Shiller squinted his eyes towards the stage. The old, worn-out curtain slowly opened, revealing Father standing in the center of the stage, against a backdrop of Jesus' Passion in the cathedral. Underneath his feet rippled a pool of Dionysium.
He stood at the heart of the church, the scattered Dionysium in the air gave him a faint buzz. To the old Father's blurry sight, Shiller stepped in just as the setting sun merged with him.
The golden sunlight seared his eyes. After the light disappeared, a sunset shadow lingered behind Shiller; it was the deepest black after sunset.
Shiller chuckled, lowering his voice, "I've always been a little curious as to why Your Excellency Falcone would invite a dangerous individual like me to tutor your son. After all, anyone who sees my resume wouldn't want me anywhere near their progeny."
"Are you referring to your investigation of the serial killer? Even without Father Daniel's recommendation, I wouldn't care about such a trivial matter. In Gotham, we often see such types of madmen. I'd rather have madmen than fools."
"Or are you talking about Evans? To be honest, when he came to find me, I was somewhat worried for him because I could clearly sense something was off about him."
Falcone sighed, "I think, you already noticed that he has dual personalities."
"Honestly," Shiller looked at Father Daniel, "Before this, before Evans came to see me, I had no inkling of a second personality inside him. How did you manage that?"
"Because at that time, Alberto was indeed dead, only Evans existed. You would naturally not feel anything. The personality you felt later was the revived Alberto."
"Do you consider Alberto to be the primary personality?" The Father barely finished his question when he answered, "No, Evans is indeed the first personality, he's my real son."
The Father sighed again. He felt he had been sighing too much recently, yet he continued, "The year Evans turned six, his mother passed away. I wallowed in the sorrow of losing my beloved and neglected his care."
"One night, he snuck out to play by himself. When he returned, he was no longer himself."
"...The work of the Court of Owls?"
"How do you think the Court of Owls achieved their current status?" Falcone retorted, "By relying on their heretical theories? Not everyone is taken in by those."
"They ensnare scions of the elite, erase their personalities, wipe their memories, and then construct an even more extreme personality bound to capitulate to them."
"So that's Alberto?"
"Indeed, my child had disappeared and became a pawn to the Owls. But I'm not as oblivious as those dullards. I could never mistake such a change for a typical rebellious phase."
"This is their common strategic move. No parent would ever suspect their offspring has been replaced. They would simply attribute these changes to their children growing up."
"The Court of Owls has a significant flaw," Falcone took another puff of his cigar, "They created a perfect personality, a fitting puppet to be the next Godfather."
"I understand what they're aiming for. They've readied a perfect heir for me. As soon as he assumes control as the Godfather, Falcone and the Twelve Families will be theirs for the taking. They are confident that Alberto would satisfy me."
"But it was this confidence that stirred my suspicion, because Evans had always taken after his mother, not me."
"Sounds absurd, doesn't it?" The Father flexed his fingers and said, "At that time, I thought I was going mad, daring to suspect that my own son had been swapped by somebody else..."
"When he raised the knife against me, I fell into despair."
"Excruciatingly anguished but unable to find the evidence. From a scientific perspective, I could not explain this, so I had to resort to faith."
Next, Father Daniel's voice rang out, "When Carmine came to the church, I saw a distraught father. As he narrated his agonies, I didn't find it a laughing matter."
With a sigh, Daniel's tone carried guilt. "The method of erasing memories and replacing personalities originates from the water source under the church. It's a method I discovered. To fulfill my end, I handed this over to the Court."
"But upon seeing Carmine, I realized my terrible mistake."
"Those who joined the Court under the guise of spreading God's glory, were merely blinded by the temptation of immortality."
"When a desolate father stood in front of me..." Daniel's voice started to tremble, "A father watched his son nailed to the Cross, drenched in blood, and I had became an accomplice, a Judah with the bag of silver..."
"I knew it could not continue. I had to stop it all."
"So, you used the same method to erase Alberto's personality and recover Evans'?"
"Dionysium has another use; revival. I didn't retrieve Evans' personality, but resurrected him."
"So..."
"Alberto was likewise resurrected."
"Remember the water source plan I mentioned earlier?" Father Daniel turned to Shiller, "There's more to that plan."
"These years, the Court of Owls has contaminated drinking water or rainwater, resulting in a trace amount of Dionysium flowing in many people's bloodstream."
"The heavy rains a few days ago awakened them."
"Why did they decide to activate the water source plan now? The majority did go insane from that downpour, but their number was too insignificant to shake up the city."
"They must have other plans."
"Another question. What's with the funeral? If they merely replaced a personality, there's no need to make such a grand spectacle."
"That was a suggestion of mine. I am very familiar with the Court of Owls and their modus operandi. They own a special metal that resists the effect of Dionysium," Father Daniel said.
"I proposed Carmine to sabotage the shipment of their raw materials so that the delivery would not arrive on time, leaving many without a functioning umbrella."
"Were you attempting to deceive the Court?"
"No, we knew the Court would see through our ruse of the brother's identity. It's only the general public that we could fool."
"This was merely a warning," Carmine pinched his cigar, "I'm aware of their tricks and am not afraid to kill. If they insist on pushing me, then it's an all-out war."
"If they dare to touch my son again, I'll turn Gotham into a ghost town."
In the Godfather's tone, Shiller heard echoes from the glorious years of the Underground King of Gotham, and also, the unwavering determination of a father.