Taiga vs Salvas

How had it come to this? What twists and turns did fate have in store for the young boy who wanted nothing more than to have a dream? How many years ago was it now that he had walked into Crafthold without a clue in the world, offering his service as a Samurai to the first man who he laid eyes on? Too many to bother counting, he was never very good at wrapping his head around the concept of time to begin with. All he knew is that he wasn't that kid anymore. Heck, he wasn't even in the same body as back then. Nearly all of him had been broken and tossed away at some point or another. But he still felt whole. That's what mattered.

But here he is. Staring down that man once more, off in their own little corner of the universe, far away from the watchful eyes of the rest of the world. They had shared so many moments like this before, that at first, the only feeling that came to his heart was some somber comfort. Some small feeling of remorse works its way through him, the cold clutches of the sadness that lingered so deep inside his veins crawling back up to wrap around him like an icy shell.

He knew why he was here. Salvas didn't. The truth would hurt beyond imagination, for both of them. Taiga approaches in the same casual stroll he always had, not a hint of malevolence in his features. Because... he earnestly didn't want that fight. It felt like a beast chasing towards him - and there was nothing he could do to force it back. But he had to try.

"...Father." He sounds heartbroken already.

"It's good to see you again. I... I wanted to let you know how I was doing. I felt so rude, making myself a stranger for as long as I did. But... you, of all people, are the one who deserves to know where it is I stand in life. ...The world surely seems to be in quite the state of disarray lately, hasn't it?" Taiga speaks cordially. Politely. Trying to hold onto a moment of peace that he knew would blow away in the wind and be consumed by an inferno the instant he let it slip. "...I wanted to say thank you, in case...

In case I never got the chance to say it again."
(Taiga Rowan)


Standing with his back turned to the boy he once called son - a vivid and violent red light would flicker off the vampire.


He did not turn to the voice- he did not bother to stop him while he was talking.

"I have been waiting on a visit from you my son... tell me how have you been? Have you opened your eyes... Have you seen.  The truth?


Salvas gave a smile from where he was standing. He didn't know if taiga was able to see the cycle of hatred that he was now apart of.


"Do you know what I mean by that?"


He said looking over his shoulder- He would go again to explain without giving an answer. "ambitions from a huang shogun caused the death of many and through those deaths come more deaths- negativity from those deaths bring more.. but all because of one man.. Zeriel .. When zeriels ambitons got the best of him he was led to run a conquest against dawn- however when his friends died he stopped himself from continuing.


"The truly evil thing is that when the children of angels showed up he found faith in turning them to do his bidding- because for zeriel one cannot co exist with the likes of me- necromancer or undead.. We simply cannot.- this was drove into the minds and hearts of the demi angels. Specifically sera."


Salvas closed his eyes and looked up to the sky. "So with his ambitions in his way he was left to believe that life was war and that dawn simply could not exist along with him which when he attacked.. and tried to kill another within their own home, he died.."


"I was late to catch onto this- I knew killing zeriel would stop this cycle there was no need for blood she afterwards.. however he was one step ahead of me.. the seed was already planted- His goals and views were passed on by eyes who cannot see what happens on the battlefield now his hatred curses the lot of your town.. levengrad.. I know that you suffer from being what you are.. there- That is the work of the cycle.. so tell me have you seen the truth?"


Salvas kept peeking over his shoulder.
(Salvas Voss)


"...It is a cycle that will continue until the end of time, Father." Taiga coldly accepts the truth. The air between them was growing tense, choking. The presence of two beings like themselves in such close proximity was enough to cause most any reasonable person to wilt and run. But Taiga had become so used to that feeling it could only remind him of the home he loved so much.

"Chaos and Order. Good and Evil. Whatever the people call it, so long as there are those subject to the will of the Gods and so long as there and those who believe they are bound by the will of those with power, it will continue. Even before Zeriel. Even before Sors. Even before anyone we've ever known, Father, that 'truth' and this cycle has always existed.

I wanted to find something beyond that. ...You saved me, Father. From a home that never truly loved me. You took me in when I felt myself to be useless beyond how good I was at killing men. That was sincerely the only thing I thought myself good for. Now... look at me." Had he really changed much at all, when phrased like that? Even now, Taiga's hands were stained in blood, just a different kind than before.

"I'm living with the love of my life. Teaching children. Trying to pass on the lessons you gave me. …" There's another long pause. He feels so... oddly at peace. Settled, finally, as though he finally understood that this was all meant to be from the very start of his life.

"We're murderers. Most of my friends are, nowadays. And I can't help but think... is this it? I wouldn't trade this life for the world. ...But I think there's a lot I would do to try and get a different world to live it in. And with every man I kill, I can try and convince myself that I'm doing it for something right. That I'm changing the world, bit by bit into one I want to live in.

...ButI'll always find another target. I'll always find some other stain that I guilt myself into washing away. I'll always say it's my fault that I haven't done something about it. ...So here I am, Father."

The whole world stops turning.

Every shadow in the forest freezes in place.

"I promised I'd never raise my blade against you." The truth would break them down to their barest elements. To see what lay beneath skin and bone, if anything at all. "...So I must ask. Do you want to be free, Father? Do you want to finally break from that cycle and live out your days in peace? Do you want to finally put down your arms and rest? I can make it happen. This is the greatest gift I can offer you, out of the love of my heart to you." And maybe, just maybe, set them free.
(Taiga Rowan)

Salvas crossed his arms and turned around to face the man he once called boy. "Death won't set you free from sins you need to atone for." He starts to laugh chuckle even. "I am insulted you actually think I would just sit down and die.. have you forgotten the only reason why I fought in these wars to begin with is because I refused to die.. Because even being what I am I deserve the right to live- and by anything else I deserve the right to fight for my life as all men do."



Salvas squinted at the man. "You offer me a cowards way out- you will find no solace in killing me either, nothing will change- which is why I don't fight against your people currently.. Which is why I don't attack levengrad with everyone else.. because nothing will change."


salvas placed his hands on his sides. "I will deny your offer.."
(Salvas Voss)

"It would not be your death, Father." Taiga pleads.

"I felt the hunger that plagues you. I tasted the blood and I knew what it would bring me. So many men had fought against it, but never before has there been a chance to truly be free as now. How long have you suffered, Father? How long have you been a Vampire?

Do you even remember what it is like to be normal? To be unshackled by that burden. ...To feel again." There's a sad look in his eyes.

"There is no cowardice to be found in such a fate. To do what is good for your heart. To be free. You have every right to refuse..." And Taiga knew, deep in his heart, that he would. "But I pray - please. Let me do this for your sake, Father. Just as you gave me a chance to live a life I never thought would be available to me... I want to give you that chance as well.

...Will you truly deny that, Father? Is there nothing that might change your mind?"
(Taiga Rowan)

"The man you are looking for is dead- He has been dead for quite some time.. I am a parasite within a husk- Who tried to play human.. You asked me if I knew what it was to be human- I can tell you no... These memories of sheng are not mine but the body of the person I took...it from."


The vampire would quirk a brow at taiga. "You think I am suffering- from guilt?.. From pain unfortunately I can no longer feel those things.. You have been gone for a while taiga- what good will my death do now If Isaac is free to walk the realm doing exactly what I do- a wolf in sheep's clothing's.. the only difference from me and him is where is origin is."


Salvas would seem a bit peeved by this suggestion now. "Your gonna honestly tell me to throw away my life while a being that is worse then me still lives? Do you honestly think that all these demi angels will turn out to be whats good in the world?"



"The only reason why there was so much death in the last years was because of them..."


He exhales.


"No."
(Salvas Voss)

"I cannot speak for their sin."

So this is karma, huh? "I cannot speak for the demi-angels. I cannot speak for Isaac. I cannot tell you, with any confidence, that they are good people. Every word they speak could be a lie. Every movement that they make for the good of the world could be a farce. They could very well be plotting my death as we speak. But I would still be here, Father." There's a cold submission, and he finally understands that this is simply the way that things must be. A determination burns inside of him, a fire that builds up from the very core of his being and explodes outward through his system.

"It's the hardest thing, Father. To realize that you cannot change the hearts of man. That there is so much fear in this world that cannot be dissuaded. That no matter how hard you try, there will always be some evil that you find. Ren Shi killed one of the few people in my life who loved me unconditionally. But now...Now I finally see why.

We all fight to protect what he love. We all fight to save what he hold dear in our hearts. You. Me. All of us. Deaf to the trembling hearts around us, we cannot reach out in fear that we would not be understood. Just as you cannot reach out to me... I cannot reach out to you. Though I understand what you say... though I agree that there are worse things in this world..."

Taiga puts a hand on his blade. That blade. How many men had it cut down? How many hands had it exchanged in the time they had spent on Agartha? How many times would it shed blood? Salvas had seen it so many times before. But never in his life had he seen it leveled in his direction by his son - until today.

"You will be consumed by violence, Father. You will be eaten alive by that beast until the end of days. You will be hunted to the darkest corners of the world, and you will see that it had been destined from the moment you were born. You will kill. And kill. And kill. To survive. In that survival you will cut down more men than you can ever imagine.

...I realized this and cannot turn a blind eye to it any longer.

I love you, Father. You've given me all that I have. But I cannot let you live a life that tortures you so. So I hope that now you understand what I must do. I cannot know if this is the right thing. I cannot know if this sin will weigh heavy on my shoulders in death. I cannot know if this act will drag me to an eternal damnation.

I only know that I cannot bear the thought of letting this continue a day longer."
(Taiga Rowan)

Salvas's blade would float into his hand- his eyes flaring a bright violent red.  "DONT BE A FOOL TAIGA I ONLY FIGHT FOR MY LIFE I HAVE ALWAYS FOUGHT FOR MY LIFE- AND YOURS TOO YOU ARE A FOOL TO THINK THAT JUST BECAUSE I MAY CHANGE WHAT I AM THAT I CAN CO EXIST WITH ANY OF THEM YOU SAID IT YOUR SELF I AM STAINED BUT NOW YOU WANT TO PLAY GOD AND JUDGE ME?...



"You.. My child are a fool..."


Undead would start to rise from the bottom of the ground to aid in his combat.

"Don't be blind because you change one does not mean you can change them all.."


He was ready for combat either way.
(Salvas Voss)

Their battle shakes the very earth they stand on. Every movement made one inch from death, every clash of their blades bringing Father and Son closer to a fated end. Blood sprays - and neither seems willing to give a single inch of ground.

"I LOVED YOU, FATHER! I DID EVERYTHING I COULD TO KEEP THIS FROM HAPPENING! NOW LOOK! LOOK WHERE WE STAND! I NEVER WANTED YOU TO BE ONE OF THE ONES I FELT I HAD TO PUT DOWN!" Taiga seems furious, gaining the early advantage! With a massive swing, Salvas is sent flying!

He roars like a beast, screaming to the heavens in rage.
(Taiga Rowan)

He prayed this day would never come.

But where had prayer gotten him? Where had prayer gotten Salvas?

For how many men had stood up to the one holding that name, only to be cut down? And how could Salvas have known that the tears he shed for this boy would one day turn into the weapons Taiga would use against him? For how could anyone imagine that the young boy who only thought of obedience - who had been given so much love, for what could drive him to this point that he would fight like this?

With the ferocity of a wild, untamed beast. With the hatred that burned inside of him in untold ways, for himself, for Salvas, for the world that had caused this to happen. Taiga battled against all of it now.

He could say that it was for a better world. He could justify it in his mind, he could say that this was all for a brighter tomorrow. But the future never mattered much to him - and the moments he lived in right now were so intensely bloody, so dark and grim he thought he'd never escape this battle.

They rage against the world. The both of them. Salvas, against the Son that had turned against him, and Taiga against the curse that plagued his Father. The parasite that had taken hold of this mans body and warped it into a tool of malevolence.

It all comes down to a few bloody moments. In a corner of the world without a name. Shedding their life beneath the cold, impassive twinkling stars. They hide at the sight of such a fight, a starless night descending on the family.

"FATHEEEERRRRR!!!"

And not once did Taiga think of him as anything less.

Taiga races forward. The earth churning beneath his feet -- and then he's gone. Warped out of sight, behind Salvas in an instant. Wayfinding. A trick devised by angels, the truest nature of Taiga weaponized. The freedom of movement, to finally break free from every curse there was in this world - the limitations of time and space included. He did not race towards his goals. No. They were already right in front of him.

The blade that swings is impossibly fast. It runs Salvas through, splitting skin, cracking bone, and stabbing right into the fetid, unbeating heart of the beast. Taiga rips it free in an instant, and Salvas is left stunned for a moment. How many had wounded him like this? How many had made him truly fear death? And how could it be his son that would do such a thing?

What comes next is the finisher.

A way to end it once and for all. A magical artifact that Taiga held in his left hand, kept secret for so long. A bloodstone, ravenous and hungry. Without hesitation, without fear, Taiga punches forward into the hole created by his blade before Salvas could mend his wounds. The stone would begin its work immediately. Instead of pumping blood through his body, Salvas's system would turn inward. Every drop of blood, every ounce of energy he had keeping that undead body alive would be drawn into the stone.

An unimaginably cruel and painful final death.

Taiga would not turn his eyes away. Staring Salvas down until he was nothing but a bloodless, withered husk.
(Taiga Rowan)

He called it from the start...…

Broken down from what was to be an easy fight however- It didn't seem right a lot of moments started fall into his head- distant memories of his life.

His blade was waivered- memory upon memory this was coming to him all through out the battle. The vampire would smile as he was beginning to be overpowered by the man he would call son.


Every strike caused a spark within the night every moment caused another heart ache- Pain pure and undoubted pain was felt for the husk- not the parasite inside, but could a parasite feel emotion again?


He had told him self that he was unable to feel unable to comprehend emotions that he has felt within his time of living.

What about eming?

What about shizuko?


Is love a life?... Was it all just a lie a ruse..

Could a parasite feel something for them?


What about taiga... you could have rejected him you could have stopped this from happening but time and time again you just let it be.

All the mercy you have shown to the world... Even within crafthold knowing how they all planned to kill you and you stood idle..


What was the rush of it all? Where was it all leading you.. for you to die here at the hands of the person you could tell you love without the need for carnal desire.

The person that you can say I love you to without needing any real connection just off the bases of who they were to you.

What was the point of raising him in the first place?.. Because you needed to feel human again.. because you wanted to feel human again. You didn't want to corrupt him.. you let him grow.. you wondered where your guidance will lead someone - you wanted to know what it was to have a son..


- all of this was thought about during the fight now he was at his final moments a painful death a bloodstone...

-a blood stone...

Isaac..


He started to laugh in his blood mess he started to chuckle..

 "D-do you recall when you were a child.. and you ask....You asked me what I meant when I said that you will be the one to kill me... Do you recall that?...


He started to laugh and cough again finally fading away. "I wonder if I will see elenaor……- no she is too pure... for where I am going...." The vampire would then turn into embers slowly being blown away into the sea.
(Salvas Voss)