After Ozpin drained his scotch, he said that he needed to make some calls. I understood and asked if there was anything that was needed from me or Glynda. Knowing that she needed a rest after what she saw. Ozpin said nothing and just sat down in his chair and waved us off. Glynda and I just nodded our heads and headed out of the office.
.
"You know," Glynda started when we entered the elevator, "From what I could tell, you were holding back when you fought Cardin. Why?"
"Simple," I answered, "If I didn't, the entire arena, you, and the Students would have been casualties. And I don't have enough healing items to go around to save everyone. So, there is your answer."
"Well, I should thank you," Glynda sighed as she rubbed her temples, "I would rather not end up a casualty in a fight I couldn't even participate in."
"Don't sell yourself short," I told her, "I could tell that you were using your semblance to slow him down, which made the fight a lot easier."
"Thanks," She sighed once again, "I'm still in shock at what happened. Cardin, using his family connections to pull the stunt, was one thing. However, him changing into a monster was something out of a horror story."
"Trust me," I sighed this time, "When I fought a Demi-god with a similar ability, he was a whole lot harder. Just be happy that there wasn't a dragon dead nearby."
"... I don't want to even know," She muttered.
"Anyway," I sighed, "I'm gonna head down to the site of Grace and rest there."
"Why?" Glynda asked, slightly curious.
"I just feel more at peace at one," I answered honestly, "Just being what I am, a Tarnished, makes me a wanderer by nature. Honestly, it's hard to make any sense of it if you're not one yourself."
"I see," She seemed thoughtful, "Here, allow me to accompany you to the Vault. I need to check on Amber anyway."
"By all means," I replied, "I'm sure she could use the company anyway."
.
As we descended to the Vault, we made some small talk. Mainly about my experiences in the Lands Between. Once the elevator reached the Vault, we headed inside. As I was taking in the size of the Vault, Glynda was checking on Amber. That was when I felt a familiar pull from the site of Grace.
It was the Roundtable Hold calling me. However, that should be impossible. That place had been burned to a crisp along with everyone in it. Just as I was about to answer the summons, I heard Glynda gasp. The pull disappeared as I whipped around towards Glynda, expecting an attack of some sort.
However, what I found was that Amber was conscious and trying to get out of the capsule. I hurried over and pulled Glynda to the side as I gripped the edge of the capsule. With a little bit of strength, I pried the capsule open. Amber came stumbling out as the capsule started to beep and alarms blared.
.
"How?!" Glynda screamed as she pushed past me and next to Amber. "She's been out for years! How is she conscious?!"
"The Grace..." I muttered as I looked back at the site, "The Grace must have done this. That's the only way I can think of. But that means..."
"What does that mean?!" Glynda shouted at me, having heard me over the alarms.
"She must have become something like me," I said with awe in my voice, "A Tarnished."
...
..
.
Ozpin was not having a good day. First, it started with an emergency Council meeting with the Board of Directors calling for his removal. Second, it was Vale's Council saying that they were the ones who were behind this. Third, it was finding out that Cardin Winchester used his family's power to do this. Now though? It was the fact that Amber's pod was just forced open.
As Ozpin anxiously waited for the elevator to arrive, he used his scroll to see what was going on down in the Vault. He nearly dropped his scroll at what he saw. Amber, awake and out of her pod.
Without waiting any longer, Ozpin pried open the doors to the elevator and used the quick access port to jump down into the Vault. As he fell, his mind raced with possibilities as to why this happened now, of all times. Then it hit him, the Site of Grace and Brass Wolf, me.
Once Ozpin landed, he immediately charged forward towards Glynda, Amber, and me. As he got close, he pulled me away from her and pushed Glynda aside. Using the last little bit of magic he was capable of to scan her for abnormalities, he found her to be like me. A Tarnished like I had thought.
As we were all coming to terms with this revelation, Amber herself was feeling sick. Something I recognized as rebirth sickness. Something that happens whenever a Tarnished, blessed by Grace, has died and come back. Thankfully, after a few times, the feeling goes away.
I pushed forward and gently patted her back, and gave her soothing words. Telling her to take her time to breathe and to focus on breathing. After coughing and hacking up all that came with the rebirth, she inhaled deeply and released a shuddering breath.
.
"W-where am I?" She shuddered and spoke with a raspy voice, rough from disuse. "Glynda? Ozpin?"
"Amber, thank Oum, you are back," Glynda spoke as she hugged her. "You were attacked by assailants. We couldn't figure out who and- oh, who cares? We're just glad you're alive."
"But we have more important things to talk about," I spoke up, causing her to look at me. "What you just went through was Rebirth Sickness," I told her as I removed my helmet so that I could look into her eyes with mine. "You are no longer Human, but Tarnished, bound by the Grace of the Elden Ring."