Karl's body trembled, his vision half-filled with streaks of cobalt and cerulean Vythra sparks. The second leg had collapsed again, the ankle skewed, the knee misaligned. He sank to the void floor of the Nexus, breath ragged, chest heaving under the endless hum of the Trinity Core.
"Maybe… maybe I'm not meant to do this…"
A faint flicker of his parents' guidance whispered through his mind. Ayaka's calm tone, Itsuki's precise mechanical intuition, both subtly guiding his hands, urging him to try once more. Karl clenched his fists, forcing himself to stand.
He began again, carefully. Nanites extended from the Drive Regulator, forming the thigh first. This time, he slowed his movements, letting the Flow of Vythra — his own energy harmonized with the Engine Soul — guide each micro-gear placement. The knee aligned. A spark of orange-cerulean Vythra glimmered along the joint, stabilizing it.
"Stay… stay stable…" he muttered, almost to himself.
The ankle formed. It wobbled slightly at first, a minor tremor running through the nanite lattice, but Karl adjusted, letting his will merge with the Trinity Core. Slowly, painfully, the tremor ceased. The leg held its form.
Karl exhaled sharply. He tested the knee's flex, then the ankle's rotation. It moved. Tentatively at first, but it moved as intended. The thigh, knee, and foot were now a coherent unit — his nanites holding the structure in place. A flicker of a smile crept onto his face.
"I did it… at least… one leg…"
It wasn't perfect. Small sparks of Vythra still jittered along the joints, the balance wasn't flawless, and the alignment was slightly off. But it worked. Functional, solid enough to continue. The first step of his mech frame's legs had been achieved.
Karl sank to his knees again, exhausted, but his exhaustion was tempered by pride. The Nexus hummed around him, the void shimmering faintly as if acknowledging his small victory. His consciousness flickered faintly in the Trinity Core's center, and for a moment, he felt a strange warmth — his parents' souls, stabilizing and encouraging him in silent approval.
"If I can do one… I can do the other. I just… need to keep going."
With renewed determination, Karl looked at the incomplete second leg. Sparks of Vythra danced in anticipation, responding to his will. The trial was far from over, but for the first time, Karl felt he had a tangible foothold in the endless void of creation. The Nexus wasn't just testing him anymore — it was listening.
"Alright… second leg… let's try again."
And with that, the iterative cycle of creation began anew, each attempt now grounded in the hard-won confidence of his first partial success.
Karl wiped the sweat from his brow, hands trembling from exertion, but his gaze was steely. The first leg now stood firm, a testament to hours of struggle, sparks of cobalt-cerulean Vythra pulsing faintly along the joints.
He extended the nanites from the Drive Regulator, directing them to weave the second leg. The Nexus of Creation responded immediately, shimmering in anticipation. He tried to replicate the same methodical movements he had used on the first leg, but immediately, a jolt of instability ran up the limb.
"No… no, stay…"
The knee twisted awkwardly, the ankle misaligned, and a spray of Vythra sparks erupted. Karl groaned, retracting the nanites and restarting. Again, the knee collapsed, the foot skewed. He sank to one knee in frustration.
"Why… why won't it… just work?"
A quiet pulse ran through the Trinity Core, subtle but perceptible — the echoes of Ayaka and Itsuki guiding his hands. Karl clenched his jaw.
"Patience… patience," he muttered
He slowed his motions further, letting the Flow of Vythra — his own energy harmonized with the Engine Soul — dictate the construction. Slowly, deliberately, nanites curled around the thigh, then the knee, shaping the leg with careful precision. The ankle rotated into place. He tested the flexibility — slight tremors remained, but the leg held.
Karl exhaled sharply, sweat running down his temple. For the first time, both legs were standing in rough alignment. But rough wasn't enough. He needed smooth movement, flawless coordination.
He began smoothing the legs, fine-tuning every joint. Micro-gears embedded in the nanites rotated in counterphase, transferring torque evenly along the limb. Tiny pulses of cobalt and cerulean Vythra ran along the legs, stabilizing the lattice. He bent the knees, rotated the ankles, and flexed the thighs, each motion a test of structural integrity. Sparks flickered, misalignments appeared, but Karl corrected them with patience, focusing his entire being on the flow of energy and matter.
Minutes — or perhaps hours — passed, though time in the Nexus was meaningless. Sweat drenched him, muscles screaming, yet he didn't stop. Slowly, agonizingly, both legs moved as intended. A perfect, fluid motion ran through them, each joint harmonized with the other. The legs were now complete enough to support a full mech frame, though they still bore faint imperfections visible only to him.
Karl fell back, breath ragged, staring at his own creation. The Nexus pulsed around him, the void resonating with his triumph. For the first time, he felt a surge of pride: these legs, imperfect yet functional, were entirely his own creation.
"One step closer… I can finish this. I'll make it perfect."
The Trinity Core flickered, harmonizing with the Engine Soul and Gear Drive, acknowledging his progress. The Nexus of Creation had witnessed his determination — the first phase of the mech frame complete, legs fully stabilized, ready to connect with the torso and arms in the next phase.
Karl's mind focused, determination solidifying: this trial would not break him. He would build the frame, perfect the design, and claim his place as Hephaestus' Chosen — one blueprint, one Vythra pulse, one step at a time.