Ori had convinced it, somehow, to leave him. To leave his universe, go back to Minato, back to where Ori knew they would both be safe. Back home.
It was a struggle. Bug knew, knew what he was planning, clearly wanted to do nothing except hold onto him as tight as possible, and yet it still tentatively went.
Trusted him to know what he was doing.
He knew exactly what he was doing.
He closed off his universe to all outside parties immediately.
No entry to any other multiversal beings. No one else allowed in. None of the people that had gotten close to him, and that he had selfishly gotten close to.
No one could be hurt by him anymore. His love was the thing that kept causing bad things to occur. He fell as a result of the Father protecting Gabriel from his love, and his love would cause the deaths of Minos and Sisyphus. He was the catalyst.
Minato and Bug wouldn't have the same fate. None of his friends would have the same fate.
Even if that meant he was alone once more.
He was protecting them. This was for the best.
It was quiet. Strange, without seeing anyone.
Usually, he was spending all of his time at home at Minato's cabin. Curled up with Minato or Bug, or out with the other people that he had met, that he cared about so deeply.
All Ori could do was work. Continue his research, continue working himself to the bone. Trying to prevent the inevitable.
All it took was two more weeks.
Ori was exhausted. He wasn't sure if exhausted was even the correct word anymore. He was barely sleeping, only resting when he physically passed out. He wasn't eating, it wasn't technically necessary but he felt too sick to even smell most food. His feathers were dull, falling out, dirt and debris building up in his wings.
And yet he kept working. Minos expressed concern, as did the people around him, but he brushed them off, continued his usual work for Minos alongside his own research.
He was in a side room with the door drawn slightly, reading through some old records with his roommate, making notes for Minos who was in the adjoining room, working through his own set of records.
He was just in the other room–
Ori thought he was hearing things. Thought he was imaging Gabriel’s voice in the other room, after so many nights of work and paranoia and more work.
He didn’t possibly think–
He stood to grab another stack to work through, peering at Minos out of the crack in the door.
All he could do was watch.
Someone was holding him back as he lunged at the door, a hand over his mouth to keep him from calling out to Minos, warning him–
He watched, horrified, as Gabriel–
Minos’ head rolled across the floor, landing near the crack in the door.
Ori wasn’t sure whether he was screaming or not.
Two weeks of evacuation, hasty and terrified, Ori and a few others at the forefront of the movement.
Everyone needed to get out. It was a mad rush, a scramble, as angels descended on the city and Minos' body shambled through the streets, attacking and destroying his once beloved city.
Ori was the head of the evacuation team. He was one of Minos' closest, it was no surprise that he was the head of it, and so in Lust he stayed. Greed was the designated evacuation zone. Down to Sisyphus, who could help with relocation from there, many looking to him for the same guidance they had received from Minos.
Ori felt sick knowing Greed’s fate as well. He felt sick watching Minos’ body shamble around the now dead city for two weeks straight.
Every day he checked. Everyone needed to get out of Lust, everyone.
He didn’t leave for two whole weeks. He was the last one out, practically dragged down to Greed against his will. He didn't deserve Greed, deserved to rot in his failure.
But he was forced to rest. Forced to put down his armor and breathe for a moment. Holed up in a room in one of the pyramids, trying his hardest not to think about anything except preventing yet another failure, the fall of Greed.
He had completely forgotten about the multiversal block.
Completely forgotten about the fact it only lasted for a month before dissolving.
Completely forgotten that today was the day it broke down, as he dragged himself back from getting into a fight with a large group of Virtues in Lust, glass embedded deeply in his knuckles and arms with singed clothes, armor nowhere in sight.
He needed to fight. Needed to plan, needed to prepare, needed not to think about anything.
He hadn't thought about it yet. Refused to think about it, Minos getting killed–
He refused to break down. He had work to do.
He opened the door to his room, shutting it to just sit down on the floor, resting his head in his hands.
[ @holywarmachine @machine-id-v1 ]
