That's me again. Hope you will like the story. Please, give me your thoughts on this chapter.

Chapter 1: Tainted Light

The smoke rose high in the sky, the grey and black blocking the sun. The people screamed and ran, pushing each other aside. Stomping all over those who fell. Abandoning all the false chivalry and manners they spoke so high of at any given chance. Men cursed and roared as they were slaughtered. Women cried and prayed. And children? Well, there weren't any to see their reactions.

As the chaos spread across the town, the men in white masks and clothes cutting the civlians down like blades of grass, he simply stood atop the small tower, the excitement bubbling in his blood. It was glorious! Simply astounding! How come Hazel never told him that White Fang could be so much fun? That old bear of a man had been holding out on him big time!

"Joan, get the kids out of here! I will hold them off!" His sharp eyes narrowed down on a small family. One man. One woman. And- Holy Salem! Six children! His enhanced senses picked up the scent they all shared. Definitely all blood-related. Still, it was hard to believe in that. Six children! Did those people hate birth control or something? Because he did! "Hurry!"

Five children. The man was too slow. Too distracted. One bullet flew past him, taking the life of one of his daughters. As her lifeless and headless corpse fell against the ground, the man flew into the primal rage. His roar toe through the sound of gunfire and screams of his wife and children. He could stay around and watch but... where was the fun in that? The man already was in one leg in the grave and the swarming White Fang mooks would end him soon.

Following the rest of the family, on the other hand, was a lot of fun. He could see the hot tears stream down their faces. One of the children - a girl around thirteen years or so - broke down into hysterical sobbing as she fell on the ground. Her mother put on the brave facade and dragged her by her hand. He could hear them screaming at each other. The rage and fear and despair mixing into the wonderful mix!

"Coral, we have not time for this! We need to run!"

The woman all but screeched, pulling on the girl's wrist painfully.

The daughter stayed defiant.

"No! They killed Azure! They will kill dad too! We have to help him!"

The woman's rage hit the breaking point.

"They will kill us all if we don't hurry! NOW!"

Oops, Tyrian couldn't help but chuckle in amusement. What a poor choice of words. The woman fell silent as she realized what she just said. The rest of the family broke down in tears, the pain and horror of their situation overwhelming them. All but the woman. She was breaking down, falling apart from the inside, he could tell. But she just pulled the fallen daughter by her wirst once more.

"We have to go."

It was said without the anger from before. It sounded... resigned. And yet hopeful. Determined but fearful. What an amusing family this bunch was. He couldn't wait to watch them picked off one by one. The town was on fire, White Fang and Grimm roaming around out for blood. It wouldn't be too long until another one of them bit the dust. He hoped it would be the mother. Without her, her children would be at the mercy of the Goddess.

Another death soon followed. Though not as spectacular as before, he had to say with a frown. And unfortunately, it wasn't the mother either. As another daughter screamed in pain, trapped underneath the burning debris, the rest of the family hurried to try and dig her out.

He wondered how many would survive come the end of the night.

{÷}

Jaune wanted to cry. But he wasn't sure he had any strength left to. As he laid in the dirt, his body burned and bruised, he wondered if all of this was just a nightmare. Some cruel and twisted dream. He closed his eyes, hoping that any minute now mom would wake him up. He would be sweaty and shaken from the dream. Mom would hug him. His sisters would tease him. Dad would pat on the head and assure him that everything was alright.

Any minute now. He just needed to wake up and he would be back in his bed. He would be safe. His family will be alive. It was just a bad dream. It had to be!

He opened his eyes.

It wasn't a dream.

He felt the bile rise through his throat. The stress on his mind and strain on his body catching up with him. As he doubled over and threw up, the tears stung at the edges of his eyes. His vision blurred, his body shook violently as he finally came to the bitter truth.

It was all real. Not a nightmare. Not a hallucination. Not a figment of his imagination. All of this... The burning building. The screams and cries and pleadings. The blood. The wounds. The corpses. The Death...

It was all real.

Mom... Dad... Coral, Azure, Blanca, Ivory, Olivia, Amara, Violet. All of them were now dead. One after one, they died as they tried to get away from the village. He didn't know for how long they had been running and how far they really got away. It couldn't be too far because he still could hear the gunshots and see the smoke rising from the town on fire.

He was the only one left. He was completely alone.

He heard something move behind the trees, twigs snapping under its feet, the low growl coming from the dark of the woods. He turned his head to the source of the sound, a pair of blood red orbs glaring back.

Grimm.

The realisation struck him but he made no move. Was it just exhaustion or fear that kept him in his place? Or was it just he just didn't care anymore? He could run. Maybe, just maybe, he would manage to run away from the monster. Maybe he would survive.

But then what would he do?

He was ten. Just ten years old with no money, no talents and... No family. What good was running away if he had nowhere to go? If he had no one else left for him.

The monster strolled out of the dark of the woods. It was a Beowulf. Much smaller than the ones he saw in the videos. It must have been pretty young if the lack of excessive bone fragments on his flesh was any indication. But just because it was young, it didn't change anything. It was still a Grimm.

And it was hungry.

"Just get this over with."

Those words never left his lips. As the monster's eyes narrowed on him, the despair and apathy were gone and replaced by the fear. As the monster lunged at him and he rolled out of its way barely missing the claws, Jaune couldn't help but feel ashamed. He wanted to face death with dignity. He thought he wanted to die now that his family was gone.

And yet, deep down inside, he knew that it was a lie.

He wanted to live. He wanted to survive this night. As he run into the forest, he couldn't help but pray that he did just that. But the young Beowulf that was quickly catching up with him begged to differ. He tripped over some stone, face smashing into the dirt. The burning pain was quickly forgotten as he felt the monster land on him with all its mass.

He tried to break free but had no chance against the Grimm wolf. He closed his eyes doing his best not to shed any tears. He clenched his teeth and prepared for the monster to tear him apart.

Something cracked above him. Jaune felt the weight and pressure on his back disappear and the Beowulf's panting was gone too. Slowly, in both shock and disbelief, he sat on his knees and looked up.

"Well, well, well," the tall and skinny man with bright yellow eyes chuckled in amusement. "What do we have here?"

And in his tail was the slowly dissipating Grimm, it's neck twisted.

"W-Who are you?" Jaune asked. He didn't want to sound rude or ungrateful. Especially with someone who just saved his life. But mom always said that, even if strangers were just friends he hadn't met yet, he still had to be careful. "What do you want?"

The man only chuckled again, his tail - the long scary appendage twisting and spasming - curled behind him.

"The name is Tyrian Callows, young lad," he bowed dramatically. Despite the dark of the forest, Jaune could make out the wide grin of white teeth. The grin that, despite the friendly voice, offered neither warmth nor comfort. "And, as for the reason behind my presence here, you might say I am looking for something to entertain myself."

His grin widened.

"And I believe I found just what I was looking for."

The man's tail suddenly straightened out at the end before shooting forth. Right into his chest. Just as fast as it pierced his skin, the tail retracted. Leaving a small hole in his flesh, the blood quickly pouring out.

His eyes wide in shock, Jaune collapsed onto the ground as the man reached towards him. "I wonder how the weakest of the family survived. Is that just your luck or does the Goddess have some higher purpose for you? That's just so intriguing!"

The man's fingers dug into his wound, forcing their way and tearing even deeper inside. He wanted to move but found himself paralysed. He felt something spread through his veins, the nausea and fever overwhelming him shortly. He screamed in agony and glared at the man with tears in his eyes, "Stop! Please, you are hurting me! Make it stop!"

His pleading fell on deaf ears as the man only stared at him with the same sick and twisted expression frozen on his face.

The man's cackling that soon turned into blown out laughter filled the air. He leaned back, arms outstretched in glee and euphoria, eyes looking at something in the sky. The man's laughter and the burning feeling in his veins was the last thing Jaune remembered as he fell unconscious.

{÷}

When Jaune woke up, the first thing he did was call for his mom. He had such a scary dream. Their town was on fire. All of them died. And some crazy person killed him. But as the ominous silence remained the only response to his calling, the painful truth started sinking in.

It was all real. All those deaths... They were all real. They happened and there was no way to change it.

He didn't know how he was alive but right now it didn't matter to him. He didn't fight tears, letting all his emotions out. His wailing filled the room, fear and sadness and anger mixing together as he pressed himself into the bed. Why did this happen? None of them deserved it! Mom and dad were good people. His sisters too. Everyone home were good people. Then why did this happen to them?

The door opened.

His heart stopped.

"Oh, you are awake!" the man said. He sounded so cheerful. So disturbingly gleeful. Time seemingly slowed down as the man walked towards him. He was in panic, eyes searching for the way out but finding none. Instead, he reached for the small knife on the nightstand and held it out threateningly. The man stopped.

But his smile didn't drop. He looked amused. Curious. But not even the least bit scared or even annoyed.

"That is so adorable," the man clapped as his grin widened. He walked towards him, those yellow eyes staring right into his soul. His hand shook, the determination to fight wavering. Even if he had something stronger than a rusty knife, he doubted he would be able to do anything against this monster. "Tell me, young lad, what is your name?"

Did he answer that? He didn't want to talk to this man at all. But what would he do to him if he didn't? He didn't know how he survived the attack but he knew it was real.

"J-Jaune... my name is Jaune Arc." he said carefully, not releasing the knife even for a second. "W-Who are you? Why did you attack me? Where am I?"

"Oh so many questions," the man smiled. "Why, my dear friend, my name is Tyrian. As for where you are, the answer is Grimmlands. And why did I attack you? That is simple."

The man grinned.

"I wanted to see if you could survive."

The man chuckled.

"And boy was it a great show to watch!" the man grinned. "I will be honest though. I didn't expect you to end up a sole survivor of that small town. I mean, a brat survives only because all the rest of his family died to protect him? How pathetic is that?"

The memories hit him like a freight train. As much as every of his sisters and mom tried to save themselves. Each of them was also looking out for another. One by one, they all fell in different attempts to save the others.

Except for him.

Every single time someone died, he felt relieved. He was happy that it wasn't him. As they ran, he didn't think about others. All he thought about was surviving. All he thought about was himself. He was a coward. A selfish coward who still felt happy he survived.

The tears stung at his eyes, his body shook in repulsion and anger at himself. Not the monsters that took the lives everyone. Not the Grimm. And not even at this psycho who was gleefully describing how each of his family died. No, the only person he hated more than anyone or anything in this world right now was himself.

He deserved to die.

"Oh?" Tyrian stopped laughing and just looked at the knife in his hands. Pointed to his own throat. His hands were shaking and tears were streaming down his face. He wasn't concerned or worried. Only amused. "So is that how this chapter ends? You slitting your own throat?"

He nodded. He deserved to die. He deserved to suffer. He left his family behind. It was all his fault. He should have died. Not them. He was useless. He was a failure. Useless. He couldn't save anyone. So weak. So useless. He deserved to die!

"Then what are you waiting for?"

What was he waiting for? Why did he keep looking at Tyrian as of waiting for the man to do something? He couldn't be waiting to be stopped. He didn't want to be stopped, right? He wanted to die. He needed to die. He was ready to-

He couldn't do it.

As the knife clattered on the wooden floor, he broke into sobbing mess. Just how more pathetic could he get? He couldn't even kill himself after all that he did. What did he even have to live for anyway? He had no home. No family. He had nothing!

He was nothing.

"You don't want to die, do you?" the man sat in front of him. There was neither sympathy nor understanding in his voice. His voice were just as devoid of those things, sick amusement the only visible emotion in those golden orbs. "You want to live, don't you?"

He wanted to. And yet he didn't. He wanted to live but not when his family was dead. And yet he had no strength to take his own life. Because he was afraid. Because he feared pain and death. Because he was just too much of a pathetic coward to kill himself.

"That's great!" the man cheered suddenly, clapping his hands like Violet did whenever something good happened. Though the man's happiness looked far more creepy and disturbing than his little sister's. "Even with your whole family burnt and mauled and crushed and riddled with bullets, you still want to live!"

The man laughed. Jaune covered his ears but he still could hear Tyrian. All those deaths... All the destruction. And the man was just laughing at it? As if time some kind of a joke, he kept laughing and laughing.

"Shut the fuck up!" Jaune never really swore. Only once when he accidentally heard Asmara use it in frustration. But right now he didn't care. He just wanted the man to stop. The dead didn't deserve to be mocked like that. "Shut up or I will-"

"You will do what?" Tyrian challenged. That stupid grin... That smug expression... Did he wear the same one as he watched everyone get slaughtered? Why didn't he call for help? Why was he just standing there and watching? Did he feel happy about that catastrophe? "Come on, Jauneyboy! I am waiting for your answer." the man grinned. "Or do you need your mommy to say anything at all?"

He screamed and charged forward with the knife. Tyrian simply stepped out of his way, kicking him in the back. With the given boost, he crashed into the opposite wall. He ignored pain. He ignored bleeding from nose and lips. The only thing on his mind was making the man stop laughing.

To wipe that gleeful expression off his face.

He charged and slashed. He roared and cried. He cursed and swore. But he never reached the man. Tyrian only laughed and mockingly dodged his pathetic attacks. He tripped. He fell. He crashed. And finally he collapsed.

They must have been at it for almost an hour when his body gave out, falling like a puppet with its strings cut. The knife - his weapon - was lying by his side. He looked at it again and couldn't help but chuckle. It was a rusty and dull knife. He wouldn't even cut Tyrian if he was lucky to get him. In so many ways the knife reminded him of himself.

Dull. Useless. Unwanted.

What did he even hope to accomplish?

"Just as I thought," Tyrian said as he lifted him by his hair. He had no strength and no will to give anything more than a pained groan. "Tell me, Jaune, do you want to be strong? Do you want to take revenge on the people who did this to you and your family? Do you want to avenge them and the rest of those they killed?"

Revenge... Mom and dad said it was bad. They said you should forgive instead of holding a grudge. They said revenge made you no better than the people you went after. That revenge made you into a monster. They said that the bad people would have their punishment without you. And that good was always rewarded.

And yet they were dead now, weren't they? They were good people. And yet their reward was cruel death in burning town. Then didn't that make all the rest of their lessons a lie? If good people died like this, could it mean that bad people could walk away free?

That wasn't right.

That wasn't fair.

"You can make it fair, Jaune," the man grinned, holding out his hand. "Take away what they took from you. Find them. Make them suffer the same pain as did you. Make them regret everything stepping into your town. And then..."

His eyes flared purple.

"... Make things right."

Yes... The sounded good. Revenge... Before, it always had the bitter and unpleasant taste to itself. But now? Jaune couldn't help but savour the idea of it. To relish in fantasies of having revenge on White Fang.

"But how will I do this?" he asked. "How can I become strong enough to destroy them?"

He was ten years old. About the same age when most of his friends already started some basic training before applying for the place in a Huntsman preparatory school. And yet his parents refused to train him. Said that it was too dangerous. Too risky.

He understood where they were coming from though. At home, for as long as he could remember, he always was the weakest one. He was much more naive than the rest. Much more prone to cry and call for mom. The one who got into trouble the most. The one who needed being saved all the time.

Just like that day.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that, my dear friend," Tyrian grinned from ear to ear. "I will train you. I will make you into the living weapon. The force of nature powerful enough to destroy every single White Fang member out there. And for that, there is only one thing I want you to do."

He didn't hesitate.

"Anything," he whispered. "I will do whatever it takes. Just tell what it is."

Tyrian smiled.

"Accept my Aura, Jaune," the man grinned. "When I begin unlocking it, I want you to fully embrace it. I want you to have neither fear nor doubt. And no hesitation in accepting it."

"Is that all?"

"Yes."

He didn't hesitate even for a moment.

"Do it."

His pale hand pressed against his chest, his sharp nails digging into the area his tail pierced before, drawing blood in the process. Tyrian's eyes flared purple as he began to chant.

"For it is in your wrath and despair that you accept this power" Jaune felt the burning feeling in his blood intensify. As the man continued to intone with the manic glee, his entire being practically screamed in protest. He ignored it. He ignored any warnings and doubts. "Through this, you become the sinful acolyte of chaos. Insatiable for vengeance and unbound by morals. I release your soul and, by my hand,"

It felt wrong. Poisonous. Corrupted. Rotten. He had to stop whatever the man was doing to ! He had to do this. It was the only way he could avenge them. The only way he could earn their forgiveness. He would do this. He would accept this power no matter what.

Even if it cost him his soul.

"Unleash thee upon this world."

As the burning feeling in his veins spread through his flesh and bones, his mind faded to black. The last thing he remembered was the looks of disappointment on his family's faces. The voice in the back of his mind told him to ignore it. They weren't here anymore.

He was all alone.

So... Should I continue or not? The story is planned as mostly a deconstruction of most Dark First featuring avengers like Jaune in question. Any suggestions, advice or a simple praise in the form of reviews is very appreciated.