"What... is this place?"

A few minutes after dealing with the White Fang grunts and looking around, Ruby was honestly confused as to where they are.

A desolated city that seems to mirror the one above, yet why was this kept form the world? Was it because of Grimm? A unanimous decision? Did someone suggest it? These questions circled around her head as she tried to find an answer to it.

"I don't know Ruby. Guess we'll just have to ask Oobleck about this place."

"Yeah..."

Deathly silence formed around them as Y/N sighed and looked at the hole above him.

After falling down into this abandoned underground city, and dealing with some enemies, they opted to call their group about where they are and awaited for them. Seeing that Ruby doesn't have her weapon yet, the just stayed at the spot where they fell and waited for them.

The awkward atmosphere was killing Y/N's spirit, feeling as though there wasn't anything to kill the time. 'Why am I this bad at talking? I hate my lack of self-esteem.'

"Hey, Y/N?" Ruby finally killed the mood as she looked at him. "How are you so... strong?"

Y/N looked back while trying to come up with the correct answer. He could just say that he trained very hard but that would just make her press him for more answers. And he didn't want to give up his {Gamer} powers yet as though feeling it wouldn't be the right time to say it.

Racking his brain, Y/N will have to act cautiously. "Why do you ask?"

She averted her eyes to the still frozen WF and stared at her hands. "What would you do... if you lost your weapon?"

"Well..." Y/N had his arms crossed and his eyes closed. "I would use my body as a weapon."

"Your body?"

"Yeah. Kinda how Yang uses her fist and Ren using martial arts to fight Grimm, they're using their bodies as weapons. I also use my body for attacks or defending myself, as well as twisting and turning it to suit my style. Like how you twist your body when you use your weapon."

"I see..." Ruby stared back at her hands and trembled a bit.

Y/N saw her trembling hands as he moved a bit closer to her. He stayed by her side and grabbed her hands, making her stop trembling and look at him.

"Ruby... Are you saying you want to try hand-to-hand fighting?"

"Ugh. Hearing it out loud makes me wanna quit already... But I want to do it. I want to protect my friends when I don't have my baby near me."

Judging from her demeanor, Y/N was right about it. "Why can't you ask Yang about it? I mean, she's pretty much a pro in that style."

"You don't think I did? You know Yang, stubborn to the end."

"Right... Why not Ren?" A glare later as Y/N held his hands up a bit. "OK... Fine. I'll train you after this whole ordeal, OK?"

"OK. Promise."

*UPDATE*

[Quest: Training Montage: Ruby Rose!]
In order to get strong, Ruby Rose asked you to train her.

[Objective:]
Train Ruby Rose to {Desciple}

[Time: N/A]

[Reward: Improve relationship status with Ruby Rose+]

He nodded as they still awaited for the others to come here.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Thank goodness, your alright!"

"Stop it, your crushing me!"

"Nu-uh, you deserve this after ditching us to go after these guys."

Y/N sweatdropped at the comedic sisterly bond he saw right now with an awkward laugh. Ruby was asking fr help by how her eyes were aiming at her friends, but they just smile pitifully.

Not that long after they fell, the group found the hole they fell into and found them nearby. Yang was so overjoyed that she almost destroyed a building, which Blake stopped her from doing so. Aigis carried Zwei over to them as she surveyed the city before her and adding it to her data for information about this.

"Ms. Rose. While I appreciate you tracking down these criminals to their hideout, it was unwise to leave the group all of a sudden. You were lucky Y/N saved you but I advise that you do not repeat these actions without supervision next time, understand?"

"Ugh, yes professor..."

"Its Doctor."

She finally removed herself from Yang's deathly bear hug and got her weapon back from Blake. Ruby briefly hugged it before returning it behind her back.

"So, Doctor Oobleck..." Y/N looked at the Huntsman as the question he will ask will no doubt benefit them. "Where are we?"

"Of course, to be precise. We-"

"We're in an underground city that the citizens took shelter in and made a living here till an explosion drew Grimm from the tunnels there." Weiss gave her own analogy of where they were, as though Oobleck's explanation was too long.

"Precisely!" And he agreed with her.

"Woah..." Ruby gasped at the sudden information.

"Indeed. Now then..." Oobleck then took out his coffee-filled mug as he shifted it into a club of sorts. "Shall we get going, students?"

They all nodded with weapons ready, knowing that this underground village is the White Fang hideout they were talking about.

Aigis walked to the group as she had something to tell them. "Everyone, I have finished my scans of the area and found them."

"Brilliant! Where?"

Aigis' eyes glowed brightly as a holo-map formed in front of them. It showed a 3D scale of the city they were in, along with the entrances of the tunnels and how large it is. A red dot was seen on one of the tunnels as the image zoomed in to see a train there with many White Fang moving boxes.

"It is located there, at the Northern tunnel."

"Perfect! Now, Ruby..."

"Huh?" Oobleck zoomed in front of her in an instant and leaned down to her height.

"You are the leader of this group, thus that gives you the decision on what this team will do. So tell us, what is our next move?"

"Umm... I, umm... I would do..." Ruby fumbled with her words as the sudden pressure made her brain go into overload.

She would have passed out from the pressure before Y/N held her shoulder. Ruby looked at him as he gave a smile and a nod. "Whatever the decision is, we will do it."

That gave Ruby the courage to stand up more as she breathed in and out to calm herself.

Assessing the situation they are in and the limited info she has right now, Ruby unsheathed Cresent Rose and looked at Oobleck with a fiery determination. "We're stopping this."

Acknowledging her decision, Oobleck nodded and faced the group. "Everyone, let this be a lesson to all of you. A leader's burden will often be too great for them to bear and it is our job to see it through so please, support her as it will lead to victory. Now then, let us be off."

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Creeping their way to the Northern tunnel was RWBY with Y/N, Aigis, and Doc. Oobleck as they were careful not to make any noise.

Blake leads the group to spots where there weren't any watchmen in the area while also providing cover for them. Being the only expert in stealth, its safe to say that she was in the zone.

They walked silently to their destination while also disregarding any White Fang they saw. Yang was tempted to go but Oobleck reminded them that the enemy will no doubt be suspicious of the random disappearances they are doing. So they left them be and continued onward.

Finally seeing the train, they saw who was leading the operation with an iron grip and an annoying bark.

"Come on, you animals! We're already behind schedule already so I don't need to make it clear on what will happen if we're late, so move it!"

Torchwick barked orders on various White Fang as they loaded up crates of stolen cargo from the Schnee company. A few carts in front were multiple Paladins from Atlas all neatly stacked.

"Whoa, that's..." Weiss looked at the cargo with her logo on it with a surprised look. All those containers matched up to the stolen cargo the company reported.

As well as the Paladins from Atlas.

"What are they doing?" Yang asked from her spot, keeping a lookout on the various grunts near them.

"It would seem they are preparing for something." Aigis gave a rough answer that everyone also thought of. "However, why put it all on a single train? The tunnels they operate on lead to a dead end."

"Indeed." Oobleck agreed with android. "The explosion collapsed many tunnels in the city, only leading to a destroyed pathway."

"Which begs the question; What are they planning in the first place?" Y/N eyed each container as they hold a position near them.

All these questions raced around their heads as they tried to find a logical conclusion to the answer.

With nothing in mind, Ruby grabbed her Scroll. "I'm calling Jaune. Maybe he can help?"

However, it didn't go through as there was no signal at the bottom of a cavern. Clicking her tongue, Ruby once again looked back at the train. "What shall we do, Doctor?"

Oobleck went to work as he tried to find a solution on what to do next. His experience as a Huntsman and knowledge of history was needed to find a probable answer.

Y/N saw someone coming and motioned the group to hide.

A White Fang grunt thought he heard someone whispering nearby and sought out to investigate with others.

Try as they might, they couldn't find anything related to the whispering sounds. And they retreated back.

The group stepped out of the shadows and into the light again as they huddled near each other.

"So, what do we do now?" Blake was the first to ask.

"How about we just rush them?" Yang cracked her knuckles.

"Is there anything else but meat in your brain?" Weiss snarked at Yang before coughing in her hand. "I think we should retreat and tell General Ironwood about this place."

"Unlikely." Aigis denied her suggestion as she looked back at the train. "Based on the little cargo leftover, we have approximately less than 10 minutes before all cargo is loaded and the train is gone."

"She's right. We have to stop this before they continue on." Y/N then thought on what to do next that will trigger the events leading up to the breach.

The group mulled over on what they should do next, as each proposal only lessened the time left to act.

As they racked their brains to find an answer, Blake heard a nearby crash nearby.

They looked and saw one of the grunts fell and accidentally dropped a crate full of Ice Dust.

"What's going on here?!" The leader of the division stepped to the grunt with a sneer across his face. "What happened?!"

"S-Sorry sir! I slipped and... and..."

The leader didn't hear any of that as he gripped the grunt's shirt and lifted it up to his menacing face. "If I see you slip up one more time, then I'll make you stay here with the Grimm! Got it?!"

"Y-Ye-Yes, sir!"

He let go of the grunt and walked away, leaving him to pick up the scattered Dust across the ground.

That immediately sparked an idea in Y/N's head as he huddled up again.

"I have a plan..."

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The area surrounding the train was a bit large, bigger than a small village to be honest and way too many grunts to take on. A frontal assault would be suicide against a massive amount of White Fang, not to mention that they also have tech from Atlas and ammunition from the SDC so you know that they aren't joking around anymore.

So a planned tactical strike against specific points would be viable.

Blake sneakily stepped out of the shadows as she walked to some crates filled with stuff. She fished out a few Fire Dust and placed them near it. Hearing someone nearby, she hid in a corner.

Blake saw Yang in the distance and waved her arms at her.

She saw the signal and nodded at Weiss who prepared her Semblance in conjuncture with Fire Dust and Gravity Dust.

Ruby, Yang, Aigis, Oobleck, and Y/N all readied themselves as they awaited the signal.

"Hey, are you sure it will work?" Yang was skeptical of the plan Y/N made based on an assumption.

"It will. The moment Weiss sets off the Dust, we rush to the train to get Torchwick. Like what Aigis and Doc. Oobleck said, the tunnels only lead to a dead-end so I doubt he will use the train to escape. He's only buying time."

"So... this is all based under the assumption that Torchwick won't use the train to escape?" Ruby asked him, wondering where his confidence is coming from.

"Well... Yeah, basically." Y/N steeled himself as the moment draws near. "But, even if Torchwick escapes using the train, we'll apprehend him and turn him to the authorities. We will win this. I promise you that."

They all looked at each other as the plan seemed odd; destroy the remaining cargo here as a distraction and rush to capture Torchwick to foil his plans.

Simple, right?

Well, I guess simple is best for a plan in action.

"I'm up for it." Yang nodded at Y/N's plan and readied herself.

"Let's do this." Ruby cocked Cresent Rose and aimed.

"Initiating Combat Mode." Aigis's hand shifted into Triten and went into a stance.

"Ready." Oobleck waited patiently for the signal.

"Ready when you are." Blake regrouped with them as she unsheathed Gambol Shroud.

Y/N took out Joker and shifted it into Odin and went into a stance.

There, they waited for the explosion...

...

...

...

...

...

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

"NOW!"

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Roman waited anxiously for the last cargo to be boarded in this death ride of a plan she calls it. The White Fang was good but not good enough if they want to keep their heads.

Every second he was here, he regretted each time he had to do something under her orders. He could have just walked away, forget about meeting her, let some other criminal masterminds be her pawn. But no, his fear got the best of him and his accomplice so now he's forced to work to the bone until she no longer wants his service.

'Why did it have to come to this?' Roman whined again in his head of the jobs he is forced to do and the weird accomplices she provides him.

He shook his head and sighed, he needed to maintain his image as the elusive Roman Torchwick of Vale. Criminal Mastermind and Lady Killer to all who knew his name.

Definitely not a pawn by a teen who can literally incinerate his organs.

Nope.

And with how proficient the White Fang is handling the cargo, he should initiate the plan mere minutes away. It was almost too easy.

Roman snarked to himself at the thought of Little Red and her merry band of Huntresses to try and stop him. Seriously, if they were to suddenly find and subdue him with this many grunts by his side then they have a death wish.

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

"..."

He and his big mouth.

If that wasn't enough, he heard shots as well behind him. And sure enough, Red was there with her team, a Huntsman, the brat from the docks as well as a... dog?

Ruby sped through the many grunts, incapacitating them, as she dispatched many White Fang soldiers that stood before her and Torchwick.

Roman clicked his tongue in annoyance as the grunts he mentioned before seemed to be distracted by the massive explosion behind him.

That is why is it not advisable to put explosives next to the weapons shed.

"Listen up, you animals! We're leaving!"

Roman had enough of this same outcome before. He knew staying would only delay his impending capture with them so he had no choice but ti start this train wreck.

"But, we're not finished yet!"

That seemed to snap Roman a bit as he grabbed the grunt near him and glared murderously at him.

"Do it, or you're finished!"

He fled to the very front of the train with his accomplice to speed it up and hoped.

Hoped, that this plan will take red and her team out for good.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Y/N, look! He's starting the train!"

"Damn! Looks like we're gonna go with Plan B, Ruby!"

"Copy! Alright team, let's stop Torchwick!"

They all ran to the train as it started moving towards the tunnels, carrying the cargo on it. No matter what they were doing, RWBY and Co. will stop it before it can do some serious damage.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The train bumped endlessly at the rusted tracks it was supposed to go through and yet, time wasn't kind to it. Many WF grunts were on patrol as the plan only needed slight maintenance to make sure it all goes smoothly.

One grunt searched at sidecar and saw a few rose petals float at the end piece. It didn't take a genius to know who would have the Semblance to create rose petals right now, so he called it in.

"Boss, I think they're-"

Only to be knocked out by Oobleck's weapon.

The group made their above the carts as they slowly walk to the front.

"Hurry, children! We must get to the front and stop this train!" Oobleck urged them as though this train will no doubt be the clincher of this plan.

"Err... Professor?" Weiss called out to him.

"It's Doctor..."

"What's that?"

She pointed below the hatch on the cart and what lay before them was an intricate device.

Oobleck knelled down near it to begin his analysis. "That my dear... appears to be a bomb."

RWBY all cringed a bit and backed away from the bomb.

Aigis saw something ahead and called out to the group. "Enemies approximately 356m in front of us."

They all looked and, sure enough, White Fang grunts are coming out of a separate car as they are slowly crawling towards them.

Oobleck merely looked a bit annoyed at that. "Well, I didn't expect them to go-"

Suddenly, the bomb they looked at started to come alive. Indicating it is about to blow.

"-easy on us." He stood up hastily as he called out the team. "Time to go!"

The team all rushed to the next cart, Oobleck stopped Blake a moment.

"Blake! Detach the caboose! It will kill us all!"

"On it!"

Blake jumped down to the connectors, and as she was about to disconnect the two carts, it did it all by itself.

"Huh?" She looked back at Oobleck with a confused look. "It detached itself!"

"What?!"

"I guess he really doesn't want us on this train!" Yang commented.

The group all watched as the bomb exploded the cart and made a hole above it, releasing a few Grimm.

"That's not good..." Oobleck remembered about how certain actions would attract the Grimm and decimate villages around it.

"Err... neither is this."

Blake took a look near Ruby and was equally surprised as them. "Another bomb?!"

Y/N then ran to the next cart and opened the hatch, revealing yet again another bomb.

"They ALL have bombs!"

The bomb underneath RWBY suddenly triggered as they all ran to the cart Y/N was. The bomb goes off and another hole is made.

"This doesn't make any sense," Yang spoke for everyone there as explosions like these practically came off as a last resort.

More members of the White Fang approached them, all were armed with guns and swords.

Seeing them so close, the group dispatched them easily. Some were thrown overboard while others were knocked out with Aura protecting them.

Oobleck didn't pay attention to them as he merely stared at the explosion of a recent cart. With a giant hole it made, the Grimm fell down to the tracks as they looked to soo who made it.

One of which was a giant Taijutu snake who's head looked at the speedy train.

"Oh, dear..."

As he expected, the Grimm all ran to the train as if following the aggression it trails. He then turned towards Aigis as she finished off another grunt.

"Aigis! Where does this track go to?"

She stopped attacking and accessed the CCT Towers Archive and looked up multiple maps of the underground railroad underneath Mountain Glenn and where it was supposed to go.

"...It was supposed to lead to the industrial area of Vale, however, the Council sealed off the connection because of Grimm.!

"And where is this seal located?!"

"... Underneath the Vale Plaza."

His deepest fears came true as he ran to where RWBY and Y/N were. He finally understood the plan.

"He's leading the Grimm to Vale!"

"What?!" Weiss was the first to react as the mere idea of breaching into Vale with Grimm was a nightmare in of itself.

"It's the cars! They detach and explode, creating openings for the Grimm!"

"That's insane!" The entirety of this plan was horrific and the results would be devastating for Vale and its citizens.

Like dominoes, another cart detached itself from the train to create more openings for the Grimm to pass through.

"We have to hurry!" Deciding that now is the time to act, he looked at Weiss, Blake, and Yang to take the first action. "You three, go below and try to stop those bombs!"

He then looked at Aigis. "You will contact General Ironwood where we are and what the plan is!"

"What about us?" Ruby, Zwei, Y/N, and Oobleck are all that remained of the working group.

With a team behind his back, Oobleck pushed his glasses near his face. "We're going to stop this train."

"Uh, yeah. That's... what I just said."

Oobleck sweatdropped.

Moving on.

Multiple WF is now converging on their location, some of them were donning the Atlas Paladins to stop them.

Oobleck stared at the Paladin, drank coffee from his mug, and shifted it into a club with a small flame lit at the end. Zwei barked at him, instantly knowing what he is saying and used him as a projectile.

In conjunction with his Aura and Semblance, Zwei burst into flames and sped towards the paladin with the speed of a rail gun.

The result; An explosion and aa victory under Zwei's belly.

As Zwei recovered, another paladin appeared before the corgi and readied its guns. Before it could fire, {Palladion} embedded itself on the mech and stopped its attacks.

Since the entire thing is made of Aura and is connected to Aigis, any attack coming from what she deems as companions will not give her damage and vice versa.

Y/N made use of this and attacked without regard to safety for Aigis. "{Ziodyne!}"

A large thunderbolt struck directly at the mech, making it malfunction and fall off the train.

They catch up with Zwei before 3 more mechs appeared before them.

Y/N dodged a fist from the first and slashed at its arms, destroying the appendage, and thrust Joker into its chest, making it bump into the other one.

Aigis played down bullets covered in Aura as they lay waste on the mechs. Stopping her attacks, Aigis summoned {Palladion} once more as it aimed at the mechs. "{Swift Strike}"

It reached speeds that neither grunts couldn't see as {Palladion} struck each of them multiple times, making them go off-road and into the rails below them.

Y/N and Aigis finished up their tag team and looked at how Ruby and Oobleck dealt with theirs.

...Only to see them deal the finishing blow underneath the paladins' feet, making it lose balance and fall on its own.

They both converge and Oobleck saw in the distance of what appears to be more mechs coming. He then turned to the remaining 3 students under his guidance with a determined tone.

"All of you! Go one ahead!"

"But-"

"Don't worry, Ruby. It's time... I teach them a lesson."

Doctor Oobleck then charged straight at the stampede of mechs coming there way. Before they left, Ruby noticed Zwei whimpering at Oobleck. Even with Aigis, Ruby understood immediately.

"Go."

Zwei's expression changed immediately as he also ran with Oobleck to try and help the Huntsman.

"I'll go check on the others! Aigis, stay with Ruby!"

"Right!"

With that said, Y/N jumped down the hatch below.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The moment he entered inside, the first thing he saw was a stranger garbed in red and black and wearing a Grimm mask. The mask seemed different than what the White Fang used and it was more intricate indicating someone of high value. Not only that, but the clothes were feminine to an extent with a short skirt, black stockings, and long black hair was encompassing the figure the woman had.

Her armor resembled that of a samurai in Japan, with the armor platings only covering her arms and all had the color of black and red.

'Why is every character in RWBY always implying a fetish of sorts? This is a woman wearing a short skirt? Who does that? Perverts, maybe?' Y/N shook away the stray thought as the woman before aimed her ōdachi at him.

Y/N didn't get the chance to {Observe} her as she sped instantly at him. He merely dodged it at the last second before he used his elbow to deliver a blow at her back.

When the woman got back up, she simply stared at Y/N.

...It was an uncomfortable feeling he had.

{OBSERVE}

NAME: Raven Branwen

TITLES: The Bandit Queen, Crimson Blade, Mother of Yang Xiao Long

WEAPON: Omen {A sheath housing many blades, all of which were made using high-quality Dust and maintained by Raven}

SEMBLANCE: Portals {User can create portals to which she can form a bond through.}

[People with bonds tying with Raven]

-Taiyang Xiao Long

-Yang Xiao Long

-Qrow Branwen

-Vernal

FIGHTING STYLE: Iaido {The form of swiftly drawing a blade instantly to attack}

INFO: A member of the infamous Branwen tribe, Raven Branwen was born into this world with its sole purpose to steal, fight, and become strong. She followed the rule 'Survival to the Fittest' all the way up to Beacon, where she was enrolled with three other students. Raven is the birthmother of Yang Xiao Long and 2nd Lover to Taiyang Xiao Long. After her leader's death and the birth of Yang, she left them and went back to the tribe where she continues her original purpose and fights to survive and protect herself and her tribesmen.

Raven stared at Y/N for a few moments before activating her Semblance behind her. The {System} even showed to whom she opened the portal to.

SEMBLANCE ACTIVATED

LOCATION: Anima Wilds

PERSON: Vernal

She entered the portal without hesitation and shortly after, it closed.

Y/N breathed a slight moment of relief at the thought of not fighting Raven and went to Yang nearby.

She slowly stood up but was able to see the mysterious women disappear in the portal she created.

"Yang!"

"Y/N!"

They embraced each other for a bit as Y/N held her shoulders.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"What happened? Did you fight that woman?"

"What? No! I was fighting that mute girl."

Looking around, they saw no traces of her here.

"Well... she was here."

Yang rubbed her head as she was just waking up from being unconscious.

"Shall we?" Y/N held his hand at Yang.

She merely stared at it as she smirked.

"Let's go."

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Going to the front of the train, Yang and Y/N saw Weiss and Blake with an unconscious Roman and White Fang general. They tried to open the door at the control station, only for it to be welded shut and the soldier operating it already fled elsewhere.

Seeing no way to slow the train at all, they all went up the train with Ruby and Aigis.

The group looked ahead and saw a seal coming fast at them.

"What do we do?" Blake was now worried at the following impact that will undoubtedly happen.

Ruby and Weiss merely looked at each other and smirked. Weiss then made an ice shield around them using her Semblance and Dust as they brace for impact.

Aigis and Y/N reinforced it Aura as much as they could to prevent any internal damages later.

Just as the train was about to collide, it all went white.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

Waves crashed against each other as its raging current was loud enough to be heard of all. The air was thick with salt and wind, making it a bit hard to see and hear anything at all.

Y/N didn't recognize the sounds at all as he slowly opened his eyes. He stood up from a wooden surface as he tried to get some balance from the platform he was on.

"Where... where am I?"

Looking around, all he can see is miles upon miles of water, raging against each other, or the thing he was in. Looking at where he awoke, it appeared to be a simple luxury cruise ship only meant for one person. It's exterior was a simple pearly white with some gold decorations around the side.

Y/N couldn't see the name of this vessel when he took a look as he couldn't find the right angle for it.

As he said before, the ship was simple yet pleasantly beautiful. It had a small deck with an elegant table covered by a white sheet, 2 chairs on it placed against each other. Y/N then noticed a small piece of paper on top and what held it in place was a glass vase with a deep purple rose on it.

Y/N explored a bit further and went to where he awoke and saw the interior of the ship. It was a room with velvet colors surrounding it. A beautiful piano was layed on the side of the room with yet another table at the center. This time, instead of white cover it was deep blue with gold victorian designs sewn in place.

Seeing that no one was inside, Y/N went back topside as he gazed at the endless reach of water before him.

"Where am I? What is this place? How did I get here?" These questions would only make it harder to understand the place more as he didn't have enough information about it.

This place was similar in some sense, yet completely different.

First of all; This place is no doubt the {Velvet Room} he always knew about. It was pretty obvious with how gaudy this entire ship is, yet he can't find Igor.

That was the second thing; Igor should've been the first person he was supposed to see, along with one of its inhabitants, and yet, no one is here.

Thirdly was perhaps the strangest of them all; He didn't sign any contract. He didn't see any other Persona's or Shadows in Remnant or in his dungeon.

So why...?

Seeing that no one will answer his question, he opted to the only thing here other than himself.

Looking at the card itself, Y/N wasn't sure if he is supposed to do this but he needs answers.

Picking up the vase, he grabbed the card and put back the vase in its original place. The card itself was pretty in a sense since it looked like something only Weiss would use.

A simple white card with gold decorations on its side and nothing written on its front nor back.

Y/N opened the card itself and saw...

"A keyhole?"

He looked at the back again and saw that the lock doesn't go anywhere but on the page itself. Y/N brushed his fingers against it and did in fact, felt like something was supposed to go in.

But what?

That was when it hit him.

"{Inventory}"

Y/N pulled out the {Abyss Key} from his storage and sure enough, it did something. It glowed a blue hue.

Seeing the key and the lock, he pushed the key to it and it slid right in.

A bright flash of light then erupted as Y/N's vision was slightly blinded once more.

A few moments of blindness, the light dimmed from the background as Y/N's vision returned once more.

There was a sudden change all of a sudden since there was a person sitting on one of the chairs on the other side of the table.

"Welcome to the {Velvet Abyss}, Mister {Gamer}. How may I serve you?"

At that moment, the rose was no longer there.