The Cradle hummed with life. At the center, Karl's consciousness floated, still partially unaware, his mind tethered to the visions Artemis had shown him.
Itsuki and Ayaka knelt at the chest cavity hologram, hands hovering over the nascent Engine Soul — a crystalline sphere interlaced with micro-gears and nanite threads.
Ayaka: "This is his heart, but also his mind. It must reflect who he is… his will, his dreams, his childhood."
Itsuki adjusted the torque patterns of the gear arrays, watching the micro-gears spin in perfect synchronization with the Engine Soul's energy pulses.
Itsuki: "The Gear Drive will channel his soul's energy like a conductor guiding an orchestra. Each gear… each rotation… must be attuned to his intent."
Step 1 — Laying the Heart
Itsuki delicately merged fragments of Hephaestus' nanites into the Engine Soul. Each micro-gear clicked into place, forming a lattice that could respond to thought as easily as motion.
Ayaka: "This is more than mechanics. This is him… every burst of imagination, every dream of being a hero… encoded in gears and motion."
The Engine Soul pulsed, the nanites visibly shifting as if breathing, stabilizing the core, fusing divinity with machinery.
Step 2 — Imprinting the Gear Drive
The Gear Drive extended like a metallic spine from the Engine Soul, micro-gears snapping into synchronized alignment.
Itsuki: "Small gears power fine motions — a punch, a flicker of energy. Large gears… transformations, overdrive. It must scale with his soul's output."
Ayaka's fragment of consciousness flowed through the Gear Drive, gently embedding maternal intuition into its rotational flow — a safeguard against mental overload, but also a tether to his humanity.
Ayaka: "If he ever loses focus, the drive will whisper… remind him who he is."
Step 3 — Synchronizing Mind and Machine
The Engine Soul and Gear Drive began rotating in unison, the faint glow of nanites forming visible gear lattices over Karl's forming body. Each rotation emitted a low harmonic pulse — a mechanical heartbeat.
Itsuki: "The Engine Soul generates the potential, the Gear Drive directs it. Together, they make him… more than a man, but still him."
Micro-gears meshed with nanite fibers across the limbs, connecting to the spinal chassis of the Drive Regulator. Sparks of blue energy danced along the circuits — a tangible sign of synchronization.
Thanamira: "Every thought, every memory, every desire… it flows through these gears. He will fight with precision, but also with purpose."
The pulse grew stronger, echoing through the Cradle like a cathedral of motion. The Engine Soul's luminescence intensified as if awakening, feeding energy into the Gear Drive, nanites, and the Drive Regulator all at once.
Step 4 — Functional Integration
The team tested small outputs. A flick of thought rotated the Ignition Dial slowly — the nanites assembled into a sleek vehicle. Rapid rotation — a compact humanoid mini-mech appeared. Full clockwise — the Overdrive module flared, sparks cascading across the nascent armor.
Itsuki (proudly): "Every movement, every attack, every form… his mind and body, fully synchronized. This is Kurogane Everos."
Ayaka placed her hands over the Engine Soul, whispering softly.
Ayaka: "Our son… the hero you dreamed of being. Fight for yourself, for those you love… and for the world we couldn't protect."
The Engine Soul shone like a living sun, the Gear Drive spun in perfect harmony, and Karl's consciousness — still unaware of the divine intervention behind him — began the first steps toward a fully formed body.
The Cradle's light dimmed to a solemn blue. The Engine Soul and Gear Drive now pulsed in rhythm — two hearts beating in mechanical harmony — but Thanamira's expression darkened.
Thanamira: "The structure is perfect… yet the soul matrix remains incomplete. He only has one consciousness. To command both the Engine Soul and Gear Drive alone… he would shatter."
Itsuki and Ayaka exchanged glances — a quiet, knowing look that said everything. They already understood what had to be done.
Ayaka (softly): "Then he'll need us… one last time."
Itsuki: "Our son was born from creation itself. It's only right that creation and love breathe life into him again."
The Primordial circuits projected Karl's soul pattern — a singular thread of white light pulsing within the chassis. Two auxiliary matrices — the Engine Soul and the Gear Drive — orbited it, incomplete and unsynchronized.
Thanamira: "One will drive his body… the other, his heart. But only one soul exists to steer them both. If he forces control over both systems…"
The vision showed possible outcomes: Karl's expression turning blank, gears grinding as his nanites twisted violently, personality dissolving into cold calculation.
Hephaestus (gravely): "He'd become nothing but a machine. A perfect shell. No laughter. No Karl."
Ayaka trembled.
Ayaka: "He wanted to become a hero. Not a weapon."
Itsuki looked toward the Gear Drive, fingers brushing against its dark metallic surface. The faint ticking echoed like a heartbeat waiting to begin.
Itsuki: "Then I'll give him what I can — my precision, my control. My mind for his gears."
Ayaka turned toward the Engine Soul, her reflection visible in its crystalline surface.
Ayaka: "And I'll give him my warmth… my intuition. My heart for his energy."
Thanamira's voice softened — for the first time, almost maternal.
Thanamira: "Know that once you merge, your individuality will fade. Your voices will linger only as echoes."
They smiled. There was no hesitation.
Itsuki: "That's fine. If every turn of his gears carries my will—"
Ayaka: "—and every beat of his heart carries mine—"
Both: "—then we'll always be with him."
The two souls stepped forward into the twin cores.
Ayaka's essence — golden and gentle — flowed into the Engine Soul, spreading warmth through the nanite mesh. Its pulsing rhythm softened, almost like a living heartbeat.
Itsuki's soul — deep silver, sharp as torque — entered the Gear Drive. The mechanical hum became harmonious, steady and precise.
Hephaestus (whispering): "Perfect balance… love and order. The dream of every creator."
As they fused, tendrils of blue energy intertwined, binding to Karl's still-forming body. A trinity of light emerged — Karl's dormant soul, flanked by his parents' fading spiritual silhouettes.
Ayaka (to Karl's unconscious form): "When you move… when you fight… remember us, even if you don't hear our voices."
Itsuki: "You are our masterpiece, Karl. Our son, our creation, our hero."
Their forms dissolved completely, energy embedding deep into the twin systems.
The Cradle fell silent, save for a new sound — a heartbeat made of gears.
Clank—thrum.
Clank—thrum.
Thanamira and Hephaestus stood quietly as the Drive Regulator's circuits glowed anew.
Hephaestus: "Three souls now dwell within one vessel. The child, the heart, the mind. One commands, two protect."
Thanamira: "But even a perfect design carries risk. Should the Engine Soul or Gear Drive awaken too strongly…"
Hephaestus: "They may act through him — or for him. Parental instinct woven into metal."
The light in the chamber flared briefly, projecting faint silhouettes — a woman's hand brushing Karl's cheek, a man's palm resting on his shoulder. Then they were gone.
Thanamira: "The child will never know… not yet. But every transformation will remind him of what he's lost — and what he carries."