Flame Clock

Flame Clocks are objects in Xenoblade Chronicles 3 mounted on Ferronises. Keves and Agnus fight each other to fill their respective Flame Clocks with the life of their enemy.

Description
Flame Clocks are large metallic discs affixed to the front-and-center of Ferronises. A ring of energy curls up from the bottom and encircles the disc, with a fuller Flame Clock circling farther around the disc than an emptier one. Kevesi Flame Clocks are blue and fill anticlockwise, while Agnian Flame Clocks are greenish-yellow and fill clockwise. Castles possess a Flame Clock with both a Kevesi side and an Agnian side, though the purpose of this is unclear.

Every person from Keves or Agnus is bound to the Flame Clock of their colony, which gradually depletes over time. If the Clock runs empty, all its people die, forcing them to constantly fight and kill others to replenish it. Killing animals and monsters is sufficient, but feeble; killing people from the enemy nation is preferred. As people can be transferred between colonies, it is presumably possible to "re-attach" someone from one Flame Clock to another.

If a Flame Clock is destroyed, the people bound to it are freed, and no longer need to take life to stay alive. This is however extraordinarily difficult - not even an Ouroboros or Moebius can damage a Flame Clock. Only the power of a legendary weapon, such as Lucky Seven, can do the job. It is said that people who are freed in this way cannot be re-attached to a new Flame Clock, though this claim is at odds with a later reveal that people from the City, who were never before attached to a Flame Clock, can be assigned to one. People who become Ouroboros are similarly freed.

It is shown that individual people can display a Flame Clock in their Iris to others, which appears to be capable of moving independently from their colony's Flame Clock (going from quarter-full to half-full in a single motion). The nature of the relationship between a person's Flame Clock and their Ferronis' Flame Clock is unclear.

Some colonies have unusual Flame Clocks, designed by Consul Y as part of his scientific experiments. While they fill in the appropriate direction for their nation, they are of different colors and may have different roles and properties.

Gameplay
For the majority of Chapter 1, the party is bound to 's Flame Clock. Its Flame Clock can be filled by defeating enemies which also increases the party's stats, but the Flame Clock will also deplete over time or the player loses a battle. If the Flame Clock is below 25%, the Flame Clock Low, Attack Down will be applied. Once Moebius is defeated, the party is no longer bound by the Flame Clock system.

Destroying a Flame Clock will liberate a Colony from the control of the Consuls and the party will be able to visit them, but destroying a Flame Clock will also raise the Warning Level of each nation.

Trivia

 * The loading screen features a filled Keves and Agnus Flame Clocks.