The Burden of the World (RWBY X Male Reader)

Chapter 16 - Divine Slayer

Serana could do nothing as the ritual was restarted.

What could she do in her position anyway? She remained chained to the ground, only able to move her upper body enough to peer around her surroundings and listen to the distant rumbling of Y/n moving through the castle, leaving only destruction in his wake. There was a massive flash of light, and the castle shook, which Serana reasoned was him using his lightning, simultaneously causing a pang of wariness to plague Serana. She imagined the burns he had shown her spreading across his body, worsening his condition with each usage. Yet she saw the reasoning behind it. The faster he got to her, the quicker he received much-needed treatment for his wounds. It was a desperate gamble.

Yet, after the initial explosion, Serana felt another explosion.

Her initial thoughts were about the crashing of Y/n's transportation that brought him to the island, but did he know how to fly one? As far as Serana knew, which was very little, Y/n did not have the necessary skills to fly an Ariel vehicle. Furthermore, where did he acquire such a vehicle, and how quickly did he cross Remnant to reach Volkihar Island? How did he know of the location? How fast was his airship to cross such a vast distance with such little time? Did he come alone? Were Alice and Nick with him? Was it a solo rescue or a team one?

So many unanswered questions Serana had no answers for.

Try as she might, Serana couldn't stop herself from feeling happy. She felt so out of place for so place, desperately searching for a place to live her life, that Y/n's actions proved that somebody wanted her around. That somebody needed her. They barely knew each other, yet Y/n was on Volkihar Island, an island full of magical users capable of untold destruction, facing all the dangers for her. He made a promise to protect her, but Serana wondered if it was more than that. Who would take a promise so literally and face possible death for somebody else's sake? It didn't seem logical. It was irrational.

Why would he bring the others into it? They knew nothing about her situation. Alice and Nick were far disconnected from Serana's life and endangered life. Based on what she knew of the pair, Serana had no doubt they would jump into action if they heard about her situation and would accompany Y/n on his journey to rescue her. Their team began as strangers, slowly getting to know and understanding each other since the start, and now they were friends, at least Serana saw it as such. They were her friends, the people she wanted to protect the most. It's why she gave herself up to protect Y/n, to ensure he didn't die at her father's hands, and now had the chance to attempt to save her right before the ritual was completely in motion.

Serana realized her sacrifice would mean the death of the entire world because nobody knew what would transpire once the ritual was completed, only her father's assumptions and presumptions. Yet Serana knew it was unnatural. Breaking into a higher plane of existence was abnormal, and the consequences would be dire. It could lead to the destruction of Remnant in the worst-case scenario, but the possible ascension of her family might be worse because they might return to Remnant to rule over it. She didn't understand why her family thought the rewards outweighed the risks since the process needed to accomplish such a feat was idiotic and inhumane.

Her father wasn't an idiot, far from it. Her father became the head of the Volkihar Clan due to his exceptional talent and knowledge, leading to a cult-like following of the rest of the clan far beyond what any had seen before. It was all secondhand, but Serana saw the way her family lived before that fateful day her mother died. Her father ran the clan with an iron fist, instilling ideals and goals they could accomplish with their power. When he learned about the existence of the ritual, everything changed, and an altercation of words led to the complete fascination of the ritual to the entire Volkihar Clan.