Chapter Text
Two years before present date: 2018
Location: Inferno, Khepri's domain
"Truly, brother? This sorry act is growing tiresome, do you truly wish to continue moping over some pesky mortal?"
The words sounded warm, dipped in humour as if it were a strange attempt at comforting his sorrow but in reality they were drenched in poison, the meaning behind the uttered words were as clear as daylight. Sparda could feel the three set of eyes piercing the back of his neck as he resisted the urge to scowl deeply at the three women. That was until a pair of hands placed themselves upon his shoulders and he peered up at the mirror in front of him to see Khepri's chin rested on his jagged horns, an amused smirk resting on her crimson stained lips.
His older sister met his eyes through the reflection in the mirror as she draped herself against him dramatically, her sharp nails finding the heavy bags under his tired eyes. "My dearest brother, you know that I will always hold your interests in my heart but what Butterfly says is true. You have done nothing but lounge around since the death of that woman, completely ignoring the turmoil that has been stirring lately. This is beyond ridiculous and you yourself should see that this is destroying you" The man grimaced at his sister's words that slowly grew into ridicule and chastisement. He knew she was right but even so, despite the decades that had passed, Eva was still fresh in his mind as if their first meeting was mere days ago.
"Khepri speaks the truth, truly you cannot be thinking of mourning such an insignificant life for much longer? She would have inevitably passed anyway" Styx protests, clutching his upper arm as her circular headpiece clashed briefly with his own. Sparda felt anger flicker within himself and for a second, his sorrow filled eyes lurched to bare down upon his younger sibling with unattended rage. Styx's eyes widened as she released him from her grip, nearing closer to the hip of Khepri.
His anger was soon smacked away, quite literally by the knuckles of another. He's gaze darted upwards to see butterfly's eyes upon him, Sparda practically withered under the stern look of his twin. Her eyes matched his own, as did her horns and the diamond shaped jewels encrusted upon their foreheads. She would have slapped him again if she knew his thoughts, giving a brief mutter of how she could never resemble something so ugly. The thought brought a shadow of a smile to his lips.
"You're truly not yourself, Brother. What ever happened to Sparda, the dark warrior that slayed Mundus and saved the human realm? What would Eva think of this man that wallows in despair?" Sparda's eyes widened at the sound of his sister mention his wife's name, even Khepri and Styx were mildly surprised. It was well known that Butterfly had denounced her brother at the first mention of his mortal wife, she was ashamed that her kin had lowered himself so low. The fact that she'd said Eva's name was nothing less than a miracle. Butterfly lowered herself to her knees to gaze up at him with a saddened gaze that practically left Sparda in shambles.
He lowered himself, resting his forehead to his sibling's as weak tears fell from his crimson eyes and stained his ash cheeks. "I don't know how to move on without her" He muttered weakly.
"Do you think she'd prefer to see you wallow in sadness alone? You have children, Sparda, children who have long since seen their father and yet you stay here without lending them a single thought. We can only help so much but there is a time after death where you must accept and let yourself leave those who are gone. We cannot allow yourself to be held back by the dead, instead push forward and craft a life in which Eva will look down and smile to see you happy even if she isn't there with you" Butterfly listened to his choked sobs and weak half said words.
"Do not allow yourself to be consumed by guilt or loss, go to the mortal world and seek out the life that you left behind"
"That life is long gone"
"No, it isn't gone, you have simply forgotten it"
With a heavy shaken sigh, Sparda lifted himself from where he slumped, resting his own hand on Khepri that had remained on his shoulder. The four Sparda sibling stood in silence for a few moment, it was rare to see them like this, where they didn't clash or argue about the most meaningless of things but now they stood together and for a moment, Sparda drifted back to the days of war where Demons quaked in fear at the mere mention of the three sisters of Sparda.
"Perhaps you are right, I have been vacant for too long, Maybe you all will join me to the mortal world? You have not met your nephews, have you?" Sparda asked, a wide grin breaking his initial sorrow.
"No, I am far too busy" Butterfly announced suddenly excusing herself.
"I'll be returning to the river styx, The souls of sinner won't deliver themselves to the underworld!" Styx shouted, sprinting away.
"The mortal world is disgusting" Khepri hummed a look of mild horror on her features at his suggestion.
Sparda let out a hearty laugh at the sight of his sisters scrambling away, his laugh dying out soon but a large fang filled smile still resting upon his lips.
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Date: 2020, 27th of January
Time: 8:30 am
Location: New York city apartment
The early morning sun had just begun to peer over the far horizon, bleaching the tall buildings in a wave of light as the city had begun to awaken. Steam from a long forgotten coffee cup twinned the unique clouds that mingled outside the window in the sky, it seemed to dance with each breath she took, darting out erratically before quickly returning to it's original journey upwards. Rosa herself couldn't hide away the warm smile that had rested itself upon her weathered features, widening slightly as she watch the spark brighten in her daughter's eye with each word she uttered. For a woman in her late twenties, Ceraza still retained the child like wonder that Rosa had always been so fond of.
They both sat opposite each other on either side of the kitchen counter, both clasping a mug of coffee in their hands as they spoke.
"How did you two meet?" Ceraza asked, before pressing her lips to the rim of the coffee mug, visibly cringing at the taste, Rosa had only recently learned how to work the machine.
Rosa hummed softly, the edges of her eyes crinkling slightly under her fond smile. "That is a story that is far too long and far too old. Surely, you have other things that you wish to know?" She asked, raising an eyebrow, chuckling as a deep sigh escaped the younger girls throat. "Fine! What was Daddy like?"
"i thought you said that you met him with all that eyes of the world business?"
Ceraza rolled her eyes but not before a frown captured her expression for moment. "It quite hard to get to know your father when he's poisoned by the soul of a god, intent on killing you or simply being a brooding mess" Suddenly, a large snort escaped the older woman as a song a loud sweet laughter soon filled the kitchen, surprising Ceraza to say the least. Rosa wiped a stray tear away from her eye as her laughter seemed to quickly die down. "Balder was brooding! Well that's hard to believe" She said, her words clearly laced with blatant sarcasm which made her daughter chuckle.
"Balder was always a man who would rather suffer in silence, there were times where he would go hours brooding, only ever speaking of what was bothering him when i would ask and even then he would rant for what would seem like days. He was a good man though, determined and righteous until the end, he believed deeply in his beliefs and would always stand against those who stood before him with confidence that seemed to appear from no where. You remind me of him a lot actually"
Ceraza pipped up in her seat, her slouched form suddenly straightening upright. "I remind you of him? i always assumed i was like...you, obviously"
Rosa grinned widely, there were obvious reasons to why she would think that, being almost a complete replica of her in appearance. "He was confident and proud, never backing down in the face of anger but there was a softer side to balder that only a few would see and from what i can remember he had a particular liking for children but would never admit it. You also...have his nose" Ceraza nearly fell out of her seat as she leapt to pinch her own nose. "My nose!?"
"Yes, I was actually quite surprised, you resemble your father much more than i would've thought"
"You can't be serious. Jeanne, tell mummy that she's gone insane"
The white haired witch looked up from the magazine that she'd been reading as the two chatted, her narrowed examining eyes peering over the top of her crimson red glasses. Jeanne slowly raised an eyebrow which was joined with a mildly amused smirk. "Oh no, Rosa is actually quite right. Your nose is slimmer, Rosa's is more of a button nose. The bridge of your nose also has less of a curve, a lot like Balder's" Ceraza silently cursed to herself, sending a glare to her fellow witch, making Jeanne smile before returning to her reading, Rosa waved a hand loosely. "Now now, little one, there is no need to worry, your father was quite the handsome man. He'd been proud to see that you took even a little from him"
"Truly?"
"Oh yes, he use to rave for hours abut how he hoped you would take after him when I was pregnant. It was mostly him hoping that you would have his hair but alas your great grandmother's genes have remained strong even I resembled my mother and her mother before so it was little surprise that you turned out like you did"
"What was...your mother like?"
Rosa paused, her word catching in her throat. Ceraza almost immediately regretted her words until seeing the fond smile that slowly appeared on Rosa's painted lips. The older woman reached to grip her Umbran watch before slowly leaning toward Ceraza, her daughter watch silently as she slowly opened it up to see an ancient looking picture. It was an old amazingly detailed drawing of a man and a woman, the drawing itself had long since withered with age but not by much, though the man's face had long since disappeared, the woman's face remained clear as did the little baby that she held in her arms. "I...no longer remember my own Father's face, he was an umbra, one of the few men who had the ability to learn our talents as Umbra. He died when I was eight...maybe even seven and though I have few memories, all of them are happy ones. He would train me at a young age, announcing that no child of his would be anything less than a master of the dark arts" Rosa laughed lightly, her thumb brushing over the worn paper.
"Now my mother...she was an a wonder in my eyes. A talented woman, she worked as a scholar within the Umbra, recording and restoring history, researching old magic and creating spells and ruins. Many of the fighting techniques you use today were actually made by her. But...she was a cold woman, I don't remember what she was like when father was alive but I don't remember her ever smiling after his death, maybe she just loved him too much to be happy without him. You're grandparents were good people, I'm sure they'd be proud of you if they were here today"
Ceraza stared at her with wide eyes, after years of solitude with only ever having Jeanne, she never entertained the idea of having extended family. Her eyes fell to her hands that were wrapped around the grey mug. "Do you miss them?"
Rosa was surprised to say the least, falling silent for a few second. "As an umbra, you're taught how to deal with loss because despite our talents, we all still live dangerous lives. We are told to not allow death to control out actions, to save those who can be saved but don't risk others for the sake of saving a forsaken life. My mother and father knew this to so I'm positive that they met their deaths without a second thought. I will always miss them but I could've only clung to them for so long"
"Would you go back-"
"Don't ask that, Little one" The mother reached to cup her daughter's hands. "I will never regret meeting your father. I will never regret falling love with him. The only thing I regret is that I couldn't give you the life that you always deserved"
Ceraza wiped away a few tears, shaking of the initial sadness with a cheeky grin. "Well, how could you ever regret making this?" She asked, her voice laced with dramatics which earned a chuckle from a distracted Jeanne. Rosa raised an eyebrow, looking a her daughter with a amused look. "And here I thought that I raised you to be a bit more modest than that"
"Life is to short to be modest, Mummy. Now lets go, Jeanne, we still have to meet with our part time partners of the month. Would you like to join us, mummy?"
"Who are you two meeting?"
"Some contacts that Enzo is pairing us up with for a while. Dante or something, I'm not sure of their names"
"I'll come along then, that's much more preferable the being cooped up in this place"
Ceraza clapped happily, pinching the magazine out of Jeanne's hands before pulling her coat from the hook next to the front door. "Lovely, shall we head out ladies? We can't have these men waiting for us for too long?"