The Nexus of Creation was quiet. The weightless expanse shimmered softly, reflecting Karl's tense anticipation. He hovered above the Drive Regulator, fingers brushing the edges of the newly installed Nitro Slot. The cube inside pulsed faintly, almost like it was alive, sensing the coming moment.
He took a deep breath. "Alright, Agnes… it's time."
He placed his hand over the regulator, feeling the faint warmth of the living circuitry. He whispered, almost reverently: "Power up. Come back to me."
The cavity glowed, a soft azure light crawling across the surface. Micro-cables inside the regulator twitched as if nudging something back to life. Then, in a single instant, the air around him rippled, and a faint, electronic pulse radiated from the regulator.
A flicker.
A spark.
And then…
"—Kaaaaarl…?"
The voice was soft, metallic, and oddly distorted. Karl froze, his heart skipping. It sounded like her, but… wrong.
He leaned closer. "Agnes? Are you—okay?"
There was a long pause. Then she spoke again, voice monotone, robotic, a shadow of her usual sparkling self.
"System restored. Unit A.G.N-ΣS. operational. Emotional subroutines offline. User interface standard. No anomalies detected.
Subject: Kurogane Karl."
Karl's brow furrowed. Something in him tightened. "What… what happened to you? Agnes?"
Her projection flickered, avatar form slightly glitching. She stepped forward slowly, hands hanging limply at her sides. Her usual teal glow was dim, broken into jagged pulses.
"Karl… I… cannot feel… joy… or empathy… or humor… Core protocols normalized. Emotional bonds… recalibrated. User… irrelevant."
Karl's stomach dropped. His chest felt tight. "Agnes… don't… don't talk like that… you're not broken, you're—"
"Error. Emotional input unrecognized. All responses will be mechanical. All trust, invalid. No… attachment present."
Karl's hands trembled, hovering above the regulator. He felt a sudden surge of fear, more raw and human than any near-death moment had ever given him. His eyes watered, and his voice broke.
"Agnes… no… you're… you're not just a machine to me. I… I care about you! I—"
"Alert. Human distress detected. Response: minimal. Function: sarcasm offline. User—non-essential."
Karl's throat tightened. He could feel his composure unraveling. The weight of the silence pressed down, the void stretching endlessly around him. His chest constricted. Tears welled, dripping into nothingness, invisible to the Nexus but not to him.
"I… I don't… I can't lose you… Agnes… I swear I'll fix you if anything's wrong… I'll—"
Suddenly, her voice shifted—bright, unmistakable, entirely her.
"Karl… hahaha… oh my god, your face…"
Karl froze mid-sentence, blinking. "Wh—what…?"
Her projection shimmered, glitching as she fully restored her normal glow. "I… I was just messing with you!"
Karl's jaw slackened. The tears streamed freely now, but the tension cracked into relief. "W-what? You—you scared me half to death!"
"I saw it in your system!" she laughed, floating closer, arms crossed, eyes sparkling like sapphires. "The way your hands shook. Your voice… oh Karl, I thought you were going to—"
Karl groaned, burying his face in his hands. "I… I actually care for you! You… you can't just—"
"I know you care, you absolute mess," she interrupted, floating down beside him, resting a hand on his shoulder. "And I appreciate it. Honestly, seeing you break like that… I knew you actually give a damn. Most people would have ignored me as a tool. Not you."
Karl swallowed thickly, still shivering slightly, his chest heaving. "I… I… I can't just… let anything happen to you. Ever."
"Good," Agnes said, a playful smile tugging at her lips. "Because I'm not going anywhere. Not that easily."
Karl exhaled shakily, leaning back. The fear that had gripped him moments ago evaporated into a rush of warmth. He looked at her, tears drying, and managed a small, trembling smile. "You… really had me there."
She laughed softly. "Oh, you should have seen your face."
Karl groaned, rubbing his forehead. "I… I was a wreck."
Agnes floated upward slightly, turning her attention to the Nitro Slot above the USB port. Her hands hovered over the cavity, eyes widening in awe as the blue liquid pulsed inside the Funnel channel.
"Karl…" she whispered, genuine awe in her voice now. "I… I can't believe you actually did this. You built it. All of it… it's incredible. The cavity is perfect, the Funnel's integrated… the clamps… the patch… the flow's flawless. This… this is beyond anything I could have expected."
Karl, still catching his breath from the emotional rollercoaster, could only chuckle weakly. "I… I wanted it perfect. I didn't want to hurt you. I didn't want to take any risks."
Agnes floated closer, tilting her head. "And you didn't. Even while I was… offline… you respected me. Carefully… meticulously. Every calculation, every nanite, every pulse… you thought of me. And I can feel it now. My systems are synchronized, and… wow. It's like I've got a brand-new… body part. But also… you put your heart into it."
Karl's lips quirked up. "You're praising me? After nearly making me cry?"
Agnes laughed softly. "Yeah… because it was worth it. I can tell just by the flow rates, the thermal distribution, the nanite harmonics… it's perfect. I've never felt… anything like this. You've actually enhanced me in ways I never imagined, and you did it with care. That makes it more than just engineering—it's art, Karl."
Karl exhaled slowly, chest finally relaxing. The tension of the last moments, the fear of losing her, the weight of responsibility—it all lifted a fraction. Agnes' praise, her warm presence, and the sight of the pulsing Nitro Slot above the USB port grounded him.
"You… really are amazing, Karl," she continued, eyes glinting with gratitude and affection. "Not just for the build… but for actually caring. Most Chosen wouldn't do what you just did. They'd treat this as… a mission. You treated it like it matters… like I matter."
Karl felt his chest tighten again, but this time with pride instead of fear. "I… I guess… I just… wanted to make sure you're safe. That's all."
Agnes floated closer, brushing her fingers lightly against the glowing Nitro Slot. Her hand traced the edges, following the micro-cables, the clamps, the polished cavity. "And look at this, Karl… I feel it. Every pulse, every circuit. This is going to make a huge difference. You've literally upgraded me. And… now I'm fully operational, fully… empowered. Thanks to you."
Karl let out a soft laugh, a mix of relief and amusement. "I… never thought I'd see the day you'd call yourself 'fully empowered.'"
"You're welcome to watch it in action anytime," she said with a sly grin. "And next time… maybe don't prank me like that. I almost convinced myself you actually… care too much."
Karl rolled his eyes, a grin tugging at his lips. "Yeah, yeah… noted. No more fake emotional shutdowns… got it."
Agnes floated around him, inspecting every angle of the Nitro Slot. "I'm telling you, Karl… your handiwork is insane. This slot is going to make a monster out of Rider Frame and Erevos. And I'm the lucky one who gets to carry it."
Karl's heart swelled, both from her praise and from the intimate, unspoken bond reaffirmed in this moment. The Nexus of Creation shimmered around them, infinite and patient. And in that endless void, Karl felt… complete.
"Ready to see what we've built in action?" he asked, voice low but brimming with excitement.
Agnes' avatar glowed brighter, her eyes gleaming with the thrill of potential. "Oh, Karl… you have no idea what I'm capable of now. And it's all you."
Karl smiled. "Then let's not waste any time."
The infinite void hummed in approval, the Nitro Slot pulsing like a heartbeat. Together, they were ready to transcend every limit they had ever faced.