"You fool!" The divine of light decreed in fury. "How could you allow yourself to be manipulated so easily?!" Despite the anger betrayed, the Dark Lord simply chose to present a fake yawn, appearing disinterested by his older brother's words.
"I've faced no deception brother. I see little reason for you to so brazenly accuse me of such."
"You've broken our agreement." The elder calmed himself slightly as he spoke. "We agreed to not mettle in the affairs of mortals, and here you are raising the dead; does the cycle mean nothing to you?"
"Our agreement was to allow the mortals to live their lives unhindered." The Dark Lord's tone lowered once more. "We were to stay our hands if it was in direct negative consequence. There was no direct decree that we would shy ourselves away completely. Tell me brother, does offering council to mortals not effect the choices they might make? Does preaching to them not instill opinion into their minds? Of the two of us, I'd dare say I've kept plenty faithful to the agreement, more than you ever have."
"Yes, you speak truthfully." The brother of creation started. "However death itself holds an immeasurable importance to their lives and souls. To bring one back not only undermines those who value death, but also rips the soul from its journey. Have you no clue of the pain you've most likely brought to Ozma?"
"A pain that could have been avoided had I permission to eviscerate the invaders of my home." The dark one countered, his face souring with every word. "Yet I am forced to stay my hand as assassins and madmen alike pillage the edges of my land, forbidden to act even should their actions cause further suffering. Worst of all none of said invaders ever dare to approach me; none of them call for my council, or my word. All this, while you speak freely to your followers." The god of destruction's words dropped into a near growl as his voice rose. "Yet her I am, finally able to see one who bows to me, who worships ME! For once I am privy to a mortal prayer all my own, and all they ask is the reunion of love."
"You don't understa-"
"ENOUGH!" The dark one stood tall, black lightning and smoke rippling from his foggy purple body. "I am just as powerful as you! I am a GOD, and should I choose to aid my one and only follower, then I will do so as I SEE FIT! You will not stop me from dealing with my one worshiper as I please, and I WILL NOT tolerate any of your demeaning or false wisdoms..." The aforementioned god crossed his arms. "You may do with yours as you see fit, but I will act as I please, unless you wish to challenge me?" He chuckled to himself. "And we both know you'll not go that far."
The brother of light remained silent, his ire and powerful entrance having faded. Rather than shout back he lowered himself into a slow bow, and the flickering's of light and mist receded. The dark one stood his ground, but the light one merely faced him again and presented his voice in the fatherly tone they remembered.
"I will not stop you if that is your wish. However this woman before you is not a true follower of yours." Strangely enough there was pity in the god's voice. "She yearns for the return of her love, but she refuses to even try to understand how awful her actions are to the soul."
"And?" The younger brother questioned. "I see nothing to bring my concern. Let her learn this lesson herself when death claims her; let her feel its truest comfort on her own. She came to me, and thus I count her as one of mine."
"Yes... and she sought my aid as well."
"Excuse me?" The dark one's voice lowered, so much that the words were merely whisper. However, oddly enough, the drop in tone felt... fake, and Qrow found himself taking a new angle to the viewing.
"You were not her first choice. She came to me at first, and I had denied her. I'm sorry to say, but she only considered you because you were the last option." The very moment that his brother finished the Dark Lord's head whipped to Salem; again the act was... off.
"Is this true?"
"Yes." Qrow once again had to give the woman props, she held her ground damn fine. She never even tried to lie, instead opting to just state it as it was.
"I see." The younger brother had an even tone again, and he looked to his brother. "I apologise, it seems I have been mistaken in my judgement." Hollow this time; an empty apology.
It seemed good enough for the other god though, and Qrow continued to keep his mind laser focused. He'd been around enough to know when people were lying, but that skill was born over years of deception, and the best he could assume for the elder god not catching on was that 'deception' was not something the being of light often faced.
Strange... Qrow though to himself with intrigue. Has nobody ever lied to the gods. And why does the Dark Lord act so... disinterested. It was like he didn't care about being used by Salem.
It was then that everything shifted white again. At first Qrow thought it was another scene change, or a time skip again. These thoughts were shattered the moment he looked to Salem, who seemed to be confused. However she was not just normally confused...
"Where is everything?" She seemed to be aware of the void.
"Hey!" Qrow called to her, and yet he was ignored. He tried to reach for her, but his hand passed through, as if she was nothing but air.
Right... still can't interact. Despite knowing they couldn't do anything, this little scene alone proved to Qrow that the gods had acted. Salem was brought into her own void for a reason, and it was a reason that revealed itself the moment color burned into the world again. They were at the Light Lord's spring, and both gods stood at the center. The pool had changed though, as the water underneath the Dark Lord had turned a dark mucky black, much like the darkness of the deadlands. That darkness had split the spring in half, and before anyone could question what was going on they got their answer.
"My younger brother and I have come to an agreement." The Light Lord began. "While we sympathize with your pain, we also realise that you do not truly understand the significance of death, nor the efforts we put into designing the cycle. Therefore we have decided that until you do, the comforts of the afterlife shall be excluded from you."
The world disappeared again, this time with Salem too. None had a chance to converse before a series of scenes overlapped and acted violently around them. Magma; drowning; hanging; mauling; all these showings of violence and death, with Salem as the centerpiece.
"Try as she might, Salem would only reappear moments later after each attempt. Death was never permanent, and no matter how painful each method was she would try again anyway. The suffering that was a life without Ozma weighed more than any physical pain, and the years of self-destruction would extend onwards. However as time marched forward Salem's hatred of the brother gods grew, and one day she would hatch a dastardly plan."
Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang watched as for a moment the scene shifted, several events in each direction playing out as Salem stood tauntingly before noblemen and lords. She was... immortal. Part of them felt a sense of unease knowing this, however what would have seemed impossible was put on the backburner for now. This showed that Ozpin knew of this, and it caused them to wonder what type of plan he had for dealing with Salem.
How do you kill an immortal?
"In her denial of death, her own personal prison, she had witnessed an immeasurably important aspect of the two divines. Salem realized they were not omnipotent. For had they complete and true sight of all then each would have known her reasonings for approach. The Dark Lord showed no knowledge of her meeting with his older brother, appearing as though the reveal was a surprise. The Light Lord only showed up when the cycle was broken, and Salem knew then it was said break which turned his sights back to her."
The world faded into a new scene, but considering how fast everything was shifting nobody was all that shocked anymore. Thousands upon thousands of people marched, all wielding weapons of a sort. Many looked to be in formation, while others were simply marching along at their own pace. The vastly expansive army alone coated the land in a tide of shuffling movement, and the very ground itself was drowned out.
Yang whistled aloud. "Well Dust."
"There are so many..." Blake slipped in, though even the group themselves were drowned in the inaudible chatter and clatter of the tide.
"Where are they going?" It was a question posed by Ruby, but it would be answered the moment the world fell.
As if they had flown upwards the group finally got the chance to really witness just how large the army was. Yet at the front of the tide, and seemingly leading the march, was Salem.
"Salem, lead by vengeance, had used the punishment wrought upon her soul in a devious act of defiance. Seeking out the Human lords and traveling amongst the kingdoms she sought to topple the gods. If they were not omnipotent, then she reasoned that they may not be all powerful either. In her eyes she believed that if they could be deceived, then they could be beaten. Claiming to have stolen immortality from the two divines Salem met with the rulers of the kingdoms sprawling the land, and with her curse manipulated them to raise an army capable of victory."
Salem raised a hand and extended it forwards, towards the only two beings centered in the crater. Two massive glowing dragons, one bright gold and serpentine, and the others darkly familiar to the group. The golden one raised on of it's smaller arms as the torrents of magic shot forth, and as he held the air said mystical powers drew in close as if magnetized to his claws. The projectiles mixed into a ball of pure pulsating white, and the golden one rose it's head to the other; his words spilling forth, and yet his mouth never moved.
"They're using our own gifts against us..." He sounded dejected, and then his brother spoke up.
"Then perhaps it is fitting to punish them. May I?" The darker one asked, to which his brother solemnly nodded. The dark dragon seemed to blur, and his jaws stretched wide. An orb of vile black wreathed in smoke grew within, and all along its surface violet lightning crackled. His jaws snapped shut, and with it a wave of shadow encompassed all, quickly followed by bright white light. It strained the eyes of the group, and yet as the glow faded they were all left in horrified shock.
Everyone was gone; only Salem remained.
"Satisfied, brother?" The dark one asked, and they watched as the golden one's glow dimmed.
"I wish it had not come to that, but alas the experiment has taken a turn for the worse." He looked to Salem, as did the others. Her face was filled with shock, but within said shock was a burning rage. The gold one let out a low sigh. "Perhaps we were too coddling towards your kind; too controlling. Maybe some time apart will do you good. Keep in mind that you'll only meet death when you've learned to embrace its importance."
"May we leave, brother, I grow tired in this realm?" The dark one had little emotion in his voice, and yet for just a second Ruby alone was able to notice the small side-glance he sent Salem; considering he had no eyes she second-guessed whether it was her own eyes playing tricks on her. "The time will come when we might return..." He looked to Salem fully this time. "Perhaps sooner than you think."
"Yes, let us go." The gold dragon confirmed, and with that they both shot up into the sky; each parallel to the other, however one causing a small change. The dark dragon crashed through the full moon, and with a mighty thunderous boom its eastern half was torn asunder. Salem looked up, and began to watch as the chunks of rock burned and fell to the world, all the while letting out a furious howl.
The scene shifted again as Jinn's voice echoed.
"With nothing left in the empty world, Salem sought out one last chance at peace."
She was stood high upon a cliff, surrounded by Grimm and looking down into the black waters below.
"In desperation she delved hopefully into what she believed was a pure and permanent death."
Salem took one step off, and rapidly fell towards the violent spring of void.
"And yet she would come to find that this too was futile, and thus Salem was greeted with not death, but rebirth."
The muck swashed and bubbled violently, before a lifeless pale hand shot out. Stark white and tipped with black claws it dug into the dirt of the grey shore, and out came the woman, now tainted. Hair and skin as white as snow, with blackened eyes floating two crimson rings that burned with fire. Salem now looked so fitting among the creatures of Grimm which had gathered around her, and as she stood the very shadows seemed to follow.
The world faded once more, and all were left in differing states.
Weiss was frightened, not only by the violently wild transformation, but by the calmness of the Grimm surrounding her, as if awaiting her command. Yang was furious, not only at the mass execution she witnessed, but also the harshness of the brother gods. Blake was pitiful of the cursed woman herself, feeling as though her punishment was undeserved. Qrow was once again reminded of how terrible reality was, having known that Salem's war would fail based solely on the fact that she was still a threat in their day and age. Ruby however felt plain sadness at it all, but waited curiously for the scene to shift; knowing like the others that this story was not yet over.
As if on que everything faded to white, that was until a single golden figure appeared, and before him stood an equally familiar man.
"Eons would pass, and Humanity would be reborn from the shards of the sky. Their once great race, stripped of almost all their power, were now insects to the newly dangerous world. With magic separated from body, they now relied on their intellect to survive, and would eventually find their magic once again; though in physical form. It was in this age, when Humanity had just enough strength and confidence to bicker amongst itself, that the Light Lord saw fit to present an opportunity for redemption."
"Why... am I here." Ozma spoke hollowly, his eyes looking to the god in mild dismay.
"I have decided to grant Humanity a second chance." The bright one explained, his hands hovering before him as energy gathered. "Your kind will be given four gifts to aid them in this opportunity." There was a burst, and four golden items floated before the god. "However, the people alone will not have the strength to seize this chance, and so I make you this offer, to walk amongst them once more and aid them."
"I apologise, but I must decline." Ozma, though dead, sounded immensely tired. "I have already lived once. Please, just let me return to the afterlife, to see my wife again."
"Salem has yet to discover what death truly means. She would not be joining you anytime soon; the one you knew was merely a dream of death. However the true Salem still walks the world below, and should you take this offer I can promise you two would meet."
Ozma looked to think it over, and though his tired appearance stayed the same he gave a weak nod.
"Then I accept."
"Very good." The god pressed his palms together, and his form began to glow. "Your task will be immense, but I guarantee you this; you will never need to undertake this journey alone from here on out. Unite the people, and bring these four together; and should they pass our judgment in unity we will restore them to their previous grace. Succeed in this, and we shall walk the world once more. However I must warn you of your own personal goal. Though you seek her, Salem is not the woman you remember; time has taken its toll. "
Yang's voice growled as the scene shifted again. "That's bullshit! Bastards just using bribes now!"
"Easy." Qrow counselled. "Nothing we can do but watch, so try and save the temper for later, okay."
There was a gasp, and up popped the head of a man laying on the grass. He was young, fit, and sporting a head of short white hair; the same shade as Weiss's own. He looked around frantically, before pulling himself to his feet.
"Ozma had heard the voice yelling in his head, but would push it off. During his early years he would come to understand that these voices belong to the owners of the bodies. He would live with them, doing his best to not take over their lives, however this would eventually prove fruitless as their souls would all but merge afterwards. And so, once this occurred, he set off with his newly gained knowledge towards the location of his interest; a supposed witch who lived deep in the forest."
The group watched keenly as the now older looking man walked up the small set of steps, and gave a few curt knocks on the rickety door. For a bit their was nothing, and then it creaked open. Out looked a woman, and the now Grimm Salem merely offered an off-centre glare.
"No."
The door slammed, and the man knocked again.
"I said go away." She replied from behind the obstruction, with venom coating every word. "Lest you seek a true demonstration of my craft; I can guarantee that all those rumors you heard of me were true."
"So you wash in the urine of cattle?" The door ripped open and the exasperated woman let loose a shout.
"WHAT TYPE OF NONSENSE IS THAT!" She stilled as he let out a few chuckle. Her eyes narrowed, and then she spoke again in a calmer tone. "Where did you hear such waste, or did you simply craft that slander here and now?"
"I stake my truth on the second option."
"Right... good." Salem crossed her arms as she leaned against the doorframe. "Clearly you wish for my attention. Fine, I suppose I can at least hear you out; might be interesting for once. Things tend to be bland out here." The man made to speak, but Salem stopped him with a single finger raised. "But! I will not promise you'll get what you seek. I've no desire to roam the outer world; less so to aid any of its revolting inhabitants."
"Really?" The man started with a soft look. "I remember you being quite eager to explore the vastness of the lands when you first walked free, and yet here you are; locked away in another form of prison."
Salem froze, and for a second Qrow wondered if her heart stopped; not that heart failure would kill the woman. Yet his mind was racing at the thought. Salem was immortal here, and yet in their own time Oz had kept meticulous track of her actions and moves. With how intensely they thwarted her modern day plans Qrow assumed there was something more. Ozpin had to have figured out something, otherwise they would have only focused on outrunning the woman, rather than dealing blows with her goons. So while he watched Salem and the new Ozma embrace ever so slowly, Qrow only had one real thought.
What weakness did you discover Oz, and why are you hiding it?
"Please let this be real." Salem whimpered as she hugged him tighter. "I don't want this to just be another dream."
"I promise you, I am real."
"But how?" She backed away; her hands still locked around his. "You were dead. For years I believed I'd never see you again."
"I would have remained so too, had it not been for the brothers." Ozma told, and Salem's eyes narrowed as ire filled her features.
"And what did they want?"
"Redemption." He told slowly. "They believe it is time for Humanity to earn its second chance."
"I see..." Her ire faded a bit as she continued. "How are they meant to do this?"
"Four relics dot the lands. I am to unite the people under a single unified peace, and thus the gathering of the four will summon the brothers to enact their judgement. Should we be unified in heart, they will walk among us again, and restore Humanity to its former glory."
"A stiff trade." Salem offered as she let go, folding her hands together at her waist. "And should we fail said judgement."
"Complete annihilation... or so I assume." He said, and Salem sighed.
"Of course. I knew it was too kind to be honest." Her form stilled and a look of determination burned into her face. "However it is the only true chance we have. Very well, though I hate them I will aid you in this journey; that was why you sought me out, wasn't it?"
"Partially..." Ozma drew close again, and wrapped her in another embrace. "But most of all; I simply needed you."
"As did I." Her arms took him again. "As did I."
Everything changed, and though it was almost routine now Yang was the first to speak again.
"Their judgement huh?" A scoff echoed out. "Of course it's their judgement; who better to judge then the ones who massacred everyone to begin with."
"It was rather... harsh." Weiss let out as her tone lowered. "Disturbingly, it reminds me of my father." That seemed to catch Blake's ears.
"I've heard rumors, but word of mouth tends to get exaggerated. Is he really that bad?"
"Kind of." Weiss clarified. "He's merciless, but in the end he rarely does anything about it. Usually his strategy is to ignore the problem; most of his detractors don't have the power to try anything anyway."
"Damn." Yang whistled. "Sounds pretty bad."
"Yeah." With the last word from Weiss, the scene shifted to that of a castle, and from what they could see it appeared to be a throne room of some sort, where both Ozma and Salem sat beside one another.
"While reborn anew in another's body, Ozma had learned that he still retained most, if not all, of his magical power. With Salem having the same retention of soul manipulation, the two set off to unite the peoples of the land. With such displays of apparent divine qualities the two were hailed as living gods, and thus they forged a kingdom all their own to rule. That kingdom was dubbed Mobius, and on a certain day the pair were greeted by a young boy..."
Everyone heard the loud creaking, and turning back from the ruling pair they saw two individuals walk carefully down the carpet.
"M-mom!" Ruby spit out, and with wide eyes Qrow watched as the woman led the small boy along.
She was dressed like an old-timey maid, however considering this was the old times he supposed it was just a standard maid uniform. Her face was relatively young, probably no older than thirty or so, and yet her similarity to Summer was frightening.
"No squirt." He said, his eyes still locked to the woman as the pair stopped. "This is the past, remember?"
"But... b-but." Ruby was stuttering out as her mind tried to make sense of it all. "She looks-"
"I know." He felt bad for her, but he needed to break his niece out of that illusion. They had bigger things to focus on. "If anything she's probably, no, certainly your ancestor." Qrow pointed to the small quivering boy. "And if I had to guess I'd say the kid over there's her son, which would make him your ancestor as well."
Salem spoke aloud, interrupting the pair and drawing focus back to the scene.
"Ah, so this must be the boy you spoke of." She announced, to which Ozma gave a curious glance.
"You've spoken with this woman before?" Salem waved her husband off.
"Oh hush now. It was a small chat in private; nothing to worry yourself over." A small smirk adorned her face as she looked down at the two.
The woman, so similar to Summer lightly pushed the small boy ahead, and if Qrow had to guess this was her form of telling him it was his time to shine. The little lad bowed politely, and that bow transitioned into a kneel, at which point he spoke.
"M-my name is Vermillion R-Rose, of clan rose. P-Pleasure to make your a-acquaintance." Kid was deathly nervous, but Qrow ignored it on the fact that everyone's minds seemed to have shattered.
"The fuck!" Yang was loudest. "That's V?!"
"Well..." Weiss started. "This is... something."
"He looks young for his age." Blake offered, and then Yang yelled again.
"You mean to tell me V is a creepy old man?!"
Ruby felt... conflicted, to put it lightly. This reveal presented two critical bits of information that made things... a little confusing. First of all there was the fact that this scene implied V had been around for literal centuries, which kind of made things awkward for them as they always assumed he was the same age as their group. Secondly this also implied that V was actually related to her; something she kind of assumed when his name was brought up with uncle Qrow back home, but then dropped off as her uncle told her that V was Salem's son.
Her head very quickly began to hurt.
"Calm it kiddies." Qrow spoke, and though they couldn't see him Ruby could almost feel the cross look on his face. "Pay attention for now. Again, we can talk it over later."
"Oh my." Salem started, drawing all eyes again as her smirk turned to a cheeky smile. "Such fine manners in him. You fit your family prestige well." She looked to the woman beside the boy. "Tell me darling, is he here on behalf of his family?"
"Of course." The woman confirmed, her voice sounding just the smallest bit like Ruby's, growing the list of confusions that plagued the already befuddled group. "You were the one to ask for his presence after all, and both mistress Rose and her husband ordered me to bring him."
"Okay, so he's not her son." Even Qrow was confused now; the boy looked so similar to the woman, right down to the silver eyes.
"Honey?" Ozma started again, but Salem had forgone all formalities it seemed as she stood from her throne and walked down the series of steps towards the two. She kneeled down and took the boy's chin with her hand. Raising his head as she spoke softly.
"Tell me child, do you wish to be my knight; my champion?"
"I-I do."
"Come now." Salem countered gently. "Speak the words with a little more conviction. Show me the certainty of a true knight."
"I do." His voice came out cleanly this time, and looking closely all were able to see how his silver iris's glowed faintly, all the while Salem's crimson ones burned in retaliation.
"Yes. I can see you'll do just fine."
With that the world faded again, however this time it was different. Rather than the brief moment of white everything seemed to... 'melt' into a different scene. They saw Salem sat upon her throne, arms crossed and just barely looking to hold back an intense rage. Seconds ticked by, and then finally the large doors ahead opened. In stepped V, but he was... less than proper.
His blackened veins pumped out that same dark smoke Pyrrha had experience when she first let her emotions overtake her, and his eyes were a deep dark crimson; almost to the point of being a borderline violent shade of purple. Most striking of all however was the massive swashes of blood caked and dripping from him, which mixed with the immense levels of ash coating his pale skin a deep gray. He wore his old attire, the one they first saw him in, but it was hard to even see it considering how filthy he was. The boy said nothing as he walked forward, pulling the brown sack from his belt and lowering it to the floor. Without even a bow he left, and Salem hummed.
"So it is done." She growled as she motioned for the guards along the sides of the walls to leave. They did so immediately.
"Dear..." Ozma started from her side. "What have you done?"
"Justice." She spat, her face souring ever more. "The ones who took Angela from us are no more; as graciously proven by the trophy taken by my champion." Salem started down the stairs, taking hold of the bag and pulling out the content within.
A charred black skull was her prize, with bits of the spine still stuck to the lowered end. The bones were almost melted together, and a majority of the group found it hard to retain the contents of their stomachs. The implications were clear, and all of them felt a heavy heaping of dread at the sickening sight.
"If that is so, then should your mind not be at ease?" Ozma questioned as he joined his wife. "Yet your features still whisper of thought. Is this not what you wish?"
"I wish I could have prevented her loss entirely." The bones creaked in her grip; bits of the skull around her fingers looking to crack. "And yet the vermin managed to ghost past our guard and murder the girl under our protection. Our forces failed, and I'm debating on which punishments to dish out."
"Relax yourself." Ozma started. "They could not have foreseen the intruders."
"They still should have been ready! Their job was to protect us and our family; what if it was one of our blood they had taken?!"
Ozma sighed as he faced her curtly, a stern look over his features.
"Angela was beloved by all in the castle. Blood or no everyone knew she was family; she earned that right over her years of loyalty and aid. She kept our daughters in check, and even assisted in raising them with the nannies; much to the guards relief. Our guards have nothing but joyful memories of the girl, and even the very thought of their failure has already driven some to attempt suicide." He released a bit of the tension on his face. "Thankfully they were stopped by a handful of maids."
"Perhaps they should have carried though." Salem brought out. "It is equal payment for the death they allowed."
"Death is an end; I know this better than anyone. Right now the castle is weakened by the loss. Our followers need strong leaders to assure them we will make it through this tragedy. Our remaining children cannot feel safe in a castle whos protectors have lost their will. If you cannot feel mercy for the guard, then stand tall for the children." Ozma's look began to falter. "V especially needs a strong pillar to stand with. He put his heart in Angela, and I fear her passing has hit him hardest of all."
"I know well of how hard it hit him." Salem began. "It was the reason I chose him specifically to enact vengeance for all of Mobius. Invaders of all types needed to know the fate that awaits those who cross us." She turned away and looked down to the skull again. "I will send this to its homeland, along with a message explaining the folly of their choice."
"I understand." Ozma let out, though Salem didn't seem to have heard it, as she let out one last statement.
"Never again shall this be allowed to happen."
"It had been the beginning of a change in her heart, and once more Salem felt the rush of hatred swell. Ozma had seen the signs, and knew this was only the beginning of a downward decent, onto a much darker path. Yet he remained hopeful that he could steer her from the shadows, and into the light. This change, despite all his efforts, would not come..."
"Please, listen to what you propose!" Ozma looked panicked in this scene.
They were on what looked like a balcony, and stretched out along the landscape was a massive plain of grass surrounding the marble castle. Beyond said stretch was a ring of city, and buildings of all sizes and shapes acted as a barrier to the castle.
"I know damn well what I speak!" Salem shouted, holding a dark looking orb in her hands. The ball cracked in her grip, and inside looked to be a scene of a battlefield. "You've seen it too, so do not try to forge excuses for them. My knight, my knight was taken away! Murdered on a trip designed solely for peace! Now you see why I have my fairies everywhere, now you see! The insignia the brigands bore, it is proof."
"Only one bore that insignia!" Ozma countered in desperation. "It is not fair to damn an entire kingdom for the actions of a single rogue. You saw the offering, they accepted our audience; this attack on the caravan must have been executed by rebels. They were only a small village; of our own kingdom no less."
"And yet the bandit who took my champion from us wore it; the symbol of the outer union to the east!"
"Anyone can wear the sanguine-star; that does not mean they work on behalf of Veilroot!"
"And yet it was their nobility which abandoned Angela." Salem brought up. "It was they who orchestrated her murder, and it was they who invaded our home before. No, Ozma, I will not humor the thought of mercy for these transgressions, even less so when that bandit had a weapon capable of incinerating my knight. Brigands have no such equipment, meaning they were sanctioned to carry out the attack, and nobody else has the motives to enact such a blatant act of warfare."
"Yes, Salem, but this is a single kingdom." His panic only grew as anger seeped into his tone. "The others are innocent; they do not deserve our wrath."
"For now." Salem began as ire slipped over her words, blanketing them in malice. "These are Humans Ozma, and sooner or later they too will turn on us. They adore conflict and violence, to the point that unity is simply a joke to them. I wish for revenge, and you wish for unity. While they may never agree to peace, we can simply force it instead." Salem's look darkened. "If they do not conform, then they will die."
Ozma took a step back in horror, all the while Salem stared into the cracked orb, seeing only the aftermath of battle as the knights avenged her champion.
"Seeing his wife fall so quickly, and having a hard time denying her words, Ozma set into motion a new plan. While he could not reverse her decision, he could perhaps find a way to end her life. While it pained him to consider such an act as the only option, he knew that it would finally ease her worries and bring her peace. However his wife was volatile in his eyes, and so he sought to move their children to safety, however..."
"So this is what it comes to..." Salem stood emotionlessly across from Ozma in the hallway; four little girls looking between them with a mix of curiosity and worry behind the man. "You wish to steal even our children from me?"
"No." Ozma began with force, yet his tone faltered ever the slightest as he faced her with pity. "But I cannot let you destroy the world in rage. It may be impossible, but even so I will always strive for the hopeful option. If peace can only be reached through genocide, then maybe it's only right that the brothers strike us down." He tensed, his body looking to glow as he raised his staff. "You've chosen this fate, and I cannot allow you to drag our children down with you."
Salem stilled, and then came the storm.
They only got to see a flash of light before everything was whisked away, and as was the pattern they were bombarded with scene after scene in rapid succession. A knight in armor; a simple farmer; a priest; a priestess; an orphan; a noble; these came so quickly they were barely able to keep up.
"Over the centuries, the people would speak legends of the infinite man; a mortal who lived forever and appeared in times of need. The gods kept their promise to Ozma, and yet as his soul merged continuously over his many lives he began to regret taking that offer. The peoples only chance laid with their complete and total union, and yet it seemed to Ozma that he had been duped. Should Humanity eradicate themselves entirely his soul would eventually link with the only one left, and with a perfect union of husband and wife Ozma realized that the gods won regardless of the outcome. Humanity would be united, even if it took till the very last one."
Everything stilled, and in the white void a grand structure appeared. A pearly white castle stood strongly against the crystal clear sky, and a single man walked ahead. Both noble and sturdy he held the lamp of knowledge within his hand, and as he looked up to Jinn he posed the question everyone had been waiting for.
"How do I destroy Salem; how do I set her free?"
Things froze for a bit, and in the valuable minute of silence everyone was able to get out one final thought. Qrow's voice echoed out with bated breath.
"This is it; his plan."
"Finally!" Yang spat, only for Blake to interrupt.
"But how do you beat immortality?"
"There has to be a trick." Weiss gave carefully. "Jinn's showed us everything so far, so Ozpin must have learned something."
"But he was very clear in his actions that he didn't want us to know." Blake replied with caution in her tone. "Meaning that whatever he learned was enough to disturb even him."
Ruby noticed how everyone watched ahead of her, and she was the only one to notice they were now visible to each other. Yet everyone was focused on Jinn, and while seeing everyone staring so intently was wild to the girl she couldn't help but listen close to the answer Jinn would provide.
A cheeky smirk fell over the blue spirit, and after a few more seconds she spoke.
"You can't."
All hope was shattered.
"W-what..." It had been Ruby's only contribution before she shut the world out. She couldn't see as everyone around her fell apart.
Ruby never saw Yang's fury that blazed her semblance startlingly awake, and she never saw how Blake slowly stilled as if her heart gave out. She never even got to see Weiss, who fell to her knees as all the strength and courage fluttered away, nor Qrow who wore only a tense face of regret for believing in good luck for once. No, instead Ruby could only weep silently in her mind, not only for the tragedy she'd seen thus far, but also as the sting of truth filled her brain.
Ozma could do nothing.
The man had no chance at saving her, and seeing as the man holding the lamp fell to his hands and knees in despair only served to confirm his failure. This had been what Ozpin was hiding from them, and Ruby had unknowingly been the first of them to figure out the horrendous truth of his secrets, based solely on his actions before and now.
He had no plan.
This was a bid for survival. Every day he acted, and with every action he took, it had all been to postpone the inevitable. Salem was immortal, and her only hope of relieving this curse was the cryptic words the brothers had left behind. 'The significance of death', it had been her key to escaping her fate. However Jinn had just confirmed that Salem's own husband, the man she had damned herself for could do nothing to aid her in this task.
The lamp of knowledge dubbed it impossible.
What chance do we have? What a slap to the face; telling them they were doomed with only two choice words. Ruby had hoped for a cheat; some kind of exploit or untold little loophole in the curse. She had held onto the hope that Ozpin had discovered it somehow. From the very first instance of learning Salem's curse Ruby had been thinking of potential ways to save the woman. It was childish and stupid, but she wanted to help her. This was the woman who commanded the legions of Grimm, the ultimate evil in the world, and yet her story awakened something in Ruby's heart, and the drive to become the storybook hero from her childhood was reignited in full.
Nobody could save Salem.
Ruby couldn't fight back the feeling of raw defeat in her chest, and as her vision began to blur she wondered if this was the end of the tale; a relentless tragedy woven by scornful gods.
During all this dread and panic there was something that struck the young girl. So many secrets had been revealed, and this showing of history had brought with it more questions than answers. Ruby saw how everyone moved about in a form of chaos. There was yelling and screaming, and they even seemed to have realised they could see each other, but Ruby tuned it all out as her own sense of failure built up exponentially. However this failure was stilled by the sight of a lone figure.
He did not engage in the wrathful anger of everyone else, instead he stood motionless; a shadowed silhouette. Then it hit her, and she couldn't pull her eyes from him. Ruby, despite all the questions clouding her head, finally noticed the problem staring them all in the face throughout the entire story.
V hadn't said a word throughout any of it.
Author's note
...
Damn this was another massive one. Two of the longest chapters this entire story, and they're both exposition dumps.
Again, sorry for what amounts to a halt in the story, but this might just be one of the most important moments so far, and to be truthful it was pretty fun. Recounting Remnant's history when said history is already in flux feels pretty freaking cool in my opinion.
Some reveals to the cast, mixed with the confusion and questions makes for an interesting time, however I bet you were all excited for the end reveal. Everything was probably as expected... until it wasn't. Ruby, like she seems to be doing this entire story, is the first to truly understand just how bad everything is.
And then there's V.
Oh yeah, next one's gonna be wild.
See you then!