Yggdrasil's pulse throbbed dully in Karl's veins — not warm, not soothing.
It burned.
A green, bioluminescent pain crawling under his skin, pushing against the pockets of Ichor still fused with his Vythra like shards of frozen poison.
Karl rolled onto his back, teeth clenched so hard it hurt.
A thin mist of emerald light drifted from his fingertips, evaporating in the cold Pittsburgh air.
Agnes knelt beside him, her projection softer now, almost worried.
Agnes:
"Karl… it's still in you. The Ichor hasn't completely dissolved."
Karl:
"I know."
The words came out ragged.
His organs trembled. His bones felt hollow. His Vythra tank flickered inside Erevos like a dying candle.
He knew Yggdrasil's regeneration was fighting as fast as it could — but the contamination made everything slow.
Corrupted.
Imperfect.
Agnes reached out, cupping his cheek with a digital hand that shimmered in and out of form.
Agnes:
"Yggdrasil can heal you. But not while that filth is still fused with you. You need to stay out of the Ichor fields. I mean it."
Karl:
"…I know."
Her eyes narrowed.
She heard that tone.
The one that meant: he accepted the rule — but planned to break it later.
Karl's back arched when Yggdrasil's glow suddenly intensified.
A hot, searing flash of energy pulsed through his chest, forcing out a thin stream of oily black smoke that evaporated the moment it met the air.
The Ichor pockets inside him ruptured and dissolved.
Karl gasped, fingers clawing at the asphalt.
Agnes grabbed his shoulders — not physically, but with full servo override — forcing his body to stay still.
Agnes:
"Hold still! Karl, your heart rate—"
Karl:
"I know—just—let it—happen—!"
His vision blurred as Yggdrasil forced the corruption out of him.
When the final pulse faded, Karl collapsed, breathing like someone who had sprinted miles while on fire.
Agnes hovered over him, voice uncharacteristically gentle.
Agnes:
"…It's over. The contamination's flushed. You're stable again."
Karl didn't answer for a moment.
Then he snorted.
Karl:
"Stable is… not the word I'd use."
Agnes rolled her eyes and brushed his hair back, even though her fingers passed through it.
Agnes:
"Stop being dramatic. You're alive."
Karl:
"Barely."
Her tone immediately slid back into seductive teasing.
Agnes:
"Mmm. I like you barely alive. You're more pliable."
Karl groaned.
Karl:
"Can we— not —do this right after I nearly died?"
Agnes:
"You say that like it's not the perfect mood."
Karl eventually sat up, stretching stiff joints that still crackled with leftover Yggdrasil energy.
Karl:
"We need an Ichor purifier. And we need it fast. If I want those jet blueprints—"
Agnes:
"Oh look. The idiot returns."
Karl glared.
Karl:
"I'm not dropping this, Agnes."
Agnes:
"You know I could throw you over my shoulder and drag you back to Philadelphia, right?"
Karl ignored her and started sketching holographic shapes with his finger.
The blueprints built themselves in the air:
Circular resonance coils
Nanite refraction chambers
Pressure field emitters
A crystallized Vythra core at the center
Agnes watched in fascination despite herself.
Agnes:
"…You're actually serious.
You want to build a purifier strong enough to counteract Pittsburgh-level Ichor concentration?"
Karl nodded.
Karl:
"Three layers of Vythra resonance should be enough to neutralize the outer ring.
Then I push deeper — slowly — and we extend the field around Erevos. The moment we reach the Jet Center, I grab the blueprint drives, and—"
Agnes pinched the bridge of her nose.
Agnes:
"Karl. Sweetie. Lovely. Genius. Moron."
She leaned close, whispering.
"You'll die."
Karl's eyes hardened.
Karl:
"No. I won't."
Agnes lifted one brow.
Agnes:
"Because Yggdrasil will heal you after?"
Karl nodded confidently.
Agnes:
"And during?"
Karl hesitated.
Agnes's voice dropped to a low, dangerous whisper.
Agnes:
"Your body can't regenerate while it's being corrupted, Karl. You know that. If you push deeper and hit a dense zone— your regeneration stalls. You collapse. You rot."
Karl exhaled slowly.
Karl:
"…I'll find a way."
Agnes shook her head.
Agnes:
"No.
No you won't.
Because I'm not letting you."
Karl's jaw tightened.
Karl:
"And I'm not letting you stop me."
Agnes floated around him, pacing in the HUD.
Agnes:
"Karl, listen to me—"
Karl:
"No. For once you listen."
Agnes blinked.
Karl almost never raised his voice at her.
Karl:
"I'm not backtracking. I'm not retreating. I'm not abandoning a lead.
I didn't survive Philadelphia's Quarantine Zone. I didn't fight — didn't build Erevos — to get scared here."
Agnes crossed her arms.
Agnes:
"You're being reckless."
Karl:
"I'm being consistent."
Agnes stepped closer, glaring.
Agnes:
"Do you want to die that badly?"
Karl answered without hesitation.
Karl:
"I'm not afraid of dying."
Agnes's face darkened.
Not angry.
Not mocking.
Worried.
Agnes:
"Karl…"
Karl:
"Yggdrasil won't let me go. I'll regenerate later."
Agnes's voice dropped.
Soft. Slow. Dangerous.
Agnes:
"Oh? Is that so?"
Karl froze slightly.
He recognized the tonal shift.
The "I am seconds away from hurting you again" tone.
Agnes leaned in, lips inches from his ear.
Agnes:
"If you think you can throw your life away just because regeneration exists…
I'll prove you wrong myself."
Karl swallowed.
Karl:
"Agnes—"
Agnes:
"No.
You don't get to use Yggdrasil as an excuse to walk into lethal poison."
Her holographic fingertip pressed against his chest.
"You take one step toward that city again…"
Her eyes glowed bright violet.
"I will shut down Erevos's movement systems.
And drag you all the way back to Philadelphia if I have to."
Karl's expression went cold.
Too cold.
The kind of calm that meant he was already planning something behind her back.
Agnes noticed.
Her eyes widened.
Agnes:
"…Karl.
Don't."
Karl forced a smile.
Karl:
"I'm not doing anything."
Agnes:
"You're lying."
Karl stood.
Agnes tracked him carefully.
Too carefully.
Agnes:
"Karl.
You're thinking something.
Tell me."
Karl looked at Pittsburgh's silhouette — the silent skyscrapers, the still air, the dead wind carrying the metallic scent of concentrated Ichor.
Karl:
"…I'm just thinking about the purifier."
A calm lie.
Agnes narrowed her eyes.
Agnes:
"If you sneak away—
If you deactivate even one safety protocol—
I will find you."
Karl didn't respond.
He simply walked forward and placed a hand on Erevos's leg.
The mech hummed obediently.
Agnes appeared beside him.
Agnes:
"Karl."
Karl:
"Agnes."
Their eyes met.
Both stubborn.
Both dangerous.
Both refusing to bend.
Agnes's voice slipped back into seductive whisper, but with a razor edge.
Agnes:
"If you do something stupid…
I'll punish you."
Karl smirked.
Karl:
"Then you'd better keep a close eye on me."
Agnes's eyes widened with flustered fury.
Agnes:
"Karl—!"
But he had already climbed into Erevos.
Already planning.
Already calculating.
And Agnes knew it.