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“...You alright?” he sighed.
Eden nodded.
“Seems like it...”
Everyone around them was doing the same, cautiously standing up or coming out of their hideouts. The explosions had sent dust flying everywhere, and now, all of the buildings were in shades of gray, covered in dust, blown asphalt, or blood. It looked like a war had just happened there, and that wasn’t too far from the truth. Eden could feel a bitter taste on her tongue even with the mask still on.
“Guys, I think there’s good news,” said Circé, from somewhere behind them. “Look at the wall...”
The damages were considerable.
Because its structure had been fractured from the top, large portions of the wall had collapsed on themselves. As far as Eden could see, the wall had substantial sections missing everywhere. Mostly at the top, but it was still a huge improvement from what they had been trying to do. Thao’s tank resumed with a few blows, and it was clear the wall was ready to collapse completely. It was only a matter of minutes now.
“The air quality is increasing,” chuckled Nebty. “Looks like he blew away the toxic gas.”
In fact, they could almost see that with their own eyes. Along with the dust, the thick gray mist was slowly disappearing, and above, the sky looked a bit clearer too. Had the fans provoked enough wind to clear out some of the gas? Eden was a bit relieved that Loir’s crazy action hadn’t only triggered bad news. She looked around, seeing some of the mafiosos taking off their masks to check the air, almost surprised to be able to breathe normally. In the sky, no more drones were coming either. The last ones that the explosions hadn’t wrecked were quickly taken down by the hackers or the mafiosos, clearing the sky of any enemy drones.
“...Can you give us a warning next time crazy prepares something like that?” grunted Tanya’s voice in their ears.
“I don’t think that was anything remotely planned,” sighed Nebty. “At least, it looks like it did help us a little. Their ventilation’s destruction will keep the Core agitated for a little while; they need to purify their air and they can’t just sweep it our way anymore. It’s our chance. Rat?”
“We’re almost in!” shouted Thao.
That was the truth. With a bit of excitement in her stomach, Eden could see the tunnel the tank’s blows had dug, deep in the concrete; a hole to the other side would probably be appearing soon. More importantly for her, the part under the columns was now revealing several entries. If she climbed up and down again, she could definitely find a path to the other side somehow. As long as no one noticed, she could finally cross over. Eden turned to Dante again, who had his eyes riveted on the column, looking agitated.
“I won’t be long,” she promised.
“No. I’ll be the one to find you soon.”
Eden smiled and took off her mask. Indeed, they could breathe normally now. The air was still filled with dust, but it wasn’t as bad as the toxic gas. Dante removed his too and immediately leaned in for a quick kiss. It probably wasn’t their best, with their dry lips and a strange taste in between, but they needed a goodbye before parting, even if it was just for a short while. Eden smiled at him.
“...I want to show you,” she muttered.
“What?”
“Who Ghost is.”
Eden stepped back, still holding his hand, and deactivated her SIN manually. She turned the other one on, the one with Ghost’s encoding. Her birth SIN. Slowly, her appearance changed, grabbing not only Dante’s attention but that of everyone around who could witness it. Just like Circé had seen before, Eden’s long blonde hair turned into a straight bob of extremely pale pastel pink hair, and her face became slimmer. Her hazel eyes turned to a dark golden brown, her nose a bit straighter, her lips fuller, and her cheekbones a bit more angular too. Her chin was more of a V shape, and her whole body appeared a bit leaner, longer. She sighed, looking down at her perfect hands and nails.
“...Holy shit,” someone muttered.
“Is that the genetic encoding of the Core?” asked Greed. “That’s... amazing. Creepy as fuck, but fucking amazing.”
“Greed, show some respect,” retorted Nebty. “You guys have different appearances on the Dark Web too.”
“Yeah, but we can’t take it to the real world!”
“It’s not comfortable,” said Eden, “and it’s not... me. It’s what the Core would have made me into if I had grown up there.”
She was a bit worried about Dante’s reaction, for some reason. For years, she had avoided using this appearance. It screamed “Core” so much, she would have stood out like a sore thumb in the Suburbs. Eden didn’t like it, so she left it exactly as it was and only used that appearance in the Dark Reality for hacking purposes. She had never had any use for it in the real world until now.
She looked up at him, watching for his reaction, but it hadn’t changed much. Instead, he was simply staring, as if looking for clues of the real Eden in this new appearance of hers. The dust still on her face and the thin cuts she had received from her earlier fall and rolling on the ground were still there, but everything underneath was a bit different. Her skin had even gone a bit paler, with no sign of imperfection anymore, not even the very thin and almost imperceptible freckles previously on her nose. Everything was lean, smooth, and too perfect. It wasn’t Eden, indeed. A smile appeared on his lips, and he took the tips of her light pink hair between his fingers.
“Interesting,” he muttered.
“You don’t hate it?”
“No. But I prefer the other you.”
