Truth be told, Jaune had never been entirely certain how he was supposed to confront his father.
Anger had certainly been there. Confusion too. Betrayal perhaps more than anything else. Yet every time he imagined this eventual meeting, every time he pictured standing face to face with the man who had disappeared from his life and helped orchestrate events that had pushed the world toward disaster, he always found himself running into the same problem.
What exactly was he supposed to say?
What words could possibly bridge the distance between them?
When Jaune had finally extracted Nicholas's location from a captured Sleepless operative by effectively lobotomizing the man's mind with Plunder, he had spent several days debating whether or not he should seek help before making his move.
Logically speaking, asking for assistance would have been the sensible option. There were Rank 2s within LUCID who possessed frightening abilities. There were even Rank 3s who would have been willing to help if he explained the situation properly.
The problem was that Jaune had personally experienced the Time rune.
He knew exactly how terrifying it was.
Every other rune he had ever encountered still operated according to established rules. Some were stronger than others and some possessed bizarre interactions. Some were nearly impossible to counter without possessing specific abilities. Yet there had always been rules.
Time felt different.
Unfair.
It was the sort of ability that completely ignored the normal flow of combat and simply dictated reality according to its own whims.
Even now Jaune wasn't entirely convinced that bringing additional people would have changed anything. If anything, it might have made matters worse. His father also possessed Foresight alongside Time, and if the situation ever began moving in a direction Nicholas disliked, there was nothing stopping him from simply leaving.
How exactly were you supposed to trap a man who could see the future?
The answer, unfortunately, was that you didn't.
Which was why Jaune had concluded that the confrontation needed to happen alone. If he couldn't overwhelm Nicholas with numbers, then the only remaining option was preparation.
Research and experimentation.
Months of it.
Months spent hunting Grimm, Sleepless and collecting runes. Months spent stealing comprehension and thoughts and instincts from awakened and monsters alike. Months spent trying to create something capable of standing against the monster that happened to be his father.
And yet despite all that effort, every single plan had failed.
Every rune he had prepared and every synchronization phenomena...
None of it had mattered.
His father's combination of Insight, Foresight, and Time had simply bulldozed through everything. The realization was admittedly frustrating.
Actually, frustrating was putting it mildly.
Jaune was getting sick of runes.
Not just his father's but all of them.
The further he advanced as an awakened, the more he began realizing how absurdly unfair certain abilities could become.
Over the previous several months he had fought countless Sleepless operatives, many of whom possessed meta runes powerful enough to completely warp engagements around themselves.
Several had possessed runic energy that he couldn't simply steal and others had possessed defensive measures that prevented Plunder from affecting their minds. The most dangerous among them had generally been Rank 2s who had mastery level over their runes.
People often underestimated what Rank 2 truly meant.
Reaching Rank 2 required at least two runes to reach the level of Comprehension. Simply achieving that much already separated those awakened from the rest. But by the time someone reached Mastery, their rune often stopped behaving like a power and started behaving like a law.
Some could alter memories and some could manipulate concepts. Some could directly ignore physical limitations entirely.
And his father possessed three of the most horrifying examples imaginable. Insight allowed Nicholas to understand people, Foresight allowed him to understand outcomes and Time allowed him to dictate reality.
The combination was absurd and in many ways it felt unbeatable. Which was precisely why Jaune had eventually come to a conclusion that bordered on obsession.
If he wanted to beat Nicholas Arc, he couldn't merely create a rune that countered Time.
He needed something larger than that.
Something more fundamental and something that countered all runes. That realization had only become possible because of Plunder.
No other awakened could have reached the same conclusion.
Jaune wasn't simply studying runes from the outside. He was stealing people's thoughts. Their understanding, experiences and their comprehension. Every Sleepless operative he defeated became another source of information. Every awakened he observed became another puzzle piece.
Even Grimm occasionally provided fragments.
Not much, of course as their thoughts were primitive compared to humans but even primitive thoughts contained patterns of their runes.
Enough patterns eventually became understanding.
And through that understanding Jaune had begun noticing something. The accepted explanation regarding meta runes was incomplete.
Most awakened believed that meta runes were special because they dealt with metaphysical concepts. Time, Distance, Stellar, Plunder, Murder, Weakness...
Yet the more Jaune studied them, the more he realized that wasn't entirely accurate. The true distinction wasn't conceptual but hierarchical.
Meta runes occupied a higher position on the laws of reality. That was why they seemed unblockable. That was why ordinary runes couldn't affect them.
That was why certain interactions worked while others failed.
If Jaune had been forced to assign numbers to the phenomenon, he would have described ordinary runes as existing at a conceptual hierarchy of [3].
Most meta runes existed at [2].
The lower the number became, the greater the authority the rune possessed and the greater its ability to impose itself upon reality.
Back in the Shadow realm when Emerald had used her Psyche rune to affect Jaune? Jaune was able to break out of it due to his weakness rune. Weakness could affect Emerald's Psyche because both occupied roughly the same conceptual hierarchy layer. Neither possessed overwhelming superiority over the other.
Time, however, was different. Weakness couldn't touch it and Plunder couldn't touch it. Not because those runes were weak, but because Time existed on a higher rung of the ladder.
A lower number which meant a greater authority. Jaune had eventually begun suspecting that certain exceptional meta runes possessed even lower values.
Perpetuity, for example.
The rune simply didn't make sense otherwise.
Its effects felt too absolute and too fundamental.
If Time existed at conceptual hierarchy [1], then Perpetuity might exist somewhere around [1.5].
Perhaps even lower.
Then there were the Supreme Runes.
Knowledge.
Creation.
Destruction.
Choice.
It was very possible that they occupied as close to a position of [0] as possible. Jaune doubted they truly occupied the conceptual hierarchy of [0]. The reason being, was because they had effective powers that made them fundamentally different from simply pure hierarchy domination.
No.
His instinct told him they existed somewhere near zero and close enough to touch, but that closeness was enough that the distinction barely mattered.
In any case, they were not quite there.
Which naturally led him toward a singular goal.
Create something that reached zero.
A rune that had the ability to counter other runes and become the hierarchy number [0]. That had been the objective and that had been the dream.
Unfortunately every attempt had failed.
Stop.
Break.
Inhibit.
Several others.
Each possessed pieces of what he wanted. Fragments that were incomplete understandings and potential pathways.
Yet every single one eventually revealed a limitation.
None reached the level he needed.
Originally he had intended to keep searching and to keep experimenting until he finally succeeded before confronting his father.
But then the news of Relics being stolen entered his ears. Then the world learned the truth, then everything started going to shit.
And suddenly waiting was no longer an option.
Because every instinct Jaune possessed screamed that time had run out. Which was how he found himself standing beneath a shattered red moon while his body slowly stopped functioning under the oppressive aura emanating from the gigantic Grimm.
It washed over him in endless waves.
The damned grimm had a Meta rune. That was the only explanation that Jaune could conclude. Nothing else would be able to affect his mind like this.
A meta rune was the only possible way this was occurring.
Something that no other grimm had.
Truly his father had prepared this trap well.
Apathy was it?
The name alone felt appropriate. His thoughts seemed distant and his emotions muted. His motivation eroded.
It wasn't physical exhaustion, or just simple mental fatigue. It was something deeper. Something that was attacking the soul itself.
Every second felt heavier than the last and beside him, Gula exploded outward from his shadow in an attempt to defend him from his father.
The stalker barely moved three meters when Nicholas casually raised a hand and time froze for Jaune's friend.
Gula stopped instantly.
One moment the creature had been lunging forward and the next it had become a statue stuck in time.
Perfectly motionless and perfectly preserved. The same force immediately wrapped around Jaune as his body locked.
His muscles ceased responding. Even blinking became impossible. Only his thoughts remained active and his mind continued moving.
Unfortunately that merely allowed him to fully experience what was happening. The runic energy emanating from Apathy continued drilling into his soul and the pressure from Time continued suppressing his body.
Together they formed something almost unbearable.
A dual assault.
One targeting existence and the other targeting action. And for the first time since arriving here, Jaune found himself confronted by a possibility he hadn't seriously considered.
Dying.
Because despite everything he had prepared.
Despite every rune, plan and every month spent chasing understanding. He was running out of options.
And Nicholas Arc simply continued walking toward him with the calm expression of a man who already knew exactly how this story would end.
The pressure was unbearable.
It felt as though vast invisible millstones had descended upon the very essence of his existence and were now grinding away at him piece by piece, reducing thoughts, emotions, memories, instincts, and identity into dust beneath an inexorable weight.
The worst part was not the pain itself. The worst part was that he could feel it happening. He could feel every fragment of himself slowly being worn away beneath forces so far beyond him that resistance seemed almost laughable.
The Apathy Grimm remained motionless beneath the broken red moon, its massive skull-like face peeking from behind the floating pyramid as though it were some shy child observing the world around it.
Yet despite its stillness, its influence stretched across the battlefield like an invisible ocean. The creature did not need to move. It did not need claws or fangs or violence. Its mere existence was enough.
Every passing second seemed to strip something away from him. Anger became harder to hold onto. Determination seemed increasingly distant. Even hatred, that burning furnace that had carried him through months of preparation, betrayal, and bloodshed, felt as though it were slipping through his fingers one grain at a time.
His father stopped walking. Then, with an almost casual air that felt more unsettling than any display of violence, he sat down in front of his son.
The man crossed one leg over the other and rested his arms atop his knee as though they were sharing a quiet conversation rather than standing beneath a blood-red moon while a soul-destroying Grimm loomed in the distance. For several moments he simply studied Jaune in silence, his eyes calm and thoughtful as though examining a particularly difficult puzzle.
Finally, he spoke.
"Can you feel it, Jaune?"
His voice was gentle and almost sympathetic. "Can you feel the pressure slowly grinding your mind and soul into dust? You've probably realized it by now, haven't you? This Grimm, Apathy has a meta rune. Akin to its name, I have decided to name the rune, Apathy myself. No need to go above and beyond with the name, eh?"
Jaune couldn't answer but Nicholas continued regardless.
"This is the power of inevitability, my son."
His gaze drifted toward the distant Grimm.
"The Sleeper's power is greater than this."
Those words settled heavily across the battlefield. "This creature is merely a fragment and a byproduct. A shadow cast by something far larger. Admittedly it took very long to prepare it. But I'd say that the outcome was desirable, wouldn't you?"
His eyes returned to Jaune.
"If you want even the slightest chance of stopping what's coming, then your only option is to experience it."
Silence followed.
The broken moon hung motionless overhead. Dark sands stretched endlessly beneath them. The floating pyramid drifted through the crimson-lit sky. The entire world felt suspended between moments.
Then Nicholas raised a finger and temporal energy shifted. The runic energy of time surrounding Jaune's head loosened.
Just enough that he could speak if he wished. Just enough that he could process the horror around him without Time also crushing against his consciousness like whatever rune that grimm had.
Nicholas waited. Perhaps expecting accusations or questions or rage.
Instead, Jaune smiled.
It was not a pleasant smile, nor was it the smile of a son looking upon his father. It was hatred given form.
Months of frustration, months of betrayal and months spent chasing answers through blood and violence. Months spent watching people die while secrets piled upon secrets. Months spent learning truths he had never wanted to know.
All of it surfaced within that single expression.
His lips slowly curled upwards and his eyes remained utterly cold. The resulting smile looked less human than anything Gula had ever produced.
For the first time since their battle had begun, Nicholas stopped smiling and father and son stared at one another.
Neither spoke. Yet an entire conversation seemed to pass between them regardless. Nicholas understood. He understood every ounce of resentment and ever ounce of fury and spite that Jaune was feeling.
Perhaps because of Insight. Perhaps because of Foresight. Or perhaps simply because he was Jaune's father.
He acknowledged all of it in silence and watched as his son stopped focusing on the battle. Watched as Jaune turned his mind inward. Toward the Nightmare System.
Toward the strange power that existed within every awakened. Towards the thing that had guided humanity's evolution since the beginning.
.
[Jaune Arc]
[Rank: 2]
.
Aura: 10
Umbra: 10
Will: 10
Body: 13
.
Runes: 100
Rune Skills: [Weakness], [Plunder]
.
A prompt appeared within Jaune's mind.
Cold, alien and waiting. And Jaune reached toward it with understanding crawling across his veins.
Immediately, he felt something respond.
The ancient and incomprehensible presence brushed against his consciousness and began examining him. It read through his thoughts, parsed his memories and evaluated his experiences.
Measured his understanding and judged his intent. And Jaune poured everything into it.
Every battle, failure and every experiment. Every stolen thought and every fragment of comprehension he had painstakingly gathered throughout the previous months.
Every observation, realization and theory.
Everything.
The pressure from Apathy continued tearing at his soul. The power of Time continued holding his body motionless. Yet now those forces had become something else entirely.
They had become whetstones. Grinding against his mind and sharpening it.
Refining it.
Stripping away imperfections and stripping away uncertainty. Stripping away doubt. The sword that was Jaune Arc's will had never been tested harder than it was in this moment.
And beneath that unbearable pressure, something finally clicked.
A realization.
Simple and elegant.
Yet terrifying.
His mistake had never been that his runes were too weak. His mistake this entire time had been trying to create something powerful, something that was both versatile enough to win against his father and was strong enough to counter his father's rune.
Trying to create something capable of doing many things. That was why they kept failing. Because power created complexity.
Complexity created limitations and limitations created weaknesses.
No.
If he wanted to reach the theoretical hierarchy of [0], then everything had to go. All versatility and all flexibility. All secondary functions beyond the concept of countering.
Everything.
Strip it away.
Discard it.
Burn it.
Destroy it.
Reduce it to its most fundamental truth. A rune with one purpose and only one function surrounding it.
One law.
His thoughts became clearer than they had ever been before. The pressure from Apathy seemed distant and the weight of Time became irrelevant.
Even his father faded from focus.
There was only the System and the idea taking shape within it.
Discard the dross and discard the excess. Discard every possibility, every variation and every alternative. Take strength and throw it away. Take versatility and throw it away. Take utility and throw it away. Take power itself and throw it away.
Leave behind only one thing.
One absolute principle above all truths. Place it above all runes and above every hierarchy. Not through authority but through domination.
Through absence. The complete rejection of everything else. The denial of all phenomena. The end of all abilities. The silence that remained after every voice had vanished. The emptiness that remained after every law had ceased.
The counter to every power.
The final conclusion.
The Nightmare System seemingly trembled as it intook every bit of his mind. For the first time since becoming awakened, Jaune felt it hesitate.
Then, understanding flooded through him.
Like a dam collapsing and the spike of lightning striking. Like reality itself acknowledging the birth of an idea that should never have existed.
His soul shook and his mind ignited.
And within that endless sea of pressure, despair, inevitability, hatred, determination, and unyielding will, Jaune Arc finally gave the System a name.
A single command and a single word. The culmination of every struggle, every sacrifice and every failure.
Every ounce of understanding he had gathered throughout his life.
Every lesson. Every mistake. Every hard-won truth.
All of it condensed within his soul.
A rune was born.
Its power spread outward instantly—not as a tidal wave or a blazing inferno but it emerged as something deceptively gentle. A quiet breeze amidst the raging storm of runic energy surrounding him.
And yet that breeze held.
The storm crashed against it from every direction, carrying the weight of Time itself and the suffocating pressure of Apathy.
Neither could move it and neither could touch it. The breeze remained exactly as it was, unmoved and unchanging.
Jaune slowly rose from the ground.
The runic energy of Time slipped from his body like water off oil, unable to cling to him. The crushing pressure of Apathy that had forced him to his knees moments ago felt distant and hollow, as insignificant as dust in the wind.
For the first time since entering this place, neither rune held any power over him. Steadying his breath, Jaune raised a hand and summoned his status screen.
A new rune had appeared at the bottom.
Null.