RWBY: Dual Eclipse
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
Scene Change
Chapter 17: Revelations, Part 2
"Hm, this ought to be more than enough." Back at the site of Merlot's former island hideaway, the man with the mustache had returned for one last salvage attempt. More of Merlot's computer systems had been reclaimed, and with them he headed back to the Bullhead, placing the components in a secured container.
"Might need Hazel to come with me for the rest." The interior was more or less close to carrying capacity with just the computer equipment... it'd be multiple trips more to gather up anything else of value.
Double-checking to make certain everything was securely in place, he got into the pilot's seat and started the aircraft up. Within seconds he was up and off towards the place designated as headquarters.
Ozpin's Heart
Unknown Time
"Wait a damn minute!" Qrow exclaimed. "That was Salem?! She looks nothing like what Oz showed us about her!"
Glynda remembered all too well what Salem was supposed to look like, but the difference between this memory and what she knew was quite the contrast.
"Here." The surroundings faded away, to show a small collection of different memories as Ozma touched the jewel upon his staff to the wall.
"After escaping that kingdom, Salem and I went on a myriad of adventures to various places across the land, righting any known wrongs and generally seeing what else the world had to offer... were this any other tale it'd simply end with us fading into myth... but things are never that simple."
A new memory cropped up. Ozma and Salem were checking through a desert town on the western coast, but Ozma slowed slightly, looking out of breath. When Salem voiced her concern, he waved it off as being slightly winded, quickly catching up with her.
The truth turned out to be worse. As Ozma went to check in at a small traveler's hotel a few hours later as the sun was beginning to set, he suddenly crumpled, a hand going to his chest in panic as pain shot through his torso. Salem was at his side at a moment's notice.
"What I had learned too late was that a new plague had been sweeping the region, a deadly disease that cannibalized the heart and lungs of its victims. It felt as though you were being slowly devoured from the inside-out, a fate far worse than what any Grimm could do to you."
Ozma was laid up in bed in a local clinic, his pained expression saying everything about his condition. Salem refused to move from his side, even when it seemed likely she could've caught the same virus from him. She held onto his hand until the very end. He wanted to say something, anything, but it was taking everything he had and then some to stay conscious.
Tears were flowing down Salem's face... the last visage he would see as his life expired. The memory quickly faded from view.
"Sadly, for all of the doctor's best efforts, the virus won out, and I perished... but what happened next was still one of the most frightening experiences I ever had, something I wouldn't wish on even my worst foe."
The next time Ozma opened his eyes, it was with a sharp gasp and intake of air... air he had not breathed in so long. The world that faded into view seemed bleak, devoid of life, and not even the sight of his beloved Salem could keep the panic from welling up. Jagged violet crystals rose up from the earth, many creatures of Grimm were keeping their distance, and a foul stench permeated. The skies above were in permanent overcast, and not even the sun had the power to pierce through the clouds.
"Where am I!? What is this - Where am I-" A clearly terrified Ozma jerked about in abject shock, not quite able to comprehend where or when he was. There was some kind of violet-colored humanoid, whom appeared to be made of darkness, with curled horns coming from its temples standing a small ways away, which only served to further aggravate his growing uncertainty.
"Who the..." James felt his hair stand on end just looking at this memory of the horned humanoid. Qrow, however, was trying to think of where he had heard of something fitting that being's description... it was a dead-ringer for a rumor he had heard in passing.
"It's OK." Salem did her best to reassure Ozma as she helped him sit up. "Everything's going to be OK."
"Sadly... things got worse." Ozma narrated, a tone of regret in his words.
A loud thunder-esque rumbling was heard as a new figure could be seen at the top of the stairs leading into this location. As a sharp contrast to the being that appeared to be made of darkness, this humanoid appeared to be made of light, and had antlers growing from its forehead.
"What have you done?" The being of light spoke in a controlled tone, only keeping some manner of disgust from reaching its words.
"I have done what I please, brother." The being of darkness simply said, approaching the being of light. "You may bask in the powers of creation, but you do not own them."
"This... is not creation."
"Do NOT lecture me!" The darkness being's voice dropped multiple octaves as the Grimm grew agitated, many actively starting to consider encroaching upon the being of light. From the stance taken, the being of darkness was more than prepared to attack the other.
"I will do what I must, to maintain order." The light being's arm went up, and it outstretched its palm towards Ozma, whose vision immediately began to fade as a glow surrounded him... as did the view of everyone else.
Only, a few seconds later, he found himself back in Salem's lap, the view of the surrounding world snapping back into focus. Before he even had a chance to realize what was going on...
"I am abiding by the rules we agreed upon." The being of light continued... at least, from Ozma's point of view. Its tone was steely and controlled, but only less so than before. What did they miss?
"Rules that I now see work ever in your favor." The darkness being stomped towards his brother, his body beginning to contort in frankly horrifying ways as the horns became more pronounced and tattered, batlike wings began to sprout from its back. "And yet the day a mortal comes to pray at my feet before your own-" As his hands hit the ground, he became shrouded in a veil of dark mist, "-so do you arrive to lay your judgment upon me!"
The darkness being had transformed himself into a large quadrupedal dragon, a sight of which had the outside viewers feeling particularly on-edge. Nelius in particular had to stop himself from sliding into his usual fighting stance, reminding himself that this was a memory.
With a single roar, the draconic being commanded the Grimm to attack.
The Grimm leapt forward, intent on devouring the being of light, but with a simple flash all of the Grimm in the area vanished into nothingness, as the being of light revealed himself to be a large dragon as well, but in another contrast to his brother, he had taken the form of a serpentine-style dragon whilst retaining the antlers. His eyes could be faintly seen glinting with an almost metallic sheen as he regarded his brother.
'Wait, was that...' Epsilon had to do a double-take, apparently seeing something.
"I know we have our differences, but I have not come here with the aim to control you." The light dragon spoke with a calm, even tone. "The same, however, cannot be said for her. This woman only came to you after I denied her pleas."
'...she tried to play these two?' Nelius was fast catching onto something.
"Pleas that would have disrupted the balance that you and I created... together."
"...then it seems I owe you an apology. Allow me to correct my mistake." With a massive blast of dark energy from his mouth, Ozma was rendered no more, the memory fading just as quickly before sending everyone back into the tower that once held Salem captive.
"...holy shit." Qrow had been nearly speechless. At first he wanted to ask just what the hell they were, but then it clicked. "Ozma... those were the Two Brothers, weren't they?"
"Indeed they are, Mr. Branwen." Ozma affirmed.
"The Two Brothers, governing Creation and Destruction respectively?" James spoke up. "I'd heard of a few people speaking about them from time to time, but I believed it to be mere superstition at worst."
"First time I've ever heard of these two. What's their story?" Nelius addressed Ozma. 'Seems Remnant has even more mysteries that were buried over the ages.'
"The being of light is the God of Creation, and the being of darkness, the God of Destruction. Creation filled this world with beings of life and prosperity. Destruction, rather predictably, was disgusted by his older brother's work, and so would spend his time trying to destroy it all with plagues, fire, and other methods, but life always seemed to find its way. In an effort to finally turn the tide in his favor, Destruction created the creatures of Grimm to aid him in destroying all of Creation's work."
'Great, just what I needed to find - another dispute between deities.'
"To finally bring their feud to an end, Creation proposed they both bring into this world beings capable of both creation and destruction, able to gain knowledge and make their own choices."
"Lemme guess, humanity?"
"Precisely, Mr. Raoul."
'And there it is.'
"To think, such belief had a tangible origin and real history behind it." Ironwood mulled over this, but then a thought crossed his mind. "Hold on. If they are real, then why have they not shown themselves to anyone?"
"That was something I wouldn't learn for the longest time." Ozma admitted. "Some time after my erasure by the God of Destruction, whether it was weeks or years I know not, the God of Creation approached me with an offer."
With a tap of his staff upon the floor, the world once again went white, as the memory of a now armor-less Ozma wandered without purpose. No matter where he looked, everything was the same white void.
"Ozma." The being of light, now identified as the Creation God, appeared before the wandering warrior, reverting from his draconic appearance to its humanoid form.
"Where... am I?"
"We are between realms." The Creation God folded its arms in front of itself. "I'm afraid a... tragedy, has befallen your home at the hands of my brother. We have chosen to depart this world... but in our absence I would like to offer you the chance to return to it."
"I... don't understand. Why?"
"And rightfully so I didn't understand at the time..." Ozma narrated. "After a revival, destruction, and then a repeat I had come to know that undoing death was explicitly forbidden."
'When it comes to natural deaths, maybe...' Nelius thought to himself.
"Mankind is no more." The god explained, something that hit the memory viewers native to Remnant like something akin to a punch to the chest. "Yet your world remains, and in time your kind will grow to walk its face once again. However, without our presence they will be but a fraction of what they once were."
The God held out its hands, and at once four familiar objects began to appear.
"Creation-" An ornate staff appeared, one that made James' eyes widen with recognition.
"Destruction-" A sword appeared next, one with a lovingly crafted cross-guard.
"Choice-" A wondrous crown faded into existence afterwards...
"...and Knowledge." Finally, a large lantern-shaped lamp was formed.
"These were the ideals upon which Humanity was made. Now, I leave them behind with the hope that you may learn to remake yourselves."
The four objects were combined into a glowing ball of light.
"When these are brought together, these four Relics will summon my brother and I back to your world... and humanity will be judged."
Ozma was only now beginning to understand the ramifications of taking this offer.
"If your kind has learned to live in harmony with one another and set aside their differences, then we shall once again live among you... and humanity will be made whole again... but if your kind is unchanged, demanding our blessings while still fighting among yourselves... then man will be found irredeemable and your world will be wiped from existence."
The memory viewers felt their blood run cold upon hearing this ultimatum in full.
'Something ain't right about this deal. That bastard's hiding something.' Nelius narrowed his eye as he thought about this ultimatum.
"Until your task is complete, you will reincarnate... but in a manner ensuring you are never alone." It was about ten seconds before Ozma responded.
"I apologize, but... that kind of world just isn't as dear to me without her." Ozma admitted, his gaze on his own feet. "If I may, I'd rather return to the afterlife to see Salem."
"You will not find her there." These six words sent a shock to Ozma, whose head immediately snapped up to look at Creation.
"You mean... she isn't gone?" He could barely believe what he was hearing.
"Salem lives... but the woman you hold dear in your memories is gone. Heed this warning - where you seek comfort, you will only find pain."
"At that time..." Ozpin's voice finally broke the silence, and everyone turned their attention to see the normally unflappable Headmaster looking... vulnerable, broken, a completely marked change from how they had known him. "I had foolishly imagined that Salem too had reincarnated, and even if she lacked the memories of those times gone by I wanted to see her once more... it was through such folly that I accepted the God of Creation's offer."
"Very well. Our creation rests within your hands." With the offer accepted, Creation worked its powers to begin the process.
"Then, I was reborn." Ozpin finally managed to choke up. "But it was not in a manner that I had imagined. When my consciousness came to..."
The memory shifted to a wooded area at night. A white-haired man in a white tanktop and brown pants was holding a pitchfork in his gloved hands, having just used the farming tool to impale a now dissolving Grimm in its chest. Ozma's consciousness awoke within this man, and he had little time to adjust to his situation.
A nearby village was awash in flames, its inhabitants forced to flee into the night from the attacking Grimm.
One of the villagers was trying to fend off a Beowolf with a sword, but the Grimm proved much stronger, knocking the man down and disarming him of his weapon. It was preparing to move in for the kill...
Almost immediately Ozma found himself in control of the man's body, and he ran forward, grabbing the blade, and with two quick slashes and a thrust through its chest, the Grimm lay dead at the blade's end, dissolving away.
"It was a world I was a stranger to." Ozpin picked up as the memory showed his new incarnation walking through a ramshackle city unfamiliar to himself. "The cities were foreign, its inhabitants completely different from what I had known, and alongside humanity there was now the Faunus."
To that end, multiple Faunus were seen locked up in cages. Some looked to be without hope, others were set with a glare upon their faces, whilst a sparse few were trying to find a way to break free.
'Did the Creation God make them as well?' Epsilon was more curious than anything. 'Or did something in this new wave of humanity meet a major hiccup and integrate animal DNA into itself?'
Multi-colored crystals were on sale at one particular vendor stall.. they looked suspiciously like earlier variants of modern-day Dust Crystals, but also rather unrefined, as though they had been freshly mined.
"With the gods long gone, magic was a lost art to all but two people... myself, and someone they called The Witch."
At the outskirts of a far different town, there was a small cottage that looked plainly kept, its front window boarded up.
"Rumors had circulated through the years about an intensely pale woman residing alone in a small cottage, being occasionally seen through a window at times. She was said to command frightening powers, and all who dared to approach were violently rebuffed. Against my better judgment I went to see this Witch, believing it to be Salem... I wanted to see what had become of her, in this new world."
Ozma plucked up his courage and approached the cottage. The front door opened when he was several feet away from it... and out walked a woman with alabaster-colored skin and hair in a black outfit lined with red trim. Piercing red eyes upon black sclerae were set in a glare, a glare that immediately began to soften as she took in the features of this visitor... with realization coming to the forefront for them both.
'That's a rather drastic change... what made her go so pale?' Epsilon was reviewing everything they'd learned up to this point. There was a whole other side to this story.
Beacon Academy
12:58 P.M.
"Hmm... Professor Goodwitch isn't here." A violet-haired exchange student from Atlas shifted with a bit of nervousness, not quite used to waiting for the instructor to show up.
Several students were waiting for Goodwitch to show up, as Combat Instruction was soon to begin.
"You think she's out sick?" Another student dressed in white idly asked.
"No way. My cousin's been here two years longer than I have, and he's never seen Goodwitch get sick or call off a class. Maybe she's running late."
"Late? Her?" One other student only barely held back a snort. "It'd have to take one hell of a miracle for that to happen."
"All right, settle down students!" The voice of Professor - erm, Doctor Oobleck caught the class's attention. "As Miss Goodwitch is tied up with other matters at the moment, I will be substituting for this class." Almost immediately there were several voices of protest.
"Now - go get changed and meet me on the floor." He took one final sip of coffee from his thermos, before it expanded into a wicked-looking flamethrower hybrid, which surprised the many first-year students that were more familiar with him as being the rambling History Professor.
Maybe today's Combat Class wouldn't suck after all.
Ozpin's Heart
Unknown Time
"Over time, as we reconnected, we shared our respective stories of how we came to be on this world, but neither of us revealed the whole truth, too caught up in our own bliss of reuniting. Salem had blamed the former world's end on the Gods, whilst I kept my task and the Relics a secret. That conversation still played in my mind... despite my happiness, humanity was as divided as ever."
"Are you surprised?" Salem told Ozma as they shared a drink inside the fixed-up cottage. "This world is literally godless. These humans have nobody to guide them. Perhaps... that's all they need."
"..are you implying-"
"We could become the gods of this world. Our powers surpass all others, our souls transcend death. We can mold these lands into whatever we choose... whatever you choose."
Ozma had to think on this, but Salem continued speaking.
"We could create the paradise that the old gods could never make." She placed a hand on his shoulder, to act as a reinforcement to her reassuring gaze.
"The hearts of men are easily swayed... and I was no different." Ozpin finally admitted. "Salem's idea was infectious, and soon I found myself at her side, playing God and Goddess to this world..."
At a town besieged by a large Nevermore, the avian Grimm was surrounded in a field of energy, and forcefully contorted into a shape resembling a sphere before being crushed and dissolving away.
Ozma and Salem floated high above, hands interlocked. The people of the town were shocked by the Grimm's sudden destruction, amazed at the powers these two wielded... amazement which soon turned to reverence.
A following quickly amassed behind the pair as they traveled the now godless lands and brought many to their side, and not long afterwards a prosperous Kingdom was soon erected with the pair unanimously considered King and Queen.
News a few years later would confirm Ozma and Salem had four daughters.
James couldn't help but feel as though he had seen these girls somewhere before.
"But even as the Kingdom prospered and we expanded, something in the back of my mind told me... this wasn't right." Ozpin spoke back up as the memory began to play out. "I wanted to bring humanity together, but in a manner like this..."
Salem was making use of a glass sphere to see her people fighting against those from another kingdom. The battle, if it could be called such, was turning ever so in their favor as the other kingdom racked up heavy losses.
"Are we certain this is right?" Ozma spoke up, looking out one of the windows of their office.
"You said we must unite humanity." Salem responded without a care. "This is the best method - spread our word, and take down those that would deny us."
Ozma felt his resolve wavering even more so. A little voice in the back of his mind practially shouted at him, asking what the hell he was doing.
"This isn't what he asked of me..." He muttered to himself, but not low enough that Salem couldn't hear it.
"What did you say?" She looked over to him, curious as to what he just said. Before he could answer, the doors to the chamber opened up, and their blonde-haired daughter, clad in cerulean colors, burst in with a look of pure excitement upon her face.
"Mother, father, look!" Within her hands, multi-colored sparks encircled them. Magic.
"What was supposed to be our joyous occasion, our child showing the promise of magic, was cut short. My own guilt weighing upon me, I told Salem everything about the God of Creation's offer... to reunite humanity, and use the Relics to bring them back to judge us."
"It doesn't matter anymore." Salem dismissed the explanation. "Don't you see? Why bother spending our lives redeeming these humans... when we could replace them with what they could never be?"
"Replace humanity..." James had questions as to how that would've been possible. "Was she intending to breed magic back into them?"
"Sounds more like her plan was to take out dissidents and put her own people there." Epsilon noted. "But... would she be so callous as to use her own daughters for that purpose?"
"That night, I tried sneaking our daughters out, finally realizing the true extent of Creation's warning... but Salem caught me in the act."
"Mommy?" One of the children, clad in green and with a slightly darker complexion than her sisters, caught sight of Salem, whom looked none too pleased about what she saw.
Without warning, she launched an orb of red energy at Ozma, whom was forced to counter with a blast from his staff. The two former lovers did battle, mixing magic with melee strikes. The magical backwash gouged out immense holes into the castle from within, and despite Ozma's best attempts at herding the girls away from the battle, they too found themselves caught within the crossfire.
Glynda's heart sank as the daughter clad in pink screamed in utter terror upon finding a chunk of the ceiling crashing down upon her with no way to escape. Death was a known factor on the battlefield, especially against the Grimm, but this... nobody deserved this, especially ones so young.
At the end of it all, Ozma was on the ground, trying to use his arms to crawl to relative safety. One of the attacks from his now former wife had caused some of his ribs to crush his lungs, and he knew that the Grimm would soon be here to capitalize on the aggression. Both of his legs were out of commission, and if the Grimm didn't get to him, the bleeding likely would. There was an old injury kit he kept within the living quarters that he could use.
However, this plan was short-lived, as Salem suddenly appeared, kicking Ozma onto his back, and then stomped on his chest, a glare almost permanently set into her face.
"We finally had freedom." Before Ozma could reply, she incinerated him, cutting the memory short.
'She just regenerated from all of that?' Nelius had known of characters having immense healing and regenerative prowess, but to reform from what was essentially ash... yet another detail was missing from this story.
"From there on, a painful cycle of death and rebirth awaited me. I tried to forget it all, but my mind kept going back to that task... with each incarnation, I had to learn to work with the souls I had been paired with, but no matter where I was reborn, her presence always seemed to loom over everyone."
Ozma had incarnated into the body of a man with a wife and two children, but outside more Grimm were besieging the town. After a moment to check that the others would be all right, he grabbed a weapon and headed outside to kill the Grimm.
Another incarnation had been putting a masterful cane to work... the same one current-day Ozpin was making use of. He had placed it within a secure vault, only for a new incarnation to unlock the vault and take the cane for their use.
"Any mortal means would be inefficient, since not even the magic I held onto from the Gods would be enough to end Salem... so with the purpose of finding something stronger I sought out what Creation had left with the world... the Relics. The first one I obtained, the Relic of Knowledge, would help point me to the rest."
Holding the lantern-like lamp up, this incarnation of Ozpin was a brunette man dressed in a maroon vest with a grey shirt striped with thin lines, matched with dark grey slacks. Resolution in his eyes, he spoke a name.
"Jinn!"
Time around Ozma apparently came to a complete stop as azure-colored smoke flowed out of the lamp, which soon formed into the shape of a woman. Golden manacles encircled her forearms and wrists, the latter of which had chains flowing from them. A small headband made of chains encircled her head, and a golden belt was around her waist. Flowing dark-blue hair only served to accentuate her height, which, by Epsilon's estimates, put her around twelve feet tall, give or take a few inches.
Qrow wasn't quite certain on where to look concerning this being... very little in life prepared one for a blue-skinned, effectively naked woman to appear before oneself. James and Glynda, however, were listening more intently on what Ozma was asking of this Jinn.
"Through Jinn, I learned of the other Relics' locations and their purposes, with the hopes that I could use them to finally end this. But the last answer I got..."
"How do I destroy Salem?"
"You cannot." Jinn replied back.
"...it wasn't to my liking at all."
With that, the memory ended, and everyone was back at the center of the town, where Jinn's last words still echoed in their minds.
Several Universes Away
Unknown Time
"Whew, dood.." A green-colored Prinny slid out from beneath the generator of the ship. "That ought to do it."
Getting to its peg legs, the Prinny headed over to the communications panel and opened a channel. "Mita, dood, the generator's fixed up with the new components and ready for a test whenever. That makes everything that needed it taken care of."
"Thanks, York. Take ten while I fire everything up for a test."
"Will do, dood." Closing the channel, York headed to one of the spare rooms, and upon entering flopped onto the bed. 'Gotta look into finding some other personnel to give these old flippers a hand, dood...still got years on my sentence.'
Back up at the bridge, Mita began to test fire the engines and other systems.
The ship seemed to come alive as it began to lift off and up into the sky with even greater ease than the trip that had brought them to this location.
"York, you did a damn good job. No anomalies, everything's coming up green..." Pausing the ship's ascent, she opened a line to York's room. "Hey, it's working!"
"Excellent, dood. Hey, before I forget..."
"Hm?"
"Any chance we can snatch up another mechanic for the ship? It'd help immensely to get an extra set of hands in-case I end up going up in smoke, dood."
"Fair enough. There is an auto-doc system, so we shouldn't have to worry too much about finding a Healer. I'd ask Ada in that case, but she's back home with Vash and her brother."
"Well, ain't like we have to leave right this second, dood. We're still waiting on the others to get back."
"True."
With the testing complete, Mita brought the ship back down to land. While she was waiting for the others to make their return, she began to look into finding some kind of hired help for York.
Ozpin's Heart
Unknown Time
"...how long, Ozpin..." James finally spoke up after a terse moment. When he didn't get an answer, he began to elaborate. "How long were you shouldering this by yourself?"
"...too long, James." Ozpin sounded drained, as if all the life had been visibly sucked away from him, leaving only a mere shell of a man. "It's an uphill struggle that gets ever steeper with each passing day. Should I stop for even a second, everything threatens to crash back down... across so many incarnations, with so many people I've worked with, I've been trying to find something, anything that will finally bring this endless nightmare to a conclusion!"
Qrow felt more than a little unnerved hearing Ozpin sounding so... exasperated.
"Something doesn't add up, though." Nelius interjected. "How did Salem suddenly recover? You practically turned her into a pile of sludge once the battle was over. Does it relate to her pale complexion and eye change?"
"That..." Ozma lamented, "..was something I'd only learn after my consultation with Jinn a second time."
The town square faded away as the memory of what Jinn told him began to play.
"Some time after I perished to the plague, Salem had sought out Creation, to ask for my revival."
Within a small canyon, walled off on all sides save for one point of terrestrial access via a tan set of stone stairs, Salem ascended into an area filled with brilliantly golden-yellow flowers broken up by patches of gray rock. A beautiful fountain lay within, at the back of which is an immense tree with dark gold leaves.
Creation's humanoid form could be seen standing on the waters within the fountain, as Salem made her plea for Ozma to walk the world once more.
"She had been denied her request, but rather than accepting, she had asked Destruction to resurrect me, and we all saw how that played out. After that particular debacle, the Gods had settled on a punishment for Salem trying to deceive them."
The God of Creation, still in its draconic form, lashed towards Salem, but not to end her life. Salem had tried to fight back with her magic, but it was for naught, as she was instantly devoured before she even had a chance to react... or so she thought.
The next thing Salem knew, she was rapidly falling from a great height... right towards the waters that surrounded the pedestal and walkway within the Creation God's domain. She screamed in abject terror, unable to right herself or divert her course - if she impacted the ground, from her height it'd be highly unlikely she'd survive the ordeal. Of course, landing in the water wasn't much better, as from her height hitting it would be a painful experience, and given that she had been locked up for most of her life, she never learned how to swim.
She plunged into the waters, where a sheen much like an Aura brought to its breaking point shimmered around her. A moment later, she found herself surfacing, now kneeling on the water's surface as she tried to catch her breath.
The Brothers could be seen standing atop the water as well, having reverted from their draconic forms back to their humanoid states. While Creation had its hands folded out in front, Destruction had folded its hands behind his back.
"When you first came to me, I did pity your plight." Creation stated. "But it is clear now that your arrogance and selfishness have lead you astray."
"What did you do to me?" Getting to her feet, she tried to prepare to face them down. At the same time, she felt... off, knowing that the two gods did something to her.
"You have been made immortal, child."
"Wha..?"
"You cannot die. You cannot be reunited with your loved one." Destruction explained in simple terms.
"So long as this world turns, you shall walk its face." Both gods explained in even further terms.
"Learn the importance of life and death. Only then, may you rest." Creation laid out a specific condition before sending a now-complaining Salem away.
"..Immortality. Why in the name of Magog did those idiots choose that as a punishment?" Nelius, needless to say, was not a fan of what he had seen. "They had to have known this would backfire, even if the intention was to reinforce the whole life and death balance."
Ozma blinked at that statement. For someone to actually call the Gods idiots...
The memory faded away, only to be replaced by a new set. Salem had a sword in her hand, and in one swift motion she impaled herself on the blade, driving it through her heart.
Glynda paled, seeing this. She found herself in disbelief as Salem withdrew the blade, and not even a speck of blood remained on it. Whatever wounds would've been made from the blade piercing through her chest had already closed up within nanoseconds.
"Salem tried multiple methods to kill herself, so we could reunite." Ozma explained as Salem could be seen tossing herself from a high cliff, impacting the jagged rocks below... and getting up as though nothing had happened. "But the Gods had said it plainly - her soul would never leave this world so long as she refused to understand the importance of life and death... but what was supposed to be time to think back on her actions became time for her to try and plot against them."
"I can almost see why her mind turned to such tactics." Epsilon spoke up. "She managed to get the Gods to argue with one another, proving to herself that even they had blind spots... and then 'cursing' her with immortality effectively gave her carte blanche to begin her schemes."
"Quite so." From here, Salem could be seen going to various kingdoms across the world, requesting audiences with the various kings and other rulers, some of which recognized her from her travels with Ozma. "She went to the various rulers across the lands, telling them that she had managed to steal immortality from the Gods, and used that as a rallying point to organize humanity against its creators."
In fact, one display of her immortality had her outright tell several soldiers to attack her. With good reason they proved hesitant, and so Salem merely stole one of their blades and drew the sharp edge across her neck.
The people seeing this proved horrified at first, but when they saw no blood or wound many found themselves amazed by this. Another display in a different kingdom had her once more impale herself, only to show no injury at all. It provided all the proof the rulers needed to believe her story.
Slowly, steadily, she painted a picture of power for these rulers... a day where the Gods' abilities would be their own to use. Never again would they watch their loved ones age and die, and in turn the Gods' powers would make them even greater than before.
However, some kingdoms had flatly turned Salem's proposal down, not wishing to get involved in matters they foresaw going nowhere. Salem had sneered at them, calling them cowards and promising to prove them wrong once the Gods had been taken care of.
"The hearts of men are easily swayed, this was the only lesson she had learned from her punishment... and so the Day of Reckoning arrived."
"Who has lead you all down this path?" Creation found itself disappointed that the humans that once revered its presence were now intending to wage war against it. Both Brothers had assumed their draconic forms in response to sensing an immense number of mortal lives encroaching on Creation's domain, far too many to simply be a party seeking blessings.
As soon as Salem stepped to the forefront of the army, the Destruction God let out a low growl of irritation. She lead the humans in unleashing a barrage of spells and arrows against the pair... which amounted to nothing as Destruction simply raised one of its forelegs and collected all of the magic and projectiles into a single, violet-black sphere. That was enough to make the human army stop in sheer terror.
"My own gift to humanity... used against me." Creation looked away, an amount of regret crossing its draconian face as Destruction simply squeezed the sphere... and as a violet-colored wave washed over the world, humanity was soon turned into dust, sending yet another shock to the memory-viewing crowd.
Salem was the only one remaining, thanks to her immortality. Swirling around her was the dust that was once the humans she had bewitched into following her.
"No... no..."
"Did you think there was no greater punishment we could bestow upon you?" To this, Salem snarled.
"I'll be back! The rest of the world will know of this massacre! There'll be a new army-"
"You refuse to understand. There is no one left." At those words, Salem stopped. "You are all that remains of humanity."
'Even those that refused to accompany her weren't exempt?' Epsilon found herself plainly furious at these two.
"This world was something beautiful, but now it is a remnant of what it once was. It seems there is more we must learn. Hopefully you will learn as well, Salem." With that, Creation disappeared into a cloud of dust.
"No! You can't leave! Come back!"
"Still demanding things of your creators... pitiable woman." Destruction left as well, but chose to exit the world through a massive beam of darkness that stretched far into the atmosphere and into space. This beam then shot through the moon, fracturing it and sending it into a spin.
Salem fell to her knees in pure despair, and all she could do was scream as the fragments of the moon soon impacted the planet.
"Once again, Salem was alone... she cursed those who turned her away, the Gods, the Universe... everything except herself."
Salem found herself wandering through a now abandoned village, the Creatures of Grimm ransacking it. The Grimm were content to ignore her, somehow knowing that their efforts would be in vain.
"She was awaiting an end that would never come for her... until her wanderings brought her back to Destruction's Domain, where the beings of Grimm spawned from the oily pools."
Salem stood atop an outcropping that lay above the largest pool. It bubbled as though boiling, with the occasional Grimm climbing out of it onto dry land to menace the world.
"If Creation's waters could bestow infinite life, then certainly Destruction's oily pools could revoke it."
Taking a breath to steel her nerves, she jumped in, plunging into the oily depths.
"Unfortunately, not even pure destruction could revoke infinite life..."
Without warning, something seemingly clawed at Salem, and she was thrashed about by an unseen force that tried to tear her body apart, tried to reduce her to nothing more than her base molecules, but the power of immortality denied such an end.
"Instead, the pools infected her, creating a monster of infinite life, with a burning, insatiable hunger for infinite destruction..."
Salem clawed her way back out of the pool, her skin and hair now a stark white. Red irises upon black sclerae gazed out at the world.
The girl in the tower had vanished that day.
Beacon Academy
2:12 P.M.
"..well, this is an issue." Dr. Oobleck had tried once more to contact Ozpin or Glynda, and once again he was met with a "No Signal" reply.
"That's putting it lightly, old friend." Peter Port didn't like this situation either. "Ozpin has never been this quiet before... you don't suspect foul play, do you?"
"I'm certainly hoping this isn't anything dire... honestly, if things continue past the hour I'm planning to head up to his office."
A few floors up, Cinder frowned, having returned to her assigned dorm room from her charade as an exchange student. The signals of Ozpin and his company apparently dropped off the face of Remnant a few hours ago, according to what her Scroll was telling her... but given how the Black Queen Virus was designed, they couldn't have found it so soon, especially since she could still access the whole of Beacon's computer network.
Regardless, any news that showed Ozpin was blind to the virus was good news. Cinder had to continue waiting - the Amity Colosseum was due to arrive within a few weeks, and once its systems were synchronized with Vale's CCT... well, that was where the real fun would begin.
She had around half an hour before she needed to get moving to whatever was the next class... time to try and do some digging.
Chapter 17- Complete