Day 27 Post-Impact - Evening
The medical tent was crowded with wounded.
Sarnav moved between the cots, checking on his people, offering what comfort he could. The victory felt hollow against the backdrop of suffering. Four dead, twelve wounded. Names and faces he'd sent into danger.
Ishani's cot was in the corner, away from the worst cases. Her breathing was steady, her color improving. The healers had done good work.
"You're hovering," she said without opening her eyes.
"I'm checking on you."
"Same thing." She cracked one eye open. "Stop feeling guilty. I made my own choice."
"You almost died protecting me."
"And I'd do it again." She reached for his hand. "That's what this is, sayang. We protect each other. You don't get to carry all the weight alone."
Through the network, he felt her sincerity. No regret, no blame. Just love and fierce determination.
"Rest," he told her. "That's an order."
"Yes, sir." She smiled weakly. "Go deal with the others. I can feel them through the bond. Nisha's worried. Ananya's scared. Minji's pretending she's fine."
"And Jade?"
"Jade's not in the network yet. You'll have to figure her out the old-fashioned way."
He squeezed her hand and left.
The compound was subdued.
Victory celebrations would come later, when the wounded were stable and the dead were mourned. For now, people moved quietly, processing what they'd been through.
Sarnav found Nisha in the garden, tending to plants that didn't need tending. A nervous habit she'd developed since awakening her power.
"You're back," she said.
"I'm back."
She crossed to him, wrapping her arms around him. Through the network, he felt her fear finally releasing, the tension she'd held since the assault began.
"Don't ever do something that stupid again."
"I can't promise that."
"I know." She pulled back, wiping her eyes. "Ananya cried for an hour. Minji tried to hack her way into the medical tent. We all felt what that energy did to you."
"The system handled it."
"The system almost broke you." Her hand found his cheek. "You're not invincible, Sarnav. No matter how powerful you become."
"I know."
"Do you?" She searched his face. "Sometimes I wonder. You throw yourself into danger like you have nothing to lose. But you do. You have us."
"I know," he repeated. "That's why I do it. To protect what matters."
She sighed. "Stubborn idiot."
"You're the second person to call me that today."
"Then maybe you should listen." She kissed him softly. "Go. Rest. I'll check on the others."
He found Jade on the roof.
She sat at the edge, legs dangling over the side, tablet abandoned beside her. The sunset painted her pale features in warm colors that didn't suit her aesthetic.
"You're supposed to be resting," he said.
"So are you." She didn't turn around. "Sit down before you fall over. I can see you swaying from here."
He sat beside her, leaving space between them.
"The energy absorption," she said after a moment. "I've been analyzing the data. What you did shouldn't have been possible."
"My system does impossible things."
"I'm starting to understand that." She finally looked at him. "You could have died. The dimensional feedback alone should have torn your cultivation core apart."
"But it didn't."
"Because your system adapted in real-time. Restructured your pathways. Created new channels for energy that doesn't belong in this dimension." Her voice was clinical, but her hands were shaking. "I watched it happen. Watched you nearly die. And I couldn't do anything except redirect the flow and hope."
"You did more than hope. You saved my life."
"I ran calculations. That's all I'm good for."
"That's not all you're good for."
She looked away. The silence stretched between them, filled with things neither wanted to say.
"I've made my decision," she said finally.
"About?"
"Don't play stupid. It doesn't suit you." She turned back, her dark eyes intense. "I'm staying. Permanently. Your faction, your network, your..." She struggled with the word. "Your harem."
"What changed your mind?"
"Nothing changed. I always knew what I wanted. I just couldn't admit it." She stood, pacing along the roof's edge. "I've spent my entire life being rational. Logical. Making decisions based on data and probability. And it's kept me alive, kept me safe, but it's also kept me alone."
"Jade—"
"Let me finish." She stopped, facing him. "When that rift was collapsing, when I thought we were both going to die, I realized something. I don't want to be alone anymore. I don't want to die having never let anyone in." Her voice cracked slightly. "And I especially don't want to die without knowing what this could be."
"What what could be?"
"Us. This. Whatever it is between us that I've been fighting since the moment we met." She crossed back to him, standing close enough to touch. "I'm tired of fighting it. I'm tired of being scared. So I'm done."
She grabbed his shirt and kissed him.
It was nothing like before. No hesitation, no pulling back. She kissed like she was trying to prove something, to herself or to him or to the universe.
When she pulled away, her eyes were fierce.
"Take me to your room. Now."
"You're sure?"
"I'm always sure." Her nails dug into his chest through his shirt. "Stop asking stupid questions and fuck me already, idiot."
They barely made it through the door.
Jade was on him the moment it closed, shoving him against the wall, her mouth hungry and demanding. Her nails raked down his arms as she pulled at his clothes.
"Too slow," she growled, ripping his shirt open. Buttons scattered across the floor.
"That was my only clean shirt."
"Then don't wear one next time." She attacked his neck, biting hard enough to leave marks. "I've been thinking about this for weeks. About what I'd do when I finally stopped being a coward."
"And what's that?"
"Make you mine." She pulled back, stripping off her own shirt. Her pale skin was almost luminous in the dim light, her breasts straining against a black lace bra. "Before any of the others can claim you completely."
"They've already—"
"I know." She unclasped her bra, letting it fall. "I don't care. I'm not competing with them. I'm taking my piece." She grabbed his hand, placing it on her breast. "Touch me. Stop being gentle. I won't break."
He stopped being gentle.
He grabbed her, spinning them, pressing her against the wall. His mouth found her neck, her shoulder, the swell of her breasts. She moaned, her nails digging into his back.
"Yes. Like that. Don't hold back."
He didn't.
He lifted her, carrying her to the bed, dropping her onto the mattress. She bounced once, laughing.
"Careful, I might think you actually want me."
"I do want you."
"Then stop talking and show me."
He removed the rest of her clothes with efficiency rather than tenderness. She helped, kicking off her pants, her underwear, until she was bare beneath him.
"Well?" She spread her legs, shameless. "Are you going to stare all night?"
"Maybe."
"Diu nei." The Cantonese curse was almost affectionate. "Get down here."
He descended on her.
His mouth found her center, and she arched off the bed with a cry. Her fingers tangled in his hair, pulling painfully.
"Yes! Fuck, yes!"
He worked her with his tongue, his fingers, reading her responses through growing bond. She was loud, demanding, cursing in a mix of English and Cantonese whenever he did something she liked.
"There! Right there, don't stop, don't you dare stop!"
He brought her to the edge, then pulled back.
"What the fuck are you doing?"
"Making sure you remember this."
"I'm going to kill you. I'm going to actually murder you in your sleep."
"You'd miss me."
"I'd find someone else to hate." But she was pulling him up, her hands fumbling with his pants. "Inside. Now. I can't wait anymore."
He freed himself. Her eyes widened at the sight.
"That's... bigger than I calculated."
"Cultivation enhances everything."
"Shut up and put it in me."
He positioned himself at her entrance. She was wet, ready, her body practically pulling him in.
"Last chance to change your mind."
"If you ask me one more time, I'm going to—"
He thrust into her.
She screamed. Not pain. Overwhelmed pleasure. Her nails raked down his back, drawing blood, exactly as her profile had promised.
"Fuck! So deep! You're splitting me apart!"
"Do you want me to stop?"
"Don't you dare!" She wrapped her legs around him, pulling him deeper. "Move! Fuck me like you mean it!"
He did.
There was nothing gentle about it. Nothing tender. This was raw, primal, two people taking what they needed from each other. She met his every thrust, her hips rising to meet him, her nails leaving tracks of fire across his skin.
"Harder! I want to feel this tomorrow!"
He gave her harder. The bed slammed against the wall. Her screams echoed off the ceiling.
"Yes! Yes! Don't stop! Sei yan, don't you dare stop!"
She came with a scream that was half English, half Cantonese, her body convulsing around him. He didn't slow down, fucking her through the orgasm, pushing her toward another.
"Too much! It's too much!"
"You said you wouldn't break."
"I lied! I'm breaking! You're breaking me!" But she was pulling him closer, not pushing away. "More! Give me more!"
He flipped her over, taking her from behind. She buried her face in the pillow, screaming into it as he pounded into her.
"So deep! Diu! So fucking deep!"
Her second orgasm hit harder than the first. He felt it through the forming bond, her pleasure resonating with his own, building toward something explosive.
"I'm close," he warned.
"Inside! Come inside me! I want to feel it!"
He buried himself to the hilt and let go.
The release crashed through him, pulse after pulse filling her. She screamed again, Cantonese curses mixing with broken English, her body shaking with a third orgasm triggered by his release.
They collapsed together, breathing hard.
"Puk gaai," she gasped. "That was..."
"Good?"
"Acceptable." But she was trembling, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes. "Don't you dare tell anyone I cried."
"I won't."
"Liar." She turned in his arms, facing him. "I can feel them now. The others. Through the bond."
"Welcome to the network."
"It's invasive." A pause. "I like it."
[FIRST CULTIVATION - WONG YUK-KING "JADE"]
[FIRST VAGINAL: +5,000 ESSENCE]
[AGGRESSIVE ENCOUNTER BONUS: +2,000]
[EMOTIONAL BREAKTHROUGH: +3,000]
[TOTAL ESSENCE GAINED: +10,000]
[NEW BOND ESTABLISHED!]
[WONG YUK-KING "JADE" - WIFE #5]
[COMPATIBILITY: 89%]
[BOND TYPE: BONDED]
[POWER SHARED: DIGITAL MANIPULATION]
[HAREM COUNT: 5/32]
[MILESTONE ACHIEVED: 5 WIVES!]
[NEW BONUS UNLOCKED: +50% STATS WHEN MULTIPLE WIVES PRESENT]
[NETWORK EFFICIENCY: INCREASED]
[HARMONY COEFFICIENT: RISING]
Through the network, Sarnav felt his other wives react. Nisha's quiet acceptance. Ishani's drowsy amusement from the medical tent. Ananya's curiosity. Minji's mock jealousy.
Welcome to the family, Nisha sent to Jade.
Thanks, Jade responded. I think.
You'll get used to us, Ishani added. We're not so bad.
You're all terrible. I hate all of you. A pause. When can we do the group thing?
Laughter echoed through the network.
"I'm going to regret this," Jade muttered.
"Probably," Sarnav agreed.
"Worth it though." She curled against him, uncharacteristically soft. "Idiot."
"Yours now."
"Yeah." She closed her eyes. "Mine."
Day 28 Post-Impact - Morning
The compound woke to celebration.
Word had spread overnight. The rift was destroyed, the territory was safe, and the faction had survived its first major test. People who'd barely slept still found energy for relief and gratitude.
Sarnav emerged from his room to find his five wives waiting.
Nisha stood at the center, arms crossed, expression knowing. Ishani had left the medical tent against orders, moving gingerly but determined. Ananya hovered nearby, shy but present. Minji grinned with obvious amusement.
And Jade, pale and rumpled, looking like she wanted to be anywhere else.
"So," Nisha said. "Five."
"Five," Sarnav confirmed.
"The network feels different now," Ananya observed. "Stronger."
"That's the five-wife bonus," Minji explained. "Plus fifty percent stats when we're together. I read about it in the system documentation."
"You have system documentation?" Jade asked.
"I make Sarnav explain things while we play games. Then I write it down."
"That's actually clever."
"I'm full of surprises."
Ishani stepped forward, wincing slightly. "We should talk. All of us. About how this works going forward."
"Agreed," Nisha said. "Things are getting complicated."
"Things were always complicated," Sarnav pointed out.
"More complicated then." Nisha took his hand. "But first, breakfast. We almost died yesterday. I want pancakes."
"Do we even have pancakes?"
"I will manifest pancakes through sheer willpower if necessary."
They walked to the cafeteria together, five women and one man, the new configuration of Sarnav's life.
Through the network, he felt their combined presence. Different personalities, different desires, different needs. But all connected to him, and now to each other.
Five wives. A territory secured. A faction growing.
Volume one complete.
[DAILY CULTIVATION SUMMARY]
[FIRST CULTIVATION - JADE: +10,000]
[NETWORK EXPANSION BONUS: +2,000]
[5-WIFE MILESTONE: +5,000]
[TOTAL ESSENCE: 264,000 / 500,000 TO SOUL TRANSFORMATION]
[HAREM STATUS: 5 / 32]
[- NISHA RAMACHANDRAN (SOULBOUND)]
[- ISHANI SUPPIAH (BONDED, RECOVERING)]
[- ANANYA KRISHNAN (BONDED)]
[- PARK MINJI (BONDED)]
[- WONG YUK-KING "JADE" (BONDED)]
[POWER BONUS: +50% STATS WHEN WIVES PRESENT]
[NETWORK STATUS: FULLY OPERATIONAL]
[NEW ABILITY AVAILABLE (VIA JADE):]
[- DIGITAL MANIPULATION: Interface with and control electronic systems]
[- DURATION: 1 HOUR (NASCENT SOUL LIMIT)]
[TERRITORY: SECURED (RIFT DESTROYED)]
[FACTION STATUS: STRONG]
[ALLIANCE: ACTIVE (HARMONY + SUNWAY)]