[Crimson like roses, filling my dreams and leading me to where you rest.]
[Frost-white, cold as ice, yet always yearning to bear the burden of royalty.]
[Jet black, the beast descends from the shadows.]
[Golden beauty burns like flame.]
..."
A mournful and haunting song echoed throughout Kamiyā Yuu's consciousness world, like the prelude to a nightmare, dragging him into a perilous abyss. As the projected image in the void above the plaza shifted, a petite girl in a red cloak appeared upon a barren white snowfield. The full moon hung high in the sky, its light flowing like water, dividing the world into two halves—the silent black sky and the desolate white earth.
"Awooo~!"
An ominous aura surged forth, guiding dark shadows as they writhed within the forest. Within those shadows, crimson eyes glowed with a cold, bloodthirsty hunger. The moment the shadowy creatures noticed the small girl standing upon the empty snowfield, the cold-blooded hunters could no longer restrain their desire for slaughter and emerged from the forest.
One wolf! Two wolves! Ten! Fifty! One hundred! Ferocious shadow wolves stepped onto the barren snowfield, advancing step by step toward the petite girl standing in the distance.
The song grew faster, sharper, more intense—like a lost little girl fleeing from beasts in the forest, filled with loneliness and despair. It was also like a string stretched to its limit, unable to produce another note even as the musician's fingers bled.
As the mournful song reached its peak, the string snapped—silence followed. In that instant, the petite girl had already drawn a red case from behind her waist.
Click—crack!
The case transformed into an enormous scythe. Beneath the red hood that concealed her face, a faintly visible smile of excitement and battle lust appeared. The accompanying music resumed—yet from this moment on, there were no lyrics, no poetic imagery. Only intense instrumentals and the thunderous roar of gunfire combined to form a perfect feast of slaughter.
Wolf corpses littered the ground. Blood turned into drifting rose petals, becoming the third color in this lonely world. Wielding the massive scythe, the girl immersed herself in the thrill of massacring the wolf pack. Thunderous blasts echoed through the sky as bullets with power rivaling anti-materiel rifles tore apart the shadow wolves. Using the recoil from firing magical bullets, she moved through the pack like a reaper, harvesting lives. Her petite figure danced with both elegance and ferocity, like a butterfly weaving through flowers.
The scene inevitably reminded Kamiyā Yuu of an ancient Chinese verse—ten steps, one kill; a thousand miles, no trace left behind.
…
Kamiyā Yuu rewatched one of the original promotional trailers for this 3D animation, 'Red.' This was the very first trailer of 'RWBY.' Like 'Dead Fantasy,' it had no real plot—only a gothic girl lost in the forest and a slaughter-filled world formed by monstrous wolves.
A lonely world paired with breathtaking imagery; a fragile girl against a savage pack; the fusion of massive cold weapons and firearms; classical music intertwined with carnage—everything felt poetic and stunning.
Though the 3D visuals were somewhat rough, they already possessed a distinct style. The excellent character design, incredible action choreography, and music perfectly matching the bleak beauty gave this trailer a charm comparable to that of a Hollywood blockbuster.
"Should I bring 'RWBY' into this world? No… with the help of the consciousness space and with Master Monty Oum's work as a precedent, I can bring out the full potential of 'RWBY'! Otherwise, what right would I have to recreate it here?" Having watched this trailer countless times, Kamiyā Yuu felt his emotions surge. With the conditions he now possessed, he did not doubt his ability.
"Setting aside programming for now, I'll start from the very basics!"
"Then… let's try it." Kamiyā Yuu's thoughts shifted, and the entire consciousness space underwent a dramatic transformation.
At some point, a full moon hung in the sky of his consciousness. Icy snowflakes fell, gradually covering the endless plaza with a thick layer of snow. In the distance, upon the desolate snowfield, a small red dot stood unmoving amid the blizzard. Kamiyā Yuu watched it approach with excitement, while behind him, the bloodthirsty howls of shadow wolves had already begun to rise.
"Awoo~! Awooo~!!"
One after another, grotesque black shadow wolves rushed past Kamiyā Yuu, charging toward the petite girl in the red cloak. The feast of slaughter was no longer confined to a virtual projection—it now truly existed within the world of consciousness, unfolding right before his eyes.
This was the power Kamiyā Yuu possessed—an ability of conscious simulation far surpassing any natural talent. Through the manifestation within his consciousness space, he could transform it into the worlds of various works, placing himself inside them to observe and refine every detail.
Within this space, Kamiyā Yuu was an omniscient and omnipotent god. The worlds he created were entirely under his control, yet also difficult due to the blind spots beyond his grasp. They were both illusory and real. Unlike works on a screen, this consciousness world required far more intricate and delicate crafting.
The slightest changes in the environment, the fluttering of clothing in the wind and snow, the fluidity and pacing of movements, even the fine details of the wolves' fur—all of these demanded his attention.
"In the trailer, the presence of the camera allows for freedom in those stylized combat sequences. But if I want to fully materialize that kind of combat in the consciousness world, I'll have to redesign every single movement, taking everything into account."
"The wolves' movements too—they need to show the wildness of beasts, the agility of wolves."
"The setting itself is still far too crude."
The world of the 'Red' trailer collapsed and vanished, leaving Kamiyā Yuu standing alone in the consciousness space. He let out a long sigh. "Which means… I'm still far from enough." There was no hint of discouragement in his tone—rather, he felt excitement at the bottleneck he had encountered.
Because he knew that once he overcame these limitations, the work he created would inevitably surpass the original, reaching the perfect limit his imagination envisioned.