Era of Madness

The beginning of a new era

Eliot, eyes closed, awaited the pain of the bullet piercing his head, which he knew would be followed by nothing.

In this short moment, he had all the opportunities to review his path to become a special agent. So much pain, so much friends lost to get there, only to end up like this.

Maybe from the start, that was the true reason for why he accepted Cain's offer: he knew that with the path he took, no matter the choices he made, the day he'd meet a bigger fish than him, and where all his misdeeds under the Paradise Council would be paid the hard way, would eventually come. That day, his life would come to an end.

Yes, Eliot didn't want to die for people like them, like director Arsin. If he was condamned to be killed no matter what, he preferred to be free when it happened. To live and die on his own terms, that was the freedom he truly wanted.

'But I guess I'll only get the second half. How sad' he thought.

But it was strange... why was death not coming already?

Slowly, Eliot opened his eyes. What he saw was a slightly pale hand strongly holding Yoria's wrist. Thank to this hold, the bullet had deviated from his original trajectory, only scratching his cheek slightly.

Looking up, he saw the person whose the hand belonged to. It was none other that Cain. But how had he moved fast enough to intervene in time?

Every interrogation Eliot had suddenly faded away as he looked up more and his eyes met with Cain's face.

Earlier in the fight, when Cain was temporarily knocked-out, his mask broke, and his face was now fully visible. Just like John a few days earlier, Eliot was in a state of pure shock seeing it.

Cain's face didn't seem like it belonged to a human. No, such a face was too perfect for a human, such a result was unattainable even with the best chirurgy technologies, it was pure, unadultered perfection made of slightly pale human skin, that his long thin chestnut hair couldn't hide in the slightest.

Even more breathtaking were his deep eyes, both polychromatic, that seemed made of two small blazing saphirs refracting the starlight, an unimitable piece of art made into two small globes of mystical allure.

"Yoria. I have to ask you to stop" he said.

As if bound by a spell, the stellar commander of the Andromeus-Silveren empire dropped her wepon without even seeming to realize it. Without paying her more attention than this, Cain turned to Eliot, lowered his knees slightly and extended his hand toward Eliot:

"Can you get up, dear friend?" he asked with a bright smile.

Without his mask to muffle it, his voice was so warm, so melodious... was it really the same person? As if in transe, Eliot took his hand and let Cain help him up.

"To, be honest, I'm really sorry" Cain continued, much to the cyborg's surprise. "I'm very grateful to you for accepting to help me, you know? Yet, you've gone through so much because of me... so since I have this occasion, I prefer to use it and tell you now: thank you for your help, Eliot, I'm happy you're with me"

Thank you for your help... Thank you... happy you're with me...

Eliot could barely stop his eyes from tearing up. It wasn't much, just a thank, just a compliment... but just this... and just hearing his name along with it...

From the start, it was all he ever wanted. For someone to recognize his worth. Someone he could work with freely, not constrained. A true collaborator as much as a true leader.

Eliot knew Cain wasn't trustable, and knew as well just how manipulative he was. Yet, at this exact moment, he still chose to put his entire trust in him.