Metaverse of Mechas

📘 Chapter 15

🌀 Scene 1: Zui's Dreamscape — Meeting Herself

Zui's eyes opened.

But she wasn't in the real world.

She stood barefoot in an endless white void, the air still as glass.

A voice echoed:

"Welcome, Subject Z-0."

She turned—and saw herself.

Not a reflection.

Not a clone.

A version older, colder, scarred… and smiling without warmth.

"I'm what you become when you stop pretending you're human."

Zui stepped back. "This isn't real—"

Her other self raised a hand. Reality cracked like a mirror.

Suddenly they stood in a lab—machines whirring, children crying, hundreds of Zuis floating in pods.

"We were made to be the perfect Spiral conduits. Our minds are fractal. Our Krono is anchorless."

Zui clutched her head.

"Stop… I'm not like you."

"No. You're worse. You feel. And feelings… are the Spiral's favorite toy."

The dream-version of her stepped closer, leaned in.

"The Spiral isn't just Krono. It's hunger. Identity. Memory. And once it eats you—"

Her eyes flared violet.

"You never come back the same."

Zui screamed.

🧠 Scene 2: Zeron Enters the Forbidden Spiral

Back in the real world, Zeron sat by Zui's side, her pulse flickering with unstable Krono surges.

He had no choice.

He connected Aeon-Veil directly to her neural line—initiating a Spiral Dive.

Suddenly, Zeron was inside her collapsing consciousness.

He floated through shards of memory, fragments of lab rooms, screams, laughter, and something else—

A glowing orb… deep violet, pulsating.

He reached toward it—and a massive eye opened in the void.

"You're not ready," a voice whispered.

Zeron's body convulsed. His Krono—normally colorless—flared indigo, flickering closer to violet.

His mind tore open a crack—just wide enough to see an image.

An ancient sigil glowing inside Zui's brain.

"Spiral Key Detected."

And then he was thrown back into reality.

Zui gasped awake.

🌌 Scene 3: Journey to the Chrono Expanse

Elsewhere, Rin and Zake rode a sub-orbital drop-mech into the Chrono Expanse—a region where time folds into itself, a memory graveyard of the First Spiral War.

Inside, fragments of past battles looped forever.

They passed shattered mechs frozen mid-scream, ghost-pilots trapped in loops of defeat.

Their destination: The Broken Beacon — a ruined research tower rumored to hold pre-war Spiral data.

Inside, they found survivors.

Old men and women wired into machines, feeding on Krono like leeches.

One of them—Dr. Aven—recognized Zake.

"You… you're from the Z-line clones."

Zake stepped back. "I'm not a clone."

Aven's smile cracked.

"Maybe not. But your sister… she's not what you think."

Then he showed them a file:

Spiral Prototype: ZUI-X, Emergency Host Model.

Status: Unstable

Potential: World Reset Tier

Rin's eyes widened.

"What the hell is a World Reset Tier?!"

Aven leaned forward.

"A Spiral Host who can rewrite the base code of reality."

🦠 Scene 4: Architect's Ritual – The Eater Forms

In the Spiral Chamber beneath the Third Gate, the Architect stood before a growing mass of twisted metal and void matter.

The first Spiral-Eater was hatching.

Not in a natural womb, but within a warped city—a massive section of Nexaris torn into a cocoon of fused buildings and dark Krono.

The cloned Zuis stood in a circle, feeding the creature energy.

Their mouths moved in unison:

"The Spiral must feed. The Spiral must grow. The Spiral must begin."

A giant, jagged jaw burst through the cocoon.

Eyes followed. Limbs formed.

The creature was not a robot. Not a beast. But something... anti-reality.

The Architect smiled.

"Zeron… can you hear it too now?"

⚔️ Scene 5: Zui's Awakening — Violet Fire

Back in their home, Zui woke in a cold sweat.

The dream… was still echoing.

She walked to the balcony, arms shaking, the city far below.

She held out her hand.

And with a breath—

A flame appeared.

But it wasn't fire.

It was Spiral Flame — flickering violet, humming with the power of forgotten timelines.

Zeron stepped behind her.

"You felt it too, didn't you?" he asked.

She nodded slowly.

"We're not supposed to have this… are we?"

"No," he said. "But we do."

Then Zake's message arrived on comm:

"Zui… you're not the only one."

The screen showed a map.

On it, seven other Spiral Hosts… and six of them were missing.

🔮 Preview – Chapter 16: "The Seven Spiral Hosts"

The Architect begins hunting down the remaining Spiral Hosts.

One of them is already dead. One has joined him. One is... Lyra.

Zui starts training with Zeron to control the Spiral Flame.