The bubble of impossible physics receded slowly. Though many were tempted to stop and stare, barked orders sent the Atleseans back on task exterminating the remaining monsters. They kept all danger off the weary students while Summer's rampage also came to a close.
Selina sunk down a wall with a heavy sigh. Her aura was just about out, her body ached everywhere, she was tired, and her head felt like someone used it as a bongo drum. Her friends were all in similar conditions; Cardin quietly muttered to himself at the side while a whimpering Velvet leaned against Coco.
"I know she said I wouldn't comprehend," the hare said, only to trail off and shudder. Her legs seemed like jelly and Coco had to steady the other girl lest she fall.
"Don't comprehend what?" Blake asked. Selina already had an inkling, but their fellow faunus seemed actually confused. That in turn confused Velvet.
"You didn't see?" she asked Blake, who shook her head. Velvet frowned weakly at that. "That cocoon," she explained. "And the heart. They're gods, well and truly. Brother and sister, dream and nightmare, light and life."
The others listened with a mixture of confusion and some worry; Selina honestly believed it after what she saw today, but it was clear only Velvet had seen these particular things.
"The Radiance and Nightmare King Grimm," Ruby added, immediately proving that last assumption wrong. The younger woman stared off into space, eyes unfocussed. A singular, bloody tear rolled down her cheek; it was much like the traces all over Velvet's face.
Then Ruby twitched and came back into focus. "Don't think about them too much," she advised Velvet. "It's not good for you."
Selina had nothing to add there. Considering that both girls who actually saw that stuff were bleeding from their eyes, she was honestly glad she was not in their little club.
While Yang got up to fuss over her sister, Ozpin finally shook off his shock. He slowly approached the grounded form of Salem while trying to ignore his heartache. She returned to the appearance she once had, his first and true love. Were it not for the scars running along her cheeks where the essence of darkness once flowed, he may be able to pretend all this never happened.
But what was more, she looked right at him. Her eyes almost shimmered in the fading light, unlike what he expected to see.
"Salem?" he asked, worried and hopeful in the same breath.
It was only Ozpin and Hazel who watched the woman wordlessly climb to her feet. She glanced from one to the other with a blank expression, then bunched up her black dress as if to study it. A frown marred her features.
"What an awful dress," she ultimately said. "I need to fix that soon."
Now Ozpin was confused. The voice was undeniably Salem's, but the inflection and tone were different. More relaxed, somewhat pleased, and most of all lacking in the previous, frigid nonchalance.
"What exactly is going on?" Ozpin asked of her, which made the immortal woman look at him fully for the first time. There were neither recognition nor anger in her expression, just a quiet glee. But he only truly understood when her eyes began to gleam a now familiar shade of orange, lighting up the night.
"I see. Lumina, then?"
"Just so. Salem is no more. In fact, she left me a convenient, immortal shell to inhabit. Only the form needs some work. I don't like it." She almost babbled, muttering idly as she reached behind herself. "For one," Lumina declared and tore the fabric along her back; the sentence was never finished, Salem's flesh beginning to bubble in lieu of a verbal conclusion.
He thought he saw silvery motes flutter every which way, but could not be certain. All Ozpin knew was that the woman in front of him began to shrink.
Where they stood at almost equal height before, Lumina returned to her last body's size. Blonde hair lost all pigmentation and turned ivory while gossamer wings grew rapidly from her back. Her subtle curves she kept, hidden by the night as the torn dress fell. She seemed to care naught for her state of undress, simply grinning at Ozpin.
"I win."
He inclined his head, likewise ignoring the Goliath in the room. The whims of deities were not his to question. Although the continuous glee she displayed worried the old wizard a little.
"Well, I do hope now is not the moment where you reveal your plan to eradicate all of Remnant?"
His little jest held a bit of actual concern; thankfully, it merely prompted a huff from Lumina. The rejuvenated moth shook her head. "No, nothing of the like. But the Relics, I will destroy. Your gods are dead and gone."
That was better than expected, if worse than he hoped. He accepted her words with grace, having long since detached himself from the Brother Gods during their absence. Losing the Relics was problematic, however; Atlas would need to be set down and the final vault opened. They were useful tools as well, excepting the Sword of Destruction.
He knew he could not refuse, but reasoned that perhaps she could be swayed. So he nodded his head before opening his posture somewhat to offer a plea: "The Relics of Knowledge and Creation carry within them spirits, living beings. They were made by the God of Light."
This seemed to be news to Lumina, whose brows furrowed. It became difficult to see in the darkness, but he thought she seemed upset. Her words lent more credence to that: "Of course it has to be him and not the other one who left them behind."
"Pardon?"
"The God of Darkness is someone I know and hate with every fibre of my being."
Lumina kept herself calm, but Ozpin knew to spot the undercurrent of anger that accompanied her words. It thankfully fell away when she went on: "The God of Light, I never met. He may also be my child. Which would make his children relate back to me as well. I get your point, though. I will study these two first and see if I can free the spirits. Or if they rather vanish with their vessels."
He was befuddled by the apparent non-sequitur, but did not let it show. Considering the connection of moths and light, he could see how a relation may exist by thematics alone. What was more, his request was actually indulged.
"That is really all I can ask for," he demurred.
Hazel approached at that point, having kept his silence and distance. He shook in both apoplectic rage about Ozpin's continued presence and numb fear about the immortal Salem destroyed; the wizard could relate, he had trouble keeping himself calm as well.
Yet before the younger man could say a single word, Summer Rose appeared by them. The men both twitched at her sudden arrival, but Lumina did not react. The ooze covering Summer shifted this way and that, having taken a shape akin to a bodysuit instead of some tumor. In fact, all the ichoate flesh across Mt. Glenn dissolved in a manner oh so similar to the creatures of Grimm.
Her laugh was scratchy as she embraced the moth, standing upright despite her ordeal. Ozpin held back until they separated, then he greeted his erstwhile student: "Welcome back, Ms. Rose. And... my apologies, for sending you into this predicament to begin with."
Summer shook her head in response, surprisingly mellow when considering her previous rampage. Perhaps she simply got it all out of her system.
"I'm not mad at you," she answered simply. "I was for a year or so, but at some point I realised there is no point blaming you. I agreed to it. Someone needed to keep Salem in check, and I went down swinging. So it's alright."
Ozpin nodded in understanding; he knew best that time had a habit of dulling even the most powerful feelings. Nonetheless, he decided to let sleeping Ursas lie and let his wayward student speak to Lumina.
This time Summer actually smiled. "But no more of that. Remnant has a true goddess now. And for as long as she stands guard, this shall not repeat."
The moth inclined her head, bearing a faint smile of her own. It was a truth they would all have to accept.
But for now the corruption began to recede into Summer's body, leaving her gaunt form exposed to the elements if not for her aura. Raven appeared in seconds to drape a blanket over her, just in time for Ruby to materialse and embrace her mother gingerly.
"Mom."
Summer leaned on her daughter, running a hand over her head. "My little bud," she whispered. "Finally." The older Rose was chuckling and crying at the same time; at this point the wizard felt like he intruded.
As Ozpin retreated from their reunion, he became once more aware of Hazel's presence. Their display appeared to have doused his anger.
In the pregnant pause between the men and Lumina, Hazel turned to the moth. "Where did this infection come from?" he asked, which was a pertinent question.
The woman herself seemed to find it amusing, though. She explained with a wry grin: "It was my anger made manifest. Salem never realised even the hostile void could not destroy me entirely. It festered in the pool she threw my original body into, taking root in every Grimm it birthed."
"Well, that is terrifying," Ozpin quipped in a deadpan. Hazel scowled at his attempted humour, though Lumina seemed to take it well.
It also prompted a dry laugh from Summer, who finally let go of her daughter and stumbled forward. Just as the atlesean guns fell silent because they had no more monsters left to kill, Summer took a knee before Lumina. "And it worked, just like you said it would," she began, but was interrupted by a violent cough that had Ruby hover over her.
The older woman looked down at herself, then up to her benefactor. "How long?"
And suddenly there was tension, though Ozpin could not tell why exactly. Something between these two death-defying women was yet to be done. Lumina studied Summer critically, but nobody dared disrupt the silence. When she spoke it was clearly with a heavy heart: "Ten years at most. Your body is already dying. I can stall it, but not indefinitely."
Ruby gasped in shock and hugged her mother again, though Summer just chuckled.
"Even one year is a lot more than I'd have expected," she reminded Lumina. "I look like shit. Give me a month or two to recover, then I'll get right to it."
The moth nodded at that.
This time it was Raven who pre-empted the rest: "Get to what?"
Others had begun gathering around them by this point, but neither woman paid them any mind. Summer met her old friend's gaze evenly, but the attempt to explain dissolved into a coughing fit. Seeing that she needed a moment, Lumina took over: "Our bargain. Joint revenge against Salem was the first half, cooperation borne of anger. But more than that, I grant Summer a return to her life for at least a time. In turn she dedicates this time to spreading word of The Radiance. My apostle," she finished, making it almost sound like a term of endearment.
"That doesn't sound like a good deal to me," Qrow commented rather quickly.
Ozpin was uncertain what to make of it yet, though he had other questions. Meanwhile, Summer waved over her friend and bopped him on the head.
Lumina chuckled at the display and, surprisingly, made an attempt to reassure Qrow: "I am not demanding total devotion. Summer will not serve as a Huntress again, is all. How she spends her time is her choice. Not to mention, Qrow, who but I could grant her time to spend with those she loves?"
"...arright, that's fair," he drawled, though his grimace made it clear he still did not like it.
"Speaking of," Ozpin finally found a chance to interject, immediately gaining everyone's attention. "While I can not make any promises, I will see about extending your remaining time with the magic I have left."
Summer nodded with a grateful smile, only to gasp in surprise when Raven picked her up in a princess carry. "Be that as it may," the other woman groused, "you go where you belong now. Someone has to clean up this mess."
She carried Summer through a portal with those words, followed immediately by Ruby and Yang. Qrow stayed behind and it closed.
"I take it she took her to Patch?" Ozpin inquired just to make certain. His friend shrugged.
"Probably, yeah."
They lapsed into a momentary silence. There were many things left to discuss, but Ozpin had to consider which way to lead the conversation. This in turn gave young Selina time to speak up, as irreverent as before: "Sooo, that's it? Just like that? New body, old you? It's over?"
Despite her seemingly disrespectful behaviour, Lumina simply huffed. "Yes. 'Just' like that, Selina. Nevermind the parts of the plan you did not concern yourself with."
The faunus woman threw her a smirk and thumbs up in return.
"It is just difficult to believe that we somehow saved the world, is all," Pyrrha added when neither of them seemed willing to keep talking. "Especially in what was no more than a few hours. Four weeks if we count from the time you asked for our help." She earned some agreeing nods from the others. Ozpin himself was among them; especially him, considering how long he worked to achieve this very thing.
"You have a point," Lumina conceded, then glanced to the wizard. "Although the main reason it went so swiftly is that the difficult parts were already in place. Relics, vaults, all of no concern. I only had to get them for a guaranteed strike at Salem." She left a pause and gathered her thoughts, then made a sweeping motion toward the horizon. "Not to mention that while you helped stop Salem for good, this does not solve everything. It will be a long time before I can deal with the creatures of Grimm, if ever."
Some awkward shuffling followed, ended when Selina shrugged at her friend with a grin: "Welp, so at least we aren't out of a job."
Some snorts and snickers went around while Lumina inclined her head. Even Ozpin had to crack a smile.
"Maybe humans and faunus can finally get along now," Blake added thoughtfully. She was as weary as the rest, but something akin to hope could be seen in her expression.
To this, Ozpin offered his student a nod. He could follow the logic just fine and agreed with it. "That they will, Ms. Belladonna. Alas, I can not tell how much of a hand Salem had in sabotaging human-faunus relations. It will require a great deal of work to repair them."
To his mild surprise, it was Weiss who interjected. "With all due respect, Professor: we know that." Despite her surprisingly blunt comment, the young woman smiled mirthlessly. "And I already know where to begin."
Nobody commented on the fact she was ready to bring down her own legacy, though she immediately rose higher in the wizard's esteem.
Then Penny strolled forward and glomped Lumina, who stiffened in surprise. Not even Selina had been brazen enough to simply embrace the avatar of a goddess. Penny clearly did not care, she simply greeted her with joy.
"Welcome back. And thank you, again."
That broke the spell and Selina followed the gynoid's lead. Nora followed and dragged Ren along. Then Coco, Velvet, and Fox all joined them for the fun of it. The other students laughed or smiled about the moth's predicament. It was good to see the children smile even after such an ordeal; then again, seeing them all return alive meant he really should stop thinking of them as children.
After a time however, Selina let go and the knot of bodies dissolved. "Right," she started while snapping her fingers. "Kali was asking about you. Nobody told them you died, y'know?"
The non-sequitur surprised Lumina, who stood frozen in indecision. She glanced around the various people around them, hesitated a moment longer, and displayed something that may be guilt.
"I believe I need to take my leave," she murmured. "We shall speak soon."
She flickered away just like that, a ray of light that cast away the night. The landing atlesean gunships reflected it back, revealed for but a moment.
It was still hard to believe that they won.
Ozpin knew there would be a ton of issues to resolve soon. Not everyone would have made it across the various theatres and such great expenditures of material needed to be replaced. But for right now he left the students to their joy and celebration. Rather, the wizard turned to Hazel, whom everyone but him and Qrow had apparently forgotten.
"Now I believe we ought to address the Goliath in the room. Walk with me, Mr. Rainard?"
Qrow stepped back from his vigil, leaving the matter to his superior. Hazel himself scowled, but followed him into the devasted Mt. Glenn without a word. It was promising; Ozpin held no illusion that he would ever be forgiven, but perhaps an accord could be made.
They had time now, even if part of him still hurt to know she was forever gone. Another was relieved; the Salem he remembered would have been disgusted with what she became. Perhaps it was not oblivion that The Radiance gave her but salvation. A wrong righted that the Brother Gods once caused. Thinking of it like this felt kinder, even if it may be a shallow excuse. At the end of his long, long duty, Ozpin felt he deserved at least this little fantasy.
So it was that night fell on Vale. The tale of stolen Relics, gods, and monsters came to a close.