AU concept: Jon is already an avatar of The Eye and undercover at the Institute. RATED EXPLICIT
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The future was unknown to Jonathan Sims.
That was why it had surprised him to be promoted to Head Archivist at the Magnus Institute after only four short years. A welcome surprise, to be sure, although he would have remained committed to the long game as originally intended had that proven necessary. The way things had been going with Gertrude Robinson, it had only been a matter of time before she got herself murdered by Jonah Magnus sooner or later. But Jon never could have calculated for Jonah acting erratically (albeit understandably) in the heat of the moment.
Jon had come to the Institute those years ago after The Eye first showed Jonah to him, revealing Jonah’s plans to destroy the world and rule its remains. Jon would not have been able to tell you why, as an avatar, he seemed to be so highly favored. Was it because as a young boy marked by The Web, Jon had devoured any knowledge he could unearth on the Fears without even a mentor to guide his findings? For all its impersonality, was it possible that Beholding could develop something akin to affection for a child seeking to serve it so fervently?
Whatever the reason for it, Jon enjoyed The Eye’s horrible blessing.
Jonah Magnus was over 200 years old and had reaped the benefits of having a failed Watcher’s Crown under his belt. Jon was barely pushing thirty, but with The Eye revealing and concealing whatever and however it saw fit, Jon and Jonah were all but evenly matched. Make no mistake, although he preferred a more “human” life devoid of any rituals and ostentation, Jon was a monster, terrible and awesome, and he knew it. Now Jon spied on Jonah for years in Jonah’s own place of power, a place where Jonah was only known by the name Elias, and the Ceaseless Watcher kept Jonah blind to Jon’s machinations—just so long as It could Watch the resulting show.
Suffice to say, there was no way in all the Entities’ domains that Jon was about to sit back and let Jonah bring about the Apocalypse.
Not if Jon might be able to bring it about first.
The affair had not been a part of the plan. But perhaps it had been inevitable, two acolytes of the same god orbiting around each other. Besides, both were handsome in their own unique right; both spoke with voices dark and smooth as magnetic tape. Both of them had a touch of The Lonely about them, even if they didn’t serve it. And although Beholding would not allow Jonah to behold all there was to Jon, Jonah sensed just enough about Jon to know that he craved to Know more.
(cont. under cut)