Chapter 3

AN: Hey guys, I finally had the time to write an update to this story. I would like to thank you all who favorited and followed. This chapter mostly serves to set up the next story arc I want to explore. I hope you guys like it.

SolSparda369: That's definitely going to happen but not now, later now the line when she gets a better grip on her new powers.

Bulletmonk: Thanks for the support.

Winter sat on the cold floor of her bedroom, her body positioned in a meditative stance, with her hands resting on her knees. She was currently following her ghostly mentor's instructions on how to correctly access and use the demonic power she had stored inside her. She had been attempting it for an hour thus far with little results and that fact frustrated her.

"Focus," the chastising voice of Vergil echoed inside of her mind.

"I'm trying," she said through greeted teeth. She was really trying her best but for some reason, she could not do as Vergil had told her. She could feel the burning power deep inside of her but she could access it, she could not grasp it. She could feel it just barely out of her reach.

"Try harder," Vergil said and Winter focused, doing her best to center her mind on that one single thing but once more nothing happened. "Stop, that's enough for now," Vergil said, clearly irritated by her lack of progress. She opened her eyes and sighed heavily.

"I can feel it but I can reach it. I don't know why," Winter said.

"Your demonic blood is not as powerful as mine and even with added power from me you still need to find a way to use that power, to fully control it," Vergil said in an even tone. "It seems that this will take longer than I anticipated."

Winter could not help but feel disappointment at Vergil's words, disappointment at herself. "I'm sorry," she said.

"And for what are you apologizing?" he asked in a chastising tone. "Never say you are sorry for something you should not be. Yes, you are not advancing as fast as I had hoped but that does not mean that you haven't achieved progress. Your strength and speed have increased during our training sessions, you are able to access the demonic power subconsciously while fighting but are unable to do it at will. This is because of your aura merging with my power. It will take time but you will learn to use it as I have."

Winter thought about it, she had to effectively relearn everything he knew but from a different viewpoint, is some ways demonic power was similar to aura while being different at the same time. What he said was true, she had noticed the increase in her performance during training, every aspect of her fighting capabilities had increased since their merging but it irked her that she could not access her new power at will. There were instances when she had almost succeeded and yet she didn't. Winter was broken out of her thought when Vergil's voice was heard in her mind once more.

"Tell me," he said. "What was your plan to break out from your imprisonment before I arrived? You must have had some ideas considering how much hate you have for your father and his ways."

Winter pondered the answer for a moment, going over all the ideas and notions she had over the years on how to break from her father's shackles. "The most recent and most probable was taking up General Ironwoods offer and joining the Atlesian military, that way I could be free of my father, help people, and have a steady income, knowing my father he would have disowned me the moment I put on that uniform."

"And you would have left your siblings to Jacque's mercy. He would undoubtedly tighten his grip over them, and seeing as he would disown you that would leave Weiss as the new heiress and at the forefront of his attention," Vergil said, pointing out the flaw in her plan.

Winter's heart became heavy with realization, she had known that what Vergil said was a possibility but she had truly hoped that she could hold out for at least a while longer. She knew that he was right, that Jacques would have done that and more to secure what he sees as his property.

"I just can't," Winter said in a pained voice. "I can't take it anymore, but if I stand up to him, he might punish those I love the most just to keep me in line."

"Then the best way for you to keep him away is to make sure that he is content with you until you master my abilities. Then you can do as you wish with him."

"And how do I do that?" Winter asked, desperate for an answer.

"I have seen some of your memories of the huntsman academy you go to, care to tell me about it," Vergil said, in a serious and yet polite tone.

"I thought you could see all of my memories," Winter said.

"I wish to hear it from you, seeing images can get one only so far."

"It's one of the four major huntsmen academies, there are a few smaller ones and various combat schools scattered around the world but Atlas academy is the main one of the kingdom. It is run by general James Ironwood and due to the Atlesian military's influence many graduates join the army after they get their huntsmen licenses. I'm in my fourth and final year but am currently home and not there due to winter break, we will be returning to the academy in a few days, on Monday."

"What about your team?"

"My team?" Winter said, slightly surprised by the topic. "There are four of us, Asher Wald, Valentina Bellona, Louis Marco and I. Asher is from Mantle, a good fighter with an ax and machine gun, although he is cocky and likes to crack jokes even when it's not the best time for it, but he is loyal and kind. Valentina is the heavy hitter on our team, wielding a sword and shield and dressed in armor, and thanks to her semblance she is effectively a damage sponge, it allows her aura to take more damage and decrease at a slower rate. And then there's Louis, he is a son of an Atlas elite, when we had our trial he and Asher paired up and ended with me and Valentina. He is arrogant, entitled, and knows to be a real ass sometimes but he is good with a sniper rifle and can handle himself in a fight."

"And your relationship with them?"

Winter thought about the relationship she had with her teammates. Valentina and she are on good terms, the two of them had a rocky start but over the years grew to respect and like each other. The girl's wish to resolve everything with a fight does annoy Winter but she knew she could count on swords swinging warrior when needed. Louis being everything she already said and his aura of superiority helped him little with making friends, there was animosity between him and Asher during their first year due to their different backgrounds but the two of them realized that they were stuck with each other and have now restricted that animosity to trading jabs and insults with each other. Valentina would simply hit him in the head when he became annoying, something which made him wary of her, and when it came to the relationship between him and Winter, well saying that he is persistent in his advances would be an understatement. He fancies Winter and as both of them are from powerful Atlesian families he thinks that they would make a good couple. For all his annoying behavior Winter could not deny that Louis has had some good moments over the years. And finally, there was Asher, if Valentina and Winter had a rocky start then Asher and she were a disaster, him being a wolf faunus and her a Shnee did not help it either. He blamed her for her father's company's actions and honestly, she did little to prove his accusations false until Valentina being fed up with their arguing decided to lock them in the bathroom until they talked it out and at least reached some kind of compromise. It took them the whole evening before they actually started to talk and Winter found out that Asher's family lost everything thanks to her father and Winter retracted everything she had said about faunus and Asher after finally understanding his reasoning. Their way to actually building a functional relationship was long but in the end, they managed it, Winter going as far as apologizing for her father's actions but Asher saying that it was not she who should be apologizing. After four years on the same team, going to the same academy, and sleeping in the same room she could without a doubt call Asher a friend. But all of that does not mean that she didn't feel fear that in some way her father would use them for his own gains.

"Our relationship is decent," Winter said, summing up her thoughts in the simplest manner she could think of.

"That is good to hear, one must have a good relationship with the rest of their team if the team is to function properly. For all of our faults and differences Dante and I always worked well together, even when we were at odds with each other."

"He is your twin brother, so it should come naturally that you two work well together. For my team it took time for us to build trust among ourselves, to learn how to be a team. You two were literally born as a team."

"Dante and might have been brought into the world together but it took both of us time and effort to learn to trust each other, to get over our differences and be a family again," Vergil said. Disclosing a bit of information about himself didn't hurt, especially as they had so far spent weeks merged together, he had grown to trust Winter. "Tell me about the Vytal festival."

"The Vytal Festival was created to serve as a celebration of peace between the Kingdoms. Every two years, a Kingdom would be chosen to open its doors to the world, allowing citizens from every corner of Remnant to meet and indulge in one another's cultures. There is also a tournament held during the festival in which students from all four academies participate, first as teams, then as duos before the two best meet in the final. This Vytal festival will be held here in Atlas in couple of months."

"A fighting tournament being held to celebrate peace, I can't help but find it slightly ironic in a way," Vergil said. "Will you be participating?"

"Most likely, my team is among the best in our year and it would be scandalous if a Shnee did not compete," Winter said and for a moment no reply came from Vergil, she had started to think that he was ignoring her or had retreated further into her mind before he spoke once more.

"To me, it seems that if you to actively start using the demonic power a more direct approach is going to be needed. We will continue with your lessons tomorrow, it is late so you should rest for now."

"Thank you," Winter said, getting up from her position on the floor and stretching her legs for a bit. She looked through the window of her room, the broken moon of Remnant shone brightly in the night sky. She walked over to her bed, on the nightstand next to it was placed a book she was currently reading a half-drunk cup of tea. She took the cup in her hand and moved it towards her lips, taking a small sip. The tea had gone cold but the flavor was still pleasant. Winter then picked up the book and laid on the sprawling bed and began to read.

"I always preferred classical literature and music to the one of my time, it is more refined and designed to soothe the soul compared to what people read and listened to at the time," Vergil said, remembering his brother's annoying tendency to listen to loud rock music.

"You must have read some real masterpieces," Winter said as she read her book.

"Many of them, from Shakespeare to Dante Alighieri, I particularly liked Dantes Devine comedy, a complex story with a deep meaning behind it," Vergil said.

"What is it about?" Winter asked as she flipped to the next page.

"It is about a man who is sent to hell and goes through it in an attempt to reach purgatory and paradise and the woman he loves. It has a much deeper meaning, the main idea that makes the heart of the Devine comedy is how one learns to attain salvation. It gives a long narration of how Dante's pilgrim goes through hell in Inferno and gives such a figurative picture of how sinners suffer without any hope of redemption. An ancient poet guides the pilgrim along the way, until in the end his love helps him enter heaven. The work is complex and not for those of idle of mind."

"Shame we don't have it here on Remnant, by the way you describe it, it sounds like an interesting read," Winter said.

"It is," Vergil said. "Although what you are currently holding in your hand is interesting as well."

"You approve, I found it in the library. The title is unfamiliar to me but I have heard about the author and the covers look old so it looked promising. And before you say to never judge a book by its cover, it was in the classical wing of the library among the more valuable books by father has."

"Another flaw of your father, a man who hoards books and yet does not read them," Vergil said, Winter noticed the hint of disdain in his voice.

"He collects books, artifacts and anything else you can think of that has any value just so he could say that he has it," Winter said.

"You father's stupidity never ceases to amaze me," Vergil said and Winter chuckled slightly at that.

"He is a ruthless businessman but he ain't good for much else. His mind would not allow him to grasp anything else that isn't money or status."

"Doesn't matter. As you said in a few days you will be returning to the academy and I'm eager to see how you will fare against actual combatants and not just machines. Your worlds aura is an interesting phenomenon I wish to learn more about, the same goes for the semblances."

"I'm eager to leave this place as well, the academy will be a welcome change of scenery."

Vergil wished to see just how powerful were the warriors of this strange new world, the academy would be a perfect place for it. He also wished just how will Winter fare against them in a fight, she had improved certainly but she still had a long way to go before reaching her full potential and maybe the academy will be the key to that. He had full intention of making Winter the most powerful person she could be, she has strength but is being dragged down by the mental chains that had been forged around her over the years. He had spent time as Neo Angelo and that experience alone had given him much trauma so he knew how she was feeling. Winter will break from her bonds and become who she is meant to be but training comes first and Vergil was determent to train her so he could win that tournament, if she wins then she might finally see that she has nothing to fear from her father, that she is strong enough to not only challenge him but to break him.