"Julius."His name. Called out by a gentle voice from far away, but also as close as it could be.Heinrich felt lost. Darkness surrounded him. The only thing he could feel was the constant pull of his power, activated constantly.For what reason?Cariddi."Julius, do you hear me?"The voice called out to him again. It was a familiar voice, though not one that brought comfort with it."Julius, we're coming down."A name resurfaced within Heinrich's mind. Blackwall?Slowly memories came back.Heinrich began to understand his surroundings. Remembering why he held on. What drove him to push on.Below Heinrich sat a bronze statue, immobile. Face locked in a snarl of anger.Cariddi.The monster was once again sealed. But for how long would it last? Months? Weeks? Days?Hours?Something began to shine on Heinrich. From above. Two figures, surrounded by a bright sphere, were descending towards him.One was Blackwall. The other…The sphere enveloped Heinrich - Julius. The water was pushed aside, shifted somewhere else, in such a gentle way that no more water began to fill the sphere."Eidolon…" Julius muttered, barely cognizant of his voice."Julius." The greatest hero of mankind greeted back. "What you're doing is nothing short of extraordinary."But as he spoke, Julius glanced towards Blackwall, and then remembered.What Cauldron had done."And what you've done is nothing short of monstrous." Julius spat at Eidolon, who quietly let it pass. The green mask he wore hid his reaction, if there was any.Blackwall took a step forward, in between the two. She held in her hand two devices: one was a sphere of glass that seemed to 'pulse' occasionally, and shared the same glow as the sphere that surrounded them, the other was a steel spike, or nail."You've not been answering our check-ins for thirty minutes. We were worried, Julius.""I…" Julius tried to recall what had happened. He had not stopped using his power, but… "...don't know what happened. This is the first time I used my power for so long, I didn't realize how mentally taxing it was.""Your Agent. It took over, I believe," Eidolon explained, to the displeasure of Julius, "similar cases have been verified in the past.""He's right, it likely was your Shard. Mental exhaustion can lead to heavy dissociation, but your Shard took over while you were out of it. It's nothing to worry about."Julius felt like there was a white lie in what Blackwall said, but he trusted her. More than he trusted Eidolon at least.Blackwall knelt down over Cariddi's frozen statue. She scratched at his cheek, tearing away a small filament of bronze, but no more."His density has not decreased. On the other hand, it's slowly increasing. I'm keeping up with it but eventually he'll begin to sink again.""That's why he's here," Blackwall looked towards Eidolon, "have you got something that could work?"Eidolon knelt down as well, placing his hand on Cariddi's forehead.Like a book, Cariddi's head split open. Each page was a layer of his skull, flapping away to reveal the insides of his brain, even as they were also turned bronze.At the very centre of the grotesque sight was Cariddi's Gemma. Weakly glowing blue, despite being made of bronze.Eidolon's arm visibly began to tremble under the strain of the power, "His skin is tougher than Behemoth's.""Keep going. Julius, when I tell you, let go of your power around his Gemma. Then immediately reuse it."Julius stared wide-eyed at Blackwall, but quickly nodded his head, asking no questions."I'll count down." Placing the steel spike inside Cariddi's open cranium."Three…"She pressed a button on the back of the spike. A weak hum began to resonate all around. Julius' own body began to vibrate, but not violently. Rather, it was… very gentle."Two…"Eidolon spun his outstretched hand, and as he did Cariddi's power began to visibly resist against his intrusion."One… Now."Julius let go of a small section of his power.Water immediately exploded from Cariddi's head, pushing Eidolon back. Blackwall and Julius remained where they were."Done." Blackwall pulled the device out."Good. That alone could turn the war.""Did you kill him?" Julius asked."No. I extracted a signal of his power. It is the same thing I did to Shatterbird, which is why you saw me use her power in my creations.""I… See…" Julius was not fully comfortable with the idea of making use of Cariddi's power. But he did not comment on it.In the end, if it saved lives, Julius' emotions were not important.Blackwall turned back to Eidolon after putting away the spike, while still keeping the glass sphere in her left hand."Anything?"Eidolon shook his head. "No. Most of what I'm finding would either not affect him, or simply kill him."Then Blackwall turned to Julius.He knew what she was going to ask."As the highest ranking representative of the territory, and with the preapproved signature of the European court, it is up to you to decide whether to execute a Kill Order on Cariddi, real name Dante Antonelli."Julius sighed in frustration. He wanted to-"Heinrich," Blackwall spoke before Julius could react, "I'm sorry. I haven't found a way to contain him somewhere safe. The only way for Cariddi to live is for you to remain here to keep him contained.""I could do it…" Julius muttered."You're needed out there," Eidolon countered, "I cannot decide for you, nor do I want to… But even more than that, you deserve rest."His words would have affected Julius more had he not been told about the true nature of Cauldron while he was still keeping Cariddi contained.But, in truth, Julius had already decided long before."Do it."Blackwall nodded.Eidolon opened his palm, and Cariddi simply… disappeared. Erased, along with a chunk of the ground and bronze around.Julius immediately felt the pull on his power disappear. With it, he subconsciously also let go of the transmutation over his skin.He passed out.
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Heinrich was woken up by a 'wet' feeling all over his face. For a brief instant he panicked. Then he opened his eyes.The undecipherable expression of Heinrich's cat was the first thing he saw."Kuro… Stop licking my face." As he went to stand up, he stopped when he felt a weight on his chest. Kuma, Heinrich's biggest cat, sleeping soundly.Heinrich groaned in frustration, then groaned again when he heard something fall over and break. Turning his head to get away from Kuro's relentless affection, he spied Kutsu walking all over one of the shelves. Knocking things over.Damn it… I told the cleaners to not put anything on there…As he glanced around, he spotted a note next to his bed, just barely too far for him to reach.Heinrich looked back to Kuma.Then he accepted his fate and went back to sleep.
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A couple of hours later he woke up again, feeling… empty. He thought back to what he saw last…Cariddi was dead.Killed, without fanfare or explosions. A simple gesture from Eidolon.Eidolon… Cauldron. Heinrich could no longer separate the two.After gently moving Kuma off his chest, Heinrich stood up and looked at the note left for him.I've run some scans. There isn't any sign of long-term damage, only short-term mental exhaustion. You should be fine by the time you wake up.Given that you most likely don't remember what we discussed shortly before I came to visit you, I suggest calling the number at the bottom of the note. Do so only after you get some rest.-BAt the bottom of the page was a number Heinrich did not recognize, but it had the Italian prefix. He took out his phone and…It was July 21st. Heinrich had spent the last two days keeping Cariddi contained and then recovering from his efforts. He glanced out the window of his bedroom, seeing the distant devastation left by the battle.Heinrich still didn't feel fully rested yet, but time did not wait on his feelings. He began to dial the number and quickly made the call. A voice Heinrich recognized answered:"Julius, sir! Are you alright?" The voice spoke in Italian.It was a young man, someone that Heinrich had worked with on a couple of occasions. Or rather, someone that had worked for Heinrich. He couldn't remember the exact name, but he knew the boy was a rookie parahuman lawyer."Good morning. I am fine. I was told to call this number to be updated on the situation. Should I come somewhere?""Yes sir, the Quirinal Palace has been temporarily chosen as a base of operation. Rescue operations are mostly done, and we are now focusing on disaster relief."This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings."Understood." Heinrich opened his wardrobe to get a spare copy of his costume. One that Blackwall hadn't modified, but it was still good enough."I'm on my way there. Tell me what you can in the meanwhile."
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The city was in a bureaucratic nightmare. So many key figures had dropped dead together with Tisiphone, and the only reason why it hadn't slowed down rescue efforts was thanks to anti-Simurgh measures put in place a couple of years prior.One thing was certain.Vatican City, as a political institution, was no more. Every member of the Swiss Guard aside from Julius was dead. The Vatican Gendarmerie, the more mundane police force, was also mostly gone, except for some of the recruits. Every Cardinal that had visited the Holy See in the last five years had also died, turned into puppets by Tisiphone. Some were still alive, but not enough to establish a Conclave and elect new members to the role.Not that they were going to. Rather, the few Cardinals alive had made the unilateral decision of offloading their authority to Earth Aleph when it came to the Catholic Church. An act of cowardice, a way to safeguard themselves.All of this meant that Julius had, basically, lost his job and title.But not his reputation."Sir! Over here!" The same rookie lawyer called out for Julius as he saw the hero walk in the air towards the Quirinal. Waiting near an open window, and gesturing towards himself.Julius stepped through and carefully entered from the window.The rookie held a folded Italian flag, and by his side were two officers. Julius rapidly understood what was going on. If he wasn't made of bronze, a vein would have popped in his eye from the anger."Sir, if you would, this way-""I'm not swearing the Oath," Julius immediately interrupted whatever was going on, stepping away and towards the hallway. He had memorized the layout of the Quirinal, and could hear the sound of people talking. "If necessary, treat me as foreign aid."He had just gotten his freedom back.The rookie lawyer immediately panicked but did attempt to stop Julius from walking forward. The bronze hero gently pushed open the door to the command room, and immediately glared at the most recognizable figure in the room."Julius. You've woken. I am glad to see you are well." Eidolon spoke calmly, no surprise or alarm in his voice.There was a lot Julius wanted to say at that moment. He wanted to berate Eidolon. To insult him, to chase him away. But there was still a crisis, so he turned to the rookie chasing him and said:"Where do you need me?""Ehm… Structural damages are accumulating because of the water damage as Lake Vatican is draining slowly. We need you to quickly strengthen key buildings and create dams when necessary, to better allow vehicles to move through the ruins.""Understood. Give me the coordinates.""Well, y-you see…" The boy began to stutter, struggling to speak. Julius glanced around the room and only now noticed how young most of the people looked. Not that he was old himself, but these were clearly not people that had held office for any length of time. Were they all emergency promoted? Just how deep had Tisiphone spread her roots?"I'll get you where you need to be," Eidolon took a step forward. "There is no other Mover available. And I've been stationed here for the foreseeable future."Julius pretended he did not hear that as he simply turned around and motioned for Eidolon to follow, as the two got to work.
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The sun had begun to sink below the horizon by the time they were done. Eidolon let go of Julius on one of the ruined buildings, overlooking the flooded streets of the Vatican.Julius let go of his power and felt tiredness hit him as bronze turned back to flesh. Mental strain. He looked towards Eidolon, who floated barely over the edge of the roof. The two had kept their conversations strictly professional while working, but now… No. Julius decided against trying to provoke Eidolon once again. Blackwall had done enough. Besides, tomorrow they would have to work together again.But it was Eidolon who spoke first."It's David."Julius turned to look at him, just as he grabbed his mask and hood, pulling them down."I know your name, so it is only fair that you know mine. My name is David."He did not look like Heinrich expected.The paragon of heroes, Eidolon - David, was in his early forties. More than ten years older than Heinrich.David floated over and landed on the roof. He turned around and looked in the same direction Heinrich had been looking a moment earlier. Towards the ruins of St Peter's."It was a beautiful place. I'm glad I got to see it before it was gone.""It was an infernal creature wearing the rotten skin of great humans," Heinrich spat back, "and that was before I found out about Tisiphone. No, it was like that long before Tisiphone.""...I imagine that you know it all too well. I am sorry about what happened to you. Too many people forget that parahumans are, in the end, still humans."So he knew about Heinrich's past. About him being forced to work for the Vatican with a life in jail as the only other option.But he disagreed."This was not about parahumans," Heinrich sighed, "it was about power. Opportunity. Even before parahumans, even before Scion, too many people found a way to categorize humans as less than."David kept quiet, continuing to listen."The Vatican was subtler than most. Using a faith that talked about kindness and understanding to push hatred and war to the wider world.""Were they all like that?" David asked."No, not all. But tradition has a way of fighting back, and even the most well-meaning people are forced to compromise," Heinrich began to massage the bridge of his nose, "I should know. When I was young and foolish I had wanted to join the clergy. But after many years as a Swiss Guard… It's rotten. All of it."David sighed, "This isn't only about the Vatican, is it?""It's not, David," Heinrich spoke his name with venom dripping from his voice, "most of the worst Cardinals I met saw the believers as less than animals, as stones to be counted and put in their special sections. They saw people as numbers. War as a tool for peace. But only the peace that they wanted, not one that saved us all."You were my idol. You were the reason why I fought against Leviathan all those years ago."David closed his eyes. For a moment the hero of humanity disappeared, and all that was left was a tired, middle-aged man. With heavy bags under his eyes, thinning hair and clearly in need of a break from it all.The very same man that was Cauldron's best shot at saving humanity. A weight that would break any man."I will never make peace with my sins," David opened his eyes, "with the things that I've not done. For a while I thought that since I wasn't the one that kidnapped people, since I wasn't the one that plunged the knife, then I couldn't be at fault. But I was, and I am."I love my power. I'm not stupid, I understand how addicted I am to being the strongest, but I also recognize that this addiction is built-in with the Shards, and that at the same time it is the only thing keeping me going as I get weaker day by day. When Behemoth first showed up I had the precision and power to push him back almost by myself, now I'm more useful as a defensive unit to keep him at bay while other heroes push him back."Even then… Even then, Scion eclipsed me in everything. He appeared and the Endbringers fled. He waved his hands and everything became alright. And that's it, isn't it?" David chuckled.Heinrich nodded, understanding his point. "It's fear.""Yeah. Fear. The fear of being forgotten, of being useless. Like those Cardinals of yours. But deep down… I'm scared of seeing everything I hold dear burn away in golden flames.""...that doesn't excuse what Cauldron has done.""It doesn't, and never will. But you understand why we did it. You understand what we were pushed to do. Otherwise you wouldn't be talking to me, rather you'd be trying to arrest me."Heinrich couldn't put his emotions into words. Seeing the man he envied and admired most in the world, the paragon of herodom, admitting his fears, his failures. And begging for mercy, in a way."...Only until Scion is no more." Heinrich decided, agreeing to Blackwall's own promise, "I'll allow you to be in my city, in my country, only until Scion is dealt with. Then… Then we'll talk again. And other people will judge you for what you've done."David smiled, tiredly, but with clear relief in his shoulders. He put on his mask once again and looked to the horizon, where the sun had finally set."Then let's get back to work," Eidolon said.