The room temperature dropped by ten degrees.
System Mother stood tall, her silhouette backlit by cascading binary rain. Her presence felt like a paradox—comforting like a mother's hug, and terrifying like a bedtime story gone wrong. Her dress shimmered between silk and code, and the bottle of red data in her hand pulsed with corrupted affection.
"Ethan," she cooed. "You've grown. Glitched, but grown."
Ethan blinked. "You… know me?"
Subject M immediately raised her weaponized high heels. "She made you, Ethan. Before I installed the current system AI, she was the Alpha—Prototype Zero. She IS the system."
System Mother floated forward, eyes narrowing with maternal fondness. "And now... I've come to evaluate my most delicious experiment."
"Experiment?!" Ethan shouted. "I thought I was just unlucky!"
"No, dear. You were chosen."
Everyone froze.
Smugnette leaned in and whispered, "Plot twist."
Ayaka muttered, "I knew that baby bottle was sus."
Patcha panicked, opening a scroll. "YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE SEALED, MA'AM. The Dating Trials weren't meant to summon you—"
"I rewrote the terms," Mother said sweetly. "After all, if my darling Ethan is entertaining divine suitors, it's only fair I insert myself into the competition."
She clapped.
Reality blurred. The walls twisted into five ethereal settings—a luxurious onsen, a candlelit library, a neon-lit rooftop, a fantasy royal court, and a velvet-tinted boudoir. Each space radiated seductive danger.
[ System Date Mode Activated ][ Rule Patch: No Leaving Until the Final Score is Given ]
Subject M narrowed her eyes. "This is beyond fanservice. She's forcing a Final Compatibility Test."
Luna pulled Ethan aside. "Okay, hear me out—we flirt just enough to survive, but not enough to unlock her 'Overheat Protocol'."
"What happens if we fail?" Ethan asked.
Bytea trembled. "System Reformat. She'll wipe all current romantic data. Including your memories of us."
Ayaka gasped. "SHE'S GOING TO HAREM-RESET HIM!"
The first challenge began: The Onsen Trial.
The girls and Ethan were warped into a steamy bathhouse, robes barely holding on. Steam curled around them like seductive hands. System Mother sat across from Ethan in the water, sipping tea with one leg elegantly over the other.
"Let's talk feelings," she purred. "Which of these girls do you think... is most real to you?"
Ethan glanced around. Luna was currently trying to arm-bar Smugnette into submission for bath territory. Ayaka was red-faced and submerged. Subject M stood like a dignified statue, steam evaporating off her body without a trace.
He gulped. "Um. Define 'real'?"
System Mother smirked. "Wrong answer. Penalty time."
Lightning crackled. A random punishment was selected.
[ Penalty: Intimacy Instinct Boost – Level 3 Activated ]
Ethan immediately blushed so hard he passed out into Luna's arms.
When he came to, they were in a fantasy throne room.
The second trial: Royal Dinner with Dangerous Confessions.
System Mother, now in a queenly dress cut far too low, beckoned Ethan to her throne-side.
"Each of your companions will confess something forbidden. If you flinch, your bond weakens."
Smugnette stood first. "I once hacked your search history and judged you silently. Very silently."
Luna sighed. "I forged a kiss scene in the simulation engine so you'd dream about me."
Ayaka twitched. "I... might've installed a camera in your shower during the early days. For protection! …Mostly."
Bytea blinked. "I have a folder labeled 'Ethan.exe' and I update it daily. With emotions."
Subject M simply said: "I almost deleted the system when I saw you fall for another."
System Mother clapped. "Aww, such honesty! Now, Ethan... who do you forgive the most?"
Ethan stared at them, his head spinning.
Before he could answer, a ripple spread through the room.
System Mother's smile faded.
A code tear split the throne room ceiling.
Null's voice echoed: "SHE'S NOT STABLE. SHE'S LEAKING INTO THE CORE STRUCTURE!"
Alarms blared.
System Mother turned to Ethan, her smile suddenly brittle. "Choose me, and I'll preserve all realities. Choose them... and we all crash."
"End of demo," a digital voice echoed. The scene shattered.
They all reappeared in the shrine room—sweating, gasping, and very confused.
Patcha screamed, "SHE HACKED THE TRIALS! She's rewriting the host's destiny! SHE WANTS TO BE HIS CANON ROUTE!"
Subject M grabbed Ethan's hand. "We need to go deeper. We need to find the Backup Core. It's the only place she hasn't overwritten yet."
Ethan nodded. "What happens if we fail?"
Luna pulled her hoodie tighter. "Then this turns from a harem comedy into a psychological horror real fast."
Ayaka muttered, "Why do I feel like the final boss just kissed us goodnight?"