Chapter 92

Countless colorful circles floated before his eyes, no matter how hard he tried to shoo them away.

He reached out blindly, but grasped only a black void where the colors had dissolved.

He lifted his head and looked around.

One moment it was endless night, the next it shattered into pillars of seven-colored light.

Light and darkness intertwined, separated, and repeated endlessly, like lovers in a passionate tango of back-and-forth steps.

Clutching his skull as if it would split open, he collapsed to the ground, his face twisted beyond human recognition by pain.

"Beros?"

"Beros!"

"Beros!"

Faintly, countless voices pierced through layer upon layer of barriers, becoming countless sharp needles that drove deep into every fold of his cerebral cortex.

"Stop shouting!"

He roared in unbearable frustration at the invisible figures.

His limbs flailed wildly in chaos.

In confusion, his index finger touched a familiar yet alien object.

Following muscle memory, he instinctively pulled the trigger.

The next moment, the mist vanished, and the interwoven light and darkness became pure radiance.

◎

A thick curtain of rain tightly wrapped the entire city, heavy enough to make breathing difficult.

On the streets, the usual bustling crowds had vanished entirely, leaving only walls woven by wind and rain standing on the earth like monuments to the dead.

A black-and-red steel beast roared, its bright headlights as fangs and claws, tearing through the misty night rain and slicing every falling drop in half.

Corpses were crushed into invisible fragments; someone inside the car was singing loudly.

"Etsitun【existaispas,

(French: If You Never Existed)

Dis-moicommentj【existerais.

(Tell me, how shall I exist?)

"

A clear, ethereal female voice spiraled through the confined space, echoing with a lingering resonance capable of cleansing the soul.

"What song is this?" V asked softly, leaning back against the leather headrest, eyes closed.

Her tense body and mind had relaxed considerably under the beauty of the melody.

As the music neared its end, the singing slowly faded.

"A French song called 'If You Never Existed,'" Gil replied, gripping the steering wheel as he firmly controlled the ferocious steel beast beneath him, "melancholy and romantic, isn't it?"

"You must have been very popular in college..." V opened her eyes and smiled at Gil, "If I liked women, I'd already be in love with you by now..."

"Usually, when someone says that, they follow it with a 'but' to turn things around."

As they neared their destination, through the thick veil of rain and mist, faint, scattered points of light emerged in blurred clusters.

"Ha, you caught me," V chatted idly with Gil.

Even with her bottomless alcohol tolerance, she was slightly drunk tonight.

"Sorry—I said I'd take you home, but now you're driving me."

"Great car—solid, reliable, powerful," Gil patted the leather steering wheel and sincerely praised it, not giving the matter a second thought, "It's fate—we live just one street apart..."

"I bet your next line is, 'Want to come over for a drink?'" V mimicked him playfully.

"Wrong," Gil shrugged, slowing the car gradually, "I was going to say, 'My cat talks—want to meet him?'"

"You have a cat?" V raised an eyebrow, "Now I'm actually interested... In Night City, cats and dogs are almost extinct..."

"He's the only treasure I brought from the past..." Gil smiled lightly, voice tinged with pride.

"That's wonderful..." V murmured, lowering her gaze.

"Remember to visit the shop often, V," Gil glanced at her and spoke softly.

"Okay."

"We're here—pull over by the roadside. I'll get out here; you should be sober enough by now..."

"Almost forgot—we haven't exchanged contact info yet," V gathered her composure, pulled out her phone, and became lively again.

Gil also pulled out her phone and quickly exchanged contact details with V.

"There's an umbrella beside the driver's seat—come visit my place next time?" V brushed her messy hair aside and asked softly, her gaze drifting toward the car window.

"So now you're the one inviting me?" Gil's tone held playful teasing as she followed V's gaze.

An explosion pierced through the dense rain, blooming before them as a bright orange-red flower.

"Fuck! Get down!"

Though slightly drunk, V's mind remained sharp—she instantly reacted, yanking Gil down and hiding beside the car seat.

◎

"What happened?"

A towering figure, like a steel tower, stood firm, clothes torn, roaring like thunder at the sea pouring from above.

Wind and rain seemed frightened by the enraged man and scattered in flight.

The invisible, dense walls of the city crumbled one by one; his vision was no longer blocked.

The man looked around—his once-safe, cozy home had become a ruined wasteland.

Swirling fire and smoke, defying wind and rain, crept slowly upward into the sky.

What the hell happened!

He roared again.

The storm, driven to desperation with no escape, turned and charged at him with a roar.

Fire and smoke were extinguished in this returning fury of wind and rain.

But the flame in his heart was not.

Beros!!!

A voice came from far beyond the horizon.

Someone descended from the sky, screaming his name in fury.

Beros froze for a second; by the time he reacted, he could only raise his hand instinctively to block the sharp flash hurtling toward him.

His arm fell to the ground, blood gushing forth.

"What happened?" he asked again.

The sharp blade of light that pierced the night and rain did not answer him—it surged at him once more.

"Damn it! Answer me!"

He reached out, and his indestructible mantis blades extended as if part of his own limbs, blocking the swift sword-shadow like a vision of the future.

The ghostly figure halted, revealing drenched red hair.

"Rowna? What are you doing? Where is everyone?" he cried out, his mind growing more confused.

"Beros, look at your feet."

Rowna gripped the blade tightly in her hand and unleashed a roar of fury from the depths of her soul, her eyes blazing with crimson flames.

Beros stared down blankly.

Broken limbs lay piled at his feet, like a flower of blood.

"Bit?"

He spoke in disbelief, collapsing to his knees.

Cold rain and blood mingled, surrounding him.

Once again, a splitting headache surged over him.