IC INBOX ( KENOS ).

[redsoil]

█ To Commune with Set is to stand barefoot in an endless, scorching desert. The sun illuminates all, scalding the shadows themselves out from underneath whomever enters his dominion; the arch of gentle, distant, waves of sand mask the precarious chasms, towering dunes akin to mountains. The sense of vastness, timelessness, is of particular notice, lending itself to the alien, eldritch quality of his mind. There is a dark storm in the distance, and you know intimately that this divine being is far from benign. You cannot bargain with a force of nature. You can only survive it. COMPATIBLE WITH: Exalt, Iconoclast REPELLED BY: Advocate

♠

Comments

[impiety]

Because I am a human that desires to be god.

[ He replies easily; his words are true. ]

I am willing to burn away everything that I am... to sacrifice even being able to touch someone like this... to be unable to experience happiness as a human would. [ His smile softens even as he continues his madness. There is a serene look that takes over his expression. It reaches his eyes because he can talk frankly about his dreams. ] Do you know why?

[redsoil]

[ Part of him balks, immediately. Among the Ennead it was known: only those born to divinity would become divine. They did not have demigods born of human mothers, did not have mortal men who rose beyond their station to be rewarded with a throne of their own. The Archangel speaks madness. And he speaks madness, because Set knows there are other pantheons, other ways. He has been faced with the majesty and dignity of the Mahadeva, he has thrown himself against Gilgamesh's blades and disdain, he has hunted alongside Anat of the Levant.

The Archangel has pledged to burn for his dream. It is madness only a mortal being can possess, a hunger only they know, for they are free to imagine such heights, and free to attain them - in some way. ]

Why?

[ He has to know. It grips him, the edge of this thing that makes the Archangel who he is - that riles Set, even as he seeks purification at the hands of his fellow Savant. ]

Go on, tell me your reason. Why you presume to toy with me, to be - [ A sharp laugh escapes him. The verge of madness in him too. ] So impertinent! A human who thinks he will grant a god salvation!

[impiety]

If I cannot, will not, be able to grant it to you, I cannot grant it for all.

[ The teasing smile fades from his lips as his expression becomes much more serious than it did before. He believes that he could show some memories as they are holding each other's hands like this, but decides against it. Better to explain in words than his past, anyway. ]

Because humanity deserves better than what my god has given it. [ They deserve happiness and paradise. If gods exist, joy should not be something people struggle to obtain. ] The same could be said for you. You also deserve better than the lot that you were given.

And I intend to save them all... everyone... everything.

[redsoil]

[ Slowly, waveringly, he brings the Archangel's hands to him. He draws them in to himself, setting one at the bottom of his ribcage and the other higher, close to his collarbone; like that, he rolls himself in — across their Communion, deeper into the undeniable allure of their shared aspect. He cannot hide himself from the Archangel, not in Communion.

It is obvious, that Set is intrigued by the conviction; that, like so many others he has accepted for their unshakeable, unwavering desires, he might be able to accept the Archangel, too. Save, that he cannot stomach the idea of being marked for 'salvation'. ]

Archangel.

[ After he places the man's hands to his body, he reaches for him. To card fingers through the blonde of his hair ( ah, he really does have a weakness for blondes i s2g ) and gather the angle of his jaw between his palms. Rolling, sensual and dark, until he can lean over him and blot out the metaphorical light. ]

You do not know enough about me, to account for how much of yourself you would destroy to fill my depths. I am not a god that can be saved by anyone, and your humans will suffer for your infatuation with the idea. Focus on them. If you truly want to feel like you have saved me, we can do this — together.

[ Purify one another's Discord, he means. ( Kick off Archangel's Slut Saga, maybe. ) ]

Would it disappoint you to know that you are not the first person who entertained thoughts like this? I seem to evoke madness in men.

[impiety]

[ The touch is certainly nice, at least. ]

I intend to save all people... there is much of myself I am willing to destroy. [ He does reach up to take hold of Set's hand, to send the feeling, the image, of kissing the inside of the god's wrist as a show of his devotion. ] I shall be satisfied with this... for now.

[ But hm. ]

No, it would not disappoint me. It just means that I must be the first to not give up on you.

[redsoil]

You will have to be satisfied. We are incompatible otherwise.

[ Actually, they're both deeply compatible. After all, like the Archangel, he is intent upon becoming whatever he must to return to his world, to atone to the masses of humans he had tormented. Generations, centuries. His goal takes precedence over all else, friend or foe. His promise to his son. The nature of him, before it was changed by another.

Fine. Fine, the Archangel is insane and annoying, but he will accept him. He'll deal with him at another time, once he determines how best to do that. And he will not — he will do his best, not to think of Osiris, when they speak. Such mistakes will lead him astray, for the two were not the same. Similar, but not precise. ]

Do not sneak into my dreams, then. If you want my attention, send word for me. I am not a difficult man to find, Archangel.

[impiety]

So we are.

[ Archangel lets out a small sigh. It seems like even with Communion that discord between like individuals will not settle. Perhaps it is because they feed each other's insanity? His madness is comfortable and part of him now; it does not give him any pain and so it is only occasionally that he notices how sick he has become.

It's terrifying to have moments of sanity before it slips through his fingers. He only holds them for a brief time, anyway. It doesn't matter. It never matters. What matters is his cause and hope. He will save everyone. He will give everyone the happiness that they deserve -- that he believes they deserve. He'll break every last one of them to ensure they stop ruining their pursuit of joy.

A brief smile crosses his lips. ]

All right. I promise to not sneak into your dreams so we can do this much. [ And he leans forward to send the image - the feeling - of capturing Set's mouth with his own. ]

[redsoil]

[ The burst of shock, of fury that rips through him as Archangel bends to him, as their mouths are brought together, comes as a sudden storm might. A crack of lightning to sear the skin and scar down to the bone, electric-white and violent, from the point of their 'contact' to the very base of Archangel's spine. Set crackles in his grasp, burning hot and blindingly angry — how dare he, before he must reign himself back.

The echo of another's mouth upon his, gathered warm and smooth as the hands upon his bare waist had been, as the hand that had nudged away his divine mask and left him to be gathered in the memory of thorny vines and dark, adoring eyes... Set jerks his head back, from the kiss and the Archangel. ] You really are the most audacious man!

[ A human man, he's said. Not a holy thing, but one that seeks to be. ]

Fine! We will do this much, now get out of my mind!

[impiety]

[ Ah.

It seems like he can still feel some pain - if it is brought about in this place. Pain is the body and mind's way of telling someone something is wrong. There is some relief in feeling that fury and associating it with pain. Like being slapped for doing something he should not.

But at the same time, it is fleeting. A fleeting feeling that doesn't shake him enough from his madness to do more than offer yet another irritating smile. His hand rests on his chest as he steps back and says: ]

As you wish.

[ And the connection falls away. ]