unknownballad | Hybrid Kingdom PSL

[So. They still have the hotel. It seems to have been converted into some sort of short-term rental/living space for the other-than-human, judging by charge that Set can still feel in the air - the very same charge that blurred his senses so badly when they first set up the place for Horus and the priest's protection.

Set can admit to himself now that he's glad they survived. All of them. Processing his own regrets still feels strange, but sometimes the memory of what he put his cult through feels even stranger because he was so thoroughly lost in the grip of insanity. If there had been a point to the cruelty, he might feel differently, but acting out Osiris's murder again and again through acolytes? That was no means to an end. None of that violence empowered anything but his fractured ego.

The brand on his neck has helped him get to this point. The extreme humbling he's received through his role at the brothel has helped him get to this point. Sacrificing power and autonomy to regain the stability to stand on his own two feet - it isn't something anyone would have thought him capable of, and it did need to be forced on him in the end, but he's here now.

Here in the lobby of the hotel owned by his brother and nephew, well aware that he may be thrown out or beaten bloody or this body may simply be killed. Anyone who knew him then will see through the new face when they spot his hair. He just hopes he can talk to Horus and Osiris first.]

(( Emmanuel doesn't always stay in the hotel. He actually has a home that he, occasionally, returns to. He still has his obligations as a hunter, as well. And, despite his departure from the Church, his contacts within it still funnel jobs his way. Not exorcisms, per se, but... well, they know what he's capable of.

Coming back to the hotel feels more like home these days. Since Sobek's partner bought the place, it's not like they have to check in or out anymore unless they want something from the concierge. He has a suite and its always available when he needs it. Not everyone stayed after the war was decided. Many had their own duties to return to, just as Emmanuel. But unlike them, he keeps coming back to see specific familiar faces.

What he doesn't expect at all as he rolls his suitcase across the lobby is that shock of of fire engine red hair. By now, the blinding hot hatred Set inspired in him has cooled to your run of the mill every day kind of hate. It's bitter that he has to swallow it because of who he is as a person. He can't forgive Set, not ever, but even Set deserves this second chance.

Does that stop Emmanuel from stalking over to him and hissing? Not at all. ))

What are you doing here? Get out.

[Well, of all the people Set could run into first, Emmanuel is probably the worst. At least this icy greeting makes for a good test of his determination to make things right, and will provide ample evidence of the same if he takes it with grace.

And that's exactly what he does, even if an old part of him would like to sneer at the priest who has succeeded in so many places where Set failed.]

Hello, Father Yoon. [Set lowers his head in a respectful nod.] My employer granted me three days leave to come here and see if there's any hope of - well, "making things right" would be asking a bit much, but at least having my apology heard.

Tha—

(( He bites his tongue to stop the correction from spilling forth. It's none of Set's business that that's no longer a station he holds. And Set certainly doesn't need to be the first to know, before the two who mean so much to him.

His eyes narrow and he peers around the lobby. Would his 'employer' (his jailkeeper, really) just let him leave on holiday? Without an escort to ensure his return?

And why is it so hard to keep from grabbing him by his shirt front, driving him against the wall, and returning a portion of the violence he inflicted on them? Ah, it's so vivid in his mind, Set's blood on his hands. He's a killer of monsters, after all.

But it would pain Osiris. ))

Your apology? Are you fucking kidding right now? What possible words can heal all you've done to your own family?

[If Emmanuel does decide to get some of his own back, there won't be much Set can do in retaliation. He has the strength of a human now, can't even regenerate to heal his wounds because of the seal branded into his skin, and only stands an inch or two taller than the little priest whose neck used to fit so snugly in one of his hands. All he can do is hope that decorum wins out over the animal instinct burning in Emmanuel's eyes.

As for his question...]

Nothing I could say or do would make up for what I've already done, I know that. [It's strangely galling, too, the idea that he could decimate something so thoroughly that he's the only one powerless to rebuild it.] But it felt cowardly to use that as an excuse to stay away forever. If they don't agree and just want me gone, I'll leave.

(( Emmanuel simply has to remind himself that not acting on his worst impulses is what separates him from Set. Also, this... this really doesn't involve Emmanuel. He's probably the least aggrieved. Oh, but he hated having to witness Set wrought on the people he loves.

That means it's not him who gets to decide the value of Set's words. Perhaps if Emmanuel weren't in such an internal rage, he could recognize the magnitude of the effort Set's making. The courage of it.

Emmanuel unclenches his fingers (when did that happen?) but there's still such unbridled hate burning in his eyes. It isn't his place to turn Set away, as much as he wants to. Horus and Osiris, and all the others, have been through enough. Even now that it's over, here comes Set to put them all through the ringer again. ))

It might be best to forget you ever had a family.

Edited 2025-05-27 16:19 (UTC)

[And Set almost, almost informs Emmanuel that it's not his choice to make, but the murder still hasn't left his eyes and Set hasn't forgotten the feeling of his skull splintering under the force of a bullet. For a human, Emmanuel is actually quite terrifying.]

Believe me, I've considered that eventuality. A lot.

[Emmanuel really will kill him if he says why his thoughts have been so haunted by the idea of forsaking them for good - beneath the insanity, the violence, the demented craving, beneath the only side of Set that Emmanuel has ever seen and the only one he has reason to believe exists, Set does love his brother.

He has no right to anymore, but he does.]

Hybrid Kingdom PSL

VERY post-war

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