Tales of Undeath: The Von Virtus Chronicles

Muffled Man's Voice: We'll be gone soon. As soon as he wakes, we will take our leave.

Muffled Woman's Voice: Leave...?! LEAVE?! Where do you suppose you'll go now, Ballo?! You bumped into every wall coming in here!

Muffled Man's Voice: I'll get used to it...

Virno slowly opened his eyes, finding himself lying on a bottom bunk bed within what appeared to be a steamy and heavy workshop. Outside, he could hear at least two people talking. He recognized one of the voices.

Virno: Ballo...

As he attempted to sit up, he noticed movement from the upper bunk. A second later, someone hopped down to the floor.

Rotavitea: Well well! Sure took your time, didn't you?

It was a girl. She seemed to be around his age.

Rotavitea: But the real question is, was the old bird telling the truth...?

She extends one of her arms. Her forearm seemed to be equipped with some sort of mechanical gauntlet, connect to a pressurized container in her upper arm. She aims her arm right at Virno's torso.

Virno: What are you-

Before he could finish his sentence, Rotavitea clenched her fist, and several pistons around the gauntlet fired, sending a steel fist hurtling toward Virno's ribs. Pain shot through his body as the fist struck him.

Virno: ARGHH...!

He falls backward, banging his head on the bunk bed's wall.

Virno: WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM?!

Furious, he stands up, glaring at the girl who had a stupefied look in her face.

Rotavitea: Wow... It's a miracle...!

Virno: What is?!

She points at his ribs... His eyes widen. They didn't hurt. Well, barely. He could feel the pain from her strike, but it didn't compare to the pain he felt when they were broken.

Rotavitea: They're fixed!

Virno: What...? How?!

Hearing all the ruckus, a woman barges into the room, leading Ballo by the hand.

Clavia: What was all that noise just now?!

Rotavitea: ... Nothing!

Caught off guard, Rotavitea tried to hide her gauntlet behind her back, but the pressurized container still released steam, and the pistons remained fully extended.

Rotavitea: You were right, owl! He's as good as new...!

Virno: What the hell is going on, old man...?!

Ballo walks from behind the woman. His eyes were completely white, and his sockets had black markings all round them, as if they had been burnt.

Ballo: We'll have plenty of time to talk about that, but we must leave here as soon as possible.

Virno: Your eyes... What did you do...?

Ballo: Nevermind that now, we will have plenty of time to talk on the road.

Virno: On the road...? Where even are we?!

Rotavitea: You're a long way from home, boy. Better start making yourself useful while you're here!

The woman pulls the girl from her non-mechanized arm. She wasn't holding her gently.

Clavia: Is that any way to treat a guest?! And you better not have done what I think you have with that hack-job mechanical fist of yours...!

Rotavitea: What? Of course not! I was just tweaking it right as he woke up, right?

She turns toward Virno, hoping he wouldn't snitch. He shakes his head, ignoring her.

Virno: Look, thanks for giving me a bed to sleep on, but the old man's right. We should be going. My friends need help.

As he tries to walk out of the room, Ballo hears his footsteps and places himself in between the exit and Virno.

Ballo: You're far from the slums, Virno... That's not where we're headed.

Virno furrowed his brow in confusion.

Virno: What the hell do you mean...? I thought you were in a hurry to go back, too!

Ballo: ... No. Not to go back. Come... I'll explain on the way.

Virno: On the way to where?! I'm not going anywhere with you until you start explaining!

The old man sighs, as if he had anticipated this confrontation.

Ballo: Told you it wouldn't be so easy...

Clavia: I'll fetch you two something to eat, give you some privacy. Come on, Rota...

The young girls sighs deeply.

Rotavitea: I'm coming, Clavia...

She seemed bummed out that she had to go. The woman closes the door behind them, leaving Virno and Ballo to talk by themselves.

Ballo: Help me out... I have a feeling we'd best sit down for this.

Virno assists Ballo in finding a chair. They sit around a round table.

Ballo: Alright... What is it you want to know?

Virno: How about what the hell happened since our fight with that monster and now?!

Virno was impatient, his frustration evident in his voice.

Ballo: We lived. He did not. To avoid having to fight more of their kind, I brought us here.

Virno: "Here"... Where even is "here"?

Ballo: A friend's smithy. The very one who made the armour you're wearing, in fact.

Virno looked at insignias in some of the walls. They matched with the symbols that adorned on his armour pieces.

Ballo: We are in a city far, far from the one your mother and friends are at. If you want to walk back there, it would take you at least an entire month... And that's a generous estimate.

Virno's eyes widen in fury.

Virno: Why did you have to bring us so damn far from them?!

Ballo: Because it isn't safe for you back there anymore, Virno. Dangerous people are looking for you... They either seek to kill you... Or use you to find the sword.

Virno: Let them come, we'll kill them just as we did the last guy...!

Ballo's empty gaze tries to meet with Virno's, but fails.

Ballo: That was not a battle we were meant to win. In order to do so, I had to tap into magic that is beyond my ability... Magic that has taken my very sight from me. It is gone... Burned away from me. I can still see faint blurs... But I am too blind to be of any use against them.

Virno was left speechless, his anger replaced by a profound sense of guilt.

Ballo: You wish to go back there, to be with your loved ones... But as you are, it would be futile. Should more agents of Nox come for you, they would strike you down easily. How would you hope to protect them, then...?

Virno: How can I hope to protect them now, that I'm not even there to do anything to help them?!

Ballo's patience wore thin.

Ballo: Shed away your arrogance, Virno... You are not their savior. If anything... You're the one who brought about their downfall.

Virno grinds his teeth.

Virno: Take that back right now, old man...

Ballo continued, his tone firm and unforgiving.

Ballo: Do you seriously have no idea what you've done...? I told you not to draw the blade. Doing so would be a dead giveaway that you were under our protection... You summoned it in front of our worst enemy. Now, it could very well be that they will raze those slums to the ground looking for you.

Virno: No... They wouldn't...

Ballo: Oh, but they would. And what's worse... If that abomination did manage to reach their Spymaster, then you can be sure that we won't remain hidden for long. They will scour every city and every village in our world looking for you. Not to mention they will know he was killed by one of Eclipse... I may have just caused my old colleagues quite the predicament.

Ballo paused, allowing the weight of his words to sink in.

Virno: I...

He could not muster any words.

Ballo: You are young, stupid and weak. Yet your worst offense was failing to acknowledge this... Resulting in the likely deaths of tens of innocent people, who wanted nothing else but to bring peace to their homes.

Virno clenched his trembling fists, fighting back tears.

Ballo: Your over-confidence and rash decision making have already done much more harm than good... So now I ask you, Virno: was it all in vain...? Or have you at least learned something from all of this?

Virno looks down at the table, as tears stream from his face.

Ballo: I know you did not choose to be in this position... But there is no changing what has happened. The agency you have is over the present, not over the past... And certainly not over the future. You wish to grow strong to protect those you love... But if every time you try this, you end up breaking your body in the process... How far do you hope to get? Do you truly believe that you will accomplish your goals like this...?

Virno: No...

He drops his head over his crossed arms on the table.

Virno: No!

He cries incosolably.

Ballo: Cry all you must... I believe you have much to cry over, von Virtus.

Ballo rose from his chair, slowly making his way towards the room's exit.

Ballo: When you're done crying... Come find me. You still have your part of the deal to uphold, remember?

He closes the door behind him. Alone in the room, Virno thought about everything that had happened in the past months... His father's death, his family's downfall, his mother's happiness dwindling day by day... The people that were hurt, those who lost their lives... Just how much was his fault? How many wrong turns had he taken? And, as Ballo had asked, had it all been in vain, or had he at least managed to learn something from all of it...?

Virno: Father... Just how much of a disappointment am I...? You wanted me to be better, to do good... Yet all I've done is bring misery to those around me. I'm... I'm a failure. Truly...

With his head resting on his arms, Virno cried himself back to sleep, overwhelmed by guilt and self-doubt.

Virno: A failure... Too weak, too ignorant... Too...

Disembodied voice: Human...

Virno: Too human...

Drifting off into sleep, Virno is transported to a dark abyss. At its depths, there was a river. The water was so buoyant that he could easily float without even trying. Carried by the stream, he felt alone. Like he was the last person alive.

Disembodied voice: Shed your humanity....

The voice echoed throughout the abyss.

Virno: What do you mean...?

Slowly, massive buildings emerge from the depths of the river, their yellow lights glowing in the darkness.

Disembodied voice: Friends... Family... Let them go.

Virno: ... Never.

Above him, he felt a presence... Like there was something flying around. It had to be gigantic in size... The sounds it made resonated between the builds, occasionally causing ripples in the otherwise calm stream.

Disembodied voice: They hold you back... Cause you to act without thinking. If you were not fettered by them, your judgement would not be so clouded.

Virno challenged the voice, doubting its motives.

Virno: Why do you care...? You said you didn't need me anymore.

Disembodied voice: I don't need you. But you sure need me. Without me... You will never be strong enough.

Virno conceded that the voice might be right, but he refused to abandon his loved ones. His determination to protect them remained unshaken.

Virno: Yes... You're probably right. But I'll never stop thinking about them. I'm a fool-hardy cocky idiot, it's true... But that's on me. It's something I have to fix myself. I'm not pushing them away just to make things easier... They don't deserve that. If caring about them makes things harder for me... Then that's something I'll have to learn to deal with.

Disembodied voice: And how many more will suffer as you try to "deal" with it...?

Virno: Hopefully not many.

As the stream reached it's zenith, Virno came to a set of stairs. They seemed to lead to some strange monolith riddled with countless holes, some of which were filled with colored glowing orbs. A hazy silhouette sat down on final step, at the top of the stairs. It waved at Virno nonchalantly.

Disembodied voice: ... Greed. Nice to meet you.

Virno makes his way up the steps, curiosity piqued.

Virno: What is this place...?

Greed (Disembodied voice): What do you mean? It's just some random place you're dreaming of.

Virno: And you just happen to be here...? I don't buy that for a second...

Greed laughs.

Greed: Fair enough. Well, this is a place very dear to me. Now, it has all but been locked away... If I had to describe it, I'd say it's the cradle of the world. You're lucky. Humans don't usually get to see it.

Virno: ... But why am I here?

Greed stands up, facing the monolith.

Greed: Why are you here indeed...? I must admit, I'd rather you never left the forest. But you overcame my influence last time... So I guess I'm not running the show any longer. I didn't choose to bring you here... You did. Of your own volition.

He points toward the monolith.

Greed: This monolith is everything. Every law, every being, every thing that lives and exists in your world... They are all defined here. Every orb represents a piece, every combination of orbs defines how those pieces connect... Together, they make up the puzzle that is reality as you know it, created by the very gods who once walked the same earth you do now.

Greed turns to Virno.

Greed: If life were a game, then the pieces would define the rules of said game... But not how the players act. That is entirely up to each and every player.

He points toward Virno's chest.

Greed: So look within, Virno.

Greed's shape morphs, becoming an indistinguishable copy of Virno.

Greed: Because now better than ever, you have a grasp of your desired role in the play of life... Now, it's time to start choosing how you want to perform.

Virno: How I want to perform...

Greed: That's right. Don't keep me waiting...

Greed's body glows, vanishing into countless green particles. Alone, Virno pondered endlessly about who he was to become...