Ozpin is many things.
He is typically known for being one of the most off but endearing individuals you could ever have the honor in having a conversation with.
He can be both stoic and affable towards the people he converses with.
He can be very humble as he shows no shame in admitting that he has made mistakes in the past.
He is known for being quite the honest man, or sometimes maybe very blunt when explaining something to someone, thus creating a reputation for himself as no one may know what he's thinking.
He is also very fond of teamwork. Literally anyone can tell because Beacon is solely based on teams and is the main focal point.
But what some people may not know about him is that he is very religious, once believing in the fabled tale of two brothers—good and bad—who were responsible for all creation. As a child, he once believed in this story but soon learned the real truth behind the universe's creation.
Right now, he is gazing out of his window in his office, his mind lingering off into what may happen tomorrow as it is the first day of Beacon's new recruits. He then trails off into just a couple of hours ago when he talked to one young Ruby Rose who displayed magnificent prowess in fending off a late night dust robbery against the notorious Roman Torchwick.
Miss Rose is literally the embodiment of innocence and young optimism, along with that silly smile of hers. He brings his mug to his lips and drinks his favorite hot beverage: coffee. He loves coffee, especially at night. It helps run things a little more smoothly to him than most people, it's not like he has an addiction.
His eyes scanned up to the night sky with the half moon shining in the background. No, it's actually in half, straight down the middle. Then something caught his eye as he sets his mug down on his desk. He walks back to the window and spots a white streak in the sky, aiming towards the Emerald Forest. Something else happened. The stars in the sky seemingly went out like a candle, not a single trace of one star in the night. His eyes widened by an impressive margin at the show before walking back calmly and grabbing his cane that was leaning next to his desk.
He straightened his posture and continued walking to the elevator at the front. Glynda and the rest should be in their respective rooms preparing for tomorrow. But he should really go and inspect the situation at hand. How come a meteor just appeared out of the blue like that and suspiciously head towards Beacon?
As he steps in the elevator, the academy shook in its place as he toppled over slightly but kept his balance. It must've hit. The doors closed behind him as he takes it down to the first level. He slips his scroll out from his pocket and immediately notifies all of his staff to not worry and he should be able to get everything under control.
'Let's hope this isn't some grand scheme in the works…' He mused in his mind, his face taking one of the best absolute emotionless expressions ever.
Emerald Forest
"Go, and set the captives free from their troubles. It is now time for all of humanity to make a move."
Deep into outer space, a swirling mass of dark matter erupted into thin, non-existent air. It became larger and quickly produced an oddly sight. A bright light shined in the center of the spiraling dark energy, completely eradicating the darkness around it. Then something shot out of the center and towards Remnant.
A white streak of light was shooting like a bright, burning star. It was literally on fire...white fire. It sped across the deep mass that is space and made its way towards Remnant, constantly speeding up in its acceleration. Soon enough, the fiery white streak entered the planet's atmosphere and orbited around the night sky.
As it continued it's trek in the moonlit night, the stars in the sky caught on fire and burned down, completely vanishing from the sky. The streak—upon further inspection—grew six, white fiery appendages from the back as it crashed into the ground, creating at least a two hundred meter crater in the forest from below. The area was infected with smoke and dirt, the white fire peering through the thick clouds of dust.
As the debris cleared out of the sky, the gigantic crater held the white fire in its center as the flames scorched the already scorched surface of the planet, the six appendages now more visible to the eye to discover that they were wings. Six white fiery wings attached to the back of the fiery figure with a wingspan as great as the crater below it.
Then the fire did something it should never even do. The fire spread across the floor, completely destroying the grass and dirt in the forest. Then it rose from the ground and formed the shape of a masculine body. At the head of the figure, the fire split open to create two holes where the eyes are and formed real-life eyes in a deep, ultramarine blue color. On top of the head, it created a set of ivory white hair in a short-cropped ivy-league style. The face was complete in the shape of a young adult in their early twenties with very light tan skin. The rest of the body was a lean but fit figure as the fire created clothes for the man. The man wore a black, sleeveless high-collared jacket, a plain white undershirt, a large black ring around the right wrist, a pair of white biker jeans with a silver right pocket chain with a cross and a blue sash tied around the left leg, and black high-tops with silver buckles.
The new arrival clenched his fists at his sides and brought them up to his face to inspect them. He blinked slowly, his face set into a cold, stoic expression. Near his fingers was a loss of color to his skin, giving him an exotic look to anyone who sees him. It seems his human body didn't form all too well. Is this a fault in his creation of a human body?
Does he care?
His pyrokinetic wings faded away as he lifted his gaze to see in front of him again, lowering his hands to his sides. He is in a forest, or what's left of it. It looks like a blank, barren wasteland now all thanks to him. He bent down and grabbed a handful of dirt inside the crater he's standing in. He played around with it in his hands and threw it in front of him, the dirt—once it landed—sinking into the ground.
After a few minutes, the ground started to shake, the dirt began to vibrate and bounce off of the ground as the trees shook as well as the air around the area dissipated. Then the pieces of the ground started to rise and connect with each other, reshaping into its original form and brought back together nicely. Emerald Forest is reborn.
The young man stared uninterested in his creation and started walking out of the forest until he heard light footsteps behind him. He only looked forward stoically, already knowing who they were.
"Ozpin." The headmaster froze in his tracks, eyes bulging wide out of their sockets. His breathing hitched when the man turned around to face him, his eyes embedded with a strong and cold gaze, not a single muscle moving. Not even a twitch. The two forces stared at each other. One with a stoic expression and the other a calm but very cautious expression.
Ozpin breathed shakily and opened his mouth, "Good evening, young man. I see you are already familiar with me."
"Of course I am. You responded exactly like how a person should respond when called by their name." The young adult spoke, his tone just as dead and cold as his eyes.
Ozpin internally sweatdropped at his behavior. He's one of those…
"Yes. I am Professor Ozpin of Beacon Academy. Now that we are in the introduction phase, may I have your name?" Ozpin inquired.
The mysterious man fully turned his body to face Ozpin, "My name is Azrael. I am an angel of the Lord."
After those words, the man named Azrael suddenly unfurled his six wings of pure white fire. Thunder claps out of nowhere, wind picks up fast and pushes Ozpin a bit off of his balance, and Remnant quaked under the feet of the anonymous arrival. Azrael kept watching Ozpin with his stoic look as the professor knelt down to not fall over and to keep an eye on the man in front of him.
'What...is this?' The veteran headmaster cringed in his effort to stand up. Azrael retracted his wings and walked calmly towards the down headmaster and lifted him up. Brown eyes met blue as they both rose together and stood in front of each other, not uttering a word.
Azrael scrunched up his face and tilted his head as he analyzed Ozpin a bit more as the latter also studied this young man before him. This is the exact spot where the meteor was heading towards. Is this Azrael person the meteor?
"You are pondering on whether I'm the one responsible for everything that happened here tonight." Azrael suddenly said, his expression unreadable to Ozpin. The storms subsided as everything was now quiet in the night air.
"As a matter of fact, I am. And by your statement, you are." The headmaster replied, a bead of sweat rolling down his face due to how close Azrael is. This man is radiating a hot aura from everywhere on his person. This has something to do with the fire show he just witness him pull off.
"Is this...coming off from you?" Ozpin bluntly asked, referring to the hot air around the area. The dark area also seemed a bit brighter to him.
"Yes," Azrael answered, "You may not have caught it earlier, but I am a seraph of heaven."
At that proclamation, Ozpin's eyes widened to their full extent. That term... seraph. He's read about it somewhere. A celestial entity belonging to the long lost Christian faith. They're the highest order in the ninefold hierarchy in heaven associated with fire, light, ardor, and purity.
What is something like him doing down here in Remnant?
"Ozpin," He jumped when the seraph called to him, "Why did you stray away?"
The silver-haired headmaster cringed when he called him out on his slacking. He then spoke, "There's no need to lie to you. I just wanted to focus on my new role as headmaster in Beacon. I wanted to start again, but more things came up and I just didn't have the time for anything at all. I'm sorry."
"You shouldn't ask me but ask Him. But let me say this today: He has already forgiven you." Azrael revealed, Ozpin's lips twitching upwards for a split second.
"I'm glad...if you don't mind my asking, what is an angel of the Lord doing here in Remnant? ...Did He send you down here?" Ozpin asked, quite scared of whatever he may answer with.
"I am here to save your world from impending devastation." Azrael replied. Now Ozpin lost his voice there for a second.
Help from above, maybe?
"You...you are going to help us?" Ozpin asked, his breathing shaking. Is this a dream? This is the best day in history.
"Essentially, yes." Azrael nodded. Ozpin smiled. This means that they're at a huge advantage now. But...Ozpin needs some clarification on how powerful this man is.
This is really sudden, but...they need this.
"Azrael...how would you like to come with me and join Beacon?" Ozpin asked straightforwardly, smiling all the while.
"As a student?" Azrael scrunched up his face.
"Not as a student, more like a teacher. Actually, how old are you?" Ozpin asked.
"Appearance wise, I am twenty-four years old. My real age is as old as time itself or maybe older. I don't really know anymore." Azrael answered the professor, Ozpin gulped down a lump of saliva at the large number.
"So...would you come?" Ozpin offered. His mind racked for ideas on what he could potentially teach the students. Wait, hold on…
"I have an idea on what you can teach our students…" Ozpin spoke up, gaining Azrael's full attention.
"That is…" The seraph trailed off.
"This may seem a bit off topic on what Beacon's teaching system is, but this could also reflect on how much I missed out on as a follower in Christ." Ozpin said, rubbing his chin in thought. He also realized how calm he's now being in the presence of a powerful entity such as Azrael.
"You want me to instill knowledge and wisdom of the holy text in your students." Azrael completed, making Ozpin smile wider.
"If it's not too much trouble. They may be saving the world one day, but who's to say it's not allowed for them to have Him by their side to protect them?" Ozpin shrugged, not seeing a single problem with the idea.
Azrael took some time to think it over, "Like some type of ministry…"
"Yes." Ozpin nodded, his hand tapping his cane in wait for the seraph's answer.
"It is done." Azrael looked up from his thinking and walking over to Ozpin, the two shaking hands in the seraph's new start on Remnant.
"Wonderful. We will need to name the subject you will be teaching…" Once again, Ozpin went into a deep thought. A minute later, he spoke again, "Hebrew Scripture."
"That will suffice." Azrael nodded, keeping his stoic demeanor intact.
"We welcome you aboard to Beacon staff, Azrael. We also look forward to fighting alongside you in the nigh future." Ozpin smiled warmly.
Beacon Tower
Glynda Goodwitch, Peter Port, and Bartholomew Oobleck were all standing agape at the new "teacher" in front of them with Ozpin standing at the side with a small smile.
"This is absolutely fantastic!" Port bellowed in laughter, walking towards the seraph teacher and gave him a man hug, Azrael standing still with a blank look.
"I've gotta say you've outdone yourself again, Ozpin! Finding exceptional talent must be a pain nowadays. And to think that the huge earthquake was none other than our very own...how do you say it again?" Oobleck asked Ozpin.
"Seraph." The headmaster answered the green-haired professor.
"Seraph! I thought angels were old folklore, but alas, I was dead wrong!" Oobleck spoke hastily.
Glynda, meanwhile, still couldn't wrap her head around the entire ordeal. If what they're saying is true, then this speaks volumes on what their new member can do. And what she means is total destruction of the school if he's not careful enough.
"I sense uncertainty in the room. Goodwitch." Azrael called to the blonde professor, the latter jumping in surprise at her surname. The other three men looked at her and widened their eyes. It seems he is capable of empathy.
"I...uh…" Glynda was caught off guard at how easily he read her. She could've sworn he wasn't looking at her just then.
"It is okay to be skeptical. But if I may as so much as quote and say to you today to trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding." Azrael spoke to the professor, but he also addressed the rest of them.
Oobleck and Port hummed at his words, taking them to heart. Ozpin closed his eyes and relished in the little speech. Glynda blinked rapidly, not expecting that.
"Um...yes. I'm sorry for being so disrespect—"
"You were not being disrespectful, Goodwitch. You were merely being yourself and that is fine. That is the one thing that He finds most important in a person." Azrael looked to her with his stoic gaze.
Glynda just nodded, looking away with a small tint of pink on her cheeks. Ozpin chuckled at the scene, the blonde professor scowling at him.
The headmaster then looked to Azrael, "Tomorrow is day one of Beacon's first semester. While the students are off preparing for initiation, you four will be in your own rooms preparing for your lessons just as equally. Which reminds me…"
"Azrael will need a room for himself and his students. We have one lecture hall for every subject, but it doesn't hold any materials for something like his class." Glynda finished for him, pointing at the seraph.
"Ozpin, if I may put my input in this here conversation. There is a spare classroom near Glynda's classroom. That sounds perfect in this situation, no?" Port offered.
"I agree. I am most excited for this year and what Azrael may bring to the table." Oobleck piped up.
Ozpin grinned, "Very well. Azrael, Glynda may show you to your new classroom and living quarters if she is so kind as to do so." Ozpin gave her a glance.
Glynda nodded, "Yes, I'd be glad to."
Azrael looked to her, "My sincerest gratitude."
"Now. This has been an eventful night. We must rest for tomorrow." Ozpin spoke, the rest agreeing.
"I will see you all tomorrow then! Azrael, it is an absolute pleasure working with you!" Oobleck saluted to his co-workers and the blue-eyed seraph before rushing in a green blur towards the elevator as it transcended down.
"I bid you all a good night. Good luck, Azrael." Port signed off and waved at the white-haired seraph before walking to the steel elevator.
Glynda nodded at the large professor before turning her attention to the seraph, "Shall we go? I assume you want to prepare yourself since we haven't had a class that touched on the subject of…"Hebrew Scripture" before."
"Let us not waste time, then." Azrael walked to the elevator. Glynda sighed tiredly and followed him. Ozpin smiled again for the umpteenth time tonight. Something about Azrael's presence just puts a smile on his face. Perhaps it's because he's the answer they've been looking for this whole time.
As they entered the elevator, he walked to his desk and sat in his chair before lowering himself under the table and grabbed a steel drawer. He opened it and pulled out a thick black book with a red bookmark and laid it down gently on his desk with a title in gold text reading "Holy Bible".
He smiled and slid the red bookmark from the top and opened to a page and began reading, "And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith."
Beacon Halls
Glynda and Azrael walked the red hallway towards the seraph's new classroom and quarters. Glynda didn't know what to say during this time as she is not familiar with the whole "angel" and "God" thing that Ozpin kept rambling on about up there tonight.
He seems very happy when talking about it and that is very rare, since Ozpin is never happy. It makes her curious and want to learn more about this new topic between the teachers and the new addition to the staff.
Eventually, they made it to a room on the side of a wall with another room just a few feet away from it. Glynda began pointing, "This is your room here where you'll be teaching and that's my room over there. I am the Combat Instructor here in Beacon teaching Combat Training. And you'll be teaching...Hebrew Scripture, correct?" She received a nod.
"Ozpin proposed the idea, yes. I must say he has an amazing intuition and dedication in teaching and the future." Azrael complimented the headmaster, garnering a smile from Glynda.
"Yes, that he is." Glynda muttered. She shook her head and motioned for him to follow her inside the room. They stepped inside as Glynda waved her riding crop in the air as the lights to the room turned on. The room was barren, void of anything but was in perfect shape despite not being used for at least over five years. No blemishes or rotting of the walls, the floor clean of any dust or tearing, and the row of seats are not misplaced or torn.
"Do you think this will be enough space for your teaching?" Glynda asked, waiting to help if he doesn't find it to his liking.
Azrael stared blankly at the room, worrying her a bit until he shot his hands forth at the ceiling. White fire erupted around the room, startling the blonde professor as she back away and out the room. She saw the fire spread quickly like water as it covered the entire room in flames. It then subsided, Glynda having to use her shirt as a fan to keep her cool against the white hot fire. What she saw was absolutely insane. The fire somehow conjured a blackboard and whiteboard at the front with two desks in front of them adjacent to each other, the walls were decorated with posters with titled like "The Ten Commandments", "The Fruits of the Spirit", and "The First Seven Days", stacks upon stacks of white textbooks titled "The Bible and Its Influences", and thick black books all with the title "Holy Bible". The seats looked perfectly normal and safe from the fire as well as the walls and floor which brings Glynda to think that his fire somehow manages to make things come to reality. That's dangerous.
Azrael finished and looked at his handiwork before addressing Glynda, "Goodwitch, I am done."
"I can...see that…" She muttered stupidly and gulped before walking out of the room again. Azrael followed her out of the room and slid the door shut behind him.
The two then walked around the corner at the end of the hallway and towards a few more doors at the center, Glynda motioning to one door, "This is your new home. Normally dorms are with four beds but with us teachers there's only one. We don't sleep together."
The seraph ignored her and entered his room, prompting Glynda to roll her eyes at his odd behavior. Azrael scanned his surroundings, leering at a twin bed, a few desks for paperwork and a modern monitor, a closet and bathroom hybrid, and a bookshelf and nightstand next to his bed.
Glynda watched as Azrael walked towards his bed and promptly set it on fire. She panicked and waved her crop to put out the fire, but it was too late. She glared at Azrael as her teeth grinded against each other, "Hey! What do you think you're doing?! That was for you to sleep in!"
"Sleep is unnecessary for angels. As well as eating, drinking, and breathing air." Azrael revealed, Glynda's eyes deadpanning.
"Okay...we still could've used the bed for someone else. Did you even take into consideration that a student might need the extra bed?"
"Who said I burned it?" Glynda then widened her eyes, not thinking of that. He could've just send it somewhere else.
Azrael walked to the door and opened it to reveal the bed standing just outside the room. Glynda gave up and just walked out of the room and grabbed it telekinetically.
"Azrael, I—no, we will be looking forward to seeing how well you will do here during your time in Beacon. Have a...good night." Glynda said, forgetting he doesn't need to sleep. Wait. What does he do at night then?
"Have a good night, Goodwitch." Azrael wished. She then nodded to him and closed the door behind her and walked away with the bed in tow.
Azrael looked at the interior of the room and raised his hands to the center. The floor and walls started to shift and maneuver where the walls expanded outwards and the floor maximized to become larger with black tiles instead of carpet. White fire appeared in different spots in the room and conjured up multiple decorations. An altar appeared at the end of the room where his bed used to be, his bookshelf compiled with tons of biblical text, books, and novels telling people's testimonies, and the white ceiling was replaced with the real entire universe. Stars, galaxies, planets, etc.
Azrael scrunched up his face for a mere moment and just nodded in approval at his new home.
"Tomorrow is the day that Remnant's entire future gets rewritten. Watch yourself, Salem. We're here."
XxXx