Cyberpunk: Ultimate Cyborg System

Chapter 692: Connection.

Dante was no stranger to pain. Ever since that day five years ago, life had beaten him senseless, making sure he knew what path he was trying to walk. He had come so close to death on so many occasions, and even now that his body was made entirely from alloy, it didn’t seem like he would be able to escape it.

[Dante? Dante!!?]

As Volcan’s voice echoed in the back of his mind, Dante’s gaze landed on the black thread stretching out of his chest. The world in his vision was monochrome. Even then, it slowly lost its color as darkness seeped in from the corners, swallowing everything in its way.

~[ ]~

An endless darkness, one that went beyond the absence of light. To him, it felt as if he were floating in a world of nothingness. He might have been suspended in the same place, or he might have been moving somewhere. There was no way to tell, however. After all, there was no direction in this place. No front or back. No left or right. No up or down. Just an endless world of nothingness.

’Where... am I?’

The question came to him as a feeling, and the answer reached him right after. There was nothing around him, so one might argue he was nowhere. Though illogical, he found himself accepting that answer, but then another question came to him.

’Who... who am I?’

No one. Same as before, the answer reached him without delay, but this time, he found himself unable to accept it. No one. He couldn’t be no one. But then-

’Who am I?’

This time, the question came to him as a thought, but he failed to find the answer. Just as he thought to search for it, a strange sound broke through the darkness, beckoning him to approach. It was the sound of calm, soothing waves, and as he stopped to listen to it, he couldn’t help but think they sounded familiar.

~[ ]~

"K...d... hey...id... Kid! Wake up!"

Drawing in a sharp gasp, Dante leapt to his feet, his eyes wide as he looked around. His perception accelerated to the max, and his mind reached for VOLCAN’s commands, ready to summon an armor in that instant. What stopped him was seeing Larry’s terrified face, and checking his surroundings again, he realized that he was still in the workshop.

"Ki-" the lanky doctor jumped back, startled by Dante’s sudden movements. "God...damn it! Why do you keep doing this!!?"

"Wha... what... happened?" Dante asked, still huffing and puffing.

"You tell me!" Larry shouted. "The hell is wrong with you!? You know it’s not easy to tell when you’re dead now, right?"

Once he calmed down, Larry explained what he saw after returning from the surgery. Dante was on one of the patient beds, curled into a ball and clutching his chest. His face was twisted into an expression of pure agony, his mouth wide open as if he were still screaming. What made it worse was the fact that he froze in that position. Unlike normal people, a cyborg’s body doesn’t relax when they pass out, and with his eyes left wide open, one wouldn’t be faulted for thinking he died a horrible death.

"What... the hell?"

"That’s my line." Larry held his head in his hands. "You almost gave me a heart attack."

"Sorry, man. If it makes you feel any better, just know that I didn’t knock myself out."

Turning his voice inside, Dante asked his resident AI the obvious question.

’What the hell happened?’

[I do not understand myself.] Volcan said. [Your soul seems to have received an incredible amount of damage.]

’My soul?’

That was nothing if not bad news.

’Was it supposed to be that painful?’

Dante had always been under the impression that pain was nothing more than signals sent to the brain as warning when his body receives damage, but if that’s the case, how come he felt damage dealt to his soul?

[I believe the pain is a manifestation of the danger you felt from your life being at risk.] Volcan said. [After all, even if the vessel is intact, living beings can still die if their souls lose their shape.]

’That’s...’

Recalling the pain, Dante believed that his life had indeed been in danger. He still didn’t understand why he felt pain from his soul, but something like that was bound to be useful if he were to fight someone capable of damaging people’s souls.

’Okay, I got it,’ he thought aloud. ’How about you explain what caused it? Were we under attack? Are we under attack?’

[No, that doesn’t seem to be the case.] Volcan went silent, as if contemplating his answer. [I believe this has to do with the Ares SRE that has been implanted into Bella Adams.]

’What are you talking about?’

[I believe it is better if I show you.]

An instant later, a screen manifested before Dante. At first, it appeared to be the same status screen he was used to, but it didn’t take him long to see the difference, which caused him another momentary shock.

[

Name: Bella

Species: Human

Threat Level: 1

Baseline Retention: Intermediate (90%)

Stats:

Strength: 10

Durability: 12

Agility: 18

Dexterity: 25

Computing Power: 32

Energy: 0

Implants:

Haloware NIM G29 (C)

Haloware OAM (C)

Ares Iron Nerves (A)

]

’What in the...’

[I believe the implant has established a connection of sorts with Bella Adams. Because of that, I am able to receive a complete evaluation as if she were my host.]

Volcan has always been able to evaluate things and people simply by having them within the range of his sensors, so Dante didn’t understand how this was any different.

’Your host...’ he muttered internally. ’Bella?’

[Please do not be concerned.] Volcan said. [VOLCAN is completely integrated with your soul, so it is not like it had been transferred to her, but...]

’C’mon, man! Out with it already!’

[My apologies. This is an unprecedented case, so I am having trouble processing it.]

’What are you talking about?’ Something clicked in Dante’s mind just then. ’Wait, you mean... this isn’t your doing?’

[It is not. To be more accurate, the main cause does not seem to be a native function of VOLCAN.]

’Then... how...’

[Dante...] Volcan’s voice took on a foreboding tone. [I said before that your soul has received an incredible amount of damage, but that is not all that has happened.] He paused for a moment, as if unsure of what he was about to say. [Your soul... it seems to have undergone a transformation of some sorts. I... my apologies. I am currently unable to understand the nature of the changes that have occurred to your soul.]