Chapter 88: The Broken Fable
A tale of darkness and light, and light and darkness.
Our story begins with a lonely woman in a lonely tower. The woman's name was Salem.
Now, more than anything in the entire world, Salem longed for freedom. Locked away from the outside in a tiny room atop a distant tower, she yearned to see what lay beyond the narrow walls of her confinement. Her curiosity was only worsened by the knowledge that now, of all the times to be restrained, was mankind's golden age, and she was missing it. An era of peace the likes of which was unseen in all of history meant that all people, beggars and kings alike, could travel the lands in search of their destinies. Some had even made it as far as the vaunted Realm of Light, noble dominion of the Brother of Light. Other brave explorers had ventured to the Realm of Darkness, though few returned to tell their chilling tales of the Brother of Darkness. Salem, like all others, was a devout follower of the Brother Gods, permanently indebted to them for creating her and all the wonders around her. Even if she never got to experience those wonders…
Then, one day, the most curious thing happened. Salem, languishing about in her room, heard a knock on her door. It was most curious indeed, for none of the brave swordsmen, archers, or mages who'd attempted to free her had ever succeeded. This simple knock was quite possibly the first sound she'd heard in a decade that wasn't of her own making.
Salem walked to the door and opened it. Across from her stood the most unexpected person: a man.
"Welcome, brave traveler. You are the first to complete my father's trials and enter my chambers. I, Lady Salem, greet you."
"Wait," the man said. "You're saying this isn't the marketplace?"
"M-Marketplace? Sir knight, you must've slain scores of enemies to get here."
"That was just the evening shopping rush, wasn't it?"
When Salem looked into the knight's eyes and saw that what he said was in jest, she burst into laughter. Not only had this man freed her from the physical boundaries of her tower, but he'd freed her from the mind-numbing boredom that plagued her since the day she'd been locked up in it. She took his outstretched hand and departed with him for her new life.
It was unfair, but life itself was inherently unfair. Rather, death itself was inherently unfair. Life was equal to all, for all shared the same world, but death chose to deprive Ozma before he could experience a single year alongside his dear wife Salem.
Alas, such is and was the way of the world. There is no recourse to countermand death, no avenue by which to defend life itself once already taken. The only choice these early architects had was to move on and move along.
She could not accept it.
"Please, I come to you with a simple wish."
The being of pure light with ethereal golden skin and two stag-like antlers gazed upon Salem's prostrate form.
"State your request," he uttered calmly.
"I beseech you to resurrect my beloved. He is a gentle soul, struck down before his rightful time by an accursed illness. One borne of his blood and bones, not contracted by any negligence or worldly ills. Please, kind God, I am a loyal follower of your teachings. I beg of you, grant me this one boon, and I shall ask for nothing again."
"This wish is beyond me."
The woman's face fell. "You…You will not do it?"
"My brother and I have taken solemn vows to neither create nor destroy in a way that would unbalance our greatest work: the cycle of life. I cannot bring back your companion."
"You can't…? I…I see."
"Perhaps you do. Hearken these words: life and death are part of a delicate balance. To disrupt this balance would be to bring chaos into the world we have created. If we violated our vows so much as one time, the cycle would fall to ruin."
"I do see. You cannot do it."
Salem bowed and took her leave.
"Please, I come to you with a simple wish."
The being of pure darkness, his form crooked and broken, gazed upon Salem's prostrate form.
"State your request," his rancorous voice dripped.
"My dear husband has departed this realm into the next. I wish to be reunited with him."
He could not smile for lack of a human mouth, but his pleasure was clear to Salem from the tone of its speech. "You are a brave woman, to come so deep into this forsaken realm and ask favors of me. I am most impressed, follower of mine. My brother will be proud to know that one of our creations has such courage. I shall grant your request. State your husband's name, so that I may search the great beyond for his soul and–"
"No."
The twisted god paused and regarded her. Without eyes or a face, it was impossible to tell what his thoughts were until he spoke.
"Explain your wish, then, human."
"I visited your brother, the God of Light. He explained to me the nature of the balance of life and death. I understand that resurrection is a desecration of the rightful order of things."
"Then why do you request it of me?"
"I do not. I ask your you destroy me."
The Brother of Darkness had heard enough and began to descend back into his pool. "Our vows are twofold. We can neither create nor destroy. To kill is just as profane an act as it is to unkill."
"You cannot help me?"
"I cannot. However, there are many monsters in my domain."
"I…I fear the pain. I would fain not be eaten alive by your creations, oh mighty god."
"How you destroy yourself is of no concern to me. Many mortals who no longer enjoy their lives throw themselves from a great height. If you choose to do so, I shall not stop you." With that final word, his head dipped beneath the pools from whence he came.
Salem stood atop the precipice. Terror gripped her body, but she pushed it back. She would be with her sweet Ozma soon. She stepped forward.
She had picked the tallest drop in the Realm of Darkness, a domical hill looking over the Brother of Darkness' pool. The drop had to be at least three thousand meters straight into the dark waters below. Salem figured that if she somehow survived the fall, the drowning would guarantee she did not suffer for long. It had been her hope that death would be instantaneous and painless, and she'd chosen where to jump accordingly.
She'd chosen wrong.
The waters were not waters. They were flowing darkness, not of matter or energy but the power of the gods in physical form. Human forms were never meant to come into contact with them, and Salem, in her pitiable mortal body, instantly recognized why.
It entered her.
It violated her.
It changed her.
As she and the darkness became one, she felt a new power surging up. Not mere magic, the likes of which she'd practiced since the earliest years of her life. No, this was the control of true destruction.
Fortunately for Salem, death came with it. Though it was not water in which she could drown, there was still no air. As she sank further and further away from the turbulent surface of the jet-black fluid, she felt the sweet embrace of death coming to her.
"Ozm–"
She called out to her beloved to tell him that she would be coming to him soon, but a spear pierced her heart. The spear, oddly enough, was made of light. Salem felt even greater pain, but her craved death was pulled away as the spear fished her body out of the darkness.
It was him. Salem trembled as the God of Light lifted her up to the top of the cliff from which she'd just jumped. "YOU DARE?! I thought you a pious follower of mine, but the moment you were denied your wish, a wish I explained would destroy all we hold dear, you seek to steal my brother's power?!"
Salem tried to reach for the pools where her death was supposed to lie, but it shrank and shrank as it drew farther away.
The purple body of the God of Darkness rose from the pools. "Brother, do not interfere. Her actions were naught but an attempt to –"
"To steal your power! You may not know this mortal, my Brother, but I do. She asked me to violate the cycle of life and death, and now she seeks to usurp you! I shall destroy her for this!"
"Wait, it is not so simple…and our vows, Brother! We cannot kill!" the God of Darkness called from down below.
"Her body is imbibed your powers! She cannot persist, lest the order be offset!"
The God of Light raised a hand. Weaponless though it was, it was the fist of a God, and she was but a human. Salem smiled; death would finally come. Praise be to the Brother Gods for granting her wish.
A dark fist caught the bright hand before it could smite Salem.
"NO!"
Darkness and light swirled together as the Brother Gods clashed.
Salem left the Realm of Darkness in hopes of apologizing to the gods for the discord she had unintentionally sowed between them, but as she traversed the lands, she gradually came to understand the extent of what had happened, though the reason why still evaded her.
Wandering without aim past the desolate kingdoms and cities, she fortuitously found herself once more in the Realm of Light. Stepping up the stairs, she entered the domain of the God of Light in time to find him and his Brother making peace.
The fighting only stopped when the God of Darkness had explained to the God of Light what Salem's true intentions were. The Brothers agreed to lay down their arms, for they were never truly enemies. This small spat of theirs had never endangered either of them. After all, nothing could endanger them. They were gods.
The same could not be said of their battlegrounds, for when god clashed with god, mankind paid the price. The Brothers' duel spanned across the entirety of the planet. The sheer power of their attacks was enough to level kingdoms, and it quite often did.
In fact, their combat was so violent, it destroyed all of humanity, save for the one human who wished to die. She was the only one who had been spared, though the word 'spared' might not be appropriate here.
Not a single soul occupied the world. It was entirely empty.
And so Salem was alone once more.
"Y-You've destroyed everyone. All of humanity."
"Alas," said the God of Darkness. "That was never my intention. I sought only to protect you from my Brother's wrath, and I succeeded in that regard, but it appears that I did so at the expense of your kind."
"Damn you!"
Surprisingly, the God of Darkness reacted to her curse. Perhaps it was shame; Salem cared not. Her species' blood stained both of their hands equally.
"He protected you, mortal," said his brother. "This world has become unfit for us, Brother. Our greatest creation is gone but for this one small human, and I fear we shall never create something so fine again."
"Bring Ozma back!"
The God of Light stood at his full height at the petulant and unexpected cry. "Still this?"
"You already broke your vows! You destroyed! Now, create!"
"It was wrong of me to try to kill you, and it was wrong of me to slay your kin. Do not ask me to break my vows a third time."
"Damn you both! I forsake you useless gods!"
"We created you, we heard your pleas, and we spared you, but you show ingratitude to us. It is a true shame that you are the only survivor of our greatest creation."
"Cowards! Bastards! You don't deserve your powers! I followed you faithfully, but if I'd known your true nature, I would have cursed you rather than prayed to you!"
Salem throw a magical orb at the gods. The Brother of Light did not even need to wave a hand to dissipate the pointless attack.
"When you first came to me, I did pity you. But it is clear now that your selfishness and arrogance have led you astray." White light flashed from the elder brother's eyes, enveloping Salem. "You shall walk this world for all eternity. Never again shall you see your beloved."
"No…"
Salem drew the sharpened pin from her hair and stabbed it through her throat, desperate to invalidate his words as an empty threat, but death did not come. It could not.
"No, no, no!"
"Perhaps you shall learn from this, or perhaps you shall not. All that is certain is that you shall be humbled before your gods."
Salem threw aside her pin and attacked at the gods with her every trace of magic, burning her power down to nothing as she did, but it had no effect. They were gods, and she was but a pitiful human.
Bu this is not the end of the story.
The God of Darkness spoke up. "Brother, you have chosen your champion to endlessly watch over this planet in our stead. Now, allow me to choose mine."
"There is no one to choose. She is the last human."
"There must be balance. One of darkness, and one of light."
"So be it."
Both Brothers raised their hands. Darkness and light swirled into a single figure beside Salem. In an instant, Ozma, gasping, panting, wheezing, was returned from beyond the grave.
Salem fell to her knees and crawled to her husband in elation.
"Oh, Ozma! Ozma, my darling!"
"How am I alive?"
"Oh, Oz. My heart, my love."
"My darling, how have I returned?"
"We have brought you back," the God of Light's voice boomed.
Ozma fell to his knees. "My gods, I thank you for this boon. Know that my eternal –"
"Speak not, man, and never thank us for what has been done on this day" said the God of Light. "This was a vile and perverse act. Because of her actions, we were forced to break our vows thrice."
Ozma looked back at his wife. "My beloved, what do they mean?"
"I – I only sought our reunion, husband mine."
"Salem, what have you done?"
"Two champions. One with the power of destruction, and one borne of unholy creation. With that, we take our leave." The God of Light ascended to the stars. As he rose, he said, "Your champion shall not bear my gift of immortality. I shall not forget this subversion of my will, Brother. And I shall never forget you, Salem." The moon was in his way, but he did not deviate from his path.
The God of Darkness approached Salem and Ozma. "I lament the pain that we have put you through. Gods though we may be, it would seem that divinity is not synonymous with perfection." Pale gray light exited from his hands and washed over Ozma. "I cannot grant your body immortality like that of your lady wife, Ozma, but I can give it to your soul. You may die, but you shall never truly depart."
"Thank you, my lord. You are the kindest, most gracious –"
"Just go already."
"Salem!" Ozma called out, shocked at the rude dismissal of the mighty god. "The gods have blessed me, and you as well apparently, with a gift. We must –"
"The gods are not who you think they are Ozma." Salem looked at her husband. He was frozen still. "Ozma? Ozma?!"
"I have paused his movement in the flow of time. It is temporary," said the God of Darkness. "There is something you must know."
"What?" Salem spat. "Get on with it."
"When my Brother and I created humanity, we gave it four blessings – the gifts of choice, knowledge, creation, and destruction. Humanity is gone, but it shall return. When it does, it shall need guidance."
"I do not care to be your champion. I do not care for you or your brother's laughable quest."
"I seek to give you a gift, mortal." The god opened up his hands. In one hand was a sword and a staff. In the other was a lamp and a crown. "The four blessings, given form. Use these to lead humanity into a golden age. Succeed where my Brother and I failed."
Salem took the sword and looked at it suspiciously. Her eyes narrowed. "My husband I and shall, if only to spite you and your devil brother further."
The God of Darkness offered no response, instead looking towards Ozma's frozen form. He man's face was a mixture of offense over Salem's insult at his beloved god and utter astonishment that she would dare to use such a tone.
The towering being looked back at a defiant Salem, her fist clenched. "He is unbalanced. My Brother did not deny you his resurrection out of spite. Life and death are as delicate as light and darkne–"
"Yes, yes, the delicate balance. I've heard it all before. A balance so delicate that you defy it whenever it suits you, and then return to your diamond castle absolving yourselves of all sin when you break your own rules."
The god paused as he studied Ozma and Salem. Then, he touched each of the items remaining in his possession. Reaching a large hand over, he placed a single finger upon the sword he'd presented to Salem.
"Mark me; he will bring you nothing but pain. There will come a time when you no longer recognize the man you love. When that time comes, bring together the four blessings. My Brother and I shall return to this world to rescind Ozma's immortality and regain our rightful place as imperators supreme."
"Never," Salem vowed, tearing her gaze away from the god when she could look upon his wretched form no more. "We'll never need you. And I shall always love my Oz."
Ozma and Salem enjoyed many a gleeful centuries of solitude, nourished only by the fruits of their love. Never had two been so enamored with one another, and never would there be such a couple again.
But it was not to last.
As the God of Darkness foretold, humanity eventually did return.
"Ozma, come back to bed. Why get up at this late hour?"
"The evening prayer can't be skipped just because you are feeling amorous. I shan't be long."
"Long? My love, how can you bear to leave my side at all? And, for what, the chance to waste time on behalf of two phony–"
"Salem, we've had this conversation before. The gods were kind enough to restore me to life. Despite owing me nothing, they reunited us. Is it not fair that I devote but a small amount of my time to honor their memory and spread their eternal warmth?"
"A small amount of time? You proselytize and crusade in their name in every waking moment! When was the last time we spent a full day together?" grumbled Salem. She folded her arms and sat up from under the covers. "If you love your gods so much, perhaps you should reunite the blessings and marry them instead of me…"
Ozma's head rapidly turned to Salem. "What did you say?"
Gazing into his eyes, Salem could not find the dry wit of the knight who had rescued her. She bore witness to neither humorous mirth nor gracious love for strangers. Gone was the man who had ruled at her side as a benevolent king to her merciful queen.
In his frozen face, she saw only hunger. In that moment, she understood what the God of Darkness's cryptic warning had truly meant.
"I meant nothing."
"No, you said something about the blessings."
"It's nothing, Oz."
"I heard you. What do the blessings do? What is their true purpose?"
"They're useless. Just…relics. Relic of a bygone era. Antiques fit for parlor tricks and nothing more."
"Salem…"
She knew that Ozma would push until he arrived at the truth. He was too strong willed to simply let this mention of his darling gods go. If she held out, he would simply take the relics and find out for himself. She'd already admitted that the relic would herald the god's return, but she felt confident she could yet spin this to prevent her husband's destruction.
"When brought together, they will…announce our failure to the gods. It will signify that we are too weak to guide mankind, and they are needed once more. It would bring great shame to us both, in their eyes. They might even be tempted to rescind their gifts of immortality."
"I see."
Salem heard something dangerous in his voice. It suddenly occurred to her that self-sacrifice and martyrdom may not have been as unappealing to Ozma as she'd intended them to sound.
"No…you don't see. The God of Darkness told me he'd be extraordinarily displeased if he had to be called back. He had no wish to return. That was why he left."
"Certainly," he said airily, not even looking at her. "But of course."
Salem knew her Ozma. He'd already decided to unite the four blessings and call the gods. It was too late to change his mind.
She had only one option.
"My love…your evening prayer?"
"Ah, yes. Thank you for reminding me, Salem."
While he knelt down and began to utter the nonsensical chant he'd made up for himself, Salem quietly slipped out of the bedroom.
The spear and the lamp were all she could find in the short time before the sounds of her husband finishing his prayer forced her to flee.
Never before had Salem run so fast.
Never before had Salem cried so hard.
The human man frowned. "I don't understand, my queen."
"Then watch and see." Salem raised a hand. A Beowolf rose from the pool of darkness. "Bring me the relic of creation."
The Grimm growled and stalked off into the wastelands surrounding them for miles in every direction.
"It cannot disobey, but it will have forgotten its orders before the end of the day. Even if it remembers by some unholy miracle, it is as useful intellectually as an overgrown hound. Grimm are useless mongrels, unfit for following orders. They are not an army but a horde."
"Your control over them is that weak?" He rested an armored hand on his sword uncomfortably, as the pair were surrounded on all sides by the ancient order of darkly monsters.
"Seven kingdoms and two empires stand in this world. Even if 99% of the people within are happy, the negativity of the remaining 1% is still present, and it is more massive than any depressed village or settlement in history. My control over the Grimm is only so weak because I am perpetually straining my concentration to prevent the eight hundred and thirty billion monsters that roam this planet from falling upon the kingdoms."
"W-We could recruit others, my queen…humans and Faunus. Knights and hunters."
Salem scoffed. "All mortals gaze upon me and see a humanoid Grimm to be slain."
The man shifted rather uneasily, and his hand departed from his sword to find itself pressed against his hip.
"I did not," said the huntsman, slightly offended.
"I know, Harmond. I know. And for that, I shall ever be in your debt."
His face relaxed, and he observed the Grimm armies as they mingled within the boundaries of Salem's domain. "Perhaps the issue is not with your control of the Grimm, but the quality of the monsters themselves."
"All Grimm are mindless."
"Some elder Grimm are said to be intelligent, my queen. Perhaps you should make them your lieutenants, if such a term is fit?"
"The elder Grimm are not mindless, but they lack true intelligence." Salem was about to dismiss the idea when a though struck her. "But your idea is not a bad one. Ozma has four maidens out and about in the world, doing his bidding when he cannot be in all places at once. Perhaps I should do something similar…yes, your idea is indeed quite a good one."
The huntsman bowed down. "I am pleased to have served you, my queen."
Two days of planning and preparation later, Salem called her sole companion back to her side.
"Rise, Sir Valkyrie, and witness the birth of my higher Grimm. They shall recover the relics in my name. They will be the heralds of Salem…my horsemen."
Salem ordered the four closest Grimm to approach her. They did so without question and accepted her magic, even as it tore their bodies apart and rewrote them into something both unequivocally wrong and inherently right.
Jambavan, the horseman of creation, was first. An Ursa Major no more, she still boasted indomitable might and brawn, now mixed with a sharp cunning. Salem blessed her with the power of creation. When her blood was split, new Grimm would form.
Eidolon, the horseman of knowledge, was second. A Cenitaur he had been, alpha among the Cenitels. A horseman he now was. Salem knew that Ozma guarded the relic of knowledge above all else. Eidolon's task would be the most dangerous, so she blessed him with the power of knowledge. His descendants would retain his memories, so that they could learn from his mistakes.
Aristaeus, the horseman of choice, was third. The Queen Lancer's wings beat faster, and her stinger grew sharp. The lower Grimm that had been her hive no longer recognized their liege, for she was more than just a Grimm now. To repay the loss of her kin, Salem blessed her with the power of choice. Aristaeus would never be bound to obey anyone's will but her own. Her loyalty would be a choice, not a compulsion.
Thrace, the horseman of destruction, was last. A mere Boarbatusk, he was the only horseman not made from the blood and bones an alpha Grimm. To add insult to injury, the relic of destruction was the sole relic she still held, so he existed without a purpose. Salem took pity on Thrace and willed a Geist to inhabit his now-mortal body, fusing the two into one when it was halfway. He may have lacked purpose, but he would never be alone. Salem blessed him with the power of destruction. Nothing would withstand his foul breath.
Four horsemen awaited their queen's orders.
Salem smiled lovingly upon her new children. Four horsemen with four souls.
"HeheheheEeeeEEEEEeEeEEeeeE! My goddess, I bring news!"
Salem waved a hand distractedly with a sigh. Tyrian's peculiar brand of devotion was repulsive in many ways, but he served her purposes well enough. More than well enough, in fact. "Go ahead."
"Azeban, your loyal horseman, has uncovered a plot most vile! Most wicked! Most ruthless! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
It took all of Salem's willpower not to place her palm to her face. "Ugh. What, Tyrian."
"The city beyond the borders of Vale…they wish to blow it up. Kaboom!"
"Mountain Glenn? Huh. I do suppose that means they would not make good allies; Melion shall have to devise a new plan. Tyrian, be a good Faunus and go kill them all."
"Oh, I shall. I SHALL INDEED!"
Watts raised a hand. "That may not be advisable, my queen."
"Explain yourself, doctor."
"Those filthy Faunus, while unregimented, are numerous. Kill one White Fang cell and another shall simply take their place, this time without our knowledge of their whereabouts or intentions. Perhaps our original plan of allying with them may prove to be the proper course of action after all."
Salem glared at him. "I refuse to align myself with murderers and criminals."
Tyrian coughed.
"Present murderers excluded."
Watts coughed.
"Present criminals excluded."
"What I mean to say, my queen, is that we may have an opportunity to both stop those animals AND benefit from this after all."
Salem held a hand to silence Tyrian before he struck out at Watts for defying her 'godly commands.' Salem resented worship, as it only served to liken her in her minds' eye to the gods, but it had become about more than that in recent times. Though she despised with all her heart the title of champion they'd bestowed unwillingly upon her, humanity had needed guiding hands. The present predicament, regarding the violent means by which the White Fang operated and the equally repugnant actions of humans that had set the scene for their rise, was proof enough of this.
But if Watts saw a way to both obtain the relics and terminate the conflict…
Salem leapt at the opportunity. "State your proposal, Doctor."
"We know where Amber is. Let us approach the Fang as we'd initially intended. Promise them the powers of a maiden in exchange for the host of their choice infiltrating the vault and securing the crown. We offer them a greater target than some dingy colony outside of Vale…perhaps my old acquaintance, Jacques."
"The Schnee magnate?"
"Friends we once were, but I cannot say I'd truly lament his passing."
Tyrian snickered. "The only thing more enticing to a predator is a larger, fatter kill." He licked his lips. "But Dear Daddy Moneybags is not fat enough to satisfy their hunger. Azeban suggested that my – snrk – Faunus brothers and sisters have accumulated significant resources and invested much effort into this terrorist plot of theirs. They will not abandon it unless we offer them the greatest meal of their lives."
Salem closed her eyes. "I almost dread to ask what that might be…"
"Schnee has a wife and kids, does he not?"
Salem slammed her fists into the table, and the castle leaned in on itself in response to her fury. "I will not kill children!"
"Hmmm. We need a host for the Fall maiden, but we do not need her after the vault has been opened. It would matter little if she simply, heheheee, floated away…once we had the relic of choice."
"Impossible," declared Salem. "Only a maiden can kill another maiden."
"Summer is hidden, Winter is hidden…what of Spring?" asked Tyrian.
Salem sighed. That old roadblock, still rearing its ugly head. "Gone for fourteen and a half years."
"Perhaps the rat Grimm could find her," suggested Watts. "I doubt she is far beyond Ozma's paranoid gaze."
Salem considered it. "We would need another host to slay the White Fang maiden. A strong one."
"Leonardo."
The image of a shivering lion Faunus kneeling appeared in Salem's Seer.
"My queen."
"I have but a simple request of you, one you shall find little challenge in accomplishing. Ensure that Pyrrha Nikos goes to Beacon Academy."
"P-P-Pyrrha Nikos? The tournament ch-champion?" He clearly had been expecting something more sinister, as evidenced by the utter confusion in his voice at the rather peculiar order. He was one of the odious few who aligned with Salem out of fear, thinking her a monster due to her appearance. However, since there were few lining up to take his place, she could not be picky.
"The very same," Salem said to the seer with a nod.
"But Haven would benefit greatly from her…presence…at my…" Lionheart withered under Salem's gaze. "Ahem. It shall be done."
His image disappeared.
"Is she truly the one, my goddess?" asked the scorpion at her side.
"She is. A powerful, well-trained girl of the right age, with no friends and no possible successors? Ozma will scoop her right up for Spring. Azeban has confirmed that Raven Branwen is held somewhere in Beacon on life support; he shall locate her soon. When her death has been made imminent, I have no doubt that this tournament champion girl will succeed her."
"And she will destroy the false maiden?" Tyrion had taken to calling Blake Belladonna, the White Fang's chosen candidate, any number of insults. He did not take kindly to a hired gun without any true loyalty sitting at Salem's table, regardless of their shared heritage.
"Not without prompting. Belladonna has been ordered to plant the doctor's virus into the CCT. Ostensibly, this will give us control of the security camera to broadcast the heiress child's 'breakdown.' In reality, we shall claim a far greater prize: Polendina's golem. When she understands the necessity of our cause, she shall ensure our new Spring maiden is properly motivated to terminate Fall."
The plan had been refined quite a bit from Watts' original idea. The complications introduced much more room for error, but with them came the possibility of grand benefit – another relic, the obliteration of the White Fang, and the powers of two maidens consolidated into one host.
"And when we are finished, my goddess? When the Faunus whore is slain and the relic is ours?"
"Bring Pyrrha Nikos to me. Unharmed, of course – that piteous girl will have already been through so much. We shall use her powers to acquire the relic of knowledge in the vault beneath Haven. Jinn is the only way to absolutely convince her to join our side willingly. She will make for a powerful ally."
"So, Salem, to answer your question, that is why Ruby Rose should trust you."
Next Chapter: The Empty Seat – In which Ruby takes her place at the council, Weiss and Dove feel the love, and Jaune finally reaches his goal.
Omake
Nora: So literally, I'm descended from a guy who served an actual queen of an actual castle. Bitchin'.
Author's Notes
The Empty Seat is but one of many RWBY fanfiction stories that feature Ozpin as the villain and Salem as the hero. But how many of them have such a slow burn that they wait to 90% completion before the big reveal?
Also, this sort of double twists Blake's loyalties. She was good at first, then it turns out she was evil for working for Salem. But now, Salem is good, but Blake was evil, and Salem was opposing her. We need a diagram to keep track of all these characters.
I apologize for deviating from canon and making the Gods act OOC. While the entire fandom has protested their actions for supposedly being portrayed as 'in the right,' they were still at least godly. I tried my best to keep them talking in long, formal, deity-like ways and avoid reducing them to petty, squabbling children, though I could not 100% succeed.
This probably explains why Ozpin thinks Jaune can kill Salem. Salem didn't take dip in the pools of eternal life; she just had the God of Light spit some immortal-light onto her. As Ozpin put it, it was a 'rush job' done out of spite and with great haste, and so it might be able to be undone if Jaune can tap into some godly powers that work on the opposite frequency.
Please feel free to comment any questions, needs for clarifications, or potential continuity errors. The Empty Seat is quite complex now, with all these twists and turns (especially since it has been nearly a year since starting), and if you don't follow what is supposed to be happening exactly, I'd be happy to explain what is going on or why.
For fans on FFN net, please try to avoid explicitly stating the spoilers in the reviews, since newcomers might potentially skim them before reading. Thank you kindly.
Happy rats, and don't do crime!