Chapter 35: Revelations

With a flick of her wrist, the flames that surrounded her magically transformed into a mass of volcanic glass, shaping into a smooth obsidian blade. With a forceful cry, she lunged forward and plunged the blade directly into his stomach. He gasped as his abdomen was impaled, the blade forcing its way through his intestines and breaking out on the other side, piercing through his back covered in blood and bile.

However, despite his pain, the man smiled, and used what air remained in his lungs to laugh. "You know this isn't the end of me," he wheezed tauntingly.

"No," she said. "But I will kill you. I will kill you over and over and over again."

"And how many will you let die to do that?" he mocked. "This poor soul you just ended is just one of many you'll kill. Not to mention… them. You failed to save them this time. Who's to say you won't fail them again? How many lives need to end… just for me to come back anyway?"

She stared into his dark eyes. She had no answer to give.

He smiled one last time. "See you soon," he wheezed. He then fell limp, the body dying on the black blade.

She pulled the weapon from the body, letting it fall to the dirt. The dark ground was made darker as the blood pooled from it.

She had just killed him, but she felt no better. He was right. She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth in fury. Just how long would this go on?

She needed to find an answer. For their sake.

Emerald, Mercury, and Adam hurried down the stairs to their basement hideout. Salem followed quickly behind, led by Emerald. Cinder took up the rear, moving slower than the others. Her eyes were fixed on Salem in front of her.

As they entered the basement, Mercury and Adam took fighting stances and scanned the environment, checking each of the shadows and corners to ensure the place was safe.

As they checked, Salem looked around with concern. "This is where you all have been staying?" she asked. She put her hand on the cold concrete wall. "What happened to the base? The one I set up?"

"They blew it up," Emerald explained. "It… was our fault. We got careless. We let in what we thought was a little lost girl. Turned out to be a robot assassin, equipped with firebombs."

"Robot?" Salem asked, turning to Emerald. "That looked like a person? That's a terrifying thought…"

"We destroyed their factory," Mercury said, finishing his search. "Made sure they won't make another one, and destroyed the first one for good measure. Along with the… other… experiments they had going on in there."

"What kind of experiments?" Salem asked.

Emerald shook her head. "We'll tell you later. I don't… I don't think anyone wants to remember that right now."

Salem nodded with sincerity. Then she turned and faced Adam. "Well, I think it's about time we were introduced."

Adam nodded slightly. "My name is Adam Taurus. I'm a defector from the White Fang. I've heard a lot about you."

"Have you?" Salem asked, a slight smile on her face. "How did you come-"

"Stop," Cinder interrupted, loudly. All eyes turned to look at her. She glared at Salem with her eye before reaching up and pulling off the dusty, dirty, itchy eyepatch on the other side. She kept the socket closed, but finally allowed the night air to touch the skin and eyelid. As she glared, she spoke again. "No more questions. You promised us answers first. I want you to explain everything. Everything, Salem." She fought back a tear in her eye. "Not a single thing left out."

Salem looked at Cinder with an expression of regret and shame. She nodded. "You're right," she said. "I owe you all an explanation." She walked over to the corner of the room, where a small chair had been placed. She slowly sat down with a contemplative look.

"Cinder…" she said apprehensively, "… all of you… please," she looked up at them. "Please know that, everything I'm about to tell you, no matter how outlandish it sounds, is the truth." She paused and looked directly at Cinder. Cinder could see there was a hint of fear in her eyes. "The absolute truth," Salem continued. She sighed. "I… don't really know where to begin."

"How about magic?" Emerald said. "You said that was magic you were using to fight earlier."

Salem nodded. "Magic," she said. "Yes, magic… back when the gods first abandoned Remnant, they left some of their power behind. Power that we mortals could use to shape our world in their absence. That power… it had to have a conduit, an anchor of sorts, to exist on Remnant. So four young women were chosen to be those conduits of magic. They were known as the Four Maidens: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter."

"They were named after the seasons?" Mercury scoffed.

"No," Salem said with a small smile. "The seasons were named after them." She continued. "I… was friends with those women. More than friends. They were like my sisters. Back then, when magic existed everywhere, people were born with magic abilities. Ones unique to their souls and personalities. We called them 'Semblances', since they were a semblance of the person's soul. Even then, anyone could learn any kind of magic. Some were more gifted than others, but with enough training and discipline, pretty much anyone could perform any kind of magic, so long as they had the power and resources necessary to do so. I was a teacher, alongside the Maidens. We would teach students of all ages and all backgrounds how to harness their Semblances, and how to use magic to benefit or defend those around them, such as from the Creatures of Grimm.

"However, there were some that were born without Semblances. It wasn't uncommon, and they could still learn to practice other types of magic, but most of the time those born without Semblances didn't bother seeking education in mysticism. That wasn't the case for one of our students.

"His name was Ozma. He was a young man born without a Semblance, and because of that, he felt he needed to master every other way of performing magic to compensate. He viewed those without Semblances as lower, and did everything he could to reach this self-imposed status. The Maidens and I tutored him, as well as his peers. He was brilliant, but nothing he did was ever enough. He always had to learn a new spell, a more difficult spell, a more… unorthodox spell. He even wanted to learn forbidden magic."

"Forbidden?" Adam inquired.

Salem nodded. "Magic that either did terrible things… or required terrible costs. The Maidens and I had locked that knowledge away from anyone, including myself. We would never allow anyone to learn it.

"But Ozma… he did not care about our rules or restrictions. He did not care about our permission. While our backs were turned, he would break into our restricted areas and learn about all sorts of terrible magic. Magic that should never be performed. But for Ozma, it was just new possibilities regardless of the taboo. As soon as he learned about all the things he could do, he grew more and more jealous of the people with Semblances, and the people with magical abilities more powerful than his. He convinced himself that he was owed power, that he deserved as much magic as was possible. He wanted magic… all of it, all to himself.

"He began formulating plans, and teaching himself ever more terrible forms of forbidden magic. The Maidens and I had no idea what was going on. He eventually found out that, in order to complete what he had planned, it would take more than a single lifetime. Possibly hundreds of lifetimes. So he began working on a way to make himself immortal. And he found that way… a combination of forbidden magic and his own inventing, he devised a spell that would allow him to live on even if his body was killed. But to do it, he needed to make a sacrifice. Only by spilling the blood of people with immense magic power could his spell work. And the more powerful the sacrifice, the stronger his spell would be."

Emerald's eyes widened. "So he…" She trailed off.

Salem hung her head. "Yes," she said somberly. "He… killed the Maidens. One night, he snuck into their chambers. By the time I caught on to what was happening… it was too late. He had slowed me down just enough… that I did not make it there in time. He murdered them. Murdered them in… the most horrific ways." Salem stopped talking and hung her head lower. Her eyes fulled with tears.

"What happened next?" Emerald asked, sounding like a child hearing a macabre bedtime story.

Salem regained her composure and lifted her head back up. "I… killed him. Then and there. But his spell had worked. Even though I killed him that night, Ozma did not die. Instead… his soul travelled to another body. He would start out as just a voice in their head. But the longer he stayed there, the more control he got, until, before too long, the consciousness of whoever's body he was in was pushed away, and that person became Ozma. He would look different, and sound different, but mentally, it was Ozma. And the other person would be trapped, seeing someone else's life play out before their eyes, all using their body.

"But the Maidens had a secret, one that even I did not know about. To ensure that magic always had its conduits, and that the power of the Maidens would forever exist, should a Maiden die, their power would transfer to the last eligible female in their memories. On that night, the powers of the Four Maidens went to four of the students. And it became my duty to protect them… and stop Ozma.

"But Ozma always knew where to find them. Powerful magic users can feel other powerful magic users. Sense their presence. And he couldn't let anyone hinder his plans, especially those with power like the Maidens'. I would try to be there to defend the new Maidens. Sometimes I would get there in time, and save them from Ozma, in whatever form he had taken. Other times I was too late. This continued… for so many years. Every time I would kill him, and in doing so kill the poor person he had taken over, he would just come back later, in a new form with a new identity. There were some Maidens that I would keep safe until they were old women, passing on from old age… but there were those I couldn't save, the ones Ozma got to first. It didn't matter who they were. Even if they were just little girls, if they had the power of the Maidens, Ozma would destroy them. He made sure that the power of the Maidens was always in flux, always changing, so it could not be used against him. We fought like that… for centuries."

"Centuries?" Cinder scoffed. "You expect us to believe you're centuries old?"

Salem nodded. "Closer to a couple millennia."

"But…" Emerald said, holding her chin with her fingers, "…Ozma could keep coming back for all that time because he was resurrecting. But if you lived all that time…" She looked up at Salem with a concerned expression. "You… didn't, did you?"

"No," Salem said in a suddenly stern voice. "I didn't use the same spell that he used. I didn't spill any innocent blood." She sighed and leaned back. "But I had to stay alive, to ensure that I could always be there to fight Ozma back. I used a different spell. It didn't make me immortal, but it significantly extended my lifespan. I thought it would be long enough to figure out a way to stop him. But I'm running out of time, and if I die, then there's no resurrection. And to get that extension, I had to sacrifice something of my own."

"What did you sacrifice?" Mercury asked.

Salem looked into his eyes. "A piece of my soul. My Semblance. I still have what magic I can perform, but the power I was born with… is gone forever. Also, because my soul is incomplete, it also means that, no matter what, I cannot become a Maiden myself. Even if I was the last person in a dying Maiden's memory, the powers would not transfer to me."

Salem inhaled deeply. "My fight against Ozma kept going. But after centuries of Maidens being hunted down, eventually an evolution began to occur. Ozma was detecting the Maiden's power, so with each new Maiden, the power grew weaker. A way to preserve the host. And as the power of the Maidens, the conduits for magic entirely, began to fade, so did magic itself. Eventually, the powers of the Maidens simply did not manifest anymore. The Maidens would still be there, still passing along their abilities, but those abilities became so buried deep down that new Maidens weren't even aware they had powers. And with that, magic faded too. Soon everyone was born without a Semblance. Magic was forgotten, transformed into myth and fiction. The only ones with magic became those still aware of its existence, that being Ozma and myself. And our powers were far weaker than they had been over a millennia before. But that didn't stop either of us. It just made it more difficult to find one another. Little did I know that he had another plan to seize power. All it took to fool me was a damn name change, and he weaseled his way into Vale government. Worked his way up. Before I kew it, he was staging a violent coup and taking over Vale, and sending the might of its military to conquer the entire world."

"Lord Ozpin," Cinder said.

Salem looked at her inquisitively. "Why do you call him 'Lord''?"

Cinder hesitated. "What?"

"He's not your lord," Salem said. "He may have given himself that title, but its not one that you should honor."

Adam thought about it for a moment. "She's right," he said. "I guess we've just felt his presence and power for so long…"

Salem nodded. "But I had a backup plan too. I formed a team of strong-willed and strong-bodied young men and women, who I trained to fight and work together. A team that, if something should happen to me, would take it upon themselves to keep the fight against Ozma going." She sighed. "But I never got the chance… to tell you all what was really going on."

"Salem…" Cinder said, a hint of her compassion for her mentor starting to come back, "what happened that night?"

"After so many years of fighting me, Ozma came up with something that could stop me," Salem explained. "It was a possession Grimm, called a Nightmare. He experimented on it. Modified it to possess me. It was like a tumor on my mind and soul. Draining me. I'm sure he expected it to kill me." She smiled at looked around at her allies. "But you all… you made sure that didn't happen."

Suddenly, Salem's eyes opened wide and she sat up quickly, her arms shooting to her sides.

"What? What is it?" Emerald asked.

"His plan!" Salem said. "And my counter! I just remembered!"

"Woah, woah, woah, slow down," Mercury said. "Tell us."

Salem put her head in her hands. "After over a thousand years of experimenting, I developed a spell. One that would work as a counter of sorts. It would end Ozma's immortality!"

"Really?" Adam asked.

Salem did not look up. "But that night… the night he bombed Vale… I also learned of his plan. What he was trying to do. How he was trying to do it. I went to stop him with my spell, end him once and for all… but he was ready for me, and got the Nightmare into me first. If he went though with that plan…"

"What's his plan, Salem?" Emerald asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Salem looked up at her. "Magic may have faded, but it's not gone. Within every person's soul is a bit of magic. Everyone in Remnant has some magic. And he still wants all of it. He wants all the magic in the world. He wants to steal the souls of everyone in Remnant… for himself."

"How would he do that?" Adam asked.

"For a spell like that, he would need to first perform an immense sacrifice. Hundreds, even thousands dead. And not only that, but he would have to make those sacrifices at places of magical significance across the world. Only then would he have the power he needs to cast a spell like that."

Cinder contemplated what Salem had said. As she thought, she remembered something from earlier.

"Wait," she said. "Adam, do you remember that map we saw on J.I.N.N.? Back at the laboratory."

Adam's brows raised as he recalled. "Yes. Four locations had been circled. Atlas Compound, Shade Academy, Signal Academy, and Haven Penitentiary."

Mercury's mouth fell open. "Those places have been in operation almost since the start of Ozpin's regime. Atlas kills tons of Faunus slaves. Shade and Signal have a ton of casualties in their Huntsman/Huntress programs. And then there's Haven… not only are those important places for his empire, but every death there is a sacrifice for this spell of his."

"No…" Salem muttered. "You mean…"

Emerald shook her head. "Wait! Remember what Lionheart said? They didn't really kill people at Haven, they were mostly pretending. Some died there, but nowhere near the amount of the other places. That's why he didn't cast that spell yet."

Cinder thought for a moment, then her eyelids opened wide. Her empty socket was exposed, but she did not notice as she began to hyperventilate.

"Cinder?" Adam said, hurrying to her side. "Cinder, what's wrong?"

Cinder took a step back. Her vision was going blurry and she could feel the blood rushing from her head. Her ears began to ring as she began to panic. She tried to take another step back, but stumbled and fell on her rear. She scooted on her hands to the wall behind her, only stopping when she felt the concrete touch her back.

"Cinder!" Emerald said.

"What? What?" Mercury demanded.

"H-h-haven…" Cinder managed to wheeze through panting breaths. "Did-didn't have the deaths. But we… we… we sent Ozpin's forces there. The revolt. If all of the soldiers died… or all of the prisoners died…"

It was Emerald's turn to step back. "Then they would have been sacrifices."

There was a silence, only filled with Cinder's hyperactive breathing.

"We helped him," Cinder panted.

"No, Cinder, no," Adam said, leaning down to comfort her.

"We helped him," Cinder repeated.

"No, Cinder," Salem said, standing up. "You didn't know…"

"No, we didn't know!" Cinder suddenly screamed, her gaze locking onto her mentor. Salem was taken aback, but felt guilt rush through her body as she looked into Cinder's tearful eye and hollow socket. "And you know why we didn't know? Because you didn't tell us! About magic, about Maidens, about Ozpin or Ozma or whatever the fuck his name is! Why?!" Cinder's arm jerked up and she pointed at Salem. "Why didn't you tell us?!"

"I…" Salem stuttered, "I was trying… to protect you."

"Protect us?!" Cinder cried.

"If you had known, he would have come after you!" Salem said loudly, though clearly trying not to yell back at Cinder. "If you knew who you really were, and what you were capable of, he would have known it too. He would have sensed it, and come for you. And I couldn't lose you!"

Cinder shook her head. "What are you saying?" she panted. "Who I am? What I'm capable of? What are you talking about?"

Salem hung her head low, then looked at Cinder in her eye. "Cinder, have you ever wondered why I was at the hotel, in Mistral? Why I saw you when no one else did? It was because I was there… for you. I was drawn there by you."

Cinder lowered her arm. She kept panting heavily. "I don't understand."

Salem looked ready to cry. "Cinder, you have more power than you realize. But if you knew about that power, if you used it… Ozma would have been able to sense it and come for you. You don't just have a bit of magic in your soul. You are a conduit for it. You are the current Fall Maiden."