Day 62 Post-Impact - Morning
Sarnav woke to the warmth of a body pressed against his and the unprecedented sensation of seven distinct presences humming in his mind.
The network had never felt like this before. Six wives had created a tapestry of connection, rich and complex. But seven... seven was different. The bonds resonated with each other in ways they hadn't before, creating harmonics he could almost hear if he concentrated hard enough.
Jiyeon shifted against him, her long black hair splayed across his chest. Even in sleep, she radiated a quiet contentment that was wholly unlike the guarded strategist he'd first met. The bond between them was still fresh, still settling into place, but already he could feel her dreams. Warm things. Safe things. Things she probably hadn't dreamed in years.
The familiar chime resonated through his mind, a sound he hadn't heard in weeks.
[HARMONY NETWORK: MILESTONE ACHIEVED]
He went still, careful not to wake Jiyeon.
[Seven souls now bonded to Host][Network stability: Optimal][Network resonance: Enhanced by 23%][Collective ability synchronization: Unlocked]
[NEW FEATURE UNLOCKED: HARMONY EXCHANGE][Essence can now be converted to system resources][Categories: Techniques, Consumables, Equipment, Base Upgrades][Access via mental command: "Open Shop"]
He'd almost forgotten the System could communicate directly. For weeks, it had been silent, letting him navigate his relationships and responsibilities without guidance. But now it stirred, acknowledging this moment with more than words. A shop system. Another layer of power, another tool for building what they were creating.
[Observation: Host emotional equilibrium at unprecedented levels][Each bond strengthens the whole][Recommendation: Review Exchange options when convenient][Recommendation: Maintain current trajectory]
Jiyeon stirred, her eyes fluttering open. For a moment, confusion flickered across her face, the disorientation of waking in an unfamiliar place. Then the bond pulsed between them, and recognition softened her features.
"Morning," she murmured, voice rough with sleep.
"Morning, noona."
The word sent a visible shiver through her. Even now, even half-awake, that honorific affected her. He filed that away for future use.
"I felt something," she said, propping herself up on one elbow. "Through the bond. The System?"
"It spoke. First time in weeks." He traced idle patterns on her shoulder. "Apparently seven is a milestone."
"Good milestone or concerning milestone?"
"Good, I think. Network stability improved." He smiled at her analytical approach. Even fresh from sleep, her strategic mind was already working. "You can feel the others, can't you? Through the network?"
She closed her eyes, concentrating. "Yes. Six... presences. All different." Her brow furrowed. "One feels like sunshine. One feels sharp, like a blade. One is... bouncy?"
"Nisha, Ishani, and Minji, probably. You'll learn to distinguish them."
"It's strange." She opened her eyes. "I've spent my whole life keeping people out of my head. Now I have six women living in it."
"Seven," he corrected. "I'm in there too."
"You're different." She leaned up to kiss him softly. "You, I want in my head."
Breakfast was chaos in the best possible way.
The main dining area had been claimed by Sarnav's wives, a long table that had somehow become their unofficial gathering space. When he arrived with Jiyeon, the others were already there, the air filled with conversation and the smell of Nisha's cooking.
"Unnie!" Minji practically launched herself from her seat, engulfing Jiyeon in a hug. "Finally! Another Korean! Do you know how long I've been suffering alone with these people?"
"You're not suffering," Jade said flatly, not looking up from her tablet. "You're dramatic."
"I'm dramatically suffering, there's a difference."
Jiyeon accepted the hug with obvious surprise. "I... thank you?"
"Don't mind Minji," Nisha said warmly, rising to greet them properly. As first wife, she took the lead in official welcomes. She embraced Jiyeon with genuine affection, the kind of warmth that couldn't be faked. "She's been excited since the bond formed last night. We all felt it."
"It was beautiful," Ananya added softly, her dancer's grace evident even in the simple act of passing dishes. "The way the network expanded. Like a new note joining a melody."
"Sana cried," Ishani reported with a grin. "Happy tears, but still."
"I did not." Sana's cheeks flushed pink. "I was just... emotionally moved."
"You cried."
"They were dignified tears!"
"There's no such thing as dignified tears," Jade muttered. "Tears are inherently undignified. That's the whole point of them."
"Says the woman who cried when her server build worked on the first try," Ishani shot back.
"That was different. That was professional satisfaction."
"You sobbed."
"I expressed technical joy."
The banter continued, overlapping conversations that somehow never descended into actual conflict. Through the bond, Sarnav could feel the undercurrents: genuine affection beneath the teasing, love expressed through sarcasm, a family that had chosen each other and continued to choose each other every day.
Jiyeon stood in the midst of it, looking slightly overwhelmed. Through the bond, Sarnav felt her uncertainty, her old instincts screaming that this was too good, too warm, that there had to be a catch.
He squeezed her hand. There's no catch, he sent through the network. This is just what family looks like.
Her fingers tightened around his. I don't know if I remember what family looks like.
You'll learn. We'll teach you.
They settled into seats, Jiyeon positioned between Sarnav and Minji, who had apparently decided they were now best friends. Food appeared in front of them, a spread of Malaysian breakfast dishes that Nisha had somehow mastered despite the apocalypse: nasi lemak, roti canai, half-boiled eggs, and what looked like her attempt at Korean banchan as well.
Mythili passed by the table, datapad in hand, her gaze sweeping over the group. When it landed on Jiyeon, something flickered in her expression—assessment, perhaps, or calculation. The newest wife. Another woman claiming a piece of her son's attention.
"Morning population report," she said to Sarnav, her tone carefully professional. "Seven hundred thirty-five as of today. The western expansion should be complete within two weeks."
"Thank you, Ma." He met her eyes, something unspoken passing between them.
She nodded once and continued on, efficient as always.
"I tried to make kimchi," Nisha admitted, gesturing to a small dish. "I don't know if it's right. We don't exactly have proper fermentation facilities."
Jiyeon took a tentative bite, her expression shifting from polite expectation to genuine surprise. "It's... actually good. Not exactly like home, but..." She took another bite. "Really good."
Nisha beamed. Through the bond, Sarnav felt her satisfaction. The first wife took her role seriously, and part of that role was making sure everyone felt welcomed and cared for.
"So," Minji said, leaning toward Jiyeon conspiratorially, "what group were you in? I need to know if I was a fan."
"You were probably too young for my active years."
"Try me. I had an illegal streaming phase."
"Celestial."
Minji's eyes went wide. "CELESTIAL? You were in Celestial? Wait, which one were you? Wait, don't tell me." She studied Jiyeon's face intently. "Visual line, definitely. Main visual? No, that was Yerin. Face of the group? Oh my god, you're JiJi. YOU'RE JIJI."
"I haven't been called that in years."
"I HAD YOUR PHOTOCARD. I traded three rare Twices for it!"
"Was that a good trade?"
"In retrospect, absolutely not, but I was eleven and had terrible judgment."
The table dissolved into laughter, even Jade cracking a small smile. Through the bond, Sarnav felt Jiyeon's walls crumbling further, the warmth of acceptance seeping through defenses that had held strong for a decade.
This was what he'd wanted to build. This was why everything else mattered.
A young woman approached the table, one of the refugees from the recent rescue. She was perhaps nineteen, with the gaunt look of someone who'd seen too much too young. Sarnav recognized her. She'd been among the group of forty-three they'd saved when the Ascendancy scouts came. Her name was... Mei Lin, he thought. She'd been protecting her younger brother when they found her.
"Excuse me," she said quietly, addressing Sarnav. "I just wanted to thank you. Again. For saving us." She touched his arm, a brief contact that lingered slightly. "My little brother is alive because of you. I don't know how to repay that."
"You don't need to repay anything." He smiled kindly. "Just focus on recovering. Building a life here."
"I will. I promise." She smiled, bright and genuine, her hand still resting on his forearm. "If there's ever anything I can do to help. Anything at all. I'm a decent cook, and I used to be good with organization before..." She trailed off, the weight of everything she'd lost flickering across her face. "Well. Before. Just let me know."
"I appreciate that, Mei Lin. We can always use help."
Her smile brightened further at the use of her name. "You remembered."
"I try to remember everyone we bring in."
She finally withdrew her hand, but the smile remained. "Thank you again. For everything." She retreated back toward the refugee section of the dining hall, glancing over her shoulder once before disappearing into the crowd.
Through the bond, something flickered.
It came from Ishani. Not anger, not exactly. Something colder. Sharper. A territorial edge that was there and gone so quickly he almost missed it. Like a blade briefly unsheathed, then hidden again.
He glanced at her. She was eating her breakfast, expression perfectly pleasant, engaged in conversation with Ananya about training schedules. Nothing in her demeanor suggested anything was wrong. Her body language was relaxed, her smile genuine.
But he'd felt it. Through the network that connected them all, he'd felt that flash of something possessive. Something that looked at Mei Lin's lingering touch and felt... not jealousy. Jealousy was too simple, too human a word for what had flickered through the bond.
This was something more primal. More predatory.
Was that... he wondered, watching Ishani laugh at something Ananya said. The sharp feeling had dissolved completely, as if it had never existed. No. Couldn't be. I must have imagined it.
Ishani caught him looking and raised an eyebrow, the picture of innocence. "Something wrong, sayang?"
"No." He shook his head, setting aside the strange moment. "Nothing at all."
She smiled, warm and loving, and returned to her conversation.
But somewhere in the back of his mind, that flicker of something cold remained. Filed away. Not forgotten.
The council meeting convened an hour after breakfast.
Chen Wei presided as usual, his weathered face grave as he spread reports across the table. Sarnav sat with Jiyeon beside him, her presence already drawing speculative glances from the council members who hadn't heard about the bonding.
"The situation is escalating," Chen Wei began without preamble. "Our scouts report Ascendancy activity has tripled in the past week. They're no longer just probing our defenses. They're massing."
"Where?" Ishani asked, leaning forward.
"Multiple points. Southern sectors primarily, but we've detected movement to the east as well." He tapped a map laid out on the table. "The eight scouts we captured during the refugee rescue have been... informative."
"Informative how?" Jade asked. Her tablet was already recording, processing, analyzing.
"The conversion process leaves traces. Fragments of their former selves." Chen Wei's expression darkened. "We've confirmed that the force moving north isn't a raiding party. It's an army. At least three hundred converted, with multiple B-rank commanders."
Murmurs rippled through the council.
"Timeline?" Sarnav asked.
"Unknown. Could be days, could be weeks. They're not moving fast, but they're moving steadily." Chen Wei met his eyes. "We need to decide how to respond. Defensive fortification or preemptive strike."
Silence fell as the council considered their options. It was Jiyeon who spoke first.
"You're thinking about this wrong."
Every eye turned to her. She seemed unfazed by the attention, her strategic mind fully engaged.
"You're treating this as a binary choice. Defend or attack." She stood, moving to the map. "But the Ascendancy isn't a traditional army. They're converted humans, which means they started as individuals with homes, with routines, with places they knew."
"Your point?" one of the council members asked, skepticism clear in his voice.
"Track the conversion sites. Every converted soldier came from somewhere. Find those somewhere, and you find their recruitment pattern. Their expansion strategy." She traced a line on the map. "Three hundred soldiers don't appear from nowhere. They were converted from existing populations. Survivors. Refugees. Communities that thought they were safe."
Understanding dawned on Chen Wei's face. "You're saying the army itself is the intelligence we need."
"I'm saying that an army of three hundred tells us there are population centers we don't know about. Communities that have been feeding the Ascendancy. Find those patterns, and you find their next target." She paused. "Possibly before they do."
Silence. Then Chen Wei nodded slowly.
"That's... actually brilliant."
Through the bond, Sarnav felt pride wash through him. Not just his own, but the collective approval of his wives. Jiyeon had just proven her value to Harmony in a way that had nothing to do with their relationship.
She was an asset. A partner. A strategist who saw angles others missed.
Exactly what they needed.
The meeting ended with assignments distributed and plans forming. Jiyeon had been officially designated as Strategic Advisor, a title Chen Wei suggested with something approaching respect in his voice. The council members who had looked skeptical at the beginning now regarded her with new eyes.
Through the bond, Sarnav felt pride wash through him. Not just his own, but the collective approval of his wives. Jiyeon had just proven her value to Harmony in a way that had nothing to do with their relationship.
She was an asset. A partner. A strategist who saw angles others missed.
Exactly what they needed.
Sarnav found himself alone on the command center's balcony an hour later, watching the Safe Zone's afternoon activities unfold below.
The compound had grown since the early days. What had started as a desperate gathering of survivors had evolved into something approaching a real community. Children played in the courtyards Nisha had helped cultivate. Adults worked at various tasks: construction, cooking, training, inventory. Life went on, as it always did, even in the shadow of threats.
The System stirred again.
[WARNING: Threat assessment updated]
He straightened, attention sharpening.
[The Ascendancy's mobilization pattern suggests coordinated expansion][Multiple simultaneous targets detected][Probability of Harmony being primary target: 34%][Probability of Harmony being secondary target: 58%]
"Secondary to what?" he murmured.
[Unknown. Data insufficient.][However, trajectory analysis indicates convergence point][Convergence location: Collapsed rift site, Sector 7]
His blood ran cold.
[Reminder: S+ class entity remains sealed within collapsed rift][Seal integrity: 97%][Degradation rate: 0.3% per week]
The S+ entity. In the chaos of Sana's rescue and Jiyeon's integration, he'd almost allowed himself to forget about the horror they'd sealed away. That writhing mass of wrongness, that thing that had nearly broken reality itself. They'd won that battle, but barely. And now...
At current degradation, how long until seal failure?
[Estimated: 74 weeks][Variables may accelerate timeline][Note: External interference could dramatically affect degradation rate][Host preparation strongly advised]
Seventy-four weeks. A year and a half. It seemed like a long time, but he knew better. In a world where everything could change in moments, where armies could mass from nowhere, where the apocalypse had rewritten all the rules, a year was nothing.
[Additional observation: The Ascendancy's movements may not be coincidental][Their expansion vector trends toward the sealed rift location][Correlation uncertain but notable][Possibility: The Ascendancy is aware of the sealed entity][Possibility: The Ascendancy seeks to unseal it]
Were they connected? The cult-like faction moving toward the place where an S+ entity slept? He didn't believe in coincidences anymore. Not in this world. The Ascendancy converted humans, stripped away their will, built armies from the broken. If they were heading toward that rift, toward that thing...
What if they wanted to free it?
What if they wanted to worship it?
What if they wanted to become it?
"Sarnav?"
He turned. Nisha stood in the doorway, concern softening her features. Through the bond, she'd felt his sudden tension, the spike of fear that he couldn't quite suppress.
"System warning," he said quietly. "The Ascendancy might be heading toward the sealed rift."
Her face paled. She'd been there. She'd seen what they'd fought to contain. She still had nightmares about it sometimes; he felt them through the bond, echoes of terror in the quiet hours of the night.
"That can't be coincidence."
"No." He pulled her close, drawing comfort from her presence, from the steady warmth of her love flowing through their connection. "It can't."
Through the network, he felt his other wives register his concern. Felt their collective support flow toward him, steady and sure. Seven souls, bound together, facing whatever came next.
Ishani's determination, sharp and certain. Ananya's gentle strength, unwavering. Minji's fierce loyalty, burning bright. Jade's cold calculation, already planning. Sana's healing warmth, ready to mend. Jiyeon's strategic mind, assessing options.
It wasn't enough. Not yet. Not against what was coming.
But it was a start.
And they would face it together.
[DAY 62 COMPLETE]
[WIFE COUNT: 7/32]
[ESSENCE: 696,300 / 1,000,000]
[HARMONY EXCHANGE: UNLOCKED][AVAILABLE PURCHASES: TECHNIQUES, CONSUMABLES, EQUIPMENT, BASE UPGRADES]
[HARMONY SAFE ZONE STATUS][POPULATION: 735][WESTERN EXPANSION: 75% COMPLETE][NOTE: MYTHILI MANAGING EXPANDED REFUGEE OPERATIONS]
[SYSTEM STATUS: ACTIVE]
[THREAT LEVEL: ESCALATING]
[S+ SEAL INTEGRITY: 97%]
[NEXT: PREPARATION]