章 2: Afterlife, remember?
"Explain to me what happened last night," Vergil said as he gathered his things and changed clothes, with the phone on speaker.
"How should I put this... How much do you remember?" Harry asked, sounding like he was doing something while talking.
"The movie, after that it's a blur," Vergil replied as he finished dressing, grabbed his phone, and headed downstairs straight to the kitchen.
"We went out and hit up Afterlife, remember? I mentioned it to you," Harry said, his voice coming out in pants, as if he was exercising.
"Afterlife? That weird club with drinks named after demons?" Vergil asked while grabbing a glass of juice and a toast that was already prepared, with peanut butter spread on it. His mom had really gone all out; everything was ready.
"Yeah, we left the movie and went straight there. After that, it's history," Harry said, followed by a grunt. "Ugh! There, today's workout is done." He seemed to be getting closer to the phone. "I'm hanging up now; we'll talk about the ladies when you get here. See you later." He hung up before Vergil could respond.
[Call Ended...]
"Damn it! He doesn't mention the important part…" Vergil cursed as he got ready to leave the house.
Luckily, the college wasn't far from where he lived, just a light ten-minute walk that could easily serve as a morning warm-up for a long day of... school.
"Damn it," he muttered, closing the door behind him. The brightness outside caused a strange effect, momentarily disorienting him, but he quickly recovered. His vision adjusted to the light within seconds.
And so, he finally stepped out of his house.
Despite the unbearable headaches, he took a moment to observe the day.
It was looking beautiful... well, it really was. But for some reason, he felt uneasy, a sense of insecurity lingering in the air around him. He had the feeling that... something wasn't right...
It was as if he was one of those children's shape toys where everything fits perfectly, but he was a cylinder trying to fit into a square. He couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't where he was supposed to be...
"Is this... a dream?" Vergil murmured, hiding his hands in his pockets while adjusting the jacket he wore. Despite not having an extraordinary physique, he had a unique, unconventional attractiveness.
"How long will I stay like this, huh?" Vergil wondered aloud as he walked along the sidewalk toward his college.
Vergil and his mother had moved to California after his father died. He didn't remember much about his father, as most of his childhood was spent with his father being sick, and his mother kept him away. But he had at least met him.
Now, he was heading to a college he had only recently started attending. One day, he suddenly received a scholarship through a government program, and his mother was so impressed that she forced him to participate, even though he had no desire to.
Why? They were poor.
Despite managing to get by with what his father had left behind after his death, they were constantly struggling...
Vergil's mother... wasn't very good at being bossed around.
It was a family trait...
They couldn't be called subordinates; his mother was a classic case of a woman with a CEO's attitude but without the company to match.
"I hope she sticks with a job this time..." he murmured as he passed a bus stop, remembering that this was where his mother usually caught the bus to her numerous job interviews.
Jesus! This month alone, it was the third time! And it was still August!
"That crazy woman... I just hope she's not overdoing it."
"Hm?" Vergil stopped, feeling... something strange.
For some reason, he felt as if someone was watching him from behind. Naturally, he turned around to look... but
"The street is empty..." he observed silently. He hadn't noticed before, but... everything was eerily quiet.
Normally, this street had some level of activity, but why was everything so... silent?
"Ahh!" Vergil grunted in pain, clutching his head with both hands as his shoulder bag slipped off. The excruciating pain started to spread through his entire body...
"What the hell is this!" he roared, as the pain grew stronger... more unbearable with each passing second...
His vision began to blur, the world around him distorting as the pain intensified. His knees buckled, and he struggled to stay upright as everything around him seemed to close in, the silence pressing down like a weight on his chest.
Just when he thought he couldn't take it anymore, everything went black...
Vergil struggled against the immense pain while trying to process what was happening. The vision of the woman with black wings seemed to blend with the confused memories of the previous night. He vaguely remembered the moment she attacked him, the cold, piercing sensation of the lance, and her final words.
"Would you die for me, yes?" The woman's voice echoed in his mind, mixing with the sound of his labored breathing and the pounding of his heart.
The pain was so intense that he could barely think. The cold, hard ground beneath him seemed to be becoming part of his suffering. He looked up, trying to find some hope amidst the despair.
With a tremendous effort, Vergil tried to get up, but his muscles were almost paralyzed by the pain. He looked at the woman, who was now hovering above him with an expression of disdain and cruel satisfaction.
"You're so pathetic..." she murmured, her smile a blend of pleasure and indifference. "I thought you'd be more interesting. But it doesn't matter..."
Vergil tried to focus his mind, searching for some way to escape the situation. He remembered having seen that woman before, but the memory was hazy, as if it had been shrouded in a fog of confusion and pain.
"You... you're real..." he managed to whisper, his gaze fixed on her.
"Real enough to end you," she replied with a scornful tone. "And I'm sure you've already realized you won't last much longer. The blood in your veins is precious to some... but not to me."
As he tried to understand her words, Vergil had a flash of realization. He remembered a feeling of helplessness and seeing something beyond the woman's appearance – something dark and cruel. Perhaps, he thought, she was more than she seemed.
The woman began to distance herself, her black wings spreading majestically against the clear sky. Dark feathers fell around Vergil, as if they were the last remnants of his sanity. He tried to rise again, but his strength was quickly waning.
He felt himself sinking into an abyss, his strength draining and his vision growing darker. The world around him was dissolving into a haze of pain and confusion. The last thing he saw before losing consciousness completely was the woman disappearing into the sky, her black feathers still hovering in the air like a sinister reminder.
And then, amidst the darkness, Vergil asked himself one final question:
"Is this real?"
You know... They say that when we're about to die, a movie of our life plays at a surreal speed in our eyes, our entire existence is filtered and sent back to the universe when we die, but...
When Vergil's memory was almost ending... That night...
"We're late," the medium-sized woman said while looking at the man's body, surrounded by a pool of blood. She seemed not to care much.
"Stop being so irrational, let's save him!" Another woman, the tallest among them, looked at him... For some reason...
"He's already dead, even if you try to heal him…" The calmest and smallest one said, seeing it was a waste of time.
"Help me perform the ritual! He can't die!" The only one who seemed to want the man alive said, "I'll do it! Just give me energy! I'll improvise!" She said again while standing in front of the man and using his own blood to create a large magical circle...
"I will sacrifice this!" She said, letting her blood fall from her hand, "I want a Master and Servant contract!" She shouted, and the light of the magical circle resonated...
"Give your blood, you wretched bitches, I have to save my Darling!" She shouted at the two who merely looked at her with no expression...
"At least he's handsome…" One of the girls, the smallest one, said while observing what was happening around them... Their blood fell into the pool of blood.
"Handsome like the fruit of good and evil…" The medium-sized one said, as she watched the ritual while starting to extend her hand, sharing her energy with the girl in the middle, who was close to the body.
"I want him for myself…" The one performing the ritual said, as if showing her feelings to the magical circle, which seemed to pulse with life...
"I can give you everything you want... just accept it, Darling."
Vergil, who was dying, felt his body being invaded by something, his head was hurting as he only thought, "I accept... I'm going to die anyway..." he thought unconsciously...
When he realized, the sky was dark, as if a strangely demonic landscape had emerged, the place was just darkness, the blue skies had been replaced by a red sky, and the park trees looked like dark black paintings...
The pain in his head had completely disappeared, and his body began to awaken... It was as if... He had fit into place...
His body grew, healed, and became stronger... and he managed to rise, staggering...
"Hey... you bitch..." He murmured, "You're in my sights."
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<Author's Note>
Hey, remember to use your Golden Tickets and Power Stones to help the work reach new heights!
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