Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

-There will likely be head canons and theories incorporated into this story

-The upload schedule will be very irregular as I have two other fics and I have school and a life outside of wattpad. Please do not pressure me to make more chapters I have severe anxiety and it won't be fun.

-If you support racism or any of the prosecution, war and terrible things going on in Palestine, or war in Ukraine then I will politely ask you to get the fuck out. Also please do not mention any of these topic unless intentionally being discussed. If you outwardly express hatred to any race, gender, or sexuality you will be muted.

-Please be kind to me and your fellow readers.

-There will be a content warning at the top of each chapter.

-This story will discuss serious topics such as death, abuse, suicide, trauma, mental illness and more. I will do my best to properly represent these topics. They should be taken seriously and if you are dealing with or witnessing these things please seek assistance from a trusted and reliable person.

-This story can be read as a Reader OR OC x Ratio story. If so I would advise that you read Y/N as Yin when mentioned in the story.

-MC will be referred to with they/ them pronouns in order to make this story as gender friendly as possible. Please excuse any slip ups that may occur.

-Please excuse any grammatical or verbal mistakes that may occur.

-As we do not have a canonical age for Ratio I will be referring to him as 28 due to physical appearance and story. MC will be 27 years old. I see this not being clarified in MANY stories so I hoped this helped. :)

-I do not own Honkai Star Rail, it's plot, or it's characters they all belong to Hoyoverse. I also do not own MC, they belong to YOU. I do not own the cover art to this story nor do I own any of the art that could be potentially featured in this story. I also do not give consent to post this story on any other platforms.

-I apologize if anything I write comes off as offensive it was not my intention.

Ok, I love ya! Bye! <3

Chapter Text

CW: Brief cursing

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The easily recognizable clicking of chalk against the green board echoed throughout the large sun bathed lecture hall. Putting some students to sleep, and others into overdrive mode, frantically scribbling down notes in their large notebooks that seemed to weigh no less than thirty pounds.

Neither of these groups applied to one particular person, sitting in the very last row of the many tiered seats and tables, sitting nonchalantly, having their arms and legs crossed with a neutral expression as the purple headed man in the spotlight of the room rambled on about philosophy and various ideas.

This man is known as Veritas Ratio, or better yet just Veritas to close friends (to which he has few), and Dr Ratio to colleagues, students, admirers, and outsiders. Or to die hard fans of his work he is known as, “ The first, first class honors degree holder in 2 Amber eras, with no less than 8 different documentaries, and over a dozen memoirs!”

To say that he was popular would be a tremendous understatement. He was so admired among students of the various universities he would teach at that there was a point where students (especially young girls) would even ask for his autograph! Yet his popularity (like many things) could be explained away, undermined, and understated as this was temporary. Sure his legacy would still be there when he died but all ideas he never managed to share with the world would be lost.

And I seriously doubt that this man would ever be able to do the one thing that he has always strived to achieve.

Join the Genius Society.

It was hilarious! Comical even. This man, dubbed as one of the greatest minds in the galaxy, couldn’t even manage to catch the attention of Nous themself! It was almost a mockery of his “talent”! And nothing, or rather no one could embody this wish better than a member of the Genius Society themself.

Genius Society member 44, Mors Omen.

Known for their astronomical smarts and mysterious past, Mors was well admired and revered among peers and the many planets they had saved with their miraculous inventions. One in particular, the “Preserver” solved an intergalactic waste issue that had been affecting the ecosystem of many planets. This machine landed them a place in the genius society as number 44.

It wasn’t uncommon knowledge that “Mors Omen” wasn’t actually their name. Merely a way to hide their mysterious past. After all it was the name that they had been since they were merely 14 years of age. Nothing before that could be unearthed about them.

Soon after suddenly appearing on the radar out of seemingly nowhere they enrolled in a highschool where they immediately became one of the most intelligent students competing with Veritas Ratio for the best grades and highest academic prowess.

It didn’t take long for these once strangers to become academic rivals. Competing in practically everything, whether it was art or mathematics they would always be trying to out class each other.

This was until university finally rolled around. When Veritas thought that Mors would finally be out of his hair. Unbeknownst to him, Mors had enrolled into the same university as him a year early. Seeing that they had flawless grades and no record of criminal activity it wasn’t much of a challenge to get in.

So the rivalry continued for many years to follow. It continued all the way through university to the workplace. They took different paths with Veritas choosing to become a member of the Intelligentsia guild and part time professor, while Mors chose to become an inventor and ambassador. Inventing and promoting their many machines on different planets, some even saving worlds. So it wasn’t a surprise when they became immensely wealthy even being approached by the IPC.

Of course Mors knew of Veritas’s dream to become a part of the Genius Society! It was all he would talk about sometimes.

So when Mors was asked to be the number 44 of the Genius Society, how could they not accept? It was the perfect opportunity to finally overcome Ratio, and become a part of the society that he could only dream of being part of.

Of course when Ratio got the news he wasn’t particularly happy. He actually lived! How couldn’t he be? What was so great about Mors? Hm? He was smarter, handsomer, taller, and way more deserving than that little bastard!

He was far more deserving than that wench!

He stormed to the office just down the hall from his.

Slamming the door open he found boxes among boxes full of the many possessions of Mors. They were building a new lab anyways so what was the point of staying there where they were surrounded by workers inferior to them.

“Ratio! So good to see you!” Mors said in a sing-song voice, smirking mirthfully at the man that had oh so rudely barged into their office.

“Are you psychotic?! No, don’t answer that question! You little bastard.” Ratio glared daggers at Mors. Practically burning holes through their skull.

“Oh! Well I have no idea about what you’re talking about! I’ve been called psychotic many times. This isn’t a first! You’re not special Ratio. ” Mors giggled slightly at the man's strong reaction. They were eating this up!

“But what could you be calling me psychotic for this time? Hm? Is it because I opened my own establishment? AH! No you always said that you didn’t want to have people working under you! Probably because you can’t handle the responsibility!

Ratio continued to glare at Mors. “Or perhaps it was because I bested you at finals all that time ago! But you’re not one to dwell on the past are you?”

“Oh! Wait. I know. It was because I got into the Genius Society! Ha! What a mockery of your talents! I guess I really am the better version of you.” Ratio snapped.

The next minutes were a haze. But it was loud enough to draw the attention of some passing workers who heard the commotion. Insults were hurled back and forth and possibly even objects at some point. It didn’t matter though. They both snapped at each other. Years of built up tensions finally exploded like a can of soda.

It ended with Mors screaming at Ratio to get the fuck out of their office, and he complied.

After that they didn’t talk to each other, only hearing of the others accomplishments in passing. Ratio continued with his lifestyle of teaching and doing work for the Intelligentsia guild, and Mors started their new life as a member of the Genius society. Working at their station in their new facility,

Never in a million years did they think that such a trivial matter would bring this duo back together.

Chapter Text

CW: None

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Of course this “trivial matter” was just as stupid as it sounds.

God it was ridiculous! I mean Mors didn't even want to see this guy. I mean it had been what? Five years? Five years! Mors was never one to try and make friendships, or even rekindle old ones! (If you could consider their relationship a friendship)

But of course duty calls and the greatest minds of the universe called for an audience.
"Mx Omen. As you know the plague known as morbus has been spreading. This wouldn't have been an issue if intergalactic travel didn't exist but alas, this plague has spread to multiple planets and Nous has made the decision to bring you and Mr Veritas Ratio together seeing that both of you got the highest grades at your university."

Mors hands clenched into fists. Was this the only reason? Aeon's! Mors could easily solve this by themselves. The matter was so simple and trivial! Nous underestimated their ability and competence.

"And where exactly can I find Mr Veritas Ratio?" Mors has to hold back the urge to mock the voice of the higher up before them. But that would get them in quite a bit of trouble, and seeing the position that they were in it would be best not to piss off their boss.

"He's currently staying of a planet called Gallactia, home of the 7th most renowned university of their solar system." Gallactia? That's a new name. It sounds like some sort of made up planet a 9 year old created for a school project.

"We request that you depart in a timely manner. Most preferably within the following three days." Three days? That's not even enough time to pack! Mors would need to pack their machines, tools, clothes, weapons, not to mention the blue prints that they were practically swimming in!

I mean it was utterly ridi- "And there is no need for those over the top devices. We are well aware of your capabilities. We just wanted to test to see how you would work in a partnership. Your weight limit is three pounds. That should be just enough to pack all the necessities and more."

If this man was trying to test Mors patience then congratulations! Mission accomplished!

"One last thing, Mx Omen. When you get back I expect a full report of this endeavor." Several ticks appeared on Mors face. "Of course sir." Mors managed out through a clenched jaw, trying their very best not to snap.

Let's summarize shall we? A forced reunion with their mortal enemy whom they hadn't seen in five years, a trip to a planet made by a nine year old (Likely named Timmy) , a limited baggage weight, AND A FULL REPORT? And that wasn't even getting into the fact that Mors would much rather stay cooped up in their lab or sleeping in, what every chance they got.

But alas it was no use trying to argue with the higher ups. So Mors complied and headed back to their lab, mentally preparing for the hell that was up ahead of them.
And luckily for them, they had constructed a multistep plan for success.

Step 1: It’s okay if you pack 4 pounds! They won’t notice!

Step 2: Stress over the fact that you don’t want your establishment that you built from the ground up to crumble overnight while under the care of your workers despite the fact that you know that they are (mostly) competent.

Step 3: Stay up until 4 am before going to bed and wake up at 4 PM, and proceed to gaslight yourself that this is a perfectly normal and healthy sleep schedule.

Step 4: Finally set off to whatever planet that Ratio was on again and ignore everything he says and seize control of all operations not allowing him or anyone else to fuck you over!

Step 5: Return back to your establishment and forget that this ever happened!

It was a perfect plan! A fool proof plan! And one that you wouldn’t allow Ratio to screw over.

~~~TIMESKIP~~~

Finally it was the dreaded day. Mors would be meeting Ratio after not seeing each other for five years. So they set off in the designated space ship just barely making it past security with their numerous bags.

So they waited, and waited. Until the ship finally arrived on Gallactia. “Hmph. Ratio is teaching at that one university. What was it again? ‘The fourth most renowned university in this Solar system or something? Whatever. I've just gotta find my way there so I can meet with Ratio… Ugh.”

So Mors set off to find their greatest enemy.

Despite being Genius Society member number 44 they had a terrible sense of direction. In Fact they spent the next three hours just trying to find their way through the enormous city getting distracted many times by the new and foreign technology.

But finally they were at said university. Getting lost once again, still dragging around their bags. “Maybe bringing 4 different bags wasn’t such a good idea. I just need to find the front desk and they will hopefully be competent enough to assist me.”

After another two hours of struggle and arguing with the er- Senile secretary handling the front desk they were finally able to let their arms rest after dropping off their bags and finding Ratio’s classroom.
“In the middle of a lecture I see. Hmph! God these students are try hards. I’ll just sit here and wait.” So they waited and waited until finally that Ratio was finished.

Mors looked around waiting for the students to flood out of the lecture hall. All but one young girl and her friend hiding behind a desk cheering her on.

“E- excuse me professor Ratio! But I’ve had a crush on you for a long time and I just wanted to give you this!” The very flustered girl held out a white piece of parchment sealed with a heart sticker out the Ratio waiting for him to accept. And maybe he would accept the letter! And they would go on dates and eventually get married an-

“Is that all?” Ratio’s sharp voice cut through the silence like an arrow. “If so, please leave, you have wasted my time.” Mors watched in mild amusement as the girl stared at her Professor looking to be on the verge of tears.

“B-But wh-” “Because you are a literal child! I have a reputation to uphold? How stupid are you girl?”

“Oooh damn! Fiery~ Should’ve brought snacks! This is way better than those soap operas!” Mors continued to look on, enjoying the scene that unfolded before them.

Finally the tension snapped as the poor reject girl ran out of the lecture hall tear running down her face as her friend ran after to comfort her.

“My Ratio. Way to play with a girl's heart. I expected no less from you.” Mors chuckled in amusement the way their rival turned in surprise to face them.

“Long time no see. Have you been well, Veritas?”

Chapter Text

Key: Slanted w/ multiply ~ underneath, flashback | Slanted and bolded, flashback in a flashback (I know) 

CW: Violence, mention's of attempted murder

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ratio turned slowly as he faced the last person he wanted to see. Mors Omen.

The moments that followed were filled with silence as the two stared at each other, with air thick enough to be cut through with a knife.

"I already know of the assignment, no need to inform me." Mors continued to intensely stare at Ratio as he talked, not moving as much as a single muscle.

"Yes I'm well aware of that. Knowing you Ratio you've already packed. We'll set off tomorrow at 12:00 AM. I've already formed a plan. I'll fill you in tomorrow. Just meet me at the entrance at our designated time." Mors got up walking out the exit, slamming it on the way.

Ratio continued to stare at the door even after Mors left. It was funny they hadn't seen each other for years and all of a sudden he gets an email telling him that he would be teaming up with his rival. At first he had initially thought that it was some prank but seeing Mors sit before him was evidence enough that it wasn't, as he knew that they wouldn't seek him out on their own accord in a million light years.

He let out a small huff as he packed up his stuff and headed out the lecture hall, preparing for the nightmare that was ahead of him.

~~~TIMESKIP~~~

Finally the time had arrived for the start of the assignment. Mors had spent the good part of fifteen minutes filling Ratio in on the plan which he had not even attempted to look interested in.

"The first planet we're going to be heading to is called uh-" Mors pulled out their phone opening some sort of notes app before talking again. "Gigantes!"

"Fine, let's go." Ratio kept his stoic expression on his face as the pair walked towards a brightly colored spaceship. It appeared to seat two and was about eight feet in length and 4 and a half feet in width. It was painted a bright pink, and it was terribly ugly but that wasn't the point.

The two climbed in as they plopped down their bags. "My lord, was it really necessary to bring 4 different bags?" Ratio looked cynically at Mors as he let out an exasperated sigh when they refused to respond.

"Ready for take off?" Mors turned to Ratio asking as if they actually cared. "Just get the engine running."

"Roger, that captain." Ratio rolled his eyes at the mockery that was displayed to him as the engine revved up ready for takeoff. It continued to get louder until the jet began to move, and finally took off.

And so the two sat there silently as Mors operated the bright pink jet that would carry them to their first destination of many.

After what seemed like hours they finally landed on a desert-like planet, covered in sand as far as the eye could see. The pair exited the aircraft scouring the area, looking for any sign of life. But they found nothing.

It was just sand.

Suddenly the two heard shifting noises as various strange figures suddenly emerged from the sand, taking a moment before lunging towards them.

Mors pulled out a small gun that was attached to their hip as Ratio got his book. A strange choice of a weapon but it seemed to work just fine for him.

"Looks like we got company!" Ratio half yelled as he fended off the multitude of strange beings that surged towards him.

"Ya think?!" Mors let out an exasperated yell as they kicked the back of the legs of the strange mass. The fight dragged on for what felt like hours but were merely seconds.

Ratio spared a glance towards Mors as they saw them punch one of the beings in what seemed to be their face. "Where did they learn to fight like that?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Rule one in battle. Don't be overconfident in your abilities. Sure knowing your worth is a good thing, but you mustn't allow your hubris to blind you, as it will lead to your fall." A man stared down at a smallish child who seemed to be no older than 11 years of age.

"Rule number two in battle. Never underestimate your opponent. Looks can be deceiving. Just like you my little friend! The first time I met you, you almost slit my throat!" The man laughed as if he were remembering a fond memory when in reality it was much more morbid.

"Rule number three, always keep a sharp and open mind. Physical strength is a good thing but a sharp and well educated mind is much more crucial to battle. You always want to be two steps ahead of your opponent. Which is why starting from today you will start to learn to read and write. Seeing how fast you picked up my martial arts techniques this will be a piece of cake." the child continued to blankly stare up at the older male, eyes peering into his soul. The man internally shuddered before speaking again.

"Ah! That's right! I never asked you your name did I? So, young one, what's your name?" The child continued to stare up at the man before softly speaking.

"i don't have one." they spoke in a hushed tone barely audible. "What was that? I can't hear you." The man leaned forward closer towards the child, closing the distance between the two slightly.

"I DON'T HAVE A NAME." The child yelled this time, making the man jump back in surprise. "I see. Are you sure you don't recall anyone consistently calling you something? Never once?"

"Deus! Quomodo potes esse tam stultus? Haec culpa tua est! VESTRUM ERIT FLAGITIUM! Mortem undique tu fers! Omen mors est quod es!"  That's right. Mors omen was what they had been called. Death omen.

"Mors omen." The man gave a thoughtful look to the child before opening his mouth once more. "Alright then. That's what we'll call you from now on. Mors Omen. It has a nice ring to it doesn't it?" yeah. Mors. They could get used to that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At last the strange figures fell as the pair panted in the scorching hot air trying to catch their breath. "Let's go, we shouldn't stay in one spot for too long."

Chapter Text

Warnings: Cursing, gore, death, murder, vomit/ depictions of bodily fluids

Three planets later and nothing. All the planets they were told to visit so far were either deserts incapable of hosting human life, icy waste lands incapable of hosting human life, or oceans incapable of hosting human life.

It was so strange! They were told to go to these planets with the promise of curing these people of their ailments but instead were met with nothing! No signs of human life or any life at all!

And so here they were, the fourth planet. This time it wasn't some icy wasteland or desert. It was a planet covered in greenery.

There were trees as far as the eye could see and plants and flowers scattered all over the ground.

"You think there'll finally be someone to save." Mors turned to face Ratio shortly after they had exited their plane. Ratio didn't respond as he looked up at the sky, squinting as if he saw something strange.

"C'mon, let's get moving. See if this trip won't be a complete waste of my time." Mors began to walk off with Ratio continuing to stare at the sky for a moment longer before following after.

The pair continued to wander for the next half hour before taking a break in a small clearing in the thick forest. Mors looked down at their feet seemingly transfixed by the new plants. While Ratio looked up at the sky again. "Why are you so interested in the sky all of sudden? It's not like it's going anywhere."

"Give me your binoculars?" Ratio stretched his hand out to Mors who was squatting on the ground expecting to feel the weight of the binoculars in his hand.

When he was finally handed said binoculars he walked to a tall tree, using his arms to climb up it. "Hey! What're you doing?" Mors followed after trying to keep up with his pace as the two scaled the tree.

Ratio finally made it up to one of the highest branches before bringing the binoculars to his eye looking around.

"Holy shit." Mors gasped out of breath before plopping down onto the branch next to Ratio's. "Why the hell did you do that?"

"Hey is tha-'' Ratio suddenly started moving. "We have to go!" His voice sounded of the utmost urgency quickly making his way back down the tree.

Mors looked down suddenly feeling frozen, noticing how high up they were. "OH FUCK IT." Mors started jumping down from branch to branch until they were around eight feet off the ground.

But right at the last second they seemed to lose their foothold, falling down from their position.

Falling and falling, trying to prepare themselves for the impact, until...

Thunk! They hit the ground back first, slapping their hands against the ground trying to soften the impact.

"That's gonna bruise." Mors continued to lay in their spot for a moment more before sitting up and cracking their back, wincing multiple times in the process.

They looked up to see Ratio the distance, already making way without them. Mors grabbed their bag before racing after him, fighting through the severe back pain they were experiencing.

"What was that about?!" Mors let out an exasperated gasp when they finally caught up to Ratio, leaning on their knees trying to catch their breath while their back continued to ache.

Ratio continued to walk with haste making no time to waste. "Hey! I said what was that about? You suddenly scale a tree after asking for binoculars and proceed to scurry back down leaving me high and dry in possibly the tallest tree on this god forsaken planet!"

Ratio ignores them once again, adding more speed to his step as he continues to walk towards something. "Aeons! Can you stop ignoring me? At Least tell me where we're going OH MY GOD!"

Mors ran towards a clearing. Covered their mouth in disgust at the sight before them. Bodies. So many dead bodies scattered across the ground. Some not even on the ground with some being on roofs.

Their bodies were horribly disfigured, some with their faces so burnt or twisted to the point of unrecognition. Others with their body parts twisted in every which way, some even missing their head, legs or anything else you could think of.

But possibly the most horrid body Mors saw was one pinned to a cross. It was so twisted to the point of no longer looking like a human being. For starters its head was missing, and whatever limbs it had left were twisted and broken. But the worst part was its torso, or what remained of it. It was gutted with the chopped up organs scattered all over the ground.

Mors ran to the side of the clearing before puking up whatever contents it's stomach had left.

Ratio looked utterly mortified at the sight. "What a terrible sight." He continued to look on as Mors stumbled to his side clutching their stomach,

"Who could've done this?" Ratio questioned himself slightly clenching his fists at his side.

"They couldn't have gone far, some of the bodies are still warm. We gotta go before they escape." Mors rasps out with their voice being thoroughly worn as within the past ten minutes they had climbed up a tree fallen off said tree, sprinted twice, and puked.

"No." Ratio looked forward, clearly questioning his decision. "The hell do you mean no!? These are real human lives! We can't let the perpetrator get away!" Mors felt as though they were about to cry as this gruesome scene reminded them far too much of something they had seen in the past.

"This isn't our problem. If the perpetrator was able to do this to this many people then we do not have the manpower to defeat them on our own." Mors glared at Ratio clenching their fists.

"How can you say that? Not our problem?! It is our duty to fix these planets! That's what we were sent here for!" The two continued to exchange glares at each other.

"Fine. If you aren't going to, I'll do it myself." Mors proceeded to sprint off in a seemingly random direction before Ratio sighed.

"That's the way we came from." Ratio yelled out into the direction Mors had sprinted off to, before seeing he halt before sprinting back. "The perpetrator went that way." Ratio pointed in the opposite direction before walking for a few brief seconds before turning around to face Mors.

"Well don't just stand there like a buffoon! Are you coming or not?" Mors stared at him for a moment before sprinting off in the direction Ratio had instructed, hearing him follow behind.

Not long after their departure they encountered an enigmatic figure in yet another clearing, standing there covered in blood. "Who are you?" Mors began to slowly walk towards the figure before feeling Ratio hand on their shoulder, preventing them from going any further.

The enigmatic figure slowly turned to face the pair before stepping towards the two, allowing them to see him better.

the man had black hair that just barely touched the tips of his ears. He had deathly pale skin, almost giving him the appearance of a vampire, and to top it all he had deep green eyes that seemed to never end. He was wearing a crisp white button up which was now stained in crimson red, and black dress pants. Surprisingly he was wearing no shoes.

"Never expected to see anyone here." The man eyed the pair up and down before walking away. Mors bound after him out of the clearing but the man had seemingly disappeared from the line of sight.

"Shit! Where did he go?!" Mors turned their head every which way trying to find at least a morcele of a clue to where this mysterious man had gone. But to no avail.

"Let's go. Everyone here is long gone so there is no point in staying any longer." Ratio grasped Mors arm, forcibly dragging them back to their ship. This was the end of this expedition.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I thought you said you wouldn't get caught, Elio." a short girl with a gray pony tale sat at a messy desk captivated by some sort of video game.

"Don't worry my dear Silver Wolf. It is all going according to the script."

Chapter Text

~~~~SWITCHING POV - MORS OMEN~~~~

I don’t quite remember when it started. At some point I stopped trying to guess.

Ponding this question wouldn’t make anything better, everything would be the same, merely a fixture of time, unchangeable from its predetermined final state.

What is this question you may ask?

What was the first day that he stopped being a human being? No, what was the first day that my brother stopped being a human being?

My brother, my “best friend”, my platonic soulmate. Call him what you will. I really don’t care, because that man stopped mattering to me a long, long time ago.

Right?

Yes.

I no longer care about him.

He is as good as dead to me. I do not miss him.

I cannot miss him.

That mother fucker…

~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Happy birthday!” Ah this memory,March 15th 20XX. My birthday.

I’ve always been sub par to the idea of birthdays. Really the only reason I ever enjoyed them was for all the toys and special items I’d receive as gifts.

A cat plush, (if you could call a taxidermy a plush) a set of marble building blocks, (not ideal for an 8 year old)a slab of polished granite with the words, “ carpe diem” neatly engraved in the center, and finally a pure gold palm beach headpiece.

What a perfect day. So happy, yet so blissfully unaware.

My perfect happy day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“AESVA ME. SODES.” Their screams, so distant, yet so vivid.

How pathetic.

“ ADJUVA FILIA MIHI! TANTUM ET INFANT.” “TE BESTIO!” “MEUM PECUNIA!” “Numquam agnus dabo te numquam amet dimittet vos.” The yells and the cries blend into one another like watercolor, muddling each other making them all seem like white noise.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Cassius! Cassius!” His name. I’ll never forget it. Like the ghost of a smile on my lips. Cassius, my dear brother. My best friend.

My Roman empire.

Chapter Text

The previous expedition had ended in disaster, finding that the majority of the residents from the most recent planet the duo of Mors and Ratio had visited had been slaughtered. Via a more thorough investigation on the previous planets they had visited (two of such were the wastelands.) they had discovered that these planets' residents had too been slaughtered by the strange green eyed man.

To say Mors was being haunted by that man would be a gross understatement. They would see him at every turn. He was there, he was behind the murders, and Mors was helpless to him. They were unable to prevent it. Maybe if they had gotten there sooner then the people would be alive.

Maybe if they had apprehended him before any harm could be done.

But they didn’t. They were too late. Too foolish to see the signs.

Everything was implanted into every crevice of their brain. The blood, gore, the dismembered body parts, and him. Whoever he was was like an inescapable trap. He was always there.

In the already horrifying nightmares that Mors had he was now present, looming over the carnage and fire that engulfed every building around them.

He’d look at Mors, and somehow it made them feel so tiny. Like an insect being observed under a microscope. He’d stare at them, smiling eerily with those horrifying, piercing green eyes that just seemed to pick them apart.

His lips would move as if he were speaking, but nothing would come out and he’d just keep smiling at them.

Everything would normally end with images of the two men blinking between each other, almost like it was glitching. Then Mors would jolt awake, realizing that it was all a horrible dream.

Ratio wanted to shoot someone. Although violence was never his first resort, Ratio felt as though he were about to explode from the sheer pressure that had been thrusted upon him after the entire catastrophe.

Where did the papers even begin and end?

And most importantly he’d gotten reports that his oh so dear partner hadn’t left their lab in 14 days. That was 336 system hours! There was absolutely no way they couldn’t also possibly be swamped in work and reports! Surely not.

That was most definitely why they hadn’t left their lab! Although completely unethical, Mors had their own, well- interesting ways of dealing with issues.

Although there was that small nagging voice in the back of Ratio’s head. It was cynical, unkind, and envious.

Despite the fact that Ratio was powered by knowledge and logic, opting to remain as unbiased as possible he simply couldn’t help but feel so angry at Mors. As much as he tried to keep his opinion neutral about them there was a part of him that fully despised them.

He despised them for their high and mighty attitude, and their eccentricism when showing off their vast knowledge. He despised how they seemed so very captivated by their research to the point of insanity. He despised them.

They were so damn egotistical.

But he hated how he hated them. Ratio didn’t truly despise anyone. But it was just something about Mors that ticked him off so badly.

Ratio would dig through the deep crevices of his brain searching for an answer to this seeming simple perplexer. Yet he would remain even more vexed each time.

It was frustrating to say the least. Him, Ratio, no- Doctor Ratio, was considered to be one of the greatest minds in the entirety of the cosmos. Albeit apparently not enough to capture the attention of Nous THEMself, but he was a genius for Aeons sake!

So when the opportunity arose to broaden his knowledge, Ratio took it gladly in spite of his current predicament.

This time he had picked up a research paper put out by a prominent researcher at Herta Space Station.

The main subject was on a planet that appeared to have no longer existed. Its name, Icarus.

In its heyday it was a cultural hub, developing its own languages outside of the well established one of the IPC.

And along with its already impressive title it was a haven of well nurtured intelligence and ground breaking research, although it came with its faults it appeared to be the ideal place for a person such as Ratio.

Although the class system was, well- for lack of better words, absolutely horrendous, it seemed to have been thriving.

But he couldn’t seem to shake off his contempt for the class system. It seemed to heavily favor those who were rich and of high position, but left the less fortunate in the dirt with no hope for a secure future or education.

The wealthier seemed to get wealthier and afford better education resulting in the already gapping rift in classes to grow ever bigger. Ratio was a firm believer that all should receive education, and a fair chance at a successful life. This was upsetting to him.

But soon after Ratio found himself deeply perplexed as the paper abruptly ended, with no explanation as to the downfall of what appeared to be a thriving planet. It was strange to say the least.

So, as a person such as himself does, he did more research. So he searched, only to come up with small bits and pieces of what truly occurred.

He found, for starters, the date, which was hardly helpful. He seemed to encounter more roadblocks in his research until he found something interesting.

Records of a child named Magnus Puer. Apparently a child of an affair between a woman of the lowest class and the emperor they were initially left to fend for themself in the slums until a kind hearted consul member found out about them and their origins and took them in.

This child would continue to be raised by the members of the consul, coddled and spoiled by them. It being recorded that they became a “brat”. Which was logic that Ratio could agree with.

They would later be pronounced defective as they showed no signs of speaking and no interest in an education of any sort.

Despite all of this they continued to be praised by the people and members of the consul for some strange reason, apparently continuing to have been coddled and spoiled by the consul members up until the ripe old age of 9.

It was apparently when things changed. A child named Oriri was taken in by the consul, their circumstances similar to that of Magnus.

Although Ratio found the naming conventions here strange he would learn that many of the names that were given to the children and people of Icarus were kept personal, only to be known by themselves and family. They were given fake names as their true names supposedly made them closer to their god of judgment day.

But that aside Oriri had apparently changed Magnus. They became more docile and frankly protective of who they would come to view as something of a younger sibling.

Although Ratio certainly had well, opinions on this Magnus child. His dedication and willingness to change for their younger sibling certainly intrigued him, and was a trait that he admired in the child, albeit rather begrudgingly.

And despite this being interesting Ratio failed to see how this was relevant to his investigation into the destruction of Icarus anyways. The fixation on this no longer existing planet was fully pointless, and he had much more pressing matters to attend to.

One of which being dragging his partner out of their lab.

So, what he considered to be a worse fate that the paperwork began.

Ratio had thought that the Gambler frustrated him, well fucking Mors Omen was really giving him a run for his money. Whether or not this would be good or bad in the eyes of Aventurine was up to debate for now.

And at the moment Ratio was on the verge of having to physically restrain himself from kicking down the door.

He’d been standing outside for an insurmountable amount of time trying to civilly get Mors to come out. All attempts coming up wholly unsuccessful.

Ratio had gone from talking in a normal speaking voice, to a slightly raised tone, to finally yelling in the lowest possible volume he could.

And really the only reason Ratio was even bothering in the first place was because he was very prepared to shove some of his paperwork onto Mors- Wait. No. He couldn’t do that. That would make him pathetic. Relying on Mors- BS!

No, Ratio refused to hurt his pride like that. So with a final exasperated sigh he walked away to deal with the paperwork on his own. Even if it took a toll on him mentally, he refused to allow his pride to be hurt by asking for help from Mors of all people.

Although he was sure that Mors had some sort of load of paperwork. Surely.

But they did have special privileges since they’re a member of the genius society. No, surely not when it came to such important things like paperwork, they couldn’t! The Intelligencia guild only offered equality to its workers.

But the Genius society technically wasn’t a full fledged part of it. But that was unfair! For an organization that so vehemently advocated for equality they wouldn’t do that.

Agh, whatever. The Doctor Ratio needn't think about such pointless things. Things that threw the quality of his oh so dear company's morals into question. That could change his whole point of view on the Intelligencia guild.

It was pointless. Very pointless.

But Ratio couldn’t get it out of his head.

Were the ethics of the Intelligentsia guild truly righteous? Were they truly just in their ploys and stipulations of equality?

How much talent was skimmed past when there were individuals in high positions such as himself being constantly monitored.

How much talent went unnurtured because of how little it was paid attention to because they weren’t in a high enough position?

How many dreams crushed by the false promises of equality that the Intelligencia guild put out?

How could someone in such a high position like him look past such a glaring issue? It was so clear, yet Ratio turned a blind eye.

How could he be so naive?

But… could he truly do anything about it?

No, it truly wasn’t his problem. It didn’t affect him, so why should he care?

Even if he tried, the chances of him making any long lasting changes was sub zero. Sure Ratio was in a high position; it wasn't nearly as good as it had to be to make waves in the work of the Intelligentsia Guild.

His brain was telling him to give up on this pointless dream or true equality. It didn’t matter and it didn’t affect him. After all this was a dog eat dog world. If Ratio could do it then so could all the other lower ranking workers.

But… it wasn’t right, was it? Even if his brain was telling him to give up on this, it felt as though some invisible entity was tugging on his heart strings telling him to chase his dream.

But dreams weren’t logic. Dreams didn’t power machines, or solve math equations. They were just that, dreams, a thing constructed by the subconscious.

They were irrational, and dangerous. Sure they were nice to have but they didn’t really do anything.

Ratio would ditch this dream. Just like all the others. Because like the rest, it was impossible.