Chapter 29 – The Lost Fable – Pt. 1
Salem
The Dark Queen stood before the mirror, her hands held together, and in the reflection she saw the girl she used to be. So beautiful, with nearly glowing blonde hair and stunning blue eyes. Ruby looked at Salem, the two versions – the current at the past – and she couldn't help but wonder the same thing that was bouncing around in everyone's minds.
What the hell happened to you, Salem?
Then, as the vision began, they all heard the voice of Jinn all around them. Oscar gasped as he heard her voice, with Ozpin barely even reacting as he looked down at the floor. Like he completely could not look at Salem.
"She had everyone she could ever want, all the food, all the water, and all the wealth – yet despite all that… her father refused to give her the one thing she always wanted… freedom." Jinn explained. Salem stepped aside as the Young Salem stood up from her table and looked out at the rolling hills of green.
"The beautiful princess was locked away within her tower, guarded by her Eight Brave Knights, who swore to protect her. But despite that – her overly protective father was too afraid to let her free from her home. Afraid of what the people of this world would do to her… or what she could do to them." Jinn narrated, and they watched as a tear streamed down Salem's cheek.
They could feel her loneliness, and she sat down in her chair and stared up at the ceiling. "And in a world where every single soul could wield and master magic… you must wonder why? Why was he so afraid of what Salem… could do to them?"
Salem opened her palm, and Cinder's eye widened upon seeing the many magical balls swirling between her fingertips. Her eyes glimmered as she channelled so much magical power effortlessly. Then Salem just sighed, rubbing the tears from her eyes, until she heard the knock on the door. She opened it and a warm smile graced her face.
"But there was always one she could confine with – someone who made her happy, despite her prison of marble." Jinn stated.
He was a handsome young man, one who Oscar immediately recognised.
"Ozma…" He whispered, looking at his ancient previous incarnation.
The Original Version.
"Madame Salem." Ozma greeted.
"Inquisitor Ozma… hello." She sweetly replied, a slight blush on her cheeks.
He smiled back, but it faded quick. "I'm sorry to disturb you but – your father wishes to speak with you."
Salem sighed, nodding her head.
"Of course…"
She left and walked with him, and outside were her other seven Knights, all bound with their duty to protect her with their lives.
Ozma's right hand, the Senechal was there, holding the pommel of her sheathed sword like always. She had a shaved head and quite a pretty face, despite some scars on her face.
Ozma was the only one she ever knew the name of, but she always remembered their ranks – but only knew the faces of Ozma and the Seneschal. But with her were: the Zealot, the Spartan, the Executioner, the Berserker and the Shogun.
And lastly – The Deacon.
Salem walked in the middle of them. Even here in her home, she was always surrounded by armour and her guards. Pyrrha followed them, then saw the Brother of Darkness down the hall, stood in the shadows, looking at her. She then turned to the window that the sun shone through and there stood the Brother of Light. Even here, she could see them in her head.
This is it… finally gonna learn what happened…
… what they are hiding from me.
Penny stared at the architecture of Salem's home, wide eyed… then she saw Cinder's face. Unlike Penny, she was not admiring the gorgeous building and how different it all looked to modern architectural designs.
To Cinder… this was all too familiar.
These halls… I remember these halls…
Salem approached the door. She looked so small and shy as she held her arms together, but Ozma stood close to her, smiling affectionately. Oscar turned to see Salem watching, with a constantly stern expression. Ozma took a step forward and knocked on the door. "My Lord, your daughter is here."
"Good – please let her in." The Father spoke, and she walked inside, with Ozma beside her. The rest of the Knights entered as well. He held his sword down against the floor, tip of the blade touching the marble floor. He stood at the window. Her father was a large fat man, and he smiled as he looked at her. "My dear! I may finally have a way to free you from your condition!"
"It's not a condition, dad…" Salem sighed sadly.
"My sweet thing, how many times must we have this conversation? The doctors and scientists have all said the same thing – the level of magic you wield is off the known charts. You have too much power in you, a dangerous amount… we have to make you normal." He explained. She gasped.
"Normal?" she questioned.
"People will want to test on you, make our race more powerful than we already are. I have seen the power of magic and I refuse to let it get any stronger. And I will not have my daughter using it either." The Father explained, but Salem narrowed her blue eyes.
"To be like you?" She asked. He stared at her and narrowed his eyes, and he took a step forward. But Ozma and all her Knights gripped their swords, bound to protect her to the end.
"In their time, Magic was seen to be common practice for everyone. Only a few would be born without magic, like her father. However, her mother was another story – she was from a long bloodline of incredibly powerful sorceresses. Such powers were feared by the people and desired by many others." Jinn explained as the scene transformed into blue smoke around them.
"So he tried to remove her magical powers…" Ruby sighed.
"By any means necessary." Jinn answered.
The blue smoke lead to a horrifying scene. Salem stood at her window with wide eyes as a massive army amassed outside the Castle, and she watched as her father was forced to his knees, and was executed brutally by the men outside. Then they blasted all their magic into the castle's walls, blowing it to pieces.
"Fear leads to violence, and the people who dreaded what the Princess could bring tried to kill her. Of course… they underestimated the skill and loyalty of her brave knights." Jinn explained, and she watched fearfully as Ozma and his fellow Knights stood before the army.
The battle raged all night, and despite the thousands of warriors, eight brave Knights held them off, cutting them down and blowing them apart with blades and magic. The Deacon sprinted through them and slashed the knights to pieces whilst the Shogun darted forward with their Katana, slicing through six knights in a single attack, spraying blood everywhere. The Zealot opened her hands, conjuring many blades and blasting them into the attacking raiders, killing them all.
Whilst Ozma slammed his Sceptre down to the ground, blasting powerful volts of magic through the cobblestone, splattering the men and women, or burning them to ash or freezing them solid.
"But Salem could not sit and watch any longer."
Ozma turned and gasped as Salem landed on the ground behind them and she lifted her eyes, and they ignited. Cinder gasped. "It's… like the Maiden Powers…"
Salem joined her Knights as they fought off the attackers, fighting through the night. Salem's power was unmatched, able to command the elements itself, but to a degree that made the magic everyone else possessed appear to be weak and meaningless in comparison. Glyphs formed, and she summoned glowing red clawed hands that slashed down entire platoons, whilst the Executioner jumped high in the air, slamming his axe down into the enemy so hard he was split clean in two.
But the Executioner was the first to fall, getting stabbed through the back and then through the chest by two warriors. He fell to his knees before his head was cut clean from his shoulders.
"No!" Salem screamed.
His body collapsed to the ground, then the Berserker charged forward, using magic to numb himself to pain, and he cut the enemies down one by one, completely unstoppable. Running alongside him was the Spartan, whom threw her shield and rammed her spear straight through three warriors, and she called her shield back with magic. The Zealot used her magic, blasting fire out across the terrain, burning and melting the brutal brigands that tried to hurt their Princess.
Salem yelped in pain as an arrow made it past their defences and hit her in the shoulder. The pain seared and Ozma immediately held her.
The Deacon blocked the next shot, then the Seneschal turned to him. "Get her out of here! We will hold them off!" She commanded.
Ozma stared at his old friend, but she just smiled and nodded.
He ran with Salem, whilst the remaining Knights held their ground, fighting them off until they all fell.
"The Knights fought until they all died, killing thousands of so-called warriors, and the enemy's efforts were all for naught. But some still pursued the Princess… where they would meet a fiery end." Jinn narrated. They watched as Ozma and Salem stumbled through the woods, still being pursued by a few hundred soldiers. She still had the arrow in her shoulder, wincing in pain.
He helped get the arrow out, using his magic to quickly heal her, but he turned, seeing they were getting closer. "Madame Salem… go… I will hold them off." Ozma promised.
"No! No, you fool! Don't do this!" she begged.
"It is my duty, and I will make sure you survive." Ozma promised until she silenced him with a sudden and unexpected kiss on the lips. It was a long and passionate kiss, and he held her tight. It was a long time coming.
Nearly everyone watched the kiss with disbelief, except… for Salem and Ozpin. The two stood in the woods next to each other, watching their old memories, closing their eyes with grief.
Their kiss broke, and they gazed into each other's eyes. "Please… don't do this…"
"I'm sorry…"
He turned and walked towards the many warriors who charged at him, spinning his Sceptre through his fingers. "You will not harm my lady, brigands." He snarled, teeth gritted together. He shot forward and fought them all, killing them one by one. But as he fought, his strength waned, and the enemies cut at him, slashing across his back.
Then one rammed a sword straight through Ozma's stomach, and he blasted the attacker into ash with his magic. He staggered back and gasped, holding his stomach in pain, then turned to the thirty remaining soldiers, who sprinted at him, screaming with fury.
Then they heard it and saw the trees burn. The Brigands stopped and their eyes widened in fear as Salem stood tall, eyes burning fiercely. "YOU'RE ALL GONNA BURN!" Salem roared, and she threw her arms back, creating a devastating explosion of magical power. The blast completely annihilated the woodland, formed from a bolt of lightning that struck down from above. The trees were burned to ash and all that was left of the soldiers were shadows on the floor.
But the blast went further than that. The army at the walls of the castle turned, and they gasped, seeing the flames coming for them. They all screamed in immense pain as the fire devoured them and the dead bodies of her brave knights. The fire scorched the walls of her castle home, turning the once verdant green hills black.
Salem lowered her arms and the fire in her eyes extinguished, stood in the ashes of what was once her home. She exhaled, then turned, revealing the spot where she specifically avoided Ozma, a single patch of green grass remaining. Salem sprinted to Ozma's side and held the back of his head onto her knee. "Just hold on, Ozma! I can… I can…" she stammered, pressing her hands against his wound and using her healing spell on him, but she gasped.
"Why… why isn't it working?" She stammered.
"The knights… their swords were coated in a poison… it blocks healing spells…" He winced.
"No! No…" Salem panted. "Goddamn Witch Hunters…"
"It's… okay Salem… it's okay…"
"No! No!" Salem cried out, pressing her hands against his wound as he bled out. Ruby closed her eyes, grieving for Ozma, and Oscar crouched down beside him. He just bowed his head with sadness for him.
"Go… please… more will be here soon…" Ozma begged her.
"No… I'm not leaving you here." She sniffled, but he caressed her cheek.
"You've always been so stubborn." He chuckled, then he reached over to his Sceptre and shoved it against her chest. "Take it… please…" He begged her.
She stared at the Sceptre and then at him. "Survive… for me… I beg of you…" He softly whimpered, then they heard the distant sound of reinforcements riding in on horseback. "Go…" He asked of her.
As she held him in her arms, she watched as the life fade from his eyes and he breathed his last. "NO!" Salem howled in heartbreak, hugging his corpse in her arms. "No…"
Then the scene changed once again. Blue smoke surrounded them all as the Flashback continued. "A Happily Ever After… that was what Salem had hoped for. That Ozma would be her Knight in Shining Armour, and they'd run away together and be happy. But real life is far less forgiving than those stories."
They saw Salem on her own in many places, her hair even longer and unkempt. Covered in grime, scratches, and bruises. "Salem travelled as far as she could, keeping his Sceptre close. And every night… she asked the same question."
"Why did the gods let this happen to me? What did I do wrong? Why do I deserve this?" Salem snivelled by a campfire in the woods. Pyrrha turned around and saw the two of them stood there. The Brother of Light stood tall and The Brother of Darkness hunched forward like always. Then they all looked up to the sky, as the Sun and the Moon flitted overhead repeatedly, showing how many days passed as Salem wandered alone.
"The Gods – Brothers of Light and Darkness. Creation and Destruction. Every night Salem prayed they would finally answer her call… but no matter what, she was walking to find him." Jinn explained, then they saw Salem finally arrive.
Fields of golden grass stretched out, and the sky was cloudless and pure blue. It was such a beautiful place, and unlike anything they had ever seen. Although the landscape looked strangely similar to Anima to them. Salem was limping. Her old beautiful dress had been torn in places, covered in dirt and hardly even white anymore. Her feet were bleeding, after her fancy shoes had broken from the long walking. She clutched Ozma's Sceptre close to her breast as she walked forward.
"The Domain of Light was a sacred and beautiful place." Jinn said. Pyrrha watched as she approached the shrine where an old carving of the God of Light had been engraved. There were so many flowers and gifts left there. There was so much love here, you could feel it in the air itself. Oscar stood behind Salem as she walked up the steps, leaving bloody footprints behind her.
"It was here where the Elder Brother dwelled beside his fountain of life and creation. It was here where mankind… would fall to ruin. And the beginning for what is Remnant's greatest foe." Jinn stated. Ruby walked with Salem up the steps, and she gasped as she saw the stunning view of the Lake, and the giant gorgeous tree with golden leaves everywhere.
Salem shambled forward, and as Ruby walked, she looked over her shoulder, seeing the Current Salem watching. It made her uncomfortable, knowing that Salem could see all of this.
Yet despite that… Salem still did not even give Ruby a second look.
Salem approached the edge and gasped in tremendous pain, unable to walk any further, but she refused to let go of the Sceptre of her Beloved. She knelt before the lake, then lifted her head. Pyrrha stood beside her, then looked ahead, green eyes widening.
From the water… he rose.
First his glowing gold antlers appeared from the water, and then his whole featureless body emerged, no face, just glowing with bright light. Just as he did whenever she saw him. Pyrrha clenched her hand into a fist.
What did you do?
"You poor wounded thing…" The Brother of Light softly said, holding out his hand to her, and she gasped with a powerful relief. The pain disappeared and her feet were no longer bleeding.
"I… I have walked so far… survived so much pain…" she whimpered, tears dropped from her eyes. "Seen so much evil…"
The Brother of Light listened to her words. "But nothing this world can throw at me hurts more… than losing him. Please… please, I beg of you… bring him back to me! I cannot live in a world without him." She cried.
The Brother of Light stared at her for a few seconds, and although he was allegedly the kinder Brother, the featureless face made him just as unnerving as Darkness. If anything… he creeped Pyrrha out more sometimes.
Then he finally spoke.
"I understand your pain – but you demand of me that which I cannot make so." The Brother of Light explained, then he held out his hands. "Life and Death are part of a delicate balance." He explained, clasping his hands together.
Salem stared at him, and the tears stopped streaming from her eyes, instead were replaced with… disbelief.
"So… you won't do it then?" Salem stammered.
Light's hands tensed while still clasped. "To disrupt the cycle…" His voice became terse.
"So after I came all this way… after everything… you won't give me this one thing?" Salem questioned. She wasn't even staring at him anymore. Light stared right back. "That's not fair… THAT'S NOT FAIR!" Her eyes ignited as she erupted with fury, blasting a massive pulse of fire… but even his golden fields were unaffected by her destructive powers.
He stared her down, then lowered his arms.
"Let. Him. Rest." The Brother of Light warned. The golden petals swirled around her and she was teleported back to his shrine. She stood there alone, grasping the Sceptre even tighter. She stared up at the sky as the sun set.
"No…" she growled.
The setting sun was replaced by the moon, and it was not shattered yet. "The God of Darkness…"
Salem stood before the shadow people on the floor, then her eyes widened. "It took her far longer to track him down, for his domain would change whenever he suited it. Unlike the Brother of Light. And his new home… was scarily familiar." Jinn explained. They watched as Salem walked up the hill, and she saw the rolling hills she burned to ash with her magic. And the old castle she grew up in, still scorched…
… but the land had been transformed in the years since she fled.
It always seemed to be a nighttime with a deep purple sky, and there were these glowing purple crystals protruding from the ground that never used to be there. The Grimm Tar Pits were scattered all over the landscape, and with them the endless roars of the Grimm echoed over the hills.
"With so much death and pain that happened here… Darkness and his Grimm had more than enough raw negative energy soaked in the burnt floor to nourish themselves off." Jinn stated. Salem narrowed her blue eyes and walked down the hill covered in ash towards the largest Tar Pit. It was surrounded by huge rock spikes and had one large cliff face looking over it. Salem could remember there used to be a gorgeous lake here, one that she completely evaporated with that magical blast.
The Grimm watched her as she walked towards the pit, and a Beowulf lunged towards her viciously, only for her to blast it back to the Oblivion of which it crawled from. She completely ignored the surrounding creatures, and they even seemed to fear the power she wielded.
"None ever dared to enter the home of the cruelest god, for the world knew what monstrosities emerged from his blackened pools of annihilation." Jinn explained. Salem stopped before the pit, seeing the melted bones of a knight with a sword rammed through the ribs. Judging by the melted and scorched armour… it was the corpse of the Seneschal. She closed her eyes with grief for her, but walked towards the edge of his pool, staring bravely ahead.
"And so you must understand the Dark Lord's surprise when he found a lonely beautiful woman kneeling before him." Jinn stated. Pyrrha stared ahead, stood beside Salem on her knees.
Pyrrha watched in horror as the Brother of Darkness emerged from the pool of thick black tar. His body, just as she knew him now, rose, but it was nowhere near as elegant as Light's emergence. His torso and head emerged swiftly, with his arms snapping into position. His body stretched like there were no bones, but the snapping sounds seemed to say otherwise, as he bent backwards and stared at her.
But Salem didn't even flinch. She just stared him down.
The Brother of Darkness walked on all fours, and once he approached her, his body snapped upright into a more humanoid shape. "Salem understood it well and told him of her loss. And claimed that only he could be the one to bring back her love… all while careful not to mention his elder."
Pyrrha scoffed.
Feeding his ego…
The Brother of Darkness held out his hand, softly chuckling. "Rise child… and let your faith in me be rewarded." The Brother of Darkness said. He opened his palm and a sphere of glowing purple energy formed in the air. Salem smiled as she watched the Dark Brother's magic at play, and then it burst, dropping a naked Ozma onto the floor. She immediately dropped his Sceptre and rushed to his side, cradling him in her arms. His eyes burst open, and he gasped, grasping at his chest.
"Where am I? WHAT IS THIS? WHERE AM I?" Ozma screamed in terror, looking around at the charred remnants of what was once their home. Seeing the glowing red eyes of Grimm all staring him down, licking their jaws and growling.
But Salem gently lifted him up, hugging him.
"It's okay! Everything's going to be okay!" She laughed with joy until a blinding light made her stare up at the top of the hill as she walked down.
And there he stood.
The Brother of Light.
"What have you done?" The Brother of Light growled. Salem held Ozma close as she saw the Brother of Darkness walk forward.
"I have done what I please, brother. You may bask in the powers of creation, but you do not own them." The Brother of Darkness stated.
"This is not creation." He sounded disgusted as he gestured at the reincarnated man.
"Do not lecture me!" The Brother of Darkness yelled, and his Grimm all turned to the Brother of Light, snarling as they prowled towards him.
"I will do what I must to maintain order." He said, holding out his hand to Ozma and waving him aside. Salem stared into his eyes as he looked up at her.
"Salem?" He gasped, before crumbling into dust in her hands.
"NO! NOOO! What did you do? BRING HIM BACK!" Salem screamed.
"You dare enter my domain and show such disrespect?" His voice darkened as his horns grew.
Like a child, Darkness swung his hand and resurrected Ozma once again. "Ozma!" Salem cried out with relief.
"I am abiding by the rules that we agreed upon!" The Brother of Light, his shadowy brother sinisterly laughed at his words. The two Gods walked towards each other, fists clenched as they transformed.
"Rules I see now ever work in your favour." Wings sprouted from Darkness' back, those of a dragon. "And yet, the day comes a mortal comes to pray at my feet before your own? So do you arrive to lay your judgement upon me!" Darkness roared, transforming into a horrifying four legged Dragon, with the head resembling that of a Ram's Skull. He roared hauntingly at the Brother of Light, who just stared him down.
The Grimm all leapt at the Brother, but a blinding white light erupted from his body, vaporising the Grimm instantly. As the light faded, the Brother of Light had formed into a giant Wyrm, glowing with magnificent white light and.
"I know we have our differences, but I did not come here with the aim to control you. The same, however, cannot be said for her. This woman came to you only after I denied her pleas. Pleas that would have disrupted the balance that you and I created… together." The Brother of Light explained.
Darkness stood there, staring down at Salem, then he sighed, looking back up at his Elder Brother. "Then it seems I owe you an apology… allow me to correct my mistake." Salem gasped and wrapped her arms around Ozma, and the Brother of Darkness blasted purple fire over her and Ozma. She closed her eyes, awaiting the end… but no end came, and there was no pain.
But the weight of her love was gone… and when her eyes opened, she found nothing but ashes drifting away from her fingers. "No… you monsters! Have I not been robbed of everything already? Have you not punished me enough for being born the way I was?" Salem roared at the two Gods, who stared her down. "He was the one thing I ever had!"
She tightened her hands into fists and suddenly screamed with undying fury, creating the same nuclear blast that she created here before, but it did not last for long, as the Brother of Light cut her short. He swung his tail around and smacked her across the domain, crashing into the wall.
The Serpentine Dragon flew swiftly towards her whilst Darkness landed beside her. His icy breath made her shudder, but she fearlessly stared back at them. Light leaned down towards her. His voice was much darker and more intimidating now in his authentic form, and he growled deeply. "You should be punished for your transgressions against us… but we will not, for the very reasons you have listed."
"We will not?" Darkness questioned, sounding disappointed.
"No… you will walk free of this place and will move on with your life. But do not cross us again – we will not be as forgiving if you do." The Brother of Light warned. Fading away, Darkness snarled and turned away from her, walking into the shadows.
Salem laid in the rubble and stared up at the sky, tears streaming from her eyes.
"Once again… after so much effort, and after being so close – Salem walked away with nothing." Jinn explained. "And yet, holding him in her arms? It proved something to her… it could be done. Death did not have to be the end, and she could still have him back. And she would never give up."
Pyrrha watched her, seeing parts of herself in the way she was so desperate to bring the man she loved back from death itself. She turned and saw Salem watching her past actions. They watched as memories unfolded as Salem broke into the libraries of so many kingdoms around the world. Breaking into the Forbidden Magics areas where only the best Magicians could go.
And she found them… old tomes with magical spells, with abilities the Gods forbade.
"You must understand… when the Brother of Darkness gifted magic to humanity, it meant they could use any spell. But the Gods put in place their rules, and the people followed those rules meticulously. But Salem… she knew they were fallible. She turned them against each other. Their rules did not have to govern her life… and she would never give up on Ozma. Not when they had so much more life to spend with each other."
The memories shifted, and Oscar gasped in horror.
He watched as Salem strapped a grown man to a bed, and she held a knife over his chest, chanting in dark words. More and more she looked like the Witch the world painted her as and even sounded as one too. "Salem became fascinated by the Dark Arts of Magic, after seeing what Darkness could do? She wanted the same power… she needed him back in her life. No matter the cost… no matter how horrific or bloody the methods are."
She stabbed him in the chest, cutting his cavity open as he shrieked in unending agony, using the blood to paint the markings she needed, and ripping out his heart. Using the blood within the organ, she oozed it over the floor, making the mark she needed to complete the spell.
Penny looked away, horrified by what she just witnessed. Cinder stared at Salem though… like she was not surprised by what she was seeing. In fact, this was the first time she saw Salem look familiar to what she knew.
She held out her hands, and her eyes turned black, and dark purple energy swirled all around her. The blood on the walls and the body on the table ignited, and the flames burned bright. The fire turned into purple energy, swirling into a ball before her, identical to the spell that the Brother of Darkness cast last time. And then, as she held it over the bed, she opened her hand.
She dropped to one knee, as the act took a lot of energy out of her… but as she lifted her head… she gasped. "After so many fruitless attempts…" Jinn said. Salem smiled. "There he was…"
Ozma laid naked on the bed, and his eyes slowly opened. She swiftly climbed onto the bed and lifted him onto her knee and affectionately caressed his cheek. "Salem?" He gasped, looking around. "W-Where…"
"It's okay… I promise you… it's okay." She whispered, before lovingly kissing him.
"Finally… she saved the man she loved."
"How is this possible?" Ozma asked her. She smiled as she caressed his cheek. "It's… been a long time since I lost you. But I never gave up… I never could. I have done… bad things… but I had to do them to save you… it was unfair what happened to us. But now… now… you and I can have what we always wanted to share." Salem smiled, and he smiled back, and they shared a long and passionate kiss together.
"But their joy… was short-lived." Jinn spoke. She turned when she heard the crackle of lightning. It was not normal.
"Stay here." Salem requested, and she stood up from the bed. He looked over and saw some clothes she got for him, but she opened the door and walked outside.
The house she had been living in was a small cabin in the mountains, and she looked around. The wind had picked up, and there was a chill in the air. Ruby watched as the clouds parted, and the massive Glowing Wyrm descended from above, roaring across the mountains.
It was here that Salem had a good scale of who she had angered.
The Brother of Light soared over the massive Anima Mountains, and landed on the peak of the closest one, and he was colossally large, creating an earthquake from his landing. His huge serpentine body slivered and wrapped around the vast mountain range in the distance.
She turned as the sky darkened behind her, and the huge Dragon of Darkness descended, and landed severely on the mountain right behind her, dragging his claws through the rocks. His huge black wings extended outwards, growling deeply.
The Brother of Light stared at her, his silver eyes narrowing. "I know what you did." The Brother of Light stated, sounding disgusted.
Salem narrowed her eyes, clenching her hands into fists. "You refused to give me what I asked… so I did it myself." Salem stated.
"You have committed crimes of the worst magnitude. You have sacrificed the life of an innocent man to save someone who died many years ago from a fate that was already decided. Such foul magic… it is not what we desired for mankind." The Brother of Light explained as he walked across the mountains, huge massive claws easily shearing through the rocks.
"Humans slaughter each other in droves, burn castles and innocents alive for their own enjoyment. Yet you judge me for doing what I had to do to save someone I loved?" Salem questioned.
"You are meddling with the Balance of Life and Death! You cannot even begin to comprehend the dangers of such acts." The Brother of Light yelled, his voice was deafening, even causing avalanches.
"I deemed the risk to be worth it. You wouldn't understand… you're a god… you have all the time in the world. But I don't… and I cannot spend another second in this world without him." Salem explained.
The Brother of Darkness finally spoke up, in the form of a haunting laugh. She looked over her shoulder, then the Brother smashed her cabin apart with his tail, revealing Ozma within. He was already dressed, though, and was approaching the door, anyway. He stared at the two Gods and sighed.
"Ozma…"
"Ah, there he is… the abomination that cowers inside." The Brother of Darkness snarled viciously.
"No… coward…" Ozma winced, still struggling to walk after being brought back from the Afterlife like that. "I was never gonna stay in there."
"Ozma… please…" Salem begged.
"We gave you a chance last time for your transgressions… but this? This cannot go unpunished." The Brother of Light stated.
"Try to understand!" She yelled. The Brother of Light slightly tilted his head. "Before I met him… I had nothing in this world! Nothing! I was just some poor girl born with more power than she deserved… and everyone hated me for it. But I never wanted to hurt a soul… but my father continuously had doctors prod away at me. Try to take away the gifts I was born with… can you imagine how much I loathed myself?" Salem questioned to the two Gods who listened to her words.
Ozma stood behind her, and she smiled. A tear streamed down her face. "But then Ozma came into my life… and the second I met him… I finally felt alive. He would always bravely be by my side, always help me… and when I was lonely… he made me happy. He's Noble and True."
The Gods of Light and Darkness growled slightly as they narrowed their eyes, listening. But Ozma's eyes widened at her words. "When we first met, I wanted to end my life, but without knowing anything about me… he spent an entire day with me, just to make me happy. And he made me happy every single day since then. He's smart, and kind, and brave… and he's the love of my life. And always will be." Salem told.
Ozma smiled with pure love in his eyes, and they both held hands together, staring at the two gods. "So please… do not take away the one thing I have left." She begged.
Silence filled the Mountains…
… until the Brother of Darkness' heartless demonic laugh filled the peaks. The huge Dragon lifted his head through the clouds as he laughed, then stared down at them. "Is that all?"
Pyrrha's eyes widened when she heard him say that.
"You heartless bastards…" Pyrrha snarled.
"The Balance of Life and Death will not be dishonoured. Not by anyone." The Brother of Light snarled. Neither cared for a word Salem said. She gritted her teeth and channelled all her magical power into her fists, only for the Brother of Light to blast a bolt of lightning into a side. The blast threw her across the rocks and against the wall.
Ozma stared at her… and he just smiled.
"I love you, Sal-" Before he could finish, Darkness blasted a pillar of purple fire down upon him, and she watched in heartbreak as he shrieked in immense agony, his body slowly crumbling away into ashes, leaving his skeleton behind, which eventually crumbled away too.
"NO! YOU MONSTERS!" Salem bellowed, immediately blasting up into the air and firing everything she had into the side of Darkness' head. The magical power knocked him to the side, but did hardly anything.
She turned and gasped, seeing the Brother of Light's jaws opening towards her.
Suddenly she was falling, tears dripped from her eyes as she gasped. She turned as she plummeted, screaming and crashing down into the Fountain of Creation. She floated to the bottom and just accepted it, closing her eyes, wanting nothing but the icy hands of death to take her.
What else could she lose?
Abruptly, she was suddenly on the surface of the water, and it felt like solid ground. She spluttered water, then looked ahead to see the Brothers Grimm in their Humanoid Forms before her.
"When you first came to me… I did pity you…" The Brother of Light spoke. She stared at him with hatred in her eyes. "But it is clear that your selfishness and arrogance have led you astray."
Then… she felt… different… her body felt completely alien to her, like she was someone else entirely. But when she looked at her reflection, she still saw her same beautiful face, and it was all the same… except for the strange alien aura that surrounded her body that shimmered faintly. "What did you do to me?" She gasped.
"I have made you Immortal." The Brother of Light answered.
"Immortal?" Salem questioned, her voice shaking.
"You cannot die. You cannot be with your beloved." The Brother of Darkness clarified.
Then they both spoke in unison. "So long as this world turns, you shall walk its face."
She tightened her hand into a fist in anger.
"You must understand the importance of life and death… only then may you rest." The Brother of Light stated, but Salem roared in hatred, blasting towards him, swinging her fist forward.
Only to suddenly be in a field, in the middle of nowhere.
She dropped to her knees and buried her head in her hands, sobbing over the loss of her love once again.
And now… the Gods have taken the ability to join him away too.
What more could they take from her?
"Salem was a prisoner once again." Jinn stated. Ruby looked at Salem with sadness in her silver eyes, then looked at the Current Version who was watching all these events over again. The hatred in her eyes… it was quite frightening… but she knew who that hate was directed at. "Her fruitless attempts to reunite with Ozma, became nothing more than acts of defiance against the gods." Jinn narrated, and Penny watched in shock as Salem rammed a sword straight through her heart.
She gasped, covering her face, looking away.
Salem ripped the sword out, stained in her own blood… but she didn't care. She walked to the window of the house she was in, staring at the land. "And defiance? Well, it was not enough… and soon it changed into hatred."
Salem tightened her grip on the sword. "The Gods are so determined to preserve the Balance of Life and Death? Well, how about they experience the latter?" Salem yelled in rage, throwing her sword directly at Ruby. She rolled out of the way, only to see the blade turn into smoke.
"Salem desired nothing more than revenge, a desire to cut the gods down. She already had immense power and now had the advantage of being unable to die. The two combined made her deadly – but she knew she could not do it alone." Jinn explained, and Ozpin bowed his head in grief.
The memories continued on, showing Salem meeting with the very Kings and Queens who put the bounties on her head for her existence. "Salem travelled to every Kingdom across Remnant. Telling tales of how she stole the power of immortality from the Gods, welcomed any swordsman to cut her down. And demonstrated the reach of her powers. With those who desired her death in awe, she pulled them deeper and deeper into her scheme. She painted them pictures of a world where they would no longer have to watch their loved ones wither and die. That they could claim the powers of their creators for themselves and in turn perfect their own design." Jinn narrated, and they watched as every single Kingdom followed Salem.
The largest horde of soldiers all came charging toward the Brother of Light's domain, roaring with fury as they charged up the stone stairs. "All they had to do… was help her cut down their old masters."
The vast army charged towards the lake, and that was when the Brother of Light burst from the water, hissing down at them, glowing fiercely brightly. And the Brother of Darkness landed in front of them, roaring so loud they covered their ears. Although, they did not back down.
"The Gods had hoped that Salem would have learned from her eternal curse… and she did…" Jinn said. "She learned that the hearts of men are easily swayed."
"Who has led you down this path?" The Brother of Light questioned the Humans.
Salem walked through the army, staring up at them, and Darkness snarled with anger at her. "You!" He barked, roaring at her. Salem's eyes burned bright, and she fired the first shot, then the entire army followed. Shooting every arrow and magical spell they had. But the arrows just snapped off their celestial bodies, and the Brother of Darkness opened his hand, catching all the magic and snatching it away from them all.
Everyone stared up at him with fear, desperately trying to use the magic they were so used to using.
"My own gift, to them? Used against me?" The Brother of Darkness growled, and Light sighed, looking away. He held the ball of pure Magic in his palm, then crushed it, creating a devastating blast of destructive energy. The blast wrapped around Remnant in seconds, burning every single Human into ash, leaving only their ruins behind… and their ashes.
Salem's body shone faintly, and she gasped, looking at the ashes. "No… no…"
Darkness slammed his foot down at her. The impact blew her across the floor. "You thought there was no greater punishment we could bestow upon you?"
"I'll come back! I'll bring more warriors. They will flock to kill you after this massacre!" Salem yelled, but that laugh the Brother of Darkness uttered returned.
"You do not understand… there is no one left." The Brother of Darkness stated, his huge Dragon Head looking her dead in the eyes. Salem's eyes widened as soon as she realised what just happened. "You… are all that remains of humanity."
The Brother of Light sighed. "Look what you have done, Salem… this planet was a beautiful experiment. But it is merely a Remnant of what it once was. We will learn from this failure. I hope you will learn from yours." The Brother of Light said as he faded away.
"No… No, don't you dare! Don't you leave! COME BACK!" Salem roared. The Brother of Darkness scoffed at her efforts.
"Still demanding things of your creators?" He said, before blasting up into the sky.
Salem was left alone, with nothing but a Full Moon watching over her, and she could do nothing but howl with defeat.
"Once again… Salem was alone…"
The blue smoke revealed Salem walking aimlessly through the ruins of what was once her people's civilisation. Only wildlife and the Grimm remained, echoes of the Brothers' Grimm. "She cursed the gods, she cursed the universe, she cursed everything… everything but herself."
As Salem watched these events, she gritted her teeth in anger.
"She wandered the face of the planet awaiting a death that would never come… until finally… her travels brought her back to the Valley of Darkness… to what was once her home." Jinn explained, and they all watched as Salem stood over the Tar Pit the Brother of Darkness emerged from. And with the Brother of Darkness gone, this would be the final location of his Domain… the same location that it was at to this very day.
Evernight.
"This was it… this had to be it…" Jinn said, as bubbles of black tar rose and burst from its surface. "The Brothers' Grimm, the Pools of Black, that continued to give rise to horrific nightmares. If the Fountain of Creation granted Salem immortality, then surely the Pools of Grimm would finally take it away?"
Salem closed her eyes… and let herself drop into the tar, crashing into it.
She sunk slowly, awaiting an end… only for something else.
"She was wrong."
Unknown forces of unending destruction attacked her in the darkness, slashing across her body, trying to burn, consume, crush… any form of destruction. "This force of pure destruction could not destroy a being of infinite life."
From the tar, Salem's hand burst free, pale white, and it dug down into the stone. "Instead, it created a being of Infinite Life with a Desire for Pure Destruction."
Salem clambered from the pit, and stared up, with endless fury on her face… and her beautiful blue eyes, replaced with blood red ones, and her sclera turned black. And hair turned white like her skin.
In that moment… the Salem they knew was born.
The Dark Queen was forged.
"And in time… she would find her adversary…"
Author Note - I can't believe I actually intended for this to be one chapter at first XD
So of course, I wanted to keep this kinda familiar to the canon - because that backstory is incredible and I love it - but of course I have been putting the Eclipse twists in there. Making it a bit more messed up too, especially with Ozma. Poor guy, the way Salem lost him was so sad, and of course she is way more powerful in this story too. But writing the Gods this way was awesome too, I think my favourite moment is when they confront her after she uses Dark Magic to revive him.
The scale of the Gods is just epic. Always pictured that moment in my head.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Next part of this will be focused on Ozma! Please review, follow and favourite!
Stay tuned for the next chapter
- Matt