Wake Up As Ozpin

Ozpin opened his eyes.

The void was gone. The hourglass was still in front of him, humming with quiet, terrible power.

And in his mind, Ozma's words still echoed.

"You must make a choice that has never been made before."

Step One Hundred and Seventy-Three: Figure Out What That Means Before Time Collapses.

Step One Hundred and Seventy-Four: Defining the Problem

The loop wasn't just repeating.

It was correcting.

It was an instinctual reset, designed to prevent a catastrophic divergence in the timeline.

Which meant—

Whatever choice he was supposed to make?

He had never made it.

Not in this loop.Not in any loop.

Step One Hundred and Seventy-Five: Identify the Missing Decision.

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Step One Hundred and Seventy-Six: The Pattern

Ozpin leaned forward, scanning his desk.

He needed evidence.

What had been consistent across the loops?

What had changed?

What was always supposed to happen… but never did?

He started listing:

- Ruby arrives at Beacon.

- Jaune fakes his way into the Academy.

- Cinder infiltrates the school.

- The Vytal Festival happens.

- Beacon falls.

- He dies.

Step One Hundred and Seventy-Seven: Wait.

He froze.

Step One Hundred and Seventy-Eight: Wait.

Step One Hundred and Seventy-Nine: WAIT.

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Step One Hundred and Eighty: The One Thing That Always Happens

He always dies.

Every loop. Every cycle.

Whether it was Cinder's attack, Whether it was Salem's interference, Whether it was Beacon's destruction—

Ozpin never makes it out.

Step One Hundred and Eighty-One: He Has Never Survived the Fall of Beacon.

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Step One Hundred and Eighty-Two: The Implication

His mind raced.

If his death was fixed, If the timeline expected him to die—

Then what if he didn't?

Step One Hundred and Eighty-Three: The Loop Exists Because Ozpin Keeps Dying.

The Relic of Choice wasn't resetting things out of malice.

It was resetting because Ozpin's death was a paradox.

Every time he died, the Relic reverted the timeline. Every time he failed, the Relic reset to try again.

Step One Hundred and Eighty-Four: The Choice That Has Never Been Made… Is for Ozpin to Live.

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Step One Hundred and Eighty-Five: What That Means

Ozpin leaned back, exhaling sharply.

So.

That was it.

If he wanted to break the loop—he had to survive.

Not just dodge a fight. Not just delay the inevitable. Not just escape at the last second.

He had to truly, completely, definitively survive.

Step One Hundred and Eighty-Six: For the First Time, Ozpin Must Refuse to Die.

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Step One Hundred and Eighty-Seven: The Next Step

Ozpin stood.

For the first time in a long, long time, he knew what he had to do.

Now he just had to figure out how.

Step One Hundred and Eighty-Eight: Rewrite Fate.