Metaverse of Mechas

📘 Chapter 16

🌑 Scene 1: The Spiral Roll Call

Deep in the data core beneath the Chrono Expanse, Zake decrypted the locations of the seven Spiral Hosts. Each dot on the hologram blinked with unstable Krono readings.

He spoke into the comms:

"Confirmed: there are seven hosts… But two have flatlined. One is in containment. One is missing. One is here—Zui. And one—"

He paused.

"—is Lyra."

Zeron froze.

"That… that can't be."

Rin crossed her arms. "Then where is she now?"

Zake pulled up the footage—Lyra boarding a black-flag stealth carrier, its serials erased. Heading into Oblivion Sector, controlled by rogue Spiral loyalists.

🧬 Scene 2: Zui's Spiral Training Begins

Zui sat in an abandoned training dome, blindfolded.

Around her floated orbs of energy—each mimicking unstable Spiral Krono. Her task was simple: contain them without touching, using only her mind-Krono—a projection technique long believed impossible for a non-Black-tier user.

But she was different now.

Zeron stood at her side, watching.

He remembered something Elron once said in a drunken ramble:

"Spiral users aren't born. They're chosen by the code."

Zui focused—her breath syncing with the orbs.

She extended her hand, and her Krono flared—pure violet.

The orbs bent. Screamed. Collapsed into lines of light.

She opened her eyes.

The dome sensors lit up:

Power Type: Unclassified. Danger Level: Zero-Class.

Zake gasped. "She's not violet. She's something beyond it."

🕳️ Scene 3: Lyra's True Allegiance

In a fortress made of crystallized Krono, Lyra stood before the Architect.

"You summoned me," she said coolly.

The Architect smiled.

"You're late."

Behind him, the half-formed Spiral-Eater pulsed with rhythmic hunger.

"You still love him?" he asked.

Lyra didn't answer.

"Because if you do… you'll have to break him."

He extended his hand. In it—a seed of Spiral code, glowing red-black.

"Plant this in Zui's mech. If she survives, she's worthy. If not, the Spiral will consume her."

Lyra's hands trembled. Her voice cracked.

"She's just a child."

The Architect whispered back:

"So was the last god we killed."

🛰️ Scene 4: The Spiral Host in Containment

Meanwhile, Rin and Zake reached Vault V-X, a deep-cryo prison in the lower strata of the planet's core, guarded by a dwindling AI named HALV.

Inside: Spiral Host #5 — Moro, a 12-year-old blind boy with no known Krono output, locked in suspended animation.

But when they opened the pod…

The room grew cold.

The boy opened his eyes—pure white.

"The Spiral sings louder now. You shouldn't have woken me."

HALV's systems began to glitch. The walls wept Krono.

Zake pulled back. "He's not just a host… He's a transmitter."

Moro turned to Rin.

"Tell Zui: the Spiral chose her second."

"I was the first."

🌒 Scene 5: Zeron's Decision

Zeron sat in the ruins of an old cathedral—the place where his parents' plane crashed years ago.

He dug beneath the floor, where the wreckage had never been cleared.

There, he found a black box. And inside it—

His father's final message:

"Zeron… if you're hearing this, it means they found you too. The Spiral doesn't just feed on Krono. It feeds on potential. I'm sorry we left you. We were Spiral researchers, not victims. Protect Zui. She was the final key. You were the lock."

"When your Krono awakens… don't hold back."

Zeron looked up. His fists tightened.

For the first time, his body burned with purpose.

His Krono flared—a flicker of deep indigo, nearing full violet.

🔮 Preview – Chapter 17: "The False Spiral"

Lyra returns to Nexaris—but not as an ally.

Zui encounters another Spiral Host inside a dream—and is warned of a Spiral infection growing inside her.

Moro escapes containment and walks freely into the Spiral's domain.

The Spiral-Eater grows teeth—and sets its first target: Nexaris Prime.

Zeron must now choose: love, loyalty, or the world.