Pale industrial lights flickered overhead.
Dozens of figures moved below.
Every single one wore a Grimm-like mask, each carved in twisted, animalistic shapes that erased identity and replaced it with something colder.
Centurions patrolled among them. Their limbs clicked softly with each step as they carried crates of components, heavy coils of cabling, and strange crystalline cores that pulsed faintly with embedded runic energy. Occasionally, one would halt, adjust course with a sharp turn, and continue on as if following an unseen grid etched into the ground.
At the heart of it all stood the device.
It was a massive circular structure that rose from the floor, supported by reinforced pillars and layered with concentric rings of metal and carved channels meant to hold runic energy. It was incomplete, but even in its half-formed state it radiated an unsettling presence. Slots were embedded along its frame, each one designed to receive specific runes.
It resembled the idea of a portal, but there was nothing truly scientific about this one. Its design felt invasive, like it was not meant to open a door but to tear one open.
Arthur Watts stood near its base, hands clasped behind his back as he watched the ongoing work with thinly veiled irritation.
"Careful with that alignment," he snapped, his voice cutting through the silence like a blade. "If the rune channels desynchronize even slightly, the entire structure becomes unstable. I will not have our work undone because of incompetence."
A Centurion halted, recalibrated its grip on a crystalline component, and adjusted its placement by a fraction of an inch.
Watts exhaled sharply through his nose.
Nearby, Arias stood with far less tension.
Where Watts burned with restless intellect, Arias was still and observant. His gaze drifted across the with quiet calculation, as if he were watching a play whose ending he already knew. He seemed to hold a look of tiredness in his features.
Above them, two figures who were also adorned into grimm masks stood atop a section of scaffolding that overlooked the entire operation.
Swords rested at their sides.
The gray-haired one leaned slightly forward, arms crossed, his sharp gaze sweeping across the construction below. "It looks like everything's going smoothly."
Beside him, the red-haired swordsman gave a small nod. "Faster than expected, if anything." His tone held a hint of satisfaction. "At this rate, completion within two days is not unrealistic. Hopefully."
He paused, eyes settling on the circular structure.
"After that," he continued, "we simply wait."
The gray-haired man tilted his head slightly. "For her signal?"
"Yeah. It'll give us the precise location in that place."
The red haired man turned to regard the gray-haired man. "You wear the outfit well."
"Wish I didn't have to wear it at all. I preferred my other job, you know?"
"So you could slack off?" The red hair retorted.
"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up." The gray haired man was clearly about to say something else, but he was interrupted by a special Rank 2 presence making itself known.
"Hmm. Looks like the big boss is here."
Down below, a large figure walked through the main entrance.
He was taller than most, his frame broad and imposing even beneath the layered attire and Grimm mask he wore.
Several masked subordinates fell into step behind him, their heads slightly lowered.
He did not look at them as his attention was fixed ahead.
Watts noticed him and his expression tightened slightly before smoothing over into something neutral. Arias turned his gaze as well.
The large masked man approached, stopping a short distance from them.
He looked at the structure. For a moment, he said nothing. Then, slowly, he nodded with a deep and resonant voice.
"Progress is… good."
Watts crossed his arms. "Acceptable is a rather underwhelming evaluation, given the complexity of what is being constructed."
The man ignored the remark. Instead, he raised a hand and snapped his fingers.
Two masked individuals immediately broke from their tasks and approached the portal. Without hesitation, they climbed onto the structure, positioning themselves near two of the embedded slots along the outer ring.
They placed their hands against the metal.
For a brief moment, nothing happened.
Then the air changed.
Dark energy began to gather, faint at first, then growing more pronounced as intricate energy patterns flared to life beneath their palms.
The energy flowed into the structure, threading through its carved channels like veins filling with blood.
Watts' eyes narrowed.
"Careful with the embedding" he muttered. "If the shadow runes destabilize at the structure, the backlash will—"
"They won't. Relax." the large man said calmly.
His gaze shifted to Arias.
"Ensure your daughter is prepared."
Arias frowned but nodded. "She is already on standby."
"Good." The man turned back to the portal. "Her rune will be necessary to stabilize the other runes. Without it, dissipation is inevitable."
Watts let out an irritated breath. "This is precisely what I was referring to, you know? We are introducing additional variables into an already volatile system."
The man did not look at him.
"We are ensuring success."
"We are delaying progress," Watts countered sharply. "The final phase can proceed without this redundant operation. Why bother with the Shadow realm at all?"
A faint chuckle escaped the masked leader.
"Your confidence is admirable."
Watts' expression darkened. "It is not confidence but certainty. And you know it."
The man finally turned his head slightly, just enough for the weight of his attention to settle on Watts.
"The Leader," he said, voice quieter now, "expressed particular interest in this operation."
That was enough.
Watts clicked his tongue, irritation flashing across his face before he turned away. "Of course he did."
He waved a hand dismissively, already redirecting his focus. "Centurion Unit Seven, adjust your transport vector. You are off by three degrees. And someone realign that lower conduit before I do it myself."
.
.
(LUCID base)
The air held anticipation.
This was the staging ground for the Shadow Realm Expedition.
Rank 1s and Rank 2s filled the space.
Qrow stood near the central row of pods that was going to be used to separate their shadows from their bodies. His arms loosely crossed, posture deceptively lazy. Nearby, Taiyang was mid-conversation with him.
Raven Branwen stood apart from either of the two.
There was a natural distance around her, like an invisible boundary no one crossed without invitation. Her presence felt sharper than the others, quieter in motion but heavier in impact.
Above the chamber, a wide glass observation deck overlooked the entire operation. Figures stood behind it, partially obscured by reflections of light and movement below. Spectators and command. Those who wouldn't step into the Shadow Realm, but would watch others do so.
Nora was practically pressed against the glass, waving both arms like she was trying to signal a passing airship. Ren stood beside her, though his attention remained fixed on the floor below. Ruby was there too, leaning forward slightly, her eyes scanning the room until they landed on him.
Jaune raised a hand and Nora waved harder.
He couldn't help the small smile that tugged at his lips as he returned the gesture.
He lowered his hand and exhaled quietly before turning his attention elsewhere.
Raven.
Jaune figured that this was as good as a time as any to approach her about what Ruby and Yang had brought to his attention.
Jaune approached and stopped just close enough to be acknowledged.
Her eyes shifted, landing on him with that same sharp, measuring look.
"What do you want?" she asked, straight to the point.
Jaune felt a flicker of amusement rise. "Who said I wanted anything?"
Raven's expression did not change.
She simply looked away.
Conversation over, as far as she was concerned.
Jaune let out a quiet breath through his nose, somewhere between a sigh and a suppressed laugh.
'Still like this, huh.'
She could spar with him for hours without a word wasted, but casual conversation? That was a battlefield she refused to step onto.
He lingered anyway.
Then, lowering his voice just enough to keep it between them, he spoke again.
"I want you to tell me the truth, Raven."
That got her attention. Her gaze returned to him, slower this time.
"Is there something about this expedition that the Rank 1s aren't being told about?"
For a brief moment, amusement shifted in her expression.
Just a faint glimmer behind her eyes, like a blade catching light for the briefest instant.
"What makes you think that?" she asked.
"Instinct, I guess."
Raven held his gaze for a second longer. Then she huffed softly, something almost resembling approval slipping through.
"Sharp instincts."
Before he could react, her hand came down against his back in a firm smack. Seemingly to reassure him or acknowledge his insight.
It was a little painful, however. Even his rune frame didn't do much to mitigate the sting.
"However, this isn't something that you should be particularly worried about. After all, it doesn't affect you."
Jaune frowned slightly. "That's not exactly reassuring."
She turned away again, but this time, she didn't shut him out completely.
"You truly want to know?"
"Please."
"Fine. You are correct in that finding a weapon to use against sleepless as well as exploration isn't our only objective. There is another," she said.
His attention sharpened instantly.
"What kind of objective?"
Raven didn't answer right away.
For a moment, the ambient hum of the pods seemed louder. The quiet murmur of voices in the chamber faded into the background.
When she finally spoke, her voice was lower.
More serious.
"The Shadow Realm Expedition," she said, "is also a rescue operation."
Jaune blinked.
For a split second, his thoughts didn't connect.
"A… rescue operation?" he repeated.
Raven didn't elaborate.
However Jaune's mind was churning.
Because now the question wasn't just what they were going into the Shadow Realm for.
It was who.