Ephemeral Dream

XVI: Ripper

"FUCK!" I screamed as I kicked a trash can. "FUCK! SHIT! CUNT! FUCK!"

I was angry.

No, scratch that.

I was livid.

I was in the fucking past!

Eight years in the god damn past!

More than that, I was in a time when Jack the Ripper was still on the streets and at large!

My only saving grace on that front was that Jack the Ripper only targeted women!

"Deep breaths Jaune, calm down..." I mumbled to myself, slowly taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm down. What I needed to do now was not panic, and think things through.

First and foremost, I couldn't be Jaune Arc in the past.

I didn't like time travel movies very much, but I knew being myself in the past was a bad idea. There shouldn't be a second Jaune Arc present, in case I ended up fucking up the timeline somehow.

I mean, I was probably going to be doing that anyway... But better I do it as someone else than Jaune Arc!

I opened up my store, scrolling down through the options until I found what I was looking for.

[Would you like to purchase Black Hair (Cosmetic) and Red Eyes (Cosmetic)?]

... God, I was going to look like such an edge lord.

[You have purchased Black Hair (Cosmetic) and Red Eyes (Cosmetic).]

I let out a small groan because of how edgy I was going to look, before I equipped them. I felt a small breeze rush through my hair, and a slight itching of my eyes, before it settled down.

I brought a lock of my short hair in front of my eyes...

Black.

"Well, good to know that worked..."

Still, I was weary... I couldn't change my facial structure, not that I knew, so there was too much leading me back to my younger self in case things went south.

That was when an idea hit me.

[The Black Sun in the Morning Sky]

Effect: Turns the Player's into Faunus (Dragon) while equipped.

I let out a small gasp as I felt an itching at the bottom of my back, before I heard a slithering sound. I looked back, seeing a long, black, draconic tail now coming out of me. I could even move it a little by concentrating.

Black hair, red eyes, and a faunus... The facial structure may be the same but nobody would even try to link me to Jaune Arc if I was walking around as a faunus.

Still, I couldn't be too cautious...

I purchased a coat from the store, a large one made of fur. I slipped it on, and sighed contently as I felt myself warming up in the cold Atlas weather. I brought the hood over my head, bringing it low to obscure my face from view, though my tail poked out the bottom of the coat.

Now, I needed a name...

The name 'Hei Long' jumped to my mind, but I immediately discarded it. Too obvious, and I didn't want to cause Tai's family worry with the name. It could fuck up the past if I did so.

I leaned against the wall, eyes closing as I tried to think of a good name to use...

As I thought, my mind drifted around the name of various gods in religions. In particular, one name stood out to me. One name called out to me, almost sang to me in a strange way.