[The Liquidation]The air in the study was ionized, thick with the smell of ozone and the heavy, floral rot of lilies. Arthur’s thumb hovered over the red button of the detonator, a skeletal tremor in his hand that signaled the end of his patience."Choose, Dante," Arthur repeated, his voice a dry rasp that sounded like dead leaves skittering on stone.Beside me, the Green-Eyed Woman—the Original—stepped forward. She didn’t have the "Sync" glow, but she had something I had lost: an untouched, terrifying innocence. She reached her hand toward Dante, her fingers pale and steady. "Dante," she whispered, her voice a pure, unburdened bell. "I forgive you. Let me take you back to before the blood. Before her."
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