Aftermath of a Wildfire .:Vincent:.

[Ellerin -Ember-]

Silence... eerie and grave, dripping with some sort of foreign and unwanted anticipation. Death hung in the air, shadows clinging to the trees and earth like horrid parasites. A ghastly fog drifted over the surface of the lake Obsidian. The black waters were still, as if some blanket had been settled atop them. An empty, staleness was in the air, and the only thing that seemed out of place in this place called Decimus Nocturne was a young woman standing on the shores.

Her long blond hair seemed limp, hanging over her shoulders and framing her pale, grief-stricken face. Deep maroon eyes gazed out across the expanse of black nothingness, not truly seeing. Her purple-scarlet kimono somehow did not hold the bright happiness that it once did. Nor did her fiery spirit... In truth, she was not quite sure what she was doing here. Why she was here...

Thoughts of an old way of life came to surface. When she had been the outsider of her people, and yet as joyous as ever. She had been the positive optimist, forever trying to save people from their inner perils. And thought she was different, she was loved. Not a shadow came close to touching her fiery wings. How had it come to this...a time when the evils of the world seemed to float about her, as if accustomed to her presence?

She could not blame him, nor would she ever. In her mind, she saw his face...pale and perfect, his eyes that showed he cared for her. She could see into him there...see that his past had been riddled with unnamed terrors. He seemed broken... It was only reasonable for Ellerin to want to help him...rescue him from the eternal blackness he dwelt within. The woman had followed him, and here is where the path had taken her.

Ember ran slender fingers through her hair, her mind attempting to go into a state of blank unknowing. It seemed that the memories of their attack upon the city together...the bloody things she had done at his side...continued to plague her thoughts and make her heart hammer in her chest. It had been a true fight, a war of sorts that she felt she had participated in...but on the wrong side. How many of those families of those she had killed would remember her face? Remember the blood-covered fox, whose wings were born of fire, who murdered their loved ones in cold blood?

A shudder rippled through her, and for the first time in many years she had regretted her actions. Would her people ever forgive such a harsh act? Vincent would not look upon her with disgust...she knew this, for he had been there...he had been the one to bring down the village of Mizukage. And yet, he lived with himself still. Ellerin shut her eyes, breathing in the air that emanated from the shores of Obsidian. He would return soon...he had promised her that.

Opening her scarlet eyes, Ember looked out at the lake in fear of what would come. Seraphiel would return from Amon Zoru soon...would he then rid her lover of his curse? How long would it be before Vincent was no longer Seraphiel's dog? She grit her teeth in a feral snarl. Damn him... When this was over, she could only see herself dragging the knife through his heart...after all, her hands were bloody as they already were. What more could stain her reputation?

Sitting upon the shores, hands folded in her lap like some noble lady's, Ember waited. Still...she could only hope that Vincent's return would not bring with him the tide of the battle he had caused.

[Vincent]

The battle in Mizukage had gone well, perhaps too well. Their entrance was perhaps the most difficult. They had the element of surprise, yet a single shinobi managed to make Vincent have his doubts about the invasion's success. The two faced off while Ember continued to cause chaos, by Vincent's request. He hated to be separated from her, but he was again afraid of the beast he would become once blood started to spill...

In the middle of the dirt-covered street they fought. Vincent knew within moments that his foe was no ordinary shinobi. The two began by crossing kunai, constantly aiming for one another's vital points, and constantly hitting steel instead of flesh. Finally, blood was seen, Vincent's blade getting a lucky shot against the man's cheek. Even with just this small amount, Vincent began to fall victim to his curse. His actions became more brutal, yet still concentrated. It was then that the two began to use jutsu. Shadow vs water, each technique designed to end the fight in a single blow. Buildings around them began to crumble as they were caught up in the powerful magics.
Eventually, Vincent's foe seemed to realize the damage he was causing. After dodging another of Vincent's shadowy blasts, he narrowed his eyes and spoke words which should have chilled Vincent to the bone, yet instead they only fueled the fire which had begun to burn in Vincent's slowly maddening self.

"When you least expect it, I shall return to make you pay for what you have done today..."

With that, the shinobi vanished in a cloud of mist, leaving Vincent to resume his attack on Mizukage. Wiping the blood from a wound the shinobi foe had given him, Vincent clenched his fist and returned to the slaughter...

...And that was exactly what it was. It was Amon Zoru all over again, only this time the defenders knew exactly what they were up against. Many tried bravely to defend their village, only to be given an early death through Vincent's merciless techniques. The more blood that filled the air, the more his madness grew. Such was his curse, and it would only cease once all life had been snuffed out...

By the end of the day, the village had become eerily silent. The only sound was the occasional crackle of the flames which now ravaged the landscape. Bodies, hundreds of them, piled high. Men, women, children...none were spared. What was most frightening about this scene was that the majority of it was caused by a single man, an angel, no, a demon, of death and destruction.

In the far reaches of the village, Vincent could be found with his head bowed, his figure motionless. Blood covered him, dripping crimson liquid slowly from his clothes and his jet black hair. The deed was done, Seraphiel had his village, although it was hardly much of a village anymore. Everyone who had not escaped was dead, not a single survivor remaining. Black goo from Vincent's deadly jutsus covered countless, showing just how he was able to take down so many, so fast. He was a monster, and the demon known as Seraphiel had unleashed him upon the very people who had once called Vincent one of their own.

By the time Ember had found Vincent, he had not moved a single inch. Seraphiel had already contacted him via telepathy, letting him know that his job was done, as brutal as he had been about it. The demon seemed even more heartless than Vincent, speaking of the invasion and all of the deaths it caused as though it were child's play. Vincent said nothing at first when he felt Ember's touch upon him. He knew she had killed too, another thing he would never forgive himself for. He had forced her into this situation, she had followed him and now she too had blood on her hands. It made him incapable of answering her words. But still she remained at his side, waiting for words to come. Finally, he spoke.

"Go back to Decimus Nocturne...There is nothing more you can do here. I promise Ill return...I have many graves to dig..."

At first, she protested, wanting to stay with him, but a teleportation spell from Vincent caused her to return whether she wanted to or not. That was days ago, and in that time, Vincent had dug a grave for each and every one of those they had killed, not a single soul left without a place to rest forever...

Now, after an order from Seraphiel had him return to the citadel in Decimus Nocturne, Vincent waited patiently upon a balcony overlooking nothing but sky. Seraphiel was going to speak with him in person about what had transpired. As he stood there, Vincent thought of nothing but Ember. She was all he had left, the one single strand of sanity left in his bloodied existence. He might have tried to assassinate Seraphiel by now had it not been for her, knowing that if he died, Ember would suffer even greater than she was following Vincent through all of this bloodshed and war. Sighing heavily, Vincent closed his eyes, speaking softly to himself.

"I will never be able to fully atone for my sins. All I can do now is hope for my eventual freedom from this god-forsaken curse. Only then will I finally be able to lead a normal life, with you...Ember, the only light which was able to pierce the darkness surrounding my soul...."

[Ellerin -Ember-]

She was still, silent...motionless. There was an odd beauty to her suddenly...unlike the innocent and childlike prettiness she had possessed before. This beauty was different, showing how she had both aged and become more woman than girl. As if she were the guardian of the lake, her steady gaze casted over its waters and her heart drummed to the rhythm of the waves lapping against the shore. There was a moment when time itself seemed to slow, as if this picture somehow meant something. As if the exact way she sat, and the exact time of day were somehow a memory of someone from long ago...a perfect replica that earth had been waiting so see once more. And somehow this image was ominous.

An expression crossed her face, unreadable but there nonetheless. Her maroon eyes hardened and became laced with emotion before becoming passive once again. In that one moment of flawed stolidity, Ember was greeted with the understanding of her lover's return. Like a dark cloud passing in front of the moon, a shadow fell upon her and lifted as quickly as it came. A shadow... a man with hair as black as night and eyes as red as a bloodied rose. Somehow the young woman seated so elegantly did not cry out with the relief that welled within her. Though her spirit could have been freed from the happiness she felt at this time, not another look crossed her face. Was she angry with him? Would she meet his gaze with the same amount of love and devotion as before...?

Ellerin shut her eyes. She knew the answers and let them rule her. Yes she was angry. And yes, she would still go to him. She would open her arms and give him strength, will away her soul if she had to. She might never be able to answer why she felt this way. Only one word would be able to suffice... Ember opened her eyes, standing with a grace she had never held before. Her movements were fluid, her mien mature and knowing. It was here that the difference could be made between who she had been, and who she had become. Whether this was important or not, only others would be able to determine. Ember was no longer on the shores...all the remained was a black scorch mark upon the sand.

She had appeared upon the balcony, standing directly in front of Vincent, gazing out at the sky with her back to him. She was close enough to feel his gentle breathing upon the back of her neck, though for some reason she felt far away. The necklace she wore was uncomfortably warm, sending tingles through the scar it had created over the years. She spoke through a voice that seemed to have lost almost all of its high-spirited nature. Still...perhaps if one were to look hard enough, they would see the original Ember... a happy optimist with a dazzling smile, hiding shyly behind this new lady's eyes, afraid to challenge what was happening around her.

"Darkness swept the land of joy; barren it is left and enslaved it will remain. Tell me now, is it worth it Vincent? You will be rid of this curse, and you will be freed from your cage. But what, Vincent, will you fly to? Will this new world that he has created change what you are...who you are? Will you leave the world of killing when you step into what once was Vaenon? Can I even dare to try...to test fate and see if I can be 'free' in a place where evil reigns on the high throne? What more can I do for you, Vincent? What use am I, when I myself have lost all I once held dear...

" To save people... to rescue them from darkness. I once believed I could do this. But by trying to help you, I have only opened the door to your cage, and freed you into an even larger one... It may be a bigger cage, Vincent, but it is a cage nevertheless. I have done nothing but brought misery upon others...the one thing I tried to stop the tortured souls of Vaenon from doing. Tell me, am I in need of saving now?"

The fingers of her right hand slid across the balcony railing, leaving a complex blackened pattern in their wake. When she ran her fingers over it once more, ash fell to the crystal floor and turned to dust in her hand. Her face seemed blank, but her eyes had become a window. She was not hiding now, the girl of happy spirits; her attempts to break free from the room she had been locked in were proving futile so far. Still, Ellerin's eyes would have given away all that played games on her heart. She was unsure why, now of all times, she could not meet her lover's gaze.

[Vincent]

He knew that she was aware of his arrival, even before he had walked out onto the crystal balcony which would serve as his meeting place for the one he despised almost as much as he loved Ember. He knew she was not happy with him, could one blame her? The atrocities he was committing could never be repented, he would carry the burden of each and every innocent he had killed until the day he himself felt the sweet embrace of death. It made him wonder, was it really worth it in the end? Would this burden of taken lives be even more troublesome than the bloodlust which plagued him?

His thoughts broke for a moment when she suddenly appeared in a flash of flame and embers in front of him. For a brief moment his heart lifted itself from its heavy state, the very sight of his lover enough to make hope find its way into his being. Yet when he noticed how distant she felt from him, his lips moved into a deep frown. Her voice, different from the life-filled tone he had come to know when they had first met made things even worse. She had changed, and he had been the one responsible for it. Listening to her words, he began to wonder if he had inherited a curse much worse than the one he had previously been given. After a long period of silence from her words, Vincent answered her, his crimson gaze refusing to leave the sight of the one woman who was able to make him still feel as though he was something more than a merciless monster, despite his latest actions going against such a theory.


"I have brought misery upon both your people and my own. I have become nothing but a tool for him to use, and I have only myself to blame for it. Seraphiel knew that my curse would allow me to go into a place where hundreds of innocents resided...and slaughter them all, just because I saw and smelled blood...He took advantage of my weakness, he knew I wanted nothing more than to be rid of my lust for blood, and instead of helping me, he only doomed me to a life of sin and regret. No amount of action will allow me to fully repent for what I have done."

"...But I must ask you Ember...What can I do now? It is as you have said, I am trapped in a cage in which there is no escape...How can one go against a demon? I want it all to end Ember...I just want...to be with you..."

As those last words left his lips, he took a step forward, his hand extending from the shadows of his cloak to reach towards Ember, only to stop inches from her delicate features, as though afraid that once he touched her, she would vanish as though she were just a dream. He sighed, his eyes finally looking away from her, his being suddenly overcome with intense regret and sadness. He was a monster, that's all there was to it...