He isn't sleeping.
He's sinking.
Between two lights. Two shadows.
And in the silence of that world, his soul begins to be pulled by two goddesses who have never learned the meaning of surrender.
There is no sky.
There is no floor.
Only pale darkness, and the scent of something that has never been seen.
Acxell steps—or perhaps floats.
He feels no gravity, no time.
Only the sense of being watched.
"...Yuriko?"
"...Selena…?"
No answer.
Only a small whisper. Distant. Like an echo from inside his own bones.
Acxell…
He turns.
The voice is soft. Familiar. Warm.
And… human.
From the haze of light a shape emerges.
Bare footsteps.
A short skirt, a school jacket, hair loose from its usual tie.
Blue eyes glistening, but the smile… still there.
Still hers.
"I shouldn't be here."
"But I need to know…"
"If you pull me in… do you want me, or my system?"
Selena Hoshigaki.
Acxell stays silent.
His body feels weightless, but his soul heavy.
"Why are you in my dream…
and why do you look like you actually want to stay?"
Selena bows her head.
Her lips part, but no sound comes.
She simply steps forward.
One step.
Another.
Closer.
Her hand rises—without touching.
"I just… want you to see me.
Not through the system. Not through power.
Just me."
Acxell looks into those eyes.
And he feels something he hates: sincerity.
His own hand moves.
No system.
No command.
He closes his fingers over hers.
— Fingers interlock.
— Breath stops.
— The world pauses.
[SYSTEM ERROR]
[Unauthorized Emotional Sync Detected]
[Access Breach — PRD‑03 → LIL‑01]
The dream‑world suddenly shatters.
The white sky splits into shards.
Light collapses. Ground dissolves.
Selena's body is thrown back.
Acxell falls—but never lands.
He hangs suspended, his fingers torn from hers.
And then a voice he cannot mistake:
"…sweetheart…"
"You let her in?"
The world flips.
Dark. Violet. Throbbing like a heart.
Not Selena.
Lilith.
But she does not appear as a body.
She appears as sensation: aura, scent, breath.
"I gave you a body… will… a door."
"And you let her walk through uninvited?"
Acxell tries to move but can't.
Lilith's voice isn't seductive now.
It's binding.
Like a kiss that freezes the blood.
"She's an enemy avatar, Acxell."
"And you let her inside."
"Who do you want to belong to?"
Another flash.
Selena reappears.
Her clothes torn, hair dishevelled, eyes red—but she doesn't run.
"I didn't come as an enemy…"
"I came as me!"
"And if he pushes me away… I'll shatter here."
Two auras collide.
One deep rose—discarded desire.
One blue‑violet—cracked arrogance.
Acxell floats between them.
System panels glitch:
[SYSTEM: LIL‑01] → CORE CONNECTION: FLUCTUATING
[SYSTEM: PRD‑03] → EMOTIONAL NODE: STABLE
[CROSS‑LINK ERROR] – Dual Avatar Bond Attempted
[CONFLICT DETECTED]
The dream‑world begins to collapse.
Selena's voice:
"If I leave… don't hate me."
"I only wanted to be real… once."
Lilith's voice:
"If you follow her, you're no longer mine."
"You'll just be human… and I'll make you feel it."
Acxell screams.
But no one hears.
He doesn't know what's true.
He doesn't know who he wants.
He only knows one thing:
Neither of them will let go.
Light explodes.
The world goes dark.
Breath stops.
[SYSTEM OVERRIDE INCOMPLETE]
[MEMORY SYNC INTERRUPTED]
[HOST AWAKENING...]
Acxell wakes—drenched in sweat, pillow damp.
No Selena.
No Lilith.
Only a morning too bright.
And a chest too tight.
Morning light is still dim.
The curtains haven't been drawn.
A soft drizzle taps against the window.
Acxell sits on the edge of the bed, shirt damp with sweat, chest rising and falling as though he's run ten kilometres.
But the thing that hurts most… is the silence.
No system voice. No notification.
No Selena.
Only a woman standing in the corner of the room.
"Your breathing… it's fast."
"Bad dream, sweetheart?"
Lilith stands with her hands behind her back.
Her hair doesn't move, but the air bends toward her.
She isn't smiling. She isn't pleading. She isn't angry.
She simply knows.
Acxell doesn't answer, but his gaze doesn't wander.
Lilith walks forward.
Her heels make no sound.
But his heartbeat pounds loudly enough to replace it.
"She got inside you."
"Not the body…"
"…but the part I haven't fully bound."
She stops at the edge of the bed, sitting slowly as if she's about to tell a story—not deliver punishment.
"One thing you should remember about my seduction system…"
"When you start to love for real… you lose power."
Acxell lifts his head.
"So everything I've built… can vanish?"
Lilith lowers her gaze but touches her own chest with a finger.
"Not vanish. But you become weak."
"And in this world… a weak man never keeps a harem."
Acxell bites his lip.
He wants to reply but doesn't know from which angle to strike.
"Selena… she's off‑protocol."
"She's breaking the system."
Lilith smiles wryly—for the first time that night.
"That's what you like, isn't it?"
"The ones who break rules. The ones who come not because they're commanded."
She rises slowly, leaning down—her eyes directly level with his.
"If you want her… take her."
"But I won't help you control your feelings after that."
"And when Valestra comes to take back her avatar…"
"…don't look for me."
She straightens. But before her last step…
"But if you still choose me…"
She snaps her fingers.
[NEW QUEST UNLOCKED: Goddess's Ultimatum]
"Break the illegal emotional knot. Choose between heart or power."
Lilith walks to the curtain's shadow.
Her body begins to dissolve with the light.
"I love you, Acxell…"
"But I'm not human."
The curtain sways.
Lilith is gone.
Acxell is alone.
And the notification hangs unread.