Tales of Undeath: The Von Virtus Chronicles

Abruptly reconnected with reality, Virno's eyes briefly emanate a green glow similar to the one in Greed's eyes. A surge of viridescent energy races through his entire body, releasing it from his imprisonment and traveling upward towards Ballo's torturous incantantion, cancelling it in a burst of magic. The sudden energy spike sends the elder flying against one of the walls, though he manages to slow his flight and softly cushion the impact against it, allowing himself to remain unscathed.

Virno: I saw it... I-I still see it. I know where to find the sword...

Virno slowly gets back up, as his senses return to him and he gets accustomed to being able to move his physical body once more.

Ballo: What happened, young man?! What did you see...?

Virno lets Ballo know what Greed shared with him.

Ballo: Greed... So the curse has manifested itself before you, claiming your own appearance as his own, guiding you towards the sword's location. Virno, you must not be led astray by its words, no matter what! It has been imprisoned for centuries, yearning for release... Now that it has latched onto a suitable host, it will do everything in its power to ensnare and tempt you. Do not fall prey to its rhetoric!

Virno sat at the edge of one of the beds, with his elbows supported on his knees and head hanging between his shoulders, staring down at the ground.

Virno: He showed me what I am. He knows me better than I myself do... He knows I need that sword, knows what I intend to use it for. I'm sorry Ballo, but if there were any traps it laid before me, I must have already fallen for them... I will do whatever it takes to get that sword, and it knows it.

Ballo slowly walks back and forth across the rooms, arms behind his back, his hands gripping each other tightly.

Ballo: It is by no means bad that you feel that way... In fact, it is necessary. If one is to wield the sword of greed, he must become the very embodiment of that sin. To embrace greed is to embrace desire itself, to experience desire so powerfully that nothing but your own mortality will stop you from pursuing its object... To stop at nothing to see it come to fruition. That is true greed.

Virno lifts his head up, nervously looking at Ballo.

Virno: Is that the kind of person I should strive to be...? It sounds... Extreme. I-it doesn't seem right.

Ballo: Only because words fail to capture the reality of choosing such a path. They leave behind the reason... And they leave behind the exhilarating feeling.

Ballo stops his march, turning around to face a dumbfounded Virno.

Ballo: Let me exemplify -- to put oneself in danger, enduring unimaginable pain far beyond the limits of one's body, still bracing for yet another devastating blow... To take up arms in combat, taking the lives of the people before you, people with families and friends of their own, much like yourself... Doesn't all of it sound so... Terrible? So wrong?

Virno's eyes open wide.

Virno: I-...

Ballo: You. Indeed. You are guilty of all of those and more, but that is only a part of the point. The other part takes the form of a question -- would you not choose to perform similar actions, knowing now better than you ever did, how potentially horrible the consequences could be...?

Virno's eyes frantically dart around the floor, as he tries to think of an answer.

Virno: I don't know. Depends...!

Ballo thunderously claps once.

Ballo: Yes! Of course it does, but when it is a friend's neck on the line and only your sword can save them, then no matter how battered your body is or who stands at the other end of your sword, you will dive in to protect them. Is this not who you are, Virno...?

Virno: It is... And I'd never change that.

Ballo: ... And does it feel wrong to say that?

Virno: No... It feels like the only right answer.

Ballo: Then words be damned! Words can take an image and paint it in the brightest colors... But also in the darkest ones. You can never trust words alone. Pay them little mind, let instead what you feel guide your will. If no desire burns more fiercely for you than the desire to protect those dear to you... Then wear your desire brazenly. Hold onto it come what may, and your spirit will not waver. Remain true to what you believe in, and no mere words can sway you.

Virno shakes his head, taking his hands up to his face.

Virno: I can't anymore... I refuse to do just that. What I feel is the reason you lost your damn eyesight do begin with. It's the reason I murdered terrified men that could have lived on, the reason my ribs had been broken almost since day one of arriving in a new home and getting involved in fight after fight after fight... And who knows what else. I can't let my feelings guide my every action...

He clenches his fists, eyes locked onto Ballo.

Virno: ... But neither can I trust blindly in other people's judgement of how I should act. I'm sorry, Ballo, but if I'm going to resist the curse's influence so I can tread my own path and remain true to it, then it is only fair that I resist your opinion, too. You both have an idea of what I should do... But neither of you will be walking in my shoes. I will. So it will be my choice. Not the curse's, not yours... And not my transient feelings', not any longer. I will strive to look behind each of those veils that cloud and blur my judgement... So I can choose what I truly want. So that I can walk my path.

Ballo clenches his teeth as he smiles, nodding. He seemed pleased with Virno's stance.

Ballo: Fair... A very fair proposition. Then all I ask, is that you allow me to be your facilitator on that journey. Let my assistance provide you support in your path.

Virno smiles earnestly.

Virno: Of course. I'm sure you've got plenty of tricks you can still teach me... But no more unannounced spiritual torture sessions, old man. That was the first and last!

Ballo shakes his head, laughing.

Ballo: Rest assured, all future torture sessions will be adequately disclosed...!

With their goals aligned, Ballo and Virno decide to end the day and get some much needed rest. The night was short, although peaceful. In the brief hours they slept, they woke up refreshed and ready to continue onward with their travel to the sword's resting place. After a hearty breakfast provided by the inn, they notice there was still no sign of their driver. Upon inquiring at the reception, the attendant informed them that they had already handed in their keys and exited the establishment. Concerned, they head outside, searching for them.

Virno: He better not have left us stranded here...! What if it was a trap? What if he just dropped us off so he could tell Nox where we are?!

Ballo shakes his head, not convinced that was the case.

Ballo: I don't believe that. Mysterious as our driver is, one thing is for certain: only Clavia and the people she trusts most could pilot her inventions. If she appointed this driver to us, there must be good reason for it. We should be wary of what we share around them, both for our safety's sake and theirs, but I believe we can rely on them to get us where we're headed.

Virno: Let's hope you're right...

As they walk around the bend, directed toward the area where they had dismounted their vehicle, they see that it is still in the same place... Albeit not in the same shape. Virno and Ballo notice that a good chunk of it had been disassembled, with their elusive driver frantically searching for something amidst the several dismantled parts that littered the ground.

Virno: What the hell, she's taking the whole damn thing apart!

Ballo: That doesn't seem right...

They speed up their pace, approaching the grease-covered chauffeur.

Virno: Oy! What's the big idea here?! We're supposed to be chasing a large lake, not vehicle parts. Last we spoke, our goal was a destination, not a mechanical puzzle marathon...

The driver, who was fiddling with some parts under the vehicle, angrily slides out from underneath it upon hearing Virno's comment, banging its helmet on the side of the car as they do. The metallic clang gets a chuckle out of him.

Driver: Funny! What a funny guy you are! You know what isn't so funny? Clavia didn't pack any additional magic cells for this thing, and ours is nigh on empty! So you gentlemen are going nowhere, neither with the car broken apart nor pieced together...!

The driver gets up from the ground, wiping their dirty hands on their own clothes.

Driver: I've searched everywhere, hoping she had stored them in some compartment somewhere, or that there'd be something else we could use as a makeshift replacement, but it was no use... We're as good as stuck here!

Ballo shakes his head, disappointed.

Ballo: You went through all this trouble just for that...? I told you I could synthesize more fuel, you have but to help me get the end result just right.

The driver crosses their arms, unconvinced that it would work.

Driver: No offense mister, but do you have any idea how many weeks it took to perfect the exact formula used to power this thing? How many machines it takes to produce it...? You may be very knowledgeable in matters of magic no doubt, but if you think creating these magic cells is as easy as combining two thirds wind, one third fire, you've got another thing coming...

Ballo furrows his brow, taking offense to her comment.

Ballo: If you think all I do is combine arbitrary quantities of different magical elements, you're even more naïve than you assume me to be...! Where is this magic cell of yours?! Give it here!

She reaches for a compartment near the driver's seat, where she had temporarily stashed the nearly-empty cell.

Driver: You fancy blowing yourself up? Be my guest, just do it far from here! Clavia'd kill me if anything happened to her ride...

Virno looks at the mess of parts scattered across the floor.

Virno: Man... I'm pretty sure you're as good as dead and buried at this point, if that's the case.

The driver ignores Virno, grabbing a nearby wrench and some loose parts.

Driver: Aren't you full of jokes today... I'll of course put it back together just as it was, she won't notice a thing! Now go, get out of here, you'll just slow me down...

They get back under the vehicle, and start screwing something in.

Ballo: Come on, Virno. Let's find us a nice empty area nearby we can use to fill up this overly delicate and complex marvel of the modern age they call a "magic cell"...

Ballo said, sarcastically, as he turned away from the vehicle.

Driver: Hmph...!

With Virno's aid, they head for a secluded patch of land amidst some neighbouring woods. There, surrounded by nothing but the calmness and silence of nature, Ballo rolls up his sleeves, getting ready to work.

Ballo: Alright Virno, first things first -- find a way to open this thing, I need to get a feel for the essence inside it.

The magic cell seemed comprised of two main distinct parts: the first, was the cell itself -- a hollow, cylindrical glass component that allowed the magic within to be seen from the outside, sporting mechanical bases that seemed to feature some sort of mechanism to allow for magic to either enter the compartment when it is being fuelled, or exit it, when it is being consumed. The second part was, of course, the magic itself -- a glowing swarm of light blue particles that swam inside of the cell. In this case, the cell was so close to being empty that the magic within resembled a handful of tired blue fireflies, slowly flying and ricocheting off of its glass walls every so often.

Virno: Right... To open it...

Virno fiddles around with the cell, trying to figure out how the magic is supposed to come out. Eventually, he finds an assortment of small latches in one of the bases. By using his fingers to firmly keep the latches held down, a small opening is created through which some of the glowing fuel begins making its way out.

Ballo: I sense it...!

By clasping his hands together, Ballo encases the escaping magic in a sphere of grey energy, capturing it. He then rubs his hands together slowly in one direction, causing the sphere to begin spinning in mid-air. Ballo furrows his brow in a state of deep focus, seemingly attempting to analyse the magical essence within his sphere.

Ballo: You know Virno, it's not just about figuring out which different elements are at play... It's also about understanding the order and techniques that must be used in order to replicate the magic under study.

Ballo unclasps his hands, spreading them apart. The sphere expands in size, as several bolts of grey energy start bouncing off of its inner walls.

Ballo: But I myself am no amateur. More than replicating it, I plan on enhancing the formula used even further, to show our driver just how wrong they were...!

Multiple areas around the sphere light up with distinct colors, from which different types of elements are injected within. Fire, water, wind and earth were combined and re-combined several times over, producing a hue that ever so closely resembled that of the original handful of specs, who were slowly but surely becoming practically indistinguishable from the sea of particles that filled the sphere. All the while, Ballo had been bombarding the mixture with his own grey energy, which seemed to infuse an additional vim into the particles, causing them to rattle around agitatedly. Virno witnessed the spectacle with amazement, feeling like he had his own private fireworks show right in front of him. The clash of the different elements produced a beautiful display of colours and effects, all of which culminated in a homogenous amalgamation of light blue particles, each glowing unmistakenly brighter than the initial ones Ballo had started working with. Before long, the synthesis was complete.

Ballo: ... There. I only hope that I did not change the mixture too much, lest Clavia's invention may not be able to bear its increased potency...

By bringing his hands together and close to his torso, the sphere shrinks in size and approaches the tip of Ballo's fingers. As if molding clay, he then begins sculpting a very thin nozzle on the compressed sphere's surface.

Ballo: Bring that thing close to the sphere, Virno, and make sure that the nozzle is small enough to fit inside.

Virno carefully holds a single latch down, inserting the tip of the nozzle through the small opening.

Virno: Got it. Should be good now!

With a pinch of his thumb and index fingers, Ballo erases the tip of the nozzle. The particles jam-packed within the sphere shoot out from the newly-created opening, quickly filling the cell to the absolute brim. Virno lets go of the latch as he pulls the cell away from the sphere, effectively sealing the magic within the cell.

Virno: Well well old man, seems like you did it. I'm no expert on the matter, but this seems pretty decent!

The cell was glowing with a renewed energy. Warm to the touch, it practically radiated magic, and seemed to make for a fine source of fuel. Pleased with the outcome, Ballo and Virno make their way back to the inn, to hand the refuelled magic cell back to their driver.