The REDS of war

Volume Six Chapter Two

A blue smoke appears, revealing Salem staring from her window of the tower, her arms crossed. A woman humming can be heard in the background. Jinn and Dim's voices switch back and forth, both narrating. "Locked away by her cruel father, Salem was a girl who desired but one thing: freedom." Salem walks away with sadness as Ruby Rose watches her do so when Salem passed by her. "She lived in a time when kings and their Kingdoms were plentiful, when men and women were capable of greatness, and magic was a gift from the Gods that all could wield." Salem sits down and leans against the vanity. She holds her left hand, using her magic; four magical spheres with a magic circle in six basic colors appear over her hand.

"And yet, there she sat within her tower." As Salem looks down, the blue smoke reappears and envelops Salem to the next scene. It reforms the castle Salem resides in. "Until one day, a legendary hero came to brave the challenges within the tower's walls." A young man in armor and a cape wielding a scepter appears standing proudly in front of the tower. Qrow Branwen can be seen walking up to him. "The people of the lands knew him as Ozma."

Qrow waves his hand in front of Ozma's face, but the latter proceeds forward unfazed, simply phasing through Qrow's hand. "Unlike those who had come before, this warrior was not driven by the prize of the young maiden's hand. He fought only for righteousness, and his pure heart and courageous soul prevailed."

As Ozma walks up to the tower, other warriors are shown falling in battle. Blue smoke reforms the scene once again, this time showing Ozma using his scepter to strike down a dark-armored figure. Ozma then opens up a door leading to Salem's room, where she stands up and offers a grateful smile to him. Blue smoke reforms the scene of them battling side by side with their magic powers. "They escaped the wretched fortress, and yet something bound them together."

Smoke reforms the scene showing Ozma and Salem running away from the tower holding hands together. Once at a safe distance, the two stop to catch their breath before looking to each other. "Ozma had been ready to give his life for justice countless times, but now saw a woman worth saving it for. And Salem, to her surprise, found her freedom not in the outside world she had yearned for, but in the eyes of the man that had saved her."

Salem looks to Ozma. "So, where should we go now?"

Ozma offers his hand to her. "Wherever you'd like."

"The two fell deeply in love, planned adventures around the world, and lived happily ever after." Smoke envelops the environment around Ozma and Salem as the two hold hands. The two disappear into a bright light of white space. "Or at least that's what should have been." Smoke then reforms the scene showing Salem kneeling at an unconscious Ozma's bedside. Salem holds Ozma's hand and can be heard sobbing. Rei and Sky watch from behind Salem, neither acknowledging the other.

"Ozma, the infallible hero of legend, fell ill. And where all the beasts and blades of the world had fallen short, a single sickness prevailed." Ozma's body disappears in smoke as Salem continues sobbing, holding his scepter in her hands. Weiss Schnee can be seen behind her watching.

"How could the Gods let this happen?" Salem asks sorrowfully, As Weiss continues to watch in pity, she looks up to notice two spheres - one bright yellow and the other a dark purple - circling above her head.

"The Gods, brothers of light and darkness, creation and destruction. Salem prayed they would see the injustice that had befallen her love and make things right." The two orbs encircling above lower down, with Blake Belladonna watching the two conjoin in front of her. A bright light and blue smoke transitions the scene, this time showing a brightly lit place with a stairway leading up the mountain. "The Domain of Light was a sacred place."

Salem approaches the stairway, offering flowers. She holds Ozma's scepter in her hand. "It was here the elder brother dwelled beside his fountain of life and creation. It was here... where mankind would fall to ruin."