As the end of the year approached, Kamiyā Yuu, having nothing much to do at home, began outlining the general framework for the third character promotional animation, 'Black—Moonshadow Flying Silk.'
Both 'Red—Crescent Rose' and 'Yellow—Ashen Paradise' each possessed their own distinct style.
'Red—Crescent Rose' carried the aesthetic beauty of a moonlit garden, while 'Yellow—Ashen Paradise' embodied the wildness of the American West.
So what about the third installment?
Every character promotional animation needed its own unique traits and atmosphere. That had been Kamiyā Yuu's intention from the moment he began creating 'RWBY,' and it was also something clearly conveyed by the original work itself.
In the original series, Ruby Rose's setting was a frozen wilderness covered in snow and ice. Yang's battle scene took place in a lively gangster bar. Blake's setting was a mountain railway with falling maple leaves, while Weiss's was a gloomy and majestic castle.
Their enemies respectively were shadow wolves, armed gang members, automated security machines, and giant Western-style armored puppets.
Completely different settings, yet all perfectly fused beneath the worldview of 'RWBY.'
During his afternoon nap, Kamiyā Yuu naturally entered the inner world of his consciousness space.
The originally dark world instantly lit up with the arrival of his awareness.
With a slight movement of his thoughts, the figures of a girl dressed in a red-and-black gothic skirt and a blonde girl wearing a light brown jacket slowly materialized.
"Oh~ Yuu! You finally came."
The moment Ruby Rose saw Kamiyā Yuu, her eyes lit up. Like a puppy spotting its owner, she rushed over and hugged his chest, only lacking a wagging tail behind her.
Ever since Kamiyā Yuu created Yang as well, Ruby Rose's affection toward him had theoretically reached one hundred percent.
The wild and sexy blonde girl, Yang, also walked over and asked Kamiyā Yuu with great interest, "What are we playing this time?"
After Kamiyā Yuu created her, he had played quite a few real-life combat games with her.
Literally.
Kamiyā Yuu shook his head, and his thoughts moved once more.
Ruby Rose reluctantly released his chest, looked up at him, placed her hands on her slim waist, and sighed.
"Really, there's nothing we can do about you. Fine then, get busy first. Sis and I will go play games."
Yang waved her hand and impatiently dragged Ruby Rose by the collar toward the computer connected to the internet of his previous world.
"See you later then, Yuu! Ruby, I definitely won't lose to you this time!"
Not long after Kamiyā Yuu created Yang's artificial consciousness within the consciousness space, she had developed an enormous interest in computers, at least on the surface.
As Kamiyā Yuu spent increasing amounts of time within the consciousness space, he felt his control over it becoming more and more familiar.
Previously, constructing large-scale environments would leave him sleeping for an entire day afterward. Now, he could barely manage such creations while only feeling the exhaustion of having stayed awake for one night.
He wasn't sure whether it was just his imagination, but as this familiarity deepened, the boundary between the consciousness space and reality seemed to become increasingly blurred.
Now, even in reality, he could frequently enter the heightened mental state he experienced within the consciousness space.
"This should count as a good thing, as long as I don't play with fire."
Kamiyā Yuu thought seriously.
Earlier, while conceptualizing 'Yellow—Ashen Paradise,' he had continuously practiced simulations with virtual characters inside the consciousness space for several days in a row. As a result, his body in reality had temporarily lost the ability to properly control its strength.
...
"Different styles... the original 'RWBY' didn't express this aspect clearly enough. I can probably deepen and refine the stylistic direction while following the original tone."
"First of all, Blake's character design should be changed a bit. Her fluffy, wavy hairstyle overlaps too much with Yang's character setup. Plus, in the original work, Blake's presence was practically invisible. She needs something added to make the character truly come alive again."
"A long straight black hairstyle paired with a kuudere personality should work. Her weapon should be changed, too. A dagger pistol with a whip attached just feels like it's on a completely different power level compared to Yang and the others."
Blake's original appearance from 'RWBY' appeared within the consciousness space like a life-sized figurine frozen in place, then gradually transformed according to Kamiyā Yuu's thoughts.
Her wavy black hair straightened, while her gaze became colder and more indifferent.
"Weapon... ah! A sword! A chain sword! Something that can be rigid or flexible. The most iconic example would be Reinforce from the second season of 'Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha'—that weapon was cool on an entirely different level. It could become a sword, a whip, or even a bow."
A Japanese-style katana appeared before Kamiyā Yuu.
The moment he gripped the hilt, the blade suddenly split apart into segmented sections, transforming into a sword-whip. The weapon extended from just over a meter long to more than ten meters in length, resembling a steel serpent coiling around Kamiyā Yuu's body, radiating a dangerous icy gleam with every movement.
Kamiyā Yuu wasn't particularly concerned about realistic weapon length limitations.
To put it in classic ACG terms, there was that famous line from Kyon, the male protagonist of 'The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya':
"People who seek realism in virtual worlds are seriously sick in the head."
Of course, that line couldn't simply be abused indiscriminately.
In his previous world, Kamiyā Yuu had seen plenty of people overusing the meme until it became downright idiotic.
Generally speaking, people using that joke should first understand what constitutes a logical inconsistency.
And another important point—
Never argue settings with the author.
"The setting is still the maple-leaf mountain range. That can remain the same, but capturing the artistic feeling of maple leaves constantly drifting down like snowfall is a little difficult."
The blank world shifted according to the direction of his thoughts.
First, mountain ranges emerged.
Then maple saplings sprouted and rapidly grew.
Finally, crimson maple leaves covered the mountains, slowly drifting downward in the wind, beautiful beyond what reality itself seemed capable of producing.
"In the original story, Blake was still a member of the White Fang at this point. The target of the attack seemed to be a Schnee Dust Company transport train, and the enemies were automated security machines."
"Automated security machines... those can definitely be modified. Especially the boss fight."
"Transformers!"
"This world doesn't have things like 'Transformers' or Gundams. That should become a pretty good highlight."
Kamiyā Yuu recalled the 'Transformers' movies from his memories.
Cars and giant robots were both men's dreams.
And when the two combined together, their destructive appeal toward male lifeforms should probably be calculated exponentially.
...
After finishing his nap, Kamiyā Yuu arrived at the former bedroom that had been remodeled into his personal office.
While recalling the concepts he had created within the consciousness space, he turned on the desktop computer and logged into the chat software connected to the 'Yosuganosora' Animation Studio.
To his surprise, every member of the studio appeared online.
"It's New Year's after all. Everyone's probably just staying at home. I remember Aoi and Chinatsu went back to their hometowns for the New Year. Sensei didn't mention any particular plans, though."
After thinking briefly, he typed a greeting into the chatroom.
Yosuganosora has joined the chatroom.
Yosuganosora (Kamiyā Yuu): "Happy New Year, everyone. The general concept for the third 'RWBY' character promotional animation has been finalized. Once the holiday break ends, we can officially begin production."
The chatroom fell silent.
A long while later, one lit-up avatar flickered several times with the notification:
Lollipop has joined the chatroom