The cavity glowed with fading heat, its sharp metallic edges catching the light of the Nexus like a freshly carved gemstone.
Without Agnes humming beside him, without her presence filling the air with her tiny remarks, the Nexus felt like a cathedral after a choir had fallen silent.
Every sound echoed too far.
Every breath felt too loud.
Karl wiped his palms onto his pant leg, though they weren't sweaty — the Nexus didn't allow such bodily functions.
It merely mimicked the sensation so your mind didn't break.
"Alright…" he whispered to the empty expanse.
"Let's give you a new organ."
He opened a hidden slot on his wrist gauntlet — a pocket of folded space containing the more delicate components of his nanite arsenal.
Inside sat the Nitro Funnel, resting in a cradle of zero-gravity clamps.
It looked almost alive.
A thin, crystalline tube no wider than a pencil, engraved with microscopic circuit veins.
As Karl touched it, it pulsed faintly — soft blue, soft blue, soft blue — like it sensed the proximity of the Drive Regulator.
He lifted it with both hands, treating it like a surgeon carrying a transplanted artery.
"Okay… you're the star of the show."
The Funnel shimmered in the endless light as he angled it toward the carved cavity.
Instantly—
SNAP—SNAP—SNAP—
The exposed micro-cables inside the cavity flinched in excitement, twitching violently as if they had smelled their missing piece.
They stretched, curled, and writhed outward like metallic nerves reaching for sensation.
Karl winced.
"Hey, hey—slow down. This thing is fragile.
You rip it now and I swear to God—"
One cable nearly latched onto the tube; Karl swatted it away like a pet too excited about its meal.
"Back," he muttered.
The cables reluctantly retracted an inch.
Still quivering.
Still hungry.
Karl inhaled, then positioned the Funnel's inlet end directly above the cavity's center.
The Drive Regulator murmured under his touch.
Even powered down, its living machine-core responded to him — to his intent, his touch, his resolve.
He followed the path on the hologram.
"The inlet port is here… beneath the Funnel line… upward angle… three-degree tilt…"
He traced the invisible route with his fingertips until he felt the faintest vibration.
There.
The USB port's inner crystal — Agnes's "heart node."
"This is it."
He reached under the Regulator with extreme care, sliding the Funnel's opposite end toward that glowing tear-shaped crystal deep inside.
The instant the tube came within millimeters—
FWUMMMM—
The USB port's core flared with light.
As if sensing a soulmate.
Karl paused.
"Easy… don't burn out without Agnes watching."
He aligned the Funnel precisely.
One millimeter off and the entire channel could rupture during acceleration.
One misalignment and his next transformation would liquefy his kidneys.
He steadied his breath.
"Connecting…"
He pushed.
CLICK—
A soft locking sound.
Then—
SHRRRRK—FZZZZZT—
The funnel anchored itself, glowing brighter as it bonded to the energy line.
A moment later, blue light slowly trickled down the crystalline veins of the tube like liquid starlight.
Karl watched the flow with a quiet smile.
"Heartbeat established… good girl."
The micro-cables, no longer needing restraint, surged forward—
SSSSHHHHK—
They wrapped around the Funnel's length, weaving themselves into place until they formed a perfect, symmetrical harness.
The entire inner chamber came alive.
Soft hums.
Faint pulses.
The sound of a system waking.
Karl rested a hand on the Regulator.
"Even without Agnes… you're excited.
You can feel the upgrade coming."
The Funnel glowed brighter.
The cavity felt warm — like biological warmth, not machine heat.
Karl swallowed and whispered:
"I'll bring her back soon."
The Nexus heard nothing.
But the device on his waist did.
Its glow sharpened for a moment.
Then stabilized.
Karl cracked his shoulders and rotated one wrist, summoning more nanites from beneath his skin.
They poured out in a controlled torrent:
SHHHHHHH—SHFFFFFF—
Metallic dust filled the air, swirling around him before gathering into a disc-shaped halo.
Karl gestured with both hands, shaping the particles like clay.
Piece by piece, the halo broke apart, recombining into solid fragments.
Four triangular locking braces.
Six micro clamps.
A stabilizer ring.
Two shock absorbers.
And one thicker anchor plate shaped like a mechanical collarbone.
Each component hovered in front of him, gleaming.
Karl let out a low whistle.
"Not bad… definitely sturdier than the first mock-up."
He selected one of the triangular braces.
The metal was dark silver with gold edge-lining, humming softly with potential energy.
"Okay… let's start with the frame," he muttered.
He brought the brace to the cavity's upper-left corner.
As soon as it came close—
CHNK.
It magnetically aligned.
Then:
CLAMP.
A beam of blue energy welded it to the cavity's outer wall.
Karl watched the weld settle.
"No wiggle… perfect."
He repeated the process for the others.
BRACE 2 — CLAMP.
BRACE 3 — CLAMP.
BRACE 4 — CLAMP.
Then came the micro clamps — each no bigger than a fingernail, but each capable of withstanding the recoil of a full Nitro Burst.
He placed them one by one:
clnk
clnk
clnk clnk clnk clnk
Six clamps in total, snapping into the smallest grooves and seams where the Funnel met the cavity.
Karl tapped them gently.
Every one of them held firm.
"You're not going anywhere. Not even if I hit a wall at Mach 10."
But he wasn't done.
He reached out his hand.
Nanites reassembled into the shock absorbers — small piston-like rods designed to flex under pressure instead of breaking.
He placed them along the cavity's outer ridge.
CHK—PSSSHH.
CHK—PSSSHH.
A gentle hydraulic hiss indicated perfect installation.
The cavity now looked like an armored vault.
But the most important piece remained:
The anchor plate.
This final brace looked different — thicker, heavier, designed to hold the Nitro Cube in place during the worst-case scenarios:
● mid-air collisions
● recoil from weapon modes
● catastrophic overheat bursts
● zero-gravity spinouts
● dimensional instability (common with Chosen tech)
Karl picked it up and exhaled slowly.
"You're the reason Agnes doesn't get torn open the next time we transform."
He gently slid the anchor plate into the top of the cavity.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then—
THNK—SHRRRRRR—KHHHK—
The anchor plate erupted with locking mechanisms, extending tiny hooks, levers, and seals that latched onto all edges of the cavity like a mechanical jaw closing around a gem.
It vibrated.
Then settled.
Karl tightened his fist.
"Hold."
He pushed.
Nothing moved.
He pulled.
Nothing budged.
He hit it with his palm.
Not even a millimeter of shift.
"Good," he whispered.
"You better be unbreakable."
He stepped back to examine the fully constructed Slot.
Once a raw hole carved into metal, it now looked like a seamless, purpose-built component — the perfect docking chamber for the Nitro Cube.
The crystalline Funnel glowed inside, now protected behind a wall of braces.
The clamps shimmered with energy.
The anchor plate pulsed faintly, syncing to his heartbeat.
Karl let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding.
"It's done…
Phase 3 and 4 complete."
His hand drifted to the dark, silent Regulator.
"Agnes…
just a few more step."
He whispered it softly.
Almost like he hoped the unconscious AI could still hear him.