Jaune stood in silence for a moment, as the image of a severed soul fragment somewhere in this endless Shadow Realm lingered like a thorn in his thoughts. After a beat, another question rose to the surface.
"Why Velik?"
His voice cut through the low murmur of the clearing, drawing the attention of Qrow, Raven, and Taiyang.
Jaune looked between them, brow furrowed.
"Why did Sleepless target him instead of any of the other Rank 3s?"
He folded his arms, thinking aloud as much as asking.
"I mean… is it just because he's the strongest on the board? Was the plan simply to take over his mind so they'd gain the strongest Rank 3 combat force?"
The reason Jaune specifically asked was due to his father's existence. This kind of thing had his stink all over it. After learning that his father was a supreme mastermind, Jaune couldn't help but feel that everything Sleepless was doing was connected to him somehow.
It just seemed like something which he would have dipped his fingers in. And if he did, things wouldn't be that simple.
Qrow gave a small shrug, the movement carrying more weariness than indifference.
"Truth be told," he said, "I don't know. However, that's the most likely case. If Sleepless could get control of someone like Velik, they'd effectively gain a walking catastrophe."
A humorless smirk touched his mouth. "But Velik's been pretty tight-lipped about the whole thing. So all we can really do is speculate."
Raven, who had been silent for a moment, turned her gaze toward Jaune.
"In any case," she said, "compared to every other Rank 3 in the world, Velik is quite unique."
"He is? Because he's the strongest?"
Raven studied him for a moment, ignoring his question, then she asked, "Tell me, Jaune. Do you know why Velik is considered the strongest Rank 3 alive today?"
Jaune thought for a moment.
"I assumed it was because of his Darkness Rune."
Raven nodded.
"Yes. You're correct."
Then her expression sharpened.
"But that's only part of it. To this day, Velik is the only human in recorded LUCID history to have successfully incorporated a meta rune into his Master Rune.
For a second, he genuinely thought he had misheard her.
His brow slowly rose.
"Wait."
He looked at her carefully. "You're saying none of the other Rank 3s currently alive have a meta rune built into their Master Rune?"
Raven nodded once.
"That is exactly what I'm saying."
A strange silence settled over Jaune's thoughts.
That was… absurd.
He knew firsthand how difficult meta runes were. Even reaching proper comprehension in one was notoriously difficult, let alone bringing it to mastery.
But to say none of the other Rank 3's had a meta rune as a part of their Master rune?
That was bordering on the ridiculous.
Raven seemed to read his expression.
"I know what you're thinking," she said. "You're wondering if it has to do with mastery of the rune itself?"
Jaune nodded slowly.
"In many cases, yes. Those who awaken a meta rune often become trapped at the comprehension stage. They understand the concept enough to use it, but never deeply enough to refine it into mastery."
She paused.
"But that's not the only issue. The greater problem," Raven said, "is rune combination."
Her crimson eyes held his. "You already know this, but reaching Rank 3 requires more than simply mastering three runes."
Jaune nodded.
"They need to combine."
"Exactly."
Her tone sharpened.
"Only when your three runes successfully synchronize and merge into a Master Rune does your life hierarchy sublimate. That is what elevates you into Rank 3 and allows the condensation of a Domain."
The word hung in the air between them.
Domain.
The thing they had just been discussing.
He had known the process in theory, but hearing it spoken so plainly made the path seem even more daunting.
Raven continued.
"A great many Rank 2s get stuck at the half-step stage, in which they possess three mastered runes, yet fail to combine them."
That made his expression darken. So even mastering the runes was not enough.
"The moment a meta rune enters the equation, the difficulty increases exponentially."
Taiyang folded his arms and gave a faint grunt of agreement.
"Rune synchronicity becomes everything," Raven said. "If the runes cannot harmonize with one another, the combination fails."
Jaune slowly nodded. That made sense. A Master Rune was not simply a collection of abilities. It was a true synthesis. Three concepts becoming one greater existence. And if one of those concepts was something as unstable and abstract as a meta rune…
No wonder Velik stood alone.
Qrow let out a slow breath and rolled one shoulder.
"Alright," he said, cutting through the heavier mood, "that's enough philosophy for now."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"We somehow need to figure out a way to actually find Velik's missing piece in this damned Shadow Realm."
He turned away from Jaune and looked toward the rest of the expedition group.
They had not exactly been subtle.
Most of the others had drifted close enough over the course of the conversation that it was obvious they had heard everything.
Sun, Neptune, Pyrrha, Auberyn, Bann, the researchers, even Clover and Zeki all stood within easy earshot.
Qrow's expression turned dry.
"That applies to all of you too."
A few of them looked mildly sheepish at being called out so directly, but not one of them seemed particularly shocked by what had been discussed.
Especially the Menagerie members.
Jaune noticed it immediately through his weakness sense. Their emotions remained far steadier than the others.
As if portions of this were already known to them. Which, considering Velik's status, made perfect sense. If their supreme leader was the one affected, then of course they would have been briefed on at least part of the situation.
Still, Jaune could tell from the emotional currents threading through them that they had not been given the full story.
Not even close.
Before anyone could respond, the two researchers finally stepped back from their discussion with the Formless Stalker.
Both looked… satisfied.
Not relaxed, but intellectually energized. The kind of dangerous satisfaction only researchers got when they believed they had just learned something important.
Qrow looked around the gathered expedition.
"Any ideas?"
For a moment, silence ruled the crater. Then the atmosphere shifted. Jaune felt it before he saw it. A slow ripple moving through the invisible liquid pressure that filled the clearing.
The Formless Stalker moved.
From its central mass, tendril-like eye stalks suddenly surged outward in all directions. They spread like branches of living shadow, each tipped with a pale white eye that swiveled independently.
One floated near Qrow's shoulder and another peered upside down at Raven.
Several more drifted around the researchers, Clover, Taiyang, and the Menagerie operatives.
One lowered itself until it hovered directly in front of Jaune's face.
The pupil contracted.
Studying and observing.
Curiosity was evident from the creature's actions. Then its voice slithered into all of their minds once again
"Why, don't I assist you in this endeavor?"
For a long moment, no one answered the Formless Stalker.
The pale eye hovering before Jaune remained utterly still, its pupil narrowed to a thin slit as if savoring the silence. Around the clearing, the other tendril-eyes drifted in slow arcs through the air, peering at faces, hands, weapons, and expressions with almost scholarly interest.
It was Qrow who finally broke the silence.
His shoulders remained loose, but Jaune could feel the tension coiled beneath the surface through the emotions bleeding off him. Wariness and calculation. A readiness to turn violent in an instant.
"Why?" Qrow asked flatly.
The single word carried more steel than any drawn blade. The central eye of the Formless Stalker turned toward him.
Qrow continued, voice low and edged.
"The other Stalkers we've encountered spent the last two days trying to devour us. So why are you so different from them?"
The question settled heavily over the clearing. For a moment, the creature simply regarded him. Then its voice slithered into all of their minds, smooth as oil over water.
"Because you are fascinating."
The tendrils drifted outward in a slow, almost graceful motion, each white eye blinking independently.
"I have never encountered beings such as you."
Its attention swept across the entire expedition.
"Your culture. Your communication. Your structures of thought. Your goals. Your strange hierarchies."
There was a strange delight in its mental tone, something almost bright with interest.
"I wish to learn."
The eye nearest Jaune shifted slightly, focusing more sharply.
"And since you possess purpose within this realm, it seems only fair that I aid you in accomplishing that purpose."
The creature's voice softened.
"A fair exchange."
Jaune had to admit, the Formless Stalker was an incredibly strange existence.
When they had first encountered it, every instinct in him had screamed that it was some impossible nightmare given form and he was going to die.
And in all fairness, it still was.
It could grow eyes from its flesh like flowers blooming from rot. Teeth and even tendrils. Maw-like protrusions that opened and vanished in the span of seconds. A true eldritch horror if he had ever seen one.
And yet…
Surprisingly, it was almost polite. A nice monster. If admittedly one that was far too curious for its own good.
Qrow clearly wasn't convinced.
His expression remained tight.
"Even if I buy that," he said, "it still doesn't explain why you don't act like the others. Why aren't you driven by their... hunger?"
At that, every tendril in the clearing suddenly surged toward him.
The movement was so sudden that Taiyang stiffened and Raven's hand twitched toward her blade. Qrow himself clenched his fist.
The tendrils stopped just short of his face. Not threatening but studying.
Then the creature answered.
"Because unlike the lesser ones and the inferior ones…"
Its mental voice grew more measured, almost instructional.
"Us greater ones are bottlenecked."
The word hung strangely in the mind.
"We have already reached the peak available to our current structure."
Jaune frowned.
Peak?
The Formless Stalker continued.
"The Great Source has given all of us a singular imperative. To grow."
There was reverence in the way it spoke those words.
"But growth," it continued, "may be interpreted in different ways."
The tendrils slowly withdrew from Qrow and spread back across the clearing.
"For anything beneath our level, growth may be achieved through combat and Umbra consumption."
Its voice sharpened with detached clarity. "This applies to the worthless ones, the inferior ones and even the lesser ones."
A pause.
"Your terms would be zero variants, first variants, and second variants."
Jaune listened closely.
"For them," the creature continued, "devouring Umbra, defeating others, and assimilating lesser structures allows progression."
The central eye narrowed slightly.
"But for me…"
Its voice became quieter.
"Such methods no longer produce meaningful advancement."
That sent a ripple through the group.
"So you've hit a wall," Clover said calmly.
The eye shifted toward him.
"Yes."
The simplicity of the answer made it even stranger. The creature continued.
"At my level, simply consuming Umbra from my lessers are no longer sufficient."
Its voice slithered around them like silk.
"It just so happens," it said, "that the Great Pillar possesses two primary functions."
The white eye almost seemed to brighten.
"The first is continuous generation."
Its tendril gestured toward the forest beyond.
"It constantly produces worthless ones."
Zero variants. The things that had likely been flooding the forest endlessly.
"And the second…"
For the first time, the creature's eye seemed almost amused. Its pupil widened, then narrowed into something almost smile-like.
"Is a teleportation function."
The entire expedition stilled. Qrow's expression darkened immediately.
"A what?"
The creature repeated, almost patiently.
"A teleportation function."
Its tendril slowly traced an arc through the air.
"To other Great Pillars within this realm."
That sent a wave of realization through Jaune.
Other Catalyzers and other zones like this.
Other forests and other Formless Stalkers. The scale of the Shadow Realm suddenly seemed to expand in his mind like a map unfolding into infinity.
The creature continued.
"As I was saying, I could roam the realm in search of others on my level to fight them and consume them, but..."
Its tone turned almost dismissive.
"Such a method is inefficient for growth. I will gain practically nothing. A percentage so little that it might as well be non existent."
That word again.
"Besides," it added, "it is not the only path to growth."
The tendrils slowly turned toward the expedition once more. Another white eye settled on Jaune.
"Knowledge is also growth."
Silence followed. Then the creature's voice softened.
"With knowledge, perhaps an alternate pathway may emerge."
Its gaze moved over the gathered awakened.
"This power of runes."
A pause.
"It is… deeply interesting."
Jaune felt a chill. Of course it would be interested in runes. A Rank 3-equivalent entity trying to evolve through knowledge was not exactly comforting.
Qrow's expression tightened. Jaune could feel the troubled edge in his emotions. The creature had a point.
A disturbingly logical point.
For now, its motivations aligned with theirs and even if it had ulterior motives, that was a problem for later.
They wouldn't be able to solve it anyway.
For now, having something with Rank 3 combat strength on their side was an advantage they simply could not ignore.
Taiyang exhaled slowly.
"In any case," he said, voice low, "it's about time we send the next ping to Team 2."
Clover nodded.
"And this information needs to go back to the real world."
The researchers were already pulling out equipment, expressions taut with urgency.
Jaune glanced once more toward the Formless Stalker. Whether it was ally, opportunist, or something far stranger remained to be seen.
But for now, the monster was walking beside them. That felt even more unsettling than facing it across a battlefield.