Cyberknight: One Path (original novel)

"Would you sacrifice a thousand people to save the lives of a million? It is a question that invokes debate on both sides of the decision. Someone once asked me this question and I answered him: I would decide which group will live depending on the value of the individuals in that group. Sometimes, that thousand possess more potential than that million. " -Sniper

19 years ago, 14th of February, Paris, France.

A limousine rolled to a stop in front of a hotel. On both sides of the car stood 5 Japanese bodyguards. A well-dressed middle-aged Japanese man stood out of the vehicle before being led toward the hotel. He is Yakuza's supreme boss, Aito Shinoda. After being led to his hotel room, Aito turned around to see the bellhop ready to leave.

[Aito] - "Where is Sniper? I thought there was a meeting between the leaders of criminal organizations around the world. "

Said Aito in a thick Japanese accent.

[bellhop] - "We will guide you to him shortly. Please be patient, sir. "

Said the bellhop before gently closing the door behind him.

During this time, many other businessmen, celebrities, politicians and major criminal leaders from around the world were led to the same or different hotels around the city of Paris.

Meanwhile, Sniper walked perpendicularly to the Eiffel Tower until eventually he reached the top. As the crowd from the coffee store on top of the tower stared curiously at Sniper, he suddenly reached his first to the sky and conjured a massive bolt of electricity that struck the top of the tower. The subsequent shock and noise caused all the civilians to flee the scene in a panic. When there was no one left on top of the tower, Sniper stepped in front of the guard rail and reached one of his palms forward. In an instant, the whole city shook with a slight vibration as Sniper's crystal glowed brightly like a supernova. 

[Sniper] - "Echoing Verdict: Half-Rapture! "

In his room, Aito walked up to the window to admire the view. After a few seconds, he realized that Sniper must have chosen the rooms based on how powerful each of the invited leaders was. As the leader of the Yakuza, he was given a room high in the sky with a 300-degree panoramic view of the city.

Below, at ground level, Primo travelled inside his limousine toward his designated hotel across the busy streets of Paris. Suddenly, with a flip of his palm, Sniper caused the centre of gravity inside the city to shift toward the North Pole. Before Primo could process what happened, his car smashed into the side of a building. The lighter elements inside the city like people and cars started to fly downward parallel to the ground. Soon, some tall and large buildings lost their grip before falling apart toward the north of the city. Other buildings, like the hotels housing the important guests, were intentionally held in place by Sniper's power.

After slowly opening his eyes, Aito found himself pressed against his window which is the last barrier between him and death. Aito jumped up from his position in a panic before pressing himself against his room door in fear.

[Aito] - "What... WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?? "

Screamed Aito in terror.

During this time, Primo slowly woke up in his smashed car. He could hear the screams of people barely hanging onto diverse objects that were still attached to the ground or buildings. Slowly, Primo rolled on his back and realized that his car was barely hanging by a tread on the edge of the building. Primo tried to remain calm but droplets of blood soon started to pour onto his face. He looked up to see the body of his driver and bodyguards smashed into an unrecognizable mess. Luckily for him, the car soon stabilized itself on the smooth surface, thus preventing further fall. 

[Primo] - "Sniper... you fucking snake! "

Said Primo in an anguished voice.

Meanwhile, on the top of the Eiffel Tower, Sniper slowly turned his hand another 90 degrees downward.

[Sniper] - "Echoing Verdict: Final-Rapture. "

Just as Primo breathed a sigh of relief, his car started to slowly slip toward the top of the building. Upon seeing how things outside his window started to fly toward the sky, Primo understood that he won't be able to escape what was coming next. During this time, inside the hotel, Aito quickly found himself colliding against the ceiling of his room. Before he could react, a chair fell on his legs and caused a heavy bone-cracking sound to fill the room.

[Aito] - "Stop... STOP IT! "

Screamed Aito with a pure expression of terror on his face.

As his car slipped closer to the top of the building, Primo pulled a picture of Mike out of his pocket and held it against his chest. Primo closed his eyes before his car, alongside other people and objects fell into the sky. Gently, a random helium balloon inside the city pushed its head against the ground which is now the sky. Sniper, on his end, stared at the city, unfazed by the amount of death and destruction he caused. Although his helmet concealed his face, behind that visor resides the cold and emotionless eyes of a cruel man.

Gravity remained reversed for a total of 20 minutes. During this time, anything that tried to enter Paris quickly found itself falling toward the sky and into outer space. Although the gravity reversal lasted for 20 minutes, to the people still alive in the city, the process felt like hours. At exactly 20 minutes, Sniper abruptly retracted his arm before gravity suddenly shifted back to the ground.

Calmly, Sniper sat against the railing and used his ability to make himself a cup of coffee from the instruments left inside the coffee store. The city remained silent while Sniper gently turned his spoon inside his coffee.

Meanwhile, Aito peeked out of a small hole below the bedsheet to see that everything seemed to have gone back to normal. After struggling out of cover, Aito looked at the destroyed city in front of him. Suddenly, a helium balloon passed by his window. Thinking it was an object falling back from the sky, he ducked for cover but he soon realized that nothing was falling down. As his eyes followed the balloon up the sky, a bone-chilling realization shot through his mind; Nothing was falling back down because they were already too far into space to fall back down. This realization caused Aito to become paler than a white sheet of paper before he passed out from shock.

During this time, Sniper finished the last sip of his coffee before he dropped his cup over the railing. He watched as the cup fell all the way down before a sudden phone call snapped him out of his trance.

[Judge] - "Amazing display of your power, my lord. Shall we move on to Operation Open Eye? "

[Sniper] - "You may proceed, my friend. I'll attend by the end of the party. "

During this time, Toro walked through the hallways of a luxurious mansion before reaching a ballroom where masses of guests danced and drank. After making his way into the room, the cyberknight locked the doors behind him with a key before melting it into liquid metal in his hand. Meanwhile, Judge stood behind a massive screen where dozens of names were crossed off every second. The list of names reflected off Judge's cruel eyes which showed zero emotion as the massacre unfolded.

Everywhere around the world, Sniper's men began to eliminate people connected with the Gilberto crime family. On the top of the assassins' priority list, all people who knew Mike whether they be family members or friends, were designated for termination. Sniper's plan is simple. All external influence on Mike's life must be eliminated and he will be the only one exercising influence over the young boy. 

Armed assassins jumped off their helicopter into a mansion on top of Janiculum Hill in Rome. After wiping out the innocent gardeners without mercy, they rushed into the Gilberto mansion with their wrist blades raised. Mike's parents were immediately alerted to the intrusion while Mike slept soundly in his bed.

After taking out the guards inside the mansion, the five assassins quickly apprehended Charlotte and Gioacchino who were hiding below the kitchen table. After fitting them both with a black bag on their head, they were escorted out of the kitchen and thrown onto the living room floor. With a hand signal, the lead assassin ordered the smallest assassin of the group to clear the second floor and keep an eye on Mike. 

Moving quickly, the small assassin arrived at the second floor and moved toward Mike's room. Suddenly, a woman jumped out of the closet and shot the assassin in the helmet with a silencer pistol but with a swift kick, the assassin sent the woman over the railing. Upon hearing the loud crash, the lead assassin stepped toward the injured woman. 

[KD-554] - "Report, last target neutralized, over! "

Said KD-554 before mercilessly shooting the woman several times in the head with her pistol. 

During this time, the small assassin removed her damaged helmet and revealed her beautiful golden hair and fox ears. On her shoulder, the designation KD-555 was tattooed in silver ink. After carefully checking on Mike who was still sound asleep, the small assassin turned around and reported the situation to her superior. 

[KD-555] - "Target is still sound asleep. The second floor is secure, over! "

Upon receiving the confirmation, KD-554 walked back toward the hostages while fingers pressed against her earpiece. 

[KD-554] - "KD-554 to lord Sniper, the house has been secured and Mike is unaware of the situation. "

As soon as KD-554 finished her sentence, Sniper appeared through the wall. As he moved toward Mike's parents, the furniture in his way spit apart to allow him clear passage. 

[Sniper] - "You are all dismissed, assassins, except for KD-555. She will keep an eye on Mike and use the necessary means to keep him in the dark about the current situation. "

[KD-554] - "We are glad to be at the service of our lord. "

Said KD-554 as she and the other assassins began to exit the house. 

Sniper kneeled over Gioacchino and pulled the cloth off his head. With a cruel look on his face, Sniper activated his crystals and created a metallic necklace using the metal from a random art piece. Like a small snake, the necklace crawled around Gioacchino's neck and tightened its grip. 

As Gioacchino gradually choked and rolled on the ground, Sniper pulled the cloth on Charlotte's head. As soon as she saw him, her expression switched from fear to anger and disgust. 

[Charlotte] - "What are you doing here, you fucking psychopath? "

[Sniper] - "I prefer you show me a little more respect, Charlotte. Just like how you rejected your past and identified with the rich and immoral, I now reject my limitations and identify as one amongst the Gods. "

[Charlotte] - "You are a sick man! You have lost your god fucking mind! "

Without a warning, Sniper slapped her in the face. 

[Sniper] - "Look at your pitiful husband. A filthy, disgusting scrum of humanity who used crime as a means to elevate himself above others. When you are here, wasting your life in luxury, did you ever consider how many innocents suffered under his hands? Let me remind you who you are. You are Charlotte Mundy, a peasant girl without any future who would've ended up in a prostitution brothel if I didn't provide for you. Only under the umbrella of my power, did you manage to marry the son of the most powerful mafia leader in Italy. "

Said Sniper as he grabbed Charlotte by the hair and forced her to watch her husband suffocate. 

Charlotte finally began to feel the heart-crushing sensation of fear and agony. With tears in her eyes, she got up on her knees and began to beg Sniper for mercy. 

[Sniper] - "I don't need rotten apples in my new empire and Mike doesn't need garbage in his life. You don't deserve to have him as your son. "

Said Sniper in a spiteful tone before slamming Charlotte against the floor. 

[Charlotte] - "Please! Anything but Mike! I'm sorry! I'm sorry for being a piece of shit! Charles, please, I beg you! "

Yelled Charlotte in desperation as she clung to Sniper's boots. 

[Sniper] - "Don't touch me, trash. "

Suddenly, Charlotte screamed in terror and pain as both her arms disintegrated into a puddle of rotten flesh.

Meanwhile, upstairs, as KD-55 guarded Mike's room, she suddenly felt a set of gentle touches on her fox ears. She turned around and saw Mike curiously caressing her head. 

[Mike] - "Wow, are those real, miss? "

KD-555 quickly pulled herself away from Mike and fumbled in her pocket for something. 

[Mike] - "Who are you? I never seen you in my house. "

Said Mike with an innocent expression. 

KD-555 pulled a cloth out of her pocket and pressed it gently against Mike's nose. Soon, Mike began to feel dizzy and fell against KD-555. 

[Mike] - "I feel so warm... "

Said little Mike in a drunken voice before he fell asleep against KD-555. 

Without knowing what to do, KD-555 held Mike against her without an ounce of movement. With time, KD-555 began to feel a strange sensation in her heart. As her cold programming began to be softened by a spark of empathy, KD-555 finally came to her senses and carried Mike back into his bed. She took one last look at the boy before leaving the room. Unbeknown to her, the two of them will meet again a long time after this encounter. 

Downstairs, Gioacchino finally stopped moving after a long and painful struggle. Charlotte quietly sobbed against her husband's deceased body while Sniper watched without a flinch. After a while, Charlotte turned around with a burning sensation of hatred but as soon as she saw Sniper's face, her entire body went soft. At first, she thought it was because of Sniper's powers but she soon realized that it was due to her own fear. 

[Sniper] - "I think I have wasted enough time with you. "

Said Sniper as he got up.

[Charlotte] - "What's the point of all this violence? What do you want from me? "

[Sniper] - "There is no reason or objective, Charlotte. I think you misunderstood the reason for my visit. This is not a lesson but an execution. "

Said Sniper with a finger pointed at her head. 

[Sniper] - "Boom, headshot! "

A small splash of red launched onto Sniper's unflinching eyes. Like tears of blood, the crimson droplets slowly descended from Sniper's cheeks all the while he maintained his cold and apathetic stare. 

From that point onward, the rest is history. Mike was told that a rival mafia gang had raged a brutal war of extermination against his family's gang. At first, since Mike was young, he believed Sniper's lies. However, as Mike grew up, Sniper also gradually manipulated events to fit his narrative. During the course of 19 gruelling years, Mike never managed to discover the truth of his or Sniper's past. That is, until now. 

To be continued...