A Divine Image

"𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫?"

————

As Vergil was about to hop down towards the roots of the tree, he felt something warm in his breast pocket, he pulled it out, and there it was, an orb with a small fragment in it.

"So that's where my eye went!", the lady joked beside Nero, hands on her hips, a grin on her face.

"Seriously, you weren't satisfied with my arm?", Nero asked with a raised voice.

"Oh no, it was a loan.", she quickly responded.

"It's a WHAT?!", Nero gets up to reach for the girl's face, and lifts her hair to reveal the hollow part of her face, crumbling and healing. "Aren't you tired?"

"Nope! I have more in my reserves to last me about a decade!"

"Why would you even think of loaning away your eye?!"

"Look I wasn't exactly thinking which piece of myself I was gonna take off okay? The man was crumbling and I panicked!"

Vergil didn't say a word to interject in their banter, and looked down at the orb.

"𝘔𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦. 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦, 𝘪𝘧 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦, 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘸."

"𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘧..?", 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭'𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘦𝘺𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘨𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨. "𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮."

"𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦!", 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘹𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦, "𝘚𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦.", 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘥𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘝, "𝘛𝘢-𝘥𝘢!", 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬?"

"𝘓𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.", 𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘨𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘳𝘣 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘴.

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘳𝘣 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘪𝘵. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦, 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘣𝘣𝘭𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦. 𝘏𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴. "𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘥𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦."

"𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘬𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘶𝘴?", 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. "𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘴, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦.", 𝘝 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳, "𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶?"

𝘝 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘬. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘢𝘭. 𝘈𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘮𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘢 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦, 𝘢 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦. 𝘐𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦.

"𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒚, 𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑷𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒅𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍, 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒊𝒔 𝒅𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐𝒐."

𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘴.

"𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘵, 𝘝. 𝘞𝘦'𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥. 𝘕𝘦𝘳𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘸."

"I believe this is yours.", Vergil raised the orb for her to see.

"Keep it.", she said, "Consider it your burden. A burden that you must come back – with Dante, alive – and return the timeless orb back to me.", she explains further, "Or is it too difficult of a challenge?"

Vergil gave a lopsided grin. "I'll take your challenge.", with that, he placed the orb back in his breast pocket and turned to follow his younger brother down in hell.

As he descends down the demon realm, he can hear her voice echo in the sky, "Good. Have fun! Don't kill each other or I'm coming down there myself!"

Vergil huffs at such a proposition.

————

"𝑩𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒕."