Limgrave – Waypoint Ruins – Daytime

Torrent vanished into a blue mist while his rider dismounted to survey the underground passageway in the ruined structure. A small group of mobile and poisonous plants ferociously guarded the area, with the biggest sprout calling forth pillars of magical light that shot toward the heavens. It was reminiscent of the demonic flora that Vergil had read about in ancient occult tomes.

"Those are known as Miranda Sprouts." A faint whisper mentioned. "They are carnivorous plants that spread poisonous clouds of pollen to ensnare their prey."

Nearly a week had passed since the events of Castle Morne. During that time, Vergil expressed his desire to learn about the Lands Between. He was no closer to unraveling the mystery of how he had emerged in the foreign land, and without Yamato, it seemed as though his chances of returning to his world had, for the moment, evaporated. At Vergil's request, the maiden, Melina, had agreed to provide what information she knew about the creatures that all-too-enthusiastically assailed the demonic swordsman. Solitude had served the blue devil all too well in his travels, but he knew better than to face a hostile world without necessary precautions.

"Iiippsa sci…sci…en…science…Vergil how do you read this?!" A young child half-screamed before casually tossing the weathered book to the side. He held a pair of wooden swords in hand, both almost too big for his stature. His brother, peacefully reading under a shaded tree, looked up with a peeved expression.

"What were you doing with my book?"

"Your book? I don't remember seeing your name on it!" The child smirked. His grip on the swords tightened in excitement.

"Dante…"

"I have an idea! How about we fight for it? If I win, then I get to keep it, deal?" The boy tossed one of the swords to his twin, who caught it by the handle without looking.

"When this is over, I'll make you submit…" The boy cracked his knuckles and gripped the sword tightly. "Dante…"

A short flurry of sword strikes ensued. One brother goaded the other, expertly blocking the other's strikes while the other attacked relentlessly. Tiny fragments of wood ricocheted whenever the swords made contact until both finally hit their targets simultaneously. The twins hurtled back, their clothes lightly stained with their efforts and their faces covered in cuts and bruises. The younger of the two dragged the tip of his sword on the ground as he prepared to slash upward, while the older twin readied himself in a blocking stance. The swords shattered upon contact, creating a loud crackle that shook the silence of their secluded manor. Both twins looked at each other in shock.

"Enough!" A tall lady exasperatedly exclaimed. The boys sheepishly froze. "What did I tell you about making each other bleed?"

"He started it!" The twins replied in unison. Their mother simply glared them down and they both fell silent.

Having been forced to clean up their mess, the twins dressed their wounds and changed into a new set of clothes. The older twin turned to his younger brother.

"Ipsa scientia potentia est. It means 'knowledge itself is power.'"

"…"

The younger brother smirked.

"Vergil, you are such a nerd."

The blue devil made quick work of the aggressive sprouts and proceeded towards the underground doorway, where he was once again met with what Melina called a "Mad Pumpkin Head." He had previously seen one resting in Castle Morne and proceeded to ignore it, seeing as it was preoccupied with attacking the Misbegotten who were making a ruckus nearby at the time. Vergil stifled a laugh when the hulking behemoth smashed its head on the ground upon hearing his approach but readied his weapon all the same. The creature lumbered with its movements but swung a large, spiked flail quickly. Vergil nimbly dodged to the side and pierced the creature, who proceeded to throw a punch with its free arm. The swordsman shifted his weight to the side and plunged his blade in further. The creature wailed and smashed its head on the ground again, barely missing the demonic swordsman. With his sword still embedded in the creature, the swordsman had an idea. He rolled sideways the next time his opponent lunged at him and reached for his sword's handle. Concentrating on the weapon, the blue devil channeled some of his demonic power into it, making the weapon momentarily glow in a flash of blue before he ripped it out of its fleshy sheath in a wide arc. Blood sprayed the walls and the swordsman stood over its corpse triumphant, the blue glow of his sword pulsating like a shallow heartbeat even as he set it aside. Just like before, a sharp pain jolted the swordsman to his core. Even with the strength of runes, he struggled to channel his demonic energies. He clutched his head and clenched his teeth until the sensation went away. The wandering maiden who had been following him all this time stood silent, unable to determine whether she should voice her concern. The swordsman eventually regained his footing and lifted the metal gate that sealed the adjoining room. Inside it was a series of broken crystals and a woman dressed in a navy robe with a crimson sash draped over her shoulders. Most notably, the woman wore a stone mask that encased the entirety of her head. She intriguingly examined the swordsman.

"Tarnished, are we? A wonder you should turn up here."

She spoke in a commanding tone, her posture conveying an air of authority.

"I am Sellen, a sorcerer, quite plainly. Why are you here?"

"I have come to retrieve my power. You just happened to be here." He uttered in his signature almost-boastful tone.

"Pardon? You will have to be more specific." She noticed the pulsating glow of the weapon he held. "Ahh, a yen for glintstone sorceries? Well, your aptitude does appear…passable."

Passable? Who does this woman think she is?

"But one must choose one's masters wisely."

Vergil rolled his eyes, anticipating some kind of speech from the self-proclaimed sorcerer.

"I was exiled from the Academy of Raya Lucaria, as a reviled, apostate witch." She paused expectantly. "Do you still wish to learn from me?"

"That is not my concern; I do not care where you come from or what has happened to you before. I am willing to accept, so long as I stand to benefit from your teachings."

"Well, you are a piece of work. Very well, you are now my protégé in glintstone sorcery." Her previously jovial tone became stern. "But I refuse to coddle. Or cast kind words. Never. Anticipate grievances, young apprentice."

"I find your terms are agreeable. After all, being coddled by a teacher is akin to being treated like an infant and can hardly be considered beneficial."

She nodded in thought.

"That's rather sharp. Very well, let us begin."

The woman produced a staff with a crystal embedded in its tip. With a wave of the catalyst, a conical barrage of crystal shards flashed into being and illuminated the sorcerer's dimly lit cellar. In that same moment, Vergil unsheathed his weapon and deflected the shot, only to be met with a volley of glowing blue beams. He reflexed by channeling some of his demonic power into the pulsating Estoc and used it to block two shots before the pain overwhelmed him once more and he found himself pelted by the azure beams. Interestingly, he was hit in places one would hardly consider vital. Regardless, the sensation was far from ideal. His flesh burned from the onslaught, blue smoke wisping where the projectiles singed his attire.

"You may have aptitude, but you seem to lack control." She motioned her head to the side. "Near that bookcase, you will find a glintstone staff. Use it to practice channeling your sorcery. Come back to me when you are ready."

"Nghh!" Vergil got up from his kneeling position, noticing that the ache from being shot at with Sellen's sorceries felt uncannily familiar…as though he was being battered by demonic spears. Vergil then noticed the similarities between the glintstone sorceries and the ethereal blades he used to summon with ease. Although the origin of this new power came from a different source, the principles appeared to be compatible. It appeared that he would need to relearn how to cast magic from the very beginning. With a heavy sigh, he did as he was told and clutched onto the wooden staff. Like Sellen's, this staff was tipped with a glintstone crystal. With every wave of the catalyst, Vergil was able to notice how effective of a conduit it was for channeling demonic energy. Despite his nigh-instant mastery of weapons, Vergil needed a way to reroute how he channeled his power. After the passage of several days, the blue devil was finally able to find a way to consistently materialize his spells…despite the maddening shocks that still shook him to his core on occasion.

True to her word, Sellen's instruction was direct and honest, which Vergil found refreshing. Though she could clearly see the prodigious capabilities of her new apprentice, she could also sense the impatience emanating from the warrior. He would need to control his impulses to properly master his craft. Like most learned skills, mastering sorcery was a slow, deliberate process requiring time, practice, and discipline. She had no doubts that he understood the lessons, though he seemed to initially struggle with harnessing his own latent power. As he seemed to favour the use of his blade, Sellen made sure to focus on teaching her new protégé to better infuse his weapons with magical energy. In time, Vergil learned to ignore the pain; asking Melina to channel his hard-won runes into better utilizing his magic helped tremendously to that end as well.

Melina looked towards the Erdtree in the distance and sighed. Time seemed to be immaterial to her companion, who focused far more on strengthening himself than honouring their accord. Still, she supposed that this was preferable to watching a Tarnished go slowly insane with failure after failure. She was not equipped to deal with such matters and knew so little about even herself, let alone others' struggles. Over the past few moons, her companion had traveled to several more locations in Limgrave, raided armies of enemy camps, slaughtered packs of beasts, and searched through every ruin for artifacts that could help him improve himself. In one such catacomb, he was able to secure a katana, which he seemed to revere like a great treasure after inspecting its construction. Though Melina had learned not to question her companion's aptitude for swordplay and violence, seeing him wield the long, curved blade with such practiced precision impressed her in a way that his previous skirmishes never had. His movements were quick and graceful, as natural as his breathing with the way he sheathed and unsheathed his weapon. The swordsman seemed to take extra special care when maintaining it. Almost like his very sanity would shatter were it to break.

The maiden knew very little about the Land of Reeds and their manner of swordplay, but what she had seen so far alerted her of the similarities in Vergil's style of combat. Whereas the warrior took advantage of the Estoc's reach to thrust into enemy weak points, the way he wielded the katana was wholly unique. Rather than merely slashing at his targets like the blade's construction implied, Vergil preferred to strike with the blunt handle several times before finally ending his foes with a singular slash of the blade encased within. Those who survived the initial attack would not live long after the sword was unleashed. Curiously, almost every sequence of attack ended with the warrior ceremoniously returning his blade to its sheath. It was a methodical and fascinating display.

At times, the warrior would return to a grace frustrated and empty-handed, finding little use for whatever trinket he may have come across. Other times, he would triumphantly summon Torrent to return to the sorceress after finding a new scroll. Said sorceress always appeared endlessly entertained when the stone-faced swordsman returned, wishing to learn from a scroll he had previously spent hours trying to decipher himself in secret.

"Oh, is that a scroll?" The sorceress mused. "It takes me back to my academy days. Very well. This is sorcery with which I am not entirely unfamiliar. I'll be sure to incorporate it into one of your lessons."

Over time, her confidence in her astute pupil grew.

"Never lose that inquisitive spirit, my apprentice."

To his credit, the swordsman's abilities manifested rather quickly. Throughout their journey, Melina found that for each new kill, Vergil's understanding of sorceries grew; regardless, he preferred to infuse his sword with magic and charge into his enemies at closer range. At one point, she caught him cursing at how inefficient the method was when he used to be able to do it at will, but then he would attempt to cast the spell without the staff and shortly keel over in pain.

"Why isn't this working?!"

She found herself stifling a laugh.

Eventually, when the blue swordsman found his thirst for knowledge momentarily satiated, he bid a silent farewell to his instructor and set off once more with Torrent. After setting Fort Haight nearly ablaze, Vergil turned his sights towards Mistwood Ruins, where he met with the half-wolf warrior, Blaidd. Previous conversations with the merchant Kalé had alerted him of how to get this warrior's attention. Clearly, distant glares and disapproving sighs did little to arouse attention when Vergil wished for it. With a snap of his finger, the half-wolf jumped from his stone perch and greeted the swordsman.

"Who goes there?"

"Someone who wishes for an end to your incessant howling."

The half-wolf smirked, clearly recognizing the gesture that caught his notice.

"Kalé sent you, did he? Ever the bloody busybody. Hmm. Maybe to him, you don't seem so strange. The name's Blaidd."

He extended an arm then retracted it when he realized that the man was less than receptive. Judging by his expression, he wished to get to the point, a notion that the half-wolf appreciated since he too had matters to attend to.

"I'm looking for a man who goes by 'Darriwil.' He fled somewhere nearby. Or so I've heard. Come tell me if you find him before I do. I can offer you ample reward."

The man's sharp eyes met his for a second before he nodded and went on his way.

"How strange…"

He then heard a whistle and was surprised to see a Spectral Steed materialize from a blue fog. The half-wolf grew wide-eyed in recognition.

Perhaps he is the one mistress Ranni is searching for…

"May we meet again, stranger…"

The half-wolf resumed his search, eager to follow Darriwil's trail.

The call of a nearby structure led Vergil into a lift powered by magical energy judging by the tethers of starlight that appeared on the fringes of the device. As the lift descended further underground, Vergil expected to be met with yet another mausoleum when eventually the surrounding walls of stone gave way to a vast underground landscape. A seemingly endless night sky illuminated the crumbling remains of what he surmised was once an ancient dynasty, with a vast collection of aged towers and intricate stone structures that faded into the horizon. The cavern never seemed to end; indeed, when the lift finally reached its end, the size and scale of the surrounding ruins astounded the swordsman, who could not help but marvel at the sights he saw before him.