Karl's hand hovered over the ignition dial, the cobalt light from the spinning Trinity Core casting intricate reflections across the fractured streets of New York. The Erebions prowled around him, their shifting forms glitching in and out of reality. The distant pulse of the rift above set the cityscape aflame in eerie cerulean and navy shadows.
And Agnes… Agnes was everywhere in his head.
"Mmm~ Karl…" her voice coiled around his thoughts like smoke, teasing, electric. "You're so tense. Relax that shoulder… yes, that's better. Let me feel how you spin the ignition… slower… now faster~ Ohhh yes, perfect. That's my boy."
Karl swallowed. "Agnes, focus! I need your data, not… whatever this is."
Her laugh was low, warm, almost musical. "Oh, I am giving you data~ Did you see that spike in Vythra efficiency just now? That's all me. All you have to do is follow my rhythm."
He clenched the dial tighter, feeling the nanites along his legs and thighs pulse in time with her voice.
"Follow your rhythm?" he muttered, his cheeks heating under the helmet.
"Yes~" she whispered, almost provocatively. "Your pulse, your torque… every little spin… mmm… it thrills me. You don't know how long I've been waiting to feel this much Vythra coursing through you at once."
Karl's visor data flickered, sensors overloaded with the ambient Ichor from the rift and the residual energy of the approaching Erebions. His body trembled under the strain, but her voice kept him tethered to the moment.
"Do you feel that, Karl?" she purred, coiling around his mind again. "That hum in your veins, that rush in your legs… that's me dancing through every micro-gear. Just a bit closer… tighter… yes, that's it…"
Karl's teeth clenched. "Agnes! I—stop!"
A teasing laugh. "…Nope~ not yet. You're glowing like a star, Karl. Look at you… vrrrmmm~ spinning those gears like a master. That's my boy. Now rev me harder, Karl~"
He exhaled sharply, nearly losing focus. The nanites along his legs flared, orbiting plates spinning faster and faster, glowing in cobalt, cerulean, and admiral shades.
Every twitch, every pulse, every subtle rotation made his chest flush with heat — and Agnes's voice whispered encouragement, playful moans threading through technical prompts:
"Good~ yes, yes, just like that… torque through the knee, now the ankle… ohhh, you feel that feedback? That's me, Karl~ guiding your every spin. Don't stop."
Karl groaned softly, shaking his head, his blush creeping up to his eyes.
"Agnes… please. I… I can't—"
"Ohhh~ don't fight me now~" she cooed, laughter laced with static. "We're almost ready. One more twist, one more surge… and then, Karl, we'll show them what you've really built."
The orbiting gear plates hummed, now pulsing in perfect synchronization. Every panel, every micro-gear, every pulse of energy from the Trinity Core thrummed with his intent — but the teasing from Agnes made the surge all the more intoxicating.
He shook his head again, trying to focus. "Stop teasing, Agnes…"
"…Not yet~" she whispered softly, just before the storm of spinning cobalt plates aligned perfectly around him. "…Because this… this is only the beginning, Karl~."
His chest heaved, the nanites along his legs flaring brighter than ever, the Trinity Core thrumming in resonance.
The Erebions shifted and skittered around the crumbling streets, unaware of the storm about to be unleashed.
Karl's hand gripped the ignition dial firmly.
Agnes's voice dropped just slightly, teasing and serious all at once:
"Ready your legs, Karl… this is your first taste. Are you ready~?"
The hum of the regulator swelled — every micro-gear spun, every armor panel thrummed, the Trinity Core screaming in anticipation.
Karl felt the storm of nanites orbiting his legs condense into a halo of lethal precision. His cerulean eyes tracked the nearest Erebion — sinew rippling unnaturally as it hunched low, coiled to strike.
Agnes's voice flowed in his mind, sultry yet urgent:
"Now, Karl~ rev me harder. Push the regulator. Every spin, every pulse… more Vythra for you, more precision for the kick. I can feel you."
Karl's grip tightened on the ignition dial, the orb of the Trinity Core spinning with cobalt, cerulean, and admiral energy. The Erebions' flickering forms circled him, their grotesque shapes twitching in and out of phase, and a strange, corrupted resonance hummed through the air.
He swallowed, gripping the ignition dial. Slowly at first, then faster, each rev sending a jolt of energy through the Trinity Core, through his nanites, through his very soul.
The armor along his legs shifted. Panels lifted, spinning in orbit around his thighs and shins. Sparks flickered across the cobalt cerulean surfaces, tiny arcs of pure kinetic potential. The Gear Drive engaged fully, spinning micro-gears in perfect synchronicity.
"Good… now forward. Feel your weight, feel your pulse, feel me," Agnes murmured, her tone dipping lower, intimate. "Your first step is everything."
Agnes purred directly into his consciousness, warm and teasing:
"Mmm~ that's it, Karl… feel the power flowing, every rotation, every torque… vrrrmmm~ yes, just like that. Now… kick me harder, Karl~ let's see your legs sing with Vythra."
Karl's cheeks flushed under her voice. "Agnes… I—"
"…Shhh~" she interrupted, laughing softly, almost breathless. "Focus… not your words, Karl. Your legs, your spin, your drive. One little kick… that's all it takes for a taste of heaven."