Day 26 Post-Impact - Afternoon
The war room was crowded.
Every awakened leader from both factions had gathered to finalize the rift assault plan. Maps covered the walls, supply lists filled the tables, and tension hung thick in the air.
Sarnav stood at the head of the room, commanding attention without effort. It was something he'd noticed over the past weeks. The way people gravitated toward him. The way conversations paused when he entered, eyes drawn to his presence.
Cultivation changed more than just power.
He'd grown nearly two inches since awakening, his frame filling out with lean muscle that hadn't existed before. His skin had taken on an almost luminous quality. His features had sharpened, refined by the energy flowing through his body.
Through the network, he felt his wives' awareness. Nisha's steady focus from across the compound. Ishani's restless energy as she sparred outside. Ananya's quiet contentment in the garden. Minji's playful attention as she listened to the briefing through him.
Four bonds now. Four women connected to his soul.
"Final count," Chen Wei reported. "Sixty-two combat-capable awakened. Thirty-eight from Harmony, twenty-four from Sunway."
"That's everyone we can spare," Dr. Lim added.
"It'll have to be enough." Sarnav studied the map. "We hit at dawn tomorrow. Three assault teams, one reserve. Objectives are the perimeter creatures, the building interior, and the rift core."
"Who leads the core team?" Hafiz asked.
"I do. With Ishani, Minji, Chen Wei." He paused. "And Jade."
The hacker looked up from her tablet. "Me? I'm not a frontline fighter."
"You're the only one who understands the rift's energy patterns. If something goes wrong with the core, we need you there."
"I'm more useful coordinating from a distance."
"You're most useful where I can protect you."
Something flickered across her expression. She looked away first.
"Fine. But if I die, I'm haunting you."
"Noted."
Day 26 Post-Impact - Evening
Jade found him in the training yard.
He was running through combat forms, not because he needed practice, but because physical movement helped him think. The approaching assault weighed on him. Sixty-two people trusting his leadership. Any of them could die tomorrow.
She watched from the edge of the yard, arms crossed, expression analytical.
"You've changed."
He paused mid-motion. "How so?"
"Physically. You're taller than when we met. More muscular. Your bone structure has refined." She stepped closer, clinical observation in her eyes. "Cultivation reshapes the body. I knew that theoretically. Seeing it is different."
"Is that why you're here? To study me?"
"Partly." She circled him slowly. "Your base physiology has improved by approximately forty percent. Height increase of five centimeters. Muscle density significantly enhanced. Even your pheromone output has changed."
"My what?"
"Chemical signals affecting attraction. Yours have intensified since your breakthrough." She stopped in front of him. "It explains why women respond to you strongly. Your body broadcasts desirability on a biochemical level."
"That's clinical."
"I'm a clinical person." But her cheeks colored slightly. "My trial period ends after the rift assault. I need to decide whether to stay."
"And?"
"Every analysis says joining is optimal. Your faction offers resources, protection, growth acceleration." She met his eyes. "But I don't decide on logic alone. I fled Hong Kong on instinct. I survived the impact on gut feeling."
"What's your gut telling you now?"
She was quiet for a long moment.
"That I want you." The admission cost her visibly. "Despite knowing how your system works. Despite understanding the bond mechanics. I want you anyway, and I hate that I can't think my way out of it."
"Maybe you're not supposed to."
"Maybe." She stepped closer. "Tomorrow might kill us. People will die. We might die."
"We won't."
"You can't know that." Her hand found his chest. "I've decided something. If we survive tomorrow, I'm going to stop holding back. Stop analyzing. Stop being afraid of losing control."
"And if we don't survive?"
"Then I'll regret never finding out what this could be." She pulled back, the vulnerability disappearing behind her usual mask. "But I'm not doing anything tonight. I don't make decisions before battles. Too emotional. Too likely to be influenced by fear."
"That's... surprisingly reasonable."
"I'm always reasonable." She turned to leave. "Survive tomorrow, Sarnav. Then we'll see what happens."
"Is that a promise?"
She paused at the edge of the yard. "It's a probability assessment. Currently sitting at seventy-three percent."
"I'll take those odds."
"Idiot." But she was almost smiling. "Get some rest. You'll need it."
She walked away.
[JADE WONG - STATUS UPDATE]
[EMOTIONAL STATE: CONFLICTED, INTERESTED]
[PHYSICAL ATTRACTION: HIGH]
[DECISION: POSTPONED UNTIL POST-ASSAULT]
[NOTE: SUBJECT MAINTAINS CONTROL DESPITE OBVIOUS DESIRE]
Nisha found him later.
She appeared through the network before she appeared in person, her emotional signature warm and concerned.
You're tense, she sent.
Tomorrow's a big day.
That's not why you're tense. She emerged from the building, crossing to him. "Jade?"
"How did you know?"
"I felt it through the bond. The interaction. The almost." She took his hand. "You didn't push."
"She wasn't ready."
"And you respect that." She smiled. "That's why we love you. You collect women, but you don't take. There's a difference."
"Some would argue the distinction is meaningless."
"Some would be wrong." She pulled him toward the building. "Come. You need to eat, rest, prepare. And maybe..." Her smile turned softer. "Maybe remember why you're fighting tomorrow."
"What did you have in mind?"
"The network lets us share sensations. All of us." Her eyes glinted. "Ishani had an idea. Something to help you relax before battle."
Through the bond, he felt Ishani's anticipation. Ananya's nervous excitement. Minji's playful interest.
"All of you?"
"All of us. Together." Nisha squeezed his hand. "You've given us so much. Let us give something back."
His room had never felt smaller.
Four women. His four bonded wives, arranged around the bed like an offering. Nisha sat closest, her familiar presence grounding. Ishani lounged with predatory confidence. Ananya perched nervously at the edge. Minji sprawled with casual ease.
"This is unprecedented," he said.
"The network makes it possible." Ishani rose, crossing to him. "We can feel each other. Coordinate. Share." Her hands found his chest. "Tonight isn't about making a new bond. It's about strengthening the ones we have."
"Before the battle," Nisha added. "So you know what you're fighting for."
Through the network, he felt their combined intent. Love, desire, determination. Four hearts beating in sync with his.
"Where do we even start?"
Minji laughed. "I have some ideas. Ever played co-op?"
"This isn't a game."
"Everything's a game if you look at it right." She rose, joining Ishani beside him. "Four players, one objective. Making sure our man goes into battle tomorrow fully charged."
Ananya stood hesitantly. "I've never... with multiple people..."
"You did fine last time." Ishani extended a hand to her. "Just follow the sensations. The network will guide you."
The younger woman took the offered hand, drawn into the circle.
Nisha completed the group, pressing against his back. "Let us take care of you, sayang. Just for tonight."
Eight hands began to explore.
The experience was overwhelming.
Four bodies, four minds, all connected through the network. Every touch was felt five times over. Pleasure multiplied, reflected, amplified.
Ishani took the lead initially, her aggressive energy guiding the others. She kissed him while Nisha's hands worked his clothes off from behind. Minji dropped to her knees, her mouth finding him before he was fully undressed. Ananya watched, feeling everything through the bond, her own arousal building with each shared sensation.
"Holy shit," Minji said, pulling back. "I can feel what I'm doing to him. Like it's happening to me."
"That's the network." Ishani pushed her aside, taking her turn. "Now imagine it times four."
They rotated. Kissing, touching, tasting. Every wife contributing, every sensation shared. Sarnav lost track of whose hands were where, whose lips were on him. It became a unified experience, four women merging into one overwhelming presence.
"Bed," Ishani commanded. "Now."
They tumbled onto the mattress together. Sarnav ended up on his back, Nisha straddling his face while Ishani lowered herself onto his cock. Minji and Ananya flanked him, their hands roaming, their mouths finding sensitive spots.
Through the network, he felt everything. Nisha's pleasure as his tongue worked her. Ishani's fullness as she rode him. Minji's arousal watching the scene. Ananya's overwhelming sensory input as she experienced it all secondhand.
"I can't," Ananya gasped. "It's too much, I'm going to—"
She came without being touched, the network feedback pushing her over the edge.
Her orgasm cascaded through the bond, triggering Nisha, which triggered Ishani, which fed back into Sarnav himself.
The chain reaction was devastating.
Five people climaxing simultaneously, each orgasm amplifying the others. Pleasure beyond anything Sarnav had experienced, beyond anything he'd imagined possible.
When it finally subsided, they lay tangled together, breathing hard.
"That was..." Minji couldn't finish.
"Yeah." Ishani agreed.
"We're definitely doing that again," Nisha managed.
Ananya just whimpered, still trembling from the aftershocks.
Through the bond, Sarnav felt their combined satisfaction. Love and pleasure and connection, woven together into something stronger than any individual relationship.
Thank you, he sent to all of them.
Four responses came back as one:
Come back to us tomorrow.
I will, he promised.
And he meant it.
Day 27 Post-Impact - Dawn
The assault force gathered at first light.
Sixty-two awakened, armed and armored, ready to face the rift. The atmosphere was tense but determined. They knew the stakes. They knew the risks.
Sarnav stood before them, his presence commanding attention.
"Today we face something unprecedented. A dimensional rift, spawning creatures that threaten everything we've built. Some of you will be injured. Some of you might die." He let the words sink in. "But if we don't act, everyone dies. Our families, our communities, our future."
He drew his weapon.
"I won't ask you to follow me. I'm telling you I'm going in there, and I'm destroying that rift. Anyone who wants to help is welcome. Anyone who wants to run, I won't stop you."
No one moved.
"Then let's end this."
The march began.
[DAILY CULTIVATION SUMMARY]
[NETWORK-ENHANCED GROUP ACTIVITY (4 WIVES): +45,000]
[- BASE: 4X PARTNER BONUS]
[- NETWORK AMPLIFICATION: +50%]
[- EMOTIONAL HARMONY: +25%]
[ESSENCE TOTAL: 162,000 / 500,000 TO SOUL TRANSFORMATION]
[HAREM STATUS: 4 / 32]
[- NISHA RAMACHANDRAN (SOULBOUND)]
[- ISHANI SUPPIAH (BONDED)]
[- ANANYA KRISHNAN (BONDED)]
[- PARK MINJI (BONDED)]
[PROSPECTIVE:]
[- WONG YUK-KING: DECISION PENDING (POST-ASSAULT)]
[UPCOMING: RIFT ASSAULT]