Oracle, Father Matias
Father Mathias has been a faithful man all my life. He has given everything in the name of the Creed and the Church of Redemption. Ever since he was a young child, he had seen what humanity was capable of. It disgusted him beyond words. That’s why he had given up everything of his being to fulfill a higher purpose on this Earth.
Mathias stared at his bionic arm. The only thing that was still organic in him was his brain, though it was so modified that calling him a human would be a stretch. He clenched his fist and a hidden compartment just under his wrist opened up.
Inside of it, they were purple colored pills. Mathias took one and dry swallowed it. His throat immediately closed up, choking him. But he was calm, this was God allowing him to see through the veil of reality. Every cybernic in his body was going wild, his eyes shutting down and restarting themselves in an infinite loop. His heart stopped for a few seconds, only for a singular powerful heartbeat to make all the blood flow around his body.
In those few seconds he saw it. An image of, nay! a vision! A great being shrouded in darkness radiating malevolence. His gigantic clawed hands seemed to squash the poor Mathias. He struggled all he could, but its strength was overwhelming, the last thing he saw was its face, one lacking most features, except for horns that seemed to pierce through the never ending darkness and a grin that seemed to mock him, belittle him.
Mathias woke up a few hours later, much to his misfortune. God did not seem to have a need for him in Heaven yet, then he would do his best in this cursed Earth.
He stood up from his leather chair, all his cybernetics coming back online and keeping the man up. He paced around the room and mahogany desk, trying to remember the details of his vision.
“A grinning devil…”
He had heard about such visions before. Five years ago in Germany, one of the Oracles had an aneurism shortly after the vision. Before he went to heaven, he spoke of this horned, grinning figure. A few days later, someone got inside their R&D department, stole all their A.C.E. and blew the whole place up. The person who did it was the Unknown Grinning Devil. Would something like that happen again? He had to be ready.
Father Mathias walked outside his studio, Outside of it, two beings stood. They were the Angels, beings that took the Purple and ascended to a higher state. Unfortunately their bodies could not follow their enlightened soul, so they were used as experimental materials to make God’s servant job easier on this Earth. The Purple corroded brain, made them perfect candidates for brain cybernetics, since no personality would be lost. If they had some functions damaged in the process, a Beta Core AI was used to replace the base brain’s functions.
“Thank you God, for your blessings.” Prayed the father.
With renewed energy, Mathias continued his walk towards one of the windows in the corridors outside of his studio. Many of the people that would see him would bow, some other just stared at him in awe. Truly, it felt nice to be seen as a good tool for his Lord’s will.
Thus, without any hesitation, he jumped out of an open window. He was on the 9th floor, the fall would have taken but a few seconds. He felt the wind scraping what little was left of skin on his face. Below he could hear the sound of people speaking.
“It’s him!”
“Angels!”
“Quick! On your knees!”
When he was on the 6th floor, something grabbed Mathias’s' arms, slowing his fall. The Angels, one grabbing an arm each were slowing his fall down. Their wings opened fully, a marvel of technology allowing them flight, truly God was most right into allowing this ability to his Angels. Humans were not deserving of such a gift. Last time the Humans soared the sky, they brought it down.
Father Mathias gently touched the ground, he was in the Central Plaza of his little community in Ural Polis. This part of the city was under the jurisdiction of the Church of Redemption and all the people in it were fervent believers. Most of the people were only on their knees, singing praise for a messenger of God.
“My Children!” - started Father Mathias, his enhanced voice silencing any other source of noise - “ I have come here because I require your assistance again.”
“We will do whatever you want, Father!” Shouted one of the younger men.
“I appreciate your willingness to help God’s servant, child.” Father Mathias walked towards the man and grabbed his hand, rubbing the back of his hand, where a strange trident looking tattoo was.
The man seemingly speechless from being touched by a higher being, felt rejuvenated, like he could do anything.
“No fair Father!” Shouted one child, grabbing on Mathias white robes.
“Sorry Father!” - hurriedly said a young woman, pulling the child away from the cyborgs.
Sometimes, things like these would happen, they would lay their hands on him without his consent. Last time such an event happened, the Angels killed the poor soul. Thankfully Mathias has taught them well this time.
“Fret not dear.” Said the father, getting on one knee and rubbing the child’s forehead.
“What is that you desire, little one?” Asked the cyborg with a smile on his face.
“...I wish to see Grandma again.” answered the child sheepishly.
Father Mathias just continued to smile. He understood that feeling well, of losing someone and not being able to see her again. He spent most of his life lost in that sorrow, until redemption came knocking at his door.
“Of course my dear, allow me.” Mathias brought out one of his pills and held it out for all to see.
Their eyes could only be described as animalistic. They were starved beasts and he was holding meat in front of them. Yet, none of them dared to move, for interrupting a Ceremony was one of the highest felonies one could commit in the Church.
The child too stared at it with wide open eyes, rubbing his forehead and eyes, as if it would disappear the moment he closed his eyes. Mathias always found such reactions amusing on adults, and adorable on kids.
Before the child could reach his hand out, the young woman gave him a little tap on the head.
“...Uh? Ah! The words ehmm…” The child seemed to have forgotten the words of Acceptance.
Father Mathias smiled.
“In the name of the power kindly given to me…” Started the Oracle.
“AH!” - a sudden inspiration hit the child - “We are unworthy of your sight, until redeemed we shall be, free of burden of the past, we ready shall be to carry on the sight of the future!” recited the child.
“...I shall bestow you, the new unworthy, a glimpse through the sight of the redeemed.” Ended the Father, laying the pill on the center of the child’s palm.
“We will watch your growth with great interest.”
“Amen.” Said all the people in the plaza.
“Now, as I was saying.” - Mathias brought all the attention back to him - “An evil, tainted by the sins of the past is coming to our humble abode.”
Sounds of gasping and expressions of surprises were on all the followers.
“I want you, my children, to explore the city in hope of finding this…devil.”
“We shall search every nook and cranny Father!” Assured one of the older men.
“I am sure you will be, my child…” - Mathias turned to one of his Angels, giving one of them an order to activate the fountain in the middle of the plaza - “For now, enjoy God’s blessings.”
The moment he finished speaking, the fountains came to life, spilling some Purple tainted water into its basin. All the people started running towards it, cusping their hands together to drink the strange liquid. Once they had done so, they would fall on the ground, their eyes turned white and some even frothing from their mouth. New Angels were being born.
Father Mathias's smile threatened to split his face. He would never get tired of seeing such a scene. They would be given the gift to see what they most desire, maybe for the last time. He would lie if he said he was not envious that he could no longer see what he longer for, but it brought him infinite pleasure to God’s work through his vision.
His sight turned to the downed masses. He truly hoped that they were satisfied with what little they saw, God hated greedy servants.
“Talking of greed, I need to talk to that damn beast…”
Father Mathias nodded to his Angels, which immediately grabbed him and started flying through the city. Next stop would be District 1, the Lion’s Share Central Agency.
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Grinning Devil?
The Devil was climbing up a hill, each step more heavy than the last. Even using his hands to grab on the terrain is not helping him much. He knew what was on the top, it was always the same scene, and yet he was compelled to go forward, a prisoner in his own body.
With ragged breath, the Devil reached the top. On it he could see a tree, with a femmine figure leaning on it. He took deep breaths, in preparation of what was going to happen. He hated being unconscious because of this.
“Why?” Asked the figure, looking forward to the seemingly endless expanse of hills in front of them.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“I had to.” Answered the Devil, before he could think of anything else.
“Had to?” She turned around, her face devoid of all facial features, yet he could feel her stare on him. In her hands, a beating heart.
“He would have killed me!”
“So you choose yourself over me? How selfish.” A different, deeper voice admonished.
“...” The Devil stood in silence.
The shadows behind the woman’s body coalesced into a human upper body missing its head.
“Walking over mountains of corpses, you think you still deserve to stand by her side?” Spoke the Headless Shadow.
The terrain in which they were transformed into an innumerable mass of corpses, even the sky changed into a blood red color. The countless limbs that the Devil stood upon started grabbing on his ankles, dragging him down.
“DEVIL!”
“MONSTER!”
“MURDERER!”
They called out to him. Wanting his body and soul, to torture him till the end of times. They once almost did. This time was different however. With silent determination, he pulled one of his legs out and stepped on one of the bodies. He continued to do so, until he was face to face with the Headless Shadow.
“I will finish what you have begun, even if I have to walk over a mountain of corpses, brother.”
The Headless Shadow smiled, then laughed heartily.
“Look at you, barely more than a shapeless monster, and you want to usurp my place?”
The Devil looked down at himself, like the shadow before him, he had lost most of his human shape, his body turned to a scarlet color, except for his hands.
“I will never take your place brother…” - The Devil’s hand stretched towards the heart the woman was holding - “But I will keep her safe regardless.”
“You were always a stubborn man.” Said the Headless Shadow, with a hint of a smile.
“It was what allowed me to meet both of you.”
Before his hand could touch the heart, the Headless Shadow stopped him.
“I will judge your every action until the day you die.”
The Devil just nodded and when his hand touched the heart, everything disappeared in the blink of an eye. Leaving only the woman and the heart floating in the nothingless.
“Will we ever find peace, Devil?” She innocently asked.
Honestly the Devil did not know, and he did not want to lie to her. The Devil opened his mouth but now he found himself in a different place, and with a killer headache to boot.
He got up into a setting position and inspected his surroundings. He was, obviously, in a cell. They even went the extra mile using nylon cords to keep him in place. Thankfully it was one of the thinner ones, so with a bit of struggle, he could break free.
“Guten morgen Devil, hope you had pleasant dreams.” Said the man sitting on the other side of the bars.
The Devil turned his attention to the man. He seemed to be in his fifties, bald with soulless gray eyes, wearing a trenchcoat that hid under it a bulletproof vest.
“I did not.”
The man had just put a cigarette on his mouth and was currently searching for a lighter.
“Scheisse, I should be more careful where I put it.” He muttered under his breath.
Once he found it hidden deep into his trench coat, he immediately lighted his cigarette and started puffing it.
“Tell me, Teufel, what happened to Icarus Orlov?”
The Devil had not heard that name in years, not since the Euro-African conflict during the Great Last War. This made him feel uncomfortable.
“He flew too close to the sun and got burnt.”
“Haha, very funny.”
The Devil had to buy some time for Khutulun to come and rescue him. He had not expected for the A class Unknown John Smith to be here. This could cause a lot of problems.
John took a gun from his coat. The Devil immediately noticed it was a ballistic weapon, albeit a highly modified one, most likely one made to kill Enhanced Humans like him.
“Ever been shot by one of these?” Asked John, while moving the gun around.
“Once, and I would like to keep it so.”
Last time the Devil had been shot by one of those, it took him weeks to get back on his feet. He would truly love to not experience that again.
“Easy enough, just tell me the truth…” - John aimed the gun at the Devil - “...what happened to Icarus Orlov.”
It was amazing that even after all these years, General Orlov was still searching for clues about his son's whereabouts. A parent's love truly is limitless eh?
“He died.”
The Devil felt a sharp pain from his side. He looked down and saw his blood pouring out of his body, staining his clothes.
“Let’s see if you are in the mood to joke now.”
The effects on the neurotoxin are already making him feel numb. He could not allow himself to die here. He could not.
The Devil’s quickening heartbeat only helped for the venom to spread to his whole body. One heartbeat, he could not feel his legs. Second heartbeat, now the arms. Third heartbeat, the neck. Before his heart could beat again, the Headless Shadow stood behind John Smith, his mocking grin ever present.
“Allow me to pick up your slack.” It offered.
The Devil’s vision began to grow dim, until his consciousness left.
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Khutulun
She had gotten inside the security room easily enough. Though while she was sneaking in, she noticed some figures that seemed to be in command of this bunker. She was able to take care of three of them, but there could be more of them, so she needed to be fast in her hacking.
Khutulun looked around what seemed to be the Security Room. Monitors everywhere, giving sight into every part of the bunker. Except for one room, judging from the black monitor in the middle of the bunch.
She plugged her laptop to one of the PCs and started doing her magic. Getting into the subsystem was surprisingly simple, they broke through the old security system and left a bareboned one. Rookie mistake. One should always have some prepared, just in case.
However, one of them was resilient to her attempts of access. It was most likely what the Devil was aiming for. Quickly digging through the bunker's blueprints she found out what that room was for: Android Factory.
Khutulun scoffed. Of course that's what he wanted out of this place. It would take a bit more time to get into it but was doable. Meanwhile her laptop was doing her thing, she looked at the various monitors.
She found the Devil in one of the prison cells on the lower floors. From his erratic twitching, she guessed he was having the Dream. She felt a pang of pity in her heart. With a quick shake of her head she refocused on her task. Until she saw a new figure through the monitor.
An older man, blue eyes and bald, wearing a trenchcoat, slowly walking towards the cell. She felt something in her guts, her instinct screaming at her that something was wrong. She focused all her attention on the man. His slow, methodical step alluded to his confidence, he was fearless in meeting the Devil.
The thought was unlikely, only a madman would not have a shred of fear when facing him. She was missing something, her vision even more focused. She noticed something, a gun under his trench coat. She felt her blood run cold.
Her laptop prompted her with a message. It was done cracking. Khutulun shook her head and downloaded every information the Devil may need. It was only for a few seconds, but that was enough to see the older man seated across the Devil with a gun aiming down at him.
Khutulun grabbed her laptop and began to run as fast as her legs could carry her, the metal pavements under her cracking. She took down every grunt that had the misfortune of noticing her.
“AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH”
A guttural scream was heard throughout the facility, seemingly stopping the time for all those who heard it, even Khutulun, but for a different reason. She had heard such a scream before. She ran even harder, every muscle fiber in her body threatening to break from the exertion.
She had to reach him. She had to save him. She would not let him die again. She would not.