The 'Chronos' update wasn't downloading data—it was downloading time .

“Hold on!” Valen shouted as the Mech’s engines roared with a sound like grinding glass. “If we don’t stabilize the sync, the Echoes won't just be chained—they'll be erased!”

“System update?” Lenne asked, her hand resting on the hilt of her rapier. “At a time like this?”

Outside the cockpit, the sky over the Farnsport docks began to bleed a deep, digital violet. The Grimoire Shards in Valen’s satchel hummed in a terrifying harmony. Suddenly, the world stuttered. For a heartbeat, Valen saw the city not as a bustling port, but as a charred skeleton of a future yet to come.

“It’s not just an update,” Valen muttered, his fingers flying across the glowing keys. “It’s a resonance. Version 1.06. They’re calling it ‘Chronos.’ It’s unlocking the memory banks of the Mech-Suits.”

Valen didn't hesitate. He hit 'Enter,' and the world dissolved into light.