Sleep left and never returned, leaving Dante to stare thoughtlessly at the wall. A while later, he got up and went to the bathroom, washing his face at the sink before spending another hour staring at his reflection, after which he returned to his bed and sat down at the edge.
Eventually, he fiddled around with his NIM and opened a file he hadn’t touched in a very long ti. It was a screenshot from an article he had read in the past. The headline read {Brilliant Researchers Lost In Tragic Accident.}
Right under it was a photo of a young couple holding a trophy of so kind. The man was thin and pale, not very handso, but not unpleasant to look at either. His most recognizable feature was the red hair on his head. The woman beside him seed like a stark contrast. She had a kind of graceful beauty that was difficult to miss even in a large crowd, with raven hair that reached down to her shoulders.
Wilhelm and Iris Cipher Alistair, two of the most prominent scientists in the last few decades and leading researchers in the field of hereditary diseases and genetic disorders. Their joint efforts had led to many breakthroughs, greatly contributing to the genetic therapies that saved humanity from illnesses that were once thought impossible to cure.
Opening a browser, Dante began to search for any info he could find on the two. There were countless articles detailing their achievents, and new announcents whenever they reached a new milestone.
Dante noticed that he could recall each and every event ntioned in those articles. His understanding of the topics had improved compared to the past, but he still found himself struggling to grasp the details, and trying to decipher them only ignited the emotions he tried so hard to keep buried.
Eventually, he closed the browser and sprawled on the bed, staring at the ceiling.
’His goal...’
The articles had ntioned it more than once. Wilhelm and his wife Iris had dedicated their lives to treating every disease, but having lived with them for no less than fifteen years, Dante had an inkling that the truth was a little different. The problem was that he couldn’t rember exactly what it was.
’Curing every disease...’ He thought, straining his mind in an attempt to rember. Unfortunately, his efforts bore no fruit. ’... Damn it...’
[Dante, are you awake?]
Volcan’s voice ca at just the right ti, preventing his thoughts from spiraling.
’Yes, I’m awake.’
The AI confused him with his question. After all, he had been using his NIM for so ti now, which should have been an obvious sign that he wasn’t asleep.
’Were you pretending that you hadn’t noticed waking up?’
[My apologies. You seed to be in deep thought so I chose not to disturb you.]
’I see.’
To his surprise, his resident AI had learned how to be a little more tactful.
’Did sothing happen?’
Seeing that he hadn’t brought it to his attention, Dante concluded that it wasn’t anything urgent.
[Yes.] Volcan replied evenly. [It concerns the child nad Finn Ward. He seems to have tracked you down to this building.]
’... you got to be shitting ...’
Talk about bad timing.
[I have detected multiple robotic constructs moving through the building. They seem to be the sa eight legged machines we saw at his hideout.]
’I guess we can’t keep delaying it anymore.’ Dante thought. ’I will deal with him before work.’
He went about his preparations, taking more ti than usual, seeing that he woke up earlier than usual. Just as he reached the door, a pang of hunger hit him, serving as a reminder that he hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday’s lunch.
He took out another sandwich from the collection he bought the other day and chewed on it as he headed out. The Bowl of Fortune opens pretty early most of the ti, but 07:20 was still far too early.
He was sure that the old cook was already up and about by now, and that she would prepare sothing for him if he showed up at her door, but he didn’t want to overstep his boundaries. His only choice was to down the dry sandwiches made with ingredients of a dubious nature and wait till the afternoon before he got to eat so proper food.
’Alright, Volcan.’ He thought while chewing the last of his sandwich. ’Just as I told you.’
[Understood.]
The AI went to work while Dante walked leisurely through the dusty hallways of the gacomplex. He could hear the distant noise of the city get louder as it awoke, but the streets of Hollowgrade remained calm and quiet. Just as he reached one of the nearby staircases, he noticed a small object crawling past him, its eight legs fast and precise. Another one passed him soon after he stepped on the floor below, and when he looked.
To so, it might have seed that the small chanical creatures were leading the way, and that he was following after them. No one was there to witness it, however, which was a good thing in and off itself.
Since his new apartnt was close to the ground floor, Dante was able to reach the underground parking lot in no ti. He followed the directions of his resident AI and reached a certain corner soon enough. Surprisingly, the lights in that area were still working.
"HMM!! HMHMM!!! HMM!!!"
Lying on the oil stained floor was a young boy who was in desperate need of a growth spurt. His legs were restrained by a chain made from the small chanical spiders, and his hands were tied behind his back using the sa thod. One of the spiders was on his face, clasping his mouth shut and only allowing terrified hums to escape.
When Dante arrived in front of him, the blond boy went static, his already pale face losing more of its color. Taking in his pathetic state, Dante let out a mocking snort.
"You never learn, do you?"
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