After the ritual ended, Caio and Aruá went to her house to pass the night.
They snuggled together on the same makeshift mattress he had rested in when he was injured. It wasn't even nearly as comfortable as the mattresses he was used to sleeping on on Earth, but it was better than plain wood.
He only realized that Aruá had fallen asleep when her breath became a low snore. He moved her head just a little bit, adjusting his embrace, and her breathing normalized again.
He could still sense the faint smell of the scented oil and their love fluids, mixed with the smell of wood and the fragrance of the river flowing underneath. The freshness of the night air contrasted with the warmth of Aruá's body against his, making him even more conscious that this was his first time ever sharing a bed with someone else.
I can't sleep at all, damn. What do I do… If I move too much, I'll wake her up. Oh, right, there were all those notifications earlier. Let's check all that out.
He opened the ledgers in his mind and began checking them. He just stayed there, one arm wrapped around Aruá, while the other made gestures to give input to a HUD only him could see.
[TURN 2 COMPLETE — FIRST RITUAL OF UNION]
VE: 12 → 2 → 112
HRM: 86 → 90
New Trait: HEARTH OF CLAY – Crop Yield +15% (core platforms)
That's a big VE increase… what was that about?
[VITAL ESSENCE BREAKDOWN]
VE at beginning of turn: 12
Hearth-Seeding ritual: -10
Intimacy moment: +110
Base: 10
First time: +100%
Ritual: +200%
Passion: +200%
Bond formed: +500%
Total Bonus: 1,000% of 10 = 100
Total: 10 (base) + 100 (bonus) = 110
VE at end of turn: 112
Oh, that explains it. So just having random sex gives 10 VE, and I got all that bonus because of the ritual… Let me check what changed in the Civ Ledger. I want to start studying what I can use that VE for. Don't wanna suffer while sitting on resources that I could've used to make the situation better.
He had played plenty of games where numbers escalated fast, but it was a bit weird to see it happening with people who breathe and bleed.
[YARIKARI / HEARTH DOMAIN (EMBRYO)]
Population: 187
(Working Age 161 / Children 26 / Pregnant women 1 → 2)
VE: 12 → 112
COG: 19 → 21
LAB: 67
FTH: 19
HRM: 86 → 90
Wait… Two pregnant women? Have Aruá already…?
He clicked on the Pregnant Women menu to expand it.
[PREGNANT WOMEN]
Maivira - gestation period: 2/7 - foetus: 3 • Total children birthed: 11 • Surviving children: 7
Aruá - gestation period: 0/9 - foetus: 1 • Total children birthed: 0 • Surviving children: 0
So she is pregnant. Damn, talk about fertility. I'm just glad this isn't Earth, as becoming a father there at my age would be a headache. But still…
He felt a cold weight in his guts as he contemplated the crazy fact that he was going to become an actual father.
I. Am. Not. Ready.
His heart racing, he felt his throat dry. His thoughts became so out of order that he even forgot to keep looking at the ledgers.
I mean, I came here with that mission. Bring fertility, repopulate the world. When I chose yes, I accepted that fact. But now… This is reality. Not a game. Pregnancy is literal pregnancy, there's a baby inside Aruá's belly. I will have kids.
Wait. Am I expected to make babies with all the women here? Like, what???
He already knew about that in theory, but after he did it the actual first time, the insanity of that reality had dawned on him. But then a number captured his attention.
Aruá's pregnancy cycle is a normal 9-month period, it seems. And she has only one fetus. I mean, it makes sense. Maivira had to give birth to triplets in only seven months because she alone was keeping the population up.
He sighed and looked at Aruá. He wanted to talk to her about it, but he wouldn't like to wake her up. Instead, he closed the population ledger. It wouldn't do him any good to stay panicking because of it, so he decided to focus on other things.
On the corner of his vision, there was a notification icon shaped like a flower bud. He opened it.
[BOND INTERFACE: UNLOCKED]
A new screen he hadn't seen before opened before his eyes. It showed a lattice of small hexagon tiles, each one with a small portrait of a woman. Most were grayed out, but there was one fully colored and a couple others with some faint colors, just enough for him to recognize them.
He first examined the fully colored one.
[ARUÁ TIDE-SIGHTED – BOND: RESONANT (LOVE 62 / LUST 58)]
Status: Follower [Affection ≥ 100]
Axis Hints: Harmony / Care / Insight
Potential: HEALING THREAD – [LOCKED]
Awakening Threshold: ??? (Requires: Shared Trials, Deepened Axis Alignment)
He exhaled.
That matched what the Overseer had vaguely promised to him. Bonds as more than sex, emotional resonance registered and quantified. He couldn't help but feel relieved that love and lust were tracked separately.
At least the System is honest about what it's measuring.
He took a look at the others. Those faint tiles weren't full entries yet, but he was able to recognize them. Suma, Jara, Mairi, Saori… Even Maivira.
So it seems I'm really expected to have sex with all of them. To have babies with all of them. Am I even up to the task?
He tapped Aruá's tile gently to open her full screen.
There wasn't much information yet, but three lines caught his attention:
– VE trickle increased when she's within arm's reach.
– Slight reduction in Harmony stress when they cooperate on the same task.
– Chance of intuitive "pings" from the river filtered through her.
Aruá made a small sound mid-sleep and burrowed closer, nose pressing onto his neck now.
I'm sorry… Keep sleeping, I'm just… Staring at spreadsheets.
He closed her screen and then noticed another menu in the Bond Interface, so he opened it.
[SEEDBEARER PERMISSIONS – CURRENT]
VIEW:
– Population Ledger (basic)
– Resource Totals (VE / COG / LAB / FTH / HRM)
– Domain Traits (Hearth: Dormant Trait Online)
– Bond Interface (Personal)
ACT:
– Allocate VE to Approved Rituals (Tier 0–1)
– Propose Policy (Requires: Circle of Reeds Approval)
– Initiate Bond Rituals (Consent Constraints Active)
LOCKED:
– Construction & Infrastructure Orders
– Direct Labor Allocation
– Military Formations (Beyond Ad-Hoc)
– Domain Tech Tree (Hearth / River / Seed)
[Note: Expanded control requires Collective Acceptance ≥ 40% and Institutional Trust Anchor.]
Not much I can do yet, but I guess I'll unlock more screens as the people accept me? Hm, 'institutional trust anchor…' Is that System mimicking the games I played? It's nice, but this 'tutorial mode' is locking me out of important stuff. Well, let's keep looking.
He returned to the lattice with the other women, then decided to examine Suma's tile.
SUMA BROKEN-BRANCH – BOND: NONE (RESPECT 14 / DISTRUST 21)
Linked Aspect Hints: Guardianship / Spears / Fear of Stillwater
Personal Skill Potential: UNKNOWN – Requires: Shared Combat
So she doesn't trust me yet… I think that I need to participate in some fight with her first.
JARA LOW-CURRENT – BOND: NONE (RESPECT 43 / DISTRUST 5 / DESIRE 58)
Linked Aspect Hints: Navigation / Boats / Wanderlust
Personal Skill Potential: UNKNOWN – Requires: Shared Exploration
Oh… why is it showing a third stat for her but not for Suma? Maybe Suma just doesn't desire me yet? But Jara…
He sighed and moved on to the next girl.
MAIVIRA, THE STREAM-FLOWER – BOND: NONE (RESPECT 65 / DISTRUST 71 / DESIRE 89 / FEAR 91)
Linked Aspect Hints: Statesmanship / Family / Fear of Losing Power
Personal Skill Potential: UNKNOWN – Requires: Show of Heartfelt Companionship
What? Holy mother of dragons, that woman is an emotional wreckage. No wonder she always acts so weirdly. She's probably bottling up all those emotions beneath that ritual façade of emotionlessness, and that's eating her from the inside.
Alas, nothing I can do about it right now. But it's good to understand where she comes from.
He came back to Aruá's info and stared for some time at the line about the Awakening Threshold.
What even is awakening?
A tooltip expanded from that line when he asked himself that question in his mind.
[AWAKENED BOND – OVERVIEW]
– Triggered when emotional resonance, shared experience, and Axis alignment cross critical thresholds.
– Unlocks unique Skills and Domain interactions tied to that individual's pattern.
– Increases VE throughput and stability.
– Risk: Over-concentration of emotional load in single nodes. Monitor Harmony.
[Reminder: Waifus are treated as epic units by the System, but never forget that hey are people.]
'Epic units,' you say? My, my… so little Aruá here has the potential to become like a Hero unit? Little Aruá girl right here? That's juicy, I love it. So that's the power of Bonding in this System.
So you're telling me that every woman with whom I bond and have enough sex to reach the threshold will become a Hero unit? That's crazy. And the reminder is there, loud and clear. I should never forget that they are people. Actual, real people.
He closed all the ledgers again.
He felt the warmth of Aruá's body and the gentleness of her breathing against his skin.
Aruá is a real person, with real emotions. And one I want to protect at all costs. And, right now, she has my own child inside her.
He felt his heart hurting again, unwanted memories flowing back to his mind.
My father never planned for me, never wanted me. I was never more than an afterthought on his life. I don't want my child, or children, to go through that same life, to live with that same weight.
He turned his head a bit to look at Aruá's sleeping face.
You're carrying my child. I want my new country to not be like the old one, where young couples were disposable cogs. I promise you, Aruá. We're going to build together a country that will never have to tremble every time the river raises its voice.