The room was dead silent as the glowing light finally settled. Haruto stood there, still breathing heavily, the Void Reaper humming with a terrifying new frequency.
Ivory stepped forward, her voice trembling as she looked at Haruto with a mix of horror and respect.
"Haruto... that ritual... to pull someone of her caliber from the deepest layer... How much pain did you have to endure? A normal human mind should have shattered into a million pieces the moment she touched your consciousness."
Everyone turned to look at Haruto. They wanted to know the cost. They wanted to know how he was still standing.
Haruto rubbed the back of his neck, looking confused. "I don't know how to describe it," he muttered. "It felt like being crushed, burned, and stabbed all at once... but I just pushed through it."
AETERNA let out a dry, sharp laugh from her throne of shadows. She leaned forward, resting her chin on her hand. "Oh, he didn't just 'push through it.' To manifest myself, this boy had to endure a neural load ten times greater than what any of your SSS-rank spirits require."
The room went cold. Ivory's face turned ghostly pale.
"Ten times...?" she whispered.
"That's impossible. No human brain can process that much pain without liquefying."
Lustra, Bellona, and Asobi looked at Haruto as if they were seeing a monster for the first time. Even Toya took a half-step back. They realized that while they were playing by the rules of the world, Haruto was playing a completely different game.
"Yeah, it hurt like hell," Haruto said, trying to play it cool despite the fact that his nerves were still firing off phantom sparks.
"But I got what I wanted, didn't I?"
Aeterna stood up, her black armor clinking with a melodic, metallic sound. She walked toward Haruto with a predatory grace, her red eyes locked on his.
"You did," she purred.
"But don't think this is a one-way street, Player. I don't work for free, and I certainly don't follow orders just because you 'summoned' me. Now that the pleasantries are over..."
She snapped her fingers, and a holographic scroll made of flickering black code appeared between them.
"Let's talk about the Terms and Conditions of our little partnership," she said with a smirk.
"If I'm going to be your weapon, we need to decide exactly what you're willing to give up in exchange for my command."
Haruto looked at the glowing black scroll, his gamer brain immediately shifting into "Optimization Mode." He knew how this worked. In every high-level RPG, when you equip a legendary or cursed item, it's never a free ride. You want more damage? You sacrifice mobility. You want more defense? You sacrifice speed.
"This is just a high-stakes customization screen," Haruto thought, his eyes narrowing as he analyzed Aeterna. "She's the ultimate weapon, which means her 'System Requirements' are going to be insane."
"Alright," Haruto said, stepping closer to the holographic text. "I know the drill. To maximize a build, you have to sacrifice something. So, out with it. What are the Terms and Conditions for hosting the Mother of Origin?"
Aeterna's smirk widened, her red eyes glowing with a mischievous light. She swiped her hand across the air, and three glowing icons appeared on the scroll.
Aeterna's fingers danced through the air, leaving trails of flickering black code that solidified into three jagged, glowing icons. Each one pulsed with the weight of a heavy "System Penalty."
"Here are the rules of the game, Haruto," she said, her voice dropping into a playful yet dangerous tone.
"Read them carefully. There's no 'Reject' button once we start."
Absolute Autonomy (The "Anti-Will" Clause)
"Unlike those obedient SSS-rank puppets over there," she said, gesturing vaguely at Kratos and Logos, "you cannot control my form with your will. I decide when I am a scythe and when I am a human. If I want to walk beside you and eat snacks, I will. If I want to be a weapon, I will. You don't get to 'equip' me—I equip myself to you."
Zero Protocol (The "Disrespect" Clause)
"Don't expect me to call you 'Master' or bow. I won't give you respect, and I don't want yours. We aren't a knight and his blade; we are two disasters sharing one skin. If you try to treat me like a tool, I might just 'misplace' my edge when you're mid-swing."
The Half-Life Tax (The "Vampire" Clause)
"This is the big one," she said, her red eyes gleaming.
"Every time you call upon my power or use a 'Void' skill, I don't just take a little mana. I take exactly 50% of your current total capacity. Instantly. And because I am the Origin, your Spirit-type infinite mana recovery won't work on me. I only eat the raw, physical mana generated by your body. Use me twice in a row without resting, and you'll be running on empty."
Ivory stepped forward, her eyes scanning the floating text with a look of pure panic.
"Haruto, stop! You don't understand the technical fallout of Rule Number Three. We are all linked to you! Because of Asobi's presence, we've been relying on your 'Infinite Spirit Mana' to maintain our forms. If Aeterna drains 50% of your body's raw mana, she bypasses the system's recharge. Our power levels will drop by half instantly every time you swing that sword!"
Bellona gripped her dual blades, her expression grim. "It's too risky. 25%. Tell her you'll give her 25%. That's a fair trade for 24 hours of work."
Lustra nodded quickly, her pink hair swaying. "Yeah! 25% is still a lot! It's reasonable!"
Aeterna didn't even look at them. She just let out a cold, melodic laugh that made the air freeze.
"Reasonable? You think this is a negotiation at a market? This isn't a request, little goddesses. It is a Command. The answer is 'Yes' or 'No'. There is no middle ground for the Mother of Origin."
Haruto went silent, his gamer brain overclocking. He stared at the glowing script, trying to find a glitch, a hidden sub-routine, or a logic loop.
"Okay, wait," Haruto said, looking up. "Can I at least use Asobi's infinite mana pool to refill the tank after you take your cut? If she's a Pure Spirit, her recharge rate is top-tier."
Aeterna shook her head, her white hair shimmering. "No. I told you—I don't eat 'System Mana.' It tastes like shit. I only consume the raw, organic energy produced by your physical cells. Asobi can fill your 'Spirit' tank all she wants, but your 'Body' tank—the one I use—will remain empty until you physically rest or eat."
Haruto gritted his teeth. "And if I say no? If I reject the contract right now?"
Aeterna smiled, but there was no warmth in it.
"Then nothing happens. I won't go on a rampage. I won't destroy this mansion. I'll simply go back to the Abyss and finish my nap." She leaned in, her red eyes locking onto his.
"But remember—the System only grants one Awakening Ritual per lifetime. If I leave, you will never have a weapon spirit again. You'll be a 'Void Reaper' with an empty blade."
Haruto looked at the black sword in his hand. It felt powerful, but without Aeterna, it was just a sharp piece of metal.
"Isn't this a bit much?" Haruto muttered. "50% is a death sentence in a long fight."
Aeterna straightened up, her black armor reflecting the dim light of the hall. Her voice became solemn, echoing with the weight of centuries.
"Either increase the sacrifice, or decrease the desire. That is the only rule that has ever truly mattered in this world."
The tension in the room broke as Aeterna let out a sudden, frantic laugh, waving her hands in the air. "Wait, wait, wait! No! You're getting it all wrong! Stop panicking!"
Haruto looked at her, confused. "What do you mean? You said fifty percent!"
"I said fifty percent for a Void Skill!" she corrected him, her voice returning to its smug, casual tone.
"Listen, you can use this Void Reaper as a sword whenever you want. Even in its base form, it generates the power of an SSS+ rank weapon. I'll even throw in some of my own magic to assist your swings for free. You can slash, parry, and fight all day long without losing that half-tank."
She leaned in, her red eyes gleaming with a dangerous light. "But... if you decide to trigger a True Void Skill—the kind of move that breaks the laws of physics—that is when I take my payment. Fifty percent, flat. No discounts."
Haruto blinked, the gears in his head turning. "So it's like an Ultimate Move?"
"Exactly," Aeterna nodded. "Every spirit has a signature skill. Usually, it costs a measly 5% of a master's mana. But because I am ten times more powerful than any spirit here, my price is ten times higher. You're getting exactly what you pay for."
Haruto looked back at the Goddesses. Ivory, who had been ready to pull the plug on the whole ritual, slowly let out a breath of relief. If it was only for a finishing move, Haruto's mana pool was safe for general training and survival.
"A Void Skill..." Haruto muttered, looking at the black blade. "What does it actually do?"
Aeterna's smirk turned into a chilling grin. "It consumes reality. With one full-power slash, you could level an entire city. It doesn't just cut flesh; it deletes the space the enemy is standing in. And the best part? It scales with you. As you grow stronger, the command becomes more absolute."
Haruto weighed the options. A sword that functioned as an SSS+ weapon for free, with an "Instant Win" button that cost half his mana? In any game, that was an S-Tier build.
"High stakes, high reward," Haruto said, a confident grin returning to his face. "If I'm in a position where I need to level a city, I probably won't care about my mana bar anyway. I accept the terms."