It was dark.
He knew this feeling already, he had experienced it so many times it became a part of him. There it was again. Silver light, whispering, calling. The first few times he had tried to reach it, but he got pulled away every time. He knew what it was, of course. The sweet embrace of death he was not allowed to experience, always struggling to reach it's inviting, promising warmth until he gave up and was pulled away again. He still had to finish something. Souls of all kinds of colors whirred around him, a huge mass of guilt, fear, death, but most importantly wisdom. All those were independent and reliant at the same time. They were many, but also one. The same but still different.
Finally he saw it, a green soul shiver full of confusion. It was the latest soul, the first time it experienced this, of course it was confused.
Without Darkness, light would be meaningless.
They moved as a unit. One soul, many shards, so much pain, so much wisdom.
There it was again. Salem's smile. Golden hair, eyes as blue as a cloudless sky. At least that's how he remembered it.
"So...where should we go now?"
Echoes of old memories.
"Wherever you'd like."
But happiness fades as fast as it's born.
Her smile turned into tears.
"How could the gods let this happen?"
Is it ironic when a warrior dies not because he was injured in battle, but because he simply falls ill? When he had always been risking his life for what he thought was right, then as he finds a reason to treasure it, he dies?
"Life and death are part of a delicate balance." -Words from a god. It probably is a god's nature to not understand the emotions of the mortals.
"Let him rest."
Oh how he wished she would have.
Ozma remembered the first time he came back. Nothing in every single of his lifes had been as shocking as this. At least Salem was happy. But then again, he was gone.
Sadness, anger. Shattered Moon.
Creation, Destruction, Choice and Knowledge had been put into his hands.
"Where you seek comfort, you will only find pain."
He would find out how right these warning words had been.
Who was he?
He didn't know at this point.
Now he thinks he knows. At least he hopes he does.
Love is a force that even all wisdom and knowledge in this world can't explain. It certainly is a magical element, but stronger and uncontrollable. He tried to forget.
He tried for decades, lifetimes, it felt like an eternity. Her hair had lost her color, her eyes were pools of blood.
"How do I destroy Salem?"
"You can't."
He couldn't. But there must be a way.
His thoughts were shimmering, golden dust as he returned to Remnant once again.
He saw his new self in the mirror. So young and already doomed to die over, and over again.
"Hello?"
"Hello! I'm Professor Ozpin."