The awakened who had gathered around the core of the Crimson Moon had long since stopped pretending that they understood what was happening above them.
They had all fought against countless monsters and enemies whose abilities were profound enough to overturn physics, yet none of those experiences had prepared them for the sight unfolding in the black heavens overhead.
The Rank 3s had landed among them earlier and their immense domains had spread outward like invisible fortresses, each one overlapping the others just enough to create a protective barrier around the thousands of awakened who had gathered at the moon's core.
What had once been a battlefield was now something closer to a refuge, although calling it safe would have been an insult to the reality of the situation.
Around the perimeter, several thousand captured Sleepless operatives had been restrained and forced down onto the crimson ground, their bodies pinned beneath the oppressive authority of the Rank 3 domains.
Some struggled weakly against the pressure while others had stopped resisting altogether, and a few simply stared upward with the same horrified fascination as everyone else. Among them were faces that many of the LUCID members recognized immediately.
Arthur Watts, Cinder Fall, Hazel Levesque. Even peripheral members like Adam Taurus, Emerald and Mercury, were all there, restrained and visibly exhausted. Their expressions were carefully unreadable. Each and every one of them were gazing up into the air at the sovereign sight above.
For several of the younger awakened, seeing them captured should have brought satisfaction. Instead, there was very little emotional room left for anything except exhaustion.
The battle had already passed beyond anything they could comprehend.
Qrow and Raven had joined the Rank 3 front earlier, and that single change had altered the battlefield enough for the Rank 3s to finally turn the tide against Lionheart and the other Rank 3 Grimm.
Then Tyrian had appeared.
There had been no warning that any of them could perceive. One moment, the Rank 3s had been standing as the undisputed strongest beings on their side of the battlefield, and the next, the pressure of something infinitely more terrible had descended upon them.
Tyrian had emerged in all his hallowed glory, his existence carrying the weight of something beyond that of a Rank 3.
The Rank 3s had attacked him, yet none of it mattered.
Tyrian had suppressed all of them at once with a casual superiority that had made the awakened below realize, that there were levels of power even Rank 3 could not describe.
The strongest fighters they had ever known had been rendered helpless beneath his authority. They had looked like ants facing a giant, not because they were weak, but because the thing standing over them had become something fundamentally greater.
Then Jaune Arc had attacked.
Nobody had seen where he came from. One instant Tyrian had been standing above the helpless Rank 3s, and the next he had been struck by a golden blur.
Now, every awakened below could do nothing but watch.
The black heavens above them seemed to twist around the two figures. Jaune and Tyrian moved so quickly that even those with heightened perception struggled to follow them. The Rank 3s themselves could barely make sense of the battle, and everyone beneath them had been reduced to spectators watching the laws of existence being torn apart and stitched back together over and over again.
Giant regions of blackness appeared in the heavens before vanishing.
Space folded inward, then snapped back into place. Light disappeared across enormous sections of the battlefield, only to return a moment later in violent flashes. Entire pieces of the Crimson Moon were shattered by explosions so immense that they looked giant nuclear bombs detonating in the distance.
The fragments of the moon trembled in their orbits, some of them breaking apart completely and disappearing into the abyss below.
A young Rank 1 awakened stared upward with his mouth slightly open before whispering, "Are they even fighting anymore?"
The woman beside him swallowed. "What else would you call that?"
"I don't know."
Another awakened behind them looked toward one of the Rank 3s and asked, "Can they actually see them?"
"Some of them probably can.... I think?"
"Then ask them who's winning."
The request passed through the group until one of the lower-ranked awakened finally gathered enough courage to approach the Rank 3 of Vacuoo who was standing with his domain spread over the crowd. The man's face was tense as he stared upward, his eyes tracking movements that seemed invisible to everyone else.
"Can you tell what's happening?"
The man did not answer immediately. His gaze followed something in the distance, and for several seconds his expression remained completely rigid. Finally, he said, "Somewhat. But not completely."
The honesty was worse than any reassurance could have been.
"Then we're in trouble, aren't we?"
The Rank 3 glanced down at him. "Stay quiet and stay inside the domain."
The awakened's face paled. "Are we going to die?"
The Rank 3 looked back toward the sky.
"I don't know."
That answer spread faster than any command could have.
Whispers rippled through the gathered awakened. Some tried to reassure one another and others began checking their weapons, despite knowing perfectly well that whatever happened next would not be decided by the weapons hanging at their sides.
There were people from Vale, Mistral, Atlas, Vacuo, Menagerie, and places that had not even had names familiar to most of the crowd. Rank 0s stood beside Rank 1s. Rank 2s stood beside people who had never awakened at all. The distinctions and culture between them all felt meaningless. If Tyrian's power reached them, nobody believed their rank would matter.
Ruby stood among them with Weiss, Blake, Ren, Pyrrha, Mocha, Yang, and Nora, all of them staring into the heavens. Ruby's silver eyes were fixed on the distant battle, but the usual brightness behind them was gone. T
here was hardness in her expression now, a determination that had been forged through too many battles to allow panic to completely consume her. Even so, her fingers tightened around Crescent Rose until her knuckles became pale.
"This is insane," Nora muttered. "They're fighting like the whole darned sky is a weapon."
Weiss barely looked away from the heavens. "Because, to them, it probably is."
Blake's eyes narrowed. "Look."
A vast black region suddenly opened above them. It looked like a hole had been punched through the heavens, but that description failed almost immediately. There was no edge or center. No indication that anything existed on the other side. The blackness simply appeared, swallowing light and pieces of broken moon before reality rushed back into the space.
Nora flinched. "Did you see that?"
"Yes," Pyrrha said quietly.
"What was it?"
"I have no idea."
Mocha's gaze remained fixed upward. "That's the problem."
A deep rumble rolled across the battlefield, though the sound itself seemed delayed, as if reality had to remember that explosions were supposed to make noise. The ground beneath them shook. Several captured Sleepless operatives shifted beneath the Rank 3 suppression, but none of them spoke.
Ren's eyes, however, were not on the battle but rather, on the captured Sleepless members. A dark look was shining within its depths.
Qrow noticed immediately.
He had been standing a short distance away, attention constantly shifting between the sky and the people beneath his protection. When he saw Ren staring at the restrained operatives, his expression softened. He walked over and placed a hand on Ren's shoulder.
"I know what you're thinking," Qrow said quietly, "but that's the wrong ideology to have."
Ren's jaw tightened.
Qrow continued before Ren could answer. "We can't kill them. Not now. or at least, not until we know exactly what that would do to Tyrian."
Ren looked at him. "I know."
Qrow nodded. "I mean it, Ren. Whatever these people did, whatever they've taken from us, we don't know enough about the relationship between the awakened and that thing up there. Nicholas said that as long as any awakened are on the moon and die, their runic energy can be used as fuel. Tyrian or Salem or whatever he is now, has also already proved that he can harvest power from awakened people. If killing them gives him what he wants, then we'd be doing his work for him."
Ren's eyes drifted toward Arthur Watts.
Watts noticed and for the briefest moment, their eyes met. The former LUCID operative gave Ren a faint, almost mocking smile.
Ren's expression darkened.
"That man is enjoying this," Ren muttered.
Qrow sighed. "Probably."
Watts tilted his head slightly. "You know," he said, his voice carrying despite the suppression around him, "I find it fascinating that you're all suddenly concerned with preserving the lives of people you spent years hunting."
Weiss turned sharply. "Nobody asked you, Watts."
Watts smiled. "Of course not."
Cinder remained silent, her eyes fixed on Tyrian's battle. Emerald looked significantly less amused than Watts, while Mercury simply stared upward.
Emerald eventually whispered, "How strong is that guy?"
Mercury glanced at her. "Which one?"
"Our leader, Tyrian, obviously. Who do you think?"
Mercury's expression gradually shifted. "Strong enough that I don't think it matters, no matter what that guy tries to do."
Cinder finally spoke. "While it's wonderful that you have such confidence in our leader, you should not underestimate that Arc kid."
Emerald looked toward her. "You think he can win?"
Cinder did not answer and that silence told Emerald everything.
Ruby heard the exchange and turned toward them. "Are you saying Jaune can't beat him?"
Cinder's eyes moved toward Ruby. "If Arc could already win then this fight would have ended, right?"
Ruby's expression tightened.
Cinder looked back toward the heavens. "When he was a Rank 2, our intelligence analysis deemed your... friend... as a high threat asset. That was due to his powerful rune. What was it called? Plunder? In any case, as a Rank 3, he no doubt has now created a Master rune with at least two meta rune components to it."
However... with all of his power, he still hasn't managed to beat Tyrian... which means... that our leader is still superior to your friend."
Ren's head snapped slightly toward her.
Watts gave a quiet laugh. "That is one way to describe it, my dear colleague. But I personally... no. No. Why am I even bothering to give my two cents. Truly Cinder, why you're even bothering to say even a single word to them, baffles me. Surely you must have lost your marbles."
Cinder glanced at him with a clod gaze.
"Watch your tongue Watts, lest I burn it to ashes."
"Will you? In this scenario? Why I'd like to see you try. Nicholas Arc isn't here for you to hide behind, Cinder. I think It's best that you watch your own tongue, wouldn't you agree, little lapdog?"
Weiss's gaze hardened. "Both of you shut up! Watts explain what you meant earlier."
Watts smiled.
"I think I'll let you discover it yourselves."
Weiss stepped forward, but Qrow caught her shoulder.
"Not worth it, kid."
"He's literally sitting there."
"And that's exactly why he's trying to get all of you angry."
Weiss glared at Watts before reluctantly turning away. Ren's eyes remained fixed on the battle.
Qrow noticed his expression and followed his gaze. "Ren?"
"I get it, stop trying to coddle me."
"Do you?"
Ren exhaled slowly. "If Jaune loses, it doesn't matter what we do down here. Not only can we not escape this Crimson moon area, but if Tyrian kills him, then there isn't anyone left who can stop him."
Ruby heard him.
"So we just have to make sure not to let that happen."
Ren looked toward her.
Ruby's expression was firm. "Easier said than done, Ruby. Jaune bought us this time and we need to use it protect everyone until he finishes whatever he's doing up there."
Qrow gave her a faint smile. "That's the spirit."
Ruby looked back at the sky. Then her expression changed.
"Uncle Qrow?"
"Yeah?"
"Are we sure killing the Sleepless would actually strengthen him?"
Qrow scratched at his hair and frowned. "No. We're not sure. But we've got enough evidence to believe it might."
"Hasn't Tyrian already gone through the barrier and collected the four Supreme Runes?" Ruby asked. "If he's already got what he needs, why would these people matter?"
Qrow shook his head. "He went in to restrain us earlier. He was about to kill us and harvest our runic energies. If he didn't need our energies, why would he bother doing that? Nicholas Arc might have been a right bastard, but he was correct about that."
Ruby's gaze lowered toward the captured Sleepless.
"As supplements for Salem's awakening," she murmured.
Qrow nodded and the words settled over them. Nobody liked them and yet nobody could disprove them. Above them, another titanic explosion erupted.
Qrow's eyes immediately snapped upward.
"Besides," he said, "from the look of things, Jaune needs every advantage he can get. Especially if he's up against the vessel of a god. If our actions somehow end up helping our enemy, then we'd only be shooting ourselves in the foot, right?"
Yang looked toward him. "What's happening up there, Uncle Qrow? Is Jaune winning? It's all too fast for us to follow."
Qrow shook his head. "It's tough for me to tell as well. Everything's kind of appearing to swirl together, like spacetime is fracturing. I saw Jaune injure Tyrian earlier, but then they started moving even faster and now it's all just a swirl of monochromatic colours."
He turned toward the other Rank 3s.
They were completely focused on the heavens.
Velik's face had taken on an unusually grim expression. Raven stood beside the others with her arms folded, apparently calm, but Qrow knew his sister too well. Her expression had changed almost imperceptibly over the last several minutes. Her brows had lowered farther and farther, the faint crease between them deepening until there was no mistaking it.
"Rae," he said, "what do you think?"
Raven did not answer immediately, her eyes followed something and a golden streak flashed across the heavens.
A monochromatic figure appeared behind it. Then, the entire region disappeared into blackness.
Raven's frown deepened.
"He's losing."
The words were quiet and they hit the group like a physical blow.
"You're sure?"
Raven finally looked at him. "No. However," Raven continued, "I'm sure enough."
Qrow sighed. "Well... that's not exactly comforting."
Raven turned back toward the sky. "Jaune's powerset ensures that he should immediately begin accumulating advantages once a battle starts. He steals attacks and uses them against his opponent. He can also directly stop parts of their repertoire. Theoretically, the longer a fight continues, the more his capabilities should begin overwhelming his opponent. At least, according what I've seen from his Rank 2 prowess."
She paused and her eyes narrowed.
"But this fight has continued and Jaune hasn't gained much of an advantage."
The surrounding awakened listened in silence. A Rank 2 man near Ruby whispered, "Then what does that mean? It's only a matter of time until he loses? We... we have to do something. Can't you-"
Raven answered without looking at him.
"And what do you propose we do? Butt in the battle and deliver ourselves onto the chopping block? Like sheep to the slaughter?"
Another awakened swallowed. "But at this rate... we're dead."
"No," Pyrrha said immediately.
Everyone looked at her.
She stood straight despite the fear visible in her eyes. "We're not dead yet."
The Rank 2 beside her shook his head. "You don't understand. If Jaune is losing, then who stops Tyrian?"
Pyrrha looked upward.
Qrow looked upward.
"I suppose that the only thing we'll have to rely on at this moment is... hope."
The word had barely left his mouth when the atmosphere changed. Every Rank 3 felt it first. The protective domains around the awakened suddenly trembled.
From pressure.
An enormous domain presence had entered their range. The thousands of awakened went silent almost simultaneously.
Qrow's expression became grim.
"Shit. Take cover!"
The pressure increased and the pseudo-domain barrier that had been constructed by the combined Rank 3s was being pushed back by something overwhelmingly stronger.
The air seemed to become heavy and then Tyrian appeared. He stood high above them, suspended in the black heavens.
His silhouette was almost serene and around him, monochromatic light gathered.
Destruction.
The word did not need to be spoken.
Everyone knew that they needed to defend with all of their might or that singular attack would straight up delete them in their entirety.
The Rank 3s reacted instantly.
Raven's shadows erupted upward, forming enormous hands and layers of darkness around the crowd. Kinetic energy detonated through the atmosphere as Ozpin forced the surrounding air and matter into violent resistance. Thunder exploded across the heavens. Qrow's domain fractured into a multitude of forms of titanic birds.
Other domains surged upward and the gathered power of the Rank 3s became a wall. For one desperate instant, it looked magnificent as a bloom of color detonated into the air.
Then the monochromatic light descended against the bloom of color... and.... when the radiance touched the first layer of defenses, it erased it.
Raven's shadows vanished, the kinetic field collapsed and even thunder disappeared. Qrow's manifestations were consumed one after another.
The Rank 3s pushed harder.
"Hold it!"
"We're trying!"
"More power!"
"Don't let it through!"
The awakened below began screaming. Ruby looked upward and saw the wall of power breaking apart.
"No!"
Yang grabbed Ruby's arm. "Ruby!"
"I can help!"
"You can't!"
Weiss shouted, "Everyone stay inside the barrier!"
The light continued downward and a Rank 2 awakened fired everything he had into it. His attack vanished and another tried to do the same.
Nothing worked.
Qrow looked upward.
For one horrible instant, everyone understood that they were about to die. There was no time to run, to attack or even to think.
The Destruction light was already upon them.
Then reality changed and the entire world simply shifted.
Every person standing around the moon's core felt their body jerk as though existence itself had melted into liquid. The direction of gravity seemed to twist and their spatial coordinates changed, with the ground beneath their feet becoming something else.
For one impossible instant, every awakened felt as though they had been removed from one location in reality and placed into another without traveling between them.
Then everything stopped and reality snapped back to normal.
Ruby opened her eyes and the light of destruction was behind them.
The entire attack was behind them and standing between the thousands of awakened and the god-like figure in the sky was a single man.
Golden hair drifted slowly around his face and his back was turned toward them. His body was surrounded by an enormous, silent pressure that seemed to bend the heavens themselves.
Jaune Arc stood before them.
Words were transmitted through his domain into Qrow, Raven and Velik's ears.
"Help me fight."
All three demigods were undoubtedly shocked at what Jaune had just said. How exactly were they supposed to even help him.
However his next words overturned their thoughts and emanated into the surroundings like a new law given birth.
"Inversion: Amplify."