Chapter 5
Origin
As Dante rose out of bed the next morning, unable to sleep because of the events that took place the night before; he immediately headed outside to get some fresh air. Unlike the days before, Dante took a route that lead to a part of the city he was unfamiliar with. His intentions were to go to a quiet place where he could think, and where Nero would not run into him. As Dante continued to walk aimlessly among the territories, he came across an abandoned church temple.
“Hmmm….this looks like a good place to spend some alone time, and its far from the city so I’m pretty sure Nero won’t come around these parts.”
From the appearance of the church, it had been through some type of fire and mostly destroyed but definitely stable enough to support its some-what beautiful structure. A family of crows perched on the collapsed roof scattered as Dante approached. Dante pushed open the charred double doors of the entrance. He walked in to see the chaotic damage of the building. Most of the walls and ceiling were painted a pitch black, more than likely from flames, and many of the pews occupying the emptiness were broken in some way or form. Dante slowly paced through the destruction to find a pew that was almost untouched by damage. He sat down and let his thoughts flow. Any noise from the outside world was blocked out by the peaceful silence of the church, and so Dante’s concentration steadily flooded. Multiple thoughts that kept Dante from sleeping the previous night came to haunt his mind again. “How am I going to explain what happened? What is Nero gonna do? Am I gonna have to avoid Nero from now on? Is Nero and his friends gonna try to attack me? If they do attack me, what if I can’t control myself, and I accidently kill them? What if Enzo finds out about this, is he gonna let me continue to live with him?”
“Looks like you’re deep in thought Dante.”
Dante shocked by the sound of someone else’s voice turned to see a figure standing in the aisle. Dante rose from the pew and walked towards the figure to get a closer look of who the mysterious person was. With every step Dante took, anticipation weighed down each of his movements. Dante was now just a few feet away from the figure, and the figure stepped from the shadows to reveal himself….it was……Nero.
“Nero!....What are you doing here!?”
“Heh! A better question would be, what are you doing here?” Nero asked.
“Well I figured no one would come to an abandoned place like this, so I kinda came here to think about what happened last night. Look Nero I’m sorry for what happened last night, I let things get way out of hand and-”
“Let me stop you right there Dante. I followed you here, not to start another fight, because…well last fight we had, it didn’t end well for me. What I did come here for are some answers from you. I at least deserve that, right?”
Dante looked sternly into Nero’s eyes before answering.
“…yeah you deserve that. This is gonna be a difficult story to keep up with, but it will explain what happened last night. Ugh, this is..this is gonna be hard for me…I’ve…I’ve never told anyone about my past…..about what I am.”
Nero replied with hesitation, “What do you mean…what you are?”
“Have you heard the legend of the Dark Knight Sparda?”
“Yeah I have, in fact the community that adopted me is all about studying the legends of Sparda. They worship him like a god, personally I find it rather strange, since it’s just a myth.”
“What if I told you that it wasn’t a myth?”
“..Well I’d have to say you’re insane. There’s no way a demon existed, there’s no such thing as a demon realm. Why? Do you believe in the legend of Sparda or something?”
“He’s my father.”
“Wait what?..........No way.”
“I told you this was going to be hard to believe, but its true…Sparda existed, he had an affair with a female human named Eva. Eva was a member of a secret society known as the Umbra Witches. She specialized in the craft of healing and regeneration. In fact, that’s how my mother and father met was during a vicious war with demons that escaped the Demon Realm and came here to Earth. My mother served as a type of medic to my father; any wounds that he could not heal from, she would heal them herself. Over the years they built a bond unlike any bond ever shared between a human and a demon. So..yeah.. my mother was a witch, my father a full blooded demon and he sealed off the demon realm during that war; trapping himself on the other side. Later on in her lifetime my mother met a horrible fate as well.”
“What happened to her?”
“…When I was a kid she was…..killed by a pack of rabid demons…I don’t remember anything else. It really hurts to think about again..”
“Im sorry for your lose Dante, Im sure your parents were great, I feel a similar pain because I never got to meet my parents. I have no idea what happened to them and it seems like that emptiness is something you just can’t forget. But again, I’m sorry to hear that. I can’t believe that all the legends I’ve heard are true, it’s just unbelievable.”
“Yep it’s all true Nero, and I’m living proof of Sparda’s legacy. What you witnessed last night, me breaking your arm; that was just a small dose of the demonic power that resides within me. I let it escape, and I shouldn’t have; I hurt an innocent human being in the process. I’m so sorry. I hope you can find it within your heart to forgive me.”
“You did break my arm, but…I forgive you Dante. I shouldn’t have provoked you; it’s just as much my fault as it is yours and hey it could’ve been a lot worse I suppose. I mean you are a demon! You could’ve easily slaughtered me at your whim!”
“That’s why I try to keep my demonic energy concealed inside me, because sometimes when I let it free I can’t reseal it, and bad things happen to innocent people.”
They stood in silence, Nero unable to think of a way to respond to Dante’s last comment. Nero eventually broke the silence with another question.
“…Well not to bring up any bad memories, but I have to ask. The legends I’ve heard say that there are two sons of Sparda, twin brothers. Do you have a brother Dante?”
“Uhhh I guess not all the legends are true then, because I never had a brother. I was an only child growing up.”
“Interesting, okay well I was just curious.”
“I understand…..hey Nero?”
“Yeah?”
“You don’t think your friends are gonna tell anyone about last night do you?”
“Oh definitely not man, last night as they took me to the hospital I told everyone to keep everything that happened a secret. No need to get unwanted attention from the whole community. Plus Leon and Sam are away on trips. Leon is on his way to Europe to visit his girlfriend Ashley and Sam is on his way to Japan to visit his family.”
“What about Lady?”
“Lady’s at school, and I know she will keep everything a secret. She is very respectful when I ask her for something, she probably wouldn’t have told anyone even if I didn’t tell her to.”
“Thank you Nero, you don’t know how much I appreciate that. I’ve had to move from city to city because of my secrets.”
“Well I can tell you’re a good guy Dante, and this is gonna be your new home; even if you did beat the hell outta me haha.”
“Speaking of, how is your arm?”
“It is definitely broken, but the doctor said as long as I keep this cast on my arm for about two to three months it should heal up just fine. I told the doctor I was clipped by a car.”
“Nice cover up. How about we put last night behind us? Truce?” Dante asked as he put out his hand.
“Truce!” Nero said as he shook Dante’s hand with approval. “Come on let’s get out of here and get some grub, what do ya say?”
“Well I hate to decline, but I’m really not in the mood to eat right now, I think I’m gonna stay here a little longer and reminisce.”
“Okay dude, well I guess we will catch up and do something tomorrow.”
“Sounds good man.”
“Alrighty Dante see ya tomorrow.”
“See ya Snow White.”
“Hahaha shut up!” Nero chuckled as he left.