"I’m running a triple-blind sandbox," Elias muttered, his fingers dancing across a haptic keyboard. "If there’s a logic bomb in the installer, the partition will catch it." He clicked.

The installer didn't ask for a directory. It didn't ask for permissions. The screen went pitch black, leaving Elias staring at his own reflection in the monitor. Then, a single line of white text appeared: METAL REQUIRES A HOST.

"Download complete," a smooth, synthesized voice echoed in the room.