Cyberpunk: Ultimate Cyborg System-Chapter 532: Eyes.

The Sorcerers were dead, all seven of them. The Genomes were still alive, but it didn't look like that would be the case for long.

"SLEEP"

The words reverberated through the underground theater, robbing everyone who listened of their consciousness. Rose felt hers slipping away, even though the command wasn't meant for her.

The horror she witnessed was beyond her comprehension, and though its form was visible to her eyes, her mind couldn't fathom the true nature of its existence, as if it were a divine entity hiding itself behind the facade of a six armed knight. Despite its attempts, the vengeful wrath spilling from it washed over everything like a dark tide, and as it turned to gaze at her, Rose felt herself pulled into the darkness.

"Violet Rose,"

The sound of her name brought her back to the surface. She was suddenly reminded of the thought she had before and felt foolish for even considering it at all, but then the entity spoke again and made her realize that she might not have been entirely wrong.

"Dante has been searching for you," it said, its voice deep and unnatural like something trying to sound human but failing at it.

For a moment, Rose failed to process what she had just heard. Her mind registered the name the entity spoke, and the visage of a red haired youth surfaced again.

"You will come with us." The entity spoke again. "We do not wish to waste time searching for you hereafter."

Snapping out of her thoughts, panic set in Rose's heart for a moment before reason set in. The entity spoke of Dante. The red haired youth had been searching for her, and if her guess was right, he sought the help of this entity to find her. Was that why it had been here? The same entity had appeared in Blue Ember and Red Garden, and it helped her both times. Did sh truly have a reason to fear it?

Even as she told herself that, Rose couldn't shake the uneasiness. She found herself looking for an excuse to refuse, but something told her that nothing she tries would work.

The entity enveloped itself in light. It seemed to disintegrate into countless white threads, its size shrinking several times. By the time it regained its from, the white armor and thee six arms were gone, replaced by a dark blue power suit. The contrast didn't stop at its size and color. Unlike the regal white armor donned by the six armed giant, the blue power suit seemed to be a marvel of technology, with a round helmet that resembled the visor of an astronaut.

Rose felt like she had seen something similar before, and it didn't take her long to remember. Soon after the Red Garden incident, she was transported to a strange place nearly identical to the gated community, but everything about it seemed alien, as if it were a different world. After a while, someone appeared and took them out of that place. Whoever they were, they used a suit with a similar design to the one the entity had transformed into. Noticing the resemblance, Rose began to panic once more.

As it had shrunk several times, the man the entity held became too large for its hands. The entity stared at him for a moment, and in the next, he was gone. As Rose watched in stunned horror, the entity turned to the remaining two, appearing by their size and disappearing them with a single touch. A shadow fell on her the next instant, and she realized what was about to happen.

"W-w-wait!" She waved her hands, trying to distance herself from the towering entity. "I-I can't go with you!"

"... Why?"

"W-why? I…" Realizing she had failed to come up with an excuse, she searched her mind again. Her desperation led to an idea he hadn't considered, and she immediately went with it. "There are still some children trapped on the upper floors! I need to help them escape and… ah! I also need to check on the children I released earlier!"

Saving the children had not been her objective at all. Her reason for infiltrating Heavenly Bliss was the auction and the likelihood that high ranking members of Black Skull were going to be present. Giving the children a chance to escape was all she did, and whether they made it or not wasn't her concern.

"... Done." The entity said.

"... what?"

"I have disposed of all Black Skull members in the building and transported all underage individuals to a different location."

"... what?"

"Our objectives here have been achieved." The entity said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You will be transported into an appropriate location. Please wait patiently until Dante arrives to get you."

"Wai-"

Before she knew it, Rose found herself standing outside. She whipped her head left and right, taking in her surroundings. The street and building surrounding it felt familiar, but seeing their devastated state, her thoughts betrayed her, and she was left standing in the desolate expanse.

~[ ]~

Dante drew in a sharp breathe, his eyes snapping wide open. Immediately, he was assaulted with unbearable pain, forcing him to close them shut once more.

"My… My eyes…" He groaned, reaching up to rub them just to regret it a moment later. "Wha-!!! What's happening to me!!? I can't... I can't…"

Memories flashed through his mind, giving him an explanation as to why he had ended up in such a state. He recalled escaping from the icy prison he had been trapped in, donning Type 9-6, and killing all the Sorcerer responsible for putting him there.

He remembered questioning the Genomes then changing into Type 8-6, telephoning them into one of his pocket dimension. He remembered Rose then felt a little odd, realizing that she looked nothing like the Rose he knew, yet he was convinced that she was the same woman.

It was then that he realized something about all those memories. They were vague, fragmented, and mostly incomplete, like the fading images from a dream.

[Dante? Are you awake?]

Volcan's voice drew him out of his thoughts, and he was once again reminded of the pain he was in.

'Hey! What the hell happened!!? Why can't I open my eyes!!?'

[My apologies. Your bulbus oculi seem to have suffered significant damage as a result of the prolonged use of Type 9-6 abilities.] Volcan said. [More specifically, it is a result of using the Sorcerous Art that had been copied through one of Type 9-6's abilities. I have failed to consider the potential backlash such an art would have on you, and when considering the natural strain-]

'Wait, calm down,' Doing his best to ignore the pain coming from his eyes, Dante took a deep breath. 'Start over. Explain everything that happened.'