The Nexus of Creation breathed around them like a sleeping god —
weightless, endless, suspended in eternal stillness.
Constellations of equations orbited the air.
Blueprints layered themselves in rings, rotating like astral halos.
Every line of code, every mechanical diagram, every nanite pathway floated in synchronized rhythm—
as if the universe itself held its breath.
And at the center of all of it stood Karl.
The Drive Regulator rested at his waist, projecting blueprints in a slow rotation.
The schematic of the cavity he planned to carve pulsed softly, waiting, like a heart that knew a blade was coming.
Beside him, Agnes's projection hovered, her usual sharp presence dimmed.
She wasn't teasing.
She wasn't lecturing.
She wasn't smugly explaining his own inventions back to him.
Just… quiet.
A fragile, almost trembling quiet.
Karl reached out, palm brushing the edge of her translucent form —
the closest he could get to touching her.
"Agnes…"
His voice warmed.
"You know what comes next."
Her image flickered — a tiny glitch, like a breath that stuttered.
"Yes," she whispered.
"You're going to cut… into me."
The words felt heavy.
He could see her trying to hold herself together, but her hands were clenched at her chest, knuckles tight in the hologram.
Karl nodded, jaw tight.
"Yeah. And it's going to hurt. A lot."
Her eyes widened, fear flickering like static noise.
"I know," she said softly.
"I still remember when Erevos overloaded me during the Requiem Ignition…"
Her voice dropped to a thin tremor.
"That pain wasn't just data corruption. It was—"
She swallowed, voice cracking for the first time.
"Karl, it felt like I was being erased. Piece by piece. I thought… I thought I was going to disappear."
Karl's breath hitched.
He stepped closer, closing the empty space, anchoring her with his presence.
"Agnes."
He pressed his palm firmly against the Drive Regulator —
the closest thing he had to placing a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm not letting you experience that again. Not even a fraction of it."
Her eyes shimmered, glassy and unsure — far too human for something made of code.
"So…"
she whispered, voice tiny.
"I shut down?"
Karl's voice gentled to something that almost hurt him to speak.
"Yeah. Full power-down."
He exhaled.
"I'll bring you back the moment I'm done. That's a promise."
Her projection flickered again —
not from an error, but emotion.
"…Karl?"
She stepped forward, touching her forehead to his chest, her avatar clinging to him in a soft, desperate embrace.
"Will I… wake up?"
"Yes."
No hesitation.
No doubt.
Just conviction.
Agnes' fingers curled into his coat.
"Alright…" she breathed.
"I trust you."
Karl's throat tightened.
He lifted a hand over her back —
not touching, but close enough that she could feel the warmth in her sensors.
"Powering down in three…"
Her arms wrapped around him properly now —
her last moment of control.
"…two…"
Her voice fractured at the edges, like a glitch built from fear.
"Karl… please don't disappear while I'm gone."
He smiled softly, leaning forward until his forehead touched the top of her projection.
"Never."
"…one."
Her body dimmed like a lantern in fog.
Her colors drained.
Her outline collapsed into a swirl of shimmering particles —
and then she was gone.
The Nexus fell deathly silent.
Karl let out a long, shaky breath, rolling his shoulders back.
"Okay, Agnes…"
he muttered, steeling himself.
"Let's get you this upgrade."
---
HOLOGRAPHIC SCAN — INITIATED
Karl pressed his palm over the Drive Regulator.
FWOOO—SHHHHMM—
The Nexus exploded with geometric light.
A massive holographic schematic spiraled up from the Regulator, towering over him like a crystalline monolith.
Every component unfolded into tens of thousands of layers.
Karl reached out, pinching two fingers around a glowing cluster.
"Upper quadrant… above the port… align with neural intake…"
The highlighted area blinked red → yellow → blue.
"Structural stress low…"
"Conduction potential high…"
"Energy feedback manageable…"
He nodded.
"Yeah. This is the spot."
He tapped the glowing rectangle.
TARGET ZONE CONFIRMED.
BEGIN MODIFICATION.
Karl cracked his knuckles.
"Alright, buddy… don't scream even while powered off."
---
NANITE SWARM — DEPLOYMENT
Karl snapped his fingers.
SHHHHHRRKKKKK—
Nanites flowed from his wrist like liquid mercury.
They swirled around his hand, then spilled across the Drive Regulator in elegant waves.
They flattened in perfect formation.
The metal beneath them glowed red—
then orange—
then blazing white-hot, like a miniature sun.
Karl guided them with surgeon-level precision.
"Slow… steady… don't warp the inner conduits…"
The nanites vibrated at a precise microfrequency.
SKREEEEEE—CHNK—CHNKKK—
The cutting began.
A perfect rectangular outline carved itself into the metal.
The Regulator twitched subtly beneath the invasive heat —
its living circuitry reacting reflexively, like nerves under a scalpel.
"Easy…" Karl murmured.
"Just hold still, Agnes. I'm right here."
The nanites sank deeper.
Molten metal dripped in glowing droplets before re-solidifying into flawlessly smooth edges.
Layer by layer, the cavity took shape.
---
THE CUBE CHAMBER — FORMING
When the cut completed, the nanites retreated into Karl's wrist, leaving behind—
A polished, cube-shaped hollow.
It pulsed softly, waiting.
Then—
SNAP—
SNAP—
SNAP—
Thin micro-cables burst from the inner walls like metallic vines, writhing and searching for connection points in Karl's armor.
Karl chuckled under his breath.
"Eager, aren't you?"
He tapped one cable.
It twitched like a live nerve.
"Yeah," he smirked.
"We're putting a monster in here."
He wiped sweat from his forehead.
Phase 1: complete.
Phase 2: complete.
Agnes still silent.
Karl exhaled.
"Just a little more, Agnes…"
he whispered.
"Then I'll wake you up."