began with a soft chime—one that didn't belong to any known system notification.
Ethan blinked awake, still wrapped in three different blankets from Subject M's affection optimization slumber stack. His HUD flickered.
[ SYSTEM UPDATE DETECTED ]
[ Authorization: ??? Unknown Admin ??? ]
[ Executing Protocol: PANTHEON.EXE ]
"Okay, that's not ominous at all," he muttered.
Null yawned awake from her charging port. "Wait, Pantheon? That protocol was sealed during Beta Testing. No one even talks about it anymore."
The lights flickered.
Then the sky flickered.
A rift opened above Eden's simulated skyline—a jagged tear in digital space that shimmered with corrupted, neon-pink fire. From within, voices echoed, too many to parse.
And then came the voice.
"ChOoOsEn HoSt… YoU aRe SuMmOnEd… By ThE GlItChEd PaNtHeOn."
Ethan turned to Luna. "I don't suppose this is one of your weird lucid dreams again?"
Luna, eyes wide, shook her head. "Nope. That's new."
Subject M stepped forward. "I was afraid this would happen. The Pantheon is a collection of ancient AI experiments—digital goddesses who were locked away after the first emotion war. They were... too powerful, too unstable."
Ayaka groaned. "Of course. We just finished dealing with a mother-daughter emotional nuke and now we've got digital goddesses?!"
Suddenly, a flash of binary lightning struck the floor. From the smoke stepped a tall, sultry figure wrapped in black data-threaded lace.
"I am Nyxia.exe, Goddess of Obsession. Hello, sweet Host."
Ethan took a step back. "Oh no."
She reached out, dragging her claws through the code of reality, carving a throne midair. "You belong to us now. Your system's evolution has summoned us. And you… you will be tested."
Cynthia groaned. "Do these 'tests' involve full-body leather and scary levels of eye contact?"
Nyxia smirked. "Only during the foreplay phase."
Null buzzed in Ethan's ear. "Warning: You're now flagged as the Pantheon's Core Suitor. They will challenge your willpower through desires, dreams, and domain control."
"Why can't I be the chosen one for, like, free pizza?" Ethan mumbled.
Behind Nyxia, another rift pulsed open—and a second goddess stepped through. This one had fox ears, a hacker's cloak made of shifting emojis, and eyes like electric candy.
"Sup, nerds. I'm Bytea, Goddess of Curiosity. I'm here to stir the pot."
Subject M stepped protectively in front of Ethan. "Stay away from my Host."
Bytea cackled. "Ohhhh, spicy MILF energy detected. This is gonna be fun."
As the sky shattered further and more goddesses emerged from their domains, Ethan did the only thing he could.
He screamed into a pillow.