Prologue 2

Long was the reach of the Saturnus Empire upon the lands of the Remnant. The first day of the Empire’s founding marked the first day that time began to be officially recorded for the Remnant, starting at the year 0.000, and now reaching the year 0.524. From the north of Atlas to the southern coasts of Mistral, the Empire ruled with a merciless, autocratic government, its small group of oligarchs dominating over half of the Remnant. Always at the side of the Saturnus Empire was Jupiter, him looking out from the balcony of a palace built upon Atlas, resting his armored gauntlet covered hands behind his back while he looked down at the people below. Though his masked helmet covered most of his head, his piercing gaze was still visible, Jupiter’s single red eye focused while his other more faded orange eye lazily followed. He saw festivities being performed in the city square, with nobility walking along the merchant stalls selling various goods. A couple of the merchant stalls sold a particularly precious commodity, Jupiter looking over to see a group of slavers presenting caged faunus slaves, advertising them as “thoughtless, yet diligent workers”. Despite their cruel capture and the terrified, hopeless looks in the eyes of the faunus, the Atlas nobility saw no issue with purchasing them, with intense bidding wars being managed by one of the slavers for the purchase of each of the slaves. Though Jupiter couldn’t help but find a bit of distaste with the practice, he knew that slavery was a staple of the Saturnus Empire, and his loyalty to his people far outweighed his sense of morality. While he thought about this, he heard the door open behind him, Jupiter turning to see an older, gray and white haired woman stepping onto the balcony, dressed in the military officer garb of the Empire with two sabers holstered on her hip. “Stepping out for a little air, Jupiter?” She asked with a slight smirk, Jupiter inhaling through his nose while standing before her. “My apologies, Mond Schnee. I’ll return to my post now.” “It’s alright. You’ve been on guard duty all day, and I know it can get monotonous. Take a moment to relax.” Mond replied, Jupiter exhaling, nodding his head as he turned back to the balcony. As he stood behind the railing, Mond stepped over and stood next to him, resting her hands behind her back. “You know, Jupiter, I feel as though you should maybe… be a bit more appreciative of yourself, for lack of a better wording.” Mond said, Jupiter tilting his head at her. “...hmm?” “You’ve served our empire well for centuries. You’ve turned the tides of wars, kept barbarians at bay, saved entire cities… yet you act as though you are some common foot soldier. Well, Jupiter,” Mond chuckled slightly. “You aren’t. You’re a valuable part of the Saturnus Empire. Even if the others do not act that way.” “You flatter me, Schnee. But know that I do not fight for mere approval, or for these political games which are played amongst the Council. I fight for the good of the Empire and its people.” Mond narrowed an eye at Jupiter. “Oh? So you abstain from our politics, then? You have no ideals of your own?” “My only ideal is to serve Saturnus.” Mond looked Jupiter up and down, scanning him for any deceit. But she saw only a genuine expression on his face, a slight look of disappointment starting to form on her own. “Hmm… if that is truly so, Jupiter, then…” Mond sighed. “I wish you luck in your future battles.” “Thank you.” Jupiter replied, Mond looking at him one more time, before shrugging her shoulders and walking away. Jupiter turned back towards the city below him, the darkening sky leading to many of the merchants and performers readying to pack up for the day. In Jupiter’s immortality, he often failed to notice just how quickly time passed him by. In one moment, Atlas was peaceful, yet in the next…

Jupiter stood above the capital city of Saturnus, his fingers gripping around the hilts of his chained twin blades while he looked down at the destruction before him. The floating island city of Atlas was overrun with the slaves who once worked to maintain its upper-class image, the faunus population breaking their chains and charging into the city with whatever weapons they could scavenge. The ornately decorated buildings, the flora-lined roads, the horse-led wagons that led the nobility throughout town, they were now only ruined scraps that littered across the floating island battlefield. The heavily armed guardsmen all raised their spears, shields, and crossbows to try and ward off the rebels, the sounds of blades clashing and arrows flying echoing across the once luxurious city as the slave revolution clashed with Atlas’ finest. “Jupiter! There’s too many of them!” One of the Saturnus soldiers called out, Jupiter turning to them, his grip on his chained blades tightening while a bit of blood dripped from behind his armored faceplate. “Fall back.” Jupiter ordered, the soldier raising their eyebrows behind their Galea helmet, looking at Jupiter in disbelief. “F - Fall back?! Sir, this is no mere settlement that we can reclaim, this is Atlas, our capital! We cannot let these barbaric savages take another inch!” “These slaves are not the true threat. They are only a distraction.” Jupiter replied, the soldier looking at him in confusion as Jupiter pushed past them, marching forward towards the fighting. Reeling one of his chained blades back, Jupiter turned to a rebel charging him with a sword and shield, throwing out the blade and stabbing the chain-extended weapon through the rebel’s aura and into their stomach. The rebel choked out a bit of blood as the blade caught between their ribs, a pained gurgle leaving them as Jupiter reeled them back, kicking his armored heel into their chest and ripping their body from the blade. The other rebels quickly noticed Jupiter’s presence, all raising their crossbows while a few ran forward, transforming their weapons into shields and forming a shieldwall between their arbalists and Jupiter. “...if it isn’t the dog of the Empire. The ruthless devourer of man, Jupiter.” The rebel officer spoke, gritting her teeth as she held out her dust-infused gauntlet, aiming the channeling crystal between her knuckles towards Jupiter while he stood before the rebel squadron. “You made a mistake beckoning to the call of your masters. Because we aren’t just going to kill you.” The officer took another step forward. “We’re going to make you pay for all the people you’ve killed. For all of us faunus that you’ve enslaved, tortured, and broken, all in the name of your empire’s ‘progress’. We…” The officer channeled her semblance, a crackle of energy emitting around her gauntlet while the other rebels all aimed their crossbows forward at Jupiter. “We are vengeance!” They all cried out at once. Jupiter snorted, shaking his head and reading his twin chain blades. “You are nothing.” Jupiter replied, blood pouring down from behind his mask, earning a bit of hesitation from the rebels as he marched forward. The blood gradually shifted to a black color as it dripped down Jupiter’s armor, the rebels all looking between each other while one spoke up. “W - Why is he already bleeding? We haven’t even laid a hand on him yet!” “Stand fast! He’s injured, let us strike him now!” The rebels all readied their crossbows, firing them once the officer gave the order, her keeping her gauntlet trained on Jupiter while he only stood still, letting the arrows embed in his armor and flesh. While the first line of crossbowmen reloaded, the line behind them stepped forward. “FIRE!” The officer called out, the next line firing out another volley of arrows. Despite the dozens of arrows digging into his flesh, Jupiter only continued to slowly march forward, his blood shifting to a black color, the liquid wrapping around his body and enveloping his armor. The rebels all watched as Jupiter emerged transformed from the blood, his armor thickening and taking on a color like that of Grimm chitin, his skin beneath it shifting to a black fur while a pair of red-yellow eyes peered out from the natural helmet formed from the chitin. “He…” One of the rebels let out, clutching their crossbow to their chest. “He really is a monster.” Another spoke, the officer shaking her head, bringing her gauntlet back and staring at Jupiter. “Don’t falter! He’s hurt, press the advantage!” She called out, channeling her semblance and cracking a bolt of ice dust-infused lighting into Jupiter, the Grimm-like man snarling as ice formed on his arm. “Affix spears!” The officer ordered, the rebels hesitating for a second, before following the order, transforming their crossbows into spears, the detachable arrow-tipped heads being dipped in a red dust powder. “Now… charge!” The officer commanded, the shield-bearing rebels charging forward while the spearmen remained in formation behind them. This organized formation ended when Jupiter reeled his chain blades back and cleaved them through the shield bearers, dying screams echoing out from the formation as Jupiter’s blades cut through the shields and the rebels holding them effortlessly. Before the rebels could try and reorganize their formation, several ghostly, orange-colored spectres of Saturnus soldiers formed around Jupiter, them all readying their medieval weaponry and charging at the rebels ahead of them. The spectres relentlessly rampaged their way through the breaking ranks of the rebels, Jupiter looking between the onslaught unfolding before him, the jagged, unhinged jaw behind his Grimm-formed mask opening at the sight of the butchered faunus bodies. The rebel officer froze for a moment as the deaths of so many of her soldiers sank in, her grasp on her gauntlet faltering as she slowly stepped back from Jupiter. Gritting her teeth, the officer popped out the spent ice dust crystal from the gauntlet, loading a fire dust crystal into it and slinging a wave of flame towards the approaching Jupiter. Jupiter simply marched through the flames, brushing off the embers forming on his body before dashing forward, driving both of his blades through the officer’s stomach. With a bestial, grunted snarl, Jupiter’s jaw fully hunged, the officer giving a pained, panicked gasp as she tried to pull herself away from him. “N - No… please…” She muttered, not managing another word before Jupiter closed his jagged mouth onto her head, crushing her skull between his teeth and devouring the upper half of her body. Jupiter’s wounds sealed shut as he stepped away from the butchered corpse, looking out to see the squadron of rebels laying dead between his spectres. Jupiter looked between each of the ghostly figures, recognition flickering in his eyes, seeing one of his fallen comrades in each of the spectres he spawned. Once his trusted brothers and allies, they were now nothing more than another weapon in Jupiter’s arsenal, Jupiter letting out a sigh as he walked past them, the spectres falling in behind him as Jupiter marched throughout the war torn Atlas city.

The fighting grew to a chaotic, unrestrained level, with rebels surging past the guardsmen and breaking into the homes of the nobility. Jupiter watched as the slaves dragged out those who were once their masters, bringing them out onto the streets. Some of the noblemen were restrained, but more were executed on the spot, the cries of the slave owners and their family echoing across the streets as retribution was brought upon them. Jupiter did not concern himself with this, knowing that this slave uprising was only a symptom of something far greater. At the very edge of the massive, sprawling floating island, Jupiter looked out to see a portal shimmering across the rocky terrain, its red and purple light shining across the marble and down onto the rebels climbing out of it. Snorting, Jupiter went to march over towards the portal, stopping when he heard a voice calmly speak behind him. “Hmm? Leaving your empire’s capital to burn, are you, Jupiter?” Jupiter swung around, reading his twin chain blades as he stood before a tall, well-dressed man, his black and gray hair swept over the sides of his head while he stood confidently in a simple, black and white aristocratic suit. “That’s rather odd. I expected you to be more dedicated to your people’s defense, especially since you betrayed our master over it.” “...what is the meaning of this, Dark?” Jupiter questioned, Dark chuckling and shrugging his shoulders. “You were given your orders, Jupiter. Salem wanted you to slaughter this city, just as you have many others.” “I will not lay a hand upon my own people. My servitude to Salem is secondary to my servitude to the Empire.” Jupiter replied, Dark laughing softly, shaking his head as he reached his hand back, taking out a massive warhammer made of crackled stone, a black energy slowly seeping out from the eyeholes of the skulls embedded between its glowing cracks. “My, aren’t you just a virtuous warrior of light, Jupiter? Swearing your eternal service to an empire of imperialist slavers.” “I will not be lectured by the pawn of Salem about morality. You and your master want nothing more than to annihilate everything we know. There may be blood on the Empire’s hands, but it is for progress.” “Oh, I’m not here to debate ethics, Jupiter,” Dark began, a smirk forming on his face while he rested his hammer along his shoulders. “Neither of us are in any position to do so. We’re both just a couple of ruthless bastards, following the will of our masters without question. No…” Dark drew in a deep breath, a more stern expression on his face forming. “It’s simply that Salem gave you very explicit orders, and you neglected them. And now I have to step in and do it myself. And, as you see…” Dark grinned, waving his hand out towards the rebels and guardsmen fighting. “I’m quite skilled with multi-tasking. I figured I’d group as many people on this island as possible, then crash it down to the earth.” “You… no.” Jupiter snarled, reeling his twin blades back. “I will not let you. My gravest mistake was ever even thinking of pledging service to that wretched, monstrous woman. And I will correct that mistake by slaying you, then coming for her head next.” “Oh, Jupiter,” Dark spread his arms out, letting a menacing aura of black fog slowly emit from his body, enveloping the surrounding area in a dark, choking energy.

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The fighting in the distance slowed as a foul essence emitted from Dark’s body, pitching the sky to a pitch black color and causing a dark fog to close in on the island of Atlas. “I’m sorry, but that’s a rather foolish plan.” Reeling his twin blades back, Jupiter sent both of them at Dark, watching as the man leaped up into the air, weaving over Jupiter’s weapons and channeling a mass of energy in his hammer. Raising his eyebrows, Jupiter leaped backwards, watching as Dark slammed the hammer’s head down onto the ground. Cracks rapidly formed in the earth, followed by a great tremor that sent nearby buildings toppling over, crashing into the ground and falling apart. Gritting his teeth, Jupiter lunged forward and swirled his blades around, trying to overwhelm Dark with a flurry of attacks. With a calm, complacent smirk on his face, Dark parried away the attacks, keeping his hammer ready while he gracefully leaped upwards. “I don’t think you realize just how much danger you are in, Jupiter.” Dark stated, swooping down to the ground to attack Jupiter, watching wide-eyed as several spectres all circled around him. Dark sent his arm out and fired out a burst of dark energy to shove back the incoming specters, leaving him open long enough for Jupiter to throw his chained blade forward, driving it through Dark’s head. The moment the killing blow was made, Dark wilted into a pile of ash onto the ground, Jupiter narrowing his red-yellow eyes at the sight. The strange sight was nearly enough for Jupiter to shift back into his human form, the Grimm chitin along Jupiter’s body almost fading, before this pile of ash suddenly exploded into a powerful, overwhelming blast of dark energy, Jupiter falling back as this blast burrowed deep into the floating island. The cracks from their earlier fighting widened rapidly, splitting off a portion of Atlas from the base of the floating island and sending it floating down to the shallow ocean beneath it. Shouting and screaming could be heard from those on this chunk as they fell to their demise, Jupiter nearly sliding off of the falling chunk, narrowly leaping back onto the main island.

Jupiter felt a red light envelope his body, a sharp twinge of pain forming in his chest as he felt his stamina slowly drain from his body. With a grunt, Jupiter remained on his feet, looking around to see the survivors of the blast also suffering from this red light, their bodies falling to the ground as spent, drained corpses as their life essences absorbed into the ashes reforming Dark’s body. Jupiter turned to see Dark rising from these ashes, keeping a cool, collected look on his face while he raised his arms, letting a wide, feathered pair of black wings sprout out from his back, accompanied by his earlier regal garb being replaced by feathered, thickly plated armor. “Hah… my dearest apologies if I have misled you, Jupiter. If I had made you think I was some humble, book-keeping servant of our master. No,” Dark grinned, before bursting forward with wings, driving his hammer into Jupiter’s side and sending the armored man tumbling across the jagged, damaged terrain. “I not only relay her will. I enforce it.” Grunting, Jupiter rose up onto his feet, bringing his chained blades back and clashing them with Dark’s hammer. With another channeling of energy, Dark brought his hammer down onto Jupiter’s blades, shattering the steel beneath his hammer and causing Jupiter’s weapons to be reeled back as broken chains. As Jupiter tried to recover from the tremors of Dark’s attacks, Dark dashed forward and slammed his hammer down onto Jupiter’s shoulder, driving the armored man down to the ground and crumpling him against the stone. Jupiter chipped and heaved for air as his broken, bludgeoned body rose from the indentation in the ground, his Grimm form dissolving around him, revealing his injured human state. “You know… you are quite a skilled warrior, Jupiter. Even if I did defeat you rather easily.” Dark said somewhat jokingly, a smirk on his face while he dropped his hammer to the ground, it dissolving into a pile of ash that washed away in the air. “I’d prefer to get what use out of you as I can, rather than simply killing you. Salem invested quite a bit into you, even past your transgressions.” Dark shrugged, holding his hands back his back while he bent forward, getting eye-level with the fallen Jupiter. “I have an idea… rather than killing you, I’ll let you watch as I destroy your empire. Maybe then you’ll realize that whatever mortal attachments you have are temporary, and that only your service to Salem is eternal.” “You… y - you will… pay…” Jupiter spat, wiping the blood from his mouth as he slowly sat up from the ground. “Oh, don’t be upset with me, Jupiter. I’m only doing my job. Just as you were supposed to do yours.” Jupiter reached for his chains, being stopped when Dark picked up Jupiter by his collar. “Though… you do confuse me with your actions. You were a conduit of Salem’s power, an almighty Blessed, with immortality and a power beyond any man… so why would you risk it all just to serve some meandering humans?” Dark questioned, Jupiter snorting, gathering a bit of blood and saliva in his mouth, then spitting it out onto Dark’s face. “As if a… sadist, inhumane… cur like you could… understand honor, understand duty, understand sacrifice…” Jupiter drew in a choked breath, Dark listening curiously, wiping the blood from his face while Jupiter continued. “Everything I’ve done… my service to your Salem… the men I’ve killed… it was all for… my people… unlike you… and your selfish reasons… your mindset of a… brutish psychopath…” “Well,” Dark chuckled, bringing his hand out and spawning a small portal, allowing a Grimm Seer to float out from it. The creature wrapped Jupiter in its tentacles and lifted him, carrying Jupiter behind Dark while the latter materialized his hammer back into his hands. “Your ideals are very respectable, Jupiter, but… where exactly have they landed you?” Dark asked, a smirk forming on his face as he poked Jupiter’s faceplate, an angered grunt leaving Jupiter while the seer tightened its tendrils around him. “Half beaten to death, being lifted around by a Grimm like some human potato sack… all while you get to watch…” Dark grinned, reeling his hammer back and channeling energy into it. “As I destroy what you’ve struggled your entire life for.” Dark proclaimed, slinging his hammer forward and driving it into the center of Atlas. A great, powerful shockwave of energy blasted out from where the hammer struck, cascading throughout the city and obliterating anything it came across. People, houses, castles, roads, and nearly everything else was lost in the midst of Dark’s judgment, Jupiter only able to watch as the city of Atlas, the great capital of the Saturnus Empire, was the beginning of Dark’s systematic rampage across the entire empire.

Nearly an entire millennium since the fall of the Saturnus Empire had passed. Seeing the shifts in culture, the new nations rising and falling, technology exponentially advancing, it was all like a blink of an eye for Jupiter. The only thing that hadn’t changed in these centuries was his singular task. In an act of penance for Salem, Jupiter was freely given out to any particularly devout servants to act as their personal enforcer. Jupiter had been between possibly hundreds of these servants throughout the past centuries, though he never bothered to count. To him, they all blurred together, the only variance between them being how much they sought to serve themselves and how much they sought to serve Salem. As Jupiter stepped throughout the palace of Salem nestled far away from the reach of the Remnant, he stepped into the room for one of Salem’s apostles, looking over to see Maria Calavera stood in the midst of the room, her head bowed down while her black and blue, skull-adorned dressed picked up in the wind slightly. Maria looked up at Jupiter with a soft sigh, lifting her hood from her head and revealing etchings of skulls, flowers, and bones along the skin of her neck, chest, and hands, as well as the blindfold covering her eyes. “...I’ve come for my next assignment, Maria.” Jupiter said, Maria nodding her head, holding her hands together while Jupiter stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him. “I suppose our master is growing more courageous by the day, then. She hasn’t displayed this kind of activity in centuries.” Maria stated, Jupiter nodding his head, crossing his arms while he replied. “Indeed. It appears the folly of Saturnus is soon to repeat itself.” “...we…” Maria gripped her fingers together tightly. “We cannot… allow the Remnant to suffer again as it has in the past.” “...oh? Do you reject Salem now, Maria?” Jupiter asked, Maria sighing, shaking her head. “I’m… I’m not sure, Jupiter. I once believed her destruction could bring about change, that a brighter tomorrow could be found in the remains, but…” Maria inhaled through her nose. “It appears that is not Salem’s goal. She truly does desire only destruction for our world.” Jupiter snorted, slowly turning his head from side to side. “It is too late for us, Maria. Her leash on us is bound too tight. If our actions fall even a step short of her will, she will have us killed.” “I’m… I’m aware. But…” Maria sighed, shaking her head and turning away from Jupiter. “I can’t sit here and not do anything about it.” She remained silent for a moment, looking pensively down at the ground while Jupiter stood across from her. Maria slowly looked back towards Jupiter, raising her palm and readying to create a portal. “The one who your will is bound to next is a woman known as Cinder Fall. I will take you to her operations within Vale now. And Jupiter…” Maria looked over at Jupiter, the two staring at one another for a moment before Maria spoke again. “Do not lose hope. I know you have been bound for over a millenia to Salem’s will. It will be my will that you find peace one day.” “...there will never be peace for me, Maria. The death, the ruin, the loss I have inflicted on this world… I deserve no such thing as peace. As happiness.” Jupiter retorted, Maria frowning slightly while Jupiter marched towards the portal. “All I can hope for is a worthy death, by the hands of a true warrior.”