Raven's was skeptical. Her gaze seemed to peel back layers that were not visible on the surface.
"You think you can actually use it?"
Jaune glanced down at his hand again, flexing his fingers slowly as if expecting something to answer him from beneath the surface.
"Honestly? I don't know," he admitted. "I can feel the Umbra energy. That much is certain—but actually utilizing it…" He exhaled quietly. "That's something else entirely."
He closed his eyes for a brief moment, focusing inward.
His Aura was familiar. It carried a certain warmth that responded to him instinctively. It flowed like something alive which recognized him as its origin and center.
However Umbra was... different. It was difficult to articulate into words. It was... cold. Although calling it cold wasn't exactly correct either.
The energy felt odd, like the absence of warmth rather than the presence of cold. Like a hollow imprint of what actual Aura energy should feel like.
It existed but it wasn't alive in the same way.
Or perhaps it was indeed alive. Just not in a way that should have aligned with his body.
It's… hard to describe. My own Aura feels like it belongs to me but this energy is extremely foreign. It's like I'm brushing up against something that isn't mine, even though it's inside me. I don't really know how else to explain it."
Qrow crossed his arms, watching him carefully. "Can you control it at all?"
Jaune shook his head.
"Not exactly. It's tied to the Stalker. It's like…" He paused, searching for the right words. "Like trying to grab smoke. I know it's there, I can see it, but the moment I try to actually hold it, it slips through."
Raven's gaze narrowed slightly at that.
"So it's not responding to your will."
"No," Jaune replied. "At least not yet. I'll have to figure out a way to use it first before I can say for sure."
There was a brief silence as Qrow and Raven exchanged a look, both of them processing the implications.
"Perhaps you can't use it because the ownership is tied to the Stalker's consciousness." Qrow tried analyzing.
Raven and Jaune at Qrow curiously.
"Aura by itself is technically controlled by our Will. Rank 2 techniques like Aura echo and Will projection utilize Aura as a fuel source. No one else can really use your Aura or Will. The only exception is meta runes."
Jaune nodded to show he was following.
"If that thing's energy is tied to its consciousness," Qrow said slowly, "then it makes sense you can't just use it like Aura. You've got the body, but the engine's still being run by something else."
Jaune hummed. "Yeah. That sounds about right."
Raven's posture shifted slightly, her decision settling into place.
"Then we'll have you learn how to utilize it." she said simply. "If it's there, and it's part of you now, then it can be used. You just haven't figured out how yet."
Qrow gave a small shrug. "Wouldn't be the first time you've done something weird with your runes. "Besides, this is a new discovery. If Stalkers can be merged with people and help them grow stronger, we might have just found a new form of progression for awakened. Aren't you glad to be the pioneer?"
Jaune shrugged "I guess. I suppose that it's… somewhat cool. In a way."
Raven turned her attention outward.
"Let's head back," she said. "It might be best to run some extra test, just in case and it would also be prudent not to start figuring this out in the middle of nowhere."
Jaune did not argue.
"Yeah," he said. "That's probably a good idea."
The world shifted again.
Shadows folded in on the three of them. One moment they stood in the open expanse, and the next, they were back at the base.
It had taken shape faster than Jaune had expected.
Where a few minutes ago there been nothing but uneven, shadowed terrain, there now stood a large structure. Angular, precise, and unmistakably artificial, yet still integrated into the nature of the realm itself.
Movement filled the space.
Research personnel moved between stations, their equipment humming softly as it processed data. Construct users adjusted structures, reinforcing stability points and testing integrity. Rank 2 operatives maintained a perimeter, their attention split between external threats and internal activity.
At the center of the base, a cluster of researchers worked around a partially constructed device.
"The beacon's almost ready," one of them said, adjusting a set of array plates embedded into the ground. "Synchronization point is stable. Now, we just need a final calibration."
The Shadow Realm did not allow for simple entry and exit procedures. The portal from the real world couldn't anchor itself to a fixed location.
It was theorized that the reason this was the case was due to the nature of the shadow realm itself.
Without intervention, every entry would be a gamble.
This specific beacon changed that.
It would act as a point of reference—a signal that the portal could lock onto when it opened. Not perfect or absolute, but enough to create consistency.
Raven stepped forward, drawing attention almost immediately.
"We need a diagnostic," she said, her tone cutting cleanly through the activity.
Several researchers turned, their eyes settling on Jaune almost instantly.
It did not take long for them to notice the difference.
"Huh... you're Jaune Arc, right? What happened…?" one of them began.
"Stalker," Qrow said. "Interacted weirdly with the kid's meta rune."
That was all the explanation they needed.
Jaune didn't resist as they guided him toward a designated examination area. Equipment was already being prepared, devices adjusted and calibrated to account for the unique conditions of the Shadow Realm.
Unlike the real world, these tools had been designed with adaptability in mind. They were not purely physical instruments. They interfaced with runic energy, capable of reading fluctuations in Aura, environmental resonance, and now, potentially, Umbra.
This was one the products that was created by studying Creation.
"Stand still," one researcher instructed, though their tone was more fascinated than commanding.
Jaune complied.
Scanning arrays activated, faint lines of light passing over his form as data began to populate across multiple screens. Readings fluctuated rapidly at first, struggling to categorize what they were detecting before gradually stabilizing into something more coherent.
"Structure is… perfectly hybridized," another researcher muttered, eyes locked on their display. "We're seeing some type of shadow adaptation layered with an additional framework."
"Energy signatures are overlapping," a third added. "It seems that your Aura is present and stable, but there's a secondary system. It's not interfering with any of your form's functions but... it's not integrating cleanly either."
"Umbra," Jaune said.
Several heads nodded toward him.
"Indeed? Are you able to control it by any chance?" one of them asked.
"I can feel it," Jaune replied. "But I can't control it."
That only seemed to deepen their interest.
"Fascinating," one researcher murmured. "The energy appears to be contained within the structure rather than circulating freely. That would explain the lack of direct control."
"Is it stable?" Qrow asked from the side.
"For now," came the answer. "There's no indication of structural collapse or energy rejection. If anything, your body's system is maintaining itself… though the mechanism behind that is unclear."
Jaune shifted slightly as another scan passed over him.
"It's tied to the Stalker," he said. "Its consciousness is still there. I'm suppressing it with one of my runes, but it's not gone."
That statement caused a visible ripple among the researchers.
"Consciousness retention?" one of them repeated. "That suggests a non-dissipative integration. The entity wasn't destroyed or converted but preserved?"
"And bound," another added.
Jaune let them discuss. It was strange, hearing his situation broken down into clinical terms.
Accurate but detached.
A familiar voice cut through the noise.
"Jaune?"
He turned slightly.
Pyrrha stood a short distance away, her expression composed but her eyes carrying clear concern.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
Jaune gave a small nod.
"I think so," he said. "It got… complicated."
"That is one way to put it," Qrow muttered under his breath.
Pyrrha stepped closer, her gaze briefly scanning his altered form before returning to his face.
"What happened?"
"Long story short, Raven brought me to test out my runes on a Stalker. 1st variant. My Plunder didn't function as it should have normally done." he said. "It literally Plundered everything. Its body and even its mind. It all merged with mine."
Her eyes widened slightly, but she remained composed.
"Oh... that's um... well, is it still alive?"
"It is. I'm keeping it suppressed," Jaune replied. "Using Weakness. I figured out how to apply it to its consciousness, so I can control its body instead."
Pyrrha considered that carefully and Jaune glanced flexed his hand.
"It's mine now. At least… mostly."
He paused briefly.
"It's stronger," he added. "A lot stronger."
Pyrrha nodded slowly, her expression thoughtful.
"Then the question becomes," she said, "whether that strength can be utilized without consequence?"
Jaune gave a faint, humorless smile.
"Yeah," he said. "That's exactly the question."
.
.
Jaune sat cross-legged on the shadowed ground. Around him, the newly formed base pulsed with quiet activity, but here, in this small pocket of stillness, everything narrowed to a single objective.
Understanding.
It had been about an hour since the researchers had finished their initial examinations. Their verdict had been cautiously optimistic. He was stable and there appeared to be no signs of immediate rejection or degradation of his hybrid form. From a purely observational standpoint, Jaune Arc was, somehow, functioning completely fine.
Unfortunately that did not mean they could replicate what had happened.
That part had become painfully clear.
None of the others possessed a meta rune like Plunder or Weakness. Their interactions with the Stalkers had yielded results, but nothing quite like his. The closest parallel had come from Auberyn. Her Stellar rune had displayed an unexpected compatibility with the Shadow Realm, allowing her to convert a Stalker into something entirely new.
A Stellar Stalker construct.
Jaune had seen it briefly.
The creature was moving like a puppet, its body reshaped into something that shimmered faintly with dim, fractured light. Its mind was still there, buried beneath the transformation, and its consciousness remained trapped inside.
Contained and controlled.
However, even Auberyn, for all her precision, had not yet figured out how to manipulate the Stalker's Umbra directly. She had control over the body, but the energy itself remained elusive.
That, at least, was something that Jaune understood very well.
His own situation was… more complicated.
The Stalker within him remained suppressed, pinned beneath a constant, precise stream of Weakness. It couldn't exert its will over the shared body.
But it was there.
Watching, feeling and waiting.
Jaune exhaled slowly and let his awareness drift inward towards the Stalker.
Jaune reached for it with intent.
Communication.
He couldn't speak to it in words as there was no language here. Instead, he pushed meaning through his Will, shaping intention into something that could be felt rather than heard.
The response came slowly.
At first, it was just emotion. That same duality he had felt before. Hunger and fear, woven together in a way that did not quite contradict each other. Then, gradually, something more coherent began to take shape.
Recognition.
It understood him.
Jaune's focus sharpened.
'Good,' he thought, reinforcing the connection. 'If you understand me, then we can work with this.'
The Stalker responded again with a different intent behind it. A push and... a return?
It wanted something.
Jaune frowned slightly, his brows knitting together as he tried to interpret the meaning behind the sensation. The Stalker's presence shifted, the hunger intensifying, but it was directed now. Focused.
On him. On his runes?
It wasn't just hunger in the sense of consumption. It was a desire. A craving for what he had and for the power that defined him.
An exchange.
That was what it was trying to convey.
But Jaune could feel that the Stalker only wanted his runes as a means to an end. Its true goal seemed like something else.
Jaune didn't really understand what it was trying to convey.
"…You want something in return?" he murmured under his breath.
The Stalker pulsed in response.
Jaune's eyes opened.
The connection snapped back into clarity as the external world returned around him. The base, the distant movement of operatives, the quiet hum of equipment. All of it rushed back in at once.
Raven stood nearby, exactly where she had been, her presence as steady and immovable as ever. Her gaze flicked toward him the moment he shifted.
"Well?" she asked.
Jaune shook his head slightly as he pushed himself to his feet.
"I tried communication with it. And I can." he said. "Sort of. It understands intent and even responds to it. But…"
He hesitated, searching for the right way to phrase it.
"It wants something in return. Like a trade. I just don't understand what exactly it's asking for."
Raven's eyes narrowed slightly.
"A trade?" she repeated.
"Yeah," Jaune said. "It's not mindless. Not completely, at least. There's… something there. Enough to bargain with, maybe. Earlier I thought that it wanted my runes. But I seemed to have been thinking about it wrong. I'm not entirely sure but I think it wants to use my runes as a means to an end. It wants something else entirely. I'm just not sure what that is."
Before Raven could respond, another voice cut in.
"Well, that's not ominous at all."
Jaune turned to see Taiyang approaching, his expression a mix of curiosity and mild concern.
"Clover's team found something," Taiyang continued. "You're going to want to see this."
Jaune and Raven exchanged a brief glance.
"Lead the way," Raven said.
The three of them moved quickly, weaving through the base toward a designated testing area. By the time they arrived, a large portion of the expedition team had already gathered and Jaune naturally stood himself next to Pyrrha.
At the center of the space stood a massive glass chamber, its structure smooth and reinforced, clearly the work of a high-level construct user.
Jaune remembered her name, Cinder Fall.
Inside, two Stalkers stood restrained.
Both were first variant. Tall, unnaturally proportioned, their featureless forms broken only by those stark white eyes.
Root-like tendrils bound them in place, coiled tightly around their limbs and torsos. The constructs pulsed faintly, holding them firmly despite their size.
Jaune could feel that they were exhibiting feelings of hunger.
And they were directed at each other.
Raven frowned slightly. "They're not reacting to us?"
"No," Clover said, stepping forward. "They don't care about us right now."
Raven glanced at him.
"What happened?"
Clover folded his arms, his expression thoughtful.
"We found a different pair of them earlier. They were already fighting. We didn't intervene and I wanted to see why."
"And?" Qrow asked from somewhere behind them.
"And one of them won," Clover replied. "After that, its body… changed. It absorbed the other one."
Jaune's eyes flicked back to the chamber.
Now that he was looking for it, he could see the difference.
One of the Stalkers was more robust. Its frame thicker, its presence heavier. The other was leaner and less developed.
"Winner and fresh capture?" Jaune murmured.
Clover nodded. "Exactly."
He gestured to one of his team members.
"Release them."
The tendrils unraveled instantly.
The moment the restraints vanished, both Stalkers moved at each other.
No hesitation or awareness of the audience surrounding them.
The smaller one acted first.
Its arms shifted, elongating and reshaping as twin scythes formed from its limbs. It lunged forward, blades carving through the air.
The larger one responded in kind.
Its arm expanded, condensing into a massive axe that met the incoming strike head-on. The clash sent ripples through the shadow beneath them, the force of the impact distorting the ground.
They fought brutally.
No finesse, or strategy beyond raw instinct.
Strike, block and counter.
Jaune's eyes tracked every movement.
'If I had to quantify it…' Jaune thought, 'They are both at Rank 1 capability and have a Body stat of around 3 and 5.'
The difference became obvious quickly. The larger one was stronger, faster and more durable.
It pressed the advantage relentlessly, forcing the smaller Stalker back with each exchange. The scythes lost ground and their wielder struggling to keep up.
And then it ended.
The axe came down in a single, decisive strike. The smaller Stalker's head separated cleanly from its body. For a brief moment, everything stilled.
Then the body began to dissolve.
It melted into shadow, collapsing inward as its form broke apart into raw Umbra.
The victor did not hesitate.
Its body surged forward, distorting as it engulfed the dissolving remains. The shadow flowed upward, merging, integrating, becoming part of it.
Jaune felt it through his weakness sense.
The shift and the growth of the creature before him.
The hunger.
The Stalker within him stirred faintly in response, reacting to the display with a flicker of something that felt very much like recognition.
Understanding.
Jaune's gaze darkened slightly.
"…So that's what you want."