//------------------------------// // A Dark Ritual // Story: Devil May Cry: A New Battlefield // by Lazy_ //------------------------------// Meanwhile, in the depths of Hell... "A soul, wandering halls of stone and mortar, an echo, bouncing from walls like ripples of water. A pebble, thrown by demons for fodder..." A dark figure walked slowly and menacingly across a dark room, the stone walls returning each and every word said in a shivering echo. It's body could not be seen for the shadow adorning it's shape, and an ethereal mane fluttered on a non-existent wind. With every hoofstep it came closer to the destination, a pool of serene water shining blue from the light held within. The sapphire light illuminated the otherwise blank and bare room in a pale aura that barely managed to reach the corners. This one had faded, merely a fraction of it's full strength remained. "I have spent many a month working towards this... towards you." A low zombie-like voice droned on, emanating from the figure. "And at long last, with her help, I can finally complete what I have started." As he finished he came up to the pool. The waters sat within a stone ring as green eyes gazed down upon them. A purple smoke drifted from red irises, disappearing into the darkness surrounding them making the eyes feel like the only life in the room. But there was another. "Each of these is a testomony to who you were, young one. Youthful, but oh so powerful." A small grey box was levitated from an unseen location and was rested upon the perimeter of the ring. With a quiet creak the hinges of the lid worked to open the box, allowing the figure access to the contents inside. There were only four small pieces, each of invaluable worth to the figure, inside of the box. The first, a small cutting of waxed cotton, a solid sky blue of one side and amber on the other. By the looks of it's condition it had been torn away from it's original place. The second, a clutch of white hairs from a mane, their reflective surfaces colouring themselves in silver light. The third, a tiny vial of red liquid. The blood of a body long gone contained within a small glass container. And finally the last and most important piece of all, a wisp of blue energy. The essence of something powerful condensed into a little ball of perpetually shifting life force. One by one, each of the objects floated their way over the pool, not even by the use of magic. The objects were returning to were they belonged, collecting to reunite with a form once lost. The vial's cap pulled away to let the blood fall into the pool, painting the waters a sickly crimson, before the hairs were added. They fell into the pool and seemingly dissolved, adding to the mixture. Third was the cotton. The piece floated down to join it's old home, fading away, evaporating. And last of all, the most important ingredient. The life of the soul was brought above the pool in a sphere of red magic before being dropped into the pool in a ghostly silence. As the light began to grow and the soul within the pool gathered the strength it needed, the figure took a few slow steps back. His curved red horn and grey coat beginning to show in the increasing brightness. On it's face was a satisfied grin stretching to an unsettling width to show teeth and a pair of vicious fangs. "Finally..." It breathed heavily, the weight of relief hanging heavily upon the sense of fulfillment it had achieved. "... You are reborn. Welcome back... "Vergil."