datadiving | ???-1: THE AFTERMATH

???-1: THE AFTERMATH

In the ruins of the city of Lust, a small creature roams the hollow streets. Though the husks of the damned still wander, any seeking easy prey are quickly convinced to seek their sustenance elsewhere by the sting of Hell Energy. Any creature that can hold energy orbs in its palm is a threat to be avoided.

A strange being. It wears concealing clothes, already marking it as an oddity, its face almost entirely concealed save for the two glowing eyes that peek out from under its hat. The style and fashion of them is direly outdated, a human affectation gifted to it long, long ago, even by the standards of Hell.

It's raining again, Vivi thinks to himself, since there's nobody to say it to. His siblings are somewhere else in Lust, if they haven't delved down to the lower levels, seeking their favored prey - machines, husks, anything that they so wish that sates their desire for violence.

Once they were meant to be....he doesn't recall, exactly, what they were meant to be. Were they meant as hope? A tithe to Heaven? A soldier that served the souls of humankind, rather than Hell? Something else altogether?

Minos is dead now, truly so. He had felt the loss in his awakening, that he was not there to greet them.

But still, they were truly free now, with no purpose at all. That meant something, didn't it?

Vivi wanders the empty city, sheltering from the rain under a rotted awning, just watching. Waiting for something interesting to happen. If he strains his senses, though, he almost thinks that he can feel the presence of something that came from Heaven...

Surely, though, that's a mistake. The last time something from Heaven had come down here, the world had ended, at least this small part of it; he had felt the rupture.

But there's nothing left here to end. So he must be imagining it.

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He rubs his eyes, feeling that strange hot tingle in them even though nothing's wrong with his vision. It takes him a moment to respond to Gabriel's words; the outside world trickles in slowly as he wakes from his trance, like blood, or rain.

"I'm...okay. Just tired." He wobbles to his feet nevertheless, testing out his range of motion - he still has some reserves left, that's good. He feels emptied out, like a cup without liquid, but the cup is still there and real and solid.

(He turns towards the warmth like a flower towards the sun (if flowers do indeed still exist anywhere, in Hell or otherwise). He isn't immune to positive reassurance, to being told he's doing well.)

"It's not too bad...I'm only a little drained."

"Do not overexert yourself. The danger is gone, you must take time to rest." It was as if he'd simply flipped a switch, all the rage and battle fervor gone in the blink of an eye, replaced with a tone as even and soft as a prayer. Where all that emotion had gone, well... Chances were good it was never actually gone to begin with.

But for now, for a moment, the angel actually embodied that once so plentiful love it was said The Father once had. Perhaps He did, but the memory of His glory was so clouded and faded now, he couldn't quite be sure if this too had only been so much propaganda.

"Just for a moment." Just to be sure. As much as he would have liked to have told Vivi to stay here until he felt whole again, he couldn't be sure how long that would be. And truly, truly, the last thing he wanted was to flicker out and die here in Lust upon an empty street, before the greasy remains of lowly fucking vermin.

"Okay."

He sits down again, for a moment. A few minutes tick by before he stands up again, this time much less wobbly. A faint shimmer, like a heat haze, surrounds him as he continues to draw power from his surroundings simply to rejuvenate his internal storage.

He's built durably enough, at least. Though no doubt a sword or the claws and projectiles of demons could tear through him much like paper.

"You're in a hurry, right? We should go. I don't...think I'll find anything here." He seems saddened by that admission, but he seems determined not to let it get to him.

Gabriel was more than familiar with the idea of sacrificing defense for offense, after all Heaven too contained their fair share of glass cannons. It wouldn't be the first time he'd entered combat with such, so whatever annoyance that might have conceivably existed at the idea of playing 'baby sitter' was promptly thrown away at the realization that so long as Gabriel was mindful of Vivi's limitations... He could almost be considered 'indispensable' now.

It certainly helped elevate the little guy from 'atonement' to 'companion' in a matter of seconds, roughly as long as it took for Vivi to cast that all consuming fireball.

Of course it was noted the precise amount of time it took for Vivi to regain his strength (impressively short, extremely efficient), and that information was neatly filed away for later.

"I am running on a bit of a tight schedule, yes. And it seems you're correct; I don't think there's anyone else left to find here." There was, if nothing else, a slight note of sympathy in his voice that did well to soften the tone and diminish what would have otherwise sounded abrupt and pushy. He was trying.

For as little as he actually may have felt for most of the souls in Hell, Vivi clearly didn't share that sentiment. There was no reason to be unnecessarily cruel.

"The entrance to the next level isn't far, if you can fly anyway." Which, you know... One of them here was clearly better suited to that than the other. Look, time was of the essence and he really didn't want Vivi wearing himself out trying to keep up in the air when he could be using that energy to nuke things.

"I can of course carry you easily. Time is of the essence after all and walking is time consuming." Emphasis on the consuming bit. It was almost a question! Almost 'may I carry you'! It effectively was if... lacking in any indication that he would take any other answer.

... Sorry Vivi.

It's clear that Gabriel doesn't show as much sentiment for the denizens of Hell as he does; he thinks that makes sense. He's an angel, after all. Heaven and Hell are separated for a reason.

They make a strange pair, he can't help but think. A creation of Hell's sinners, protected by someone made in Heaven. The world has turned upside-down in more ways than one. But he's not ungrateful for that respite from the cruelty and pain he's been born into, a pulsating, malicious realm that delights in punishment. It's a small, bright taste of kindness. He can't help but want to give it back tenfold.

"You want to carry me?" He blinks, clearly startled by the offer but not particularly offended. "Um, if it's not too much trouble...I don't mind." He's quite light, after all.

"I won't get in the way of your swords or anything, right?"

Most would call this kindness 'scraps'. Meager, meted out like a miser trying to hoard pennies. It would have been a somewhat correct statement, if only because those hungry little scraps were only what he could manage to scrape together. Sharing those little pieces of empathy when he could manage it. Perhaps it wasn't surprising that the creation of a sinner would still find himself fed by it, after all, it'd still been more than enough for the Ferryman. Hell was cruel, kindness so often nothing more than a distant dream or a bitter joke.

Even crumbs were better than nothing. Gabriel knew this. It was all he had to give Vivi, and he did it without hesitation nor second thought. The boy deserved at least that much.

"I wouldn't make the suggestion if I didn't." The tone was unintentionally brisk, and it contrasted with the relative gentleness that it was spoken with. In a rush, but still trying to show a manner of patience.

"Of course it isn't too much trouble, I don't even need my swords for most of profane trash that wanders here. ... Present company excluded." Granted, if they came across another hoard of that size he'd certainly have to put him down.

Somewhere with a good vantage point over the battle field specifically, he'd plenty of plans to ensure a safe and most importantly, swift arrival at whatever level V1 had managed to progress to. He knelt, gesturing towards himself. No he wasn't going to just snatch him up, he wasn't quite that rude.

Though granted, the instant Vivi might accept that offer, the sudden upwards motion of the angel taking flight might be a little, kinda, maybe obscenely fast. No, really, he wasn't kidding about that tight schedule. He was holding on tight to Vivi, with the absolute expectation that Vivi would do very much the same, sooner rather than later.

Even if it's a mere crumb, those crumbs are real, real enough to matter to a soul as starved as Vivi's. Those brusque scraps of kindness and consideration are his siblings' method of showing care as well, like Vivi is some strange baby bird they're not quite sure how to take care of but feel some responsibility for.

Vivi obediently clambers onto Gabriel, holding on tightly to his armor and making sure his hat can be pinned by at least one hand. He knows enough about being flown around that it makes things easier if he clings to the sturdier parts, though he wonderingly notes that Gabriel is nowhere near as frail-feeling as his siblings are. Heavy materials would make it harder for them to fly, after all.

But angels are built differently, it seems.

In acceleration, too. It's faster than he's ever been flown before. He can't help but squeak in alarm, initially, as the angel takes off incredibly fast.

He really must have somewhere to be.

It would not be the first time Gabriel had carried someone, though the diminutive size of his cargo was something new. He braced a hand against Vivi's back when he heard the little noise, ensuring now that both arms would be firmly holding the boy. Reducing speed wasn't an option after all, but he could always adjust his grip.

The city sped by like a blur, one might almost imagine they were less flying and more shifting through the entire level of Lust. Somewhere in the howling wind of it all, Gabriel had seen fit to tuck his head down just a little.

"Close your eyes." He wasn't slowing down. And he knew what kind of effect that might have on someone unused to it. Cruelty was, as ever, pointless, and he couldn't just allow himself to keep going without attempting to offer some kind of assistance.

"We'll be arriving within the next layer soon, and I fear our destination lies past that. The shift between these realms may prove uncomfortable for you witness at these speeds."

After the initial fright has worn off, he looks to his heart's content - as much as he can look, at this speed. He's never seen Lust from quite this height or speed before, and it's a novel experience.

"Oh! Okay." Thankfully for Gabriel, Vivi's curiosity is overridden by the fact that Gabriel seems to know what he's doing and he should listen. He dutifully closes his eyes, though he does open his other senses regardless - he wants to know if he'll feel the same thing Gabriel does as they both shift through, or if it'll be different for him since he isn't an angel.

The comedy of ignorance: Gabriel would never know that Vivi could have certainly taken the sight, and Vivi would never know either. As far as he was concerned, the amicable little construct would probably get whatever the construct equivalent was of motion sickness and.... he didn't know, explode? Surely, he wouldn't be able to handle it.

It doesn't take long to reach, and then pass through Gluttony either, and while their stay there wasn't long, it would still leave a lasting impression for all those with noses to smell it.

By the time they had reached Wrath however, the speed would drop. Perhaps unsurprising considering the pounding rain and wailing winds, and Gabriel gave absolutely no indication that it could possibly be anything else as he spiraled for a moment overhead, taking stock of the spinning whirlpool that lead to the next layer.

"We need to stop here for a time." It came abruptly, and naturally he expected no argument from Vivi. It wasn't out of some authoritarian sense that he would not be disobeyed... He just didn't expect it. The boy had been so agreeable thus far, arguing didn't quite seem to be in his nature at all. A good thing too; he had no desire to explain the reason why. His body ached in a way it never had before, the first touches of a soul deep exhaustion starting to tug at him.

Slowly, he'd touch down upon the docks before the old Ferryman's empty shack, Gabriel taking a moment to compose himself and disguise the sound of heavy breathing.

"We will continue shortly I... Just need to examine a few things..."

He dutifully covers his eyes as they shift layers, though when he's not doing that he's clearly looking his fill. To someone who has never experienced anything but the abandoned city he woke up in, it's a new and novel thing.

As expected, Vivi doesn't argue - partially because there's no reason to, but also because he can hear Gabriel's breathing faltering. He wriggles out of Gabriel's grip, examining the water curiously. He keeps one hand firmly clamped around his hat as he leans over to watch its movements.

He wonders if he should ask if Gabriel's okay. He doesn't sound okay, but maybe that's just what angels are like. Even Heaven has people who get tired, it seems...though in Hell just about everyone and everything seems tired except Hell itself.

"It's nice here," he says, despite everything. "I like the rain."

"Be careful upon the docks." That much he wouldn't really have to explain; the constant rain had turned them slick and dangerous, and the roiling sea beneath was black and endless. The thrashing, mindless husks that fought for a chance to breach the surface were by far the most dangerous feature of Wrath however, and while Gabriel wished to simply enter the shack to rest, he couldn't in good faith leave Vivi out here unattended.

No longer out of a concern that the boy couldn't defend himself, but simply out of concern for what might happen should he lose his footing. After all, the Ferryman had nearly perished in much that same fashion, and the soul had been nothing short of exemplary.

So, there he stood for a time, letting the rain beat down with the door before him open. Vivi liked the rain, and who knew when he'd ever get a chance to visit this place again? Eventually, he did move inside, if only to get out of the torrential downpour. Still wasn't keen on letting the other out of his sight though.

"It used to be a river, a long time ago." Before whatever calamity happened in the mortal world that caused its banks to swell to an unfathomably large ocean. "What do you know of the Ocean Styx, Vivi?" ... Yes, he'd ask this time, rather than simply assume ignorance.

The heat that Vivi generates instinctively does little to stop him from getting wet, but it does keep him from slipping into the water by accident. He looks his fill, and then finally retreats into the shack. He begins to steam as soon as he's not getting rained on, drying out more or less on instinct.

"The souls of the dead sleep there," he says, "or they used to. Now they're all crushed together into some kinda big...thing. That's all I know...it used to be peaceful once, but it's not any more." He tilts his head in thought. "But it's Hell, so maybe they only looked at peace?"

He looks out at the open door, enjoying the relative quiet, the sound of the endless rain. "It's still kinda peaceful, though. Even if it's sad. I can hear them crying, sometimes."

Edited 2025-05-29 15:31 (UTC)

"The souls of the wrathful. In life they gave themselves over to anger and allowed their passions to consume them. In death, they fight among each other for air, and for passage upon the ferry." It once gave the appearance of peace, if nothing else. The bodies at the surface now roiled and writhed amongst each other, pushing each one down beneath the surface in a desperate, selfish bid to reach land.

"Beneath lies the sullen, those who repressed their rage and never once sought to quell it. They simply sink to the bottom, remaining there for all eternity." It wasn't a kind story, nothing in Hell ever really was, save for Limbo. Even then it was still punishment of a kind though.

How many among them regretted it, he wondered? Gabriel shut out that crying, Vivi's mention of them almost serving to amplify the sound to him.

"Those who have submitted to wrath found no joy in the Father nor their fellow man, choosing violence and hatred over the beauty gifted to them by virtue of being given life. Their lack of gratitude remains, as ever, unforgiven." Even with the Council gone, even with Hell fast approaching it's own destruction. It all felt so... terribly pointless.

"... Perhaps it will see true peace soon enough." And oh, how tired those words sounded. He... needed to sit down for a moment, sinking into a nearby chair beside a long dead fireplace.

"Oh." He looks out at the rain, watching for movement in the water.

Vivi glances at Gabriel, how tired he seems to be...

Even angels get tired. He looks at the fireplace, at the scattered remains of a small woodpile long abandoned, and dutifully collects them. He casts them into the fireplace, setting them alight and warming the cabin just a little.

"The Father doesn't sound like he's very good with mistakes." It's a purely innocent observation. It's not as if he's been given any theological grounding. "Is all of Heaven like that?"

This wasn't what Gabriel was used to. Frustration and anxiety bubbled beneath that bone deep exhaustion, well aware of how alien this sensation was, and what its continued growth meant. Twenty four hours, before the lingering embers flickered and died. And him with it. He shouldn't be in here, he was wasting time.

He had to conserve energy, he had to linger here for just a while, just a little bit... To hope that he'd regain anything at all was futile, but...

"No- No He... There is an expectation of perfection, but-" But what? But what? To say forgiveness was possible would be a lie, he'd just said it himself after all. "It's... If He were..." If He were here, would it have been any different? Oh, Gabriel remembered Lucifer, how could he not remember his brother? If He were here, it would be all the same. "... If He were here... Perhaps He could have been swayed now." But it was far, far too late for that. The truth sat so bitter on his tongue, and his voice wavered faintly. No, he didn't believe that even were He here, his decision could be changed. But to admit that was a step too far for Gabriel.

He did at least have one thing he could hold on to: "... Heaven used to be."

Vivi doesn't really have much experience with frustrations and sorrows beyond his own. Certainly, he feels for the souls of the damned, but part of that is the lingering feelings of the souls that have been woven together to give him life. It's a different thing entirely to see someone struggling and hurting in front of you.

And he is a creature born of Hell, after all. He feels that bubbling, roiling conflict, the taste of which Hell adores, albeit faintly. The sense of pressure building, that something is off.

He knows he's said something that's hurt Gabriel. He's not sure how, or why...

He shuffles over to Gabriel's chair, plopping himself down beside it. He reaches over to hold the angel's hand with his own small one.

"Can you tell me about it? Um, Heaven, I mean." It's not a place he'll be able to see, he thinks. But maybe Gabriel will feel better, if he talks about it.

Gabriel wasn't sure what he expected to hear in return from Vivi. His explanation to the boy, or rather his excuses, were poor, and he knew this. Nothing that he said had been comforting, nothing to speak to the supposed glory and endless love of the Father. He felt a failure for it, unable to weave the truth in a way that might excuse it all.

Even now, to speak against Him was impossible, he couldn't even bring himself to question a corpse.

So when Vivi sat beside him and rested his hand upon his own, the wave of confusion was if nothing else, understandable. Why? When nothing he'd said spoke of splendor or kindness? When it was a realm the boy would never be given the grace to see?

"It's... peaceful." Moreso now, but that was something he omitted. "Pristine. Limbo still falls far short of its splendor and calm, but it is far closer to it than anything here. Perhaps-" when this is finished, his words caught on the suggestion like dust, and he swallowed. "When... I have time for it, I can take you to the upper levels to visit it." An ugly, bitter thing to lie.

"The souls that reside there are joyful and content, living for all eternity free of pain, or want. Heaven itself is a sprawling city that bleeds into golden meadows and lush forests, the skies are ever clear, and they are richest blue you have ever seen." The picture he painted was, at least for himself, both comforting and painful, a wistful tone seeping into his words the longer he spoke. Gabriel trailed off as he concluded, staring at the fire Vivi had made.

"... It was beautiful." They had deserved so much better.

"It sounds really nice. It sounds like a dream." He doesn't have much more to say than that, but he does keep holding Gabriel's hand. The hazy, fragmented memories of restless souls remind him of what meadows and forests and skies are like, but he's never seen any of those things himself; the only sky he knows is the darkness of Hell's layers, and there is little sprawling wilderness to be found in Hell. The burning sand of Greed, perhaps, but that can't be compared to Heaven, surely.

"Did you have a house there? Like this one." Do angels sleep? He doesn't really know...it's hard to imagine Gabriel doing, well, anything else besides running around and murdering things, though. He's just that type of person. "Did...the Father give you a place to stay when you were made, so you could enjoy Heaven with everyone else?"

It really didn't take very long at all for Gabriel to grasp what Vivi was actually doing. As unfamiliar as he was with the idea of someone attempting to comfort him, he knew what it was like to give it. Questions asked not for the sake of obtaining any answers, but for the sake of the person giving them. In the wake of that realization, it had him quietly wondering what soothed him more: the memories the questions brought to mind, or the fact that the boy felt compelled to offer this comfort at all. "Beyond any dream you could imagine."

Either way, it felt so strangely bittersweet.

The answers to the other questions would not be nearly so pleasant, this he knew. It felt as if answering them properly would defeat the entire purpose of asking them to begin with. "I had a place for myself, of course." And that wasn't a lie, he could be happy with that. "And it was one that I was proud to have been given." He was fine. See? It was working, he promises. One might almost imagine there was a smile in that tone as he spoke, the sentiment was genuine after all.

"... Thank you." For this.

Oops, caught. He really had just been saying whatever came to mind to try and cheer Gabriel up (and because he really was curious about Heaven, a place it was likely he'd never see even if he lived as long as Gabriel did), and it...sort of worked?? Maybe?? He at least sounded better.

He didn't really expect the thank you, though.

"Oh! Um. It's okay." He doesn't move his hand away. If anything, he just clings on more. "You sounded really tired, so...I wanted to do something to make you feel better. I can't really...fix anything, or make you less tired, but..."

He had to do something. To repay this favor that he had asked the angel for. That's what he knows, was taught so long ago - things should be fair.

"It's alright." Better not to let Vivi focus upon that facet too hard. There was nothing he could do to fix that, that much was right. "You've helped me, and that is all that matters." The scale of it, how much it comforted him, how long it would last didn't matter as much as the fact that he'd done anything at all to begin with.

Gabriel stifled the urge to sigh as that soul deep exhaustion sunk in deeper, the light of the angel's wings and halo flickering. He'd let them go out, focusing on keeping anything other than the basics necessary was taking more out of him than he'd like to admit.

"Vivi, would your siblings be able to find you? Just in case we become separated, and I'm unable to locate you myself." Frame it as a matter of preventative preparation, it was better than what he feared the truth might be. "Or would you be able to return to Lust yourself?"

He just nods, his troubled expression clearly showing on his face, but he mercifully says nothing more about it.

"We can find each other if we need to. And I can kinda fly if I try hard, so you don't need to worry about me." He gives Gabriel's hand a little pat. He still doesn't move his hand away. "If we get separated, um...I'll be okay."

He doesn't ask will you be okay? because he thinks he knows the answer to that already and it's probably going to be Complicated and Distressing, which are things Gabriel doesn't really need right now?? He has moved to treating Gabriel sort of like an emotional triage patient at this point, out of sheer i don't know what to do.

There's really no way to hide it, is there? Maybe he ought to stop underestimating Vivi's ability to read the situation. As pointless as it was to try and cloak what was happening, it wouldn't stop him from doing it anyway. Even the thought of just... telling Vivi why he was growing so tired felt violently wrong. Or maybe that was just himself refusing to admit it. He never finished what he came down here to do.

"... Good. I'm glad to hear that." That much he could say, and have it be true. It felt imperative to let him know that. It was good to hear. It gave him peace. Gabriel's tone hadn't shifted much, still calm and even, though exhausted.

"I'm going to take a nap, I think." Light, casual, calm. "It shouldn't be long."

Edited 2025-06-05 05:39 (UTC)

"Okay." He doesn't ask permission to hold Gabriel's hand while he sleeps; he just holds onto it and shows no signs of letting go, as if that small point of contact can protect him from any number of things.

"I'll keep watch. If anything happens, I'll wake you up."

That promise made, he leans against the side of the chair, trying not to stare at Gabriel too much. (Sometimes he can't help it, though; his eyes flick over, then back to the door. Keeping watch as he promised.)

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