Rwby: Eye of the Beholder: (Chapter 2)

I gaze at the man stood before me, an arm folded behind his back, cane resting on the floor with his other hand on its head.

"Whenever you are ready." The corners of his mouth turn upwards.

So...

I have ice eyes... and eyes that make it so I don't need to eat, sleep, breathe, and can clean myself at will.

Do I have anything else?

The 688 evil eyes currently has 575 eyes which are classified as 'standard' mystic eyes, 6 of which are locked in a low-powered state. 110 being 'Supreme' Evil Eyes capable of bringing apocalyptic destruction with 11 being unavailable and locked in a low-powered state, and 3 that can freely evolve from standard to Ultimate at the user's will, with 2 being in a low-powered locked state.

Well... what do I have currently?

Argus Lord of Eyes currently has 5 Eye-based powers online and controllable with a further sixth on power-saving mode.

Of, the six, three are sub eyes.

The Mystic eyes of Sustenance is a sub-eye that is activated with any other mystic eye, allowing you to use its powers at will.

Next, the six eyes grant you incredible visual acuity. At full power even being blindfolded would still allow you to see as if you were looking through a high-definition camera. Your sense of time can be improved at a moment's notice allowing you precious moments to plan. This aspect is currently being used. Viability with current assortment of visual powers? Great. Current overall power: 25%.

Wait... time is moving slowly? How long-

Three seconds have passed.

The third Sub-Eye is known as the 'Silver Eyes'. A powerful magical trait that vanquishes evil and beings of darkness. This eye is available in most of your 688 Mystic Eyes with notable exceptions.

Its effects are greatly boosted by the Six Eyes, unlocking new capabilities.

'h-huh?!'

Every Mystic Eye aside from your first eye, 'The Blankest Eye of The Great King of Normalcy', requires effort to use and as of this moment cannot be continuously maintained.

Eye 1: The Blanket Eye of the Great King of Normalcy:
You may see the supernatural effects and traits currently affecting someone in your sight-range and peer through illusionary effects and glamours with effort. It also allows you to peer through anything thin that is placed directly in front of it, such as a mask, bangs of hair, blindfolds, or eyelids.

Eye 2: Mystic Eyes of Frost:
You may lower the temperature of anything within your vision and manipulate ice with great precision.

Eye 3: Mystic Eyes of Compression:
You can shrink inorganic objects to a fraction of their original size within your sight range. But the objects don't weaken or lose weight, retaining the original weight and durability. Some targets grow in strength as they grow smaller, such as fire which has its temperature increase as its energy is spread over a smaller area.

How do I get more?

You may randomly pick from your assorted non-mastered Evil Eyes.

Okay? How do I do that? How do I use a supreme evil eye?

Supreme Evil Eyes can only be unlocked through extreme duress, placing you in a temporary 'wrath' state where you might be unable to control yourself. It is possible to learn how to control yourself while making use of a Supreme Evil Eye, but it is quite difficult.

Said difficulty is lowered by perk 'Invictus'.

Randomizing eye power.

Notice: after you randomly select an evil eye you will have a greater chance of gaining it in future random rolls. Eventually you will reach a point where you may use it at will.

I... see... how much time has it been?

Thirteen seconds.

my vision swims briefly before it settles.

Mystic Eyes of Paths Loaded.

And... what does it do?

Allows you to see the path to your current 'goal' such as 'the nearest restaurant.' Or even more esoteric options like 'how do I block this attack?'.

"Your eyes have changed..." Ozpin observes.

"Yeah..." I nod slowly, looking down at the sheathed katana... the weapon that was found alongside me.

Even looking over it I can see the craftsmanship.

It is a good weapon. Shockingly good.

"Yes. Your sword's craftmanship stumped even a few of the professors here at Beacon... it is incredibly well made even if it lacks any form of Mecha-shifting or magical properties.

I slowly draw it, causing a shrill ring to echo out. The blade is dark. Darker than steel. Almost black.

"Yes, and while it appears to be made of metal, it somehow has a black coloration that we can't understand." He continues. "Then there's the fact that it rings like this every time it is drawn which is... unusual. Quite eerie, in fact."

"Hm." I hum, placing my thumb on the spine of the one-edged blade. It lacks a handguard like a typical katana might have. The second my finger makes contact, the eerie noise is silenced.

EEEEE- SCHHHHRRRZ

I freeze in place, Ozpin's eyes widening as the ringing abruptly stops and a MASSIVE gash is carved into the stone tile floor.

"Oh." He whispers, genuinely caught off guard. "Oh dear."

My eyes slowly follow the line that starts to the left of Ozpin's foot and travels downwards towards my own feet.

It continues past, eventually sliding off the raised platform entirely.

A large gash rests in the wall, a couple inches thick and a few deep. 

"I'm... ah... just going to... sheathe this." I whisper as the Katana slides back into its sheathe with a click, face slightly pale. "I-I don't have to pay for that, right?"

"No... do not worry." The man shakes his head, cupping his chin as he looks over the sword. "How does that even function?"

"The sword generates a high-pitched ringing sound when drawn that vibrates at just the right frequency to cause the atoms of nearby objects to loosen. When the noise is abruptly stopped in a certain way, this stresses said objects which in turn... causes it to... break?" My voice slowly dies out. "How do I know this?"

"Can you aim it?" The man continues.

"Uh... with my eyes like this... maybe?" I mutter.

The sheathed blade seems to light up, numerous streaks appearing in the world around me.

I turn my head, a low whisper leaving my lips. "I should be able to..."

My hand tightens around the sheath. "Block."

The man's eyes widen slightly as I draw it and immediately press my thumb on the back of the blade.

There's a flash in the air. One that Ozpin steps back to avoid. It's smaller than the first attack. Perhaps the longer it rings the bigger the effect?

I step forwards, sheer power filling my body.

I take off like a bullet, skidding to a halt in front of the man.

A horizontal slash is blocked, followed by a vertical one.

My blade is just a blur as the man seemingly effortlessly parries and blocks my attacks.

Path to hitting him?

There is none. Shit.

My head snaps back as the end of his cane strikes me in the forehead.

My consciousness wanes for a brief moment as my eyes sharpen. 'Path to protecting my vitals?'

Numerous lights flicker in front of me as the man brings back the end of his cane.

I quickly move my blade, watching as a few of the lights deepen in color... the ones that will land first.

CLANG-PING-CRAAAANG

A blow slips through clipping my shoulder, but I continue blocking most of his attacks.

"A form of precognition?" He observes.

"I can see paths to goals... such as not taking your cane to the throat-" I narrowly swat aside the weapon with a small hiss, the blunted tip just barely slipping past my neck.

Ozpin's palm comes out and the next thing I know I am hurled across the ring by a blast of wind. "Your swordsmanship is acceptable even if you are currently relying on your mystic eyes. Let's see how you handle magic, now. Do you know how to use magic?"

"I've... never tried honestly." I admit. "Uh..."

I close my eyes and take a deep breath, searching deep within myself for some sort of power.

"Ah. I've got it."

The wispy bubbly energy I can feel deep within comes to the surface. I hold up a hand, a small crackling flame appears above my palm. Like a large candle.

"You are learning this quite quickly. Scarily quickly I might add." The man mutters, eyes gazing to the flickering flame. "It takes most months to learn how to cast even a single spell."

"It's... kind of like riding a bike. Despite the fact I don't really... recall ever using magic." I admit as I swing my hand forwards, shooting a bolt of flame that the man swats aside with a small blast of wind.

A gout of fire is shot at Ozpin as I duck to the side, dragging my fingertips through the air in a swiping motion, a sharp blade of wind being carved in the air moments before it shoots towards Ozpin's side.

It breaks upon his cane as he nods once. "Alright... I have a general idea of where you are... you- hold on... you are beginning to bruise..."

He seemingly looks over me.

"But... for that to happen you'd need imperfect control of your aura..."

"Well, yeah. I've never used it before." I nod slowly, rubbing my aching forehead. My aura flickers to life as the pain begins to ebb away.

"But your strength... your speed... if your aura control was imperfect you shouldn't be this strong!" He exclaims.

I look over my body. "Uh... I guess I'm unique?"

My vision seems to flicker... and suddenly the pressure behind my eyes vanishes. The power of paths has left me.

I bring a hand to my eyes, touching around the corners of them. "Oh hey... no blood... that's some progress. But I didn't want my eyes to go away yet."

"Perhaps it's better that they did. Don't underestimate your body's built-in limitations. If your body stopped supplying power to your eyes, perhaps you've reached your limit and any more might have actually caused your eyes to bleed. Mystic eyes are known to have some limitations such as duration or energy consumption."

"Regardless. I have a vague idea of where you stand. The lack of total aura control is mildly bothersome, but that's nothing we can't fix in the coming months." The man smiles.

"Allow me to show you around my academy." He continues as he turns and gestures for me to follow after him.

[Split]

Beacon academy is quite large I've come to find out.

It's... different... 

I don't think I've been to a school in a long time- my memories are still a little foggy- but there's still something kind of uncanny about this place. at times it looks more like some sort of museum than a school.

Statues, plaques, paintings.

Of course, there are photographs and trophies here and there as well, things that make it actually look like a school.

But then there's the esoteric things... floating lights... occasional fireballs streaking down the halls, the sound of gunfire in the distance.

A small part of my very being cringes at the thought of the words 'school' and 'gunfire' used in the same sentence... but. I suppose other worlds don't exactly have creatures of darkness who want to extinct humanity soooo meh.

The main thing I'm dreading at the moment is the Remedial classes.

I've got... a lot to learn.

A scary amount.

An entire world history, sciences, and magic itself.

At least I don't need to re-learn how to read or how to do basic math. Small blessings.

A sigh leaves my lips as I look back to the school textbook on my desk.

Ozpin seems to be thinking about getting someone to tutor me.

Oh man. I can only wonder who that'll be.

It'll tooootally be a man, right? No way in hell it would ever be a woman, particularly one with some sort of powerful bloodline or great skill.

No way is that possible.

Knuckles gently tap my door, causing my eyes to slide over to it.

A dull ache enters my eyes as they briefly throb, the door peeling away to reveal Glynda on the other side.

I blink twice, causing what I can only assume to be the Byakugan to fade away.

I get up quickly making my way over.

The lock disengages as I slowly open the door.

"Hello Miss Goodwitch." I smile gently. "Did you need something?"

She adjusts her glasses, looking over her clipboard. With my enhanced eyes I can see the faintest tinge of pink on her cheeks. "If you are going to be living on Beacon's grounds for the foreseeable future, you will need several things. Beacon Academy has set aside some money for you to get acquainted with your new circumstances."

"I see." I comment idly. "Can I get a blindfold? My eyes are getting a little over-strained."

"Over...strained?" She echoes.

"Oh... I have a special quality called the 'Six Eyes'. It's a genetic trait that while similar to mystic eyes doesn't actually qualify as an 'official' mystic eye as they're technically not magical and always active. On its own it greatly improves my perception and my control over my Aura and Magic- which has allowed me to learn how to bring my aura up to an acceptable level in just a week. Regardless, it's stunted right now, not even a quarter of what it should be- which is lucky as I don't have a headache all the time- but I can feel it slowly growing more potent. To put into perspective how good these eyes are... a normal person with the 'Six Eyes' would be able to peer through a blindfold, and that limited vision would be roughly the equivalent of a high resolution camera. From what I can tell this trait had a unique interaction with my Silver Eyes to... improve them, I guess? Unlock new abilities maybe? I really don't know to be honest. I don't know how to activate my silver eyes."

"I-" the woman whispers. "I see... we can indeed get you a blindfold while we are out today."

She isn't really questioning the intimate knowledge I have of my own body. I've excused that as another use of the 'Mystic Eyes of Sustenance'.

"It's not that big of a deal. I don't really need one... yet..." I begin after a moment. "I'd just like to have one before the six eyes reaches full power and get used to wearing one."

"Don't worry, Noctus. We'll get you a blindfold. While we're there, we'll also be getting you some other clothes, and supplies which you are going to need during your school year." I can see the corners of Glynda's mouth turn upwards. "We will also be getting your identification."

"Are we leaving now?"

"Yes. As soon as possible." The woman confirms. "We have an appointment with the First Bank of Vale. You aren't the first person who has crossed over before so there have been some carefully worded exceptions to the laws that other-worlders could fall into. Once we enter you into Vale's system, we will go someplace to get you some clothing."

"Alright! Let me get my shoes." I turn crouching down and tying my shoes.

A moment later I rise back to my feet and step outside.

"After we get your identification... I will also be taking you to get a Scroll. It's... hm... a method for... digital and auditory communication that we use."

"Ah. Like a Telephone." I hum.

"Yes. Precisely." The glasses wearing woman nods once.

I follow her throughout the halls as we head towards the Bullhead loading docks.

"I'm curious... what's the deal with this dust stuff?"

"Dust is crystalized magical energy that we used to power our cities." She begins. "It comes in numerous elements, most of which mirror that of the numerous elemental magics. Such as Fire or Water. There's an elective here in Beacon that involves learning how to turn your magical energy directly into crystalized Dust."

"Even in its most basic forms it is explosive so it could be useful to know how to create it. In addition, it is a potential avenue for employment after you retire. The main issue is the sheer skill and focus it takes to create suitable dust crystals. You need great precision to make a crystal that can be used for things such as electricity generation or heating. A crystal that is below fifty percent purity are typically thought of as duds, only being used to create powdered dust, a type of propulsion we use in weapons and occasionally enchantment or alchemy."

"I see... how many types of magic are there?" I ask slowly.

"That is a tough question, Noctus." The woman begins. "All people can make use of the four basic elements of magic. Fire. Wind. Water. And Earth. But beyond that, through great training and affinity you gain access to the secondary elements. Magma, Steam, Sand, Smoke, Electricity or Ice. Elements typically comprised of two of the four basic elements. These magics are much harder to learn, but it is possible for anyone as long as they have enough patience or affinity."

"There are also tertiary and theoretically quaternary elements, in which you combine the effects of secondary elements to create something new. However only the most powerful archmagi tend to make use of Tertiary elements such as the headmistress of Shade Academy, Xanthe Rumpole. Who has gold magic. But this is more of a result of her semblance improving her affinity."

"Next, there is Atypical magic. Which does not really... have an element, such as telekinesis." She continues to lecture even as we step onto the strange helicopter-plane vehicile that is a bullhead.

"Can you make dust of out Atypical magic?" I ask.

"It hasn't been done yet. But it is theoretically possible." She admits. "The issues we have been facing is that Atypical magics cannot be stored in crystal form the same way elemental magics can. Think of... elemental magic as stacking blocks. Atypical magic is, well, Atypical, thus it would be like trying to stack spheres. Possible if they are stored in something, but beyond our current technological advancements. Each and every Atypical magic is different. So, one may be like trying to stack spheres, another could be ovals, or they might be tantalizingly close to what we are capable of, and it be like stacking tubes."

"You, yourself have atypical magic, Noctus. Your silver eyes grant you an indescribably rare affinity, the power over light. A magic that is highly damaging to the creatures of Grimm. One of humanity's greatest threats."

"Oh..." I whisper. "I see. But that seems like an element?"

"It does, but it's not quite on the same level. But it is quite a bit closer than most Atypical magics. In fact, it's one of the very few atypical magic that we have been having some success with transforming to a crystalized dust form! Though the main issue we are currently coming across is, well, the lack of talented individuals with silver eyes who have the precision to create crystalline dust."

She seems happy to answer my questions, the corners of her mouth turning upwards. "We have been coasting off the light attribute dust created almost one hundred years ago. But even then its purity barely reached ten percent. They're dud crystals through and through. Not even suitable for making into powdered dust."

"How many people have silver eyes?" I ask.

"In Vale? Two. Other than yourself, that is. A mother and daughter. Vacuo has one. Atlas has ten, and Mistral has none."

"Thats not many." I whisper.

"It is arguably one of the more expansive bloodlines as we have known about it for hundreds of years. The most powerful bloodline up until the past century with the development of the Schnee bloodline." She hums.

"Why does Mistral have none? I would have thought that at every nation would have at least one." I ask.

"Well, Mistral did have four, however over the past twenty years or so they've all sadly died." Glynda continues.

"That's... a little suspicious." I point out blandly

"No, I doubt there was anything untoward happening. Ozpin checked with the headmaster of Mistral's academy, Haven." Glinda shakes her head.

"And... if this headmaster was behind it?" I ask slowly.

"Don't be ridiculous." She grumbles. "Leonardo Lionheart is greatly trusted by Headmaster Ozpin. What goal would he even have to do such a thing? To attempt to doom humanity like that?"

"I don't know." I shrug. "Maybe he got mind controlled? Some sort of monster or Grimm parasite maybe? If I wanted to kill humanity like I assume monsters and Grimm want, I'd start by sabotaging these Hunstmen schools."

"These... theories... are quite far-fetched. Utter conspiracy. But. If you feel like something is wrong, don't worry. We will not be forcing you to go to Mistral. In fact, Ozpin would prefer it if you stayed here in Beacon."

"Hm..." I hum noncommittally. "That's fair. Uh... another question about silver eyes. if they're so useful, why doesn't uh... Ozpin or whoever do what he was suggesting with me?"

"Why do you think Atlas has ten?" She asks with a half-lidded stare. "The issue is that the genes aren't that dominant. Sometimes the child of someone with silver eyes won't actually have silver eyes. Sometimes a new silver eyed warrior will pop up out of nowhere as two people holding the recessive genes have a child. There's also the fact that more often than not, Silver Eyed warriors tend to be female instead of male. Not always, of course, that's why Atlas has ten, but more often than not."

"But let's talk about something else... I... don't deny that your bloodline would be valuable to Remnant as a whole and I understand we are under constant threat from both the monsters, the grimm, and the occasional Titan."

The occasional what now?

She continues on, not noticing my proverbial train of thought screeching to a halt. "But I do not support this... this... eugenics."

"Look, Glinda. I'm a hormonal teen. Ozpin encouraging this is creepy yes. But I nearly got my head caved in by this weird cyclops thing. Your world is a death world. If I can save the world by sleeping with attractive women. Whatever. I'll do it."

"I-I... even if you are fine with it. I will not allow him to subject the other students to s-something like that."

"Ozpin would probably say something like 'Do it yourself, then'." I deadpan.

Her face flushes.

"I-If... y-you find yourself- no... we w-won't have this conversation right now... look." She points forwards, my eyes slowly following her point out the window towards the massive city coming into view.

"Woah..." I whisper, a grin slowly appearing on my lips.

"Welcome to Vale, Y-young Argentus." The woman beside me begins trying to get her crimson blush under control.

The city is... nothing like I've ever seen before. There are tall buildings, sure, but it just seems so... colorful. Nothing like the cities back home. I can see floating islands hovering across the city, busses, cars, and brooms dotting the sky occasionally.

"Most people in this world are capable of using magic. It's just that there are far fewer who have the quality, affinity, and amount of magic to be able to fight back the Grimm and monsters."

I can feel the bullhead shudder to a stop in the dock, she gestures for me to follow her.

"Stay c-close now. Vale can be quite maze-like." She hums. "Oh! And here."

She hands me a pair of sunglasses. "You'll want to wear these if you don't want to attract attention. People kind of... revere those with silver eyes."

I take the sunglasses and quickly put them on. The strain on my eyes immediately lessening.

"Oh! This actually helps with my eyes." I beam. "So maybe I'll use sunglasses until I reach a point I need a blindfold."

"Yes, we will be sure to grab you a few pair, then." She announces as she steps forwards off the bullhead. We step out onto the street, floating cars that seem to radiate magic float by the windows as we make our way through the equivalent of an airport. I can see clothes shops, little cafes, souvenir stands. But I can also see floating lights, a holographic map of Vale, and streams of light that seem to guide people to the numerous airline gates.