The moment the match officially ended, the battlefield practically started to fade away. The entire arena began to move.
The shattered battlefield of the enormous inverted mountain, began to slowly break apart under the control of the one person who had constructed it in the first place.
Ozpin.
His Rune activated silently, and unseen forces spread outward across the dream realm structure like invisible threads.
Stone and rock debris floated upward and separated like drifting islands. Entire sections of the battlefield folded inward and vanished into the sky, their structure returning to whatever runic energy from which they had been formed.
Below, Taiyang's dragon form dissolved back into his human shape as the battle officially concluded. Raven had already stepped off his shoulder while the enormous shadow claws surrounding them faded into darkness.
Before either of them could say anything, the space beneath their feet shimmered.
Two glowing platforms of condensed Rune energy rose smoothly beneath them, lifting them upward through the air.
The platforms carried them away from the collapsing battlefield and up toward the viewing platform where the administrators of the event waited.
At the center of that platform stood Ozpin.
His coat moved slightly in the dream wind as he observed the dismantling arena with quiet satisfaction.
When Taiyang and Raven arrived on the platform beside him, Ozpin lifted one hand. The motion carried through the dream realm like a silent signal.
Moments later his voice echoed across the massive stadium.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Ozpin announced calmly, his voice spreading across the arena through the his Will.
The arena crowd that had been celebrating moments earlier gradually settled.
Ozpin gestured toward the remaining Vale fighters. "Please give it up for the champions of tonight's arena match."
Applause spread through the stands like a rising wave. Awakened, non awakened and observers from multiple kingdoms clapped and cheered as the results of the battle became official.
The giant scoreboard hovering above the arena still displayed the final tally.
==
Vacuo: 400 points.
Menagerie: 200 points.
Atlas: 100 points.
Mistral: 300 points.
Vale: 500 points.
==
Vale had taken the lead decisively.
For several seconds the applause continued, then Ozpin raised his hand again.
"As enjoyable as tonight's competition has been," he continued smoothly, "there are still a few final matters to attend to."
His gaze drifted briefly across the massive crowd.
"I ask that everyone return to reality and gather in the central mess hall in one hour's time."
The floating arena continued dissolving around them as he spoke. Entire sections of the inverted mountain separated and drifted upward like dissolving continents.
"There, we will conclude tonight's proceedings," Ozpin said. "And of course distribute the appropriate rewards."
That statement alone caused a ripple of excited chatter among the spectators.
Ozpin nodded once. "Until then, please take your time exiting the dream realm."
With that, the announcement ended.
Around the stadium, awakened began activating their Nightmare interfaces. One by one, figures across the arena faded away as operatives disconnected from the dream realm.
By the time the last fragments of the floating mountain vanished into the sky, most of the crowd had already left.
Among the remaining participants, Jaune turned toward his group of friends.
"Well," he said casually. "I guess I'll see you guys later?"
Yang grinned.
"You better not disappear for training before the rewards get handed out."
Jaune raised his hands in mock surrender.
"Hey, I like free stuff as much as anyone."
Pyrrha simply nodded slightly.
"We will see you there."
With that, the group dispersed as each of them exited the dream realm. The arena faded away completely moments later.
.
.
One hour later, reality replaced the strange crimson sky of the dream realm. The central mess hall inside the LUCID base was already buzzing with activity.
Jaune had arrived early and Ren and Nora had come with him since the three of them were now living under the same roof.
Two months earlier, both Jaune and Ren had managed to get their driving licenses. Since Jaune's father had not taken his car when he disappeared, the vehicle had ended up becoming Jaune's responsibility.
Which meant that earlier that evening the three of them had simply driven together in relative comfort.
Now they stood inside the enormous central hall of the LUCID base. The place looked quite different from its usual operational atmosphere.
Decorations had been placed around the room showing Vale's colors in celebration of the victory. Blue banners and subtle gold accents hung from the walls while long tables had been arranged throughout the hall.
Food and drinks were laid out across the tables in generous quantities. It was not a wild party, but it was certainly more festive than most official LUCID gatherings.
Small plates of delicious snacks and trays of drinks were scattered throughout the room, and several people were already helping themselves while chatting casually with one another.
Almost everyone present wore the formal LUCID uniform.
The attire was sharp and clean, tailored to look both professional and practical. Dark fabric trimmed with subtle metallic accents gave the entire uniform a sleek, authoritative appearance.
Normally awakened operatives were not required to wear the formal uniform while conducting dream realm patrols. Rune Frame armor was the only true requirement when entering.
But tonight was clearly a more ceremonial occasion. Jaune himself wore the uniform as well. He adjusted the sleeve slightly while scanning the room.
Ozpin stood near the front of the hall with two other figures beside him. The old man Jaune had seen earlier during the arena event and the massive, broad shouldered man with bright orange hair.
All three of them were in conversation with one another while observing the gathering operatives.
Rank 3 awakened.
Jaune's gaze shifted away from them as he continued scanning the room for the rest of his group-mates. Though, it seemed as if they hadn't arrived yet. However, plenty of familiar faces stood among the crowd.
Several of the Rank One competitors from the arena were present.
Rajah stood near one of the tables speaking animatedly with another operative while holding a drink. Auberyn, the Starlight girl stood not far away with her own small group, appearing relaxed and cheerful compared to the intense presence she had carried inside the arena.
Coppal leaned casually against a nearby wall while chatting with a few others.
Sun Wukong stood with his teammates, laughing loudly about something one of them had said.
Emerald and Mercury were also present, though they seemed far less interested in mingling. The two of them stood near the Mistral group, quietly speaking with each other while each held a glass of champagne.
They appeared content to simply observe the gathering rather than participate in it.
Jaune had just taken a sip from his own drink when he noticed someone approaching.
Sun waved enthusiastically from across the room.
"Yo!"
The teen made his way over with his usual bluster.
Jaune grinned immediately.
"Hey monkey boy," he called out. "How's the head injury?"
Sun teased him back.
"Better than your pride."
Jaune raised an eyebrow.
Sun smirked and flexed his fingers theatrically.
"Last time I checked, you and that Pyrrha girl got destroyed by a girl with glowing hands," he said. "You sure your ego recovered from that handshake of doom?"
Jaune groaned.
"Low blow."
Sun grinned wider.
"Hey, at least she didn't clap you out of existence."
Jaune shook his head, though he couldn't help smiling.
"Fair point."
The two of them leaned casually against one of the nearby tables as the noise of the gathering filled the hall around them.
For a moment they simply watched the crowd.
"Those Rank Two fights were crazy, weren't they?" Sun said eventually.
Jaune nodded.
"Yeah."
He had been watching those battles carefully earlier.
The level of control and destructive power displayed by the Rank Two operatives had been on an entirely different level compared to their own matches.
Entire sections of the battlefield had been entirely reshaped during those fights.
"Did you think Vale was going to win?" Sun asked casually.
Jaune took another sip from his drink before shaking his head.
"Nah," he said. "truth be told, I was expecting Menagerie to pull something else out of their ass and somehow destroy the competition."
"Right? That's what I was thinking as well."
"Yeah... but it looks like the Rank 2 stage was a lot more even than how the Rank 1 stage was."
"Honestly, I wasn't really expecting to encounter this many meta rune users at once. Our coordinating officer explained that during kingdom fight events like Vytal, most of the top competitors would have a meta rune. But still... I guess I might have underestimated how many people really had them." Sun hummed out.
"Well, they are rare, after all. But they're capabilities become much stronger after reaching comprehension level and mastery level. They surpass regular runes on the same level. Also, rune synchronicity is a great aspect. When meta runes interact with regular runes, weird effects show up sometimes." Jaune explained.
Sun couldn't help but nod.
"Yeah. Makes me feel like I should aim for a meta rune, for my last one."
"You should go for it. If your goal is to reach the absolute top-most tier in strength among Rank 2's, then I'd say its a great idea. So far, all of the strongest Rank 2's which I've seen have had a meta rune be a part of their kit. Granted... I haven't seen too many but, most of them at least."
"Maybe. Maybe indeed. I wonder what meta rune would suit me? What do you think, expert? You got two of them don't you?" Sun asked
Jaune smiled but didn't respond directly to the probing question.
"I don't know. Your runes are Primate and Light right? Maybe try going for the meta rune of Banana for you next rune?"
"Ha. Ha. Ha. Very funny." Sun deadpanned.
Jaune and Sun continued talking for a few more minutes, the two of them leaned casually against the long snack table while the mess hall steadily filled with more operatives.
The atmosphere was starting to shift to a more lively one in a comfortable sort of way.
Clusters of awakened stood scattered across the room, chatting about the fights that had just happened in the arena. Some debated strategies and rune combinations while others simply enjoyed the rare chance to relax without the daily looming threat of a patrol.
Sun eventually glanced over Jaune's shoulder and gave a short whistle.
"Looks like your crew's finally here."
Jaune turned just in time to see the familiar group entering through the large hall doors.
Mocha walked in, chatting animatedly with Oscar while Pyrrha followed beside them. Ruby and Yang were already arguing about something under their breath while Blake listened quietly nearby.
Weiss walked in last.
However, beside Yang and Ruby was someone else.
Taiyang.
The older man had his hands tucked awkwardly into his pockets as he followed the girls inside the hall. The expressions on Ruby and Yang's faces were a strange mix of emotions.
They were clearly happy to see him but they also looked mildly annoyed. The kind of annoyed that came from someone who had just finished scolding a parent.
Jaune watched the trio approach with mild curiosity.
Taiyang rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish grin.
"Hey," he said.
Yang crossed her arms. "Don't 'hey' them."
Ruby nodded firmly beside her. "You didn't tell us you were coming to Vale!"
Taiyang winced slightly. "Um... I wanted it to be a surprise?" he said weakly.
Yang narrowed her eyes. "You always say that."
Ruby pointed accusingly. "And then you show up as a giant dragon in the middle of an arena battle!"
Taiyang scratched the side of his head.
"Well... uh... you know?"
Yang groaned.
Before the conversation could spiral any further, Taiyang suddenly spotted something across the hall.
"Ah," he said quickly. "Duty calls."
Without another word he slipped away from the girls and headed toward another section of the hall.
Ruby blinked.
"…Did he just run away?"
Yang sighed.
"Yep."
Across the room, Qrow and Raven had also just arrived. Qrow had beelined for one of the tables and was now aggressively demolishing a plate of food as though he had not eaten in days.
He held an entire champagne bottle in his hand and took a long drink straight from it without bothering with a glass. Raven stood nearby, staring at her brother with disgust visible in her eyes.
Taiyang walked straight toward them.
"Hey," he said casually.
Qrow glanced up from his plate with a mouth full of food.
"Yo."
Then he returned to shoveling more snacks into his mouth. Raven nodded once in acknowledgement, unbothered to say another word.
Back near the center of the hall, Jaune greeted the rest of his friends as they approached. Mocha gave him a quick wave and Oscar smiled politely.
Weiss adjusted the sleeve of her uniform while Blake quietly took a drink from one of the nearby trays.
Jaune ended up chatting with Ruby and Blake for a few minutes while the rest of the group spread out around the table.
Ruby was still excited about the arena fight.
"I can't believe Uncle Qrow got taken out by that glass lady," she said.
Blake nodded thoughtfully.
"She was strong."
Jaune glanced across the room instinctively. As if summoned by the thought of strength, his eyes briefly met someone else's.
Auberyn.
The Starlight girl stood near another group of operatives not far from the wall. She was laughing about something someone had said when her gaze shifted across the room.
She noticed Jaune watching. For a moment the two of them simply looked at each other. Then Auberyn smiled.
It was a friendly smile.
She gave him a small nod of acknowledgement.
Jaune nodded back.
Truthfully, he wanted a rematch.
Their fight had ended with him and Pyrrha getting completely overwhelmed by the strange starlight hand constructs that formed from Auberyn's Rune.
At the time it had felt almost impossible to deal with. But now that he had seen it once, Jaune felt confident he could approach the fight differently.
'Next time,' he thought.
Eventually the chatter across the hall began to quiet. At the far end of the room a raised stage had been prepared.
Ozpin stepped up onto the platform along with the other two Rank Three awakened. Several Rank Two operatives joined them as well.
Goodwitch stood near the center while Oobleck stood beside her adjusting his glasses. Port chatted animatedly with Counselor Vex who stood slightly apart from the others, observing the room with an unreadable expression.
At that moment several large holographic screens flickered to life around the hall. Soft blue light filled the room as the displays activated.
One screen showed the stern face of General James Ironwood watching from Atlas. Another displayed the image of a middle aged man with sharp features and lion like hair.
Ren leaned slightly closer to Jaune.
"That's Leonardo Lionheart," he murmured quietly. "The Rank Three awakened commander from Mistral."
Two more figures appeared on separate screens.
One represented Vacuo and the other Menagerie.
It seemed that while they could not attend in person, they were still participating in the final ceremony remotely.
Once the screens finished stabilizing, the hall gradually fell silent.
Jaune expected Ozpin to begin speaking. Instead, the old man Rank Three awakened standing beside him stepped forward.
The elderly man rested his hands behind his back as he looked out across the assembled operatives.
Despite his age, his presence carried an authority.
His expression was warm.
"Good evening everyone," he began. "I would first like to congratulate all of you for participating in tonight's competition."
A few smiles appeared across the crowd and the old man chuckled softly.
"Events like these are meant to test our strength, sharpen our skills, and occasionally bruise our egos. But more importantly," he continued, "they remind us of something that many people in the world will never see."
His gaze slowly moved across the room.
"The responsibility of being an awakened."
The atmosphere in the hall shifted slightly. His tone remained light, but the weight of his words was unmistakable.
"The vast majority of humanity live their lives unaware of the Nightmare Realm and the threats that lurk within it," the old man said calmly.
"They go to work, they attend school and they build families and communities."
"They sleep peacefully."
He paused briefly.
"They are able to do these things because awakened individuals like all of you, stand between them and the horrors of that world. We protect the unaware from the dangers that exist beyond their understanding."
The old man's eyes hardened slightly.
"We protect them from entities born from fear. From creatures that should have never existed... and from individuals who abuse the power they have gained."
A few murmurs passed through the crowd when he mentioned that.
"Terrorists who have chosen to turn their awakening against the world that allowed them to exist."
He let the silence linger for a moment.
"Awakened individuals hold tremendous power. Power that can change the course of lives."
His expression softened again.
"But power alone is not what defines us."
"Responsibility does."
He folded his hands behind his back once more.
"We protect people from monsters and sometimes we even protect people from themselves."
The old man nodded thoughtfully.
"No matter the circumstances, and no matter the difficulty. Awakened must continue moving forward."
"Always."
He paused.
Then he turned slightly toward Ozpin and the others standing behind him.
"Well," he said with a gentle chuckle. "That is enough philosophy for one evening."
A ripple of polite laughter spread through the hall.
The old man turned back toward the assembled operatives.
"Tonight's competition has concluded. And by every measure that matters, Vale has earned first place."
He raised one hand slightly.
"So it is time."
A faint glow appeared behind him as one of the holographic displays shifted to show the final standings once more.
"Time to present Vale with the reward they have earned."
For a moment after the old Rank Three finished speaking, the hall remained quiet. A soft anticipation seemed to ripple through the gathered operatives. Conversations faded entirely as everyone watched the stage with focused attention.
Then the large Rank Three standing beside Ozpin stepped forward. Despite his size, his movements were surprisingly careful as he reached behind his back and lifted something into view.
At the same time, the elderly Rank Three on the other side of the stage did the same.
Each of them held a strange metallic container.
The boxes immediately drew every eye in the room.
They were not large. Each was roughly the size of a thick book, but their surfaces were covered in faintly glowing lines that shifted across the metal in quiet geometric patterns. The material itself looked familiar, but Jaune couldn't place where he had seen it before. It was smooth and dark, almost reflective, yet the reflections seemed strangely muted, as if the boxes absorbed more light than they returned.
Intricate locking mechanisms wrapped around their surfaces. Rings within rings of tiny moving plates formed structures that resembled puzzles more than ordinary devices.
Jaune leaned forward slightly. Even from where he stood, something about those containers felt… strange.
He could not place it at first.
The technology looked more advanced than most of the equipment LUCID normally used. The designs etched into the surface reminded him of something vastly futuristic, something built far beyond the capabilities of the usual fabrication systems.
Jaune had no real reason to compare the boxes to LUCID equipment in the first place. He was not an engineer. He had barely studied the internal workings of rune frames beyond the basics needed for combat.
Yet the impression was undeniable.
It was simply… there.
As if some quiet instinct had already made the comparison for him. On the stage, the two Rank Threes stepped closer together.
Each held one of the containers out in front of them. For a brief moment nothing happened.
Then the boxes moved.
It was subtle at first. The containers tilted slightly toward each other, as though responding to an invisible pull. The metal frames vibrated gently before sliding across the air between the two men.
When they met, they snapped together with a quiet metallic click. The two halves locked into place like magnets finding their partner.
But that was only the beginning. The surface of the joined container began to shift.
The metal panels separated and folded outward in perfect geometric precision. Small cube shaped segments rotated along hidden axes while other pieces slid away entirely before reforming along new patterns.
Within seconds the box had transformed into a complex lattice of interlocking cubes.
It looked almost alive.
Tiny metallic cubes continued rearranging themselves, shifting into new formations with smooth mechanical grace.
Jaune stared.
His weakness sense remained silent.
Normally his ability responded to almost anything unusual. Weapons, runes, enemy abilities, even certain types of runic fluctuation would trigger faint sensations at the edge of his perception.
But now…
Nothing.
It was as if the object did not exist.
The lattice structure floating above the stage might as well have been empty air. His ability could not detect a single flaw.
Not one.
While he was still trying to process that strange absence, the shifting lattice reached its final configuration.
Then the structure opened. The countless cubes parted outward like petals unfolding from a mechanical flower.
Inside, something glowed.
A soft light emerged from the center of the lattice. It was not blinding but instead, carried a calm radiance that spread gently across the stage.
The air itself seemed to react. A faint current of power flowed outward from the opening structure and a sensation rolled across the hall like a quiet wave.
Jaune felt it brush against his skin.
The energy felt… peaceful. Like the calm presence of something ancient and immeasurably powerful.
Then the light condensed. From the heart of the lattice, something slowly rose into the air.
A rune.
But not like any rune Jaune had ever seen before.
The symbol floated above the opened container, suspended in the air as though gravity had forgotten it existed.
Its design was breathtaking.
Intricate lines folded across one another in layers so complex that the eye struggled to follow them. The shape shifted constantly, yet never seemed unstable.
Colors moved across its surface in gentle waves. Blues, golds, silvers and faint hints of crimson drifted through the symbol like slow moving clouds.
But the strangest part was how the rune seemed to change states. At one moment it appeared solid, its edges sharp and defined like polished crystal.
Then it softened. Parts of the structure flowed like liquid metal, bending and reshaping themselves without breaking apart. Other sections dispersed into faint vapor like streams of colored mist before reforming once more.
Solid.
Liquid.
Gas.
All three states flowed through the symbol in perfect harmony. Yet even that was not the limit.
Tiny flickers of light sparked through the rune like miniature bolts of plasma. Threads of energy moved through its structure like living lightning.
Radiant particles shimmered around it, giving the impression that the rune was constantly radiating faint waves of invisible energy. It was as though the symbol contained every state of matter at once.
Every phase of existence folded together into a single impossible structure. Jaune stared at it in stunned silence.
His weakness sense still refused to react. It was the same empty silence as before, like the rune simply did not exist. Yet despite that strange absence, another sensation was slowly rising within him.
His instincts and his intuition. Thoughts began to surface in quiet fragments.
Not full explanations but impressions.
Concepts.
Ideas.
The feeling of structure. Of systems that could build other systems. The sense of shaping raw matter into something new.
Jaune blinked slowly.
He had never studied engineering in any serious way.
Yet suddenly he felt as if he understood something fundamental about construction. About how objects fit together. How forces balanced. How structures supported themselves.
It was not knowledge in the normal sense. Just a quiet intuitive certainty. Like the faint memory of a skill he had never learned.
He knew what the rune represented. Even if no one had spoken its name yet.
His gaze remained fixed on the floating symbol as the understanding finally surfaced within him.
This was a relic.
One of the four supreme runes of humanity.
The Rune of Creation.
.
.
AN: GGEZ