There was a great and choking darkness in the air, one so vile and malevolent that it seemed to poison her every breath and cause the skies to whimper. There was a great and powerful weight on her soul, the weight of the oceans so heavy and overwhelming that she felt as if she might be turned to dust. There was a great and icy fear in her heart, freezing her blood solid with a chill colder than Atlas.
There was a great despair.
"W-who.... Who are you?!" She shouted, fighting through the indescribable terror that permeated through the air. She hadn't a clue who this man was, nor where he had come from. But despite that, she could sense it, even all the way from the ground as he stared down at her from the heavens like a God.
He was dangerous.
"Who am I? What a good question, my dear." The mysterious pale man suddenly leapt from the tower he stood upon, slowly floating down to the ground and landing with a slight gust of wind. He was only about ten meters away from them now, letting Ruby get a better look at him- specifically his unnerving eyes. The lavender crystal in his left and ringed emerald in his right seemed to stare past her, like the sun in how they glowed upon all that walked this earth.
"Don't get any closer, or we'll be forced to assume you are hostile and attack with full force!" Amber was next to raise her voice, clutching her stump where her arm had once been. Blood dripped down her face and body, yet she was still ready to fight on against this mysterious threat.
"That would certainly be a... wise assumption." The man spoke eloquently, his mismatched eyes staring the group of battle weary warriors down without a hint of fear. The group of teens tensed, while Qrow, Amber, and Ironwood stood protectively in front of them.
"The hell are you talking about?! Are you with Cinder?!" The alien-like entity paused, before he began to chuckle as he waved the idea away absentmindedly.
"With all due respect, sir, My being is not to be sullied by a supposed allegiance with any of the foul creatures who walk this earth." The pale man paused, lifting a hand to his chest with a smirk. As he did so, he seemed to stare at Ruby specifically, an odd glint in his eyes as he spoke.
"My name is Sakashiki Otsutsuki, the one who shall take everything from you." Those words rattled all who were present's bones, making them step back in fear. However, it was also the last straw for Ironwood, who's unwavering grit and determination made him the first to act. Immediately, he pointed his pistol at Sakashiki and fired.
A fatal mistake.
Before the bullet could make it even an inch from his gun's barrel, Sakashiki had grabbed it in between two fingers. With such speed that no one could even react, he then formed a miniscule green orb of energy on his index finger and tapped Ironwood on the forehead.
Instantly, he was dead.
The green energy spread over his entire body and vaporized the man completely, the general unable to even scream before his existence was snuffed out. No blood, no gore, just the shining emerald light- and then we was gone.
"Those who are the first to act are either the first or last to die... It seems that he was the former." Everyone else was shaking at this point, their fear too much for them to handle in the face of such an overwhelming foe. Ruby herself was shell shocked, not knowing how to react at all.
'We can't beat him... he- he killed Ironwood just like that... we can't go on, not like this- we- we need to retreat!' But despite her best efforts, the caped crusader couldn't move a muscle. The fear was paralyzing, an overwhelming aura that left her completely immobile. All she could think about were those haunting, damning eyes, ones that threatened to consume her.
"Now, if you're done playing games... deliver me the source of the silver light." Sakashiki's voice went down an octave as his grin disappeared, making RUby's breath hitch as she processed his words. Silver light? That must be her, Gods, he wanted her.
"Scatter!" Thankfully, her Uncle Qrow was quick to react to the alien's demand, throwing down a crystal of fire dust that created a massive smoke cloud. Like rabbits, Ruby and her friends vanished into the ashes, running as fast as they could to try and escape the demon before them.
Her heart pounded in her chest as she sprinted, too tired to activate her semblance through the ruined battlefield. There were screams and hollers as the teens tried to make sense of their situation, through which, Ruby found Pyrrha in the smoke.
"This way, there are airships coming from this way!" The red head shouted, beckoning Ruby forward as they began to dash in the direction she had mentioned. Ruby, terrified, looked to her older friend for comfort as tears began to gather in her eyes.
"P-pyrrha I- what are we- we gonna do?" She sobbed, still running beside the other girl who looked down at her with false hope, a facade crafted to try and lift her friend's spirit.
"Don't worry, Ruby. Everything's gonna be okay, we're all gonna make it out of here just fine-!" Pyrrha's voice suddenly died out as a rod composed of what looked to be black metal was shot through the back of her neck and out of her throat, coming out covered in blood as she collapsed to the ground. Ruby screamed, breath ripped from her throat as she watched Pyrrha reach out for her weak, gargling blood for a few seconds before she went limp entirely, blood pooling around her head.
"Ah ah ah..." The demented and wicked voice of Sakashiki sounded through the smoke, like a demon who had come to collect the blood of the innocent. His eyes glowed ominously through the darkness.
"Don't run."
In an instant, the smoke was blown away by a force emanating from Sakashiki's body, a wave of insurmountable power that seemed to make the whole ground shake. This revealed to the others Pyrrha's corpse, making them begin to scream and several begin to vomit on the spot. But Ruby couldn't move, the grief and fear of one thousand worlds crushing her soul as she continued to stare at Pyrrha's lifeless body.
At light speed, another black rod was thrown at Ruby, who was too slow to react as it sailed towards her skull. But Sakashiki was no fool, he wasn't going to kill the girl with the interesting eyes, that would be no fun.
The others, on the other hand...
Right on cue, a blur of yellow appeared in front of Ruby, one that the red reaper quickly recognized as her sister. Before Ruby could scream at Yang to get out of the way, the crunching of metal rod through flesh and bone could be heard as Ruby watched the front of the rod stick out through Yang's upper chest, soaked in red.
"YANG!!" Screams escaped from all of Team RWBY's lips all at once, shock and despair over the fatal blow landed on their teammate. Ruby watched stunned as Yang collapsed on her back, blood pooling in her mouth as she stared up at Ruby with tears in her eyes.
"...R-run... p-please..." The blonde gargled out, her life force quickly fading as Ruby stared at her body in complete and utter despair. Running was the last thing on her mind right now. All she could think about was her big sister, the person she had been with her entire life, her rock, her family. Now she was dying.
"Down in a single blow once more? How disappointing. At least make this entertaining for me." Sakashiki purred, his mismatched eyes towering over the remnants of the group like falling stars.
All at once, action exploded around the battleground. Qrow and Amber had accepted that retreat was impossible, and so had decided to buy the kids time by charging in. Qrow roared angrily as he brought his scythe down on Sakashiki's head, but the alien just blocked it casually before punching Qrow in the chest. That single blow shattered the man's aura and made him cough up blood, and the following kick sent him skidding back through the dirt. Amber reached their foe not a second later, trying to impale him with a spear of flame. Unfortunately for her, the villainous being only chuckled as grabbed her wrist, forcing her to toss the spear into the sky where it exploded harmlessly almost one hundred meters above them. Grinning, Sakashiki then elbowed Amber in the chest, cracking two of her ribs and bringing her aura down greatly. Then, he brought his hand out and placed it on her stomach, firing a green chakra blast that shattered her aura and sent her flying into a large piece of debris.
Despite all of that, Ruby found herself frozen.
A strangled cry of despair emanated from Blake as she flung Gambol Shroud through the air at Sakashiki, who easily caught the blade and used it to pull her closer. With a single strike, he punched a hole through the center of her chest, ripping through her ribs, lungs, and spines in an explosion of blood and gore. Flinging the body aside, he cackled while charging up a green energy blast and firing it at the next closest person, who happened to be Ren.
Agonizingly, Ruby forced herself to move, but she felt like her blood was made of lead as she collapsed to her knees. Screams tore their way through their throat as tears poured down her face. She could only watch in complete and utter despair as Nora threw herself in front of the attack despite Ren's pleas, being completely annihilated by the jade energy- another letter knocked off of Team JNPR.
By now, Ruby had forced herself up and gripped her scythe, wanting nothing more than to fight and die like the rest of her friends. But it seemed that Sakashiki had chosen now of all times to attack, appearing in front of her faster than even her silver eyes could track and stabbing her in the right shoulder with a black rod. In an instant, Ruby was taken to the ground as the rod was embedded into the earth, a foreign energy coursing through her body and leaving her paralyzed except for her haunting screams. He then drove another rod into her opposite shoulder, completely pinning her down.
"RUBY!!!" The silver eyed girl thrashed and convulsed as she heard her partner scream, followed by the casting of a white glyph and a wave of ice coming towards Sakashiki. However, Ruby could only scream and shout with terror as Sakashiki's right eye glowed a sickening a poisonous emerald green, a shockwave ringing out from his person and completely shattering the ice as it approached, as well as throwing Weiss back into a wall which made the heiress cough up blood as her aura was shattered.
Ruby let out a haunting scream as her ears began to bleed from the chaos, with Sakashiki laughing like mad from above her. He then put his arm out and let his right eye shine once more, a black glow engulfing his hand as her uncle was pulled into his clutches. Qrow tried to turn into a crow to escape, fighting against the pull with his wings, but it wasn't enough. With a delightful sneer, the crow was pulled into Sakashiki's hand- where it was then completely vaporized.
"NOOO!!! PLEASE STOP!!" The crimsonette howled like a dying dog as she watched yet another family member perish. The next to go was Jaune, who charged at Sakashiki with reckless abandon in a final show of bravery. He wouldn't cower anymore, and if that meant dying, then so be it. He swung his sword at Sakashiki, who simply stood unmoving as it shattered against his face. With a smirk, the alien coated his left hand in green chakra before swiping at Jaune's neck, cutting through his aura like butter and decapitating him. Ruby vomited as the severed head landed on the ground a few feet away from her, watching through teary eyes as her friend's headless body collapsed to the ground with blood spurting from his head.
"Stop? Do you think words alone will stop me? If you want to save these pathetic fools, then get up and fight me. Don't be a coward, use those eyes and give me a fight!" The Otsutsuki bellowed, before he charged toward Ren, who was still staring at the smoke that had once been his best friend in shock. He didn't even react when Sakashiki threw his hand forward, firing a massive wave of jade energy which completely engulfed and eviscerated the boy.
Sent to join his friend in death.
Just then, a bolt of lightning sailed through the sky towards Sakashikim who simply smacked it away and sent it careening into the walls of the ruined Beacon Academy. The Otsutsuki smirked as she stared at his challenger, Amber, who stood with her remaining arm thrown out and shaking.
"You survived two hits? Congratulations. But that's your limit." He laughed, charging up an emerald energy ball in his hands as Ruby thrashed in enraged anguish from behind him. Amber just grit her teeth, weaving a few one handed hand signs before bringing her fingers to her lips.
"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"
Ruby's eyes widened as she heard Madara's signature technique being launched from her friend's lips, a devastating flame that glassed the ground below as it rushed forth. Sakashiki also seemed surprised, but only cackled like mad as he reared back.
"You fight like him? Fine! You'll die like him too!" Ruby felt her mind go blank at those words, numb as she vacantly watched a wave of unstoppable green chakra blast forth from Sakashiki's hands and completely overpower Amber's fire attack. In her final moments, Amber's eyes looked towards Ruby and her lips moved with a final message.
"I'm sorry."
A moment later, she was engulfed and eradicated from this world, body obliterated by the unbearable force of Sakashiki's overwhelming power. Ruby felt her heart shatter, but still, one thought occupied her mind.
Madara.
Madara was dead.
It seemed impossible that he could be defeated. He was the strongest person she knew, nearly, no, completely invincible. No one could best him, not one man, not an army. He was the perfect warrior.
He was her friend. He was her teacher. He was her leader... She loved him.
And now he was dead.
Everyone was dead.
Yang, Blake, Qrow, Amber, Ren, Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora, Ironwood, Ozpin, Kuro, Adam, Penny... they were all gone-
Wait.
There was one more-
"And then there were too." Sakashiki's malevolent voice broke Ruby from her fractured mind, her empty eyes suddenly filling with horror as he used his pulling ability to yank Weiss through the air and into his grasp. He held her up by the neck, choking the life out of her partner who couldn't speak, who could only cry and struggle weakly within his grasp.
"Watch closely, now. This is the price of your weakness." Sakashiki spat, looking down on Ruby with disgust as he reached out his other hand towards Weiss' face. The crimsonette's eyes widened as she struggled frantically through her bindings, screaming out for her friend but to no avail.
"WEISS!! No, no, no! Kill me, kill me instead! Please for the love of the Gods, don't kill her! Don't you dare hurt her! Don't you dare hurt anyone else! Why, why, why?!?!" She screeched, wails escaping her spirit as she watched Weiss cry too.
"Shut it, brat. Weaklings don't get to beg." Sakashiki reached out his index and middle fingers and placed them over each of Weiss' eyes. Then, without any mercy, slowly shoved his fingers through her eye sockets. The ivory haired girl screamed and cried as blood rushed from her eyes, with Ruby crying out her name as Sakashiki tore through each eye and pushed past them. Weiss writhed and squirmed in absolute agony as memories of her entire life played out before her, her left arm reaching out towards Ruby weakly, who was unable to reciprocate the feeling.
It all ended when Sakashiki reached Weiss' brain, stabbing into it with his sharpened nails and puncturing her brain and instantly bringing the young girl's life to an end. Her corpse spasmed uncontrollably for a few moments, before going entirely limp in his clutches.
Ruby stared at her, mouth wide open and unable to even form words as she watched Weiss' body fall to the ground, blood pouring from her empty eye sockets. Sakashiki grinned as he turned his attention to the silver eyed girl, his Rinnegan and Byakugan like dark beacons in the sunlight.
"Is that enough for you?" He whispered softly, hints of mocking and sincerity in his tone as he gazed at Ruby. The crimsonette was completely broken. Her family and friends were dead, ruthlessly slaughtered like sheep. Her sister, her partner, her uncle, her mentor- all put to death by this- by this thing.
She remembered the times they had all shared- her childhood with Yang and Uncle Qrow. Meeting Madara during the robbery. Meeting her partner, Weiss, at Beacon. Forming Team RWBY with her sister, Weiss, and Blake. Hanging out with Team JNPR. Dealing with Blake's faunus heritage. Getting closer to Madara. Forming the Akatsuki with him, Amber, and Kuro. Defeating Adam and recruiting him. The Vytal Festival and learning of Madara's past... Killing Penny, the deaths of her teachers and friends, the death of her sister and uncle, her teammate and partner.
The death of her mentor, the last hope, Madara.
"The pain of loss...isn't just something that weighs on our hearts, it is something that fuels our soul. To carry the fallen with us, to see to it that they are not forgotten and that they did not die in vain. Let them guide you, let them give you strength...pick up their visions and hopes and dreams...don't let them die, don't let the dream die with the dreamer...keep on fighting for the world they wanted, because if they died for it...then it must be worth fighting for."
Ruby gasped as she heard his voice, the same words from earlier repeating once more in her mind. It echoed over and over again, it wouldn't be drowned out by despair, it was booming and filled with conviction! Her friends were dead, her family was dead, but their spirits and dreams lived on! They lived on with her, and they would not have died in vain!
Despair turned to rage and vengeful strength, the will of the fallen inhabiting her eyes. Sakashiki watched with a smirk as her eyes began to glow, silver light gathering as he leapt back.
"Yes, yes! Give me a fight, give it to me!" He bellowed, excitement on the edge of his soul as he watched the scene in awe. Ruby could feel it, holy power exuding from her very being, thoughts of each and every one of the fallen flashing through her mind.
In an instant, a massive silver aura engulfed her entire body, the black rods pinning her to the ground shattering as the divine light poured from her eyes almost like wings. She was lifted up from the ground and stood upright, a massive pillar of silver light piercing through the clouds and lighting up the skies even more than the sun. The silver light covered her cloak, giving it a heroic and divine appearance as the godly light coalesced around her in a thick and almighty aura of divine power! It covered her entire body, making her appear as a silver wraith of divine justice, a Goddess who had come to reap what had been sewn by the Devil before her. The silver flames climbed up Crescent Rose, turning it into a harbinger of annihilation, a scythe which would cleave apart the heavens and earth with no resistance.
Her eyes poured with divine power, like silver moons that shined brighter than the sun. She had become it, after so many years, her almighty power had been awoken. And now, the Spirit of Justice stood upon Remnant with but one goal.
Victory.
At speeds far far far faster than light, Ruby raced forth, leaving silver sparks in her wake as she brought her scythe down. Sakashiki, for all of his ego, was too slow to react- the divine weapon leaving a massive diagonal gash across his chest that spurted crimson ichor. He grunted in pain, but couldn't dodge the kick to the gut that sent him flying into one of Beacon's remaining pillars. It came crashing down in a cacophony of destruction upon him, the white alien bursting from the rubble with a deranged expression.
"Finally, finally! Give me a fight like he did, like Madara!" He screeched as Ruby blasted towards him, her speed so great that it warped space itself. She was but a streak of silver in the sky as the Otsutsuki fired a barrage of green chakra blasts at her, with each and every one of them being deflected by Ruby with her scythe.
Like a bolt of lightning, Ruby appeared before him, thrusting her holy weapon forward. Sakashiki dodged to the right, charging up a green orb of energy in his hand and slamming it into the side of Ruby's face. But the silver eyed warrior didn't even flinch, tanking the attack head on before turning and slashing at the Otsutsuki horizontally. The strike left a deep gash on his stomach which poured blood- as well as sent him flying towards the ground.
Bur Ruby was already there, grabbing the alien by the back of the head and slamming his face into the dirt. That single motion made the whole continent shake, with cracks spider webbing across the ground from Sakashiki's body. With another slam, silver light erupted from the cracks and shattered the sky, with Ruby then moving her grip to his ankle and flinging him across the field.
With a scream that sounded layered with a thousand voices, Ruby swung Crescent Rose with the force of the world itself. A massive slash of divine silver light flew towards Sakashiki, with the Otsutsuki quickly throwing up his hands and activating his Rinnegan. An Almighty Push erupted from his body, but to his disbelief, even the gravitational wave was cleaved into by Ruby's attack!
Side stepping the slash as it sailed by, Sakashiki fired a barrage of Rinnegan Rods towards Ruby who ran at him with vicious fury. But to his shock, they all merely shattered against her silver cloak. His eyes widened, staring at her in shock as she warped space with her speed.
'On par with Madara?!'
In an instant, she was on him, grabbing him by the face and opening her eyes as wide as they would go. Ruby could feel the spirits of the fallen cry out, their anguish, hopes, and dreams converted into blinding and purifying light that would reduce all evil into nothing with overwhelming power.
This was over.
With a harrowing and ear piercing scream, Ruby let loose the full unbridled power of her silver eyes on Sakashiki. The Otsutsuki screamed in agony as he felt divine energy threaten to wipe him off of the face of the planet, turning him to stone slowly as he tried to fight against it. His ears bleed from the intensity of her scream, his eyes bleeding from the blinding light.
'I knew she could be strong, but this is absurd! Will I be forced to utilize Genshō Gyakuten for a second time?! No, no mortal will ever push me that far again! I will crush her just like the rest of those pathetic ants.' With monumental effort, Sakashiki reached out his crumbling arm towards Ruby's face, plunging his fingers into her left eye and crushing it violently. Instantly, the silver light emanating from Ruby's being flickered out, fading away as blood poured from her left eye socket. Her screams turned from ones of rage to agony as her hands shot up towards her face to cover the wound.
"Good try... mortal. But in the end... your weakness brought you to your last breath." With that, Sakashiki moved his hand to Ruby's neck, squeezing it tightly... crushing her throat.
Ruby Rose whimpered and twitched in his grasp as blood filled her lungs and mouth, dripping from her lips as she feebly clung to life. But even the brightest flames faded, and without another breath, Ruby died in Sakashiki's hand- her last thoughts of those she had come to love, those who had fallen, those she had failed to protect or avenge
But even if she thought him dead, her mind still let out a final plea before she died.
'Madara... Help me... save the world... you're its last hope.' A red rose with silver edges falls into a pool of still water, joined by the petals of her fallen friends- but in that death, in that sea of darkness, existed a silver spark of hope.
The spark was seen. It was felt. It was heard.
With a booming explosion, a meteor crashed into the last pillar of Beacon Academy, one overlooking the blood stained battlefield in its darkest hour. Sakashiki looked up, an expression of confusion quickly becoming a shocked yet excited grin when blessed the skies above him. It was no meteor, no, it was far more than a simple meteor.
As the smoke and ash cleared from the place of impact, a single figure stood tall with glowing red eyes. Long and spiky black hair flowed down their back, their skin pale and scarred. Their purple robes were burnt and shredded, most notably a massive hole in the front- which exposed what had very recently been a gaping hole, but now was muscle and flesh.
Sakashiki chuckled, his eyes glowing as he stared down his adversary- one which he had been sure he had vanquished. But although this was a surprise, it was most certainly a welcome one. His laughter slowly died out as the petrification that had engulfed several parts of his body broke away, revealing the Otsutsuki in all of his glory.
"Are you ready for round two... Madara?"
For sure enough, The Ghost of the Uchiha stood tall upon the tower, his Sharingan glowing like twin red sun as he gazed upon the battlefield. The bodies of his friends litterting the cold and blood stained earth, their corpses filling him with such emotion that he could not even move. It brought back visions of his own deaths. The first at the hands of Hashirama. The second at the hands of time. The third at the hands of Black Zetsu. The forth at the hands of Sakashiki
He spotted Ruby's corpse.
Madara felt himself die for the fifth time.
Author's Note: Madara's back! I'm sure everything is gonna be just fine-
Oh.
Everyone else is dead.
Oops.
So yeah, try as they might, the cast was unable to defeat Sakashiki. I tried to make it as brutal and traumatizing as possible, all to awaken the silver eyes. Their power was quite extraordinary, but in the end, even they couldn't handle the full unbridled might of an Otsutsuki.
I did really enjoy writing the silver eyes power up though. It's far stronger than it is and canon, and this was just them being awakened for the first time by an amateur. Eve if she didn't win, Ruby wouding Sakashiki at all is very impressive.
But Madara has returned through means which you will all learn of soon, and as you can imagine... he is pissed.
Next chapter begins round two between these titans, one which will put their first to shame. The Battle for Remnant, one which will decide the fate of the entire world.
Who will win?
Stay tuned to find out!
I hope that you all enjoyed the chapter, please let me know what you think of it in the comments. Please leave your ideas, reviews, questions, thoughts, and general opinions on the chapter as well. I hope that you all have a beautiful day, and until next time, peace out!