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[fastest]

[ there's the sound of a few notes of an organ being played...nothing fancy, but it does have certain ring to it. it suddenly stops for something, and joshua's voice can be heard as a slight echo ]

Bless me Father, for I have sinned.

[ there's a stretched out silence, as abel just walked into the church after looking all night and day, to find

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[priestish]

[there is a long, pregnant silence as Abel stares.

the resemblances between Joshua's situation and Cain's were innumerable. and in the end... Abel doubted he'd afford the boy much greater mercy than he had his twin when he'd discovered what he'd done to Lilith all those centuries ago.]

[priestish]

[his responsibility in this is utterly undeniable. the pieces all fit together, and his appearance, here, and now... ensured his guilt. Abel needed no further convincing.

he accelerated - a movement that would seem akin to teleportation for its speed - across the room (whether tapping into that ability was intentional or not may remain a mystery), fingers grasping for the boy's face and roughly slamming his head back against the wall behind him, pinning him securely.

the priest leaned forward, staring down at the child who dared possess the audacity to 'teach him a lesson.' honestly... it was almost laughable. his voice was deceptively calm and quiet.]

I will give you one opportunity to release her, here and now, before you begin to irk me.

And after that, I can promise you... things will quickly become very unpleasant.

[fastest]

[ the speed surprised him, but not unpleasantly. he just laughs a little, despite the pain. he's battled a hundred demons at once...a little pain's easy to ignore at this point ]

I bet you've had everyone try to cure them, haven't you? So you must know by now that I'm the only one that can release them.

Didn't I tell you? If you kill me, you're signing their death warrant too. They'll be like that forever.

[ a clean lie, but it's so smooth that no one could detect it, even at this proximity. his eyes are too unfocused, too conflicted to give anything away ]

[priestish]

[even if it were true, Abel would rather kill him and find out then let him continue to inflict his strange ability on others so that the potential death toll could rise. he had no idea what this time-stopping spell could do to them - if they were in excruciating pain while under its thrall... if they were even alive at all under that stone-like appearance.

and he intended to release them all, one way, or another. Joshua would be back in two weeks if he died. but they would be stuck like this forever if he didn't do something.

his fingers increased in their hold over his face, a clearly inhuman grip.]

Then you ought to release them before it gets to that point, Joshua.

[luckyvalentine]

[freezes when she hears this, blood instantly running cold.]

...Shit.

[pulls the journal closer and listens with no small amount of grave tension]

[milanobutterfly]

[She's listening in on this.]

[seeded_flame]

[oh goddamnit what did she say about not doing anything too dangerous]

....

[payback]

[Listening also. Just barely breathing.]

The hell...