "Anything?"

Penny: "Nothing over here!"

Jaune: "No one over here, either!"

Ren: "It almost seems like... the town was abandoned."

Ruby looks around while the others go somewhere else, feeling unease in the wind.

Nora: "Hey, I think I found something!"

Ruby turns and rushes over. Nora, Jaune, Penny, Mecha, Summer, and Ren are looking at a town sign. Nora moves the ivy growing over it to the side to read what it says.

 Nora moves the ivy growing over it to the side to read what it says

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.

Nora: "Oniyuri? Never heard of it

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.

Nora: "Oniyuri? Never heard of it."

Jaune: "Me neither."

Ren: "I have."

The other three look at him, surprise on Nora and Ruby's faces.

Ren: "You might think of it as Anima's Mountain Glenn, had it never been completed. Years ago, the richest members of Mistral were unhappy with how the Kingdom was being run."

As Ren speaks, Mecha used a hologram from his eyes, showing wide shots showing the various unfinished buildings, disrepair and neglect of the village.

Ren: "Frustrated with the council, they pooled their resources together to build their own city, with their own laws. They hoped that one day, it could maybe even become its own Kingdom. Many thought it would be the future."

Ren walks away from the other three.

Ren: "I know my parents did."

Ruby: "What happened?"

He brushes some dirt off of the stone border of a low wall to reveal claw marks.

Ren: "What always happens."

Mecha: "The Grimm."

Ren tightens his hands into fists.

Ren: "Not just any, one."

Ruby briefly faces Nora in confusion, but Nora doesn't move her concerned gaze away from Ren. Ruby turns back to him.

Ruby: "One?"

You Stare into the Abyss, and the Abyss stares back.Where stories live. Discover now