Chapter Twenty Nine: Antithesis

Note: I LOVE the comments everyone left on the last two chapters! It's so rewarding! I'll be building my first ever PC today. Wish me luck!

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The room fell silent as mist blanketed the surrounding city. So far, the early morning hours had been filled with a thick blanket of fog, and rain was expected before noon. Thankfully, everyone was inside, even if they were not all under the same roof. As soon as the train had arrived, Dante and Vergil had gone to meet the others, insisting that Nero stay behind both for his own safety and for V's. They had no way of knowing whether or not the cult had managed to track them down, and while they were relatively sure that they had taken care of them once and for all, Vergil was, as always, not optimistic.

Nero had stayed behind as requested, begrudgingly accepting the fact that they were right about what was going on. As much as he wanted to help protect his family and friends, V was a sitting duck so long as he was asleep in Magnolia's guest room, and there was absolutely no way he was going anywhere in the state that he was currently in. Despite the fact that his injuries had been sufficiently patched, and the bleeding had stopped, there was still no way that he was going to simply walk out of her house and possibly into the line of fire again.

In a rare moment of benevolence, the universe decided not to test them any further, at least for one day. The train had pulled into the station with very little fanfare, and they had managed to make sure that everyone made it home safely. Much to the surprise of Kyrie and Nico, Magnolia insisted that they all stay until the next day to minimize the chances of any stragglers following them home. Needless to say that the living room had been very full for a few short hours.

Under the cover of darkness, Nero and the others had gone their separate ways, Lady taking it upon herself to make sure that Patty made it home safely. And with everyone out of town and ample time to sit and wait for V to recover (Magnolia insisted that V stay at her home until she deemed him ready to leave this time), Dante had taken the opportunity to travel back to the cult's stomping grounds to try and find out what had become of Trish. Griffon had returned an absolute mess, stating that he'd shown Trish the way through the forest and that she'd decided to stay behind and investigate. As sure as Dante was that his longtime friend didn't need his help, he was also sure that a little while alone with his injured son wasn't going to do Vergil any harm. He needed to see for himself what had happened in that place, and he needed to take a better look at this "conduit" that everyone kept going on about. If an Arcana was involved, then it couldn't hurt to have more information to share with the rightful keepers of the blade when the time came.

And so they'd gone their separate ways, trying to utilize the calm before the storm as best as they could.

Two days had passed since that decision.

As residual condensation ran down the windows and onto the ledge below, Vergil glanced over at V. He'd spent the better part of three days asleep, more than likely drained from his injuries. And although Magnolia had confirmed that he wasn't in any form of coma, Vergil had decided that the best course of action had been to stay behind and at his side, trying not to seem as eager for him to awaken as he actually was. As much as the Darkslayer didn't want to admit it, he was slightly concerned as to why V had yet to awaken from his extended slumber. While passing out after the residual energy that came with triggering for the first time wore off was far from unheard of, sleeping for three days straight was simply insane.

Was that some sort of gauge of his newfound strength? Did his body require that sort of time to reset and properly acclimate to such a drastic change in his biology? It didn't seem unlikely, but it also didn't make Vergil any less stir crazy. At the end of the day, he needed to be sure that his oldest son was actually going to be okay, and this wasn't helping in any way, shape, or form.

"You do know that hovering over him isn't going to make him wake up any quicker, don't you?" Magnolia said quietly as she inched into the room, a sympathetic look on her face. The botanist didn't know what she expected to see when she entered the room, but a part of her had hoped that there had been some change to her young patient's condition.

Vergil glanced over at her wordlessly, not at all surprised to see her again. She'd been checking in on V every hour or so for the better part of the morning, quietly worrying over him like a worried mother. From what he could tell, nothing seemed to be wrong with V other than the fact that he had yet to awaken from his prolonged and worry inducing slumber. Magnolia had checked basic things such as his temperature and heart rate several times, noting no change in his physical state. And if his demeanor and rather peaceful appearance were anything to go by, the young summoner wasn't suffering in any way, shape, or form. He was simply taking the longest nap ever.

"I might have come to that conclusion by now, yes." Vergil said as he reclined slightly, the back of the chair he was sitting in touching the wall nearest to the window. It came to rest in a slightly odd position, but not one that either of them paid any mind to.

"What I mean is… aren't you tired?" Magnolia said as she came around the side of the bed to run her usual tests, a slightly worried tone tenting her normally melodic voice." I don't think I've seen you sleep since you arrived."

The Darkslayer folded his arms across his chest loosely, more defensive than upset in any regard. "I have no interest in sleeping."

"Neither do children, but they still require it, Vergil." She said flatly as she recorded her results. There was still no notable change in his state. And from what she could tell, his vitals were just as they had been for the last day or so. V was simply depleted, and there was no changing that for the time being. Still, Magnolia found herself wishing that there was something more she could do to help. Seeing someone so young in such a state genuinely hurt her soul, bringing her back to unpleasant memories from her own past. The last time she'd seen her parents, they had been in a similar state. Only they were much older and had accomplished considerably more in the time that had been allotted to them. No one so young should have to suffer so egregiously.

Vergil closed his eyes, taking in her statement with a slight amount of salt. While he understood the validity of her statement, that still didn't change his stance on the matter. And he didn't care how irrational that seemed to anyone else involved. "Don't you have a shop to attend to?"

"It's the weekend. And even if it wasn't, I would be for this." Magnolia said with an offhanded gesture towards V as she recorded the last of her results in a composition notebook that she kept on the bedside table. It wasn't exactly a patient spreadsheet, but then this wasn't exactly a hospital, so it was the best she could do in the interim." I have more important things to attend to at the moment."

For a moment, Vergil quietly wondered to himself if his longtime associate could actually afford closing her shop for the conceivable future. While he knew that her lineage was one of substantial pedigree and, as such, had amassed substantial wealth in the many generations since they'd been established, Magnolia had never been the sort to accept monetary assistance from others, even her own family. Much like him, she equated the concept of owing another entity financially to them possessing ownership over her. And much like him, she found that idea utterly revolting. She would much rather strike out of her own accord, and deal with the undesired backlash of her actions herself. That had been what firmly differentiated her from the rest of her family as far as he was concerned.

The Ludwicks were a family. A coven.

Magnolia was an individual.

And no one was going to take that hard earned independence from her without one hell of a fight.

"You kept your word, I see." Vergil said quietly, his eyes traveling back to his unconscious son as Magnolia gave him a questioning look." You said you had no intention of abiding by the traditions set forth by your ancestors, and here you are. Was it worth it?"

A look of realization crossed Magnolia's face as she finally comprehended what Vergil was going on about. As the oldest daughter of her family, she was the de facto leader of her family's coven, and leader of the Ludwick shaman. It had been her duty to uphold her sect's traditions and practices, but she had no interest in doing so. Her heart and mind belonged to other less… questionable practices. And as such, she had chosen to go against them by not participating in them. Instead, she had chosen a quiet life filled with interests that the rest of her bloodline would probably consider incredibly mundane, only occasionally straying into adventure and conquest. And when her parents had died and she'd told the rest of her family that she planned to do so, Vergil, unlike everyone else she knew, had believed her. And then he had simply vanished, only to return over twenty years later with a favor to ask.

There was no proper way to express what that had meant to her at such a difficult time in her young life.

"I have to say, it most certainly was." Magnolia said quietly as she sat down on the windowsill, taking her hair down and allowing it to flow freely." It cost me the loyalty of most of my family, but if that was all it took, then perhaps I didn't have it to begin with. And besides, I'm not alone in the end after all. That being said, I do with that my sisters would simply kiss and make up already. They are being quite childish."

Vergil smirked in response to her answer for a brief moment, the irony of that statement not lost on him in the slightest. He was self aware enough to be able to see some of his own life issues reflected in her life, and pity her suffering regardless of her desire for him to do so. It was a shame that her family had never seen her brilliance, and an even bigger one that her nearly equally bright younger siblings had fallen short in the same regard.

"It seems that my confidence in Willow and Aluta has been misplaced." Vergil said, barely concealing his scathing sarcasm. The two younger girls had been hell on earth for him during his brief time spent with them in his youth. As far as he was concerned, saying that Magnolia was the smart one wasn't as much an opinion as it was a concrete fact. While the other two girls were far from dull, they weren't exactly on their older sister's level, either. Not even close." And I will never understand your family's obsession with botanically themed names. It's just so… asinine."

The plucky botanist shook her head, snickering quietly to herself. " I never took you for much of a liar, Son of Sparda. You never had any faith in them to start with! I know it, you know it, everyone including them should know it by this point." She said almost playfully, thankful for the reprieve from the lingering tension that blanketed the room." As for the naming conventions... well I could say the same about your family! You've exhausted nearly all the good Latin names already, and you're only about three generations in! It's about longevity, my dear. To pick a theme and run it into the ground, you must be dedicated, Vergil. It's an art form."

He shook his head, admittedly somewhat amused by Magnolia's statement. This was why he could talk to her and not her sisters. The botanist was genuinely clever, her wit leagues above the vast majority of beings he'd spoken with during his lifetime. But regardless, he wasn't going down without a fight. "Latin in a primordial language, one that your family's obsession with flora and fauna owes a terrible debt to, Magnolia. We've yet to even scratch the surface."

She shook her head playfully, sparing a glance at V. "Oh, I'm sure. That being said, I'm starting to get the impression that the eldest of your offspring must despise whatever dreadful name you've no doubt forced upon him. I've never once heard any of you call him by it. Do you even know what it is?"

Vergil's gaze narrowed, his eyes roaming between Magnolia and V. A fair question, to be sure. And one he had walked himself into like the fool that he was. But not one that he felt like giving a meaningful answer to. "... I'm waiting for the proper moment to expose him in the most unexpected way possible. I only get to do it one, after all." He paused for a moment, his voice quieting slightly as the humor he'd possessed left him." As for his motivation for introducing himself in the way that he does… I suspect he has other reasons. Perhaps reasons that are too personal to speculate on, even for me."

Magnolia nodded, understanding how to take a hint and when to drop a subject before things took a turn for the worst. Their families were complicated. There was no reason to make things any worse than they already were. "Speaking of speculation, I have some I'd like to share about your son." She stood up and made her way over towards V, the young summoner still fast asleep." I have reason to believe that he's still recovering, though not in the way that you might expect. He healed two days ago. Physically at least. The only reason I've bothered to keep his bandages in place was to apply pressure to his bruises in the hope that they'd heal faster. But aside from that, he's not physically impaired to any meaningful degree. I have reason to believe that he does in fact benefit from a heightened healing factor, though only when he's asleep."

Her observation gained her a slightly baffled look from Vergil. Although that didn't make much sense to him, he wasn't going to discount it. But the entire concept seemed somewhat counterproductive to him." Do you have any idea why that might be?"

She nodded, flipping through her composition notebook." As a matter of fact, I do. It's because of V's nonexistent energy levels. I was not made aware until just recently that he's got a, how should I put this, weak constitution. I assumed that he was simply experiencing a weak spell as a result of his recent return. No, according to him he's always been like this. And I believe that is why his latent abilities are so segmented and slow to activate. His body is using his standard power to keep him stable, acting as a sort of crutch to his immune system. But once asleep, his abilities no longer need to stretch themselves so thin and he recovers. It all makes perfect sense, doesn't it?"

Vergil nodded to himself slowly, considering her statement." ... That would help make sense of his current condition as well. It is not so much a question of whether or not he is capable of triggering, but a question of if he can physically handle it when he does so.

She snapped her fingers, signaling that he'd gotten the gist of her statement." Tell me Vergil, being a hybrid yourself, do you believe it possible to actually be so powerful that your body simply cannot sustain its own ambient energy? That it is possible to be too powerful for your own good?"

He sighed begrudgingly, not at all keen on the implications of that statement. He'd spent a lifetime working towards becoming more powerful, throwing away everything that wasn't taken away from him in his endless pursuit of power. And in the ultimate act of irony, he had helped conceive a being that was the very antithesis of himself. A hybrid so powerful that their body was actually harmed by their own powers to an extent. How much more ironic could things possibly be?

"And yet he displays very little of the power that you speak of." Vergil ws unsure of what to think about such an observation, despite the fact that it made sense when contrasted to some of the things he'd seen involving V. But perhaps the implications were simply too troubling to consider. Could V be cursed with the very thing that he actively desired? Was that even a curse? Was there such a thing as too much power when it came to demonic abilities? Truly, he was at a crossroads with this revelation.

"Maybe that's by design. Maybe something happened to him once. Something so traumatic that he's repressed it and his abilities along with it." Magnolia shrugged, unsure of what more she could say on the subject. "You must remember that your sons are not quite like you and your brother. They are more human. That imbalance had so come with tradeoffs. And while they seem to be good, I can only assume that some of them are not. You and I both understand the costs of such power. Take my clan and our abilities for example. And if that is not sufficient, look to your own bloodline, Vergil. It is a possibility to consider. Sometimes power doesn't make sense. It's dubious and it comes from a variety of sources. At times you can hold it in your hand. Other times it is something you feel in your heart. You don't have to believe it to be true."

On that concept, they agreed, even if it was for different reasons. Vergil would have to consider the options provided to him, but his longtime friend's observations made a lot of sense to him. But until V woke up, they had no way of knowing for sure. And that fact alone was enough to cause Vergil a new level of dismay that he didn't know he possessed. The idea that the very thing he'd devoted so much of his life to might be the very thing that V desired and benefited from the least was almost unreal to him. And as soon as his son woke up, he intended to try and find out.

They needed to go to that island that Dante had spoken of.

And they needed to meet the Guardians of the Arcana.

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This chapter has been very interesting. And I already have the coolest idea for next week's chapter. Gotta get as much writing done as possible before the holidays arrive, right? I hope this chapter sparks some interesting but civil conversation in the comments section, and I hope to see you for chapter thirty. I have some very special stuff planned for the 30th chapter of this fic and the 50th chapter in this series. That's just an unreal number lol! What I wouldn't do to have a physical copy of this fic!