⁕ The truths and the lies (part 1)

Investigation Report #20721110-P-01

In the aftermath of the nuclear attack targetted at Rome, Italy, which occurred on the 10th of November 2072, The Imperial Eagle Eye Bureau (IEEB) has determined the origin of the attack to be a terrorist attack carried out by the partisan organization: [The Italian Freedom Front]. 

The investigation was conducted with the assistance of Cybeknight member *Redacted* and concluded that no foul play was in order as the partisan forces contained members of the US military stationed in Italy who had previously been in charge of the nuclear weapons set in Italy following the US occupation in the aftermath of WW3. It was concluded that the partisan, with the help of the US nuclear arsenal in Italy, attacked the city of Rome in order to wipe out the 90,000-strong garrison of imperial troops stationed in Rome at the time of the attack. 

As a consequence of the horrific attack, all 35,000 partisan members were captured and subsequently judged and executed according to the law with due regard to human dignity and rights with the exception of militants who had unfortunately perished at the hands of the infuriated civilian population. 

The final death toll was in the vicinity of one million with the injured population unaccounted for. Imperial losses consisted of 89,000 men out of the 90,000 stationed in Rome.

As a result of the attack, tighter security measures will be introduced to the main cities under imperial rule. No further investigation will be done on this subject as all nuances have been described in this report. With no survivors from the partisan groups, no further knowledge could be gathered beyond what has been described in this report. 

End of report.

Report by agent Jackson of The Imperial Eagle Eye Bureau (IEEB).

Karson opened his eyes to the bright light of an operating table. On top of him was a mirror which reflected the entirety of his body but something was wrong. Karson only saw a blur as his eyes were still adjusting but the fact that he saw a massive red mass on the mirror worried him. After finally regaining a clear vision, Karson screamed in fear and shock as he saw the state of his body. 

Some of his flesh were rotten while other part of his was charred by the heat. Most terrifying out of all was the fact that he was still alive despite missing a lot of his organs. He had no lungs but was still breathing, he had no heart but the blood kept flowing inside him, he had no intact muscle but he could still scream. The sheer unnatural view in front of him was overwhelming to his mind. 

[Sniper] - "It seems like you have completed your mission. "

Said Sniper in a cold voice.

[Karson] - "What have you done to my body! What kind of dream is this? "

Yelled Karson in terror. 

Sniper slowly approached him and raised Karson's head, which allowed him to see his body. Karson cried as he realized that the mirror wasn't lying; His body was truly mutilated beyond recognition. 

[Sniper] - "I suppose keeping you in this state is no longer a necessity. You have two choices, dear Karson. You can either swear your loyalty to me and I will grant you your body back while rewarding you with the promised promotion. Or, you can remain in this pitiful state forever. What will you choose? "

[Karson] - "How can ye make me normal again? I'm beyond savin', I'm a bloody corpse! "

[Sniper] - "I can save you when even God can't... "

Said Sniper as his voice echoed around the room. 

Sniper activated his crystals which glowed with an overwhelming white shine before pieces from Karson's body from Italy began to fly away. From the destroyed, charred bits of skin to the melted organs, every molecule was reconstructed and reshaped into their previous forms. Right in front of his eyes, Karson watched as his rotted flesh returned to their healthy colours while the blackened skin patches regained life. 

As his healing process occurred, Karson felt a feeling he could not describe. Soon, Karson's whole body was entirely reconstructed with not even a scar left on any of the tissue. Karson stood up, touched his body and stared at himself in the mirror. To his shock, he was complete and alive as if the whole ordeal never happened. 

[Sniper] - "...but remember, even God can't save you if I wanted you dead. "

Karson could not describe the relief he felt but he also came to understand what kind of power was held by Sniper. The oppressive feeling he felt around Sniper was just the hair of the beast hidden inside Sniper's palm. Just now, that indescribable feeling was the godly touch of that monster. Karson looked one last time at Sniper's cold emotionless face before he consciously fell to his knees and pressed his head against the floor in submission. 

Sniper is a God and Karson is nothing but a meaningless mortal in front of him. Instead of contempt, Karson felt admiration and fear toward the incomprehensible and invisible power that touched him. Was it ecstasy or pain? Heat or cold? An infinite touch or an endless void? All he knew was that the feeling that lingered in his mind could only be described as contact with the universe itself. To Karson's eyes, Sniper is a being of infinite properties which could never be reached by anything. The sheer weight of that thought crushed all of Karson's will to resist in the past, in the present, in the future and in all other dimensions. 

[Karson] - "My purpose in life is to serve you, my lord. I swear loyalty to you and you only! I shall give my life to fulfill the orders of my emperor in the present, the future and beyond! "

Sniper's emotionless face finally allowed the glimpse of a satisfied smile to escape.

[Sniper] - "You shall be baptized as knight Icarus, the kid who survived the rays of the sun. Rise as you are granted the rank of Senior Cyberknight. "

Karson slowly stood up but he refused to look Sniper in the eyes out of fear. 

[Sniper] - "You are dismissed. CR-455, Pope of the Cyberknight, will award you with your new rank shortly. "

*Present time

Mike walked past Karson in the hallway without recognizing him under his new senior Cyberknight armour. As Mike marched through the hallway, each man and woman who saw him stopped to salute him. In his armour, people only knew Mike as the Grand Cyberknight, the hero who stepped in to save the survivors in Rome following the attack. 

After arriving inside the laboratory, Mike quickly closed the door behind him and removed his helmet. Mike exited his armour using his ability before making it stand like a sentry by the entrance. He walked deeper inside the laboratory before meeting Doctor Ethan by the operating table. 

[Mike] - "Who's the unfortunate soul you are cutting open? "

Ethan almost jumped as he tried to hide the patient on the operating table. 

[Ethan] - "Ah, Mike! I wasn't expecting you to pay me a visit this early. "

Said Ethan in a nervous tone. 

Mike was quick to notice the strange behaviour of the doctor. Suspicious, Mike leaned his head and noticed Kadyn on the operating table. 

[Mike] - "Listen, you have ten seconds to make sense of what you are doing, doc, or I'll make sure some old man's soul doesn't arrive in heaven in a single piece. "

 Said Mike in a cold tone as cracked his wrist in preparation. 

[Ethan] - "Calm your nerves, dammit! She asked me to install a crystal on her too. Ain't no harm in this operation, I swear! "

[Mike] - "Oh! That's strange. I never thought she wanted to. "

[Ethan] - "Now, sit down and let me finish. I'll get to you in a bit. "

Mike waited for a few minutes inside Ethan's desk chair before the doctor walked out of the operating room. After throwing his bloodied gloves inside the trash can, he arrived in front of Mike with an annoyed look on his face. 

[Ethan] - "Gosh darn it, sit somewhere else! "

Mike glanced at Ethan before using his ability to pull the chair toward Ethan. 

[Ethan] - "Now, which part of your arm needs my attention? "

[Mike] - "Nowhere actually. "

Said Mike as he sat upright from his sleeping position supported by nothing beneath him. 

[Ethan] - "Must be nice having air as a chair. Unlike this used-up shitshow. "

Said Ethan as he pulled a small piece of broken leather off his chair. 

[Mike] - "Ethan, I need to talk about something. The attack on Rome by the partisans, I feel there is something more to it. "

[Ethan] - "Well, what is your theory? "

[Mike] - "I have read the investigation report on that affair and I have found a few disparities with the actual event. First off, why would they kill all the partisans without interrogating them? Secondly, while I was fighting off the missiles, I noticed they were probably not American as described by the report. They are model 45 Shortman hydrogen missiles produced by China which should not be in Italian hands. Finally, what is a Cyberknight doing in an investigation that didn't concern the Cyberknights? "

[Ethan] - "I reckon it was a Cardinal Cyberknight. These bastards are often involved with this kind of thing. "

Mike gave Ethan a small tablet which displayed the investigation report. 

[Mike] - "Check it. If there is truly nothing shady to hide, then why does it feel so wrong? It's not the first time I read reports from the IEEB but rarely do they ever cook reports with such suspicious taste. "

After reading through the report, Ethan handed the tablet back to Mike. 

[Ethan] - "If what you told me is true, then I can guarantee you that they are hiding something. Most importantly, they are trying to hide information from the people in power inside the empire. A report like this is only accessible to people with extremely high clearance inside the empire, so they would never lie on these reports considering to whom they are being presented. This has the smell of a traitor or spy all over it. "

[Mike] - "Someone from IEEB or someone from the middle or low levels of the empire is responsible for this. I need to go find the root of this or this spy may act again. "

Said Mike with a finger pressed against his lower lip. 

[Kadyn] - "Hmm... true but where to start? "

Said Kadyn as she looked at the tablet over Mike's shoulder. 

[Mike] - "No, you are staying here. How do I never notice you when you sneak up on me? "

[Kadyn] - "I would've been a shit assassin if you could notice my approach. "

Said Kadyn before she kissed Mike on the cheek. 

[Mike] - "Anyway, stay here. I will be back soon. "

Said Mike as he reached to grab his coat. 

Mike moved his hands behind him but found nothing.

[Kadyn] - "Looking for this? "

Said Kadyn as she stood up with Mike's coat on her back. 

[Mike] - "Damn it, stop stealing my coat! "

[Kadyn] - "Finder's keeper. "

Said Kadyn while backing off from Mike. 

[Ethan] - "Haha, you youngster reminds me of me and my wife when we were teens. "

Mike rolled his eyes before walking toward the door. 

[Kadyn] - "I'm coming with you! "

[Mike] - "Stay here, I'm serious. We need to make the spy think we still haven't caught on to him, so we need to be discreet about this. Lay low while I'm away. "

Said Mike as he stepped into his armour.

Just as Mike was about to leave, Kadyn leaned in and received a kiss from him.

[Kadyn] - "Don't hide anything from me, ok? You can trust me with anything. "

[Mike] - "I'll keep you updated when I can. "

Said Mike before he put on his helmet and exited the laboratory.

To be continued...