Wake Up As Ozpin

The Emerald Forest was silent.

No wind.

No birds.

No distant sounds of Beacon's life.

Just emptiness.

And Ozpin.

Step Three Hundred and Eighty-Three: Walk to Your Fate.

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Step Three Hundred and Eighty-Four: The Moment Before the Storm

He could feel it.

Something was waiting.

Not just Salem.

Something deeper.

Something woven into the fabric of the world.

The loop.

It knew what he was doing.

And it was watching.

Step Three Hundred and Eighty-Five: The Loop Does Not Want to End.

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Step Three Hundred and Eighty-Six: No More Fear

Ozpin kept walking.

For the first time in countless lifetimes, he was going to face Salem willingly.

Not as a warrior.

Not as a sacrificial piece.

Not as a victim of fate.

But as himself.

Step Three Hundred and Eighty-Seven: Make the One Choice You Never Have.

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Step Three Hundred and Eighty-Eight: The Battlefield

The trees ended.

A clearing.

And standing at the center, waiting—

Was her.

Salem.

Eyes like storm clouds. Hair floating weightlessly. A presence that made the very air feel heavy.

She smiled.

"You've come willingly this time."

Step Three Hundred and Eighty-Nine: She Knows Something Is Different.

---

Step Three Hundred and Ninety: The Last Conversation

Ozpin stopped a few paces away.

"Salem."

She tilted her head. "You aren't running. You aren't hiding."

Her eyes narrowed.

"What has changed, Ozma?"

Step Three Hundred and Ninety-One: No More Lies.

Ozpin exhaled.

"Everything."

Salem's expression flickered.

Step Three Hundred and Ninety-Two: She Wasn't Expecting That.

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Step Three Hundred and Ninety-Three: The World Holds Its Breath

The air felt charged.

The loop was trembling.

This was the moment.

The moment where, in every previous cycle—

He died.

Or Beacon fell.

Or everything reset.

Step Three Hundred and Ninety-Four: Not This Time.

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Step Three Hundred and Ninety-Five: Salem's First Move

She stepped forward.

Her eyes burned with something unreadable.

"You know how this ends."

Ozpin simply smiled.

"No, Salem. I don't."

Step Three Hundred and Ninety-Six: Because This Ending Has Never Happened Before.

---

Step Three Hundred and Ninety-Seven: The Next Chapter Begins

Lightning cracked overhead.

The air rippled.

The loop itself began to fracture.

Salem raised a hand.

Magic swirled.

A final battle was coming.

Step Three Hundred and Ninety-Eight: Let It Come.