Metaverse of Mechas

📘 Chapter 12

🚨 Scene 1: Countdown to Collapse

Nexaris' central AI broadcasted a system-wide alert:

⚠ CITY GRID CORE FAILURE IMMINENT – 03:58:12 REMAINING ⚠

Sirens howled. The sky dimmed as artificial sunlight collapsed into darkness.

Above, Revenant-Veil stirred in its skeletal form.

Like a corpse dreaming of war.

Each second it drained Krono, the weaker guild cities connected to the grid began to flicker—lights vanishing, communications down.

Zake raced through decrypted schematics.

"There are four siphon pylons keeping Revenant active. If we don't destroy them, Nexaris will sink—literally!"

Zero loaded his mech's twin sabers. "We take one each. Divide the teams."

Nyza limped forward, wounded but stubborn. "You're not leaving me behind."

Zui stepped beside Zeron. Aeon-Veil pulsed, twin cores humming in perfect sync.

Zeron nodded grimly. "Let's move."

Team Alpha: Zeron + Zui

Team Beta: Zero + Nyza

Team Gamma: Rin + Zake

Team Delta: Surprise reinforcement from outside Nexaris…

🏙️ Scene 2: Sector X-4 – Pylon One

Team Alpha arrived first.

The industrial district was collapsing into chaos—buildings pulled into the air as Krono gravity reversed.

A swarm of corrupted D-class mechas guarded the pylon, fused with black tendrils—tainted by Revenant's proto-signal.

Zui locked in.

"Enemies infected by Null-Krono. Purge authorized."

Zeron nodded. "Let's see what this fusion can do."

Aeon-Veil descended like a god, twin plasma scythes drawn.

Zeron took left. Zui took right.

Together, they danced—cutting through corrupted frames like slicing water.

Each kill reduced the pylon's core shield by 5%.

But then… it changed.

The ground cracked open.

And from it rose a monstrous mech—its face a broken replica of Zeron's first bot.

His voice caught.

"…Vexcore?"

A voice, digital and decayed:

"Pilot Zeron. You abandoned me. You let me die."

Zui gasped. "It's using your old mech's neural ghost!"

Zeron froze.

But only for a second.

He whispered, "I didn't abandon you. You saved me… now let me return the favor."

He surged forward.

Blade met blade—pilot versus memory.

⚔️ Scene 3: Sector Y-6 – Pylon Two

Team Beta fought amidst a junkyard tower.

Nyza used dual pistols, dancing through enemy mechas. Each shot ricocheted, precisely severing fuel lines and joints.

Zero wielded his dual sabers with savage grace.

But mid-battle, an enemy voice cut through the noise.

"Nyza, my lovely little traitor…"

She turned pale.

A woman dropped from the sky—silver-haired, cruel smile, wearing a badge from the Dark Synapse Guild.

"Hello, sister."

Zero blinked. "Wait—you have a sister?!"

Nyza gritted her teeth. "She died in the Skyline Riots. Or so I thought…"

The woman laughed. "Revenant brought us all back. Better. Stronger. Loyal."

She launched a black whip made of magnetic Krono at Nyza.

Sister vs sister. Secrets vs survival.

And as they fought, the pylon's defenses adapted—doubling their regeneration rate.

They were running out of time.

🧠 Scene 4: Sector C-8 – Pylon Three

Rin and Zake made their way through a data-factory collapsing under Krono pressure.

Inside, the walls turned to glass. Time loops triggered randomly—replaying their entrance over and over.

Temporal pollution.

Rin activated her anchor-beacon.

Zake whispered, "This isn't just defense tech. It's… memory-based."

The pylon here wasn't just pulling Krono.

It was absorbing emotion—memories of all who stepped inside.

Suddenly, they saw holograms of their past:

Zake, watching his parents die.

Rin, kneeling at her mother's grave.

The pylon was using it against them—weaponizing regret.

"I'll stabilize the field," Zake yelled. "But it means opening myself to the core."

Rin protested.

"If you do this—"

"I have to fix what I broke."

Zake placed his palm on the central node.

Pain surged through him. He screamed.

The pylon's shield shattered.

✨ Scene 5: Sector Z-0 – Pylon Four

Team Delta approached the most fortified pylon.

And they weren't from Nexaris.

These were rogue agents from Cradle-9, a city long thought destroyed.

Leading them: a masked pilot with a mech made of light.

The pylon here was surrounded by Oblivion Knights—non-sentient mechs powered by dying stars.

As the team cut through them, the masked pilot removed their helmet.

It was…

Lyra, Zeron's ex-girlfriend.

She hadn't just left him for another.

She had joined the Architect.

She spoke to her team coldly, "Do not engage Zeron if encountered. Yet."

Then to herself: "He has to become more. Before I break him."

🕰️ Scene 6: Back at Revenant's Core

With two pylons destroyed, one disabled, and one compromised—

Revenant-Veil faltered.

The Architect frowned.

"The awakening is incomplete. They are stronger than expected."

Shade-7 stepped forward. "Shall I deploy the Dreamsplicer?"

"No. Not yet."

The Architect placed a hand on Zui's clone—its body beginning to degrade.

"They think the Spiral is waking. But they don't know…"

He looked up.

"The Spiral was always broken."

🔮 Preview – Chapter 13: "Lyra's Game"

Zeron faces Vexcore in a final mental duel that may cost him his memories.

Nyza must kill the sister she thought was dead.

Rin tries to save Zake's mind from collapsing.

And Lyra—Zeron's past love—will strike when his back is turned.

Meanwhile, the Architect begins Phase 2: the unlocking of the Third Gate—the Prison of Spiral-Eaters.