Mortals and immortals

Among the throngs of the most conspicuous and significant, the most powerful and influential people in the world who had decided to join forces to solve the 'Mantle Problem', Professor Ozpin's name seemed especially eye-catching.

To be precise, the name made anyone who's reading the list of guests wonder.

"What is Professor Ozpin doing there?"

Of course anyone could understand that once a general summit was announced, each state had to send a representative, a Councillor at least, the highest authority worthy of representing their state. From that point of view, Professor Ozpin, a Vale Councillor, albeit in the position of Academy Headmaster, satisfied those conditions quite well.

But… Why him?

It was only logical to assume that a Foreign Policy and Diplomacy Advisor would be more appropriate – why send to Atlas a Headmaster whose most well-known characteristic is his outstanding fighting power? Especially for a diplomatic event?

This question had many analysts around the world pondering before the only logical and coherent theory emerged in their minds.

Vale was sending the least busy and most unsuitable Councilman because it had little interest in the outcome of the Summit. Simultaneously, it had also sent the only Councilman who could realistically survive any attempt on his life. Something which, by all accounts, Vale had at least not discounted, if not anticipated.

Funnily enough, the powerful and those privy to the mysteries of this world were also interested in the same issue, if for wildly different reasons. After all, it costs Ozpin nothing to send another Councillor to Atlas, playing a peculiar show for the watchers whilst staying in the shadows, as he always did.

So why did Ozpin need to appear at the summit in person?

The possibility they arrived at, was halfway the same as those less informed, Ozpin had indeed expected that there would be an assassination attempt. The only difference would be that the perpetrator of the act wouldn't be some jilted Mantle terrorist, but his eternal enemy, Salem, that would strike at the summit.

And Ozpin was too interested in a certain outcome of the summit to allow that to happen.

A fear realistic enough that he would be present personally to prevent such a thing from happening. After all, as much as he likes to act in the background away from prying eyes, Ozpin remained an incredibly powerful Hunter.

Perhaps his magic was weakening day by day, generation by generation, and with a new player on the big stage, a new mage, he no longer looked as powerful a wizard. But therein lay Ozpin's little cunning, his trap for anyone thinking that he's now weak.

He didn't need to be a mage to destroy his enemies.

Anyone that would be analyzing Ozpin for threats, would see his arm reaching far out even from his tall tower, his web stretching across the world. They would look for his plans, and the plans within plans, as it changes and flows into each other so quickly that, at times, it was impossible to even predict what Ozpin was actually planning. They would be dazzled by his performance and could forget the fact that Ozpin had earned his position in the world not only through his intelligence – but through his very impressive combat experience and fighting abilities as well.

Of course, Ozpin, as headmaster and mastermind, didn't have time to train daily and was locked in his tower most of the time. But, when you have survived thousands and thousands of years in a variety of environments – you'll find that you've learned a most extensive arsenal of the most varied of skills.

Ozpin might not be able to defeat Jonathan or Salem in a magical duel, but he didn't need to. In every incarnation, in every generation, Ozpin strived to achieve a level of power that made him at least capable of fighting Salem. And he had always achieved it, each and every reincarnation, one way or another.

A feat no one could equal, as Salem always had enough power.

In fact, if Ozpin had wanted to, he would have gained the glory of being Remnant's most powerful Hunter long ago, if he had needed it.

And so, seeing him move in any way was particularly unsettling for any observers.

If Ozpin shifted from his seat, stepped out of his tower and headed for Atlas in person – it meant that Ozpin had a plan that required it. And if he had a plan requiring his personal appearance? It is likely that this plan involved confronting an enemy that no one but Ozpin could handle.

And it also meant that there's no one that Ozpin could trust to execute his plan knowingly and unknowingly.

Ozpin had a multitude of subordinates, all with skill sets that suited their role very well. Strong Hunters, powerful politicians, and even dodgy criminals. Maybe he has not yet reached his full power, but Ozpin could now say with certainty that he had almost completely recovered all the fortune he had lost decades ago after the overthrow of the monarchy. An event that he had orchestrated himself.

No, it didn't make him omnipotent or omniscient… And that was the problem, everything, paradoxically, would be much easier if he is.

When Jonathan had become disillusioned by Ozpin's method, Jonathan wasn't sure if his outrage was something that Ozpin hadn't planned to happen. It would be foolish to assume that he had never experienced his subordinates questioning him in the past. As an immortal, his allies expressing disappointment in his methods or ideals must have occurred more often than he himself noticed it. Another such incident must not have changed anything in Ozpin's world picture, except maybe influencing his future planning a little.

But in the end, no matter if Ozpin had planned for Jonathan to act independently, there's only two paths he could take now. One, he could either try to cut his ties with Ozpin and try to create his own order, to become a separate political force on his own terms. Or he could try to join Salem.

Ozpin liked to think that he's wise enough to see that Jonathan would not choose the second option. While Jonathan might think that Ozpin might perhaps be too accepting of collateral damage and acceptable losses, him joining the side of evil over that seems exceptionally stupid.

Ozpin might have a lot of options and avenues of power, but it still didn't mean that weakening him was impossible.

And so Jonathan struck at Ozpin, his first volley being stealing STRQ, a worthy strategy to weaken Ozpin himself. If killing Ozpin himself only ended up allowing him to hide and go into the shadows for many years – then the only way to weaken him was not by striking at Ozpin himself, but his entourage. To deprive him of his powers and abilities.

Ozpin would very likely have selected a similar path had he been Jonathan.

And so Jonathan had struck, almost like clockwork, and as expected.

Powerful or not, Ozpin was no god. He didn't know how to reverse time, or how to stop the tide and rain, and sometimes he was just faced with a situation he couldn't win. Even if a man is the greatest orator in the world – he is not capable of convincing a bullet already aiming for his head from a discharged barrel to stop.

It took barely weeks for Jonathan to remove any venue of attack to his self before using all his strength and resources available to him to strike at Ozpin.

Ozpin had always found Jonathan too concerned about moral issues, and perhaps too fond of self-reflection, but he was quite aware that doubt did not mean unwillingness. While Ozpin knows that Jonathan doesn't want to abuse his powers, it doesn't mean that he couldn't. It wasn't hard for Ozpin to find out that long before he became King, Jonathan had shown the flexibility of his morals by robbing the Schnee's bank.

Is it any wonder then that when facing an entity like Ozpin, Jonathan was quick to get to work? A bribe there, an agent there and some few discrete conversations and some perhaps too perfect of circumstances and Jonathan got a hold of Raven. And then soon after that the whole STRQ, perhaps more out of serendipity than conspiracy, but the result remains the same.

And so Ozpin could only nod, the time had come, then.

Ozpin was not invincible, as much as his immortality might imply otherwise, there are no absolutes in this world. Ozpin could be outplayed, defeated, even killed, if perhaps not permanently. Jonathan was not the first to succeed in striking at him, and he would definitely not be the last.

Certainly, Ozpin did not let Jonathan run roughshod over him, retaliating by making life seriously difficult for Jonathan and putting him before a serious choice that should have put Ozpin back in the lead in the end. But…

The situation was not ideal.

Jonathan, though not perfectly, had still plucked the piece of flesh he needed from Ozpin. His victory was not perfect simply because he was not particularly interested in politics before and not possessing Ozpin's experience or intelligence.

But what happens next?

What would happen in five years, ten, twenty – a hundred?

Jonathan was a magician – what if Ozpin, having played his hand, one day, dozens of generations later, confronted Josiah Goodfellow, who harbors memories of Ozpin's actions, and no small grudge against him? Proving true the saying that the enemy of my enemy doesn't mean that he's an ally.

A dangerous, so dangerous situation.

Funny, but while Jonathan was buying time trying to come up with a suitable plan of action to handle him, he was doing the same thing. Both of them had enough reasons to be wary of each other and of any actions that might be construed as unwarranted provocative actions. They each weighed their options carefully on the scales, doing their best to cover any weakness.

That was why Ozpin personally went to the summit.

Because he still had his doubts. Because he had a choice to make.

And because Salem definitely couldn't pass up the opportunity.

***

A World Summit… Salem remembered many such occasions from her long and distant past life. Meetings of the powerful, the wise, the influential. Secret ones, and ones open to the public. Big ones, and small ones. The ones that had become a thorn in Salem's side, and ones that had no meaning except as an excuse for an expensive evening of festivities, and the ones that she herself or her subordinates organized. And now another summit is happening, though what kind it would become in the end is still up in the air.

In the past, Salem would run her eyes over another news item about yet another geopolitical crisis and, almost yawning with boredom, put the news aside, returning to her planning, such things inconsequential to her.

At each one she always had the option of striking a terrible blow to humanity, plunging the world into chaos as she unleashed her hordes of Grimm into the world, wreaking havoc and death. But then why would she bother with such things? Summit or no summit, destroying humanity had always been in the cusp of her hands.

It was as routine as a monthly report can be for an overworked employee. So, also with as much routine disinterest, Salem created horrific tragedies and world crises.

Another world war, another terrorist attack, a couple of dozen more world leaders dead – events that lend themselves to her record, already full of such merits.

And yet, unlike hundreds of past ones, this time Salem followed the summit closely.

Of course, the reason for this was not that she was interested in a civil war between Mantle and Atlas – or that she, for whatever reason, was interested in preventing it. No, a couple of tens of millions more people dead and a couple of states crumbling were insignificant little things, unworthy of Salem's attention.

But, it was on this occasion that Salem's gaze was carefully fixed on. To be precise, on one of the central figures of the impending summit.

Jonathan Goodman.

Salem had watched Vacuo intently as Tyrian and his horde of disposable Grimm moved forward, eager to determine Jonathan's powers, to identify if he was indeed a mage, to learn of his abilities.

And she had succeeded.

Ozpin, for all his incredible flexibility of mind, was quite hardened in his views.

After all, if for thousands of years their conflict had followed the same scenario, why would it change now?

Yes, in their fight Salem had killed Ozpin, destroyed his states, defeated his armies, and flooded the world with Grimm hundreds of times, almost equal to the times she was defeated by Ozpin. But this wasn't because Salem was a mindless automaton, capable only of breeding new Grimm, incapable of changing her tactics.

No, Salem had only a single purpose, the same purpose she had chased in this eternal battle of hers with Ozpin, the simplest and noblest purpose in the world… And no, it was not the destruction of humanity.

Salem simply wanted to die.

Of course, she would have preferred her death to happen in such a way that Ozpin would grab his head and howl in powerlessness and pain, but such a thing was not a prerequisite. In fact, she had no prerequisite for her death at all, Salem was ready to die without fanfare, in her bed, or even as a result of an elaborate ritual, or in any other way.

Salem was not afraid of how exactly she would die, if at the end she could just die, neither pain nor pride a deterrent.

If Jonathan had demanded that her Grimm start planting flowers as a requirement for him to kill her – Salem would have agreed in a heartbeat. She didn't care one way or another, while she might hate humanity, her hatred of them was nothing compared to the hatred she felt for her own immortal self, for her life. She was simply so… Tired.

How much easier it would have been if Salem had just died when she had plunged herself into the Grimm pools.

No need to fight Ozpin anymore. No need to play political or war games. And no need to do anything.

To finally be free of this pained existence of hers.

Salem was willing to accept any terms, as long as someone could find a way for her to die, but… But Ozpin did not understand that there was no reason whatsoever for them to fight.

Ozpin's gaze was more hardened than any human's, and his insight incomparable. Ozpin had looked at the world from more angles than any man in the world, changing bodies and masks, man and woman, human and faunus, strongman and weakling, hero and drunkard, judge and criminal to fit the situation.

And therein lay Ozpin's chief weakness.

Convinced of the completeness of his knowledge, Ozpin began to reject everything that went beyond his knowledge. How can a river flow upwards? How can time run backwards?

How can Salem not wish to destroy the world?

Well, she wouldn't shed a tear if it did get destroyed, perhaps as her final petty revenge, but that was not her final goal. If Jonathan could kill her without destroying the world, if he would only kill her when she refused to destroy the world – no problem.

Salem was willing to agree to any terms.

The only problem was… How exactly could Salem reach out to Jonathan for this one purpose?

Ozpin had already told Jonathan about Salem, about her deeds, and there was no need for Ozpin to embellish Salem's deeds, just to list them, poisoning the well before Jonathan could even think of drinking the water. Even if Salem's main goal was not the destruction of the world, she had still committed countless acts that made her unequivocally evil.

Torture, murder, war, genocide – Salem had done so many things that she had forgotten more than anyone living in Remnant could list, except perhaps Ozpin. Probably because he was also guilty of the same thing.

And so, now Jonathan perceived Salem as his enemy, and, from Salem's perspective with her desire to die, that was not a bad thing at all. If Jonathan invented a way to kill her, Salem didn't care if he made it by being her enemy or ally.

However, at the same time, it also closed off some possible avenues for Salem, and might make the road ahead harder than necessary. If Salem became Jonathan's enemy, it was likely that Jonathan would find it harder to find a way to kill her. After all, Jonathan needed information about Salem, about her curse, to find a way to kill her – information that she was more than willing to give.

In fact, if she could, she would give Jonathan the list of things that she, and Ozpin if indirectly, had done to try to kill her. Alas, any information in that matter, if provided by her, would be disbelieved by Jonathan out of hand as he probably already saw her as an enemy. And there was no way, at least for the moment, Salem could see to remedy that.

Salem would have been happy to become Jonathan's ally, at least for the sake of fulfilling this dream, but it was impossible to do so at the moment. And especially impossible because of Ozpin's existence. Jonathan and Ozpin did not agree in their perception of the world, but that did not mean that she could count on Jonathan's help in carrying out her plans.

And it was this fact, the fact that even as adversaries to each other they were allied at least in the matter of fighting Salem meant that Ozpin still had some control over Jonathan's perceptions, however incomplete. It was enough to prevent Salem from reaching out to such an important figure in the modern world.

And that in turn meant that Salem had to cut those ties once and for all.

More than once or twice before, many times Salem had played similar games with Ozpin, pulling agents from one side to the other, turning them against Ozpin, influencing their perceptions. Such actions were not always successful on her part, as Ozpin had no equal when it came to backstabbing.

Not that she was never successful of course, as either by opportunity or circumstance, Salem had in the past won over Ozpin's agents. Even now, Haven's headmaster, Leonardo Lionheart, has easily surrendered to her pressure. Though perhaps suborning the pathetic, cowardly second-rate Hunter who owes his position of Headmaster simply through Ozpin's oversight, when he was distracted by a myriad of other things and bouts of self-pity is not much of an achievement.

Leonardo was unfit for the position either for his lack of administrative and political abilities, never mind his pathetic fighting power and personal charisma.

The only reason he climbed into the Headmaster's chair in the first place was the fact that he proved convenient to Mistral's ruling political elites. For many Mistral mafia clans, a man with no ties to the rest of the ruling elites and without any ambitions was convenient. He could stay in the position without violating the status quo, as he did not provoke any change in power and did not endanger the established order.

Good times breed weak men.

Breaking him was disgustingly easy. Unlike the many servants Salem had gained in the past, Lionheart was of no use at all, a mere mindless puppet whose motivation for service was the most uninteresting and trivial of all.

Fear for his life.

Ozpin was probably too immersed in his self-doubt the day he agreed to reveal information about his war with Salem to Lionheart. Salem started to worry about Ozpin's competence when he couldn't see that his story had broken Lionheart.

There wasn't even much reason for Leo to worry about his own life! With Jonathan's figure on the horizon, all Lionheart had to do if he was really worried about his life, was simply find Jonathan's friendship. Something that Ghira Belladonna had done very well.

Ghira had done well and was now under very, very high quality protection from Jonathan – protection that Salem preferred not to take any chances to test and stayed away from him. She even had some plans to make sure that Ghira stayed alive and that none of his allies target him.

Although, the way Lionheart gave up so quickly may have been not only an indication of his weakness, but also of his inner desire. Perhaps, from the beginning, Lionheart simply wanted to be at Salem's side, and he was so weak-willed that he couldn't even admit such a thing to himself…

Salem didn't care about Lionheart and wasn't interested in him other than as her way to get closer to Jonathan.

While Salem wasn't particularly adept at subtle manipulation, her ample experience makes up for it, she was once Queen after all. A hint here, an accidental monologue there, a subtle threat and the words 'repeat this information to no one' and Lionheart instantly became the most important of her pawns – a gold-laden pack mule.

Lionheart was to bring Jonathan information about Salem herself, fully believing on his own that he was betraying Salem. Kept unaware that his 'betrayal' was exactly what Salem was counting on – after which he would drive the final nail into the coffin of Jonathan and Ozpin's relationship, causing them to finally drift apart in their views.

Salem just wanted to die.

There was no obligatory clause in her plans that she had to destroy the world in the process, no, it would have been a nice final gift for her funeral, but beggars can't be choosers. And Salem was not opposed to literally begging if it could work.

Salem wouldn't stop the machinations of her past plans, she can't know for sure that Jonathan could kill her after all. For all her hopes, Jonathan might simply be the third immortal in this forever war she's having with Ozpin… but she could still hope.

So Salem herself was keeping a close eye on the ongoing summit in Atlas.

She had many plans for it. And if Ozpin was going to appear in person – then so would she.

***

Aifal was old.

Not insanely old as his patron is, but old enough to not even think about finding himself a girl in a bar and old enough to know that he wasn't eternal.

After graduating from Haven with excellent grades, hiding and faking to just receive 'good' grades and 'excellent' aura reserves with his awakened Semblance that Aifal had been smart enough not to report – Aifal had realistically estimated his life span at between eight and nine decades old.

Excluding unfortunate incidents, of course.

Such as a totally accidental illness that should have cut off his life's journey, without any divine intervention or secret plans, simply because of an accident that happened once in his life's path. Such was the plan of mice and men, for all his planning, his life almost ended because of an illness.

Aifal was very aware of his own mortality. Aware that his life could be cut short in a few seconds by a completely random coincidence of circumstances, by a meteorite falling on his head, or by poisoned tea. Eventually, the stars could line up, and he could simply slip on the stairs and break his neck in the fall.

So, Aifal didn't chase after grand plans that span years and decades, whose fulfilment he would most likely not be alive to see. Once, when he had been much younger, he had made plans that would last for twenty, thirty, or even fifty years – he was quite ashamed to admit that he was very foolish back then. If even tomorrow's weather could not be predicted, how could he create plans for then years? He's mature enough now to know that such planning was more wishful thinking rather than anything concrete, such things were the domain of playing with fate.

What if he were to die of a heart attack tomorrow? He was old enough to worry about such things, after all, during the execution of some plan that would only reach fruition for decades to come? That would certainly be amusing, but overall pointless – in terms of wasting energy and time on the implementation of his plans.

No, he had of course prepared plans in the event of his death, but these were his death plans, not the plans that would take place in his life, and broke down because of his death.

So Aifal was no longer looking as hard into the future – the distant future, that is.

Aifal had not lost sight of the not-too-distant future at all – it would be strange that, aware of his death, he would stop appreciating sweets or tea or the appreciation of silence.

No, Aifal still loved his life – perhaps even more than when he was not aware of the proximity of his death.

Perhaps it was this awareness that had always beckoned even him and so many others who risked their lives for entertainment. After all, the very fact that he is going up against Ozpin or Salem put him on a par with the madmen who risked their lives in deranged races or Grimm hunts.

And the fact that even while risking his life, Aifal could still enjoy the pleasures of this life made all those pleasures of life even more pleasurable for him.

For example, he was now appreciating the strong coffee he's drinking.

There was nothing special about the coffee itself. While it was not the cheapest, it was also not the variety that costs a laborer neither month's wages a cup either. No, it was more something from the price category of 'for everyday consumption by people from the middle-upper strata of society'.

Even so, this cup of coffee seemed unusually tasty to Aifal.

The reason might well have been that Aifal was drinking this coffee sitting in an airship heading to Atlas, which is currently in the middle of a storm. Fully aware that he could die in a thousand different ways before he could even step off the ship. Not from a Grimm attack, Salem might not trust him, but she wouldn't get rid of him at this point…

Though maybe she would decide to get rid of him right now?

That thought made the coffee taste even better.

But the main reason the coffee tasted good was still the exact purpose for which Aifal was heading to Atlas. Aifal very rarely appeared in public, both in his official role as Councillor of Mistral and in his 'unofficial' role, more often preferring to act from the shadows and from his cozy office. In general, there was no real compelling reason why he had to be present at this moment in the summit.

There wasn't some unique set of circumstances, a problem that Aifal could only solve by his personal presence – Aifal had already set his many plans in motion.

Amber had teamed up with Jonathan's daughters, Salem had struck against Ozpin, and Ozpin himself was forced to act, with Arthur under the control of his men… All was going according to plan.

So why was Aifal going to the summit? He could have sent Lionheart or any of his other puppets in his place, citing his advanced age for his absence. But instead, he chose to act himself.

No, of course there were things that Aifal could not have assigned to any of his underlings, but Aifal was not planning any such action at the moment.

Aifal just wanted a personal glimpse of Jonathan.

Yes, it was exactly that simple.

Aifal was just curious to get a glimpse of someone who had changed this world so much through his own actions. Who just by his presence alone was enough to move mountains.

Even Aifal could not say that he had achieved in his lifetime what Jonathan had achieved in a few years.

Aifal was interested in Jonathan. In his actions and thoughts, and especially in his plans.

Aifal was even, in a way, carrying a positive feeling towards Jonathan, rooting for him.

He was just very curious.

And if the summit did not go according to plan?

Well, Aifal wouldn't be the man he is today if he hadn't prepared for all the possibilities, would he?