Page 197 of The SongBird's Love
“I’ve done it before,” added Eden, clearing her voice. “I confirm, it’s doable.”
“Then they will choose to fight on the ground if they can,” said Lecky. “Those cowards know hacking is their Achilles’ heel. They won’t risk it...”
“Are we seriously about to go to war with the Core?” muttered Sanyam, as if he had just realized.
“Old Man, you’re not serious!” groaned Joaquin. “A hologram bastard appears to tell us the Core wants to attack, and we’re supposed to believe that? Leave it be, things are fine as they are!”
“Didn’t you hear a thing that was said?” retorted Tanya. “The Core is going to wipe us all out, things won’t be fine as they are in just a few days, you idiot!”
“Shut it, woman! You’re not going to tell me what to do! I don’t believe this! I don’t believe that maricón!”
“Pan speaks the truth,” said A., completely unphased. “The attack will happen even if we decide to ignore it. Not only Pan, but several of our hackers have found concrete proof during their latest hacks. They are preparing for a large-scale attack. It’s only a matter of time, whether we react or not.”
“They have an army,” said Sanyam. “We’re not ready to go up against the Core! Even if we have a few weapons, our people are mercenaries, mafiosos, hitmen, vandals! We can’t go against the army...”
“We have an army of our own,” suddenly said the Dragon.
All the Zodiacs glanced at each other. Each time the Dragon spoke, his charisma was such that he could overpower the room with his voice alone, and they had to listen. Eden felt her throat tighten a bit. She didn’t doubt the hackers’ report, she knew that world enough to know no one would ring the alarm if they weren’t sure it was worth risking their presence being known... However, it may not be enough to convince all the Zodiacs. What the Ox had said wasn’t completely wrong either; although the powerful Zodiacs’ men were trained like militias, they still were no match for a proper army like the Core’s.
The Dragon shifted his gaze from Eden to glance at Pan, and the male hologram smiled back with a little nod. Eden was still in shock about the relationship between those two, and she couldn’t help but be mad at her so-called master. She watched him move his fingers over some invisible keyboard, and suddenly, the hologram expanded over the table, showing dozens of silhouettes of people. It was as if they saw hundreds of miniature holograms. All those people seemed to be floating in tiny versions in front of them, some sitting, some visibly busy in front of a computer, a lot of them simply standing. Eden couldn’t even keep up with all those that appeared, hundreds of them.
“Those are...”
“That’s right, Eden,” said Pan with a smile. “This is the new Edge.”
“The new Edge?” Circé repeated, confused. “All those people...?”
“The former Edge was part of an experiment much larger than they knew,” said Pan, staring at Circé as if he knew exactly who she was already. “Since the former Edge collapsed, a new one was created, trained, and prepared for a situation like this one.”
“It can’t be,” muttered Eden. “Those are... hundreds of people...”
“Hundreds of hackers,” nodded Pan. “So many of them were ready to take their place as part of the Edge. We have created something global, something that goes beyond the geographic borders of each city. On their own, each of those people is a Dive or Back Hacker like any other, doing private contracts, and completely isolated. However, they are all part of the Edge. And when the owner of the Edge is ready to summon them...”
All eyes suddenly went to her, making Eden feel uneasy again. She gasped a bit, turning to the Dragon again.
“I don’t understand,” she muttered. “I never had any connection to the Edge before I met my Back Hacker, b-but–”
“The Edge was created for you, Eden,” Pan suddenly said. “Your father knew there would be a day you would need more protection than before, and a chance to escape the Core. He had hoped you’d pick up what he left... A chance to destroy the Core from the inside.”
Eden was completely speechless. That was too much information at once. Not only from Pan, but she was even more shocked that the Dragon, the oldest and probably the most powerful Zodiac, knew all about this? She opened and closed her mouth twice, unable to utter a single sound to ask.
“Wait a second,” said Lecky, glancing her way. “Who’s the chick’s dad we’ve been talking about? I feel like we’re missing something here?”
Eden and the Dragon exchanged a glance. She was still at a loss as to what was happening. How does the Dragon know so much about her, her father, and Pan? Was it Pan who had explained it all? Why was the elder staring at her so kindly, like a grandfather to his grandchild, while he was keeping the rest of the Zodiacs in check?
She took a deep breath. Perhaps this really meant something now. She glanced at Dante, who, of course, had his golden eyes riveted on her. Things were different now... She didn’t have to be a runaway anymore, nor hide her past. This room had no technology, and there was little chance anyone here would sell her secret to the Core. Not only that, but her master was there, which, although she was still mad at him, made Eden feel safer than ever. She had Loir, Dante, and even the powerful Dragon Lord seemed to be backing her up. Her identity as Ghost had already been revealed, what else did she have to lose here?
“...My father was the Architect.”
A silence followed her words. Tanya first frowned, then stared at Eden who was seated next to her.
“...The Architect?” she muttered. “The man who–”
“Who created the Core, Tanya, we all know who the Architect is. Since when did he have a daughter, though? This is nonsense!”
“We knew little about him, it wouldn’t be impossible...”
“Impossible?” scoffed Sanyam. “That child is so young, the Architect was barely younger than the Dragon himself!”
