Metaverse of Mechas

📘 Chapter 102: 

🌌 Scene 1: First Contact

Zeron stood still as the woman descended from the floating platform within the lunar vault.

She wasn't glowing. She wasn't threatening.

She looked… tired.

Her long silver hair shimmered under the pulsating Krono conduits of the Vault, and her cloak fluttered despite the absence of wind.

Her eyes—deep violet, touched with flickers of gold—stared into his like they had done this a thousand times before.

"You've finally arrived," she whispered. "Zeron, bearer of the Forgotten Core."

He tensed. "How do you know me?"

She smiled faintly, touching the floating control orb beside her. The Vault lit up, revealing a massive mural—a battle between humans and what looked like Titans built of Krono.

But what made his heart freeze was the figure in the middle…

A man with his exact face.

"Because I was there," she said. "When you died."

🕰️ Scene 2: The Rebirth Protocol

Myrr and Kael, meanwhile, examined the Vault's mechanics.

"What even is this place?" Kael murmured.

"A time-locked civilization," Myrr said, running scans. "They paused their own world to store a message. To wait… for him."

On one of the walls, glyphs began to glow—encoded memories.

Kael activated them.

Holograms sprang to life: scenes of planets being devoured by Krono beasts, stars collapsing into machines, and a single warrior—Zeron—leading the charge with a blade of violet flame.

"This isn't just a memory," Kael said.

"This is a warning."

🌿 Scene 3: The Throne of Choices

Back on Earth, Zui sat before the Verdant Throne.

The First Ascendant extended a hand made of braided roots. "Choose, Zui. Become the next Bloom Sovereign. Bind yourself to the planet. Save it."

"But what about my brothers?" she asked.

The throne pulsed. "You will never see them again."

Zui clenched her fists.

From behind, a voice called: "You always wanted to grow something real, right?"

It was Arla—Zui's best friend. Her childhood anchor.

"Then choose life. But choose your life."

Tears in her eyes, Zui turned and walked away from the throne.

The throne screamed.

🔧 Scene 4: The Breakdown Within

In the Rift, Ira finally reached Zake—barely.

His arm had transformed into a blade, his back was sprouting machine-spikes, and his eyes flickered between his own brown irises and a cold, artificial red.

"You have to remember," Ira cried. "You're not just some Krono experiment. You're Zake."

He gritted his teeth, fighting the command codes burning through him.

"I'm… trying…"

Suddenly, the void around them trembled.

A voice—not from the Rift, but from the core of the system—echoed.

"Subject ZK-01 has activated Defense Mode. Resetting consciousness."

"No!" Ira lunged and hugged him.

"Your name is Zake! You are loved!"

The machine stopped.

And for a second, it listened.

🌑 Scene 5: The Woman's Truth

Zeron stood with the silver-haired woman inside the heart of the Vault, now glowing fully awake.

"My name is Aeris Noctis," she said. "I am the last of the Moon Architects. And you are the Second Soul."

"What does that mean?" he asked.

She stepped forward, placing a palm over his chest.

"It means this isn't your first life."

"It means the war never ended."

Zeron's eyes flashed violet for just a moment—his Krono flaring instinctively.

"The reason you couldn't awaken," she continued, "was because your soul had not remembered who it was."

She handed him a crystal—pure amethyst, pulsing with sealed Krono.

"When the Seven Cores fall into place, the machine gods will awaken again."

"You are the only one who has ever stopped them."

🔮 Preview – Chapter 103: The Second Soul

Zeron begins to glimpse fragments of his past life as a cosmic warrior.The UN begins assembling a secret Mecha fleet to attack the moon.Zui faces a new threat in Bloomshade Valley—something ancient… and rotting.Zake and Ira are pursued by beings from the Rift—creatures of broken time.Aeris Noctis reveals the origin of Krono—and what it's doing to the universe.