Verdant Green

Two years have passed since Vernal's death, and I, Silva Branwen, met the God of Darkness. I overlooked the scenery before me atop Tiankong Dao Shan or Sky Reaching Mountian, the tallest mountain on Remnant and the continent of Anima. The sight of seeing all of Anima spread out before me in the morning was a glorious one, and I made use of my gift from the God of Darkness, a third Semblance. I opened a pitch-black portal and went through it to find myself diving through the air to the lake below. I started swimming for my breakfast this morning, and I saw a group of fish not far from me.

I triggered my original Semblance, which I named Emission. I used Emission to convert my Aura to a wild but more malleable form of energy that was black with a white outline and used the recoil of the blast to propel me to the fish rabidly. Before the fish scattered, I opened another black portal which made the water drain through it as it sucked both the fish and me through it. I found myself on wet land surrounded by flopping fish and started to gather them for my breakfast.

The more I used Door to Darkness I got from the God of Darkness, the more I felt I made a wise choice in asking for the ability to go to anyone and anywhere I wanted despite its limitations. Even with continuous training, there are a few limitations I can't overcome with Door to Darkness. One, I can only open and maintain one portal at a time. Two, I need to directly see the place or person to go to them through a portal; the show RWBY did not count whatsoever for places and people. Tough luck, but on to the final limitation. Three, Door to Darkness consumes a massive amount of Aura to activate and maintain; my current limit is opening a dozen portals one at a time for one minute each and keeping one portal open for about thirty minutes before running out of Aura.

Thankfully distance is not a factor that I have tested so far; going to the tribe encampment and Mistral cost the same amount of Aura from my new residence on Sky Reaching Mountain. I set up shop there to train with limited amounts of oxygen to try and imitate the Demon Slayer anime's breath enhancement with some success. I can enter a heightened form of concentration with my mind and boost my physical abilities without Aura but not to the exaggerated degree like in anime. It's a little disappointing but understandable. I still got a bit out of it that gives me an edge.

I started deboning and gutting the fish, then got a large fire going to cook two dozen of the fish to fill my stomach. Yeah, I am now having my growth spurts and need a lot of nutrition. As the fish cooked, I started forging for some wild plants to eat as well. After grabbing enough for a large salad, I went back to the fire to see Raven enjoying one of the fish. Feeling a bit annoyed, I curtly called out to her.

" Raven..."

The black-haired bandit chief glanced at me and responded in kind.

" Silva..."

I stood over Raven as I now towered over her at 6'8", and I am still growing and glared at her for eating my fish. Raven rolled her eyes at me and took out a peace offering, a liter bottle of ginger ale. I quickly forgave her and focused on my meal. After my breakfast, Raven asked me for the umpteenth time in mild exasperation and annoyance.

" Are you done being cooped up on that mountain of yours?"

I smiled at her as I made a joke in mock amazement

" You bought me that mountain?!"

Raven just shook her head in exasperation at my joke, then stared me down, awaiting a serious answer from me. I then told her truthfully.

" Yeah, I think I got about as much training as I could up there."

" Good, now return to the tribe as I have indulged you enough. Your strength, Semblances, and skills will help strengthen the tribe."

I looked at her and coldly replied.

" No!"

Raven blinked a few times in surprise, then demanded.

" What do you mean, no?!"

I got up and bluntly told her as I got ready for a fight.

" I am not returning to the tribe unless it's to put it six feet under."

It was time for me to close this chapter of my second life for good, one way or another. This was a long time coming, and now, with everything I have at my disposal, I can get started on my goals. Raven narrowed her eyes at me as she said.

" Silva, if this is some kind of-."

She did not get to finish her sentence as I fired Emission in a narrow beam next to her to make my choice clear to her. Raven looked at the scorch mark I left from my Semblance, then back to me and said as she frowned in displeasure.

" It seems I have been too lenient with you, Silva. I need to remind you who's in charge here."

As Raven drew her sword, I told her while quoting one of my favorite songs from RWBY, which brought another smile to my lips. Soul Archive has been a real help in planning for the future and reliving my most cherished moments in both my lifes.

" I will not surrender; this life is mine."

Raven's expression turned neutral, and she replied coldly with her weapon, Omen fully drawn.

" We shall see..."

Raven dashed towards me with incredible speed, and I left myself fully open to her attack. Raven then called out before slashing at me with her sword.

" You think I won't harm you!"

" No..."

Raven was about to strike me with her odachi, but I used Emission to release a wide AOE point-blank blast that knocked Raven back several meters. She planted her sword on the ground and skidded back from the force of the explosion I used. I didn't let her have a moment to recover and raised my claws high to fire a wave of black energy at Raven. Emission's only drawbacks are its wild, destructive nature that wants to lash out at everything making fine control over it difficult, its drain on my ambient Aura reserves as it eats up a lot of Aura to fuel it, and its incomparability with Dust.

As I leveled the land in front of me with my wave of energy, I saw Raven nowhere in front of me. I then heard her comment about my attack from above me as I saw her eyes blaze with magic and float above me.

" I admit I am impressed with your strength Silva, but you seem to have forgotten that I am the Spring Maiden."

" I haven't forgotten."

I fired a wide concussive blast at her without hesitation, and Raven rapidly conjured a wall of ice to protect herself. As Raven's wall of ice broke down and our eyes met, she asked me calmly.

" Where is this coming from, Silva? Is this about Vernal?"

" No, it's only about myself. I want to decide my fate, nothing more, nothing less."

I fired off Emission again as only it has the necessary firepower to combat magic, and I have only my claws as weapons right now. I used a narrow beam of my Semblance to increase its penetration power, and it pierced through Raven's ice wall and struck her. This knocked her back in the air as she floated, and I did not stop there. I fired from the tips of my claws ten more beams of black light at Raven, but she knocked me back with a gust of wind before they hit. The ground turned to a solid sheet of ice as Raven touched down from the air.

I then imitated one of the most iconic moves in anime as I cupped my paws together and concentrated Emission on a single point in between them. I had to stop myself from calling out the attack, like a big goofball. I am in the wrong universe for that sort of thing. As I charged it by pouring most of my Aura into it, Raven sent waves of ice at me. As the ice came closer to me, I held my ground as I charged my attack. The wave of ice was almost on top of me, and I then leaped in the air.

I saw Raven, and she kept her eyes on me as she fired spears of ice at me. Unfortunately for her, I finished charging; I put my cupped paws in front of me and unleashed a large concentrated beam at her, shattering her icy spears. I smiled as Raven tried to stop my attack with walls of ice as it would have been smarter to evade it instead. My attack broke through the ice and struck Raven until it vanished.

My black Aura flickered, showing just how low my reserves were; it seemed like I needed to change my training plan to better compliment my Semblance. Slowly increasing my Aura reserves through exhausting it and then letting it recover naturally to increase my reserves is not going to cut it. I better switch to improving my Aura regeneration to resemble Hazel to a degree so I can fire off my Semblance more often. I then heard a familiar voice say.

" You surprise me, Silva."

I turned to look to see Raven with her clothes in tatters and a few burn marks on her arms and legs. Raven placed her hand over her and emitted a green light as her burns rapidly healed, not surprising since I helped her figure out Healing Magic to speed up my training by healing my torn muscles. I don't have enough Aura to use Emission again, so I charged at Raven to swipe at her with my claws. Before I could reach her, I found myself mostly encased in ice except for my head, and my Aura broke from the intense cold. As Raven finished healing her burns, she then said.

" If was the old me, I would've been seriously injured by you, Silva, and I would've retreated instead."

" I never expected to beat you in the first place, Raven."

As I told her that, she looked at me curiously and asked.

" Then why start a fight you couldn't win? I taught you better than that."

" To make a point."

Raven narrowed her eyes and demanded curtly.

" Explain!"

I smiled at her and said.

" Imagine what I could do to the tribe."

Raven looked at me, confused for a few moments, then realized what I was getting at and said with a growl.

" You wouldn't!"

" I can and will unless you give me what I want. My freedom."

I smiled, but inside, I was nervous as I was taking a gamble here. Threating the Branwen tribe to get out of it and Raven not killing me in return for being a threat. Raven conjured a blade of ice and placed the icy edge against my neck. She hissed as she asked me.

" Why shouldn't I kill you instead?"

I kept myself from gulping as I dared her.

" Then do it!"

The icy edge cuts into my neck as I stare Raven down, and she narrows her eyes. Moments went by until Raven lowered her blade and sighed as she said.

" I knew this was coming eventually..."

The ice encasing me broke, and I was free. I didn't relax just yet, even though my gamble paid off as I needed to leave the tribe on my terms and, with Raven's blessing, to get my stuff still at the tribe. I rubbed the cut on my neck and asked her.

" So you knew that I wanted to leave the tribe?"

" It was obvious, aside from your training, you spent most of your time tinkering with that old airship to get it flight-ready, and you filled it with living amenities."

If Raven is willing to let me leave, then I might still be on speaking terms with her after I am gone, which is what I want in the long run. I took a brief moment to take in her tattered appearance as it exposed a lot of her pale skin but, unfortunately, none of her sexy bits. I still find her attractive despite the years with her and knowing her personality, but horniness aside, I also want her help to enter the vault for the Lamp of Knowledge. I have a plan that would let me get there without having to go through Haven Academy or stealing the key to unlock the elevator from the Headmaster. I then asked her.

" So what now?"

Raven sighed and told me.

" Go grab your things from the tribe."

She waved me off, but I then said a cringe-worthy to her.

" Things can be replaced, Raven. You can not be."

Raven looked at me, stunned for over a minute, then numbly asked me.

" What do you want?"

I smiled at her as I told her truthfully despite the fact I might be digging myself a grave.

" You!"

I stunned Raven into silence again. She blinked a few times, trying to process what I said, then coldly said.

" You want to leave the tribe, and yet you also want me... you can't have it both ways, Silva."

Good, she didn't flat out reject me, but I am still walking on a knife's edge. I asked her the obvious question.

" Why is that?"

" You already know the answer, brat."

After Raven coldly retorted, I shot back.

" I still want hear you say it in your own words."

Raven took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of her nose, looking annoyed and tired. She then said.

" You know I am trying to avoid getting Salem's attention now more than ever with me being the Spring Maiden, and the best place to do that is with the tribe. And you want me, a known criminal, to follow you around in broad daylight? That is foolish and counterproductive."

I smiled at her. I was waiting for that exact argument, and I countered her.

" I beg to differ."

Raven showed her doubts on her face but waited for me to continue.

" You know Salem can't be stopped, so the most you can hope for is to die on your terms and let the next Spring Maiden take your place."

Raven furrowed her brows but kept silent as I continued.

" You know what Salem wants, correct?"

" The Relics..."

I grinned as I corrected her.

" No, her death."

Ozma may have hidden a lot of things. Still, he made it perfectly clear to his inner circle what would happen if Salem got all of the Relics, the Brother Gods' final judgment on the world, which generally meant the death of everybody, which Salem hopes includes her. Raven scoffed at me and retorted.

" You think you can kill her?"

" No, of course not."

I surprised Raven again, and she looked at me in stunned silence as I told her my plan.

" Look, you base your all thoughts on Salem on either second-hand knowledge or by what you have seen with your own eyes. But! My question is this, how much do we really know about Salem?"

While Raven looked mildly confused at what I was getting at but more importantly, she was also interested in what I had to say. I then delivered the final part of the plan I had in mind to rope Raven into it.

" My goal is this, to get the Relic of Knowledge and use it, not simply find a way to kill or defeat Salem but to find all the ways to do it and understand why they would work. So are you fine hiding away like a rat for the rest of your life, or do you want to be truly free of Salem?"