The Land of Darkness – Evernight Castle
The dark, oppressive atmosphere of Evernight Castle loomed as Salem sat upon her throne of black stone, a small, pleased smile on her face. Shadows danced along the walls, cast by the eerie glow of Grimm pools surrounding the chamber.
Before her, kneeling in reverence, were Tyrian Callows and Hazel Rainart.
Tyrian, ever the fanatic, cackled in delight as he bowed, his golden eyes gleaming with unhinged excitement.
"Ohhh, my Goddess," he purred, his voice quivering with barely restrained laughter. "It was beautiful. Beautiful chaos. The power has been claimed. The girl screamed so sweetly as she died…"
Hazel, by contrast, stood like a mountain—stoic, unwavering. His clothes were scorched at the edges, marked with the evidence of a battle hard fought. He gave a single nod.
Salem's fingers tapped lightly against the armrest of her throne.
"Cinder has the power," she murmured, though it was not a question.
Cinder had remained behind—close. Loyal. Quiet. Her reward had been granted. And now, the Fall Maiden's power pulsed within her like a second heartbeat.
A smirk graced Salem's lips.
"Excellent."
For the first time in decades, things were aligning exactly as she planned.
Beacon was weakened. The so-called protectors of the world were scrambling. And now—
CRASH!
The doors to the throne room burst open.
A figure sprinted in, his coat billowing behind him.
"MY LADY!"
Doctor Arthur Watts—normally composed, smug, and condescending—was in an absolute panic.
Tyrian's eyes widened. "Oooh?~ What's this? The good doctor in distress?" He giggled, tilting his head. "How very… delicious."
Salem's pleased expression vanished in an instant.
Her crimson eyes narrowed. "Watts."
The urgency in her tone made the entire room freeze.
Watts stumbled to a stop before her throne, chest heaving, sweat on his brow.
He clutched a scroll, hands shaking.
"I-It's happened," he gasped out.
Salem's patience thinned. "Be clear."
Watts swallowed, forcing the words out.
"Ozpin has revealed you to the world."
Silence.
For the first time in centuries, Salem's breath hitched.
The Impossible Had Happened.
"Explain." Her voice was dangerously soft.
Watts took a sharp inhale, composing himself. He quickly activated his scroll, projecting a holographic news broadcast into the air.
The recorded transmission played.
"—The Girl in the Tower and The White Witch in the Woods… they are the same person. Her name is Salem."
Salem's eyes widened ever so slightly.
"She is the true leader of the Grimm."
Tyrian's glee vanished. Hazel's expression hardened. Even the Grimm in the chamber seemed to shudder.
Salem listened.
She watched as Ozpin, standing before the world, declared her existence.
Declared her war.
Declared the Maidens were real.
Declared that Remnant must prepare for battle.
The world now knew.
The broadcast ended. The throne room was deathly quiet.
Then—
CRACK!
The entire castle shook.
The black stone armrest of Salem's throne had split apart beneath the pressure of her fingers.
Her expression was blank.
Her eyes, however, were glowing with a quiet, burning rage.
Watts took an uneasy step back. "M-My lady, I—"
"LEAVE."
The single word was soft—but it thundered through the room with the weight of a gathering storm.
Watts, Tyrian, and Hazel immediately bowed.
"As you command." Hazel turned, striding away without question.
Tyrian hesitated, his grin twitching. "Shall I—"
"GO."
Tyrian shivered in delight and scampered off.
Watts—still pale—fled.
The doors slammed shut.
Salem Was Alone.
For a long moment, she simply sat there.
Then, ever so slowly, she leaned forward.
Her fingers drummed against the cracked stone.
Her eyes darkened.
For centuries, she had ruled from the shadows.
For centuries, she had controlled the game, moving the pieces as she saw fit.
But now—
Ozpin had changed the rules.
The world knew of her.
And that... was a mistake.
Salem smiled.
A slow, eerie, bone-chilling smile.
"So... you finally stopped hiding, Ozma."
Her voice was velvet and venom.
The Grimm stirred.
The darkness of Evernight deepened.
"Let us see... how long your world can last, because the real war has just begun."
---
Beacon Academy – Auditorium
The auditorium thundered with unrest.
Hundreds of students packed the hall—Beacon, Haven, Shade, and Atlas alike. The overhead lights flickered faintly as voices layered over each other in a storm of fear, disbelief, and disbelief. Confusion reigned.
"Is it true?"
"She's real?!"
"The White Witch—the one from the fairytales?! That's Salem?!"
The students were no longer just trainees. They were witnesses to the unraveling of an illusion. The enemy was no longer a rumor in the shadows. She has a name now. A face. A voice.
Salem.
From Haven, Team SSSN stood near the front.
Sun looked up, wide-eyed and stiff-tailed. "So… all those stories? The Girl in the Tower? The Witch in the Woods? The Brothers? That was real the whole time?"
Neptune's fingers tangled in his hair. "Man… this is way above our pay grade."
From Shade Academy, Team NDGO held their composure. Barely.
Nebula Violette crossed her arms, her jaw tight. "You've been hiding this? From everyone?"
Ivori, from another team, stepped forward, pale and trembling. "If she's real… what's stopping her from coming here? From wiping us out?"
Atlas' students, normally unshakable, were just as shaken.
Flynt Coal muttered, "This ain't training anymore… this is the apocalypse."
The tension was unbearable—dense, suffocating.
At the front of the stage stood Ozpin, flanked by Ironwood, Glynda, and Qrow. But just behind them stood a figure more shadow than man, quiet and unflinching.
Onyx Thorn.
His amethyst eyes—darker than usual—scanned the crowd. Silent. Watchful.
He looked like a statue carved from fury and exhaustion.
Ozpin stepped forward, calm but grave. His voice, when it came, rang out with brutal clarity:
"Yes. It is true."
The auditorium exploded.
Shouts. Cries. Panic.
"We're all gonna die!"
"How long have they known?!"
"This is insane!"
Qrow groaned, rubbing his eyes. "Here comes the riot…"
Ironwood's jaw tensed like steel. Glynda raised her crop and slammed it against the stage—CRACK!—a pulse of controlled aura silencing the chaos.
The students froze.
Ozpin's voice rang again, this time quiet—but cutting through the stillness like a knife:
"I understand your fear."
His eyes scanned the crowd, tired, knowing.
"I understand your anger. You have every right to feel betrayed. But let me tell you this…"
He leaned forward, his tone sharpening.
"Salem didn't become a threat today. She has always been one. Always in the shadows. Always pulling strings. This… is not new."
The weight of his words sank in.
"For decades, we have fought her in secret. And for decades, we have endured. We did not choose silence out of cowardice. We chose it to buy time—for you. For this generation. For hope."
He drew in a breath.
"This isn't the end. This is the beginning of a war the world can finally see. And we are not unprepared."
At that, a murmur of energy passed through the crowd. Hesitant—but listening.
Then a voice rose above the stillness.
Low. Even. Measured.
Onyx Thorn stepped forward.
The room turned.
Even the air seemed to quiet.
He stood there— eyes tired beyond his years. But his voice was steady. Not loud. Not commanding. Just true.
"You're scared. I get it. We all are."
He looked at the students. To their faces—young, brilliant, overwhelmed.
"Fear is natural. It keeps you alert. It keeps you alive."
A pause.
"But fear without purpose is a cage. And we can't afford to live in cages anymore."
His fists tightened at his sides.
"We were all told the Grimm were monsters. That's true. But what we weren't told… was that someone willed them to be that way. Someone sent them. Someone out there has been shaping our nightmares since before we were born."
He walked forward across the stage, slowly, deliberately.
"But here's something else they didn't tell you: We're not powerless."
Students leaned in, drawn toward his words.
"We've all lost something. A home. A friend. A mentor. Some of you have watched your towns burn. Some of you… have never even had a home to lose."
He stopped at the edge of the platform, gazing out over the crowd.
"I know what that's like."
His voice cracked—just slightly.
"I've raised a child through this. I've buried people I failed to protect—cut down by Grimm before I could reach them. I'm not telling you this for sympathy. I'm telling you because I've seen what happens when we're too late. And I refuse to let that happen again. I've stared down things that should have broken me."
"But I'm still here."
"And so are you."
He turned, locking eyes with team after team—SSSN, NDGO, CFVY, FNKI. First-years and fourth-years alike.
"You didn't come here to be scared. You didn't sign up to run. You came here to fight. To protect. To matter."
He raised a hand.
"To be a Huntsman means more than killing Grimm. It means choosing to stand—when others fall. It means choosing the truth, even when it terrifies you. It means saying: 'I will not let this be the end.'"
His amethyst eyes blazed.
"We're not children anymore. Not today. Today—we become what we were meant to be."
A long, heavy silence.
Then—
"I'm in," Yatsuhashi rumbled.
"Same," Velvet whispered.
"Damn straight," Coco muttered, adjusting her glasses.
Sun's tail snapped behind him as he stepped forward. "If this is the real fight—we're not sitting out."
Pyrrha straightened her shoulders.
Jaune nodded beside her.
Then—
Ruby stepped forward. Her silver eyes glinted with resolve as she took her place beside Onyx.
"We won't let her win," she said softly.
All around the room, students began to rise. One by one. Not with cheers, but with purpose.
Shoulders squared.
Eyes steady.
A rising tide of readiness.
The world had changed.
But so had they.
And for the first time since the truth broke—
they weren't afraid anymore.