Note: The chapters called 'Interludes' will be chapters focused on explaining the lore and background of the fic and/or showing 'little' stories of other characters relevant to the story. Each 'Interlude' will have its own name, and will have a varied length, which will not always be continuous. For example, this time, Eva's Interlude has the number (1), because it's the first one I publish, but that doesn't mean that in the next chapter I will continue focusing on Eva.

Interlude: Eva, Queen Of Heaven (1)

—'I know you have many questions.

I know you've been afraid and that you once wished you had died years ago.

I also know that this is all for your own good. I know you will feel grateful to me once you see the results of my gift.

Before I go any further, I want you to know that the things I am about to tell you are not for the weak and skeptical. And although my existence may be hard for you to believe, I love to think that I may at least be able to explain to you what happened.

I was born into the lap of luxury, into the paradise of the gods, but that meant nothing to me...'

[At that instant, images began to appear in 'Dante's mind that soon converged into a scene that could well be some kind of memory. A memory that absolutely did not belong to him at all

From a third person perspective 'Dante' observed a wonderful scene that could only be described as a paradise. Trees, bushes and beautiful plants stood and adorned everywhere; Animals of all sizes, types and colors roamed that realm, a realm in which two people also resided.

A completely naked man and a completely naked woman were the inhabitants of that paradise. The man's hair was as blond as the woman's, but his appearance was unremarkable, except for those mystical eyes he shared with the woman, whose appearance was identical to that of the mother he had in his first life.

Somehow, as 'Dante' watched them consume some fruits while resting on a beautiful pear tree, 'external' information came into the head of the ex-sparda. Such 'information' would become 'thoughts' that explained to him what was going on here; Those two people were Adam and Eve, and this place was the paradise of Eden, a place that does'nt exist on earth, for this place is in the [Eden Myth] a small 'section' of the [Biblical Myth World]; a universe that was born out of the thoughts of human beings.

Adam and Eve never truly existed, they were only ideas and concepts that human beings used to explain their own existence. They were Ideas and Concepts that ended up coming to life in this dimension]

—'My self-imposed husband was nothing to me. My father was a god with many errors. The snake, an overbearing hypocrite. The plants and animals around me were lifeless in my eyes.

Honestly, there came a time when I couldn't take it anymore, and I left that place.'

[The scenes that 'Dante' observed soon began to move faster, as if someone had pressed the 'play x5' button.

Before the eyes of the now Kusanagi, all the 'historical' moments told of Eden passed in just a few seconds; He observed the birth of Adam and Lilith in this paradise, as well as the expulsion of the latter, and the subsequent birth of Eve from one of the man's ribs. He observed how God forbade them to touch the forbidden fruit, and how a talking snake convinced Eve to eat it, he saw how Adam and Eve were expelled from Paradise by God and the Angels and then...

...Everything was rewound. The scene suddenly went 'white' and then everything went back to the beginning. Again he saw Adam and Lilith being born, and the subsequent 'historical' scenes that followed, and at the end, everything again rewound, over and over again, as if it was someone playing a movie, which started again just after it ended.

Thanks to the 'Voice' in his 'head', 'Dante' knew it: This was a world that had neither beginning nor end, a world that perpetually reproduced the myth of Eden, a world that receives the name of [Eden Sanctuary]. A [Sanctuary] is a world that belongs to a small 'section' of a 'Mythological Universe'. In the past, before the mythological worlds were connected to the mortal plane, these [Sanctuaries] located on another plane of existence somewhere in the [World of Ideas/Dimensional Gap], those places was where the gods come from when they decided to abandon their [Myths].

Then 'dante' saw the figure identical to his mother, and noticed: After countless cycles of starting and restarting in this [Sanctuary], Eve's mystical eyes lost their 'sparkle' as her expression saddened; she seemed to have lost all desire to live. Naturally her expression didn´t correspond to the actions she performed in the 'movie', for even though her expression was the only variation in this world, the 'story' of this [Sanctuary] continued its natural course, over and over again.

At that moment, thanks to that 'information', 'Dante' knew it: Somehow the second woman who had been created by God, knew that she was in a world that was never going to change; She knew that she was a 'crystallized' history that was born of humanity, and that she now had a life of her own, but her actions would never be different in this place, and that was something she couldn´t accept. She was like a television, movie or comic book character who realized that she/he was living in a fiction world but could do nothing to get out of it.

Or at least it was, until somehow, as if it were the movie 'Last Action Hero', Eve left this world. The scenes of this 'Paradise' ended when somehow, Eve's body turned into particles of light]

—'And then I walked through the world I always wanted to see and feel for myself

Unlike my world, everything was so real.

So alive.

So beautiful.

So volatile.

So changeable.

With free will.

Unbound.

No stories repeating themselves over and over'

[The particles of light into which Eve's body had become, soon reformed into that naked woman.

But they reformed in a place very different from the world in which she was, for when the particles took on the appearance of the blonde, they did so in a world whose trees and flora were not entirely beautiful, whose appearance was far from perfect; and of course, where the concept of death existed, for the animals and humans who lived here, killed each other in trying to subsist.

The Goddess of Eden had come to the mortal plane, to the real Earth.

And then, the scenes that the Ex-sparda saw, began to be rapidly replayed, again]

—'I Loved that world with all my heart: the plants, the animals, the water, and every rock, and of course, the men and women who lived there'

[ He watch as the woman walked naked through forests, plains, lakes, Rivers, only to meet the first 'real' human beings. Each new discovery on her way, made her incredibly happy; death didn't bother her, it seemed very natural to her. At last she felt 'real', at last she felt she was in a 'real' world.

After meeting those first human beings on her path, she put on clothes, and began to live with them, and with the rest of the people she would meet in the rural areas, towns, villages, roads, and cities she would visit.

When they needed it, she helped them without thinking about it. She cured their diseases, de-contaminated their rivers and lakes, cured their animals, helped them improve their crops, eliminated pests, etc. She loved humanity. After all she had been 'conceived/Christalized' in her myth as 'The mother of mankind', so every person in her eyes was one of her adored children. She was born of Adam, an 'Immortal' of Eden who in turn was created in the image and likeness of God, so she too was an 'Immortal' being created in the 'Image and likeness of God'; the faith, belief, worship and interpretation that humans had of her myth, had made her a 'Goddess, Mother of the earth', so she possessed Authorities related to the 'vitality of the earth' and 'Miracles'.

But not everything would be a fairy tale with a happy ending, for...]

—'I lived with them, and received many names over time, until one day, I realized that, despite all its faults and vicissitudes , they needed all the support I could give them'

[...She soon realized that she was not the only god who had 'descended' from the Myth. Other gods fed up with his/her repetitive stories, were also abandoning their [Mythological Sanctuaries].

But there was a big problem with those Gods. They weren't always good, and many of them despite not being 'crystallized as evil gods' couldn't control their powers and personality on the mortal plane; Unlike Eve who only wished to see and feel what was 'real'; to see, feel and live with 'her true children' without ceasing to be herself, the other gods distorted their existences by strongly desiring to 'be' something other than what was 'written' in their Myths, so 95% of them had no control over themselves.

They brought tragedy and devastation to the earth, and to the human beings who Eve loved so much. The gods of steel and war, provoked clashes between her children without remorse and/or slaughtered them without mercy, the gods of fire turned everything around them into ashes, the gods of death stripped every living being of its life, and reanimated their corpses without any consideration. Not long after, those gods would be called 'Heretic Gods'.

In this world there never existed a 'Heroic Sparda', so she ended up defending the earth and humanity as best she could; with those mystical eyes she possessed thanks to being a creature 'created in the image and likeness of a God', she had an authority called [The Eyes of the Lord] that allowed her to copy, store and emulate any authority possessed by another God as long as she observed it with her eyes, so despite not being a 'Warrior Goddess', she used the authorities of the heretic gods against them.

However, she alone was not enough to take on all the heretic gods. She was not enough to protect the land she loved so much]

—'I proved to my father that he were wrong with them. I used my mind and my powers to do so. Both of us ended up cooperating, and we built a dual support system hated by all the other gods. Nevertheless, we persevered together'

[So at some point thousands of years ago from the present time in the world 'Dante' called 'Earth-2', 'Dante' watched as an old man with long hair and a white beard plus Eve 'built a magic system' in the seventh heaven; a system that his eyes could not comprehend when he observed such an event. However, that voice in his head told him that it was a 'system' destined to protect Human life. It was meant to give gifts to mankind.

Thus was born the 'Eve´s Blessing', a system that would grant the power of the gods to the 'pure' human being who managed to assassinate a Deity, using the authority [The Eyes of the Lord] as a base. And the 'Sacred-Gears', a system intended to grant 'Small Authorities' both 'combined' and 'tailored' and severely 'limited' so that they managed to be used unharmed by randomly chosen humans, turning them into 'Semi-Gods' in the process.

The two 'systems' were created as both a protection against the heretic gods, as well as a 'countermeasure' to prevent these 'super-humans' from getting out of control; Since an 'SG' user is a considered a demi-god by Eva's system, a 'Nephilim (Giant)' cannot become a 'Nephalem (Giant of Giants)', but if his/her 'SG' evolves into a 'Longino', they could hope to stop a 'Nephalem' if the latter became 'drunk with power', and the same would happen the other way around; if a Nephilim got out of control, a Nephalem would stop him]

—'But unfortunately, my father ended up dying, and despite all the help given by his other children, I still encountered many difficulties in the world of men. I was persecuted by those deities with evil intentions. They wanted men to be weak in order to continue committing their atrocious acts. So I had no choice but to return from my beloved world, to the place where you now find yourself'

[The story continued to be shown to Dante at great speed; images of Eve visiting the mortal world again and watching as a vast number of humans became 'Nephalem' flashed before his eyes, as well as seeing how humans who trained their bodies hard, awakened the true power of their SGs and turned them into 'super-humans' with absurd powers; Eve looked quite happy in those images; humans could finally defend themselves from the evil deities, and she wished she could still take care of them from close by, as well as wished she could still feel the warmth that mortal world gave her soul, however her stay on Earth was not very long after she created her system, as all the Heretic gods were after her head.

So she had to go into hiding, in order to continue protecting her children.

She returned to the Seventh Heaven, to the Throne of God.

And from here she watched over mankind from that moment on, protecting them both with her blessing, and with the bestowal of 'SG' from this place, in a mission that she knew would be eternal]

—'The place where I bestow everything to mankind.

And where I will give you my gift.

It is time to be reborn into someone greater.

My name is Eve.

And if you are here, that means that in this world, 'agai' you have become my child.

I am happy to see you, 'my little one' born in another world.

You are about to be part of something as big, as you once were.

Both I, and your real mother, love you...

...Dante'

[The confusion about the origin of this person was finally gone, and to say that Dante felt 'bewildered' and 'surprised' by all these revelations would be a far cry from what he was feeling.

However, there was still one piece of the puzzle missing. A piece that was still confusing him.

A piece that would not take long to fit when that person 'identical' to the mother of his previous life, knew she had to show him when she heard the doubt in his heart:

−'Had the Eve of his World, The Eve of 'Earth-1', and The mother of his first life, been this same goddess?'

—'You deserve to know that too, my child'-The voice in his head answered in an angelic voice full of understanding, and then new images began to flow into the Ex-Sparda's head.

Again he watched as the Goddess 'Eve' left the [Eden Sanctuary] to then arrive in the mortal world, and then he saw how she was happy coexisting with nature, and with human beings in the same way he had already seen moments before; However, soon came a key difference, for when a God-Heretic manifested on the mortal plane near where that 'Eve' had been coexisting with a primitive human people somewhere...

...When she arrived near that God-Heretic, the Goddess looked for the first time at the back of a 'hero'; A hero that those primitive people seemed to know very well, for they didn´t stop talking about him.

And they even venerated him as a God, despite the fact that ironically the name of that hero symbolized 'The Sword of Evil'.

That would be the first time that 'Eve' would meet 'Sparda'

Then, 'Dante' understood: These were not the memories of the Eve before him, but somehow he was seeing the 'Story' of the Goddess Eve of his home world. The Goddess who centuries after that first encounter would become his mother]

—'Before that variant of myself left her myth; at some point in the world you call Earth-1, the mythological world [Hell] or rather, the "Primal concept" of hell that the humans of that time had, "for some reason" would connect with the Earth from which you came, just as the world of mythologies have done in this world you call Earth-2. From that mythological world, Two Gods of the underworld plus an almost endless demonic army 'born of myth' would attempt to invade the plane of mortals with the intention of turning it into a purgatory; But as you know "halfway", one of those Demon Gods would 'awaken in justice' and oppose their leader and his army, thereby averting an apocalypse. It was at that moment that the 'real' legend on your first father in the mortal plane began. The legend of Sparda!'

[While listening to the 'Eve' of Earth-2, the images of that story kept converging in Kusanagi's head.

After the Goddess Eve met that hero born in hell, she decided to accompany him for 'a while', until her curiosity for him became immense; she, being his polar opposite, a Goddess born in Paradise, didn't understand how a God born in hell had developed a love for humanity as great as the one she herself had for her children.

Together they lived countless adventures: Eve soon became Sparda's 'right hand': while he directly defended mankind from the hell-born creatures, and other Heretic Gods, Eve was in charge of 'healing' the earth that was devastated after the passing of those "heavenly" fights and/or protected humans and their people from the terrible auras and shockwaves of the conflicting gods].

—'As you well know, In your home world, "Sparda" betrayed his own race, and subsequently sealed the mythological world that had connected with the earth. His own home, The Hell. Thus preventing other hell gods 'born of human thought' at that time or later, from invading earth. But what you don't know, is that despite the fact that your father was a hell-born steel god; the [Devil's Sword], a demon god representing the sword of [Mundus/Heylel/Lucifer/Yaldabaoth]; As powerful as he was, Sparda couldn't seal all the other mythological worlds, for he didn´t know where the 'gates' of entry or exit to those places were located, and he didn't know how to prevent the Heretic Gods of other [Mythological Sanctuaries] from leaving their myths. So soon after he had sealed Mundus and The Hell, he decided to undertake a task without rest: He wandered the mortal plane, seeking out and annihilating Demons, and other Heretic-Gods who endangered mankind, every twenty or thirty years, aprox. He became what is known in this world as the 'King of the End of the Ages', a 'Hero' born of 'Myth' who protects humanity and the earth from all that would bring chaos, so that after the death of the 'villains', ages of Peace would begin.' *1

[The story of Eve and Sparda continued to flow in his mind.

Countless heretic-gods were eliminated by the dark knight, and countless territories, humans, animals and plants were protected and restored by Eve.

That went on until the scenes showed what appeared to be an 'age' of human industrialization. Eva and Sparda 'bought' in some developing city a large mansion in which they spent a long number of years together.

And within that home they showed each other, an affection that should not be possible coming from two 'creatures' that were complete opposites.

But still, it happened.

Maybe that made them 'heretic' gods in another way, but that didn't matter to them.

They loved each other

But there was a problem...]

—'The next thing that happened, it's something that I honestly can't quite understand. And I suppose that 'something' is what makes me someone very different from the variant of me that was your biological mother, in that land, or in that other one you visited; That land ruled by Mundus. *sigh* ' *2

[...They couldn't fully express their love.

They couldn´t make a 'fruit' of their impossible love 'grow'.

They wished with all their hearts to have children, but being two 'gods' completely opposed to each other, it could not happen.

She wanted to have a child that was 'real', that didn't come from 'myth', that was born directly from her womb, and that came from the love of her life; and he wanted both to fulfill her dream, and to know what it was like to have a child born from his being.

But for some reason, the sacred and the demonic couldn't be 'united' in their world. Or perhaps it was because 'Eve' as a goddess bound even to their myths and authorities, couldn't have children other than Cain, Abel and Set.

So that desire became an impossible task despite all the efforts they put into it.

So the Eve of Earth-1, after a little more than a century of meditation, would make the most difficult decision that a 'mother earth' goddess could make..]

—'She willingly gave up her divinity, so that she could express her love to your father in every way; and so that she could have a child that was truly of her. A child that was real. I honestly don't know what to feel about it; I envy her and the one from that other land, because without a doubt, they are the most human variants of myself that exist in all planes of existence, but I am also immensely confused, because as a Goddess, I can't understand how she could "tear off" something that is literally part of herself, and still be happier than she was in her "Complete" state. But putting aside my ideas, and feelings as a Goddess...She would finally get to fulfill her dream, and have two 'miraculous' children, two children that should never have existed, but yet were born of two 'beings' whose origins couldn't have been more opposite.'*2

[...The 'Eve' who was their mother in their world of origin, voluntarily ceased to be a goddess, and became a divine Ancestor. A divine ancestor who decided to keep a spanish variant of her name because she had voluntarily agreed to lose a part of herself, in order to have the beautiful newborn children she now carried in her arms in the scene, her eyes no longer had a mystical appearance, but only retained that human warmth with which they always watched him when he was a little boy.

—'There's that word again. Divine Ancestor? What does it mean?'

The information about that concept soon flowed into the Ex-Sparda's head, when he asked himself that question.

The whisper in his head told him the following quickly but clearly: A divine ancestor is a 'being' that is born when a god loses their 'divinity' for certain reasons. They may 'withdraw' their divinity voluntarily, either by 'abandoning' it, 'sealing' it or reincarnating into a mortal being and/or they may become mortal for another reason such as when something or someone takes away their divinity by some magical method. By losing their 'divinity', they become beings that are closer to a human being, than a demigod.

They can no longer exercise any "authority", as they are no longer gods/goddesses, however they retain some superhuman physical "characteristics" and other 'severely degraded' powers related to their former "being". They aren't quite human either, as they possess unlimited life expectancy, and enormous magical power superior to that of any human being. For this reason, they generally change their names, so as not to 'offend' their lost divine 'status', although there may be exceptions.

But most importantly, a 'Divine Ancestor' can give birth to children like a normal human being, and such children are born as humans and/or semi-humans if their 'divine ancestor' parent mates with another type of creature. In the case of 'mating' with a Demon-God, the resulting children will be 'Cambion': semi-demons, rather than semi-gods, since they inherit a kind of 'corrupted' divinity that makes them the 'Nemesis' of a God, since in the [Myths] the children of the leaders of Hell and/or their creations; Demons, are described as creatures opposed to God and Angels.

And because of those abilities of the 'Divine Ancestors', humans or other creatures often call them "Witches/Warlocks", or "Priests/Priestesses."

—'Oh...I think I understand...So that's why Mother was called that, and...']

—"That's right. Also for that reason, she was able to both restore vitality to plants and cure the diseases of the people of that rural region in Redgrave-City. Unfortunately, having lost her divinity, she was no longer able to 'see the possible futures', so she didn't see the full picture of the consequences of her decision. She innocently thought that she would get to live happily with her family, for eternity. That was a pretty human mistake on her part, if you ask me *sigh*. But let there be no doubt, that she love you and your brother with every fiber of her being, and that she never expected, wished or imagined that things would end as they did between you two, both in your home world and in the one ruled by Heylel"—When Eve said that, her expression became too sad for a period of time that was neither short nor long. He also sighed wistfully on multiple occasions: Perhaps she felt this way because she truly felt much sorrow, and sadness of the fate and path that the sons chose to follow

Perhaps she felt this way because she was truly sorry and saddened by the destiny and path that the biological children of that version of herself chose to follow. Perhaps she even felt that she too had lost a part of herself, when she saw the fate of those siblings.

—""Huh?"—Obviously, the confusion of the now Kusanagi was not due to that last sentence. He had no doubt that his true birth Mother in his first life had loved him with every part of her heart, whether she was fully human or not, though that last part still had him very surprised. What had him slightly confused was that from one moment to the next, he had appeared in a very different place than the one he had found himself in. Specifically he was now standing on a small grassy hill next to 'Eve of Earth-2', looking off into the distance at a mansion he knew very well. The mansion was located in a rural area, and had a large apple tree in front, and a rose garden stretched around it; two small white-haired children were playing near a golden-haired woman, who was wearing a beautiful red dress. She soon stopped the little ones, and then handed them two necklaces whose chains had different colored chains; One necklace had golden chains, and the other had silver chains: And both carried a huge red jewel—"This day is, the last day my first family was together...How come we are here?"

—Desire. The seventh heaven is capable of fulfilling the Desire of a noble soul's heart. Seeing me, you have wished to relive those joyous days you spent with your mother, your brother, and your father. However, as beautiful as it may be, this is nothing more than a false reality born from your heart.

—"I see *Sigh*"—'Dante' decided to ignore the scene in the background, and just as his eyes became teary as overly complex emotions formed in his expression, he said in halting words to the blonde after looking straight into her eyes —""T-Then you're an alternate variant of my m-mother"—"More than a question, he was stating it, hoping that was the case.

—Yes, But I am a version that chose a very different path than she did. She wished to be human and live a normal life next to the man she loved, while I wished to continue protecting humanity in my own way, while remaining a Goddess. Creating my illegitimate children as a means for my wishes of protection to be fulfilled. Although similar, we are quite different in our ways of acting, and thinking.

—"Y-Yes, of that I already r-realized *Sigh* May I know, what h-happened to my Father after he left on this day?"—'Toni' quired, when watched as a white-haired man (dressed in purple attire) was saying goodbye to his wife and children, with a pleasant smile in between, a strange sword being carried on his back by a leather sheath. That would be the last time he would see him.

—""You see, my child..."—Before continuing, the goddess placed a hand on the ex-sparda's shoulder in a comforting manner. Although at first, she approached hesitantly, for she doubted whether or not she should do so; she didn't know how he would feel with the contact of someone who had the appearance of his mother and who was the 'origin of his mother', but who was not quite his mother. However, despite her doubts, the boy didn't reject the contact altogether. He was at first a little taken aback by the action, but slowly accepted the touch as that feeling of familiar warmth invaded his heart. That done, she said: —"...A hero never rests. And whoever your father once was, he went that day to the location where a Heretic-God had appeared. And as you might guess, he finally faced a deity that he couldn't quite defeat, without coming out unscathed. That powerful Heretic-God and your father, killed each other that day *Sigh*"—Saying that with regret, she moved a little closer to the boy, and slowly hugged him with one hand from the side, for a brief moment.

At first, the ex-sparda didn't know how to respond to that, so he remained rigid as he let out a heavy sigh. Over the years, he imagined that had happened, however, for obvious reasons the cause of his ex-father's death he had always associated it with a powerful unknown demon, and never with a god who had lost his mind.

—"Well, I guess that solves the mystery of the old man. A hero to the end, eh?"—Dante wiped one of his watery eyes, as he regained his composure. He then moved a little closer to 'Eva', albeit with an awkwardness. It felt rather odd to be so close to someone who was both an 'original' version of his mother and another person at same time.

The closeness with her was superior to the one he felt with Trish, but for obvious reasons he couldn't consider her completely his mother—"So...If you aren't my mother at all, what should I call you?"-So he didn´t know well what to think of all this, so after confusingly saying that, he tried to voluntarily move away from her.

However, the 'woman' would imprison him for a moment with a warm embrace with her two arms, at the same time she said warmly the following — "I know I' m not your real mother, and it's not my intention to replace her. All 'my children' born of 'this ritual' I usually tell them to call me mother, but with you I will make an exception. Just call me by my name or call me Goddess if you prefer, but if ever your heart comes to see me as a mother, I will be happy to hear those words from you. Forgive me, I couldn't help but listen to your heart; you have longed for so long to feel Eva's arms again on at least one occasion, haven't you? So for a moment, think of me as her, and let your feelings flow"— After a brief moment of listening to those kind words, Dante could no longer help himself; he hugged her tightly for a moment, and then he 'broke'. Tears flowed from his eyes. He knew it wasn't quite 'her', he knew 'she' was long gone, he knew he was fooling himself, but...for a second he decided to think he was in his mother's arms, or at least in the arms of a part of her. By the way, he was very surprised to learn that his parents had been mythological characters, and probably to someone else that would have left him with an existential crisis, but he didn't care: whether they were 'crystallized' stories with a life of their own or not, they had been his parents, and he had been loved by them, and that had not been a 'myth', it had been real; so that was the only thing that mattered to him.

As they embraced, the world around him soon changed as he heard the voice of this 'Eve' in his heart:

—'I know that pain very well, and it breaks my heart to see how many times you have had to endure it. No matter how hard I try to see my father, my friends, or my deceased children again, it is impossible. But at least you got a second chance, didn't you?. That has made me very happy. As happy as you can imagine. And I know it would make your real mother incredibly happy too.' — The mansion in the distance disappeared, and instead all the surroundings became a seemingly endless grassland. A rather peaceful valley spread out all around. For a moment, the ex-sparda's heart felt completely at peace. And this was so for several minutes, until the voice of the goddess was again heard by the ex-sparda's heart, a voice that this time had quite a bit of melancholy in it— 'But as happy as I am it also pains me that you have become 'again' one of my children. What you will have to face is probably not going to make you happy at all. Many difficulties will come your way. And may be You will lose precious people again. And may be you will suffer a lot. But leaving you without my gift is not an option. I know you want it badly. You desire power. The power to protect. And I, your mother, will give you again that which paradoxically, you have desired as much as your new family'

At that moment, 'Dante's' body felt quite heavy, and his consciousness began to cloud. Nevertheless, he tried his best to stay conscious, especially when he heard that last part of the blonde's sentence. He then turned away from her, and with a face that looked quite tired, he asked:

—W-why are you telling me a-all that just now?

—Because we don't have much time left. Your physical body has finished recovering, so this is the limit your soul can endure in seventh heaven. And also because I can hear how your 'heart' is hesitating to receive my 'blessing', But leaving you without my gift is not an option. I know you desire it strongly. You desire power. The power to protect. And I, your illegitimate mother in this world still foreign to you, will deliver to you again that which paradoxically, you have desired so much as your new family.

—W-Wait! We're running out of time? I won't see you a-again?

—"It's very likely that we will see each other again my child. That's for sure, so take off that expression. Although the fact that that happens to you, is something I don't wish for you or any of my other children, because for 'you' to get here, it means that something very 'bad' must have happened to you"—With a bitter expression in between, the goddess answered the boy, who seemed somewhat worried about the fact that he would not see her again. Maybe she wasn't his original mother, but after all he had been through, after how she had treated him, and after what she had revealed to him here, the notion of 'losing' a 'part' of his original mother again, a part that seemed to be so 'pure' and 'noble', was very hard for him to accept. However, the blonde would reassure him a little with those words full of complex emotions.

Then, the now Kusanagi used all his strength to ask some last questions. His words sounded weaker with every second—"May I ask you a few last questions?"

—"Of course. As long as I can answer you, I will. For your past and present actions, you deserve by far, that I solve your doubts"—The smile that was framed in her face after saying that, caused a blush in the white-haired man, who could not help but feel a little embarrassed, so for a moment he turned his head so she would not notice his blush.

—"Thank you Mothe...Eve...Goddess?...Ah, it's still too strange, I still don't know what to think about that. Anyway...D-Do you know h-how I got here?...Why did I reincarnate in a different l-land than mine? And what h-happened to my d-demonic side...and to Nero?"—Given the growing weakness of his body, he sensed that his 'conscience' didn't have much time left in this mythological place, so he blurted out the questions that had worried and interested him the most after having been mistakenly reincarnated in another world.

—"Your last question is quite simple to answer—" At that moment, with supernatural speed, Eve held the body of her 'son', who could no longer stand on his feet. So she answered his questions, while placing his head between her legs, after she knelt down to place his head on top of her limbs. Needless to say, the white-haired man's cheeks reddened absurdly not only because of that, but also because of seeing the radiant smile Eve placed at that moment, after seeing him like that —" After he received unexpected 'help' in his confrontation against the 'Qliphoth', My variant's grandson managed to form a happy family. He has also 'inherited' Sparda's legacy. So now he is who is in charge of defending 'Earth-1', both from the demons and the Heretic gods. Yes, I know what you're thinking, he must have been very surprised when he met his first heretic god, hehe."

That said, the woman let out a sigh, and raised an eyebrow and then put on a slightly angry face, like a mother scolding her child after committing a little mischief

—" Your first question is a bit more complex to explain. So I'll put it in terms you can understand: The 'Qliphoth' of your world, became so powerful that its roots ended up tearing the 'fabric' of the 'space and time' of the dimensional gap that binds all worlds together. It tore the 'fabric' of reality itself on an incredible amount of alternate earths, so that some of its roots opened up and passed through to this earth, thereby creating a 'portal', through which the human side of 'Dante's' soul accidentally entered that point of history on the mortal plane of this earth, 18 years ago. That is how half of 'Dante', You, along with other souls 'in the reincarnation cycle' of your earth, were reincarnated into this 'plane' of existence. The fact that you are on this earth, is due to that, and to the simple chance of destiny"— Ok, definitely 'Toni' would never have expected something like that, so the 'O' that formed his lips, was too wide when he managed to grasp the implications that this explanation carried. Eve then tapped his forehead with two fingers in the style of Uchiha Itachi, and then her expression became a bit more serious:

—"And lastly, your second question. I don't think I have the time to answer it or that you can fully understand it. But bottom line, the demonic side of 'Dante' fulfilled his last wish: he split his being in a way similar to what 'Yamato' did with your ex-brother, and from the dimensional gap, rebirthed his human side into this world, thinking this was his land, and then that demonic side, he...well, he...was...Ah, seriously, you "two" are altering fate in a way, that even a goddess like me can barely understand or foresee! *sigh* I don't know if you're too naughty children, or the most 'troublesome' or 'noble' heroes this land has ever had! Heck, just the fact that half of the 'being' of one of my otherworldly variant's children is worthy of receiving my blessing, already breaks every possible supernatural rule *Sigh*" *3

—"¿?!"—To say that 'Dante' was confused was too small a word to describe that feeling that was coursing through every fiber of his being. He had already imagined something similar to what she had told him. In fact, that had hurt every fiber of his being very much and it was an existential crisis that ran for many years in his mind and 'spirit' in this new life. An existential crisis that he could barely get over. His new family, and all that his second chance implied, had lessened that feeling of 'emptiness' and 'separation' that he had always felt after becoming fully human. He thought that his demonic side had died because of his last wish when he was still 'Dante', and that really made him feel that he had been a horrible murder for a long time.

He deduced that the reason why his personality was practically identical to that of 'Dante', was because unlike Vergil, he always had a great balance between his two halves; His demonic side was very human, and his human side was very 'demonic'; He never wished to be a demon or understand hell, but he also never wished not to understand his other half, he lived as a human, yes, but he also respected and felt pride for his supernatural blood, though not to the obsessive level of Vergil; He never wished for much more than he already had in that past life being a human or a demon. But for the tender tantrum and 'mohin' of his mother's variant that he was now witnessing...

...hadn't his demonic side died? what the hell had happened to him?! he had to know! For the sake of his existence and his mental health, he needed to know!

—W-What do you mean?! What happened to him?! He's still alive?! H-Hasn't started an apocalypse like U-Urizen, has he?!

—"An apocalypse?...Just what idea do you have in your head?"—She tapped his forehead again with two of her fingers, and then opened her mouth again with a sweet smile in between, which reassured the ex-sparda a little—"I know you know yourself very well, so don't let yourself get carried away by the bewilderment. 'Urizen' represented 'Vergil's' desire for power, it was a 'demonic side' without any balance. 'Dante' just wished to live a normal life, next to a loving family. So, yes, that desire took a large portion of what was most human in 'Dante', and it was reincarnated in you, but of course the demon that was behind that desire, was not a being hungry for power and much less a being that wants to destroy everything. Even though he fulfilled the wish of his human side, he didn't want to die either, and he didn't want to be very different after all. So, you can be sure that somewhere, there is a demon with the blood of Sparda who loves humanity...And who misses pizzas...Something very rare to see, indeed"—She scratched her head confusedly after finishing that sentence, which left our hero both happy and more doubtful.

—Wait, you don't know w-where he is?

—Hmmmmm. Yes and no. I know what you're thinking, and what you're beginning to wish for, so I'm going to be hard on you with that thought. He's somewhere far away from you, in a place you can't reach. A place that even my 'sight' doesn't reach 'clearly'. And even if you were to get close to him, chances are that things will not come to pass as you would wish them to. So for your sake, suppress that thought, and try to live your life with what you have now as happily as possible. My gift will help you protect the people you love, but for the sake of your own happiness, and your second chance, you also have to 'move on', and let go of the past, and what you cannot 'catch up' to.

—...

Absolute silence came to the scene after the boy heard those harsh but true words. If his demonic side was in a place that even this goddess couldn't 'see' clearly, it meant he must be in a place he could barely comprehend. And the other part of that sentence also had a deep meaning, how long hadn't he been living dragging the mistakes and tragedies of his past life? He tried to analyze himself for a moment, but his consciousness clouded even more in that instant, so he blurted out the last question that came to his mind:

—H-How? How do you know all that and everything that happened in th-those other lands?

—That's something you wouldn't fully understand, even if you had the time to listen to it...In this place, in the seventh heaven, I have a great connection with 'Gaia' and 'Alaya' that allow me to see the 'memories of the void', as well as all the events of the past, the present and possible future outcomes, both of this world and on other worlds.

—?—He obviously didn't understand most of it. He hope that hopefully he would revisit this world to solve more of his questions, since at that instant Eve's voice became more distant.

—Although, I don't have the necessary power to 'cross over' to those other alternate lands, in case you're wondering. Oh, it seems this is your limit my child.

—"What d-did you say, I didn't get to l-listen to you ... please tell me"— The white-haired man's words were barely audible, by his expression he seemed to be about to faint. His body was beginning to feel extremely tired and his consciousness was fading more and more. But before he fainted, one last thought came to his head, as the blonde woman gently stroked his hair, while smiling warmly at her 'son' about to close her eyes —'Whether it's my homeland or another world, somehow Eva is still Eva. Even if in this world you are a goddess, I believe a part of my mother is still there with you: Her incredible kindness and her love for humanity, along with her unwavering will and unconditional sacrifice, live with you'

—"Thank you for thinking so highly of me, my son"—she 'heard' the white-haired boy's heart, so she couldn't help but feel very happy that a part of her 'new' son held her in such high esteem. However, the next moment after she settled him on the ground, her expression turned somewhat sour—"You're probably going to be very angry with me, though, when you get to meet two of your new 'brothers'. You're probably not going to fully understand. My variant would never hand over power to that kind of human being. I know that very well, so you will no doubt be disappointed to learn, that we have more differences."

That said, the scene suddenly changed.

From one moment to the next, the place stopped being that valley full of grass and flowers as it became that 'white' world where there seemed to be nothing but Eve, plus a great red dragon, and a golden-haired humanoid monkey.

Then, the golden-haired woman placed right in the middle of those gods the 'body' of 'Toni', and then the goddess spoke again a few words close to the boy's ear with a solemn voice while gently caressing his head

—The time has come, all present bestow your blessing and your hatred upon this son! The sixth Nefalem—holder of the destiny of the supreme lords, please bestow the sacred spell-words upon this child!

—Shut up, witch! Your newborn son, I will bury him immediately once I revive!

—Banana brain, get over it~ The boy beat you fair and square. But on the other hand...Why do you have to give him a copy of one of my Powers! That doesn't make any sense woman! I live inside a sacred-Gear!

—You're missing a key point Ddraig-san.

—How could I be wrong Witch? I belong to a Sacred-Gear, so for you to use me in this ritual is unheard of!

—"Actually, something like this is not unheard of, Ddraig-san. Something like this has already happened about 3 times since the systems of authority delivery and Sacred-gears were formed. Sometimes it is quite problematic for these 'systems', to elucidate, so to speak, what is a god and what is not. And usually a 'mistake' like that, will occur when a 'pure' human being kills a Sacred-Gear user who possesses a divine beast or something that can be considered a god within, as long as their 'divinity' is not sealed, since in those cases the SG functions as a 'prison' for said 'deity'. And since you 'revived' temporarily by regaining your true name and with it your divinity after those sacral-apparatus seals were broken, this 'error' occurred from the moment this 'new son' killed Sun-Wukong-San, who was the bearer of the SG. So my system has interpreted your 'murder' as 'valid', for even though you were 'imprisoned', you were still a god who was 'alive'."—She shrugged as she finished that sentence, which left Ddraig with his snout hanging open a little bit.

—Eeeh?! What kind of a flawed system is your blessing?!

—What can I say? It's not perfect, but it serves its purpose. That's why I told my late father, that it wasn't a good idea to lock gods or divine beasts in sacred-gears, but as you noticed, he didn't listen to me.

—"All right, whatever, let's get this over with!"—When Wukong finally calmed down and when he got tired of listening to those two, the monkey spoke while crossing his arms in annoyance—"Akira Antoni Kusanagi, I give my blessing to you, who has been reborn as the new God-Slayer king!"—Apparently, neither Sun-Wukong nor Ddraig were able to see or hear all the talk that Eva and the ex-sparda had, for no doubt if the Monkey King had heard about it, he would have been surprised for a reason that will be explained in greater detail later—"You are the first person to usurp the authorities of the one who is equal to heaven, the authorities of a god who defeated an entire heavenly army and its leaders all by himself! So become stronger than anything else! And until the day I fight you again, take possession of my most powerful authorities and destroy with them your enemies without mercy! When I return from death, I will prove to you that I am the only one who deserves to be 'equal to heaven'!"

—Very well said Sun-Wukong-san! So Ddraig-san, you know very well that in the first 'ascension' the slain god can be allowed to freely bestow one o more power to the 'reborn'...So is there anything you want to give to this new son?...or do you prefer to leave it to the fate of the 'roulette' of my system?

—*Siiiiigh*—During a lapse, which was neither long nor short, the dragon sighed from his huge nostrils with what seemed to be a great deal of frustration in between. That was until apparently an idea that he found amusing crossed his mind, since a 'maniacal' smile was drawn on his draconic 'face'. Then he spoke again, with a tone that carried a lot of pride, but that also sounded like a warning, and like a challenge —"Witch, I have agreed to give him my authority, but I want the next message to reach Albion as well, do you understand?"—After The blonde nodded her head without hesitation, he continued —"This boy is the first ordinary human being to succeed in defeating the Welsh Dragon, Y Ddraig Goch, so I cannot leave him without a prize worthy of something that must have been impossible! New 'Arisen', take my 'heart' and my 'symbolism', and incinerate all of creation! And may the dragon within you crush anyone who dares to challenge you! When I return to the world, I will prove to you that I am the only one worthy of being called the 'Sekyriutei'! And Albion, prove with all your might that you are a celestial dragon, by not falling under the terrible power of the dragon god born from my authority!"

—This is unexpected, Ddraig-San. Are you sure?

—Of course, if anyone is going to crush Albion, it can only be me! And if he is defeated by my authority, then he has no right to call himself a Celestial Dragon!"

—Ho, Understood.

Those words said, those present surrounded the 'ex-sparda's body', and just as Eva extended her hands towards the boy, a mysterious light began to envelop the 'body' of the now Kusanagi.

—"It's ironic, don't you think?"—The golden-haired woman would speak to the unconscious boy one last time before returning his spirit to the mortal realm. 'Toni' could not hear her, so her prayer was mentioned more to herself than to him—"Desire. The power of Desire. A powerful demon can make his fantasies come true just by wishing. Nero, he wished to save you and Vergil, and he awakened the devil within. While you and your brother wished to finish each other off, and ended up fulfilling it. The 'Wish' of a demon can become as powerful as the 'Authorities' of the gods I am about to deliver to you. But you already knew that, didn't you?, after all, your wishes came true. So there is no reason why you should be afraid right now. If you already knew it, you should have been careful what you wished for at the end of that day 18 years ago, my dear child. So take my gift, and protect your loved ones absolutely. Become as powerful as you once were, and enjoy once and for all this second chance you have earned. Free yourself from suffering, learn from the past, remember it with nostalgia, with joy and sadness, but don't get stuck in 'it', instead move forward into the future with that strong will you possess. That is the wish that your real mother would have for you, and it is also my wish"—Eve looked with warmth at the particles of light that 'Toni's' spiritual body had become as she dedicated those last words full of admiration and joy. As if she were a proud mother of a son—"Bon voyage, I'll be waiting for you again my prodigal son, Dante"— With that maternal smile that defined her and her variants, she watched as the particles of light finally disappeared.

Somewhere unknown...

A strange sword 'rested' on the stem of a tree. Nailed to the strong trunk of that plant, in its lower-middle zone; around that tree, a forest of lush trees stretched as far as the eye could see.

The sword seemed to be made of metal and flesh, which gave it both an eerie and powerful appearance.

A dark-red aura was emitted from the weapon at every moment, a small aura but one that definitely could not go unnoticed if someone approached that tree.

It was unknown for how long the sword had been there, or why it was there.

The only thing that was certain was that this sword didn't belong to the mortal world...

...For leaving its gloomy appearance and strange aura aside, the shadow cast by that sword, at times didn't seem at all like the shadow of a sword, but rather, it took the form of a creature that seemed to have been born from the worst of nightmares.

Soon a generic-looking man who had arrived on the scene approached the tree. He was dressed in a rather primitive attire, and seemed to be quite dirty: his face, hands and bare feet were full of dirt and grime; but dont let the man's attire deceive you, for his bravery was to be admired, for despite noticing that horrifying shadow cast by the sword, he still dared to approach the weapon and tried to pull it out of the trunk after grasping tightly that wielder that seemed to be made of human skulls.

But despite his great bravery, his mission would end up being a failure, just like that of all those who had tried to remove the weapon. There was something in that sword that didn´t allow them to pull it out of the trunk; and that is why they began to tell each other stories about the weapon; Some said it had been cursed by the gods of the north, and others said it was just a test to determine the new north king, or something like that.

In any case, after that man left the scene with his shoulders slumped, there would be no more opportunity to test whether any of those theories were true...

...Since on that day no one would ever see the sword again, since for some reason, the sword ceased to be a sword.

From one moment to the next, that sword turned into particles of light that soon took the shape of a red humanoid dragon approximately 3 meters tall; his body also seemed to have a pattern of black scales along his back and in some other areas of his large body, and of his tail in the 'shape of a saw'.*4

-"..."- After manifesting himself, the 'dragon' turned his head confusedly for a brief time. Having realized 'something', he said in the Anglo-Saxon language and in a voice born in hell the following as he scratched he head —"...Where the Heck am I?"

Having said that, the 'dragon' walked into the depths of that forest...

...And his figure was lost just when one could swear that he was acquiring a more human form. *3

To be continued...

Next chapter: Interlude: 'Red', the dark knight forgotten by history and myth (1)

That chapter (and in fact, the whole 'theme' of that interlude) will tell the story of what happened to Dante's demonic side. For more information about what that interlude will consist of, see point number 3 in the explanations below. And after that chapter, I will continue with the DXD story arcs where I left off, so Riser won't take long to appear, although obviously there will be changes from the original events.

Author's messages: I hope you liked this chapter, and I hope I solved most of your doubts, and that the first interaction with 'alter Eva' and 'Dante' was adequate. Leave me your comments about that, it would be of great help, to know how to approach these two in future encounters.

More doubts, and more explanations of the canon/lore of this fic, will come in future chapters. But I think that the lore I made for these three franchises, has already been 'clearer' with this chapter, right?. Or what do you think?

The next update may come in about 15 days, or a month. Although as always, due to my 'unstable' work, no promises.

Chapter Clarifications:

*1 For those who don't know the [Campione!] series, This is going to be a bit difficult to explain to you, but a sword or other magical weaponry can also be a god and even have a will of their own in the [Campioneverse], without them being as such an authority, as they are rather a god subordinate to another god. So the detailed explanation of how that happens, I will break it down for you later. However, something like this is not far from the mythology we know. In Japan for example, sword gods are worshipped, and these may have human figures, or incarnations in the form of a 'Sword', or there are even gods that only possess the form of a Sword. It's pretty weird, but this is how I will introduce 'Sparda' to the lore I am creating, since literally the name of that demon means 'Sword': So in short, I will tell you that in the 'mythological' variation of the 'biblical' verse I am creating in this fic, 'Sparda' is a demon god of that type: A sword with a life of its own that is capable of adapting a humanoid, or rather, demonic incarnation, and in turn, a demon god subordinate to the version of Mundus/Lucifer/heylel that I am adapting.

*2 As I had said, dmc novel 2, is 'partially' canon for this story. For you to understand why Eve of earth-2 refers to more than one Eve as the more human variants, you have to know that in that world ruled by Mundus (Which Dante previously visited before falling into this fic :V), Eve and Sparda also had children, but in that world Dante was kidnapped by Mundus when he was a child, and then was killed, while Vergil was the one who managed to escape, and tried to oppose Mundus by getting several of his generals to side with him. On the other hand, Eva was in charge of organizing the 'strategies' of that small 'army' of rebels, and her strategies were effective, until Sparda was betrayed by humanity... Among other things, which led to the failure of the 'Good Guys' in that world. In novel 2 the surviving rebel demons tell Dante about that since his alternate family members were already dead when he arrived; in any case, Dante wasn't very interested in hearing the story in detail, so not much is known about that world's past. Add my canon and a few rebel gods (who failed) to the equation plus a Not 'void Mundus', and that would be my version of the story :V

*3 Sorry, for the sake of non-spoilers, I haven't been entirely honest in the library section with all of you. Dante's demonic side never died, it just got separated from his human side by wanting to grant him that last wish. So in reality, this story has his human side as the main protagonist, who will try to become as strong as when he was a single being, in order to protect the important people who came and will come into his life. Will his human and demonic sides meet again? Will they merge again? To know the answer to that question, you will have to continue reading the story, but if that happens, it will probably be in the final arc of this story, because as I said, the main protagonist is 'Toni', the human side: However, I will tell the story of what happened with his demonic side in the interludes called 'Red, The dark knight forgotten by history and myth', which in turn will be another 'crossover' with [Campione], and whose end will leave you with your brains 'fried'; It´s very mindblowing. I hope you like it.

*4 It's the shape of the 'principal' design of the perfect devil trigger form from conceptual arts of dmc4, just imagine it taller, more robust, and with the color pattern of the scales inverted.

Reviews:

Rankin de Merthyr:

Ok, I understand hehe, I hope you like the next chapters, as well as the conclusion. Thanks for leaving your message :)

Best regards!

saitama1155:

Thanks for leaving your message again :D. Yes, I wanted to give Eva more prominence, precisely for that reason. I hope it turns out well, heh. Don't worry about the error, I understand, it's ok :)

Best regards!

ProtoAngelo:

Hey, thanks for leaving your review again :D!

I'm glad to hear you liked the chapter :). Yes, they are starting to have more feelings for Dante, although Rias is the one who has become more 'attached' to him at the moment. Thanks, I hope to do a decent job on the romance, heh. About his appearance at the end of that chapter, it has to do with the authority he gained. When I return the fic to the main story, you'll understand. The sword looks more like Rebellion than DSD, I also like that sword better than the one we were left with in dmcv. Yeah, I didn't know about that of viewtiful Joe either until a few years ago, when I saw some gameplays, unfortunately I never had the chance to play it :c... Actually the term Nephalem, doesn't have a real meaning; it's a variant of 'Nephilim' which means 'Giant' (from what I understand), but in the story I wanted to give it another meaning.

Have a nice day!

DMC 5 DEAD WEIGHT

Ok. Have a nice day.

Jorge Javier Guido:

You're absolutely right, although that way, there wouldn't be a worthy rival for most of the story hehe.

best regards!