Spatial 5

[21:13] Taiga stands atop the stairs. Casually making his way down and then--

He stops. Hearing the footsteps approaching well before the group turns the corner. He stands on one of the middle steps, looking down at the group as they drag a very clearly injured Aku down the hallway. He could literally smell it, regardless of how they tried to clean it - the scent of fresh blood in the air. On Thera's hands, no less.

They find themselves at an impasse.

Were they to ascend those stairs, they would have to pass a field of writhing, squirming tendrils of darkness that seeped out from the cobblestone. His shadow squeezing its way through every crack in the foundation, amassing at the corner of their eyes.

"What... happened?"

The dimness chokes out even Thera. The only light being two red dots atop the stairs.
(Taiga Rowan)
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[21:21] Down the halls, she drags him, with Niklaus in their company. She remains on edge, approaching the staircase. Ghostly eyes glare into the darkness, instinctively reaching towards her axe until her gaze falls upon Taiga. "This man has been found guilty for numerous crimes, and denied any attempts at salvation or rehabilitation. Resisted when given a chance to collar himself. Fought back, when I tried to collar him."

Her gaze narrows at those tendrils, with absolutely no patience in her eyes.

She steps forward.

"He is to be executed, but in the most humane way possible. Something I, cannot do for him, right now." She stares into the darkness, fully prepared to move forward.

"...though there are three, that can."
(Thera Elisheva)
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[21:24] Niklaus is, surprisingly, not the one covered in blood here.

Even then, he would stand near Thera, not particularly fussed nor anything about what had gone on. It's clear he believed this to be just desserts.
(Niklaus Rowan)
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[21:24] Aku hung from where he was in Thera's one-handed grasp, slowly peering up towards the man that had slipped away from his monstrous nature in order to keep him alive - that had ensured his safety despite the animalistic approach that was given. Grey, dull eyes with barely any life in them stared down the red counterparts as a smile was cast.

... And his mouth opened up, revealing a mangled organ that kept any words away from him; more than that, it revealed just how deep Thera had fallen.

Madness was a curse.
(Aku)
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[21:32] "And what right do you have to speak of humane treatment now?"

Thera's exit would be blocked by an arm.

"You've cut out his tongue. Is this the sincerity you taught me, Thera? I slaughter criminals. By the dozens. Without remorse. I strike fear into their hearts in the dead of night - but they are murderers. They torture people. They take advantage of all those they get their hands on and corrupt them as well." Those tendrils converge across Thera, snaking around her feet. Ready to bite at her ankles.

"What greater crime has this young man committed? He attacked me. He's drawn the blood of others as well, yes? He's a nuisance. A pest. Surely. Not one deserving to go unpunished.

Yet I did not see Levengard rally to cut Isaacs tongue."
(Taiga Rowan)
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[21:45] Her eyes fall upon the arm, eyes shaking. An absurd amount of emotions bubble within her chest, azure eyes shifting in an attempt to meet Taiga Rowan's own.

"...it's for this very reason that I'm requesting another to make the sacrifice, so that I do not kill out of anger." She looks up to the Dhampire, continuing.

"He's attacked countless children, is a slave to the creature sealed within the moon, and refused to comply. Refused any aid. Refused any treatment. Fought back, in my attempts to show him any semblance of mercy."

She looks down, staring at the tendrils.

"No, you did not. I didn't have a full report, or testimony. Don't compare apples to oranges. I was told you defended a chaos magi in lands where they are forbidden- and given minimal information to work with- but don't you- don't think I ever intended to see Isaac go unpunished."

There, she continues to stare at the tendrils dancing around her feet.

"He's to be sacrificed to the spirits by those who can end his life, not out of hate. If you stand in my way, you stand in my way as one who defends that which corrupts and flays children. I won't pretend like my temper wasn't lost-

But- I won't let people like Eniel continue to get away with their crimes.

Not anymore."



(Thera Elisheva)
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[22:00] "I had already gutted him like a fish, Thera." Taiga hisses.

"That was punishment enough. He had suffered. Yet as we stand here, building this place as a beacon of hope for our children - you skulk in the cellars slicing tongues. Levengard was never supposed to be a place for acts such as this. Never. Much less the very same building I'll be teaching children in." Taiga is obviously still frustrated, despite it all.

"..." There's a huff. The arm drops. Slowly the tendrils sink back into the cracks of the cobblestone. "It scares me, Thera." His voice is a bit weaker now. More vulnerable. "It scares me to see you like this. It scares me that I might one day be cleaning these streets as well, instead of the slums of Dawn." Cleaning. Is that how he saw it?

"You did not see through him, as you did with me all those years ago. At the heart of the problem. At what made this young man turn to those powers to begin with. At what idea is stuck in his head, forcing him to so staunchly refuse your treatment. Your mercy.

This is what he wanted." A finger levels itself to Aku.

"...And if you wish to give it to him, so be it." Taiga turns, ascending up the stairs. Turning his back on Thera, Niklaus and Aku. He was done here.
(Taiga Rowan)

"Levengard was supposed to be a beacon of peace, a haven for those who wanted to avoid war!" Thera screams in retaliation. It's now, that tears begin to well in her eyes, frustrated for a myriad of reasons. "These Belial serving heathens attacked, and attacked, and attacked. They destroyed my spirits, attacked Amara and Myst, tried to kill Noel and I-"

Free hand shaking, it curls into a fist. "-assaulted child, after child, and they. Will. Not. Stop. Do you think stabbing him will put an end to this? No- it won't!" She struggles to breathe, feeling as if her lungs are about to collapse.

"If they don't stop, we won't have any children to teach, Taiga."

Her thoughts stated, as the grip around Aku's collar tightens.

"-I never wanted this, I never wanted any of this, but I can't sit back and do nothing- nothing as these people continue to defile everything that I love. I can't- I can't do it anymore!"

Free hand rising, she reaches up almost desperately as he ascends the staircase.
"-Taiga, wait-" See through him, is that what he called it? Head lowered, she unleashes a guttural scream, knowing that there were some points she couldn't truly deny.

Though, her hands had already been stained with blood, and that's a burden she must bear until death.

"...I hate this." Spoken through grinding teeth, almost confused on how to proceed from here.

"...I hate this." Thera drops Aku's body onto the ground, leaving him to fall upon the concrete. "...I can't help but agree with him." She admits, knowing she'd failed this time; failed at keeping her temper in check.

"This is no way to teach the children. The art of sacrifice is done out of respect for the spirits. Sacrifice, is the most humane way to end the life of a human. Sacrifice, is to be a method of thanking the spirits for all that they do." She shakes her head, not bothering to wipe away the tears that stream heavily down her visage.

"...and there is no love in this act; I do this to protect them. I do this-"

Because I hate those force me to choose between salvation, and damnation.

Thick grip around the arcanium axe, she aims to sever Aku's head in one single swipe.

Aiming to give him a swift death, rather that drag out his suffering any longer.
(Thera Elisheva)