Rebirth-Transcending All Beings-Chapter 53: Burden Carrier [4]

The pitch-black space enclosed them, swallowing all light and memory that would reach the place. The floor rippled beneath his feet — vibrating with a hum that never echoed.

Vergil trembled, his eyes widened as he looked away in both shame and guilt. The silence lingered in the dark abyss as his mind refused to look at her.

"Did you enjoy my story?" Elvira’s voice echoed as she spoke.

Vergil only bit his lips at her words. How could he have enjoyed that story? Everything was his fault.

Elvira took a step closer, spreading her arms wide open. "Come here," her voice was soft.

Vergil finally locked eyes with her, his left eye was crimson — she didn’t flinch, she didn’t mock, she wanted to embrace him.

Vergil walked forward slowly, before sprinting, the sound of his steps swallowed by the abyss as he crashed into her arms.

His face was now buried into her shoulders, his fingers cluthing the garment she wore as if letting her go would make her vanish.

The warmth he felt was too surreal to be a dream. For a brief moment, he was no longer the boy who opened the gate, no longer the Bastard who doomed their village.

Just a child who had found the light that had died out.

His chest trembled violently, as the sobs forced their way out.

The guilt that laughed at him, the fear of being alone once more — all of it collapsed in her embrace.

The tears came first, eyes swelling before dropping down like a torrent of rain.

"I’m sorry... I’m sorry," his mouth kept repeating the same words.

Elvira only hugged him tighter. "It’s alright. Now look at me." Her hands caressed his cheeks, gently tilting his face to look at her.

"You did nothing," Elvira repeated.

"But," Vergil sniffed as snot began running down from his nose. "I opened the gate."

"It was my fault," Vergil said, looking at her with reddened eyes. "So why aren’t you saying it?"

"Is a grandmother not supposed to take their grandchild’s side?"

"Now tell me, do you think everyone is perfect? Everyone in the world makes mistakes, no matter how powerful or smart they are."

"Even I," she muttered. "I should have stopped Ardin, I should’ve died with him."

"These thoughts have plagued my mind for years along with the death of my child. But only when you came."

"Only when you came, did I finally find relief and happiness." Her voice shook before letting out a single tear.

"What happened to your eye?" Elvira asked.

Vergil’s hands tightened around her frame. "I.. I,"

"It’s alright Vergil if you don’t want to tell me — as long as you’re safe."

Vergil’s body trembled once more. "But, it was because of me that everyone in the village is dead."

Elvira didn’t speak, only caressing his raven-black hair. The abyss around them pulsed with a heartbeat, signalling their brief time together was coming to an end.

"Vergil, even if I forgive you," she whispered in his ear. "The others may not think the same."

"They will hate you, curse you, and mock you from the grave.’

She paused.

"So don’t ask for forgiveness, they will never forgive you." Her voice turned sharp and cold. "

"So keep moving forward, and make their sacrifices worth something."

"But make sure to protect those close to you," her voice became lighter. "Take care of Eleanor."

"Be strong Vergil, not for me but for yourself."

"Yes... Yes," Vergil promised, nuzzling into her warmth. The space vibrated once more, closing in on them like a trap that neither wanted to escape from.

"Go back to my cottage. The drawer should still be intact." She smiled. "In there, you will find two recommendation letters to the academy. One for you and for Eleanor."

"... but,"

"The academy is full of monsters, if you want to survive, you must get stronger."

"Do you have a way to hide that eye of yours?" Elvira asked.

Vergil nodded. "Yes... I do."

"Then go Vergil."

The abyss around them pulsed for the final time, closing in slightly before haulting in its path with a massive thud.

As Elvira’s form began to turn into a white, pale light that slowly dissipated.

Vergil’s eyes widened, his fingers trying to grab the pieces of light to put her back together.

The light drifted through his fingers like drifting snow with a vroom. No matter how many times he grasped or clenched his arms. There was nothing to hold.

The fragments of her form floated up, dissolving into the dark like fireflies fading into the night

"No, stop... wait." His voice cracked, panic flooding through his chest as he reached again and again — desperately trying to gather the light to piece her back together.

.

But the abyss did not care for his desperation nor the agony he felt inside

Vroom!

Vergil’s eyes welled with tears once more.

"Grandmother."

It was the first time, Vergil had called someone that — and the last time he would be able to call her that as she lived.

Elvira’s eyes widened as her body began to fade. White light spilling from her eyes as he proudly spoke her final words.

"Grandson."

And finally, her form disappeared into nothingness.

Vergil’s knees collapsed to the floor, before finally resting his back against the darkness.

He smiled at first, laughing hysterically. The tears that once flowed had stopped — he was tired but he could no longer.

After being reincarnated by Weever, he promised himself he wouldn’t be weak. He sought power no matter the cost.

He had already committed the malicious deed, killing others in order to obtain a stone.

Yet it cost him more than he ever could have imagined — the weight felt like the world was crushing him beneath its force.

His gaze lingered upwards, past the black ceiling that encased him, passed the blue sky where birds spread their wings.

And beyond space where planets and stars lingered and existed.

"Let’s meet again, God."