In the end, it was the Underboss's impatience which broke the silence.
"Your findings, Messmer?" he demanded, his voice low and dark.
Aegates didn't look at him. Her hazel eyes remained fixed on Rainer's still face, their intensity easing.
"He is… innocent."
At those words, a soft, almost imperceptible exhale escaped Slick, and he eased back into the couch cushions, relieved.
Finally, Aegates turned around, her gaze professional and cool as it swept over the group.
"Interrogations of the captured gangsters and my own personal investigations confirm it. He did not betray the Family."
Slick spread his hands in a 'you see?' gesture toward the Underboss.
"There it is, Sir. The Family does not betray its own."
The Underboss released a long, slow sigh, the sound of a man conceding to a truth he couldn't fight.
He knew Aegates's reputation. Her skill in interrogation and forensic investigation was unparalleled in the organization.
To doubt her word was to doubt the very tools that had secured their power.
She had solved countless problems for the organization and could have been a Capo years ago, despite her being in her mid twenties, but she always refused.
Aegates preferred the freedom and direct action of a Soldier's role, a preference that made her uniquely available for other special tasks.
Her attention returned to the Champion as she turned. Reaching out, she began to unzip the hospital gown with a clinical, unhurried motion.
No one objected. They were accustomed to her detached, methodical examinations when she investigated the dead—though this one was living.
Slick broke the quiet.
"What's his name, anyway? One of the new Initiates, is he not?"
As her fingers worked and her cutting eyes scrutinized his torso, then traveled down to his thighs, her focus didn't waver. But her voice, cool and clear, answered him.
"Rainer Manslayer. Age twenty-three."
A brief, deliberate pause hung in the air before she delivered the final, chilling piece of data.
"Ex-serial killer."
—❦—
"Where am I?"
His question echoed in the great darkness, but none answered.
He felt suspended, like a man drowned in the deepest seas, but stripped of the pressure, the cold, even the need to breathe. He couldn't make out his form, much less see his arms—if he had any here.
"Why... can't I remember anything?"
[You had an accident, Champion.]
!!
He wasn't really expecting a reply, but when it came he found himself utterly relieved.
"An accident? Where? How?"
[You bashed thine head upon a hard glass pane... On a planet that once was Earth.]
The feminine voice, solemn and expansive, seemed to come from everywhere—even from within him. From his very heart.
He felt confused at the reply and had even more questions.
"Who...are you? Who am I? What is this...earth?"
As the questions fell, silence followed.
For a moment, he feared that this being, this mysterious entity, had left him alone. But then it spoke again softly, almost intimately.
[You named me, Era... And thou art, The Champion.]
"The...Champion?"
[Yes. But if thine wouldst have a name. Thine art Rainer, Rainer Manslayer. It is yours, and all who you inhabit become Rainer Manslayer—regardless of the name they had before your descent.]
Rainer was astounded. He had too many questions, but before he could ask more, Era continued.
[It is a tragedy, and a fortune, that thine memories were fractured. You became too reckless, too confident... If you had died at the cafe. It would have taken too long to accumulate the power required to transmigrate you again to your next world.]
"But I want to know! To remember!" He confessed before he could stop himself.
[...And thou willest. I, Era, shall be with thee every step of the way. I only plead that you live, and not perish. For our sake. Swear this to me, and I will reveal to you as much as your fragile human mind allows at the moment?]
Rainer paused to consider this, then consented.
"I swear."
He didn't know why this mysterious entity would make him swear this, or why it thought he would kill himself. But he needed to know. It was a yearning that ate at his very soul.
[I am... pleased.]
In the next moment, a pair of humongous green eyes, that of a cat's, opened before him and he recoiled in shock.
[Fear not, Champion. Look into mine eyes, and thine soul shall be sated... For now.]
Hearing this, Rainer reluctantly focused on the eyes. They glowed all of a sudden, and Rainer felt himself being sucked in.
*Bam!*
Suddenly, his world brightened and his vision swirled, and for some reason, he knew he had been sucked into her mindscape.
The world darkened again, and with a heavy sigh, the entity spoke.
[My earliest memories…were of slaughter and of evolution.]
The darkness flared to life as if memory itself had ignited. Universes unfurled like kindled seeds; constellations bloomed and perished in the same breath. Stars were born, died, and born anew.
[But creation breeds conflict. What is born must contest its place.]
Amid that newborn light, wars erupted—cosmic wars that tore galaxies to ribbons, scattering light across the fabric of time.
[The Qegon race, millions once—fought until eight remained.]
The cosmos convulsed, and from the wreckage of shattered galaxies and bleeding wormholes, eight luminous entities arose, each pulsing with its own hue and ancient song. They drifted like wounded suns across an indifferent eternity.
At that moment, Rainer sighed out in awe, remembering for himself.
Era's recollection was like a starter plug, igniting his own memories, and immediately, they took over, surging back into him like a river of fragmented images.
Across several flashes, he saw his glory, his loved ones, the betrayal, the fall, the cosmic monsters that hunt for his essence, and the chilling gaze of the entity that stole his heart.
Soon, he felt numb and listless as an all-encompassing cold enveloped him.
Then, his mind snapped—not with a sound, but with a finality that severed him from the vision, leaving only the cold.
—❦—
Rainer felt his consciousness return, but the chill didn't dissipate. He lay on something hard and cold. His thin garment wasn't much help either.
He considered opening his eyes when he felt several presences around him. By now, he could recall his arrival and what had occurred in that cafe soon after. Though his mind still felt woozy.
He hoped he hadn't been captured by some untoward figures.
However, a feminine voice soon filtered in from someone who sat next to him. It felt calming and seemed to soothe his soul.
"...recently taken into the organization to aid in subduing the gangs of Grayhaven. Reports say he has proven instrumental, but he rarely socializes with anyone. As such, not much more is known about him."
At that moment, Rainer stirred, subconsciously scooting closer. The warmth provided by the figure beside him was the sole source of heat in his metaphorical cocoon of ice.
"Oh? He's awake."
The voice remarked, and Rainer opened his eyes.
It was only then that he felt the tears running down his face.
He had been crying.
At that moment, a gloved hand reached out and gently wiped a tear with a thumb.
"...Rainer. It's okay. You're with the GBGs. You're with family." She consoled softly.
Rainer's eyes shifted up to discover a young woman leaning above him, the ceiling light over her blonde hair creating a golden halo as her gentle green eyes met his.
Seeing this, Rainer scoffed and said.
"Call heaven."
Her head tilted slightly as her expression turned a tad perplexed.
"...Heaven?"
"Yeah." He smiled. "They might be missing an angel."
She blinked, considering this for a moment, then drew back with a tinge of red on her cheeks.
"How exquisite."
"Oh my fucking gad! What am I even watching?! We're done here!!"
The sudden voices startled him, and he turned to see people rising and shifting about the dim room.
Rainer had felt that there were people around him, but instantly forgot about them when the lady drew close.
A man walked past, glaring at him as he went.
"What a waste of time! I'm heading back to Sinamet!"
Another walked past with a small smile, whispering in approval.
"Smooth. I like you already."
Another came close and pointed at him as he ordered the rest.
"Oi! Throw some proper garment on the bastard! His dick has a tent up!"
What?!
Rainer looked down to find a phallic-looking tabernacle raised over his nether region, revealed in full view under the ceiling light.
It even jerked a little.
"Oi! Hurry up!" Someone yelled, and Rainer turned to the lady who was already on her feet.
She organized her coat and strode out, not sparing Rainer another glance.
A part of Rainer felt like withering away, but another part glanced down in awe.
Daaamn! What a sight! I mean, look at that girth!
Suddenly, a bundle of clothing crashed like a meteor onto his pole, and immediately Rainer jerked up like a lawn chair being folded.
He grimaced in a mix of fury and agony.
Those fuckers! Who put shoes in there!
However, before he could look around for the culprit, a coat slammed into his face and he fell back onto the bed with a muffled groan of pure, unadulterated surrender.