The Fallen Vampire

Joshua had been watching the impromptu proposal just like everyone else.

It was definitely touching, but as he was right now, he couldn't really set it into his mind to just sit back and applaud such a scene.

For fallen, growing up with human parentage is a very... difficult ordeal.

At the moment that they are old enough to understand what must've happened to their mothers, most take their lives. And even those who do not take that step never really mentally recover.

Josh liked being one of the few to have beaten that statistic. It meant that there was hope to change it one day.

However, it was still a very sore spot for him.

Fallen looked at him with both pity and shame.

The races of light saw him as an abomination. A halfbreed monster.

Neither side thought he should exist.

But it hadn't always been like that for him.

"H-Hello.."

Josh looked up from the tea sitting on his table and found Taira and Keran standing a short distance away from him.

Before he could speak, she beat him to it.

"...Allow me to apologize." Keran said sincerely. "I was rude upon our first-"

"Who did he take from you..? No, it doesn't matter."

Joshua suddenly stood up and walked in front of Keran- lowering his head sincerely.

"I might not be the person you want to hear it from... matter of fact, this might not mean anything at all. But nonetheless, please let me apologize as his blood... I can't imagine the agony he must've put you through."

Seeing the sincere apologies of the young man, Keran felt even worse.

This man may have been the son of the hero who killed her father and mortally wounded her mother... but he most certainly wasn't cut from the same cloth as him.

"My husband urged me to hear your story... I am willing to listen if you decide to tell me." Keran lowered her head.

Josh seemed to take his time sorting out his own personal issues before he finally decided to spill all that he was still holding inside.

-

It's not easy settling in to new places.

It can be scary, disorienting, and above all things, uncomfortable.

But one thing that always seems to get overlooked in those new scenarios is the unwritten rule that makes no room for deviation- conformity.

Leonel Xavier Cross was only seventeen when he first showed up in this world around 500 years ago. It was like a twisted dream come true.

In a single afternoon he went from finishing up his junior year of High School, to being lauded over by old men in thick-ass robes.

As a young man with a natural liking for superhero flicks and all things depicted in modern fantasy media, he was understandably excited about the possibilities and powers that may have been waiting for him here.

He was thrilled, but his joy quickly gave way to other, more complicated feelings.

His dislike of killing his enemies was heavily criticized by the king, the church, or any in the ruling classes. He wasn't doing what the Races of Light had summoned him for.

But he remained obstinate. He wouldn't just kill just because he could.

It wasn't until he was brought to a fallen 'pleasure' house while off-duty that he realized what fate was befalling the captives he brought in.

After that day, he developed a reputation of letting even a single enemy live. No one knew that was the reason for the sudden change.

It's easy to ask why he didn't realize then that he wasn't on the right side of things. And in hindsight, he definitely should have.

But everywhere he went, people told him he was doing the right thing. That he was their idol. That he inspired them to begin cultivating and join the army.

Men, women, and children of all ages filled his head with praises that were loud enough to drown out his own conscience.

Who was he to question this world's status quo?

He was just a visitor here. But more than that, he was in a very coveted position in society.

And that entitled him to the same benefit that all privileged castes carry around.

Those who live in heaven have no need to think of those who live in hell. Those who live in hell can only stare up at heaven.

Leo didn't have to look down at what he was doing if he didn't

want

to. So because it was painful, he

chose

not to.

He came to embody perfectly the role of the good soldier to the king, and idol to the people.

But even the best soldier can fall.

When Leo was till young, he had an encounter with the former Demon King and his forces. It is the only loss on his egregious record.

He ended up adrift in a river. His armor damaged and his body broken in more places than he could even point out on a diagram.

Leo thought it would be the end for him. However, the fates so rarely abandon promising stars without at least giving them second chances.

Leo awoke in a wooden home a week later.

His wounds had been carefully tended to, and somehow he'd also managed not to starve to death.

Upon waking up, he found himself in the company of a female oni.

Despite clearly recognizing that he was human, she chose to help him anyway because of the rather pitiful state he'd washed up in.

And besides, what could he do to her when his entire body was wrapped in a sling?

With no other alternative posed to him, Leo had no choice but to simply talk. Theirs was the first conversation he'd had with a fallen during the entire duration of his ten year stay.

The woman was a bit of an outcast.

Oni women and man are usually a bit more barbaric and violent in their ways of life- especially given how they search for mates.

She didn't want anything like that for herself and decided to leave on her own.

Which was how she ended up living here, by herself, in this small hut out in the middle of fucking nowhere.

With their unlikely acquaintance made, their relationship was strained from the beginning.

Leo wouldn't talk to his savior, or would even treat her coldly. She would slap him every time he did so.

It took a while before this back and forth of theirs gave way to actual conversation. Continue your adventure at empire

And once they learned to actually talk to each other pleasantly, they didn't seem to be able to stop.

The oni was fascinated by the fact that Leo came from a whole other world. Most of her questions were centered around his home.

This was the first time that the Hero of Flame realized that no one had asked him about his old world ever since he arrived here. So he didn't mind talking about it.

Before they knew it, Leo's body was healing better and he could move around on his own again.

His caretaker thought that would be the end of their prolonged cohabitation.

But Leo chose that moment to confess the countless doubts that plagued him ever since he'd come to Tayar.

He didn't want to do it anymore. He didn't want to return to that shallow life of growing only to slaughter.

So, he made the decision to stay behind with her, at least until he got a better idea of what he wanted from his new life.

One month turned into two. Which in turn became six. Then a year and... Joshua ended up being born.

Five years later, young Joshua thought that his dad was the coolest man in the world.

Just as he had done with his mother, he filled the boy's head with stories of earth's infamous cable tv programs and celebrity lives that had somehow become like world events.

Leo even gave him some of the relics that were in the backpack he had when he first came to this world. His son wore them everywhere, even though it was no longer possible to produce sound from them.

His dream was to one day be able to hear one of the songs that his father used to tell him were stored in some kind of library.

But one day, things all came crashing down.

A detached unit of soldiers were combing through the area- searching for a place to set up camp.

Leo just so happened to be fetching firewood and was spotted.

It had been a few years since his tragic disappearance, but his likeness, as well as his name was well known.

In an absurd twist of fate, one of the very same little boys who said that Leo had inspired him to join the army, ran up to him with blood on his tunic.

He was excited to see him alive. No, more like ecstatic.

And as Leo stared into those eyes filled with wonder, relief, and worship, he felt all of that old pride quietly rushing back. He felt himself rising again.

But what truly marked the turning point, was when Joshua and his mother stepped outside to see what all of the ruckus was about…

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