In the Białowieża Forest under the full moon, two women fought, one with a bow and the other with a war scythe. One was a young, dark brown-haired teen with silver eyes. The other is an onyx-haired young woman with silver eyes. Sparks flew as the war scythe wielder deflected the arrows with expert precision. Meanwhile, the young teen retreated, firing arrows with inhuman accuracy.
“You know Artemis, out of all the gods to go heretical. I never expected you to fall.” The young woman said to the now-named Artemis.
“You know how it is, devil king. We Gods are not fans of those who intrude on our domains; we are vain and greedy beings.” Artemis responded while sending an arrow to the young woman's knee.
Deflecting the arrow with her war scythe, the young woman threw a knife, hoping to distract the Heretical Goddess. “Well, the people of Poland are not yours to hunt.”
“Then stop me, little king.” Artemis taunted while retreating further into the forest.
“Don’t tempt me with a good time.” The woman said while resuming her chase. “You do know, Artemis, that I am no wild animal.”
“I am well aware, but I have learned from those who hunt their fellow man, and I am a Huntress,” Artemis said from an unidentifiable angle. “To hunt dangerous game, one must set a trap.”
“Shit.” Was all the young woman said before several cylinders fell from the trees, exploding in a blinding flash. “Using flash bangs taken from killed soldiers. How dishonorable.”
“I am not a warrior, little king. The sanctity of the hunt is still there. Left arm.” Artemis spoke as an arrow flew out, impacting the young devil king's arm and forcing her to drop the war scythe. “That and you are trying to hunt me in the forest and under the moon, where I may as well be all-powerful.” The Goddess arrogantly said as she revealed herself.
“Then how about I get rid of your advantages.” The young woman growled out in pain.
“How is that?” Artemis asked with no worry.
“Ask your grandfather.” The woman responded before starting her chant.“Time shall always move forward.”
“Oh no, you don't,” Artemis said as she shot another arrow.
“From Plant to Harvest.” The woman spoke as she blocked the arrow with her remaining arm.
“No, I refuse to die like this,” Artemis spoke with some desperation as she charged the young woman, knives drawn.
“Birth to Death, Night to Day, All are subject to the endless march of time.” The young woman finished after dodging Artemis’s attacks.
Both could feel the speed of time increasing. But Artemis, in an act of desperation, infused pure divine power into the authority, hoping to usurp the usurper she sent both tumbling in time and space.
An hour after the two disappeared, the Polish Mage Association, the Order of the Witchers, sent in a group to survey the scene. When mages of the School of the Wolf walked to the scene of the battle, they collected the dead Polish and Belarusian soldiers and gave them their proper dues.
-Menagerie, Remnant-
A rip in the fabric of reality violently formed in the desert of the forgotten country. Out of the opening, the two girls fell, still locked in their mortal struggle. Both tumbled down the sandy dunes, trying to get a killing blow on the other. Eventually, Artemis gets the dominant position when the pair stop falling, attempting to strike the killing blow with her knives. The young woman struggled with her injured arms, and she then felt something. Her war scythe fell through and was ready to be called to its master's hand.
“Hey Artemis, you ever lost your bow?” the young woman asked the goddess, trying to kill her.
“Please, I will never lose it. I place it down and call it back when I need it. Now stop struggling and die like the beaten prey you are,” Artemis arrogantly said with a growl.
“Oh, what a coincidence, same here.” The young woman said with a predatory smile.
“As if you would risk injury to complete a hunt; warriors never risk their lives like that,” Artemis responded, only for the blade of the war scythe to go through her gut and into the young woman's as well. Shocking her so much, she dropped her knives and clutched the wound.
“Then you have not been paying attention and forgot the prey you were hunting.” The young woman responded, picking up one of the daggers and thrusting it into the goddess's throat. “Remember my name in the Netherworld, I am Ruby Rose, 7th Campione, Slayer of Mórrigna and Kronos, Guardian King of Polska. You attacked my people, thus challenging me and marking you the third Heretical Goddess I have fought and usurped.”
“Hahahaha, I will remember the name of the Huntress who bested me; worry not, Ruby Rose. I hope the next time I descend, we can hunt together. Had I found you in Hellenistic times, I would have recruited you for my hunt in a heartbeat.” Artemis said as she began to fade.
After a few minutes, Ruby collapsed in the desert in exhaustion. Her war scythe lost the divine power that she had imbued into it, while she breathed heavily. Already, her injuries began to heal themselves, like they would for any of her Brothers and Sisters.
“Jeeze, using two authorities in rapid succession is exhausting,” Ruby said as she practically curled up into herself. From behind her, a giant sandworm burst from the desert, having been disturbed by the scuffle of Campione and Goddess. “Oh, sunova bitch. Come on, fate, can you give me more than five minutes before tossing the next challenge at me?”
The Sandworm, ignorant of the god slayers moping, drew back and attacked. Ruby scrambled out of the way in time to avoid the literal jaws of death and drew her war scythe back in somewhat shaky hands. When the worm burst out behind her, without hesitation, she thrust her blade into the red eye of the Sand Worm. Using the haft of the war scythe, she swung up to the top of the head, pulling her blade free. Landing on the back of the worm, she proceeded to swing her war scythe, the Damascus blade cutting through the Grim hide cleanly.
Unseen by her, a small group of people watched her fight the Sandworm with almost contemptuous ease. Each one had animal features and wore black and white clothing with metallic plates covering their extremities. Pauldrons with a particular sigil, with belts holding everything together.
“Whoa, did you see that hunter kill the Sandworm? Do you think they are here to help?” One of them asked their leader.
“That was no Hunter. I have been in the guard for over 20 years, and I have seen hunter teams kill themselves trying to cull those things. You may be too young, but take note of everyone else. No one is calm after watching her; her aura is overwhelming.” He said with awe and fear.
“How can you identify their gender?” The young Faunas asked, only to see the sniper rifle in his senior’s hands. “Oh.”
“I just hope she is friendly.” The older guardsman said under his breath. Getting upright as the God killer slew the Giant Sandworm.
Ruby, on the other hand, was breathing heavily after killing the Graboid-looking thing. Already, she felt the Authority of the Hunt wishing to be used. She fought the urge, as she did not have the energy to use three distinct authorities in rapid order. Her already impressive senses sharpened further with the Authority she usurped from Artemis.
“This is fucking bullshit, I am fighting god-damned Graboids. I thought they were fictional.” Ruby moaned out while leaning on her war scythe. Hearing the sand shift with footfalls, she turned around and saw four, as her youngest brother would say, Demi-humans. Two had wolf ears and tails, while one had Bear ears, and the third had fox ears.
“Are you ok, miss?” The bear spoke, fear laced in his voice.
“Well, I just fell through a hole in space and time, and I got attacked by a Graboid,” Ruby said with some frustration.
“You mean a Sandworm miss?” the young fox spoke.
“Great, I did not know I landed on Arrakis,” Ruby mumbled out, not quite enough to keep them from hearing it.
“This is Menagerie, not Arrakis.” One of the Wolves responded.
“Oh, well, do you have a camp I can stay at until I can find my way to civilization?” Ruby asked the Bear who was the clear leader.
“Are you from Atlas?” The bear asked.
“If Atlas goes Heretical, I will kill him,” Ruby responded, confusing the group.
“Then I think I can bring you back to Kuo Kuana. We don’t have the best relations with those from the Kingdom of Atlas.” The Bear responded.
“If you were back home, you would be internet stars in the first five minutes,” Ruby responded under her breath.
