Tales of Undeath: The Von Virtus Chronicles

LXXXIV. Room for Two

With her mouth agape, Rotavitea stepped back, enthrallingly compelled by Ballo's voice.

Rotavitea: Ballo...?

Though his demeanour was serene, underneath the divine powers he commanded his own body crumbled, not unlike what had happened to Virno.

Rotavitea: STOP! You'll die...!

Although she tried to halt his advance, her body would not answer her will. She had no authority to move, not in the presence of such power.

Ballo: Though my mission ends here, Rota... Yours does not. You must see Virno to his final destination. He must reach the sword at all costs. Can I trust you with this...?

She could not muster any audible reply. Tears slowly welled up in her eyes, as she started to accept what was about to happen.

Ballo: One last thing...

As he crouched down, making the white flames meet with Virno's dessicated body, he spent the last of his energy.

Ballo: Tell Clavia I'm sorry... I'm sorry I lied to her. A few months won't be enough... We'll have to postpone our peaceful retreat.

The pain in his voice was evident. Weren't the blinding flames concealing his expression, the most mournful of gazes could have been perceived.

Ballo: In the next life, for sure... For sure.

Rotavitea falls to her knees as she bears witness to Ballo's sacrifice, her willpower still prisoner to her body's refusal in stopping the ritual.

Rotavitea: Why do you have to go...? After all this time, WHY?! We were finally together again...

Ballo's body is consumed by the white warm flame, fuelling it further as it is transferred to Virno's figure. Enveloping his cadaverous frame, new life is breathed into it, as his flesh regains its color and his muscles regrow to fill his skin once more.

Rotavitea: All for what...? FOR WHAT?!

She now had complete freedom to move her body once more... Yet there was no longer any point. Ballo was already gone.

Rotavitea: What am I supposed to tell her...?

Holding her hands up to her face, she mourned the loss of the man that had practically been a grandfather to her. All the while, the flames were starting to die out, revealing Virno's healed body underneath. Though his injuries seemed to have been fully healed, his right arm was still missing, with only a scar left behind as a grim reminder of what he had lost.

Virno: Cry not.

As he opens his eyes, they glowed with an unnatural green aura, matching the same hue produced by the magic he wielded not long before.

Virno: His sacrifice will not be in vain. We are close.

Rotavitea noticed he was... Different, somehow. His posture, tone of voice... It was as if a different person inhabited his body. Virno effortlessly stood up from the ground, walking over to her.

Virno: Is your contraption still operable?

She lifts her face from her hands, looking at him with a confused expression... Though it rapidly twists into wrath.

Rotavitea: Ballo just killed himself for your sake... And the first thing on your mind is chasing after that damn thing!?

She rises faster than he expected, delivering a solid punch to his right cheek. Virno stumbles back, his expression remaining unfazed.

Rotavitea: SELFISH, HEARTLESS BASTARD...!

He froze looking at her, as if he was unprepared to deal with the situation at hand. Shortly after, the glow in his eyes fade, with Virno taking his right hand up to his injured cheek immediately after.

Virno: Rotavitea...? What the hell is going on?!

His demeanour had shifted back to its original form... He seemed like himself again.

Rotavitea: I should be asking YOU that... What's wrong with you? Do you have any idea what you've done...?

She seemed utterly defeated, her gaze betraying the bottomless feeling of despair that overcame her.

Virno: I-I...

Virno appeared to be genuinely confused.

Rotavitea: He died for you. Killed himself so you could live...

She turns back, heading towards the destroyed vehicle.

Rotavitea: Ballo's gone.

His eyes widen as he hears her words. Looking around the battlefield, he notices that there is no sign of either Ballo or Barr...

Virno: S-So we won...?

She briefly stops, turning to face him once more, pointing at the piles of ashes at his feet.

Rotavitea: You tell me... It sure doesn't feel like victory. Doesn't feel like it at all...

All that had been left behind were burnt remains. As she resumes her march toward the vehicle, an agonizing headache hits Virno, like a sledgehammer to the skull.

Greed: You were weaker than expected, von Virtus... Though your deficiencies are mostly of the mental capacity. Fortunately, your near death experience opened a window... A window that allows us to connect deeper than before. One body, two minds... Together, we will reach the sword. I am NOT letting you ruin this.

As the headache subsides, his eyes begin to glow once more. He walks towards Rotavitea, picking up Ballo's blindfold as he moves past it. He ties it tightly around his head, covering his eyes.

Rotavitea: ... What are you doing? 

She notices him as she is rummaging through what remained of Clavia's contraptions, trying to salvage what she can.

Virno: Worry not. I can see just fine...

Rotavitea jumps down, squaring up to him.

Rotavitea: I don't know what's gotten into you, I really don't... But let me tell you one thing -- Ballo's final wish was that I take you to the damn sword. All you have to do is not kill yourself in the process, and I should be able to manage that...

She steps closer to him, fearless.

Rotavitea: So, can you do your part? Think you can manage to not be a coward and see this 'til the end...?!

Virno was, once more, completely unfazed by her confrontational nature.

Virno: Rest assured, I have no plans of dying anytime soon.

She squints upon hearing this.

Rotavitea: Really...? Sure changed your tune quick. Shame you didn't have a change of heart before... Before-

She cuts herself off, shaking her head as she goes back to searching through the scrap.

Rotavitea: Whatever. Give me a hand... With some luck, we may be able to cobble something together to help us during the rest of the way. You do know where we're going, right...?

Without hesitation, Virno points toward a specific direction, right into some nearby woods.

Virno: I know exactly where we're going.