The Fallen Vampire

'Where do you think we go when we die?'

Depending on where you are and who you ask, there can be as many answers as their are stars in the sky.

But, that is the way things are on Earth.

On Tayar, everyone knows where weary and innocent souls go upon their dying day.

Nowhere.

The souls of the innocent dead inhabit the very world around them where they once roamed.

The belief is that they become part of this world's stability, and help to hold it together.

They enrich this plane; making the grass greener and healthier, the water fresh and ever clear, and the air as soothing as a mother's gentle call.

Some would say that this is the true magic of this world; a pure and untouched rest that can be appreciated by others to come for as long as there are others to come.

"But somehow, the heroes have gotten their hands on this nasty little art that allows them to not only disturb the rest of those who passed, but use their energy for their own gain as well."

Taira placed the letters he'd found on the table, along with the manual he'd gotten from the locked compartment of Vance's own desk.

Ja' Zaki, Ayame, and Aja all looked down at the assembled papers with disbelieving expressions.

What they were hearing was almost unthinkable to them.

There were a great many ways that cultivators had sought to gain power over the years, but none had ever attempted to touch the quintessence of this world before.

It was such a depraved, dark, and dastardly thing to do that most people couldn't even fathom it.

There could be considered no worse crime in this world; not murder, not sexual assault, theft, or even rampant adultery.

And as the heads of the fallen races opened the manual for the first time, they felt their hearts twist at the sheer evil of it all.

How could someone do this?

Why would someone even think to do this?

For acclaim? For power?

Even they who were the most powerful beings in this world, had never dreamed to stoop so low.

"This... This cannot go unanswered." Ja'Zaki said through gritted teeth.

"They are all... practicing this filth?" Aja questioned in disbelief.

"And they say we are the ones who are unclean. Filthy." Ayame spat.

The pressure that was simmering off of all three of them was more suffocating than any other beings could suffer through.

Taira and his wives did not bother to say anything, as they had also gone through this period of being enraged beyond belief.

Now, the fallen leaders were entitled to feeling that same grief.

*CREAK*

The double doors to the meeting room swung open rather noticeably, and Kyoen strode in late at the last moment.

"Is there a reason this couldn't have waited until the morning? I assure you that I-"

Suddenly, Kyoen froze like a deer in headlights when he saw a woman in the room who shouldn't have been there.

Standing next to Taira and holding the sleeve of his kimono was a pretty woman with dark skin, an abundance of ceremonial tattoos, and a head full of long grey dreadlocks.

Her red eyes were intensely curious and yet mortifyingly empty, as if they'd wandered a bit too far outside of somewhere safe and seen too much that she shouldn't have.

"Elder sister..?"

"..." Unable to speak, the mature woman simply held up two fingers in a greeting that she'd copied from Vermeil, her expression as robotic as ever.

"Good, you're here. Take back your sister now, she hasn't left my side ever since I found her and it's getting me into trouble." Taira said in relief.

The young woman glanced at Taira's wives who were surrounding her and giving her somewhat unfriendly looks.

"..." With nothing else to do, she flashed them another peace sign in the hopes that it would disarm them.

Their unkind gazes cracked, but they still looked like they wanted her to let go of their husband's sleeve.

Kyoen quickly shook off the stupor he felt and his gaze hardened once more.

"I don't know where you found that thing, but keep it. My family's honor will not be sullied by one who stinks so voraciously of humans. Inadu Tsuchigumo is already dead, leave it at that."

The ears on top of Taira's head twitched as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard.

At his side, the spider demon seemed to have no problem with her brother's words; and in a shocking turn she bowed respectfully as if she had no problem receiving them.

"What are you doing, silly girl." Taira palmed the top of Inadu's head like a basketball and made her stand back up, much to her obvious surprise.

Turing back to Kyoen, his pointed fangs flashed as if he were beginning to lose his patience.

"Don't be daft. This woman is your blood. Apologize and take her back."

"Loss is not tolerated in my lineage, dog. Next time leave the trash where you find it, and we need not be haunted by the unfortunate ghosts of the fallen."

"...Your lineage, huh...?"

Once Taira's wives heard Taira's icy cold tone, they knew immediately things were about to get out of hand.

They all took a much needed step back as he disappeared from his place beside Inadu in the blink of an eye.

He reappeared in the space beside Kyoen at an inhuman speed, and swung his scythe with the intention to cut off his head.

But the heavenly demon had not gotten to where he was in life by being slow to react to assaults, and he quickly sprouted a set of spider like legs from his back; and blocked Taira's blade with a loud clang.

"You would start a war with me?! For a sow you don't even know!!?"

"I was also left to die by my family because they deemed me unclean and weak, so I guess the existence of others that are similar to mine puts me in... a bit of a bad mood."

"You're insane!"

"If your lineage is so unfeeling as to discard it's members so casually... I think it is better that they not exist. I'll be starting with you."

"ENOUGH!"

Moving at a speed that neither of them could follow, Ja' Zaki appeared between the two men and tossed them onto opposite sides of the room.

Their backs slammed against the concrete with enough force to shatter it, and both of them became restrained by tendrils of dark shadows that fastened them to the walls.

"We do not have time to be fighting against each other! Have you young masters any idea of what we are up against!?

The races of light are a collection of evil, megalomaniac, warmongers who would stop at nothing to eradicate us and everything we hold dear!

I implore you for one moment, to fucking think about the bigger picture!! You can have your squabbles when we are living in peace, and not lying underneath the boots of their tyranny!"

It was an odd thing to see the usually mischievous and playful dark elf suddenly become so serious in nature.

And yet, it also did a lot to reaffirm how he became a leader in the first place.

He made it easy to see how the dark elves had become the most unified of all of the fallen races.

Taira and Kyoen had their eyes meet in midair in an instant.

Their conflict had been put on pause for now, but it was bound to resume sooner or later.

And even though they had more matters that they should have been attending to at the moment... it was unlikely that they were going to wait to complete all of them before trying to kill each other once again.

But for now at least, civility had to be maintained in the face of a rather militant dark elf leader.

Ja' Zaki sneered at the both of them in disappointment as he freed them from their shackles.

"We're done for today. This unpleasantness will be reconvened in the morning." Ja' Zaki left quickly afterwards, followed by a still irate Kyoen.

Aja left a moment after; though she did take a second to glance at Taira for some unknown reason before exiting.

Taira's wives quickly surrounded him as he picked himself up, all equally worried and looking like they were going to go wring the dark elf by his neck.

Enyo: "Are you alright, honey?"

Keran: "We can still go back and kill them both if you like."

Lucia: "His words are not without merit though.. So maybe we should wait."

Vermeil: "But we can still make a plan!"

Aveena: "Yes! A great plan!"

When Taira finally spoke, his words were different from what they expected, but not uncharacteristic of him.

"So that's a Quasi God... interesting.. powerful but not unkillable. With preparations I feel I could-"

"Great to know you're fine, dear." Lucia said with a smile.

Shrugging, Taira turned towards the sound of footsteps and found Ayame approaching him with somewhat of a distrusting look in her eye.

She held up the star that currently had Vance sitting inside of it, sealed away for an eternity if they so wished.

But Ayame was not satisfied with this outcome at all.

"I don't care if you are family or not. If you don't give me a good explanation for why you kept this human alive after what he's done, you and I are going to have a disagreement next..!"

Unbothered by his mother-in-law's threat, Taira gestured back to the roundtable where they once sat.

'I'm doing so much talking today... I need a nap.'