Rei didn't kneel. She froze.
"What the f..."
"Language," Nyx tutted.
She stepped closer. She towered over Rei, blocking out the flickering ceiling light. The smell of burnt copper and cold lavender filled Rei's nose. Choking her. It didn't smell like perfume. It smelled like power.
It smelled like the air inside a server room that had just caught fire.
"We have a lot of data to unpack, and I am on a tight schedule," Nyx said, looking down. "Stop wriggling."
Nyx reached out. She pressed a manicured thumb against the center of Rei's forehead. It felt cold. Like pressing an ice cube against a fever.
"Accepting Terms of Service," Nyx purred.
[ SYSTEM SYNC: 10%... 40%... 100% ]
Rei didn't see the text on a screen. She saw it burned into her retinas.
The installation of the L.U.S.T. OS wasn't just software. It was a full system override of her nervous system. She lay panting on the floor. Her limbs were heavy and buzzing with static, like a limb that had fallen asleep and was waking up all at once. But everywhere.
Her vision fractured into neon pink static. Then it reassembled.
The room looked... rendered. Sharper. High-definition.
Floating above her messy desk was a translucent blue tag.
[ LOOT: TRASH (COMMON) ]
Above the door was another.
[ EXIT: LOCKED (LVL 1) ]
And when she looked up at Nyx, a terrifying gold header hovered over the woman's horns.
[ ADMIN: NYX (LVL ???) ]
"You reconfigured my head," Rei gasped. She pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes. "It's bright. It's too bright."
"It's augmented reality, darling. Try to keep up," Nyx said, stepping back to admire her handiwork.
She gestured to the air. She swiped a finger to expand a massive HUD that slammed into Rei's peripheral vision.
"Welcome to the L.U.S.T. OS v6.9. I'd ask for feedback, but frankly, your user experience is irrelevant to my quarterly goals."
Rei sat back on her heels, breathing hard. "You're a demon."
"I am a Consultant," Nyx corrected sharply. "And you are an Investment. Specifically, a high-risk, low-yield investment that I am about to optimize."
Nyx swiped her finger through the air again. Three bars appeared in the top left corner of Rei's sight.
[ THIRST (Credits): 0 ]
A glowing, empty Gold bar.
[ HEAT (Libido): 18% ]
A simmering Pink bar, pulsing slightly with her heartbeat.
[ SANITY: 65% ]
A jagged Blue bar that looked cracked and leaking.
"Let's review your portfolio," Nyx said, pointing to the empty Gold bar. "You are broke. Your mother owes the Gilded Lotus Group five hundred thousand credits. Payment is due in forty-eight hours. If she misses it..."
Nyx made a polite snip motion with her fingers.
Rei went cold. The heat in her belly turned to ice. "Mom? No. Don't touch her."
"I don't have to," Nyx said smoothly. "The contract is self-executing. Liquidating her assets... that includes her organs, by the way... is automated. The vampires in Collections are very efficient."
Rei felt sick. The room started to spin. Buffering.
"But," Nyx continued, leaning down until her face was inches from Rei's. "You can pay it for her. You just need currency. And the System only accepts one kind."
She pointed to the gold bar. THIRST.
"You need to be wanted, Rei. You need to farm attention. You need eyes on you. You need to generate desire, capturing it like solar power. And considering you currently have the charisma stat of a damp towel, we have a lot of grinding to do."
Rei curled inward. She pulled the oversized t-shirt down over her knees. The friction of the fabric against her bare skin sent a jolt of electricity straight to her groin.
Heat, she realized. That's the Heat bar.
Every sensation was amplified. The air conditioner draft felt like fingers. The carpet felt like a wire brush.
"I can't," Rei whispered. The familiar panic rose in her throat like bile. "I don't go out. I don't... I can't do people. I have anxiety. I have..."
"You have a debt," Nyx cut in. "And I have root access to your life, pet. I know your browser history. I know your bank balance. I know exactly how long it took you to finish with that toy five minutes ago. Three minutes and twelve seconds. Efficient. But joyless."
Rei's face flamed so hot she thought the HEAT meter might actually explode.
[ SYSTEM ALERT: HEAT RISING (20%) ]
"So," Nyx straightened up, smoothing her skirt. "We are going to run a Calibration Mission. Simple. Low stakes. Just to test your sensors."
DING.
A chime rang in Rei's skull. Cheerful. Loud. Jarring.
A notification box popped up in front of her face, blocking her view of the laundry pile.
[ MISSION: TOUCH GRASS ]
[ OBJECTIVE: Purchase one (1) item from the Convenience Store. ]
[ CONDITION: Ventilation Protocol Active. ]
[ REWARD: +50 THIRST / +100 XP ]
[ FAILURE: Immediate Physical Punishment (The Itch). ]
Rei stared at the text. "You want me to buy... water?"
"I want you to enter a public zone without crashing," Nyx corrected. "But there is a condition for the quest. Read the fine print."
Nyx looked bored.
Rei tapped the text with a trembling finger. It expanded.
[ RESTRICTION: VENTILATION PROTOCOL ]
[ DEFINITION: Removal of restrictive undergarments to maximize sensory input and pheromone dispersion. ]
[ REQUIREMENT: UNEQUIP SLOT: UNDERGARMENTS ]
"No," Rei said, shaking her head violently. "Absolutely not. No way."
"Read the stats, Rei," Nyx sighed, sounding like a disappointed raid leader.
Rei focused on the text. It expanded, showing the math behind the madness.
[ ITEM: COTTON PANTIES (COMMON) ]
[ STATS: +10 COMFORT / +50 SECURITY ]
[ DEBUFF: 'MUFFLED SCENT' (-80% PHEROMONE RANGE) ]
[ DEBUFF: 'SAFETY BLANKET' (-50% HEAT GENERATION) ]
"You are currently running a low-tier build," Nyx explained. Her voice was clinical. "If you wear the panties, you muffle your output. You will generate maybe... 2 Thirst from this trip. That's 2 credits against a 500,000 debt."
Nyx leaned in. Her violet eyes bored into Rei's soul.
"However... if you unequip them..."
[ STATUS: VENTILATED ]
[ BUFF: 'RAW SIGNAL' (+200% PHEROMONE OUTPUT) ]
[ BUFF: 'EDGE OF RUIN' (+100% SENSITIVITY) ]
"High risk," Nyx whispered. "High yield. You wanted to know how to play the game? This is it. You trade your safety for power."
Rei looked at the HUD. She looked at the debt counter ticking in the corner.
She grabbed the sweatpants from the floor. She reached for the drawer where she kept her underwear. Her hand hovered over the handle.
Comfort, her brain screamed. Safety. Hiding.
Dead mom, the System countered. Game Over.
"It's just math," Rei muttered, her voice trembling. "It's just... min-maxing. I need the buff."
She pulled her hand back.
Nyx's eyebrows shot up. She hadn't expected Rei to do it without a fight.
Rei stood up. Her legs were shaking. She dropped the t-shirt to the floor, standing naked in the dim light of her room. The air was cold, but her skin was burning.
"See?" Nyx said, her voice dripping with mock praise. "You're a natural exhibitionist."
Rei stood there, shivering. Her t-shirt barely covered her hips. She was completely exposed from the waist down. The HEAT bar in her vision ticked up.
[ HEAT: 22% ]
[ STATUS: DRAFTY ]
"Oh god," she whimpered, squeezing her eyes shut. "I'm standing in front of a demon corporate executive with my ass hanging out. This is it. This is the rock bottom they talk about in therapy."
"You can wear the hoodie," Nyx granted benevolently. "And the sweatpants. But nothing underneath. The System needs to monitor your... humidity levels."
"Please," Rei begged. "Just let me stay here. I'll do anything else. I'll mine crypto. I'll write fake reviews. Just don't make me go out there like this."
Nyx stepped close again. She reached out, brushing a stray lock of hair behind Rei's ear. Her touch was electric. Painful and pleasurable all at once.
"Fine," she whispered. "We're running a Glass Cannon build. Maximum exposure. Maximum yield."
She pulled the sweatpants up.
RUB.
Rei gasped. Her knees buckled.
Without the barrier of cotton briefs, the fabric felt aggressive. The rough, cheap pilling of the inseam dragged directly against her sensitive, wet skin. It wasn't smooth like silk. It was textured.
SLIDE.
Every small movement sent a jolt of friction straight to her brain. It felt lewd. It felt like she was already naked, just pretending otherwise.
She felt hyper-aware of her own anatomy. The heat. The dampness. The slight puffiness of arousal that she couldn't control.
[ SYSTEM ALERT: OPTIMAL FRICTION ACHIEVED ]
[ STATUS: ACCESSIBLE ]
"Oh god," she whimpered, squeezing her eyes shut. "I can feel the seam. I can feel everything."
"That is the point," Nyx purred, walking a circle around her. "You are now a broadcasting antenna. Every step you take will remind you of what you are. Every rub will spike your Heat. And that Heat will call to them."
Nyx reached out again. "You can wear the hoodie," she repeated. "But nothing else."
Rei grabbed her oversized black hoodie and pulled it on. She cinched the strings tight until only her eyes were visible. She tugged the hem down, stretching it as far as it would go over her thighs.
She felt like a flasher. A deviant. A glitch in reality.
But she also felt... electric.
She looked at the door. The exit to the level.
"The clock is ticking, Player One," Nyx whispered, fading back into the shadows. "Go farm some XP."
Rei took a deep breath. The friction between her legs was a constant, throbbing reminder of her choice.
"Okay," she breathed, reaching for the doorknob. "Just a fetch quest. In and out."
She opened the door.
[ ZONE ENTERED: SECTOR 4 HALLWAY ]
[ PVP: ENABLED ]