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“Loir, I am so going to kill you!”
“Kitty, don’t yell; I’m literally right next to you... Plus, I found you some super upgraded gear! Do you know how hard it was for me to get all this? You’re just too mean!”
If she hadn’t been in the middle of a Dive right now, Eden would have kicked him without any hesitation. However, right now, her body was probably lying unconscious next to Loir while her brain was Diving into the Core’s System. Still, not being able to beat up Loir or make him regret this in some way was terribly frustrating.
This had to be the most ridiculous gear he could have ever come up with. Eden couldn’t believe he had dared to do that, knowing that she’d get out of there sooner or later. She was going to kill him.
“You’re so dead,” she hissed again.
She was dressed... in pink. Not just in pink but in a horrible cat outfit that gave her giant paws, a long fluffy tail, and even more annoyingly, long pink hair and pointy ears. If she moved, all her fingers and toes reacted. It was like wearing large boots and gloves with retractable claws at the end, but this was just horribly… geeky. She didn’t even want to see what her face looked like; what she could see already annoyed her to no end. Her outfit would have been sufficient if Loir had left it as the gray sportswear ensemble she was wearing, a simple bra and leggings, but he had to add that ridiculous cat gear to it.
“Loir!” she shouted.
“Oh my pasta, stop yelling! I have headphones on! Moreover, I really don’t understand what you’re mad about; you’re adorable in this!”
“Loir!”
“Try purring? I added this as an extra. I’m positive you can–”
“Loir, you’re so dead!”
“Meow, meow…”
She just wanted to disconnect herself and kill him. She could withstand a lot of humiliation, but just knowing that there was a chance for Dante De Luca to actually see her in such a ridiculous outfit was a nightmare.
“Oh, you’re so fussy, Eden... bad Kitty! So ungrateful; it took me some extra effort to come up with all that gear! This is really top-notch stuff and you’re not even the slightest bit thankful!”
“I’d be grateful if it wasn’t for this stupid design!”
“There she goes complaining again,” he sighed. “You’ll thank me later, then. For now, our pissed-off Kitty should really get to work; I’m transferring you into the Core in three... two...”
Eden braced herself. Being transferred from one system to another was like switching worlds. She had been in the Core’s servers before but was in no hurry to get back into that scary maze.
The transfer was less than a second but it was enough to make her dizzy. It was like she was sent through a hurricane, thrown left and right by an overwhelming force. When it stopped, Eden grimaced, a headache kicking in. However, she knew she had reached her destination. The Core’s first defense system was right in front of her.
“You hangin’ in there, Kitty?”
“Yeah...”
Eden faced the large wall in front of her and pushed against it without thinking. The illusion broke just as quickly, the granite evaporating like dust in front of her. She moved again and ran into the wall, which let her through without much resistance.
“Welcome back into Hell...” muttered Loir.
His voice didn’t have an ounce of humor in it this time. They both knew that being in the Core’s System was serious and possibly deadly. It was much easier to get in than to get out. Eden waited a couple of seconds but her new identity didn’t attract any attention. So, she kept walking as the world around her changed again. The maze she had been preparing herself for slowly appeared.
It wasn’t an actual maze, but large black blocks, with several little lights on them. They were beginning to rise like buildings emerging from the ground around her in all sizes. Despite those black-colored walls, the floor and ceiling were an impeccable white. Eden hurried inside, glancing around, carefully trying to spot any sign of movement. Most of those block buildings were tall enough that she couldn’t touch the ceiling above her, yet narrow enough that she could touch both sides simultaneously. She was careful not to touch any, though.
“Loir?”
“Let’s try the second one on your left.”
She nodded and quickly walked between the columns, extremely careful. Eden knew she only had a few minutes; this one was merely the server’s antechamber. She ought to pick a point of entry quickly or the System will be alerted of an intruder. However, she had to run along the walls until she spotted the first screen. Eden didn’t even glance at the images and kept running, waiting for the next one.
“Loir?” she asked.
“You’re almost there.”
He was right. Eden finally spotted the second one just a few seconds later and accelerated; because of the strange appearance of that maze, distances were blurred. Something that looked small and close could actually be huge but pretty far away. Eden knew that all too well to even consider slowing down.
