Cyberpunk: Ultimate Cyborg System

Chapter 703 703: A New Heart.

Arriving back at his apartment, Dante walked up to his bed and dropped down like a log. He was exhausted. More than he has been in some time. Who knew that a dinner with a girl his age would be this tiring? Though he enjoyed it quite a bit, Dante was left with a lot of complicated feelings.

-What now? Starting to change your mind about those freaks?-

Dante had enough self awareness to know that his hatred for Genomes was irrational. They were people, too, and just because they were some of the richest bastards to ever live didn't mean they couldn't be good people. Still, they were connected to Eidolon, and that was more than enough of a reason for him.

"Say, why did you choose to become a Genome." He had asked the hero as they left the restaurant, having decided on a short walk before going their separate ways.

"I know what you're thinking." She had replied. "Why would a rich girl who will never have anything to worry about put herself in danger like this, right?"

Dante had a few guesses as to why someone like that would make such a choice, but he listened to her anyway.

"My life was meaningless before, you know?" Merry said. "If I kept going down the normal path, I would've ended in some meaningless job in one of our companies, then I would've married someone just for the connections it would bring our family. Pretty boring, don't you say?"

"So you're doing it for the excitement?" Dante asked.

"And for the purpose." She replied. "It might sound cheesy, but being a hero gave my life meaning."

Dante's hater side wanted to deny it all, to say that her choice was built on her being so privileged, but he couldn't help but find it admirable. Several heroes had died during Operation Wolf Slayer, and she could have been one of them. Heck, his very existence was enough proof that the risk far outweighed whatever she would get from it, and yet…

-They talk a whole lot, but when it comes down to it…-

The one thing that's worse than a pretentious hero is a naive one who doesn't know the weight they're trying to lift. In the end, all they ever wanted was the power and the satisfaction, and that taints every good deed they ever did.

~[ ]~

A new day arrived, and Dante went through his usual routine. He showered, brushed his teeth, then went on a bike ride where he changed placed with his android clone. As he made the daily deliveries, he got a message from Carlos telling him that Wolf had called to inform him that they might not be able to make it because of work. Dante had Volcan confirm that by checking police networks for any upcoming operation around Moon Stone.

Having enjoyed yesterday's sparing sessions with the white haired hero, Dante was looking forward to the next one. Unfortunately, it appears like he would have to go with Riot this time.

"Fucking damn it…" the big guy grumbled as he arrived at the ring. "Don't you have anything better to do?"

"I could be asking you the same question."

The big guy didn't have a job, as far as Dante was aware. That meant he was chilling most of the time when they weren't training, trying to drink himself into an early grave. Though he hadn't bothered with it at first, soon after they started sparring, Dante started giving Riot's question more thought. It felt like there was something he needed to do, but he couldn't remember what.

'Maybe I should get on with John's request…'

Since it was already on his schedule, Dante didn't think it was what he forgot about. After a while, he began to wonder if it was just a feeling, and that he hadn't forgot about anything. After all, if it were anything important, surely he would have marked it somewhere so he wouldn't forget.

"No look today as well, huh?"

Riot asked him the question as soon as he opened his eyes. Apparently, today wasn't the day he would get closer to Soul Manifestation.

"It feels like I took a few steps back…"

Dante was sure that he had advanced past this stage, but no matter how much he tried, he couldn't bring himself back to where he previously had been, let alone advance that point. He didn't even know how he did it the first time.

'Don't tell me… is that it?'

He wondered if that was the thing he seemed to have forgot, but something told him it wasn't. His thoughts mostly halted at a certain point while meditating, meaning he couldn't forget something he learned at the time, since there was nothing to remember in the first place.

"I know I said this before, but… don't rush it, okay?" Riot said. "I know the idiot over there made it look easy, but it usually takes five years on average to learn the technique."

He was referring to Oliver, who was glowing with gold light in a corner of the hexagonal cage. Just looking at him ticked Dante off.

"There is no point if I learn it five years later…"

Unfortunately, no matter how much he wished to advance, he was stuck, and there wasn't much he could do about it. Ruffling his hair in frustration, he pushed himself up and walked to the exit.

"I will go check on Bella."

His raven haired subordinate was in the gym upstairs, exercising with her team. Yesterday, she had asked him to train her in martial arts, even though she didn't know about Soul Manifestation. Apparently, she was hoping to gain more skills that would allow her to make better use of her new SRE.

'Well, it she manages to learn Soul Manifestation as well…'

Just then, an idea occurred to Dante, and he turned to look at the wall of muscles still sitting on the arena's floor.

"What?" Riot frowned, having sensed that something was off.

"Say…" As he spoke, a grin began to form on Dante's face. "What do you say about getting a new heart?"