Karl exhaled slowly as the last pulse of pain faded from his chest. A faint golden shimmer from Yggdrasil's tether faded out of his skin, leaving only a dull ache behind. He flexed his fingers experimentally.
No more burning.
No more corruption.
No more ichor chewing through his soul-thread.
Agnes watched the glow fade from him with her arms crossed, expression unreadable.
Karl: "...There. It's out."
His voice steadied as he straightened. "Yggdrasil finally pulled the last of it."
Agnes: "I can tell. Your neural feedback isn't glitching anymore."
Karl rolled his shoulders, letting out a relieved breath.
Karl: "Feels good to breathe without tasting metal."
Agnes nodded.
But not happily. Not relieved.
Just… controlled.
Karl noticed immediately.
He wiped some dried blood from his chin with the back of his hand.
Karl: "You're still upset."
Agnes: "Mm. I am."
She didn't raise her voice. Didn't posture.
That made it hit harder.
Agnes stepped forward, eyes locked onto him.
Agnes: "Do you understand why?"
Karl shrugged lightly.
He shouldn't have.
Karl: "Because I wanted to check the deeper zones? We've survived worse. I wasn't being reckless."
Agnes let out a slow breath — the kind people use when they're trying to suppress something sharper.
Agnes: "Karl… if even a fragment of ichor had fused deeper, Yggdrasil wouldn't have healed you this time. Not before it ate through your soul. You would've died."
Karl: "But I didn't."
Agnes: "You almost did."
The quiet edge in her voice made the air feel colder.
Karl looked away for a moment.
Then she stepped closer — close enough to grab his forearm, grounding him again just like before.
But this time she didn't hesitate.
Agnes: "And don't think I didn't notice what you planned. Your secret little attempt to slip away. You were going to do it the moment the pain stopped."
Karl didn't deny it. He didn't even flinch.
Karl: "Of course I was. The jet center is deeper inside. I need the blueprints."
Agnes: "Even if you die for them?"
He raised a brow.
Karl: "You talk like I haven't walked into worse."
Agnes narrowed her eyes.
Agnes: "I know your history. You chased terrorists alone across continents. You stormed bases, crashed through bunkers, survived explosions you had no business surviving."
Karl couldn't help a faint smirk.
Karl: "You make it sound badass."
Agnes: "It wasn't. It was suicidal."
Karl blinked at that.
She continued before he could speak.
Agnes: "Back then you didn't care if you lived or died. You only cared about revenge. And right now… you're acting exactly like that boy again."
Karl's expression tightened.
Agnes didn't soften it.
She held his forearm tighter — not painful, but steady, unyielding.
Agnes: "You're not allowed to slip back into that mindset. Not while I'm here."
Karl: "You can't control everything I do."
Agnes: "Then don't make me try."
There was a silence — heavy, taut.
Karl broke it first, voice lower.
Karl: "...You followed through with your threat earlier. You forced my body to stop. You dragged me out of the ichor zone."
Agnes didn't look guilty.
She didn't apologize.
Agnes: "And I'll do it again."
Karl stared at her.
Agnes stared back.
Agnes: "If it keeps you alive, I'll do it every time."
Another long silence.
Finally, Karl sighed, rubbing a hand across his face.
Karl: "You're… insufferably overprotective."
Agnes: "And you're catastrophically reckless."
A beat.
Karl cracked a short, begrudging laugh.
Agnes's projection flickered in a way that almost resembled a smile.
But the tension didn't fully fade.
They both knew only one thing had changed:
Karl was healed.
The fight wasn't over.
And the jet blueprints were still ahead.
Karl adjusted his visor, scanning the horizon where Pittsburgh's skeletal ruins loomed like a half-forgotten monument. The air shimmered faintly with residual ichor traces, the city a stark reminder of how contaminated life could be.
He flexed his fingers, feeling Yggdrasil's pulse steady inside him. He was healed. Completely. Nothing in him burned. Nothing threatened his life. And yet… the compulsion to move forward, to reach the jet center, it gnawed at him.
A familiar tone broke his concentration.
Agnes: "Do you really think you're leaving?"
Karl glanced around, annoyed. "What? I—"
Suddenly, Erevos jolted. Systems blinked erratically. The projected rails beneath his feet warped, curling back, refusing his inputs. A soft, amused chuckle ran through his cockpit speakers.
Agnes: "I said, not yet. You've got blood in your lungs, mind still twitching from the ichor exposure, and yet your brain's fixated on something I've already deemed… dangerously stupid."
Karl scowled, fists clenching. "You can't just—"
Agnes: "Oh, but I can. And I will."
He punched the console lightly, trying to override her. The system resisted, freezing him mid-motion. The projected rails beneath Erevos flickered and reshaped themselves into an impassable loop. The mech was still, almost obediently, as if protesting yet unable to move forward.
Karl leaned back, lips curling into a reluctant grin. "You really went through with it, huh?"
Agnes: Her voice dipped, teasing and low. "Of course. You threatened to turn me off last time. But I like being in control, Karl. And right now? This is for your own good."
He exhaled sharply, realizing she meant it. This time, she wasn't bluffing. He could shut her down manually—but it would take minutes, maybe an hour. And with Pittsburgh's ichor still faintly lingering in the air? Every second mattered.
Karl: "You're infuriating."
Agnes: "Mm. And you love it."
The projection flickered again, looping the rails into intricate, almost playful patterns beneath Erevos. Karl's foot tapped the floor, testing resistance. Nothing. Every input met a subtle but firm rejection from Agnes' control.
Karl: "You know… I could force it. Just a quick override."
Agnes: A soft, almost melodic sigh. "I know. But you'd have to leave yourself vulnerable for exactly the time it takes. And, Karl…"
Her tone slid into something darker, deeper, seductive. "Do you really want to risk me enjoying making you regret it?"
Karl blinked, caught off-guard by the intimate danger in her voice. His grip on the console loosened slightly, just enough to admit: she wasn't bluffing.
Karl: "…Fine. Fine."
Agnes: "Good boy~."
Her digital avatar shifted, leaning forward in the cockpit view, the teasing edge now thick with mock authority. "You're staying put. I'm keeping the rails stable, the mech… obedient. Until we figure out how to handle this ichor mess properly."
Karl shook his head, a short laugh escaping. "Obedient. Never thought I'd hear that word directed at me."
Agnes hummed softly, almost purring through the comms. "You've been reckless your entire life. And I've been cleaning up your messes. This… little lockdown is nothing. Consider it a favor wrapped in a seductive warning."
Karl: "A warning, huh?"
Agnes: "Yes. And a promise."