The Bird and the Garden 3: The Final Adventure

Chapter 74: The First Vao's Dream

Salem and the First Vao locked eyes with each other as the world ended around them, their weapons drawn on each other. The First Vao shivered with his hate, his rage, that he held for her, the woman who had destroyed everything he had cared about.

Salem felt her breath hitch for a moment. When she stared at him without the Blood, she could see just how totaled his mental state was. In the end, killing was all he knew. She could save him from the Blood all she wanted, but she couldn't save him from himself.

Was this fated? Was this destiny? Was all of this preordained by the Gods?

... Of course not. The Gods were as selfish as they were cruel. They'd never have revived their one weakness by awakening Salem's memories and magic as a Celestial. They'd never give the Blood the chance to rival them in power.

She lowered her sword, but didn't return it to its sheath. She stared at the First Vao, a hard lump growing in her throat. Did she have to kill him after all? Despite every effort she had made, to let him live a happier life with Mono and his Cult, who loved him dearly? She found that she didn't want him to die. He was just as much of a victim of the Gods as she was.

She began to wonder if their roles had been reversed, if things would have turned out the same. If the First Vao had been the Celestial, and she had been Doom with One Eye. Would she have been just as angry as he was? The answer was yes. His feelings for her were justifiable.

When she was corrupted, she had forced him through hell. She had twisted his parents into being abusive, costing him his left eye and never knowing Raven was his mother until he was seventeen. She had turned his best friend and younger brother against him, the one who had been there for him all his life, shattering his trust in others. Because of the past she had laid out for him, he killed Summer and realized she had never meant him any harm. She secretly fed him Blood, driving him to kill and eat people. She had pitted him against his friends and family, forcing him to kill them one by one. She had taken him as a person and broke him down, building him back up into a murderous, cannibalistic lunatic. She had taken her promise to give him a new start at life for his servitude, and spat on it.

She turned back to him, staring him down. Was there still a chance to avoid killing him?

Salem wasn't certain. But she knew he wasn't going to let her walk away without a fight.

"... I've lived with regret for the things I've done," she said softly. "Every night I have nightmares about the things I've done. The people I've killed. The livelihoods I've destroyed. The monster I've created... That's the same as you, isn't it? You have the same nightmares..."

"Shut the 'ell up," the First Vao snarled. "You're the one who did that to me!"

Salem nodded her head, raising her sword again, blinking away her hot tears, her magic beginning to flare.

"... Let's settle this... Vao."

Darkness began to explode around the First Vao, his one eye going wide and his Aura blazing hotter, brighter than it ever had before, his Light engulfed and snuffed out as his body was wrapped in shadow. With the cry of a madman, he blasted towards her, his axe gleaming in the air.

CLANG!

Salem was nearly pushed off her feet when she blocked the blow, her magic preventing her arms from snapping to pieces under the sheer force. The First Vao spun around, his face twisted in unrivaled fury, his serrated dagger in his left hand.

Salem's feet shifted back with every strike so she could absorb the blows better, the Celestial using her magic to shine a blinding light, catching the First Vao off guard for a split second. The split second she needed.