Virgilia..

Light flooded from the clock pendant's surface as we returned to the real world. 

Virgilia is absorbed into the pendant. Her voice echoed inside my head.

“I will remain inside here.” Virgilia said. “But if you wish for this crisis to end quickly, you could release me by calling my name.”

I hesitated.

The lake was in turbulent motion around me. The gate loomed ahead, warped and wrong, a wound that refused to close. All around me, demonic beings crawled for land fall.

Letting her out meant trusting something ancient.. something that, only moments ago, had been a demon that was apart of a mass destruction of lives that impacted my past.

But I do not have time nor the stamina to handle this warp gate on my own..

I gripped the pendant tightly, the metal biting into my palm. My heart pounding hard.

There's only one way to find out.

“Virgilia!”

The light burst out from the pendant.

Air rippled violently as the compressed space collapsed into itself, releasing what it had contained. The shockwave rolled across the lake, as her presence asserting itself into reality without resistance.

She emerged from my pendant, now uncorrupted in all her glory.

Virgilia, the wise one. the poet who was born too early to know embrace of light. 

Virgilia stood atop the water as if it were solid ground, tall and composed, robes flowing gently despite the absence of wind. No distortion clung to her form. No shadow lingered at her edges. 

The lake stilled around her.

“Good,” she said, stretching her arms with deliberate grace, joints rolling as if she were waking from a long sleep. “You may rest now, Hero. I'll handle this mess.”

I hadn’t realized how tense I was until those words reached me. My shoulders sagged, breath finally leaving my lungs in a long, shaky exhale.

I couldn't trust her yet.. but i have a gut feeling that she wanted me to win the duel.

If she really was an awful demon, she could've made any number of reasons to deny my answer even if it's correct.

And besides, i'm not even convinced with my own answer.. but she, the one who has more knowledge in the ways of the world than me, just accepted it? 

It doesn't make sense.. 

So i want to give her a chance.

I'll take a leap of faith here.. putting aside all my hatred and moral dignity. 

"Show me what you can do."

Virgilia lifted her hands in response. She didn't reply back.

Her fingers traced unseen lines in the air, movements unhurried, like a conductor guiding an orchestra no one else could hear. 

The air trembled in response, vibrating faintly that i could even feel it in my skin.

The horde of lesser demons around us were dragged backward.

Thousands of shadowed figures were torn from the lake’s surface, their forms unraveling as they were pulled toward the gate. 

Mouths opened in silent screams, limbs reaching for nothing as the overwhelming force seized them without mercy.

They were torn free all at once.

The warp gate began to collapse, folding onto itself under the pressure immense of concentration of demonic man influx that made my stomach twist. 

The gate offered no resistance. It didn’t thrash or flare. It simply gave way, crushed by an authority that left no room for question.

But the mess that followed felt wrong. When it was over, the lake sent waves of water up in the air, notifying everyone in the vicinity that something is amiss inside this lake where we stood.

I stared at her.

“You’re… incredible.”

The word felt insufficient the moment it left my mouth, but it was all I had.

Virgilia laughed softly, the sound light and genuine. “Naturally. Did you think a poet of the Agustian era wouldn't be able to handle this easily?” 

"I thought you were a man. That's what the history says."

She glanced at me sideways, amusement flickering in her eyes. 

“I’ve worn many names. None remembers the original. Not even myself.”

Then, she turned fully toward me and bowed down for me, taking one of my hand and placing it in her palms.

Up close, her expression was difficult to read. She was attentive in a way that made me feel uncomfortably seen.

“You showed me warmth.” she said. “Enough to remember what I once was.”

Her lips curved into a smile.

“Until I decide what it means to feel the embrace of light… I will remain at your side.”

“I’ll guide you..” Virgilia continued, “in all your victories and failures and until you ascend, Hero".

'Ascend..'

I don't know what she means by it, but I guess, i have to take responsibility for bring her soul out and trapping her inside an artifact.

I would much rather survive on my own and defeat the warp gates.. But, I do need a wise spirit to guide me. 
 
I sighed.

“Suit yourself.” I replied back.

Virgilia’s smile widened, sharp and delighted.

“Oh, Hero.” she said. “I intend to.”