Least in Heaven: Chapter 3 – Absolution Through Action

Chapter 3 – Absolution Through Action

As I near the end of the tunnel, I hear Giovanni talk over the speakers, saying, “Alright. You got me. There’s nothing and no one else I can use to stop you. How about we talk this out?”

“We have been talking,” I say.

“We’ll talk face to face, and I’ll honestly hear you out. I see that I can’t beat you, and since you’re here for my repentance and not to kill me, it’s not like I’ll lose anything if you win. In fact, I have more to gain, correct?”

“Yes. Fine. We’ll talk.”

“Good. I’m on the top floor of the building ahead of you in my office. Now, don’t mind or kill the guards ahead of you. The barriers and doors will be opened for you.”

The exit of the tunnel leads into another research hall with multiple visible levels. There are multiple guards, researchers, and workers all around me who either try to ignore me, keep their distance, or keep a close eye on me with their weapons down. I go to the elevator, take it to the top floor, follow the signs, and enter Giovanni’s office. His office is decorated with many Catholic paintings, crosses, and statues, and has a few couches, a desk with a coffee and tea maker, chairs, a TV, and a desk in the center with a computer, which he is sitting at. He still has the same confident, smiling face that he had on before, so it’s obvious that he thinks he’s still in the right.

“Please take a seat, father,” he says.

“I’m fine with standing,” I say.

“Okay. Whatever you’re comfortable with.”

“Are you truly willing to repent?”

“If you convince me.”

“Hasn’t my victory against your defenses convinced you enough?”

“I’ll admit that you’re the only one to get this far. Most assassins are killed by the first round of defenses; few manage to survive the traps in the tunnels, and no one has survived against the three brothers, whom you faced. On the other hand, it’s the fact that you killed them and many other Catholics, who are more devout and faithful than I am, that goes against your claim that you’re on a mission from God. You have an uphill battle to fight, so present your case.”

I consider my words for a second before speaking. I’ve already told him his sins, and if hearing won’t convince him, then there’s something else that makes him think he’s in the right. I look over to my guardian angel, he whispers advice in my ear, and with no better idea, I do as he says.

“What do you have against those who think and believe differently from you?” I ask.

“They’re a threat to the society they live in and their souls. Helping or getting rid of them helps themselves, so they don’t harm others, and themselves. I am my brother’s keeper, after all.”

“You are, but you are not his master. I’m sure you’re glad that the Catholic hero association, the Dominion, has control over the world, so that you can further control events and people happening all over the world, but the responsibility is not yours. It is those of your coworkers, who are better men than you are.”

“I helped build up their hero association until it got larger than my own. Why wouldn’t I have a say in what it can and can’t do?”

“It’s not yours. You were merely an investor, a stepping stone for those more deserving of great power.”

“You’re not doing much good at all in convincing me to repent. What does this have to do with anything?”

“This has to do with why you refuse to repent. You’re so concerned with creating a better, more Catholic world that you don’t see the sin that stains your hands and soul. You talk to others who see you as a living saint and repeat back to you your justifications for your actions, so that you feel that you’re correct and have your ideology checked by others when you’re simply living in an echo chamber.”

“I’ve talked to other people with differing views from mine and admit to being wrong.”

“You only admit to being wrong when you’re comfortable with it, just like most people. In reality, you remain steadfast in your thinking and disregard legitimate criticism coming from trusted sources.”

“Sources such as yourself, an assassin who lived only for himself with no allegiances to anyone?”

“My words are true, despite my background. If I repeated your ideology back to you, would it suddenly be false and scrutinized? No. You’d think I was wise and had seen the light of truth. Admit it. Get out of the realm of your comfortable excuses to face the uncomfortable truth. You’re in the wrong here.”

“You-”

“Think and pray on before responding to me.”

I give Giovanni some time to answer. After about a minute, he says, “I see where you’re coming from, and where you get your opinion of me. Still, I am unmoved in my belief that I am justified. Maybe if you give me more time and show me where I’ve faltered, then I’ll truly change my mind. Thank you for the hard and expensive lesson, father.”

I look up to my guardian angel, who shakes his head. He says, “He’s not truly repentant, even though he feels like it.”

So, what do I have to do next?

“What Fr. Francesco did with his dying breath, and like him, it’ll cost you your life.”

Really? That?

“You didn’t think you were walking out of this, alive, were you?”

Guess I shouldn’t have expected it. Alright….alright, I’ll do it. I use my speed to run over to Giovanni and feel a great heat well up in my chest, and then immediately burst flames from my mouth like a volcano. Just like me from before, his face catches on fire, and he screams out in pain. Meanwhile, I feel the life fade from my body as I fall face-first on the floor and lose consciousness. When I open my eyes next, I see that I’m hovering above the room, watching Giovanni writhe in pain as his guards try to help him in vain, while my lifeless body is taken away. The contract is fulfilled. Now what?

“Now, you join me in Heaven,” a familiar voice says.

Turning around, I see Fr. Francesco in a white and gold priest’s outfit and an all-consuming light that’s pulling my soul toward.

“Fr. Francesco!” I say as I float toward him and we embrace. “I did it, my friend.”

“Ha! Besides you going to Heaven, the second greatest thing is hearing you call me your friend. I knew you’d do it.”

“Do what? Sacrifice myself or save Giovanni because I managed to only do one of those things.”

“You did both,” my guardian angel says as he floats toward the light with me. “Giovanni is in the process of repenting. You’ve done well, Fr. Luther.”

“I did what I was asked. Nothing more. All of my life, I’ve done what I wanted, and only at the end did I do what I was supposed to. I guess I’ll be spending my days at the very edges of Heaven.”

“But you’ll be with God, nevertheless,” Fr. Francesco says.

“What about you, Fr. Francesco? I’d be surprised if you’re not sitting directly next to God near Jesus.”

“You’re not far off from the truth.”

As the all-consuming light takes me into Heaven, I feel peace and happiness for what feels like the first time, me, a cold, heartless assassin who not a few days ago deserved Hell more than anything.

 

The End