Dark Partings

He never even looked at her after that bolt flew right next to her. He didn't hear her scream, or the shouts of the elven envoy. All he saw was a blood haze surrounding the one who shattered his only hope. All he saw was Tyler.

Like a beast he leapt from the horse with Exodos in hand, sprinting forth through the deep snow straight for the man who had clearly gone mad to commit such a crime. Was the missile intended for him or Mae? Azurio didn't care. It didn't matter. Either way, Tyler would be dead.

Frozen branches seemed to move out of his way, afraid to even block the man's rampant charge. Like a specter, Azurio flew amongst the trees, his eyes set on the man ahead, who was hastily readying the crossbow once more.

Another bolt flew by him, missing his head by a mere few inches. He could see Tyler's eyes now, full of fear as quivering hands tried to hold the crossbow steady for the next shot. It would not come.

With a final lunge, he brought Exodos' entire force down on Tyler, watching the man desperately block with the crossbow, shattering the frail weapon with the mighty blow like shards of ice fit for such a frozen forest. Exodos quickly came up again, going for the man's chest in one quick strike.

But Tyler had managed to unsheathe his own weapon, parrying the blow frantically. He screamed into Azurio's face, his disheveled appearance giving him the look of a mad man. He leapt away on the defensive, his long sword ready to parry Exodos' strikes.

He would have none of it. Pure hatred ran through both mens' eyes. Whether for Mae's soul or their own, neither would not allow the other to live. One had to die.

Azurio would not strike. He stood there with Exodos in hand, staring into the eyes of the betrayer, remembering seeing Tyler for the first time in the Thundering Hall, his hand intertwined with Mae's.

He remembered watching Tyler pushing him from Mae, remembering the disappointment in her face every time he did it.

He remembered his emotionless face as they watched Mae depart into the sunset like a phoenix flying toward the sun. She knew the dangers. Azurio knew what she could face. Tyler simply didn't care.

No. He didn't care. Not for Mae. Not for the woman who saved Azurio's soul while Tyler simply stared from the shadows. This man had to die.

Raising Exodos, he lunged at Tyler without hesitation, watching the man's eyes go wide as the mundane blade prepared to block the upcoming attack. It would have shattered and left Tyler defenseless, his helplessness exploiting the weakness in Azurio's heart. But he would not have it. Not anymore. Not after what Exodos taught him or after what Ithil did to him.

Exodos swept down to meet the sword, both blades ready to equally lock in combat, one's strength surpassing the other. But Exodos was no mere sword.

"Now!" Azurio screamed at the sword, his eyes filled with inhumane fury as he felt the blade in his hands change shape, becoming larger, heavier, - and longer. Both blades met and the mundane metal of Tyler's steel shattered effortlessly. He tried to fall back but Exodos had grown longer in such a short time.

The blade kept flying through the air until it cut through Tyler's neck without pause, hungry for the man's death.

Decapitation.

Tyler's headless body fell forward, the head landing next to his shoulders, a mist of crimson spraying from the severed corpse.

Azurio stood there, breathing heavily and watching the head roll in the bloody snow with Exodos- back to its normal form, clenched in his grasp. He was gone. Tyler was dead. Mae was-

She screamed. Azurio turned towards her, looking at the terrified horror on her face. Her eyes were wide, wet with a flood of tears that dripped down a silken face and unto the snow below.

He could only watch with bloody sword in hand, as she collapsed onto her knees into the snow, her eyes locked on the fallen body of the man she cared for.

The man she cared for. Was it not Azurio? Did he not sacrifice his very heart to her? Who was Tyler to her? What made him matter to her so?

"Mae.." He whispered, pushing himself towards her. He hardly took a step before the very wind was knocked from him, his body thrown against a tree. It was Tyson with a hand clamped upon Azurio's throat, the massive war hammer merely inches from his face.

He could feel Exodos' warmth in his hand, silently suggesting that he fight back and defend himself.

"What are you doing?" Azurio shouted, his very strength fading from Exodos' aid while trying desperately to ignore the creature's call. "I was protecting her!"

"Protecting her? By killing Tyler?" Tyson shouted back in rage, his grip on the man's throat growing tighter. This man was a friend, but his life belonged to Mae. He would not hesitate to strike Azurio down.

"He tried to kill her, Tyson!" Azurio stammered. "I was only-."

"You were only doing what you always do, Tserai!" Mae screamed as she grasped at the bloody snow, sobbing without end. "You never stop! You can't stop! You don't want to!"

She turned to look at him, her face ashen with sorrow.

His eyes widened at her words and his mouth opened, but no words emerged. His tongue- his very mind, searched helplessly for words that could offer any meaning. Any consolation.

"You always have to kill, Tserai! You can never stop!" Her eyes met his, and he could see no love anymore. Only a darkness like no other. Only enmity.

"You enjoy killing others!" She cried, ripping her eyes from his and back to the fallen corpse.

Others. He enjoyed killing others. No. This could not be true. It wasn't possible. He didn't fight because he wanted to. He fought because he had to. It was his goal to protect her. He loved-.

"Get away from me." She whispered through her tears, her face buried behind that auburn hair.

He couldn't move. Not after such words. Even Exodos was silent now, offering no emotion or dark whisper. All he could do was stand there and stare at her, his mouth open in disillusion.

He'd killed Tyler. For her. And now she wanted him gone from her sight. Who did she love? Who did she want?

She wanted Tyler.

If that was what she wanted, Azurio would grant her that wish.

Turning away from her and Tyson with Exodos in hand, he silently strode through the snow, Mae's sobs echoing through his mind. Feeling a streak of wetness flow down his cheek, he hastily wiped it away before proceeding into the forest, once again alone in the world.
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Commentary:
I was compelled to write a brief and slightly detailed story in regards to the final scene between Azurio and Tyler. While Tyler remained enshrouded in intrigue and mystery in regards to his actions and decisions, Azurio's actions were fully revealed as those of revenge, zealous protection of Mae, and personal rage compiled from the tolerance of Exodos' actions against him.
As seen, there was a relationship between Mae and Tyler even though it was not fully explained. In a previous chapter, Mae had painfully cast Tyler out from Rain and Thunder for his actions and ended anything they might have had. However her feelings for Tyler, whether from simple respect or lingering attraction, remained till his death. She realized the savagery within Azurio, even if not thinking about the past in regards to finding out about Exodos.
Azurio was quick to be cast out, realizing Tyson's passionate loyalty for Mae. Friendship was second to him when it came to Mae. And even though this would come near the end of the entire tale, this once again brings Azurio to the epitomy of his madness- being alone with Exodos.