As Evan stepped into the coffee shop, he saw Saphron sitting at a nearby table and Joe waiting for him behind the countertop with a steaming drink in hand.
"Hey Evan! How you've been?" Saphron asked with a smile.
Saying nothing at first, Evan removed his helmet as the two adults gasped in surprise.
His hair already slick with sweat, Evan's eyes were barely opening from exhaustion as he placed a hand over his forehead before it fell back to his side.
"Oh my! I've seen you worse for wear on occasion, but this…Are you sure you're alright?!" Saphron questioned.
"Could've been worse. I finished up faster than I expected last night. Managed to get a bit over four hours of shuteye." Evan explained as he rubbed his tired eyes.
"That's certainly not sustainable. Surely your boss could see…" Saphron began to say.
"It's fine, Saphron…Honestly, I can handle it..." Evan replied back, causing Saphron to stop talking, close her mouth, look down at her table, and tapped her finger against the wooden surface in frustration.
"Besides, the geniuses working under Cordovin managed to come to cook something up that should hopefully end these long hours of mine. I've dealt with worse things than sleep deprivation." Evan stated with a comforting smile toward Saphron.
"Just need to hold out for a bit longer…" Evan thought to himself.
"Which is why I'm here to see if Joe's double caffeinated surprise will give me the power to get through this last stretch of the race." Evan continued as he turned toward Joe.
"Do you have it ready?" Evan asked aloud.
"Yes, but I must warn you. My collection of sweeteners and additives can only do so much to cover the taste." Joe explained as he slid the cup across the countertop.
"If it'll give me some energy back, then it's fine with me." Evan replied as he grabbed the drink.
As Evan took a great sip from the plastic cup, he could feel the bitter drink stab at his taste buds, his cheeks turning inward in disgust. Forcing through it, the teen continued to down the entire cup until there was nothing left. Slamming a fist down on the counter, Evan began to cough rapidly, the taste still lingering in his throat regardless.
"*Cough* This tastes about as well as I thought it would. *Cough*" Evan muttered out.
"I'm not surprised. Most of the people who order it are either businessmen, early morning commuters, or students. It's more about the pick-me-up that drink provides that people enjoy, rather than its flavor. It's certainly not my favorite drink, I can say that much..." Joe elaborated.
"I guess that makes sense. *Cough* This stuff is pretty much what Elm and her friends were drinking back up in Atlas. They're some of Atlas's top soldiers, so that lines up." Evan replied back.
Feeling his body reenergize once again, Evan tossed the drink into the garbage can.
"Although I'm starting to see why people prefer it." Evan continued as he clenched his fist.
Grabbing his helmet, Evan headed towards the door.
"Wait. Do you got a second Evan?" Saphron asked as the young Saiyan stopped on a dime and turned toward her.
"What is it?" Evan inquired.
"I got a letter from Jaune a while back. Apparently, his teammates and Team RWBY will be arriving later on today around 2 o'clock at the train station. Do you think that you can stop by and help me give them all a warm welcome?" Saphron questioned the teen.
"Of course, I wouldn't miss that for the world!" Evan exclaimed as the Saiyan turned back toward the door.
"You're a lifesaver, Joe! I owe you one!" Evan said as he left the building and took off into the sky.
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Hovering just above the ocean's surface, Evan charged up a Ki blast and fired it into the water. As the yellow projectile quickly disappeared into the unseen depths below, Evan looked toward a circular device in his other hand.
The device was small, able to be held comfortably in Evan's palm. The device on one side was completely composed of grayish steel, while the other was made out of some kind of black glass.
"If those scientists are right, then there should be some kind of larger Grimm that's bringing all the smaller ones here. Obviously it's not in the air, and the town isn't built under some freaky Grimm nesting ground, so the sea is the best bet for where the beast is hiding." Evan thought to himself.
Looking toward the device, Evan watched as blue LEDs filled the screen like a radar. As Evan watched and waited, nothing came up on the machine.
"This would be a lot easier if I could just sense Grimm like normal people." Evan contemplated.
Looking at one of the HUDs on his helmet's display, Evan saw the time to be 1350 hours.
"That should be more than enough time to meet up with Saphron at the station. A quick meet up with everyone will certainly be a nice breath of fresh air before I have to head back out here." Evan thought to himself as he flew up and into the air.
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Walking through the bustling train station, Evan saw multiple citizens turn at him with a comforted smile on their faces with a few either giving a friendly nod or stumbling back in surprise when they saw him.
Eventually, Evan found Saphron sitting on a nearby bench in front of an empty train platform. Leaning against the wall, Saphron turned toward him.
"Glad you could join me." Saphron said to the teen.
"I mean I wasn't going to leave you hanging." Evan replied back.
"It's a good thing Jaune and his friends picked this train, there's an awful snowstorm coming in. I had Terra help me make some treats the other night so we have some comfort food prepared for them all, and we can just cozy up inside my place until the storm passes. You're welcome to join us, if you'd like…" Saphron suggested.
"Sorry, I'd love to, but I have a busy schedule to keep. After this is done, I have to get right back to do some more patrols until the day's over and then some." Evan explained as Saphron turned her face back toward the train platform.
"How can you just accept that?" Saphron asked with a bewildered tone to her voice.
"Accept what?" Evan questioned.
"I mean the way that Cordovin-" Saphron began to say as a the sound of a loud train horn filled the station.
Turning toward the sound, the pair watched as the train pulled into the station. However, the thing that confused him was how small the train was. Pulling up to the platform, the train's compartments only took up a third of the available space provided.
As the vehicle finally stopped, Evan watched as numerous people quickly rushed off the train with relieved looks on their faces. Among the crowd, the duo spotted Jaune, Ren, and Nora.
"Jaune! Over here!" Saphron shouted as she waved them over.
As the group approached them, Evan could see the three of them looking extremely worried.
"Are you alright? What happened? Where's the rest of your friends?" Saphron asked with concern.
"Grimm attacked the train. We all tried to hold them off, but they just kept coming. Ruby and her friends decided to get all of the civilians to the front part of the train and cut the line in order to get everyone else to safety. They told us that they would meet up with us in Argus, but I'm still worried about them."
"They're out there by themselves!" Evan thought to himself.
"Don't worry Jaune, I'll find them." Evan declared as he rushed away from the group and toward the exit.
"Wait…that voice…Evan? Is that you?" Ren asked, but Evan was long gone already.
"It's a long story." Saphron explained.
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With a gold and blue lamp clipped onto her skirt, Ruby Rose looked about her surroundings, the only thing that she could make out from the thick snow and winds, was the derailed train and endless snow covered trees.
"Everyone ok?" Ruby inquired.
Pulling a yellow and orange motorcycle from one
the derailed train compartments, Yang and Blake entered Ruby's vision.
"As good as we can be in a situation like this, sis." Yang added.
"If everyone's ready, I'd suggest that we get moving. We need to find some kind of shelter from this storm. Perhaps there's an outpost close to Argus that we can seek refuge at." Weiss pointed out.
"Yeah, especially if Grimm are coming after that lamp." Blake said aloud as she gestured toward Ruby's lamp.
"Speaking of which, were you ever going to tell us that little nugget of wisdom, Ozpin?" Yang angrily questioned.
Stepping past Qrow was a boy with tanned skin and black holding a white cane.
"It wasn't important to explain at the time." The boy stated as his hazel eyes glowed.
"Well maybe if we knew that before we got on the train, we wouldn't be stuck out here in the middle of nowhere." Yang replied back.
"Well this one's certainly a loudmouth." A new voice called out.
Emerging from one of the train compartments was a short elderly woman with gray hair and a blue ensemble. The most distinctive trait of hers, however, was her robotic blue eyes.
"I thought we got all the civilians to safety…Is there anyone else still on the train?" Ruby questioned.
"Who you calling a civilian? The name's Maria Calavera, and I'll have you know that I was a huntress for longer than you've been alive. I know how to defend myself, and I saw the whole situation on the train so I thought I could lend you some of my expertise. That's why I slipped out from the rest of the crowd as you were escorting them all to the front of the train. And don't worry, if there were any other stragglers I would have convinced them to join the rest of the civilians and helped get them to safety. " The lady elaborated.
"In that case, let's get moving." Qrow muttered out.
"Not happening! What else are you hiding from us Ozpin? We aren't going anywhere until you give us the full picture." Yang declared as she marched up in front of the boy.
"I only chose to hide the truth from you, because it's not something to be taken lightly." The boy explained.
"We can handle it. You already told us about Salem. Don't you trust us?" Blake asked.
"Of course, but you aren't ready yet." The boy continued on.
"Well, when will we be ready?" Weiss questioned.
"Only when I say-" The boy began to say, only for him to clutch his head in pain as he knelt down onto the snow, dropping his cane in the process.
"Ozpin's hiding…more than you realize…" The boy added, his eyes no longer having that ghostly glow to them.
"Oscar?" Ruby questioned.
"Use…the lamp…say her name…Jinn…do it and she'll explain…everything…Agghh!" Oscar explained as he pointed to the lamp before yelling out in pain.
"Jinn? Oscar, what are you saying?" Ruby asked only for the raging snowstorm to cease all around them, the very snowflakes stopping dead in their tracks midair.
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Pushing back against the harsh winter winds, Evan flew through the skies. Despite his Ki melting the snowflakes before they ever stuck to his helmet, the teen could barely see past his own fists in this current climate.
Stopping midair, Evan took in a deep breath.
"HELLO! ANYONE OUT THERE?! HELLO!" Evan shouted out, only for his voice to disappear almost instantly amongst the howling storm.
"This is ridiculous, I can barely hear myself think, let alone hear anyone in these conditions!" Evan thought to himself.
"If I can't find them with my eyes, maybe I can try tracking their Ki instead. There's at least four of them out here, I can't miss them!" Evan contemplated.
Closing his eyes, Evan focused as he tried reaching out into the forests below. However, when he attempted to do so, all Evan could feel was a mass of different blurry signatures all mixing together and twisting around. It was almost like he was sensing literal white noise.
"What the hell!? Why can't I sense anything?" Evan thought to himself.
Trying once more, Evan pushed himself even further, only to be met with the same results. Sweating, Evan could feel exhaustion start to creep up into his body again, despite him still feeling invigorated less than an hour ago.
"Great, now Joe's drink is wearing off already. That's probably why I can't sense squat. I'll need to swing by his shop again to refuel if I'm to make it through the day." Evan contemplated as he sat in the air in the midst of thought.
"I can't do anything to help Ruby and the others right now, and I still need to find that giant Grimm before things get even worse. What should I…the pilots back at the base!" Evan realized to himself.
"I'll let them know the situation and while there searching for them, I can refocus my efforts and keep searching for the monster." Evan decided.
"Just hold on for a bit longer guys, help's on the way!" Evan thought to himself as he turned around and headed back toward the city.
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Staring at the suspended snowflakes, the team looked around with both awe and confusion. Before anyone could say anything however, a blue smoke began to bellow out in great streams from the lamp.
Quickly, the smoke began to gather in the air in front of them as the smoke began to coalesce, shape, and take the form of a humanoid figure. Standing over 9 feet tall in front of the group was a woman with skin the same color as the smoke, light blue eyes, and dark blue hair. Not only that, but her body was covered in golden jewelry.
"Greetings miss Ruby Rose, holder of the Lamp of Knowledge. I am Jinn, the spirit of the Lamp. I shall reveal any knowledge that you wish to learn. However, I can only answer two more questions this century. Choose wisely." The figure explained.
"What is it that Ozpin isn't telling us?" Ruby asked.
"A very interesting question indeed. In order for you all to understand, I must take you back to humanity's beginnings." Jinn proclaimed as the world around them filled with the blue smoke.
Covering her face, Ruby flinched back in surprise and fear. However, as she pulled her hands away, she saw that she was now in a large meadow filled with flowers.
"Yang? Uncle Qrow? Where are-" Ruby began to say only to turn around and see the whole group still standing behind her, also confused by the situation.
"Where did we go?" Weiss questioned.
Reaching out toward a nearby sunflower, Maria watched as her hand phase right through the thing causing the flower to turn into the same formless blue smoke from earlier before quickly shifting back into the sunflower. Getting up from the ground, the Oscar looked toward Ruby.
"We're still near Argus. This is just a fabrication made by Jinn. Because Ruby asked Jinn a question, time has temporarily stopped for just us. Until Jinn finishes answering Ruby's question, we'll be stuck here for a while." Oscar explained as his eyes glowed once again. As soon as he finished speaking, the glow disappeared as the boy regained his bearings.
"Long ago, there were two brother Gods that created the world you call Remnant: The God of Light who created all flora and fauna in the world, and The God of Darkness who, in envy, created the Grimm, beasts with the sole desire to destroy the God of Light's creations. Eventually, the two brothers came together to create man, which possessed aspects of both brothers. The most notable trait was the ability to wield magic. For many years, the Gods ruled over the lands and the kingdoms that mankind created. For our story, two of these humans developed a special bond." Jinn's voice announced all around them, although the blue figure was nowhere to be seen.
"A great knight and king named Ozma." Jinn continued on as a man with black hair, tanned skin formed out of the smoke wearing teal and silver armor.
"And a wise queen named Salem." Jinn stated as a woman with blonde hair appeared wearing a flowing white and blue dress.
"The two were madly in love with each other and spent all their time together showing their love." Jinn said as both figures embraced each other.
Suddenly, the meadow shifted to that of a magnificent and royal looking bedroom. In the bed lay a weak and tired looking Ozma. Sitting in a chair next to the bed was Salem clutching Ozma's hand, weeping profusely.
"Unfortunately, one day, Ozma fell sick with a horrible illness." Jinn explained.
"Salem tried everything in her power to save Ozma, but to no avail." Jinn concluded as Ozma hand fell limply to the side of the bed, causing Salem to cry even more.
Shifting the scene once again, it showed Salem scaling a massive ornate marble staircase up to the top of a mountain.
"Stricken with grief, Salem traveled to the tallest mountain in all of the world, the home of the God of Light." Jinn continued as Salem reached the final step.
The top of the mountain had a large, winding tree with a beautiful blue lake surrounding it. All around the edges of the crater-like area were flowers of every shape and size.
Approaching the water, Salem watched as the waters flowed as a giant golden dragon emerged from the depths. Upon seeing Salem, the beast changed its form to that of a golden man with deer antlers.
"Salem begged the God of Light to bring her husband back to life, but he refused to do so, stating that the balance of life and death were the most important things to uphold in existence. That doing so would be against the natural order of things." Jinn elaborated.
Then, the scene switched again to Salem traversing down a narrow and treacherous obsidian staircase, which was the only thing keeping Salem from falling into what looked to be a black, bottomless pit.
"Angered by his words, Salem traveled all the way to the deepest depths of the world to convince the God of Darkness to bring her lover back from the dead." Jinn spoke aloud.
Reaching the bottom of the staircase, Salem found herself in a large cavern filled with sharp stalactites and fungi of all sorts. Not a single ray of light could be found here, as the only form of illumination was that of numerous glowing, purple crystals that jutted out from the walls. In the back of the cave, emerging from a pool of black liquid arose a purple dragon which took on the form of a purple man with ram horns.
"Immediately she kneeled and prayed to him in the hopes of bringing Ozma back and the God of Darkness, who never received prayers for eons, was moved by her devotion. In an instant, he did just that and brought Ozma back from the dead." Jinn said.
With a snap of his fingers, Ozma appeared from a flash of light, Salem now in tears at the sight. Suddenly, the ground shook as the God of Light appeared in another flash of light.
"However, before the two lovers could reunite, the God of Light appeared, sensing what his brother had just done." Jinn stated.
The God of Light turned to the God of Darkness as he began to speak although his mouth did not move.
"The God of Light told his brother that Salem only came to his altar after she failed to convince the God of Light, that Salem did not truly care about the God of Darkness and how he was only a means to an end for her." Jinn proclaimed.
"Furious at being tricked by Salem's hollow words, the God of Darkness used his magic to send Ozma back to the afterlife." Jinn announced as the God of Darkness teleported Ozma away with another snap of his fingers.
"Filled with even more sorrow and anger, she cursed the Gods, swearing that she would despise them for all her life." Jinn added as the God of Light held out his hand, causing Salem's body to shimmer and glow temporarily.
"However, hearing her previous actions alongside her wording gave the two Gods an idea. Using his vast magic, the God of Light cursed Salem with immortality, so she would forever be separated from her lover and that she would be able to spend eternity cursing their names. In an instant, the two Gods vanished from her sight, leaving Salem alone." Jinn stated as Salem angrily punched the ground with all her might, breaking her hand in the process.
As she reeled in pain, she watched as her hand instantly and automatically twisted back to normal, as if she was never hurt to begin with. Suddenly, a wicked grin covered her face.
"However, Salem was not distraught at the thought of this. Instead, she saw an opportunity. Using her newfound immortality, she traveled to all of the Kingdoms of the world and convinced them all that she tricked the God's into giving her this power. She promised that if they banded together, that they would be able to overthrow the Gods and claim divinity for themselves." Jinn explained as the scene shifted from Salem talking in forest villages, to bustling town squares, to finally in front of a collection of Kings and Queens.
"Fooled by her words, the Kingdoms collected all of their armies and led a siege on both of the Gods' homes." Jinn elaborated as the scene changed again to countless humans attacking both locations simultaneously.
"Despite their best efforts, the powers of man were simply no match for that of a God." Jinn proclaimed as the humans shot fire, ice, lightning, and other magical elements at the Gods, who looked more annoyed than actually hurt.
As the smoke cleared, both Gods snapped their friends, stopping everyone in their tracks.
"Roaring at mankind's rulers, the two Gods demanded who led them to make such a foolish decision. Upon learning that Salem was the culprit, the two Gods decided that this version of man should be no more." Jinn stated as both Gods disappeared from sight, only to reappear high in the upper atmosphere of space.
Each God holding one of their hands out, the Gods charged up a multicolored orb of magic. Blasting down toward the planet, the attack destroyed everything in its path.
"In one mighty display of power, they effortlessly wiped all of humanity from existence, with the sole exception of Salem. With their work done, the two Gods rose into the cosmos, destroying part of the moon in the process, leaving Salem alone once more." Jinn said aloud.
Shifting once again, the scene changed to Salem stumbling out aimlessly through the devastated ruins of the world.
"For countless years, Salem walked the lands, her hatred for the Gods spilling out into everything else: Humanity, Nature, even Life itself." Jinn added.
As Salem wandered the lands, she arrived in an all too familiar location.
"One day, she arrived into the now empty home of the God of Darkness, and there she found the one thing that she hoped could end her suffering: A massive black pool composed of Destruction magic. It was from pools just like this one, that the Grimm emerged to torment humanity. If the God of Light's magic made her immortal, perhaps the God of Darkness's magic would finally free her from this curse." Jinn explained as Salem jumped into the liquid.
"Leaping into the pool, Salem felt her body twist and contort, but even then she could not die. Breaking free from the waters, Salem emerged, her body now reminiscent of the very Grimm themselves." Jinn continued as Salem burst free from the waters, pulling herself free back on land.
At this point, Salem's fair complexion had shifted. Her hair was now completely white, the whites of her eyes replaced with pure black and her irises were a horrible blood red. As Salem laid on the ground, she watched as a Beowolf emerged from the black pool. However, before Salem could conjure a ball of fire to eliminate it, she watched as the creature looked at her and bowed to her.
"Her being now forever linked with the Grimm, Salem gained the ability to control and command the Grimm. But with no real subjects to rule over, Salem retreated to the most obscure points in the world." Jinn said.
The scene changing again, it showed the two Gods hovering over the world of Remnant again.
"Eventually, the two Gods wished to recreate humanity once again, only this time they wanted to see what would happen if humanity was left to their own devices. But they decided that there should be one leader amongst the people to help guide them all." Jinn explained.
"With that idea in mind, they traveled to the afterlife and chose Ozma to take on this role." Jinn announced as the two Gods appeared in what looked to be an endless field of flowers with various souls moving about.
Among the fields they found Ozma, now with a halo above his head, staring longingly at the flowers. Taking Ozma by the hand, they transported him to a white void.
"While the Gods explained everything that had transpired on the planet to the man, the Gods brought humanity and life back into the empty world." Jinn stated as Remnant was given life once again through the Gods' magic.
"Not only that, but they informed him how this version of humanity would be different. Not only would these humans be unable to use magic, with the exception of him and Salem, but a collection of these humans would possess animal features. These ones, the Gods decreed, would be called Faunus. In addition, the Gods created four relics and gifted them to Ozma, relics that embodied the four ideals that all humans were based on." Jinn added as the God of Light and the God of Darkness created four golden items.
"The Staff of Creation." Jinn said as a gold and blue, ornate staff was made.
"The Sword of Destruction." Jinn continued as a sword of gold with a blue scabbard was created.
"The Crown of Choice." Jinn said as a golden crown with blue jewels was made.
"And the Lamp of Knowledge." Jinn concluded as a gold and blue lamp was created, an exact replica of the one on Ruby's hip.
"Should anyone ever decide it, one could combine the four relics to call upon the Gods for humanity's final judgment." Jinn proclaimed as the God of Light created a golden bag and placed each of the relics within it.
"If humanity has learned to coexist with their fellow man and truly be at peace: The Gods will return to live amongst them and return magic back to the people." Jinn continued on.
"However, if they do not find this to be the case: The World and its inhabitants will be wiped from existence." Jinn said with a serious tone in her voice.
"Accepting these conditions, along with the hope that he could reunite with his former lover, Ozma was told that until he summoned the Gods for their final judgment, Ozma would forever reincarnate into a new body whenever he should die, sharing the soul and consciousness of whatever body he would find himself in, in order to help guide humanity." Jinn stated as with a snap of their fingers, the Gods removed the halo above Ozma.
"With their powerful magic, the Gods sent Ozma down to Remnant to begin his task." Jinn added as, with a flash, Ozma awoke back on Remnant, now with a small golden bag at his side.
"After months of searching, Ozma found Salem hiding from the world in the deepest forest." Jinn stated as Ozma walked through the planet until arriving at the mouth of a cave with trees all around it.
Stepping forward from the cave was Salem, wearing the same clothes from all those years ago, although they were now tattered and discolored from age. At first Salem looked at the man with anger and hate, but as the two stared at each other, her face softened as the two embraced each other.
"For a time, it seemed like nothing had changed. The two loved each other just as much as before." Jinn announced as the scene changed with the two of them now living in a small wooden cabin, each of them talking with each other.
"However, Salem had loftier ambitions than when Ozma was first in love with her. She no longer wanted to rule a Kingdom, but the world itself. She believed that they, with their powerful magics. Ozma, who had informed Salem of his ability to reincarnate, the relics, and his mission, wished to try and guide humanity with Salem at his side." Jinn said as the scene shifted to a town being attacked by Grimm, only for Ozma and Salem to appear from above, vanquishing the beasts with ease. Instantly the townspeople bowed to their saviors.
Quickly, it showed the sun and moon passing through the sky over and over, and the town transformed into a city, until it began a massive Kingdom. Within an immaculate palace of stone and brickwork, Ozma sat leaning against a window. From outside, he could see innocent people being struck down by multiple men in armor.
"Unfortunately for Salem, Ozma soon saw the cruelty and hatred that Salem had for the world as they began to conquer it." Jinn added.
Gazing away from the horrors below, Ozma looked toward a grand family portrait of Salem, Ozma, and their four daughters. Furrowing his brow, Ozma clenched his fist.
Then, the scene changed to Ozma escorting his young daughters into a large courtyard and into a wide carriage.
"No longer wishing to be a part of this, Ozma attempted to send his daughters away to safety, out of Salem's reach, and was planning to confront her." Jinn proclaimed.
"However, fate had other plans that day." Jinn said as Salem entered the courtyard, seeing everything unfold.
Enraged, Salem unleashed her powers on them, only for Ozma to retaliate with his own magic. The two figures flew through the air casting magic with reckless abandon, in a huge flash of light, the courtyard, and most of the castle, was brought to ruins. As the carriage laid in flames, Salem approached a bloodied and beaten Ozma, levitating a great stone block above his body.
"After a long battle, Salem, filled with betrayal, killed Ozma and abandoned the Kingdom they had built." Jinn explained as she watched Ozma perish in front of her eyes before then throwing the stone away and fleeing the ruins of their former palace.
As the scene changed again, Ozma awoke in a new body with the golden bag magically back at his side once again.
"Reincarnating, Ozma was consumed with grief and sadness at the loss of his children. For years he wallowed in despair. It wasn't until he was shown true kindness by humanity that he began to remember what he was fighting. More determined than ever to accomplish the goal set about by the Gods. To keep the relics safe, Ozma spent many, many lives, working to guide humanity, secretly creating the vaults to hide each of the relics, and helping to build the Huntsmen Academies that lay above each of them. During these lives, he discovered how his children's magic transferred from one person to another upon death, like his own ability to reincarnate, and chose to honor them by calling those who possessed these magics: Maidens." Jinn announced.
Watching the scene change, the group saw a new man holding the Lamp of Knowledge, summoning Jinn out of the lamp.
"Believing that so long as Salem existed, humanity would never be united, Ozma used the Lamp of Knowledge to learn the one thing that he needed to know." Jinn explained.
"How do I kill Salem?" Ozma asked.
"You cannot." The artificial Jinn stated.
"I informed him that the God of Light knew the dangers that Salem could cause upon humanity and Ozma's goals for peace, so the God of Light gave me the knowledge of how to kill Salem." Jinn explained.
"Those of humanity that possessed the rare trait of the Silver Eyes could use the magic bestowed by the God of Light to not only destroy the forces of Grimm, but also to very briefly remove Salem's immortality, a final safeguard against the evil witch." Jinn elaborated.
"If one with immense power combined their strength with that of a Silver Eyed Warrior, they would be able to truly kill Salem." Jinn continued on.
"At the start of Ozma's cycle of reincarnation, he possessed this very power through his incredible magic. However, with every reincarnation, Ozma's soul began melded with more and more non-magically attuned individuals, causing his own magic to slowly weaken over the many centuries that he had been alive." Jinn finished as Ozma fell to his knees in shock and despair.
Then all of the smoke began to dissipate and return back into the lamp on Ruby's hip.
"I have told you everything that you wished to know. If you ever decide on what you want to learn next, you know how to summon me. Until we meet again." Jinn stated as she too turned back into smoke and returned back into the lamp.
Instantly, time returned to normal as the storm returned to its original intensity.
As all eyes turned to Oscar, Ruby looked stunned as she approached him.
"What the hell Ozpin?! Or should we call you Ozma now?" Yang exclaimed.
"Is that really true? Salem can't be killed…" Ruby muttered out.
"Unfortunately, Jinn is correct. As I am now, I would be unable to summon the power to truly kill her." Ozpin explained.
"Surely you must've come up with some sort of plan though. Why else would you still be working to fight her? Ruby has silver eyes! There has to be something we could do." Weiss shouted out.
"I…technically have a plan. But…" Ozpin began to say, his voice faltering as he did so.
"*Sigh* After learning that knowledge from Jinn, I began to pour my magic into the cane you see before you." Ozpin continued as he showed the cane to them all.
"I thought that with every reincarnation, I would be able to eventually gather enough magic to match the power I once wielded. However…" Ozpin elaborated as he lowered his head.
"With every reincarnation, as my power began weaker, so too was the amount of magic that I was able to store into the cane. It was like trying to fill a lake with smaller and smaller buckets of water. At the rate that I've been storing magic, it would take close to an eon before I've accumulated enough magic into this item. By that point, I doubt that this solar system will even still exist, let alone humanity…" Ozpin said sadly.
"But our technology has progressed so much, surely if we used it in combination with the silver eyes, we could defeat Salem then." Blake argued.
"You don't understand, not a trace of Salem must remain if one were to try and kill her. If anything of her survives, she would simply regenerate and return to normal almost instantaneously. The amount of power needed to wipe every fragment of Salem from Remnant would be enough to destroy the moon, maybe even the planet itself. Trying to kill Salem now is an impossible goal. At this point, all my efforts with my most recent reincarnations have been to help preserve humanity for as long as possible. The people of this world deserve to live for as long as they can." Ozpin continued on.
"W-What about Evan? He's an alien! He took out a Nevermore like it was nothing! Maybe he's strong enough to-" Ruby began to stammer out.
"With all due respect, while Evan is certainly formidable, from what I've seen from him during his time at Beacon, I don't see him capable of destroying Salem." Ozpin shouted out as he interrupted Ruby.
"So you're saying that it's hopeless. We're up against an immortal lady who commands the Grimm, and we have no way of combating her!" Yang yelled back at Oscar, only for him to quietly nod in response.
As Oscar's eyes ceased glowing, the boy regaining control of his own body, he looked back toward the group in fear and uncertainty.
"What are we going to do?" Oscar asked Ruby.
"W-We'll think of something." Ruby claimed.
"What's the point? Nothing we could do would work against Salem." Weiss muttered out.
"The point is to stay alive! Don't you all have families back home? Even if this Salem figure can't be killed, there's still people that care about you all. Are you just going to lie down in the snow and die? What would your parents and friends think of that, huh? We need to focus on the here and now. We need to find shelter quickly before we freeze out here. So let's get moving!" Maria shouted out as she walked to the front of the disheartened group.
Trudging through the snow, the group pushed against the winds, traveling deeper into the woods.
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"You couldn't find anything?" Evan questioned.
"I wish we could tell you something else, but there really is nothing. We checked the crash site of the train and everything, but we had to split before the storm got even worse." The first pilot explained.
"W-What about tracks, there at least had to be something there!" Evan exclaimed.
"By the time we got there, all the tracks were swept up by the snowstorm." The second pilot stated sadly.
"Oh…" Evan muttered out as he lowered his head.
"Hey don't worry. We're not giving up just yet! First thing tomorrow when the storm clears up, we'll get out there and keep looking for those friends of yours! You can count on that!" The first pilot declared with a smile on his face.
"Absolutely, don't go thinking that we don't appreciate all the work you've been doing out here! Besides, they're huntsmen right? They're made of stronger stuff!" The second pilot added.
"Thanks, I really mean it." Evan replied back as he left the landing pad.
Navigating his way through the military base, Evan kept his posture straightened and composed even as he passed by a few other soldiers. Finally reaching his bedroom, Evan closed the door and proceeded to collapse down onto his bed, with his armor still on.
"Even after a second drink from Joe, I'm already back to feeling like shit. It's only been a few hours too. Shouldn't the drink have worked for longer…Aagghh…My mind is killing me!" Evan contemplated as he stared up at the ceiling.
"Just stay alive you guys, just for a little while longer. Please don't die on me. You survived this long. Is a snowstorm really going to be what takes you out? Help is coming." Evan thought to himself.
Consumed by his exhaustion, Evan closed his eyes and passed out.
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Hello! Thank you as always for reading. This chapter was a lot longer than I was expecting it to be, but I'm pretty happy with how it came out.
I'm interested to hear your thoughts on the chapter and the story so far. I also wanted to say that it is now the first anniversary of this story's creation. Thank you all once again for sticking with this story of mine. We are getting closer and closer to 100 followers on this story, which is absolutely crazy!
The next chapter should be released sometime the weekend of the 16th of February.
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www . P a treon . com (slash) Alist0r
for more details. Even helping me out a little really goes a long way.
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Thank you for your donations, it really means a lot! As always, I'll see you all next time!
