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with a deep sigh, aaravos sits down into his chair, letting his head fall into his hands. it's an undignified position, but it's not like anyone can see him now.
viren is gone. he's chosen to die.
it was a lot to process, seeing as it went against everything aaravos knew humans to be. they would always stand up when he thought he'd kicked them down hard enough. always so striving for power, knowledge, happiness, riches, for life. that's what made killing them so fun. it wasn't just their lives they lost because of him. they lost their future, their hopes, their dreams. aaravos could take all of that from them with a flick of his finger, that's why anyone fell to their knees in front of him sooner or later. to beg for mercy.
viren had done it, years ago. so did claudia.
what changed?
viren's drive have always been his children. he'd protected his kingdom only by extension, aaravos had learnt that early on. his desire for knowledge and power was always secondary to soren and claudia's wellbeing. it was something to use against him, which is why he didn't mind creating a whole child for him to sacrifice in place of his actual children. and yet, viren had managed to grow attached even to the unintelligent, deformed, grotesque homunculus.
as adorably human of him as it was, it was also highly inconvenient.
aaravos thought viren to be cold and unfeeling when it came to anyone outside his family. he'd turned thousands of soldiers into lava monsters and led them to certain death. and killing a freaky creature is what disturbs him? even though it's to save his own life? why? because it's vaguely shaped like a human child?
aaravos has to laugh.
is that it? has viren gotten compassionate all of a sudden?
he doesn't really know how long will the creature live. it wasn't built to survive, after all, but to serve the purpose of a sacrificial lamb. however, no matter how many days or even years it has left…
“is it really worth giving up your life for?” aaravos asks the empty room, looking up to where viren stood mere minutes ago. “do you know what you're leaving behind? claudia still needs you. now more than ever, in fact. and i—”
he pauses.
what about him?
does he need viren?
he can get out of his prison without his help. even if claudia failed, the human prince-mage won't. the seeds have been planted. when aaravos said his return was inevitable, he wasn't lying. he never does. he will be free, viren or no viren.
so why can't he just accept his decision?
why does he want to turn the world upside down just to keep him alive?
he knows it wouldn't help. there is a very simple way to save viren, he just decided not to take it.
so why is he racking his brain for ways to convince him to change his mind? even if he knows that there aren't any? even if he knows that begging is beneath him? why is he considering it?
aaravos has never felt this helpless. there is nothing he can do, yet his whole body vibrates, itching, screaming at him to act before it's too late.
mere hours remain until the next day.
the sun will rise, viren will not.
and it's killing aaravos.
why does it even matter to him? there's nothing he can gain from viren at this point. he's a husk of his former self.
the former self that slayed the mighty avizandum. the former self who fulfilled aaravos' every order, but stood up to him the moment he raised his hand against his daughter. the former self the spark of which aaravos saw in his eyes again when viren refused to kill the homunculus.
the former self that aaravos desperately wished to possess.
never in his life has he wanted anything else this badly. his desire for revenge on those who wronged him pales in comparison. viren is his, and he will be damned if he lets him slip through his fingers.
his viren is still out there. so close, close enough to touch, yet farther than he's ever been. a single step separating him from leaving to a place out of aaravos' reach.
aaravos stands abruptly, grabbing the chair and smashing it into the glass floor. the table follows, thrown against the bookshelves with a burst of magic.
he has to do something.
a few hours is plenty of time for him.
then, the sun will rise, and so will viren.
and if not?
the world will burn.