[06:00 07/06/2099]

The notification appeared soon after Dante opened his eyes, bringing with it the tune of an annoying alarm. It persisted for an entire minute, playing in a loop until the notification was suddenly dismissed before he thought to give it a command.

[Good morning, Dante.]

The familiar greeting explained what had just happened.

-It wouldn’t hurt to reply. He already knows you’re awake.-

Pushing himself up, he sat on the bedside and stared at the floor, unable to form a single thought. After a while, he leaned back until he was lying down once more.

-If you wanted to sleep some more, why did you bother setting that stupid alarm?-

Rolling on his side, he continued to stare at nothing until a new screen appeared before him, this one summoned by his own command. It was his Storage screen, and from it,... he selected a certain item.

[Dante, just a reminder.]

’...What is it?’

[You have an important meeting today]

’So?’

[You intended on attending it personally. It is for that reason why you set up the alarm.]

-Guess you won’t be able to hide this time-

Reluctantly, Dante gave up on summoning his android clone, closing the Storage screen before forcing himself up again. After a quick shower, he brushed his teeth then shaved the stubble that had grown over the past few days. Equipping some clothes, he stared at his reflection for a while before heaving a sight.

[A little over a month has passed since the attack on the Neo-Vatra’s BEO branch. Though the investigation continues, no new intel about the perpetrators has been uncovered. The reconstruction of the shield tower has reached its final sage, but with the terrorists on the loose, the public needs more that a symbol that had once been brought down.

In another news, tensions continue to rise on around the Green Sea as the Jinhe empire announced a second military exercise to take place at the end of this month. Relations with the Star Federation have been on the decline in recent years, but the Linyue incident has caused-]

DINGG

The elevator arrived at the underground parking lot, freeing Dante from having to listen to news he knew contained very little truth.

-The truth? What do you know about the truth?-

He walked a step, and another one, then he heard it—the faint sound of a wet squish. His gaze wandered down, landing on his feet. He watched as a small puddle slowly formed around his right leg then surrounded his left. The dark liquid seemed to move forward as if sliding over the floor’s tilted surface.

More of it kept coming, however. More followed. Then some more. The dark water kept on moving, and the puddle turned into a stream, its depth increasing by the second. It swallowed his feet then ate at his legs, the force pushing it forward clawing at their alloy as it tried to pull him along.

[Dante?]

Looking up with a start, Dante took in his surroundings and realized he was still standing in the underground parking lot, only a few steps away from the elevator.

-Maybe you should’ve stayed in bed after all.-

’I’m fine...’ He didn’t know whether he was telling that to himself or his resident AI. ’I just zoned out a little, that’s all.’

He got the Raven and rode off to the old highways, hoping to clear his mind in preparation for what’s to come. As the cold morning wind blasted his face, Dante couldn’t help but think of how much he enjoyed riding his bike. His mind is always clear while he’s on the empty road, granting him full control over his thoughts. He chose not to wield that control, however. There was no need to stir his thoughts in any direction. He was fine with them calm and moving, like the surface of a lake undisturbed by any waves.

Tragically, that calm lake was bound to be disturbed sooner or later. Dante made his way back to Hollowgrid before heading to his club. After much discussion, Dante was advised to keep his office where it was. Though that meant the business wouldn’t flourish thanks to the reputation it garnered, attempting to change that by moving would’ve appeared like a sign of weakness.

-A waste of time. That’s what it really is.-

The establishment was scheduled to reopen in a day or two, though there won’t be any big event tied to that this time. They hoped to make it to the end of the month without another big incident ruining everything for them, but Dante wasn’t holding his breath.

"Boss! Good mo-"

As usual, a few Red Demons -what people call Inferno members nowadays- were gathered in the lobby when he entered. They jumped to their feet and greeted him right away, or they tried to. Dante usually ignored them, but noticing the way they froze, he stopped to check what was wrong.

-Well would you look at that. They’re one twitch away from shitting themselves.-

"Did something happen?"

"N-nothing, sir! We just..."

Technically speaking, this was the first time he had set foot in the club since the previous week. For a moment there, he wondered if anyone had noticed it wasn’t him dropping by these last few days, but that couldn’t have been the case.

"Well, get to work already, or whatever it is you planned on doing."

Though no longer in the same category as street rats, it was still a little difficult to see the members of his gang as more than the thugs they appeared to be. Because of that, it felt a little weird to see them up so early in the morning, though that also made it easy to tell that they weren’t just lazing around.

-Still useless.-

Dante walked up to his office, brewed himself a cup of coffee, and sat down behind his desk. Soon after, the door opened, and a dark skinned man walked in.

"Good morning, Boss. You are... a little early today..."

"Yeah. I thought I should do that."

Carlos looked more than a little stressed out, as if he hadn’t slept in days. His hair was disheveled, and his eyes kept darting around as he tapped on the tablet in his hands.

-You dumped all the work on him. Of course he would be stressed out.-

"Dr. Swanson and his guest will be here around 09:00. Should I bring them here, or would you like to greet them downstairs first?"

Taking a sip from his cup, Dante thought for a moment before replying.

"Bring them here."

"Understood." Carlos tapped his tablet a couple of times then moved on to the next item on the list. "We have received another call from Wolf Hohenberg asking it you are open for a sparring match. How would you like to respond?"

"Tell him I’m too busy at the moment."

"I take it you won’t be training in the underground arena today?"

Opening his mouth to answer, Dante paused to reconsider something.

"Now that you mentioned it, it has been five days already, huh?" The face of a certain blond idiot formed in his mind. "Let’s roll back a little. If that mutt calls again, tell him I need help someone to watch my disciple for a couple of days."

Dante hadn’t expected the furry hero to try again after he rejected him the first time. Dealing with another filthy Genome was the last thing he wanted to do right now, but he felt like he could put him to good use at some point. For the time being, he thought hat it wouldn’t hurt to have him help with Oliver’s training.

"Understood."

Carlos updated him on a few things, and Dante pretended to care, giving replies that felt automated. Thankfully, it wasn’t long before he was alone once more. One couldn’t underestimate the importance of the meeting he would be having soon after, so it was important that he takes a moment to get his thoughts in order.

’I should get another cup...’

He pushed his chair back, planning to head for the coffee machine near the door only for a faint clang to stop him in his tracks. The hand he reached out with knocked his cup over instead of grabbing it. Dante didn’t feel like he had been that distracted, so it was more than a little strange.

Thankfully, the desk didn’t have anything important on it beside the random decorations. The cup didn’t break, but because it was still half full when he knocked it over, he now had spilled coffee all over the place.

’Damn it...’

Irritated, Dante clicked his tongue and went and got some tissue to wipe the stain with. He swiped he whole thing in one motion while picking the cup, but it somehow slipped from his hand and fell over once more, spilling more of the black liquid.

His anger ignited and he wiped the stain, but it returned right after. He wiped once more, but the stain was back the moment he was done. The dark drops trickling down the edge of the desk soon turned into a small stream, and the puddle that formed at his feet spread out to cover half of the room, then most of it, then all of it. Dante swiped with his hand, again, and again, and again, and again. He put more force into his hand each time, and before long, the synthetic wood under it gave in with a snap. The broken piece fell to the floor with a clatter, and the cup he hadn’t bothered to pick up the second time followed right after, the impact causing it to instantly shatter.