'Til Death Do Us Part

Basic rules:
- Even rolls hit. Odd rolls miss. Random numbers are generated between 1 and 100.
- Even rolls over 85 are considered critical successes. Odd rolls below 16 are considered critical failures.
- When the move doesn't define what a critical success does, the opponent is Stunned.
- When the move doesn't define what a critical failure does, the user is Off Balance.

Stunned Status - Character will be unable to act next turn.
Off Balance Status - Character will be auto-hit by next attack.

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Combatants:
Zara Seafield
vs
Sirius the Wanderer
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Zara was not one for leaving her self-imposed confinement to her room, but after a world of pestering from Ix, and the threat of being hugged by her for the duration of the day if she didn't at least get some sunlight, Zara conceded that she would leave the room, knowing full well that Ix would follow through on her threat if she did not. For what it was worth, the garden was actually a rather tranquil sight, and it's size allowed her an easy way to avoid contact with the other residents of the Sanctuary. The last thing she wanted was to end up 'interacting' with anyone around here. She had no plans of remaining within the Sanctuary much longer, but she wasn't going to do something reckless like force her way out, as Gweniverre had. She had a much grander plan than that, one that was much less likely to result in something going wrong.

She took it upon herself to sit upon a convenient log, and soak in the natural surroundings. Perhaps Ix had been right, even if she'd never admit it. A breath of fresh air was allowing her thoughts to form a little easier, and she began to ponder tweaks to her plan to make her exfiltration safer. For all involved.

The man had been watching her for a while, managing to remain concealed, mask hiding his expresion, waiting for the right moment, he pulled out a dagger and hold a tight grip on it's hilt...

I really was hoping she would change her ways after being around Lina for a while but...

There was a slightly hesitation on the man's actions, after all that woman was someone really special to him...

Zara felt a tinge of bloodlust directed towards her. The feeling of intent to kill. Her gaze turned in the direction of the feeling. The shadows under the trees there were particularly thick, and Zara could sense the power of darkness concealing someone. She let out a sigh.

"I wouldn't do that, if I was you. I'm in no mood for having to fight off some foolish aggressor who think they can take on the 'big bad' who has done nothing but bring the 'evil of corruption' into this world." Zara commented, in a voice that had the enthusiasm of a brick. "And no, I don't want to 'talk it out' or 'seek redemption' either. So just move on."

"I see you haven't change your mind, even after spending time with your daughter..." The man jumped down, removing the darkness concealing him "How long has it been since that power of yours made her split?"

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Zara's eyes narrowed, watching the man suspiciously. Great, another masked lunatic trying to exact their own personal 'justice' on the world.
"How very self-rightous of you." She responded, not willing to talk family matters with a complete stranger, let alone one who seemed to have been planning to kill her not moments earlier. "My feelings towards my life goals, and how I see my daughter, are none of your concern."

"Since I saved her from you last time, and teached her how to fight in the sorry state you left her, I disagree..." The man pulled his sword, it was like made of pure energy and yet it's color was a beautiful aquamarine blue "For this I ask you one last time... Will you continue down this path on your sick quest?"

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"So you were the one who stole her away from me." Zara responded, a severe coldness to her tone. The temperature in the garden seemed to drop by about ten degrees. Her gaze grew intense as the man pulled out his sword. Wait... That technique. Not only had this man stolen his daughter, but he was using... that technique? The entire area began to dim, as if clouds had blotted out the Sun. The colours of the flowers and the trees seemed to gray. The only thing remaining in vibrant colour were Zara's eyes, and the man's energy sword. "And you dare to use that technique against me? Who do you think you are?" Zara added, the coldness intensifying to an extent that it could almost freeze the man's blood on its own. "Your life is now forfeit."

(Crushing Despair - 8 )
The darkness in the air begins to coalesce, almost forming into a physical form, as it surrounds the masked man, and slowly begins to crush against him, restricting his movements, and pushing against his organs.

Zara: 40
Sirius: 35 + Ki: 0 + Disadv on next roll

That coldness on her eyes, that rage inside her... He had prepared himself for this, he knew how she would react, he then felt the darkness surrounding him, crushing him...

(Brave Slash - 86, 90)

But this pain was nothing, he, too, commanded darkness and wasn't going to let it crush him, with a movement of his arm, the darkness crushing him vanished "So that is your answer? So be it." He said, sending a sharp energy wave towards Zara.

I'm sorry my love, but you must be stopped...

She could felt the attack, his power wasn't as weak as she thought it would be.

Zara: 37 + Stunned
Sirius: 35 + Ki: 1

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Zara was surprised that, not only had this man broken out of her attack, but had managed to counterattack too. Despite her cold rage, she had planned to make this quick. She wasn't the sort to see her enemies suffering, no matter what they'd done to her. Death was the great equaliser. Once they were dead, she would forgive them. But no. This man seemed determined to make it a drawn out fight.

"This is normally where I would offer you a chance to run. To leave now, whilst you have a chance to escape." Zara commented, the colour in the garden fading further, almost appearing black and white. "But I have no intention of letting you live, regardless of what you do. Put down your weapon, and I'll at least make it quick."

"Put my weapon down?" Sirius felt Zara's intent to kill him and he knew that if he had the slightest doubt, she would indeed kill him "You are the one who should stand down and allow me to make it faster and painless, I'm pretty sure one of your daughters felt our exchange already and I do not wish to take their mother's life before their eyes..." He didn't want to do this, but there was no other choice, it was HIS fault she ended up like this, so he had to fix it, taking a stance, the daggers appeared spinning in front of him as he proceeded to punch them towards Zara...

(Blazing Fangs - 38,51,58,46,60,51,80)

After a few of them managed to hit her, Sirius punched the last one that struck Zara sending a poweful blast of fire against her "Don't make this longer than it should be Zara, I'm not your usual masked lunatic..." Sirius doubted for a second "I'm giving you a last chance, forget about Themis and just live a happy life with Lina, the four of them."

Damn it Zara, I love when you are stubborn but please don't make me do this...

Zara: 30
Sirius: 35 + Ki: 2

"Some things are more important than family." Zara responded cooly. Why was she even bothering to talk to this person? Probably a force of habit from many years ago. A familiarity with those abilities. Zara was concerned. This person clearly knew more than he should, and she didn't recognise him from the party that had stormed the castle. "Why do you care so much? You'll be dead soon."

(Sigils of Sorrow: 59, 24, 52, 55)
Amongst the colourless domain, 4 white sigils appeared surrounding Sirius at the cardinal points, North, East, West and South. From where he stood, he could see the North to his left, and East to his right. Then, the sigils moved with unbelievable speed, though not at the same time. The first to move was the Northern sigils. Even with the speed, he had little difficulty avoiding it. Then the Southern one hit him in his blind spot, causing a searing pain of freezing cold, and emptiness. He managed to recover in time to notice the Eastern and Western sigils shoot towards him, but not fast enough to avoid both. Once more, the  darkness fill him with an empty coldness, leaving a freezer burn mark on his side.

Zara: 30
Sirius: 29 + Ki: 2

Her speed and power was something he knew too well and yet she managed to catch him in his blind spot "Gah..." He grunted, he felt cold, was this how she felt all these years? Before he could realize the two remaining sigils stuck him again, and again the cold, this time it even let a burn mark on his right side while the one on the left managed to make a crack on his mask.

"There is nothing more important than family... And I have my reasons to care and as long as I have them, I won't die, no matter how much you throw at me Zara..." He was hurt, not only physically but his heart, having to face her, having to hurt her, is something he prepared himself for, but still, the pain was excruciating, he stood up once more, looking at her, he prepared to strike once more he jumped towards Zara...

(Shining Sword Attack: 78, 88, Autohit, 97, 52)

He slashed Zara before keep slashing her even more, she managed to avoid the last slash but when she looked back at him after avoiding the attack she found him aiming his palm at her and firing a Ki blast, sending her into the lake.

Zara: 21
Sirius: 29 + Ki: 3

As Zara became submerged within the lake, the colour slowly began to return to the world. But then the waters of the lake became unsettlingly still. It was eerie how still the waters had become after Zara had been sent flying into them. As Sirius looked around, he'd notice it wasn't just the lake, but also the trees, the ground. It was as if the whole world had stopped.

(Isolation:
Adv (3 damage): 53, 38
Normal (4 damage): 95
Disdav (7 damage): 26, 36)
The silence was deafening. Not even the chill that was in the air could be felt to keep him company. Sirius was alone. His senses numbed, even his pain leaving him. Every sensation left him. Only his sight remained clear, but it showed nothing. No-one. The emptiness was deeper than any strike Zara had landed on him.

Zara: 21
Sirius: 19 + Ki: 3 + Isolated

(Roll to escape Isolation. If successful, Zara is stunned. If failed, Sirius is hit by Isolation again, until he escapes)

Sirius saw Zara flying straight into the lake, after a few seconds, she wasn't out, there was no movement "Zara!" He screamed, then he realized, he looked around him, there was nothing, he was alone, he didn't even felt pain anymore... This feeling of solitude... Was this how Zara felt all this time? He had to break free, as much as it pains him, Zara had to be stopped, for the world's sake... For Lina's sake...

( Struggle - 60)

He focused his power, his thoughts, his determination "I can't let it end like this!" He managed to break free, looking at Zara, more determined than before but... He couldn't avoid to feel guilty about it, he wasn't stopping a random midara, he was trying to kill his own wife, the love of his life, the woman who gave a meaning to his life, luckily for him, the mask was perfectly hiding his face.

As the feeling broke, the world around him shifted. The trees were in motion, the sounds of the forest surrounded him once more, and emerging from the lake was a soaked Zara. Once more, as she stepped onto land, the colour began to fade again, and the light became more like dusk, despite it barely being noon. She seemed surprised at how easily he had freed himself from her snare. She knew the emptiness better than many.

(Pass turn for stun recovery)

Zara: 21
Sirius: 19 + Ki: 3

As he continues to stare at Zara, he kept blaming himself for this situation, he failed them, he failed to protect them so many years ago... He failed to reason with her when Lina got splitted... He was just a failure as a father and husband... He slowly approached her "Zara... Look at this world." He started "It's light, it's darkness... It's goodwill, it's malice... It's love, it's hate... It's kindness, it's harshness... It's hope, it's despair... It's happiness, it's misfortune... Look at it, feel it, this world, it can't exist withour Order or Chaos, what you are trying to do would bring peace, yes, I'll admit that... But one cannot exist without the other for long, that frail peace would end up breaking, bringing something even worse..."

He stopped, his gaze still fixed on Zara "If you don't stop, I'll have to do it myself..." He quickly rushed at Zara, sword in hand, aiming at the woman's neck... But he stopped, he didn't finished his attack, Zara could feel the warmth coming out from Sirius's sword being so close to her neck, she was trying to kill him and yet, he couldn't retaliate on the same way...

Zara sighed. More sanctimonious preaching. For someone like him.
"You do not understand this world. For every ray of happiness, there are five storms of pain and suffering. This world is unbalanced, chaotic, and full of unnecessary hardship. The peace I will bring is not the fragile peace you think. I will make sure of that." Zara responded, her tone bored of having to continuously explain this, but no less confident than usual. "Of course, I'll put your fears to rest, along with the rest of you." She added, coldly.

As the blade came towards her neck, he hesitated. Why was he hesitating. The blow, though lethal to most wouldn't have outright killed her, but it would certainly have harmed her enough to slow her down, giving him a chance to capitalise. Rather than question it, Zara chose to exploit it, swinging a blade of darkness up, whilst jumping back to get a little distance between them.

(Blade of Anguish - 93)
The blade was parried, and dispersed, by Sirius's own, but at least she had managed to get a small distance from him.

Zara: 21
Sirius: 19 + Ki: 3

Of course she would say something like that, once Zara put her mind on something, there was no way to change her mind...

"I see... So there is no more need for words..." He replied, filled with sorrow, he saw the blade right on time, blocking the attack with his own...

(Brave Slash: 4)

And firing another wave at her, impacting right as she landed from the jump.

On the other hand, his mask was starting to break, fragments of Zara's blade managed to reach it, cutting a little part of it.

Zara: 18
Sirius: 19 + Ki: 4

Well, at least he'd agreed to shut up for now. She called for her sigils again, surrounding Sirius once more.

(Sigils of Sorrow: 10, 87, 46, 70)
The first sigil land a icy touch against Sirius. He managed to avoid the second, but the third and fourth seemed to change course this time, predicting his dodge, and slamming into him simultaneously, encasing him in their brutally cold strikes.

Zara: 18
Sirius: 10 + Ki: 4

He was hit badly by the first sigil, but even managing to avoid the second one, the other two struck him at the same time, injuring him badly, to the point that he felt to his knee looking down, his mask broken by the impact, if he hadn't hesitated when he did... This all would have been different... There was no way he could defeat Zara now, he just waited there, wondering his options, blood running down his arms, his sword lying next to him on the ground.

Zara looked down upon the man who had stolen his daughter from her. Who had been so determined to end her life. A man who, by all rights, deserved a slow and painful death. But Zara was not like that. There was enough suffering in this world without her having to add to it.

And beyond that, this man had clearly cared for his daughters. And, despite everything, he'd done a reasonable job of raising them. Of course, this did not mean he deserved forgiveness. Nor did it mean she had no intention of killing him. No, death was what he deserved. But perhaps he deserved something else. A final request.

Zara raised her hands, and summoned forth a dozen blades of darkness in a clock face, around 7 feet above where the formerly masked man kneeled, all pointing directly at him. She then summoned a much larger blade directly above him. It was clear that this was how she intended to end his life.
"Thank you for looking after my daughters for so long." She stated, the coldness in her voice momentarily ebbing away. "Do you have any final requests, or words you would have passed on to them?" Despite the thawing of her icy tone, the intent to kill was still as clear as day. But what was also clear is, as soon as he was dead, he would be forgiven by Zara, and that would be the end of it. Nothing good came out of unfinished business.

"Heh... I hesitated and I lost... I'll give you that..." He replied, after that last attack he didn't had the strength to move or avoide her attack "I do have a final request..." He started.

Well if she's going to kill me, the least I can do is look at her eyes...

He looked up at her, gods, she was even more beautiful than he remembered, it was painful to see her with such cold look on her eyes, those beautiful eyes, once filled with warm kindness and love, now freezing cold, as blood ran down from his forehead, he smiled "Give Lina a good lecture for making that stupid choice... Will you... Dear?" He said, while looking straight at her, this is what he got himself into, when he failed to protect them so many years back, maybe... Maybe with this he would finally find some rest... Some way to repay her for all the loneliness, all the sorrow, all the pain, she had to endure by herself... Maybe this time... He would really die, maybe the curse will prevent him from dying, he didn't really cared, the only thing he knew, is that he deserved punishment for all the pain, sorrow and anguish the woman before him had suffered alone, the damage he caused her when he took Lina, without trying to talk with her....

After summoning all the blades, she held a single arm up, ready to lower it onto the man beneath her, and send them flying down into him. As she looked down to see him, she hesitated. Was he....? He couldn't be... She saw him die. The fire. The attackers. There was no way he could have survived this. But, in this moment, whilst she held his life in her hand, she knew there was no way he could be deceiving her. After all, no-one alive knew what he looked like. Zara had made sure of that. She wasn't sure if even Xana, would retained Lina's memories, could so perfectly recall what he looked like.

But that was a face that Zara could never forget. She froze, her hand stuck in the air, all the blades continuing to point down.
"... Sirius?" She asked, uncertain if her eyes were deceiving her. He appeared exactly as he had 20 years ago. He hadn't aged from that moment.

"Zara..." He replied, he did noticed the change on her eyes, the blades still pointing at him and yet, he didn't move, he just kept looking at the woman in front of him "Has been a long time... Hasn't it?" He added, wondering what her next reaction would be, after all that happened, the easiest thing would be her commanding the blades against him.

Normally, in a situation like this, the obvious question would be 'is it really you?', but Zara knew the answer without having to even ask. There was no doubt that this was Sirius. There was no way this could be an illusion, a mind trick, or even some sort of mental breakdown. She just knew. Zara did not lower the blades, but her raised hand wavered. It didn't matter. Nothing had changed. He was still the one standing in her way. He was still the one who had tried to kill her. And he was still the one who had taken away her.... their daughters. Her hesitation was visible, and conflict ran rampant through her. She needed to end this, but she also couldn't watch him die again.

"Why?" She asked. A simple enough question, but with the expectation of a complicated answer.