The Next Step

The sound of rain fills the room with a kind of clamorous tranquility. Your own thoughts seem to fall into the background behind an everlasting tapping of water against the window. With thunder and lighting having receded, Peo is sleeping softly beneath the lavish sheets.

I stare into the darkness past a layer of glass with the branding of unfinished business against my skull. The pistol held firmly in hand with its metal almost ringing with purpose. When I make eye contact with my reflection, I find the barrel suddenly raised against my head.

"The face of a traitor…"

It's one that I've witnessed before. My organisation had little room for those that failed to follow orders. In all of those nearly fifteen years as an agent, I never once considered the possibility of seeing my own appearance on a hit list.

"Our fate is all the same…"

It doesn't matter whether you were a rookie with only a few months of service or a veteran with years. You're hunted and killed by the agents you once fought beside. No matter how far you run or how hard you fight, your road that began amongst the shadows hits a dead end within the same darkness you once embodied. The only ones left to remember you are the ones who put the bullet in your head.

My finger accompanies the trigger, feeling its rough texture and indiscriminate desire for blood. I had put off the deed for one night already, so best to get it over with.

BANG

It's a sound that I'm more than familiar with. Performing an execution like this is well within my abilities, and my record shows me to have excelled at it. Some of their faces pass in a quick flash, alongside their codename. In the end, they all fell at my hand for their betrayal.

None of the traitors escaped, yet I can't put down the one I see in the window. The finger beneath a black glove holds tightly to the axe, but does not swing down.

"Should you find yourself at odds with the organisation, it is recommended that you end your life personally…"

I recite the words given to us in our training. Their wisdom aimed to save us from a painful death without any hope, but it only causes my veins to throb.

"Ridiculous…"

Those words seemed to have been aimed at myself more than anything.

From the perspective of the higher ups, providing this option as a form of mercy is sensible. There is little need to waste time and resources on a manhunt for an agent that they had trained personally to survive any situation. It worked in many cases.

However, the sentiment leaves a bad taste in my mouth. This may seem laughable coming from a man that was killed once already, but I've fought too hard to survive over the years.

"I don't intend to go down before at least attempting to kill every last enemy…"

The gun finally lowers to my side as the sounds in the room return into my perception. A young girl snores quietly behind me without a care in the world. Seeing those sandy ears twitch occasionally reminds me of a very simple fact that part of me failed to accept.

"Empty Magnum is no more…"

Rules that had bound me in the past no longer exist to declare my fate. I had fed myself a fantasy where I could simply continue under new management, picking up where I left off following orders. That was how I once survived, but the scene has changed. I've already made decisions that would have cost me my head since I arrived. Were this still on Earth, I just may have pulled the trigger.

I stare down at the silver metal with a mysterious red centre.

"No…part of me understood…"

Why else would I have chosen to save the life of a beast? It was a choice that benefitted none of my present allies, one that was born from a completely selfish whim. I wanted this girl to survive, so I bent every rule to ensure that this occurred. Agent C would have never made such a foolish decision. 

I killed the fantasy of my own creation. There was nothing stopping me from simply following instructions and carrying out the kills. I could have obtained a life of glory and luxury by doing what I'm told and being the hero they want. Despite this, part of me refused to accept that.

"Why must I live under the order of an entity that I did not choose?"

Empty Magnum was my home when I lost everything. It did not offer a normal lifestyle, but it gave me purpose. There was no grand reason to perform each mission. I only felt that my skills were being put to good use and that my life was secure. Melior needs me all the same, yet I cannot see this place as safe. I was betrayed once already in a past life, and I have even less reason to trust this world more.

Life here would have been easier if I left my fate to the crown, but I threw away that simplicity to follow my own individual desires. I risked losing everything because I decided to save one kid.

"Was it worth it…"

I stare at the sleeping face of the young girl. She always looks with eyes that are either enraged or in pain. However, her slumber tonight doesn't seem to be filled with memories that bring tears to her eyes. Tragedy still hangs overhead, but she doesn't feel lost anymore.

Heat from her grip still hangs over my body. Those small hands and that soft skin are things that I'm not accustomed to. Children were one of those things that I never trained myself to handle. A few of my colleagues in the past retired to have them, but I never saw most of them again after that point.

I run my hand through Peo's bangs. My touch doesn't stir her slumber, but her soft grunts seem to confirm my presence.

"I guess we'll see what happens…"

My job as the Blessed Knight has not gone away, and I can't maintain any kind of lifestyle were I to abandon it. To keep the two of us alive and well, I'm at the mercy of this new 'organisation'. However, this mission feels ever so slightly more personal. Peo was the decision I made, so I have to defend it.

Only the next morning can tell me exactly what challenge awaits us from this point onward.