Vergil remained standing on that small floating island, surrounded by an infinity that offered no direction, time, or purpose, his eyes fixed on the void ahead while his mind spun incessantly in search of answers that simply wouldn't come.

Months had passed—he knew this not from any change in the environment, but from the slow and silent deterioration of his own patience, from the constant repetition of thoughts that had already been explored to their limit.

Still, he wasn't someone who accepted the unknown without fighting against it, and however immutable that place seemed, he still searched for a loophole, a logic, any flaw that could be exploited.

He turned his face slightly towards Ophis, who remained seated exactly as always, swinging her feet slowly and carelessly on that reddish-purple surface that supported them both.

Her eyes were fixed on the impossible horizon, where the colossal presence of the Great Red still existed like an open wound in reality, distant and, at the same time, inevitably close.

That silent obsession she carried was almost palpable, a fixation so deep it made everything else… irrelevant.

"So tell me," Vergil began, his voice carrying a more direct tone this time, more impatient than before, though still controlled within his nature.

"How do we get out of here? And this 'receptacle' you mentioned… what exactly do you intend to do with it?"

Ophis didn't answer.

She continued swinging her feet.

Her gaze didn't move.

Not even a blink.

The silence that followed wasn't uncomfortable for her—but for Vergil, it quickly became irritating. He narrowed his eyes slightly, observing her for a few more seconds, waiting for any kind of reaction, any sign that his words had even been considered.

Nothing.

Vergil let out a light sigh, turning his face back to the empty space ahead, crossing his arms and letting his shoulders relax slightly, like someone finally accepting the futility of insisting on something that wouldn't produce immediate results.

"…Right," he murmured to himself, in a low, almost dry tone. "Forget it."

His eyes returned to the horizon.

To the dragon.

To that problem bigger than any of them.

"That makes sense," he continued, now more to himself than to her. "You're not interested in anything but him."

Ophis remained silent for a few more seconds.

But then…

"You have two children inside you."

Her voice came suddenly, without a change in tone, without emotion, as if she were simply continuing a line of thought completely independent of the previous conversation.

Vergil frowned slightly, turning his face back to her, now with renewed attention.

"…Repeat."

Ophis tilted her head slightly, still looking ahead.

"Two dragon children," she said. "Crymsaria… Nivara… names like that. They're two troublemakers."

Vergil's gaze shifted.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he analyzed the information, not because it was new, but because of the casual way it had been delivered, as if it were obvious, trivial within her perception.

"…Continue," he said, now more attentive.

Ophis then raised her gaze slightly, though she still wasn't looking directly at him.

"I'll use their power," she continued, with the same absurd simplicity. "And mine. I'll fuse it all."

A brief pause. "Create a dragon core."

Vergil remained silent, absorbing each word with precision.

"A core…" he repeated slowly. "Capable of…?"

"Absorbing your soul."

The silence that followed was denser than any other up to that moment.

Vergil didn't answer immediately.

His eyes remained fixed on her, analyzing, dismantling, reconstructing the idea presented, trying to find flaws, inconsistencies… or hidden intentions.

"…And that would give me a body?" he finally asked, his voice low, controlled.

"Well, technically."

Direct answer.

Without hesitation.

Without further explanation.

Vergil opened his mouth slightly to continue, to delve deeper into the issue, to understand the mechanism behind it—

"You just don't have a body because you don't want one."

She interrupted him.

Just like that.

Vergil was silent.

For a full second.

Maybe two.

His eyes narrowed slightly, not in irritation, but in sheer logical confusion, something rare for someone like him.

"…Explain that better," he said, now with a slight weight in his voice.

Ophis finally turned her face toward him. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Her dark eyes met his.

And, for the first time since they were there…

It seemed she was truly looking at him.

"You are an Irregular," she said.

Vergil didn't answer.

But he heard.

"Your body and soul are one and the same," she continued, without altering her tone. "They are not separate like the others."

A brief pause.

"You haven't lost your body."

Another pause.

"It's being blocked."

Vergil felt something click.

Not completely.

But enough to generate an immediate connection within his mind.

His eyes narrowed even more.

"…Blocked by what?"

Ophis blinked once.

"Probably holy magic."

And then…

The memory came.

The seven swords.

Driven directly into their hearts. Vergil remained motionless for a few seconds, his gaze shifting slightly, not into the void, but inward, revisiting that moment with a new perspective, connecting what had previously seemed merely a method of execution with something far more specific.

"…I understand," he murmured.

His fingers moved slightly, as if they could still feel the exact point where each blade had pierced.

Sealing.

Not destruction.

Interruption.

Not end.

He then raised his gaze again, facing Ophis with a different expression now—less confused, more… strategic.

"…So my body still exists," he concluded.

Ophis nodded slightly.

"Yes."

Vergil took a deep breath, slowly.

Organizing.

Evaluating.

Recalculating.

"…And how do you intend to get around this?" he asked, now directly.

Ophis tilted her head slightly again, as if the answer were too simple to require effort.

"Giving absolute resistance to holy power."

Vergil raised an eyebrow slightly.

"…Absolute?"

"Yes."

She answered without hesitation.

"I will place draconic energy into your soul." A brief pause. "And force adaptation."

Vergil remained silent for a few seconds.

"You won't become a dragon," she added, as if it were an irrelevant detail. "But you will gain advantages."

Vergil's gaze remained fixed on her.

Analyzing.

Weighing risks.

Considering possibilities.

Draconic energy.

Forced adaptation.

Absolute resistance to holy power…And a body again.

He let out a small sigh through his nose.

Not from tiredness.

But from a decision being formed.

"…Will this hurt?" "He asked, in a slightly dry tone.

Ophis blinked.

Once.

"Yes."

Vergil closed his eyes for a brief moment.

And then smiled.

A small smile.

But real.

"Great."

His eyes opened again, now carrying something that hadn't existed in that empty place for months.

Intention.

"Then let's do it," Vergil said smiling.

…

[Los Angeles ~ Agares Mansion]

The silence inside the Los Angeles mansion was neither peaceful, nor comfortable, nor even bearable. It was a heavy, almost suffocating silence, as if the very air were saturated with anxiety and repressed expectation, pushing each of those women ever closer to emotional collapse. Time passed too slowly, each second dragging on like silent torture, and this only made everything worse, because the absence of news was more cruel than any negative information could be.

Katharina was the most affected by this, and this was evident in how she couldn't remain still for more than a few seconds. Her footsteps echoed across the living room floor in an irregular rhythm, pacing back and forth like a caged animal, her arms crossed and uncrossed repeatedly while her mind clearly spun in multiple directions at once. There was irritation, there was fear, there was frustration—and all of this mixed into a constant restlessness that allowed no rest.

Ada, on the other hand, displayed her anxiety in a more restrained, but no less intense way. Seated in one of the armchairs near the central table, she bit her nails almost compulsively, her eyes fixed on some point on the floor while her mind was clearly far away. The gesture was repetitive, automatic, an escape valve for something she couldn't completely control, and with each small snap of a nail breaking, her expression contracted slightly.

Roxanne dealt with it in a completely different, but equally revealing way. Sitting on the sofa, surrounded by open wrappers, she devoured sweets as if it were a vital necessity, as if each piece of sugar was the only thing preventing her body from collapsing under the weight of the accumulated tension. Her movements were quick, almost mechanical, grabbing one sweet after another without even really savoring it, just consuming, filling the void with something that would distract her mind for a few seconds.

"This is taking too long…" Katharina murmured, finally stopping in the middle of the room, running a hand through her hair with evident irritation as she stared at the door as if she could force some kind of response to emerge from there. "It doesn't make sense. We should have received some news by now."

Ada didn't respond immediately, still focused on her nails, but her eyes moved slightly toward Katharina, showing that she was listening.

"Maybe…" Ada began hesitantly, her voice low, heavy with uncertainty. "Maybe it's just… too complicated to send a message?"

Katharina let out a dry, humorless laugh.

"Complicated?" she repeated, turning sharply toward Ada. "We're talking about a tournament between entities that can literally destroy worlds. 'Complicated' is the least it should be."

Roxanne, on the sofa, raised her hand slightly, still with a piece of candy partially in her mouth.

"I don't think this helps much," she commented, chewing as she spoke, completely oblivious to the weight of the situation compared to the other two.

Katharina let out an irritated sigh, starting to walk again, unable to remain still.

"It's been too long…" she murmured, more to herself now. "Too long without any sign of Vergil… or Sapphire…"

Their names hung in the air for a moment.

Heavy.

Uncomfortable.

Real.

And then—

The mansion door opened abruptly.

The sound echoed through the room like a gunshot, immediately capturing the attention of the three, who turned their gazes in the same direction almost simultaneously, expectation instantly rising on their faces, as if this was finally the answer they had been waiting for.

Two figures entered.

Raphaeline.

And Stella.

Katharina was the first to move, taking a few quick steps towards them, her eyes fixed, filled with urgency.

"So?" she asked bluntly. "Did you get anything? Any information? Anything will do."

Ada also stood up, more slowly, but clearly just as interested, while Roxanne stopped eating for a second, looking in the direction of the newcomers with unusual attention.

Raphaeline, however…

She only shook her head.

Slowly. No rush.

No dramatization.

But that was enough.

The atmosphere seemed to grow even heavier.

"…The divine world is sealed," she said, her voice calm, but carrying a weight that made it clear this wasn't something easy to overcome. "Completely isolated. We can't access it, we can't observe it directly, we can't even accurately track the energy flow."

Katharina froze.

For a second.

"…Sealed?" she repeated, incredulous. "What do you mean 'sealed'? By whom?"

Raphaeline shrugged slightly.

"It doesn't matter much 'who' now," she replied. "The fact is that no one from the outside can interfere or even see what's happening inside."

Ada felt her stomach churn slightly at that, her hand slowly sliding down to the side while her fingers still trembled slightly.

"So… we have no way of knowing if they are…" she began, but couldn't finish the sentence.

Raphaeline didn't answer.

Not directly.

And that was an answer in itself.

Meanwhile, Stella simply walked to the sofa as if nothing was happening, sitting down next to Roxanne with absurd ease, taking one of the sweets without even asking permission.

"Hmm…" she murmured, examining the sweet for a second before taking a generous bite. "This is good."

Roxanne looked at her for a moment.

And then just nodded, going back to eating as well, as if it were a shared activity now.

The absurd normality of that moment contrasted violently with the tension in the rest of the room.

Ada took a deep breath, trying to minimally compose herself before looking at Raphaeline again.

"…Mom," she called, her voice firmer now, despite the evident anxiety. "There's… no way? No spell, no artifact, nothing that would even allow us to locate them?"

Raphaeline opened her mouth to reply—

"Everything's fine~"

The voice emerged.

Soft.

Drawn.

Laden with an almost irritating confidence.

And a tone… dangerously seductive.

They all froze for a moment.

And then turned their faces away.

At the same time.

On the sofa.

As if she had always been there.

There she was.

Aphrodite.

Sitting with a relaxed posture, one leg crossed over the other, resting her face in one hand while the other held a small orb that floated lightly above her palm. Her eyes shone with an almost amused interest, as if she were watching something extremely pleasant.

"Relax~" she continued, a small smile appearing on her lips. "Sapphire and Sepphirothy are fine." Katharina narrowed her eyes immediately.

"And how do you know that?" she questioned, taking a step forward.

Aphrodite merely raised the orb slightly.

"Look~"

Inside the translucent sphere, images began to form.

Distorted at first.

But quickly gaining clarity.

And then…

They saw.

The battlefield.

The destruction.

And at the center of it all…

Sapphire.

And Dante.

Fighting.

Violently.

Without any restraint.

The visual impact was immediate.

Ada brought her hand to her mouth, her eyes widening as she recognized the situation, while Katharina froze completely, her expression hardening as she realized the magnitude of it.

Roxanne stopped eating.

Even Stella tilted her head slightly, interested.

Aphrodite smiled. Satisfied with the reaction.

"See?" she murmured. "They're alive and kicking." A brief pause. Her smile widened slightly. "But… I wouldn't say they're comfortable."

"And Vergil?" Katharina questioned.

Aphrodite looked at the orb… then looked at Katharina.

"Well… Where is he?"

They all looked at her incredulously… "WHAT? WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!!"