Metaverse of Mechas

📘 Chapter 3

Night in Veltronia was a contradiction of silence and chaos.

Above, the sky glowed with flying mechs and glowing traffic lanes.

Below, in the underground tunnels beneath District 6, Zeron ran for his life.

His breath burned. His feet pounded against metal grates slick with moisture. Behind him, a six-legged alien beast—half-machine, half-flesh—let out a mechanical roar, tearing through concrete walls like paper.

"Keep moving, idiot!" a voice yelled.

A girl with short dark hair and a plasma rifle vaulted over a ledge and motioned for Zeron to follow.

Her name was Rin Valen. The leader of a rogue mech-hunting squad called Division Echo—a government-blacklisted group that hunted alien tech without permission.

Zeron had met her exactly twelve minutes ago.

He had been trying to trace the cube core's signal, and instead walked straight into an alien ambush.

Now he was running with a squad of strangers, being hunted by a creature called a Gnarlspike—a biomechanical predator that absorbed Krono.

"I didn't sign up for this!" Zeron yelled, ducking as a clawed limb slashed overhead.

"You stepped on my team's signal trip!" Rin shouted. "You're in now, like it or not!"

A burst of red laser fire hit the Gnarlspike's side.

It screeched, retreating into the shadows of the tunnel—but not for long.

Rin slapped a core-stabilizer on Zeron's chest. "What the hell are you? You're not even emitting Krono—yet that thing went for you first."

Zeron didn't answer.

His mind was pulsing. Not with fear.

With whispers.

"It's drawn to me…"

"It senses the ancient frequency. The Violet Pulse."

"You are no longer hidden."

Zeron clenched his fists.

"Stand back," he said.

Rin blinked. "Excuse me?"

The air around Zeron began to vibrate.

A low hum—faint at first, then rising.

The cube core he kept in his pocket floated into the air on its own.

Symbols ignited around him.

—[CRONOS LINK UNLOCK – LAYER 1.3]

—[PROTO-MECH PARTIAL SUMMON: PHANTOM MODULE]

Purple tendrils of energy slithered up his arm.

From them, a gauntlet formed—metallic, sleek, with ancient engravings—and fused onto Zeron's right hand.

The moment it locked, time slowed.

Zeron turned.

The Gnarlspike lunged.

With a calm breath, he stepped forward.

And punched.

The blow detonated like a thunderclap. The creature flew backwards, crashing into a tunnel wall, crushed.

Rin's mouth dropped open.

"Who the hell are you?"

Zeron didn't answer.

But his eyes flickered violet.

🏢 Two Hours Later – Division Echo Base, Location: Unknown

"You're insane," Rin muttered, pacing in front of him.

The base was built into an old metro station. Dim lights. Holographic blueprints plastered the walls. Half-built mechs, tools, and alien parts littered the place.

Zeron sat calmly on a crate, sipping a bottle of water.

A small drone buzzed around him, scanning his vitals.

"So," Rin snapped. "What's your story? No Krono detected. No registry as a licensed pilot. Yet you summon Violet-class gauntlets from thin air and punch alien tech monsters into scrap."

Zeron said nothing.

Then finally, he spoke.

"…I'm trying to protect my siblings."

She frowned. "Not the answer I expected."

"I don't know what's happening to me," he admitted. "But something… woke up. A core. A mech. A voice. All tied to my father's last invention. And I think it's connected to the alien attacks."

Rin's eyes narrowed.

She walked over and sat opposite him.

"…Your name?"

"Zeron Kai."

She paused. Something in her expression shifted. "Kai?"

"You know the name?"

"Everyone in classified research does. Kai Systems was a ghost company. Designed biomech interfaces. Shut down after a prototype exploded… killing the team. Rumors say it wasn't an accident."

Zeron stared.

"My parents died in a plane crash."

"Maybe," she said. "Maybe that's what they wanted you to think."

👤 Meanwhile – A Secret Facility, Outer Orbit

A black chamber. Screens showed Zeron's face in freeze-frame.

A man in a crimson coat leaned forward. He wore an eyepatch and spoke with a silver tongue.

This was Xelthorn—one of the Council of Nine, leaders of the alien-infiltrated secret order known as Oblivion Core.

"The Violet is reawakening," Xelthorn whispered.

A female voice replied from the shadows. "Then we must activate Her."

Xelthorn grinned. "The Phantom Mechanica. The corrupted core. Let her hunt him."

🏙 Back in Veltronia – The Next Morning

Zeron walked Zui and Zake to school.

He smiled, acted normal, promised to pick up dinner.

But something had changed.

Zui stared at him after a moment. "You're... different."

"What do you mean?"

"Your eyes," she whispered. "They flicker when you lie."

Zeron chuckled nervously. "Get going or you'll miss your bus."

As they left, he looked at the sky.

Something had begun.

Something that couldn't be stopped.

🔎 In the Shadows – A New Player Appears

From the top of a nearby tower, a girl with sharp green eyes and white headphones stared at Zeron through a telescopic drone.

"Subject Z activated," she muttered.

On her sleeve, a patch read: Shadowwatch—Elite Recon Unit, Internal Affairs.

"I need to report this to HQ."

Then she vanished, cloak shimmering behind her.

🧪 Zeron's Mech Progress – Internal Log

—Current Krono: 0.3%

—Mecha Access: Phantom Right Arm Module

—Awakened Ability: Pulse Break

—Dreams: Recurring visions of a city in ruins. Mech of Violet Flame standing alone.

—Voice: Growing louder. Calls itself: "ÆRA."

🔮 Preview – Chapter 4: "The Phantom Mechanica"

Zeron joins his first mission with Division Echo—retrieving a rogue alien core hidden beneath the ruins of an abandoned city. But they're not alone. Something is hunting them. A prototype mech that whispers like a child… and kills like a god.