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 The style and fashion of them is direly outdated, a human affectation gifted to it long, long ago, even by the standards of Hell.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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The swarm of machines had passed some time ago, his defeat at the hands of a seemingly innocuous member of their ranks had distracted him from continuing his holy crusade against them. Gabriel now floated over a slowly darkening city, its once pristine streets slick with the blood of sinners and demons alike, the formerly sapient human souls reduced to nothing more than feral monsters.

Mortals seeking redemption, once upon a time. Shielded by a loving king who despite his position as judge still saw the good in them, who only ever wanted to give them hope for a better world. All gone now, and Gabriel's hands would never be clean again.

The city's defenses had been scrambled after the final destruction of Minos Prime, his soul now permanently erased from this world. Gabriel wouldn't bother to chase them, as far as he was concerned they were free to take out as many machines as they pleased. He'd even convinced himself it was for the better that the husks too be destroyed, they'd never regain their mind again after all, wasn't non-existence a mercy? He supposed he'd find out himself soon enough.

The thought wasn't allowed to linger, he'd work to do and hovering up here kicking his own ass for past mistakes wasn't going to accomplish anything. He'd have plenty of time for regret when he was dead.

Diving down into the abandoned streets, the angel's blades made quick work of a small battalion of streetcleaners, who's flames barely even kissed his armor before a single smart strike to the fuel tank ruptured the canister, with the machine's obliterated by the ensuing blast mere seconds after. Despite the nigh instant detonation, even that was too slow for Gabriel, simply blinking out of existence before materializing again some distance away. Nothing but weak rabble here now it seemed. Filth, streetcleaners and drones, the more powerful warmachines had pressed far deeper. Not a good sign in regards to his secondary goal here, as he began his hunt for life.

The swath of bloody devastation behind the angel was neither slow nor subtle, some of the idea indeed being to try and scare any lingering intelligent beings into view. No, calling for them wasn't what he was going to do, everyone here had an excellent reason not to show their face around him, if they still had enough of a mind to make good life choices. What would he have done then?

... Well, he hadn't actually thought about that honestly, the only sinner he'd ever saved had liked him. So when he sharply swung around a corner, slinging the bloody corpse of a husk into a surprised drone and splattering both machine and meat into so much jellied flesh and jagged shrapnel, he wasn't... really sure what to immediately do when he saw what looked for all the world like-

"Is that a fucking baby."

The sounds of brutal violence are nothing new to him, though he prefers not to take part in it. Fights should be ended quickly and cleanly if possible. He doesn't know where husks and machines go after this; perhaps oblivion. Perhaps an afterlife even further away. It's not something that concerns him, made as he is to stand apart from humans; the sanctity of the Waltzes and the destination of their immortal souls were not exactly a great priority for their makers.

Whatever is happening, it seems to be happening a great deal and with enthusiasm, which means he has a limited capacity to get involved if he doesn't want to risk a great deal of collateral damage.

Sometimes it's necessary, but he's trying hard to preserve what Minos loved. He, too, hopes that he was something Minos loved, but since he is not human...he can no longer know for sure. Perhaps even the tenderness shown to them in their nascent days was simply a reflection of love shown to children made by the hands of sinners, human blood passed down from parent to child like a blessing.

Then Gabriel in all his bloodied, violent glory throws a corpse into a machine practically right next to him and disrupts his thoughts completely.

Is that a fucking angel is what Vivi might have thought if he had it in him to swear, even in his thoughts. He flinches away from what might as well be the voice of God Itself, and when he's not immediately decapitated for existing, he dares to look out again.

At least the angel (the Angel, hums his core, what passes for blood in him, the signature familiar; the power vested in Him that had upended the world once upon a time) isn't trying to kill him.

"I'm not that much a baby," he says, a little childish indignation creeping into his voice as what Gabriel said catches up with him. "I'm nine."

The baby told him it wasn't a baby, but trust him, Gabriel was aware of what babies were, and what they looked like. Chubby little humanoids with little sausage arms and big eyes, and clearly, that was what he was looking at, right now.

So yes he ignored the protest entirely, too busy trying to think of why there was this actual literal child in Hell. The husks didn't have that capacity, the machines certainly didn't either. What in the name of the Father had Minos been up to?

"Congratulations, I'm over six million, you actual baby." No. No, don't get irate... At least he could identify why he was getting agitated: he didn't have the fucking time to stand here and ask this mysterious child how the hell it got here and what the hell it thought it was doing. But neither could he bring himself to just... fly away. The thought rudely crossed his mind of course, but it was quickly tossed in a moment of sheer disgust. Disgust that had slipped out as aggravation directed at someone who most certainly didn't deserve it. He cleared his throat, touching down before Vivi as Justice was returned to its hilt.

"Are you the only one here, child?" That came far softer, the prior edge carefully ground back down again.

Six million certainly is a lot older than him...but that still doesn't make him a baby, does it? Well, maybe it does to an angel. Maybe to an angel, everyone is a baby.

"My siblings are out hunting," he says plainly, looking up at Gabriel. His gaze isn't exactly trusting, but neither is it fearful or disgusted; simply innocent curiosity. "They could be in Lust. I don't know exactly."

He can sort of sense where they are, through the energy that connects all of them, the blessing present at their creation, but it requires a deeper dive than is polite at this moment in time, talking to someone new.

"Are you the only one here that's like you? Angels don't usually come here...are you looking for something?"

He'll be the first to tell him there's nothing left. Not even Minos' corpse is here any more, which is a strange relief. He hopes Minos has gone to a better, or at least more peaceful, place.

"What do you mean hunting." Wait, what had the city's mobile defenses looked like again? Tall, winged humanoids, dressed in... blue robes and... Oh.

Yes, the question was answered the second it left his lips, the angel wasn't stupid after all. But that couldn't be right, look at him! He's tiny! Where were the wings?! Everything else? Why would Minos make this to defend anyone??

"I uh..." If this thing was created by Minos to protect the city, and it didn't already recognize him, it might be for the best if he didn't let anything... slip. No, he couldn't allow this thing to ever figure it out, this child.

Minos' child.

"I'm looking for any husks that might have survived the machine's advance. ... I... I wanted to save them." That much he could be honest about, at least. It was true of course, with the added benefit that he was sure neither Minos nor his creations could have ever imagined Gabriel uttering those words.

"If you were killing things, you probably saw them," he states, matter of factly. "They're killing things too." It's a statement without any judgement; it's simply what they did, what they were made to do. They just forget, sometimes, that it's not all they have to do.

But they don't have much left, so he can't really blame them for getting...restless. He might have even joined them, on a different day, but he doesn't feel like it right now.

"Oh...I don't think there are any left." Strange that this angel killer, destroyer, desecrator, hums the energy within him, a torrent of directionless passion would come looking for them, after all this time, but even angels can do strange things now and then.

"There's not a lot left here in general, though. Maybe...they moved down? Or tried to go up..." He's not quite sure how traversing Hell works. Going down seemed fairly obvious, but going up seems almost insurmountable. There had been plans once, he thought...a staircase to let them through? Maybe. But...

He can see the ruins from here if he tries.

"I don't know the whole city yet. Maybe there's places I haven't looked. We could look together, if you want."

As he moves out of the darkness, nearer to Gabriel, something else is revealed; the frail skeleton of wings on his back, folded neatly against his shoulderblades. They are bedraggled, small things, flickering with feathers of divine energy; the 'bones' are something like the Idols so lovingly carved in tribute to Gabriel.

(The others had carefully sculpted wings, too, but they had been more feathered, more mortal, based on some sinner's distant memory of birds.)

"Yes, I believe I did." Something gnashed wildly within him, not allowed to claw its way to the surface. Oh how he hated the idea of standing here, telling himself to allow anything else to do his work. His atonement. He should be waist deep in gore, surrounded by surging endless tides of enemies, letting them all break themselves upon his blades like crashing waves against the rocks! Hunt down that pseudo-winged, pit-blasted, blasphemous, perfect machine and find his destiny at the end of its gun-

... The irony of what he was now being forced to do instead wasn't lost on him. If he was to seek atonement... it should actually suck, shouldn't it?

God he hates that.

"... No, I guess there wouldn't be." He'd hoped a few had managed to retain their sanity, a straggler or two still clinging to their humanity but... Well, he knew why. It had been foolish to hope that the sheer gravity of his wrongs might not harbor such awful consequences. But... maybe there was still a silver of hope. He couldn't take the child into battle with him either, he'd... have to think of something to do with him, eventually. For now though, he'd entertain the fading chance that there might still be someone other than Vivi left here. "I believe that would be the most prudent choice of actions, yes."

Ah, there were the wings. As to why they were in such a sorry state, well who was he to say? His came in fine after all, he'd never had to be concerned about their health before.

"What happened to your wings?" ... What, was he not supposed to point that out? He's not going to do that, those are awful, what the hell, little baby?

"It's gotten quieter since the corpse, um....fell. Maybe they'll come back?" he offers, clearly sensing Gabriel's conflict, though he's not certain of the reason why.

You know exactly the reason why. Murderer. Executioner.
WHY-
IS-
HE-
HERE.

(They had been near-empty vessels once, ready to grow a soul - to see if a soul could be grown, something pure and bright in this great and never-ending pain and darkness. An act of creation. When Lust's city had been destroyed, those killed in its upheaval had flowed together...

Maybe he'd gotten more of that pain than the others had. The others didn't seem so bothered by it, but maybe that was because he had been the first, bearing the mistakes that had been corrected later.)

"Oh. I was the first one, so they didn't come out right. The other ones came out better." He says it without any pain or resentment. "I can still fly with them, but only for a little while."

He flaps them. They chime like small, soft bells against each other, a pure sound in the ruined gloominess of what had once been a thriving city. "They hadn't agreed on what they wanted me to be yet."

He looks out into the darkness. Where hasn't he searched? Likely the center, anywhere the corpse's shadow fell. He could say it was practicality, but it had been grief, too. Even though Minos was now truly dead, it still felt painful to look upon his twisted shade, knowing there was nothing he could do to make it right.

"Perhaps. In any case, I see no reason why I shouldn't remain alongside you for a time, hopefully they'll return before I continue my pursuit of the machines." As if he would surely leave this child if they didn't return in some set amount of time. As if Lust wasn't a sprawling city of impossible size, it would take more than a few minutes to explore it. ... As if he didn't only have twenty four hours.

"Oh. ... I guess this entire expedition is going to be on foot." Which made sense, yes, it'd be really hard to see people if he was flying, but have you considered: walking. suck. It's not an argument, he's not going to just take off now, his decision had been made, but that didn't mean he had to sound happy about it. Hey, if the baby wasn't bummed about not being able to fly, he's not going to stand here and feel pity about it in regards to that.

Oh shit right-

"Do you have a name, child?" It mattered, it was nothing short of disrespectful not to know one way or another now. If the child had a title, it deserved to be properly used.

"I hope so too. It's so quiet here...it used to be a lot louder."

He giggles a little, surprisingly, though he doesn't elaborate on what he's found funny about the words. "It's okay. You can fly and I can walk, so we can look for different things. It's efficient - right?"

Like it's already been decided, he picks a direction to walk in, vaguely thinking he'll head towards the center. Perhaps there are people there, husks who had retained their minds, not killed by demons or machines...somehow.

"I was called Black Waltz 0 in testing...But I got given another name, Vivi. So you can call me either of those." He seems to be taking this whole thing in stride surprisingly well.

And, the inevitable question: "What's yours?"

"What? What's so funny, I don't get it." He didn't remember making any jokes here, was this a baby thing he was too mature to understand?

And decrease the amount of reaction time I have if something happens to you? That would have been the real reply to that question, but saying that felt like a personal insult to himself. He was infinitely faster than anything in this Layer at present, all the real problems had delved deeper into Hell, ask him how he knows. So that couldn't possibly be the reason. Which made the anxiety that suddenly skittered through his head and chest like ice cold fingers completely baseless and annoying.

He needed a better excuse, a more 'real' one.

"No, it's fine. It's harder to make out fine details from high up anyway, it makes more sense to walk." As you can see, Gabriel is not at all irritated by this, he's fine and normal, just like the situation he's found himself in. Fine and normal.

And he could have continued to pretend it was that way for at least a little while longer, but it'd probably been wishful thinking to the point of delusion to think that maybe Vivi wouldn't ask for a name in return. Lying was off the table, it wasn't even something that was allowed to enter his mind. It was one thing to tell himself a load of bullshit.

It was another to tell it to someone else.

"That... that's not important, right now, trust me." So, he'd do neither. No lies, no names, he'd be dead soon anyway so even insisting its lack of importance wasn't even necessarily false. "I'll bother with it later- Actually your prior idea of aerial surveillance was pretty good, I think I'm going to do that, you just keep walking ahead and I'll watch you from on high."

Better talk fast, because he's already off the ground! Oh he's still not leaving of course, but it's a lot easier to pretend he can't hear anything from fifty feet up.

"Oh! Sorry. You remind me of my siblings, that's all. They don't like to walk either." And he's hardly going to ask any of them to carry him, though occasionally he's been picked up and flown around on occasion.

He watches Gabriel go through several emotions in the span of roughly a minute and is more concerned than anything. He's not surprised when the angel doesn't give a name, and even less surprised when he decides that ACTUALLY getting away from something he doesn't want to talk about is the optimal course of action.

He really is very much like their siblings. It makes him a little fonder, a little less inclined to press, than he might otherwise be.

"Names are important, though! Everyone here used to believe that without a name, you would lose your mind faster..." He doesn't know if that's true, though.

But what he does know is true is that there's only one angel that's ever come down to Hell. He's young - but he isn't stupid. He knows, too, what Gabriel looks like; that at least had been etched into the memories of the souls that had flowed into him.

He looks at Gabriel with a melancholy older than he is for a moment, grave and unblinking.

"...If you don't wanna tell me, that's okay, though. Maybe later," he says agreeably, before continuing to amble into the ruins. "We can talk about other stuff instead."

He does not elaborate. If Gabriel wants to avoid more awkward conversations, he might want to pick a topic that agrees with him.

"Well yes, that's because it sucks. No offense, Vivi, but walking is the worst, I can't believe you're stuck like that." No he's not going to pick him up either, Vivi hadn't asked him to and he wasn't about to offer anyway. He needed both his hands for swords.

For someone as aggressively proud as Gabriel, implying his name (and therefore all of the accomplishments attached to it) was unimportant, was as close to lying as he could possibly get and god was it painful. Now, if he'd known Vivi already knew and wouldn't have cared in one direction or the other, of course he'd be a lot less conflicted about it.

But then again, maybe it wasn't even entirely the fear that he might have to strike down the little construct if he was totally honest with him. It was hard to deny that it felt almost wrong to do it on a moral level, considering... well, all the accomplishments attached to that name, and the fact that he now stood in the middle of the aftermath of his 'grandest' accomplishment. Talking to what may well be all that really remained of it.

And on a level, he did know. How could anyone in this place not know who he was after all? ... But he was already playing pretend with himself, why not ignore all that uncomfortable stuff for just a little while longer? It wasn't actually important after all, was it? He'd already done most of the important stuff before he returned to Hell, everything else aside from this sweep of Lust and finding The Machine was just optional. It was an expression Vivi wouldn't be able to see of course, with the helmet covering the angel's face, but as the child spoke it almost seemed as if Gabriel glared at him briefly.

What's going through your head anyway?

"It's more than just not wanting to, you wouldn't-" Nope, nope, stop digging this hole. Vivi had already demonstrated he was probably smarter than the average nine year old, and he wasn't keen on getting any closer to the writhing knot of unidentifiable feelings that had taken up residency in his chest. "I mean yes. Other stuff. Of course."

Which... would require staying within ear shot, but since the subject matter had changed and would remain changed, he supposed he could remain a little closer.

"That you haven't been ripped to shreds yet is something of a surprise, Vivi. How long have you been walking around here?" He drifted after him, a brilliant light amid the now darkened streets. Less of a beacon, and more of a horrible warning to anything that might catch sight of it. Stay fucking clear was the message there.

"Walking's not that bad...!" But this, too, is a discussion he's had before. The others have wings, and he does not. It is a simple fact that he has to accept, because nothing can change it.

"...I dunno exactly. Time moves different here, I think. But I remember Minos' soul leaving...I felt it. That was a while ago."

He conjures a small, tightly condensed orb of hell energy in his hand more out of habit than need. He's used to wandering the dark streets with nothing but himself for company, especially as machines and demons were usually preoccupied with killing one another, and his power was an effective light source. In Gabriel's scorching light, however, it seems a paltry thing.

"I can defend myself if I need to, but machines look past me...I don't think I have blood, so they're not interested. Demons want to play with me, though. So I have to fight, to get them to leave."

He gestures with the hand that holds the orb, and it spins gently around his hand before settling back into his palm. His siblings help, of course, if they're around - more than once he's had them descend ravenously on demons trying to hurt him - but they can range more freely and hunt more freely than him.

"I've been...lucky, I guess."

It's an argument he's not about to get into.

"Yes it is." Much. The tone does sound final though.

"The machines advance has taken them deep within the confines of Hell. That one of their number was capable of destroying a Prime soul..." Well he didn't have to guess who was responsible for it. Oh the enraged, feral longing that flashed through him like a lightning bolt almost burned just as fiercely as if he'd actually been struck. It had to be The Machine. There was nothing else that could accomplish such an extraordinary feat of unmatched violence... The blue of the angel's wings had begun to shift as he turned the thought over in his mind, brilliant gleaming gold seeping into the cold blue until a shining ring ran around their entire perimeter.

He coughed, and in the blink of an eye, the color flickered back again. Try not to be too much of a freak right now.

The use of magic explained everything well enough. Small and comparatively to Gabriel, feeble though that power might be, it was more than enough for the stragglers that remained here. "Then you're not entirely helpless. Good, there may be times where I won't be able to immediately come to you here. That should do well enough to repulse the dregs that remain."

Lucky. Gabriel scoffed from his position up in the air, taking a moment to glance down an alleyway at a shifting shadow within it. Just filth, by the looks of it, scuttling away from the holy glow that filled the street.

"Considering I found you-" Mmmmmmm, that thought had a complicated aura attached to it.... He's going to keep going anyway, "yeah, you are." Because he was helping now. He's helping and Vivi had nothing to worry about from this point on.

"But I'm sure between now and whenever I must depart from here, you might learn a few things. You won't even need luck then."

Vivi watches Gabriel's wings change colour with innocent interest. Mercifully, if he thinks there's anything to it, he keeps the question to himself.

"If I was that helpless, I'd already be a husk," he says, more to protest the assumption he was helpless to begin with than anything. He's not even sure he would form a husk or he'd simply fade into oblivion.

That mention of luck gets another small giggle. Amused, entertained, simply reminded of his siblings again? It's unclear. But it's that mention of departing that really catches his attention. His eyes light up in burning, avid curiosity.

"Are you going down to the other layers?"

He could probably spin it as being something noble. Not wholesome or anything but definitely noble! Hell, he even believed it himself as long as he didn't think about it too hard, wasn't it noble to desire to die on his feet in battle against a worthy opponent? Absolutely nothing deeper to it.

Nothing at all.

"Of course. This sweep of Lust is but a temporary, necessary diversion from my true goal. It falls upon me, to excise these machines from Hell and restore some semblance of order, and I shall see this duty through." Hell was massive, every inch of it swarming with mechanical invaders. Gabriel wasn't necessarily being entirely truthful, when he said he intended to avert their tide... There was only one he really cared about personally stopping now.

"You keep laughing, I don't understand what the comedy here is. Are your siblings really that funny?"

Fortunately for Gabriel's air of nobility and dignity, Vivi has no mind-reading powers and cannot divine even a little of what's going on in Gabriel's head.

"You just remind me of them. That's all. It's funny, cause...we're not made the same way you are. You know? I can't even imagine what it would be like to be an angel." Not necessarily funny in itself, but funny to imagine that there could even be a commonality point between them, two beings as far away from each other as heaven is from hell. It would only be funnier if they were demons.

"If I learn to defend myself better, can I come...? I've never been to the other layers. I want to see them."

"I'm not going to lie, it was really cool." Being an angel, that was. The past-tense verbiage of the statement flew over Gabriel's head entirely, the subconscious whirlwind going on between his ears leaking out just a little bit. Explain himself? No.

"Your siblings sound acceptable, Vivi. I hope their hunt is plentiful and successful." It was really hard not to sound at least a little bitter... Which was why he didn't even try, he sounds so bitter about that. Oh boy he wished he was out murdering everything, wouldn't that be fucking nice-

"... Why would you- The depths of hell is no place for a baby." Oh he's back on that shit again. "You'll be shredded to pieces in the blink of an eye, spattered across the gore slicked floors of Hell without mercy. ... I applaud your courage, though." Hey, he had to reward positive behavior, right?

"What was it like?" He does not comment on the past tense. Whether that's because he didn't notice or he's carefully not saying anything about it is unclear.

"There's no place for me anywhere," Vivi says simply. "I guess I could just stay here and be safe, but I've passed lots of time like that." He doesn't really know what he wants, but surely this empty city isn't all there is.

He wants to believe that, at least. Besides, he's sure his siblings won't mind if he goes exploring. Maybe he can tell them about the other layers, if they don't get there first.

(Really, he is simply lonely and curious. And Gabriel is the first new thing he's seen in a while. He's the promise of, at least, something interesting.)

"And if I can defend myself better, you can go and hunt machines in the other layers, right? So it'll work out."

"... It was glorious. The feeling of divine power, the righteousness of your every action, every word and motion a direct manifestation of The Father's will upon the world. To walk in the light of God was to remove all doubt of the virtue of your actions, for your reason of existence was to carry out His word." ... But it was... so stifling. Again his mind drifted to Heresy, to his battle with The Machine. For the first time in his entire life he'd finally tasted something so intoxicating, that even the will of the Lord could not hope to challenge it...

There's no place for me anywhere. The sentence struck something in him, sitting in his gut like a lead weight. The words resonated in a way that sounded too familiar, fit in a way that made his heart twist.

"I suppose I could bring you along for a little while. If you improve your combat abilities, anyway. I will accept no dead weight with me, Vivi, the road ahead is long and arduous and I cannot guarantee your safety." Some part of Gabriel hoped perhaps this would scare him, he was a child after all. Granted, one that had shown a commendable amount of stoicism thus far but a child nevertheless.

Something told him however, that this meager little warning wouldn't be nearly enough to dampen the curiosity.

"But that doesn't frighten you at all, does it?"

Edited 2025-05-12 06:23 (UTC)

"Being made for a purpose...it sounds good, as long as you do what you're told." He doesn't know what his purpose would have been. He was the prototype, after all. Maybe he wouldn't have had a purpose.

That's all gone though, buried in the ash and destruction of the city. Nothing remains, nobody to give him direction or tell him what to do.

Faced with so little, he wishes to expand his world. He has always been curious. He tasted a little more of that, recalls a little more of the voices of the sinners who had created him. And perhaps the yearning for freedom many of the damned souls carried was in him as well.

(Perhaps the ideals Minos had embodied, perhaps a little fragment of his departing soul, had wedged in an empty space somewhere deep inside. If that was indeed how souls worked.

If he really reaches deep into himself he can pull out memories - fragments - shards of the dead, recalling Minos' voice and face. All those who had dwelled here had loved him.

But he has no memories for himself. If they are there, they are buried deep in the drift of time, sunken in his sleep.)

He turns it over in his mind, seriously considering it.

Then, he simply shakes his head. "It's scarier to be alone," is all he says to that. And perhaps it's not just for his benefit; he has his siblings, after all. They will return in time, when they've sated their urge for violence. Their time together is consistent, if fleeting.

He doesn't think this person in front of him has anyone.

"Yes, obedience is a virtue." The words came mechanically, automatically. To obey was to show love, after all. Questioning His Word was blasphemy.

Questioning their word, maybe. "Or... So I've been told." He doubted very much now that Vivi would blindly take anything he said as gospel, as irritating a thought as that was, but it still didn't feel right to tout that as fact. It was certainly for the child's sake nevertheless though, he certainly didn't need it refuted.

"I suppose it is." He could argue the opposite perhaps, if he could put his finger on exactly why the thought caused a spike of discomfort. Because he had to take the life of another into account? That had to be it, right? It seemed correct enough, it was if nothing else a large part of it... No, he wouldn't ponder on it any longer. It felt right enough, as ever the thought of leaving Vivi to his own devices here was nothing short of repulsive.

Atonement shouldn't be easy.

"Ahem... Well I haven't seen anything promising thus far, Vivi. I fear you may be correct that there's no one left here."

"Virtues matter more to angels, I think. I don't know if I've gotta worry about those..." Vivi has an only scattered idea of virtue; his knowledge base, such as it is, is made of the fragments of sinners. It's merely one of many new and novel ideas to him.

"I didn't get anything like that when I was made. Like asking for obedience or anything. I think they just wanted to make me to see if they could."

His footsteps echo through the deserted streets. Gabriel's light is an effective deterrent for most things, though he keeps an orb in his palm just in case.

"I hope there's some...I hope they come back. I'd like to meet them." There's a strong wistfulness to his tone. He doesn't make an attempt to hide or stifle his emotions; it's part of what gives off that childlike impression. "But I guess...if I haven't seen any before, it'll take a long time for me to see any."

"Virtues should matter to everyone, regardless of their creation. To live a virtuous life is to live a good life, with patience, humility, temperance and justice." There were... a few of those he just listed that maybe he could uh... work on somewhat. Perhaps. But that wasn't the point here.

For as corrupt as the Council had been, that didn't diminish the goodness of Heaven, nor indeed the virtues he'd once believed the Council had stood for. It wasn't just for angels... If Minos and Sisyphus had, belatedly, been any indication. "I... I believe your creator knew this. They're not something only able to be upheld by angels, anyone can embody them."

He was gradually sinking lower, his feet a mere several inches off the ground. It was just easier to hear from this position, nothing more, of course.

"In the absence of direction, there is nothing left but to find your own. You've been given a rare chance, Vivi. Not many in your position could claim to harbor their own free will." Free will was a flaw, the words echoed through his head but clashed so terribly with what he'd felt, wild and free as he lost himself not to duty but to the whirlwind of beautiful violence in Heresy. It wasn't a flaw.

It was nothing short of sublime.

"So you've never met any still sapient sinner from Lust? You have truly been asleep for this entire time?"

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???-1: THE AFTERMATH

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