The heat around Karl hissed and shimmered, Hazard Mode still blazing, Vythra dropping dangerously low—just forty percent left. Every second counted.
Karl:
"Time to finish this fast…"
He reached for his waist. The Drive Regulator Core, hovering in his palm, hummed like a heartbeat. Streams of nanites flickered faintly along his arms, responding to his pulse.
Agnes (Mode 1, teasing):
"Are you ready~? Let's make this quick, but elegant~"
Karl exhaled, focusing, and snapped the orb into place on his belt. A surge of nanites exploded from his back, wrapping around his limbs like liquid steel. Hydraulic hisses and grinding gears filled the street, the Erevos Frame beginning its formation. Plates clicked into alignment; servos whirred as his visor sealed with a flash of crimson light.
Agnes:
"Start your engine~!!!"
The orb pulsed, thrumming diagonally inside the USB port. Streams of cerulean light traced along his arms, veins of raw energy.
Karl:
"…System live."
Agnes (Mode 1, guiding, teasing):
"Mmm~ yes… feel it, Karl~ every pulse, every rotation… let it flow through the Trinity Core~"
The nanites rippled violently, spiraling outward in a tornado of blue and white light. Armor plates clamped over his body, locking hydraulically. Steam hissed from vents along his shoulders and back, curling into a protective haze that partially obscured the ruined street.
Agnes:
"Lock on~
Lock on~
Lock on~
Locked in!!!!"
The orb's glow exploded, sending shockwaves across the street. The spinning nanites coalesced into the familiar Erevos silhouette: massive, imposing, a living machine pulsing with kinetic potential.
Karl flexed his fingers on the ignition dial. The eight navy-blue gear projections emerged in perfect formation, spinning slowly at first, hovering in the mist like silent sentinels.
Agnes (Mode 1, playful but firm):
"Good… good, Karl~ That's it. Keep the rotation smooth… torque lines steady… push the Drive… let me sing~"
The Drive Regulator pulsed with every heartbeat, every nanite vibration responding instantly. Karl could feel the energy surging through him, every cog, every joint resonating perfectly. The steam hissed rhythmically, the gears spinning faster as Vythra rebounded slightly with the newly awakened Erevos Frame.
Karl (low, focused):
"Okay… eight constructs spinning… torque stable… steam system online… let's see what Gearstorm Nova can really do…"
The eight hovering gears began to rotate faster, edges catching the faint moonlight, forming a kinetic cage of destruction around him. Karl felt the pulsing energy in his limbs, the raw rotational force humming through Erevos' frame.
Agnes (Mode 1, teasing but guiding):
"Mm~ yes, yes~ perfect~ keep it flowing, Karl~ every rotation, every torque… feel the surge~ the storm is waiting for you~"
The cityscape around them seemed to hold its breath. The corrupted demons in the distance froze, sensing the colossal presence, unaware that the true storm hadn't even begun.
Karl exhaled, flexing on the ignition dial again. The Vythra surged, matching every nanite pulse, syncing with the eight hovering gear projections. Steam hissed and gears whirred, but Karl's focus never wavered.
Karl:
"Alright… let's wake it fully."
The Gearstorm Nova was ready, dormant but coiled, waiting for his final trigger. Agnes' tone remained guiding, Mode 1—teasing, playful, instructing—but Karl could already feel the subtle shift in the air. The calm before the storm, just seconds before her instincts started degrading toward Mode 3—the feral, kill-only state.
The eight gear-shaped constructs glinted ominously in the mist, spinning faster. The vibration through Erevos' frame increased, every servo screaming under the pressure, yet perfectly in sync.
Agnes (Mode 1, soft, commanding):
"Good boy~ steady hands… every cog in place… let the Vythra bloom… push me harder, Karl~ mm~ you're almost there…"
Karl's fingers tightened around the dial. The time for subtlety was over. Every beat of Vythra, every pulse of nanites, every whir of rotating cogs screamed one thing: the Gearstorm Nova was primed, waiting… and once unleashed, nothing would survive.
The faint, rolling hiss of steam swirled around Erevos, eight gear projections spinning like a mechanical halo of impending annihilation. Karl inhaled sharply, feeling the latent power thrumming inside the frame.
Karl (whispering to himself):
"Let's see what this storm really can do…"
The eight navy-blue gears slammed into Erevos with a metallic roar, spinning violently before clicking perfectly into place. One by one, they melded seamlessly into the armor: palms, shoulders, spine, and chest, forming a rigid, kinetic exoskeleton that pulsed with raw rotational energy. The nanites along Karl's limbs surged, syncing with the integrated constructs, flowing like liquid metal through Erevos' body.
Above the newly armored USB port, a gleaming metal button now hovered, cogs interlocking perfectly with the surrounding framework. Its faint cerulean pulse seemed alive, resonating with the Drive Regulator Core and teasing the unspent Vythra coursing through Erevos.
Karl's pulse raced. Every instinct screamed caution, but every shred of engineering curiosity pushed his hand forward.
Karl:
"Alright… time to see what this thing really does."
He pressed the button.
Immediately, a resonant thrum erupted from the integrated gears. Steam hissed from every vent in sharp, rhythmic bursts, and the eight constructs spun faster, their edges blurring into solid arcs of blue energy. The pulse from the orb inside the USB port surged violently, sending a kinetic shockwave through Erevos' frame and out into the empty streets.
Agnes' voice shifted subtly—still playful, still guiding—but tinged now with something darker:
"Mmm~ Karl… yes… feel the energy… yes… yes… let it flow… let them all remember… Vrrrmmm~!"
The mist around the mech thickened, curling in spirals around the spinning gears. Karl felt every cog, every nanite, every pulse of Vythra hammering through him as if the machine itself had become a living weapon, fed directly by his heartbeat.
Karl (gritting his teeth, awed):
"Holy… it's… alive. Every movement… every spin… it's—perfect."
The eight hovering gears, now fully integrated, began to rotate independently of Karl's inputs. They zipped along the armor plating, creating an intricate lattice of spinning blades and kinetic conduits. Erevos' massive frame trembled under the force, the servo motors straining—but every movement was precise, controlled, and devastatingly powerful.
Agnes' voice hardened, Mode 2 bleeding in between the playful notes:
"Look at them~ Karl… every last one of them… they don't stand a chance… mm~ let's show them what happens when gears meet flesh… Vrrrmmm~!"
The sound of steel grinding, hydraulic hiss, and spinning cogs became deafening. The streets trembled as the integrated Gearstorm Nova surged to life. Every nanite, every plate, every pulse of Vythra screamed destruction.
Karl's eyes narrowed inside the visor. The power was intoxicating, like controlling a storm of metal and kinetic energy that could crush anything in seconds. He tightened his grip on the ignition dial.
Karl:
"Let's… end this."
Agnes (sliding further toward Mode 3, feral now):
"Yes… that's it, Karl~! Every last one! Don't let them touch us~! Tear them apart~ grind them down~! Lock on~ Lock on~ Lock on~ Locked in!!!!~"
The eight integrated gears spun faster, releasing arcs of cerulean energy like living sawblades, slicing through the mist, the rubble, and anything foolish enough to come near. Steam hissed in jagged bursts, mixing with kinetic shockwaves that shook the ground like tremors.
Karl felt the Gearstorm Nova respond as if it had a mind of its own—every spinning gear, every thrust of energy, perfectly coordinated in a violent ballet of destruction. Agnes' personality, now fully flirting with feral instinct, urged him onward—but no teasing remained. Her only voice now was massacre, efficiency, and annihilation.
Agnes (Mode 3, pure killing intent):
"Yes… YES~! Kill~ destroy~ rip them to pieces~ no hesitation, no mercy~ Grind, tear, annihilate!!!~"
Karl's pulse synced with hers, the Drive Regulator Core thrumming in perfect harmony with the spinning gears. Every motion of Erevos became lethal precision, the eight integrated constructs acting as extensions of Karl's will—and Agnes' feral, unrelenting desire to destroy everything in their path.
The city block before them shuddered. Shadows twisted, smoke and steam enveloped the streets, and a low, mechanical growl echoed from Erevos' massive frame.
Karl (steady, controlled):
"Gearstorm Nova… engaged."
The eight integrated gears screamed as they spun, releasing a shockwave that shattered the pavement, tore through obstacles, and sent every corrupted demon in sight flying like ragdolls. And above it all, Agnes' feral laughter rang through Karl's mind: pure, unfiltered, deadly.
The storm had begun.