The next two months became a constant dance of work.
Arthur set up a laboratory where he and the Healer units could operate.
First came the structural phase: creating a biological template from scratch.
This wasn't Arthur's area of expertise, but it didn't take him long to learn.
And White followed everything closely—always by his side, watching every movement of his hands, every murmured instruction, every delicate adjustment.
Whenever Arthur touched the surface of the forming body, White felt something strange awaken within her. It wasn't jealousy, but it wasn't exactly anticipation either. It was something warm, gentle—something that seemed to envelop her entire being.
2B and A2 also began frequenting the laboratory.
At first, it was just curiosity.
Then, it became an emotional need neither of them would ever admit out loud.
2B asked countless questions, always leaning closer whenever Arthur explained the details of the skeletal structure. Meanwhile, A2 pretended disinterest, yet she stayed until the end of every night, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, her gaze fixed on him—as if she were evaluating not the creation process, but Arthur himself.
Days turned into nights, and nights into endless dawns.
During that time, White made it clear she wanted the body finished—not through explicit words, but through her actions.
She began staying closer, lingering beside him longer than necessary, watching his expression whenever he refined the exact shape of her new eyes, her new lips, her new skin.
And when she finally asked, in a low voice, to be the first, Arthur simply nodded, smiling at her.
The consciousness transfer was the decisive moment.
The body was ready—perfect, harmonious, both strong and delicate.
The Healer units positioned a transfer capsule while White stood before it, silent and almost nervous—a feeling she never knew she was capable of experiencing.
"Are you ready?" Arthur asked.
White stepped forward, gently taking his hand.
"If you're the one doing this… then I'm ready for anything."
A2 looked away.
2B swallowed hard.
The main processor began to vibrate. White's core pulsed one last time—and then her consciousness was projected directly into the newly created neural cavity of the artificial body.
Arthur caught her in his arms the moment she opened her eyes for the first time.
And White smiled as she fully awakened.
She leaned forward until her forehead rested against his.
"So this is how… truly feeling works?" she whispered, her lips nearly brushing his, stopping just short of crossing the line—not yet.
Arthur took a deep breath and smiled—a gesture she immediately mirrored, fascinated as she felt oxygen flow through her nostrils into her lungs.
"You haven't seen anything yet…" he replied, his hand sliding along the side of her newly formed face.
---
White spent the first few minutes in absolute silence, feeling her body respond to commands that were no longer digital.
Every movement was a discovery.
She slowly raised her hand, watching her fingers flex, her skin move, the subtle muscles shifting beneath the surface. Then she touched her own face.
"It's so… warm…" White murmured in awe, placing her palm against her chest, feeling her heart beating in a steady rhythm. "Is this really part of me?"
"All of this is you," Arthur replied with a smile, gesturing toward her.
White lifted her gaze to him and stepped closer, guided by pure instinct, until their bodies were nearly touching.
She raised her hand and placed it against Arthur's chest, feeling his warmth through her skin.
Then she spoke, her voice low, soft, filled with raw emotion:
"Arthur… thank you."
He took her hand slowly, as if receiving something precious.
"You don't need to thank me. I wanted to do this."
White closed her eyes for a moment, absorbing those words as if they were a physical sensation.
Then, to everyone's surprise, she leaned forward—her face inches from his—but stopped at the last moment.
She didn't cross the line.
But it was clear she had wanted to.
Arthur smiled—and took the initiative, kissing her.
2B bit her lip.
A2 turned her face away, annoyed at her own reaction.
After a few minutes, Arthur pulled back, regaining his focus with some difficulty.
"Alright. Now… it's your turn," he said, looking at 2B and A2.
White, still enchanted by her new sensations, stepped back to watch.
2B was the first to approach.
She walked slowly, almost hesitantly, but her eyes never left Arthur's.
"I want…" she said plainly, though her voice was quieter than usual. "I want to feel all of this too."
Arthur nodded.
"It will take time. Unlike White's body, yours will require specific adjustments."
"How long?" she asked.
Arthur paused, holding his chin as he thought.
"Maybe three weeks…" he answered.
A2 let out a faint grunt.
"And me?" she asked, crossing her arms, though she couldn't fully hide her nervousness. "Just so you know, I don't want any kind of 'idiotic aesthetic customization.'"
Arthur laughed and walked up to her. Without asking permission, he took her hand.
A2 froze for a moment, startled by his boldness.
"If everything goes well… you'll be the strongest of all," Arthur said.
A2 yanked her hand back with a sharp motion, turning her face away.
"I don't care about that," she muttered—clearly lying. "Just… just get it done."
Arthur stepped back, smiling in satisfaction.
"It'll take about a month."
A2 bit the inside of her cheek.
She wanted it faster.
She wanted it now.
She wanted—though she would never admit it—to feel what White had just experienced.
Watching everything unfold, White stepped closer to Arthur again.
"So…" she said with a soft smile, "we have two and a half months of work ahead of us."
She let out a light laugh.
"Don't blame me for getting ahead of the two of you."
---
(End of Chapter)