RWBY: MRRN
Volume 6, Chapter 13: The Lost Fable (Pt 1)
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.
More blue mist appeared, changing the setting to a circular room with a large window. Salem stood by the window, looking sad and lonely.
"Salem lived in a time when Kingdoms were plentiful, when kings ruled the land and magic was a gift from the Gods for all to wield," Jinn continued as Salem walked over to the same mirror from before.
"Sadly, Salem knew very little of the outside world. Her cruel father did not see her as a person, but as his property. He locked her away in his castle, never allowing her to taste the freedom she desperately craved above everything else." The setting changed to Salem being slapped by a man in royal robes and a crown, who looked down at her with anger.
"You are mine!" Salem's father roared. "You will do as I say and remain here!"
"I hate you!" she shouted, rising to her feet. "You have no right to keep me caged like some animal!"
"I have every right!" her father scolded. "Your freedom is not up to you. Only a worthy suitor shall determine that…if any of them succeed." The setting changed to outside the castle, where multiple knights clad in armor were seen falling to the ground as if struck down.
"Indeed, Salem's father believed that her freedom should be earned by one worthy of her. He let it be known that whosoever braved the castle would have Salem's hand as their wife. Many tried, but all failed. Until one day…" Jinn conjured up a man with tanned skin, dark brown hair, clad in green clothing and armor and wielding a staff with a large green gem.
"A hero of the land came to brave the castle's challenges, having heard of the King's cruelty towards his daughter. The people of the land knew him…as Ozma."
"Ozma?" Forest asked as he examined the man before him. "Is this…Ozpin? Or his first incarnation?" Ozma firmly gripped his staff and started walking towards the castle, determination and courage in his eyes.
"Unlike all those who came before him, he did not seek glory, fame, or the promise of the young princess's hand. He fought only for justice and honor, seeking to free Salem from her father's cruelty rather than take her as a prize." The setting changed to the throne room, where Ozma was face to face with Salem's father.
"Your mistreatment of your daughter has come to an end!" Ozma shouted, pointing at the King. Now clad in black armor and wielding a staff of his own with a blood red gem, the King approached Ozma.
"No one has ever come this far before," he acknowledged. "It matters not. Salem is mine!"
"Why do you do this to her?" Ozma questioned, angry at the King's clear lack of remorse. "You oppress your people, abuse your daughter and for what?"
"I am KING!" Salem's father roared. "It is my divine right! You have come this far, but now, this castle shall be your tomb! And Salem will remain under my control forever!" The two clashed, trading blows with each other, but ended with Ozma emerging the victor as he blasted the King apart.
"Ozma was victorious against the cruel king. After doing so, he rushed to the tower and freed the young Maiden."
Ozma opened the door, immediately alerting Salem. When she saw that it wasn't her father, a tear started to form in her eye. She knew what this meant: someone had beaten her father and had come to free her at long last. All Ozma could do was stare in awe at the beauty of the Maiden he had come to rescue.
"Ozma was in love with Salem?" Math asked. "Well, that's something." The setting changed once more to outside the castle, just as Salem and Ozma ran out, holding each other's hands until they caught a moment to catch their breath.
"They escaped the wretched fortress, but something happened that day that neither foresaw. Ozma was ready to give his life for justice and honor, but saw a woman worth saving it for. And Salem, to her surprise, found her freedom not in the outside world, but the man who had saved her."
"Where should we go?" Salem asked.
"Wherever you like," Ozma responded.
"The two of them fell in love and lived happily ever after…or so how the story's been told." The setting repeatedly, showing Ozma and Salem happy together.
"For years, Ozma and Salem spent their lives together. Never had two people been so in love, so bound to each other. It would seem they would wed and have a family, which both loved the idea. Salem dreamed of being a mother to beautiful young children, children she could teach magic to. Ozma shared Salem's enthusiasm, wanting to raise their children right and just. Until one fateful day changed everything." The setting changed to Ozma and Salem in a forest, attacked by bandits.
"The successor to her father's throne lusted for Salem, so he hired bandits to take her back to the Kingdom. But no matter who was sent, Salem and Ozma prevailed. One encounter however…"
Ozma used his staff to block a bandit's blade, who then proceeded to cough violently on him, coughing up blood as he did. Ozma blasted him away and wiped the blood off his face. Just as Salem was about to kill the last bandit, Ozma stopped her.
"Go back to the king and say Salem is dead," Ozma insisted. "Do so and we'll spare your life."
"I won't go back," Salem threatened. "I will never go back." She was about to attack, but Ozma once again stopped her.
"Let him go!" he suggested.
"Inspired by Ozma's mercy, the bandit returned to the Kingdom and claimed that Salem had indeed perished. But Salem started to notice something wrong with Ozma." Jinn conjured up images of Salem and Ozma, with the former coughing heavily and spitting out blood.
"Ozma was struck with illness from the bandit who attacked. Salem searched desperately for a cure, but nothing helped." Jinn changed the scene to Salem kneeling next to a bed where a deceased Ozma lay, her cheeks stained with tears as she held Ozma's staff.
"Within months, Ozma was dead. Where all the blades, magic and beasts of the world had failed, an incurable illness struck him down. Just when Salem had found happiness, it was cruelly ripped away from her."
"Why?" she cried. "Why did he have to die? I loved him. How could the Gods let this happen?"
"The Gods, brothers of light and darkness, the creators of this world. Salem prayed to them for Ozma's return to the world, but when she felt her prayers were going unanswered, she journeyed to see them." The setting changed once more to a beautiful land with golden flowers, stairs leading to a pure and clear spring and a tree with gold leaves.
"Salem journeyed to the realm of the God of Light, who had received many offerings from humanity and where anyone came to have their prayers answered. Salem hoped that the God of Light would answer her pleas and restore Ozma."
Salem walked up to the spring, causing the golden leaves from the tree to sir. From the water slowly emerged a huge, golden humanoid with antlers, whose presence gave off a great sense of comfort and security. As he approached the young woman, Salem fell to her knees, holding Ozma's staff close to her.
"Please…" she pleaded. "Give him back to me."
"I know of your pain, Salem," the God of Light explained. "I am sorry for your loss and the cruelty you suffered, but you ask that of me that I cannot do."
"What…?" Salem asked. "But…he's all I had. He's the only person…the only one who ever loved me."
"As I said, I cannot do so," the God of Light refused. "Life and death are part of a delicate balance. To disrupt the cycle-"
"That's not fair," Salem spoke before repeating loudly "That's not FAIR!" The God of Light looked down on Salem, now giving off a more stern presence.
"Ozma is content," he spoke. "He is willing to wait for you."
"Content?" Salem asked in disbelief. "He didn't die of old age, he died of an illness, one we couldn't cure in time. How can he be content?"
"He understands the importance of life and death," the God of Light answered. "If you love him as much as you claim, you will let him rest." The God of Light then transported Salem to the steps outside of his spring. The woman looked at the staff, her eyes filled with sadness that the God of Light would not grant her request.
"All she wanted was him back," Ruo spoke with sympathy, knowing of the feeling of wanting someone back so badly.
"No." The setting changed once more to a more dark and eerie place, where a skeleton laid on the steps with a sword in its ribcage.
"The realm of darkness, where the dark God dwelled. Very few dared to enter his home as they knew of what vile creations emerged from his black pools of annihiliation. But Salem didn't care; she was prepared to bring back her beloved, no matter the cost."
The setting changed once more to Salem kneeling in front of a large black pool, surrounded by dozens of Grimm that seemed ready to devour the woman. From the pool came a glowing purple and black figure with ram horns on his head; unlike the God of Light's gracious entrance, the God of Darkness's body contorted and twisted as it approached Salem.
"That's just…ugh," Nasser groaned. "How is Salem not gagging at all?"
"Salem told him of her loss and professed that she knew only he could answer her prayer, all the while being careful to make no mention of his elder."
"So, you've come to me, hoping your beloved to be restored," the God of Darkness spoke.
"Yes," she answered without hesitation. She knew that if the God of Darkness discovered she visited his elder before coming here, then any chance of her being in his good graces would be gone.
"Very well," the God of Darkness replied. "It's been a very long time since a mortal put their faith in me. I shall reward yours." The God of Darkness stretched his hand and summoned a purple sphere that glowed for a few moments until it revealed Ozma on the ground.
"Ozma!" Salem cried out. She rushed to him, tenderly cradling him as he awoke in a panicked state. He gasped for air, completely confused by what was going on.
"What happened!?" he cried out. "Where am I?"
"It's okay," Salem assured, feeling happiness she never thought she'd feel again. "Everything will-" A loud thunderous boom went off at the entrance to the God of Darkness's domain. There stood the God of Light, his hands balled into fists and projecting great anger.
"This is going to get ugly," Oren spoke, suspecting where things were heading.
"The God of Light had been informed of a woman journeying to his brother's realm. He suspected this woman was Salem and he needed to know what her intentions were. As he suspected, it was her intent to fool his brother."
"What have you done?" the God of Light asked. As he descended down the stairs, Salem held Ozma tightly to her, afraid of what would happen.
"I have done as I pleased, brother," the God of Darkness replied. "You may bask in the powers of creation, but you do not own them."
"This is not creation," the elder brother stated. "This violates the rules WE agreed upon, remember?"
"Do not lecture me about our rules!" the dark brother shouted angrily. "I remember them perfectly."
"Then why do you violate your own rules?" The God of Darkness was silent in response.
"I will do what I must to maintain balance. I am sorry, Ozma." The God of Light extended his hand towards Ozma, causing him to fade away in a golden wind of leaves.
"NO!" Salem cried out. "Bring him back!"
"You dare enter my home and show such disrespect!?" the dark brother shouted before resurrecting Ozma once again.
"I am abiding by the rules you and I agreed upon, the balance you and I created," the light brother barked.
"Rules that I see were forever in your favor," the dark brother growled, transforming into a dragon with curved horns on a skeletal head and torn wings. "Very few mortals come to worship me; you did not come to lay your judgment upon me before."
The Grimm pounced onto the God of Light, but he unleashed a great searing light that disintegrated them.
"Wait…" Ruby spoke, seeing a familiarity with the God of Light's defense against the Grimm. "Are those…silver eyes?" When the light passed, the elder brother was now a dragon form as well, his body long, slender and graceful with long whiskers and his antlers grown bigger.
"We have our differences and we always will, but I have not come here to control or judge you," the elder brother claimed. "The same cannot be said for her."
"What are you talking about?" the God of Darkness asked, looking down at Salem and Ozma.
"She came to you only after I denied her pleas to resurrect this man, pleas that would've disrupted the balance you and I created…together." The God of Darkness looked intently at Salem and then back at his brother.
"Then it seems I owe you an apology. Allow me to correct my mistake."
"No!" Salem cried out. The God of Darkness breathed a fireball at the two humans; while Salem was left unharmed, Ozma was reduced to ashes.
"You…you evil monsters!" Salem cried out. "Give him back to me! Give him back!" She summoned lightning from her hands, creatin a dome shield around herself.
"You'd dare challenge your creators?" the God of Darkness questioned. "Very well." Before the God of Darkness could react, his brother speedily flew towards Salem and devoured her.
"What!?" Qrow gasped.
Instead of finding herself dead, Salem was now falling quickly through the sky. She let out a scream that was quickly silenced by her hitting water; she struggled to breathe and felt herself about to drown. Suddenly, she was appeared out of the water, coughing and gagging for breath.
"When you first came to me, I did pity you," the God of Light spoke, standing next to the God of Darkness. "But it is clear now that your selfishness has led you astray."
"Led me astray!?" Salem barked, rising to her feet. "All I wanted was Ozma back! Was that truly selfish of me?"
"The way you pursued your desire was selfish," the God of Light replied. "I told you Ozma was content in the afterlife and you deliberately tried to bring him back."
"And you just killed him over and over again!" Salem shouted, but stumbled over and falling down with a splash.
"It brought me no pleasure to kill such a good man," the God of Light claimed. "He was once in your place." Salem raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?" she questioned.
"Ozma once stood in your place, demanding me to bring back his parents after they passed," the God of Light explained. "When I refused, I insisted that he learn the value of life and death. He came to understand that balance…and so now you must understand it as well for your punishment."
"My punishment?" Salem looked down at her shimmering hands, just like the water was doing.
"I made you immortal," the elder brother answered.
"You cannot die," the dark brother added. "You cannot be with your beloved."
"What?" Salem gasped, completely shocked by what she just heard. "I…please…"
"I am sorry, Salem, but you brought this upon yourself," the God of Light responded. "You must learn the value of life and death as Ozma did. Only then may you rest with him." The setting changed to Salem wandering aimlessly through grassy plains as storm clouds stirred above her.
"Her plan had failed and she was a prisoner once again. Left with no way to reunite with the man she loved, her attempts to see him again turned into acts of spite against the Gods."
Ruby turned around as the setting changed once more to Salem in a room. She lifted a blade and impaled herself on it, much to Ruby's horror. As suspected, she didn't fall dead and instead simply pulled the blade out of her stomach before walking to a window.
"But then she realized something: she had managed to trick the Gods, turn them against one another through her lies and manipulation. They were fallible. If she could turn humanity against them, then perhaps she could reunite with Ozma…or at least make the Gods suffer." The setting changed once more repeatedly, changing as Salem approached various rulers in the world.
"She journeyed far and wide, telling kings and queens of how she stole immortality from the Gods. She spoke of a time when humanity no longer had to watch their loved ones wither and die as she had watched her beloved. She pulled many rulers, many warriors into her scheme against the Gods, convincing them to rise against their creators…or, as some came to believe Salem, their oppressors."
Jinn changed the setting back to the spring of the God of Light, where a great army rushed up the steps, shouting as they did. They were ready for battle and prepared to fight against the Gods.
"The Gods hoped that Salem would learn from her immortality and she did. She learned that when given promises of temptation and desire, the hearts of men can be easily swayed."
The God of Light emerged from the spring in his dragon form, approaching the vast army that had invaded his home. The army prepared to attack, but were stopped when the God of Darkness landed next to his brother in his dragon form as well and let out a savage roar.
"Who has led you down this path?" the God of Light requested.
"Your reign is over!" one of the rulers shouted. "We shall have immortality just as she does."
"She?" the God of Darkness questioned. He watched as the cursed young woman stepped out of the army, a scowl of contempt and determination to end the Gods once and for all.
"You," he growled before addressing the army. "What did this woman promise you?"
"She stole immortality from you!" one of the other rulers declared. "You made us weak, but now-"
"This woman has lied to you," the God of Light interrupted. "She didn't steal immortality from us, we cursed her with it for attempting to disrupt the balance my brother and I created. We cursed her until she learned the importance of life and death, but instead has sought to deceive you all." Everyone in the army started to look confused and unsure of what they were just told. Had Salem truly manipulated them for her own desire to spite the Gods?
"I will only give you one warning," the God of Darkness threatened. "Leave now and we shall spare your lives. Do you truly wish to die for this woman's desire to spite us?"
"Lies!" Salem shouted, hoping to regain the morale and support of those with her. "You cursed me because I deceived YOU! All I wanted was the man I loved back and you denied me that! Attack!" She threw a fireball at him, prompting the others to launch other projectiles as well. The God of Darkness raised his hand and absorbed all of the magical attacks like it was nothing, appearing as a great sphere of purple energy.
"I gave you this gift of magic," the dark brother snarled. "And yet you use it against me?" As he was about to squeeze the sphere, his brother spoke up.
"No," he insisted. "They were misguided by this woman's lies."
"What is he doing?" one of the rulers gasped, scared of what could happen.
"We created them," the dark brother responded. "They must learn the penalty of rising against their creators."
The God of Darkness squeezed the sphere, causing a great purple light to envelope the entire world. It stretched to every kingdom and every corner of the planet, people only noticing it seconds before being enveloped by it.
When the light passed, the vast army was now nothing but ashes, but Salem had a golden glow around her, which had protected her from the blast. The God of Darkness stomped his foot near her, startling her as she recovered from the light.
"Were you so caught up in your hatred towards us that you sought to turn our creation against us?" the God of Darkness questioned, lowering his skeletal head towards the young woman.
"What did you do?" she shouted, rising to her feet.
"I took back my gift to humanity," the dark brother replied. "Now they will remember nothing."
"Just you wait!" Salem threatened. "I will come back! I will build a new army!"
"No, you won't," the God of Darkness scoffed. "Everyone left remembers nothing of us. They will denounce you as nothing more than a madwoman." Salem's eyes widened in horror at this revelation.
"This planet was a beautiful experiment, but it's merely a remnant of what it once was," the light brother stated. "We will learn from our mistakes. I hope you learn from yours." The God of Light then disappeared from sight.
"No!" Salem cried out. "You can't leave! Come back!"
"So you hate us, but demand we stay?" the God of Darkness questioned. "You will never learn your mistakes." The God of Darkness then flew away in a great burst of purple flame, shattering the moon in his wake.
The setting changed repeatedly, showing Salem visiting various places.
"As the God of Darkness informed her, humanity was left with no memory of magic, the Gods or any of the events that transpired. Everyone deemed her a madwoman and cast her out of their kingdoms and villages, leaving her alone once more. Time passed and while Salem remained the same, the once flourishing civilizations were now reduced to rubble and humanity started to fall apart." Blue mist appeared yet again, showing Salem walking through the grassy plains leading to the realm of darkness.
"Salem blamed everything. She blamed the Gods for cursing her, she blamed her father for imprisoning her, she blamed humanity for casting her out…she even blamed Ozma for dying. She blamed everyone but herself, believing that she had done nothing wrong."
"Bitch," Math growled, sounding all too familiar to him.
"She wandered the world aimlessly until her journey took her back to the realm of darkness."
Salem walked up to a cliff overlooking the large black pool. It continued to give birth to horrifice nightmares that now plagued humanity since they had no magic to protect themselves. She closed her eyes, walked forward and leat into the pool.
"Salem believed that if the pool of light gave her eternal life, the pool of darkness would take it away. She was wrong."
Salem smiled, waiting for death to come claim her so she could finally be with Ozma again. She desperately craved his presence, the presence of the one person who had ever truly loved her. That smile disappeared when she felt herself being pounded, as if being hit with a hammer.
"The pools of destruction could not destroy a being of infinite life. Instead, it gave birth to a being of infinite life with a desire for destruction and ruin."
Salem rose from the pool, her skin and hair deathly white, her light blue nails now black and her eyes changed to red and black.
"In time, she would find her adversary."
Author's Notes: In my version, the God of Darkness killed the army, but simply took his magic away from the rest of humanity, leaving them amnesiac to the events before the flash.
I hope you're still liking my series so far. Remember, I have polls on my profile for your favorite member of MRRN and how many starts you'd give the MRRN series. They'll switch back and forth at times just so you know.
Also, give support to other authors, such as Red Eyes Shadow Dragon, Lorenzo the Maelstrom, and Je'daii1298. They are all good writers and deserve support as well as constructive criticism on where to improve.