Far removed from the ordered discipline of the expeditionary base in the Shadow Realm, another kind of structure stood.
The portal.
Its surface was not active yet, but shadow energy rolled across its frame in quiet currents, like smoke trapped beneath glass.
The thing was complete.
Every final calibration plate had been locked into place and every stabilizing pillar had been raised.
The Centurions, having completed their assigned tasks, now stood motionless at the outer corners of the chamber. Their bodies were rigid and statuesque, heads slightly bowed as if awaiting the next command. The eerie stillness of them only made the room feel colder.
Near the eastern wall, Arias stood with his daughter. His hand rested lightly around hers, less out of necessity and more out of habit. They both stared toward the gathering at the front of the chamber with grimm looks on their faces.
Sleepless members filled the space.
There were many Rank 1s here now, masked and silent, arranged in loose clusters around the room. Their attention was fixed on the center where the true core of the organization stood.
Seven Rank 2s.
Each of them wore the same Grimm-like masks that had become synonymous with Sleepless, though even among them there was an unspoken hierarchy.
And at the heart of it all stood the man who radiated authority like a physical force.
His Grimm mask concealed his face completely, but the aura of satisfaction rolling off him was almost tangible. Across from him, Arthur Watts tapped across the surface of a glowing holo-tablet, streams of data reflecting across the lenses of his glasses.
The leader's voice cut through the chamber.
"Doctor Watts."
Arthur barely looked up.
"Mm?"
"How goes the signal? Was it successfully intercepted?"
For a moment only the soft hum of the portal's machinery answered. Then Watts' lips curled faintly.
"Yes. We have their location in the Shadow Realm."
The single word carried a sharp note of satisfaction. He flicked his fingers across the holo display and several streams of data rotated into view.
"Cinder and her protégés performed exceptionally well. The infiltration of the expeditionary team's communication lattice was cleaner than I anticipated."
He adjusted his collar.
"We now have the beacon frequency, synchronization intervals, and the first outbound report packet structure."
A murmur passed through some of the nearby Rank 1 members.
The muscular leader gave a low, pleased chuckle.
"Excellent."
One of Watts' assistants, a younger Sleepless member with a mask that seemed too large for his face, stepped forward hesitantly.
"Then… should we open the portal now?"
Silence.
Arthur slowly turned his head. The look he gave the man was so cutting that even through the mask, the subordinate visibly stiffened.
Watts stared at him for several long seconds.
"Are you a fool?"
The man froze.
Watts lifted the holo-tablet slightly, as if presenting the obvious.
"Have we located him yet?"
The subordinate hesitated.
"…No, Doctor."
"No?"
Watts' voice sharpened. He stepped closer, eyes narrowing with naked contempt.
"If we have not yet found that man, and if Cinder has not issued the go-ahead, then tell me, what precisely would be the point of entering that realm? To fight an endless horde of Stalkers?"
The man swallowed hard.
"I… I…"
"There is no point," Watts snapped. "Unless your intention is to send our members blindly into an uncharted hostile environment without target confirmation."
The subordinate immediately lowered his head.
"My apologies."
Watts dismissed him with a look that might as well have been a slap.
"Use your head next time, will you?"
A few nearby members shifted uncomfortably. Arthur let out a long breath through his nose and turned back toward the portal.
"You have any idea how much trouble this damned technology took to figure out?"
The words were muttered, almost to himself, but loud enough to be heard. His gaze flicked briefly toward the large masked leader.
There was unmistakable displeasure there. Months of development had been shortened due to the false creation rune, but that didn't mean it was easy. Impossible equations and reverse-engineered fragments of research stolen from multiple LUCID institutions.
And most importantly, the adaptation of runic principles into a stable dimensional gateway.
It had been a nightmare. Truly, if it was anyone else except for Arthur Watts, the portal wouldn't have been done.
The leader clearly heard every word. But he did not respond. Instead, his attention drifted away from the portal and across the room.
Toward Arias and and his daughter.
Even from a distance, the shift in focus was enough that Arias' posture subtly tightened.
The leader began walking toward them, his heavy footsteps echoing softly against the metal floor.
Arias' daughter simply stared back.
She was powerful.
As a Rank 1 with a rune at the level of Mastery, she was a monster that was capable of bringing down buildings through sheer runic output.
But in this room, among Sleepless, among the seven Rank 2s and the monsters who led them, that power felt small.
Like a candle in a storm. The leader stopped in front of her. Then, slowly, he smiled beneath the Grimm mask.
Even concealed, the expression was somehow chilling.
"My dear," he said, voice smooth and deeply amused, "I must say, I am exceedingly pleased with your efforts."
He leaned slightly closer.
"Your Perpetuity rune has become the greatest boon Sleepless has ever received. Perhaps the greatest investment I have ever done."
His tone was almost warm and fatherly.
Which only made it worse.
"Truly," he continued, "you deserve commendation."
The girl's eyes narrowed, then she raised her hand and flipped him off.
"Fuck you."
A few nearby Rank 1 members stiffened in shock.
Arias closed his eyes for a moment and sighed gently patting her shoulder.
The leader stared at the gesture and to Arias' mild irritation, he seemed even more pleased.
A low laugh escaped him.
"Good," he said. "Still spirited."
His gaze shifted toward Arias now.
"Nicholas has issued new instructions."
Arias' expression flattened slightly.
"Go on."
The leader's voice returned to businesslike calm.
"You and your daughter are to proceed to Vacuo."
At that, Arias' brows pulled together faintly.
"Vacuo?"
"Yes. A fun little developmental project has begun over there. Her rune is needed there."
The leader gestured back toward the portal.
"Your task here in Mistral is complete."
His tone darkened with satisfaction. "The shadow energy fueling the portal has now entered a state of Perpetuity."
Arias understood immediately.
His daughter's rune could make runes imbued runes function under a self-sustaining state. An endless loop of preserved energetic continuity.
The portal would never run dry as it's fuel source was now effectively infinite.
The implications of that were horrifying.
Arias looked down briefly at his daughter.
She was glaring at the leader with unrestrained hatred.
Good. At least she still had that. He gave a slow nod.
"Understood."
The leader stepped back.
"Safe travels."
There was something deeply mocking in the words but Arias chose not to respond. Instead, he tightened his hold on his daughter's hand and activated his rune.
Displacement was unleased and space folded around them with a sharp ripple, reality bending inward like a sheet being pinched at two points.
And then they vanished.
Gone in an instant. The chamber settled back into silence and the leader turned once more toward the massive portal.
Arthur Watts was already back at work, holo-tablet in hand, data streams flickering across his lenses.
The masked leader rested one hand lightly against the portal frame.
Soon.
The Shadow Realm. The man they sought, and the asset that was on him.
Beneath his mask, his smile widened.
Everything was proceeding exactly as planned.
.
.
The moment the data packet was sent, the atmosphere inside the expeditionary base shifted.
The operative researchers nearest the beacon array straightened in their seats and their eyes darted over the floating panes of runic light as streams of information cycled back and forth between the Shadow Realm and reality.
Jaune stood a short distance away, watching the process with quiet fascination. Even now, it still felt a little strange.
They had done it. For the first time that the shadow realm had been discovered, they now had a true point of connection. No longer just a temporary breach that opened blindly into the unknown.
Now there was an anchor.
One of the lead researchers adjusted a relay embedded into the central console and let out a slow breath.
"Alright. We have confirmation," she said, her voice carrying clearly across the chamber. "Reality has successfully locked onto our beacon coordinate."
A small murmur passed through the gathered personnel.
That one sentence carried enormous weight.
Before this, every portal opening had been uncertain, a dice roll cast into a realm that refused to obey consistent geography. Even if time here seemed to follow familiar physics, location had always been slippery, like the world itself enjoyed rearranging its bones.
But now they had a fixed reference point. A door with an address.
The same researcher glanced down at another pane of light and added, "There's an incoming response packet."
Qrow leaned against one of the support beams nearby, rolling his shoulders. "Well? Don't keep us in suspense."
The researcher's fingers moved quickly and she nodded.
"Orders from base are to continue the exploration operation and continue developing the Stalker symbiosis that we have discovered."
Exactly what Jaune expected.
They had barely scratched the surface of this realm, and now that entry and exit were significantly more stable, there was no reason not to push further. A few minutes later, the Rank 2s gathered near the center of the base for a short operational discussion.
Jaune stayed close enough to hear, though not so close as to look like he was trying to eavesdrop.
Raven, Qrow, Taiyang, Clover, Zeki, Cinder, and the others stood in a loose circle, their expressions serious.
The conversation was brief. By the end of it, a decision had been made.
They would move.
The base itself no longer needed constant occupation. It had already been constructed, reinforced, and most importantly, its beacon had been successfully synchronized with reality.
Even if they moved farther out, reality now had the coordinate lock necessary to reopen portals here in this location.
And besides, their expedition group had brought a lot of multiple backup beacons.
If they found another suitable location deeper into the realm, they could establish secondary bases which would act as a chain of anchors.
A creeping line of human presence extending deeper into shadow. The expedition force began packing almost immediately.
The air filled with movement and purpose.
Jaune found himself standing beside Pyrrha as the groups were announced.
"We're going to be splitting into two teams," Clover said, his calm voice carrying over the activity.
He gestured to a projected map, though "map" was perhaps a generous term. It was more of a rough directional model built from scouting data and beacon-relative positioning.
"From this base as a reference point, increased Stalker activity has been observed to the east."
Jaune already knew what that meant and his stomach gave a small, anticipatory twist. The Stalker within his mind seemed to also share that sentiment. Except more hunger.
Clover continued.
"That route will be handled by Team One."
His eyes shifted toward Jaune and Auberyn.
"With the both of you included."
The rest of the team composition followed a decidedly combat-heavy lineup. The Rank 2s that would be apart of team one were Qrow, Raven, Taiyang, Clover and Zeki. The Rank 1's besides Jaune included Pyrrha, Auberyn, Sun, Neptune and even Coppal, the heat rune user from Menagerie. The rest of team one weren't exactly people that Jaune was close to.
However that female operative researcher named Tulip was also assigned to be part of their group.
The second team would head in the opposite direction, tasked primarily with exploration, environmental cataloguing, and establishing additional outposts.
Cinder would lead that side, accompanied by several Menagerie Rank 2s, builders, and a larger research contingent.
The logic was obvious. Their group was built for conflict as the eastern side was where the Stalkers were gathering.
And more importantly…
It was where Jaune and Auberyn's discoveries had pointed.
A symbiotic angle.
Jaune folded his arms, his gaze drifting toward the eastern darkness beyond the base perimeter.
The objective was clear. If what had happened to him was not a complete anomaly, then perhaps there was a better method behind it.
Some principle that could be replicable.
The researchers believed it too.
Plunder and Weakness had been critical in his case, yes, but Auberyn's Stellar rune had also shown a similar interaction.
Her Stalker puppet was proof that human runes and Shadow Realm entities could enter some form of integrated relationship.
The only question was how and whether that relationship could be made stable.
Pyrrha stepped closer, lowering her voice.
"So you're the centerpiece of the mission now."
Jaune gave her a sidelong look and let out a faint chuckle.
"Yeah, that's not terrifying at all."
Her lips curved slightly as she teased him. "You'll be fine, Jaune. After all, you're the... what was it that Nora said again? Ah yes, you're the fearless leader aren't you?"
"Ugh... please not that again. Nora's one thing, but you too?"
"Well... it was certainly an endearing fantasy, wouldn't you agree? Nora's imaginations are quite fun." Pyrrha mused, amused.
"Yeah but when she says things like I'm the leader of JNPR and Ruby's the leader of team RWBY in her her fantasies... it just feel a bit... hmm... embarrassing?"
Pyrrha bit her lip slightly and gave him a cute smile. "A shame, I think you'd look rather dashing using a sword and shield combo."
Jaune coughed into his palm. Pyrrha really knew how to lay it on thick, didn't she?
Sun, who had apparently been listening in from a few feet away, grinned. Though, it seemed he was oblivious to what Pyrrha was trying to convey.
"Honestly, I think Jaune as he is already kinda awesome."
Neptune snorted beside him.
"Easy for you to say. He's the one sharing headspace with a shadow monster."
Jaune grimaced.
"When you put it like that, it sounds way worse."
Sun's grin only widened.
"Because it is worse."
That got a small laugh out of Pyrrha.
Soon the team began moving out from the base, however, something kept nagging at Jaune.
A thread and a quiet sense that something was slightly off.
It started with Raven.
Then Qrow and finally Taiyang.
Nothing obvious was spoken and there were no visible signals.
But through Weakness, Jaune could feel emotions with a level of nuance that ordinary observation would miss.
And what he felt now was… layered.
There was a shared undercurrent between them. A tension that did not seem to align with the stated mission objective.
Jaune's eyes narrowed slightly.
They had another goal. He already knew that much.
According to Raven, this expedition was also a rescue operation. But when he had tried to press for details, she had stonewalled him with that infuriating calm expression of hers.
Need to know, apparently. And apparently, Jaune did not need to know.
Yet.
Still, the emotional traces were impossible to ignore. This wasn't just some side objective.
It mattered.
A lot.
He was snapped out of his thoughts as his hidden Stalker companion stirred faintly inside him, a pulse of hunger and alertness running through the connection.
It had sensed something too.
More Stalkers ahead.
Jaune slowed slightly, his gaze lifting toward the horizon.
Far in the east, shapes moved.
Tall and thin with white eyes blinking in the dark shadowy scape of the land.
Time to hunt.