Yea, the inconsistency of that room is kind of frustrating, I've had times where I made it all the way around and she opened the chest by herself before I got there without getting caught, and other times I couldn't get to the first wall and she was already fawning over the catboys, really didn't feel like it was my fault for being too slow or badYeah those separation rooms are a pretty fun idea. I'd personally use the timer as a "this is how long until Athena gets fucked" thing, especially since it seems to have no use that I can tell (maybe I'm just too slow to complete it and missed a reward or smth)
Also that timer is like an extra reward if you complete the room before it drops to zero, and in the case of fracture rooms, it increases her love too, which doesn't do anything yet