Day 73-74 Post-Impact
The gates of Harmony opened to cheering.
Word had traveled faster than they could march. Scouts had raced ahead with news of the victory, and by the time Sarnav led his forces through the main entrance, hundreds of people lined the streets. They shouted, cried, and threw whatever flowers they could find. Children sat on parents' shoulders, waving scraps of cloth. Old men and women who remembered the fear of the Ascendancy's approach now wept with relief.
"They killed the Herald!"
"An S-rank! They killed an S-rank!"
"We're safe! The army's gone!"
The noise was overwhelming after the silence of the march. Sarnav walked at the head of the column, his wives spread around him in a protective formation, all of them exhausted but standing tall. Behind them came the soldiers who had survived, some limping, some carried, all of them heroes. The wounded came on stretchers and makeshift carts, tended by Sana and the other healers who refused to rest even now. The dead would follow later, carried with the honor they deserved.
Serena walked beside him, still unsteady from the toll her probability manipulation had taken, but refusing to show weakness in front of the crowd. Her professional mask was firmly in place, though he could see the exhaustion in her eyes.
"This is more than I expected," she said quietly, meant only for him.
"They were afraid," Sarnav replied. "An S-rank threatened their homes, their families, everything they'd built since the impact. Now that threat is gone. This is what relief looks like."
"It's what loyalty looks like." She studied the faces in the crowd, her probability sense cataloging reactions, assessing genuine emotion versus performance. "They love you. Not just respect. Love. The probability of betrayal in this crowd is essentially zero. That's remarkable."
He didn't know how to respond to that. He'd never asked for love. He'd only tried to protect people, to build something worth protecting. But looking at the faces around him, the tears and the smiles and the raw gratitude, he understood what Serena meant. This was more than political loyalty. This was family.
The procession wound through the compound toward the central plaza, where a makeshift stage had been erected. Chen Wei stood there with the other council members, ready to formally acknowledge the victory. Councilman Razak was notably absent. Word was he'd developed a sudden illness that prevented his attendance. Sarnav suspected Ishani's threat had something to do with that.
Behind the officials, Sarnav spotted a familiar figure.
His mother.
Mythili Kish stood at the edge of the stage, dressed in the practical clothing she'd adopted since taking over civilian affairs. A simple blouse and trousers, nothing like the elegant suits she'd worn as a High Court Judge. Her dark hair was pulled back in a sensible bun, her face composed with the dignity of someone accustomed to authority. But her eyes tracked her son's progress through the crowd with an intensity that went beyond maternal pride.
She looked tired, he realized. The weeks of managing civilian affairs, of keeping nearly nine hundred people fed and housed and hopeful while her son fought wars, had taken their toll. But beneath the exhaustion was something else. Something he couldn't quite name.
Their eyes met for a moment. She smiled, the warm smile he remembered from childhood, but there was a tremor in it. A complexity. Something passed between them that made his chest tight.
Then she looked away, and the moment passed.
Later, he told himself. We'll talk later. There's too much to process right now.
The ceremony was mercifully brief. Chen Wei spoke of sacrifice and victory, his voice carrying across the plaza with practiced authority. A list of the dead was read aloud, forty-three names given weight and honor, each one a person who had given everything for Harmony. Sarnav said a few words about the bravery of those who'd fought, the importance of what they'd protected, the future they'd secured.
Then the formal proceedings ended, and the real celebration began.
The feast had been thrown together from whatever supplies could be spared, but to people who'd lived on rationed meals for weeks, it might as well have been a royal banquet. Music played from recovered speakers. People danced, ate, drank, and for a few hours, forgot about the apocalypse outside their walls.
Sarnav sat with his wives at a table near the center, accepting congratulations from an endless stream of grateful citizens. Nisha stayed close to his side, her nature magic having exhausted her during the battle. Ishani stood behind him like a guardian, still alert for threats. Jade had retreated to a corner with her tablet, monitoring communications even during the celebration. Jiyeon worked the crowd like the professional she was, building political capital from the victory. Ananya had joined the dancers, her rhythm magic making the music better just by being near it. Sana moved between tables, checking on the wounded who'd insisted on attending.
And Minji...
Minji was plotting something.
He could feel it through the network. Her usual playful energy had sharpened into something more focused. She kept glancing at him, then away, then back again. Her cheeks were flushed, and not just from the drinks she'd been nursing.
When she finally made her move, it was with the directness that had first attracted him to her.
"Oppa." She appeared beside him, tugging at his sleeve like a child wanting attention. But there was nothing childish about the look in her eyes. "I need to show you something."
"Now?"
"Right now." Her voice dropped, meant only for him. "I waited while you were on that mission. I waited while you were fighting. I waited while everyone else got their welcome-home moments." Her fingers tightened on his arm. "I'm done waiting."
Via the network, Nisha caught the exchange and smiled softly. Go. She's been climbing the walls for days.
We all noticed, Ishani added, amused. Take care of your gamer girl, sayang. She's earned it.
Sarnav let Minji pull him away from the celebration, through back corridors she'd clearly scouted in advance, to a room she'd prepared.
It was one of the private quarters in the residential wing, but she'd transformed it. Soft lighting. Her gaming setup in one corner, screens dark for once. A bed that had been made with obvious care, scattered with what looked like rose petals.
"You did all this?"
"I had time." She closed the door behind them, and when she turned, her playful mask had slipped. Underneath was something raw and hungry. "Oppa, I know I'm not as serious as Nisha or as strategic as Jiyeon or as intense as Ishani. I'm the fun one. The gamer girl. The one who makes jokes."
"Minji—"
"Let me finish." She moved closer, her dyed purple-streaked hair catching the light. "I might be playful, but that doesn't mean I feel less. When you were out there fighting an S-rank, I was here trying not to scream. Every time I felt pain through the network, I thought—" She stopped, swallowed. "I thought I might lose you before I got to tell you that being your wife is the best thing that ever happened to me."
He pulled her into his arms, and she melted against him.
"I'm here," he said. "I'm safe. We won."
"I know." She looked up at him, her competitive spark returning. "And now I'm claiming my victory reward."
She kissed him, and the playful Minji was back, but layered with something deeper. Her tongue teased against his lips, demanding entry, turning the kiss into a challenge. He responded in kind, one hand fisting in her hair, the other sliding down her back to grip her ass.
"Achievement unlocked," she gasped against his mouth. "Making Oppa hard in under thirty seconds."
"That's cheating. I was already—"
"No excuses! The timer doesn't lie." She was already pulling at his clothes, nimble gamer fingers making quick work of buttons and clasps. "Now let's see if I can speedrun this boss fight."
Her hands found his cock, already stiff, and wrapped around it with practiced skill. "Ooh, fully upgraded weapon. Nice stats."
"Are you going to make gaming references the whole time?"
"Absolutely." She dropped to her knees, looking up at him with those bright eyes, her tongue tracing her lips. "First phase: DPS check."
She took him into her mouth without further preamble, her lips stretching around his girth, her tongue working the underside with techniques she'd clearly been practicing. The wet heat of her mouth made him groan, and she hummed with satisfaction, the vibration adding another layer of sensation.
"Minji—fuck—"
She pulled back just enough to speak, her hand still stroking him. "What's my name, Oppa?"
"Minji."
"Full name." Her tongue swirled around the head of his cock, collecting the precum that had begun to leak.
"Park Minji."
"And what am I?"
"My wife."
"Good answer." She rewarded him by taking him deeper, her throat relaxing to accept more of his length. Her eyes never left his face, watching his reactions, adjusting her technique based on what made him twitch and groan.
Via the network, he felt the other wives reacting to the pleasure echoes. Nisha's soft arousal as she felt what he felt. Ishani's approving hunger. Even Jade, trying to focus on her work, couldn't entirely ignore the sensation bleeding through their connection.
Minji felt them too, and it only excited her more. She loved being watched, loved knowing the others were experiencing this through him. Her competitive nature demanded she give them all a show worth feeling.
She pulled off with a wet pop, stroking him rapidly. "Phase one clear. Now for phase two: the real boss fight."
She stood and stripped with the efficiency of someone who'd done this a hundred times in her imagination. Her shirt came off to reveal a lacy bra that struggled to contain her 33DD breasts. Her shorts followed, showing matching panties already dark with arousal. She unclasped the bra, letting her breasts bounce free, pink nipples already hard.
"Like what you see, Oppa?"
"Always."
"Then come claim your loot."
She backed toward the bed, and he followed, shedding the rest of his own clothes. When she lay back on the rose-petal-covered sheets, spreading her legs in invitation, he took a moment just to look at her. The athletic body she'd maintained even post-apocalypse, lean and toned from gaming marathons that somehow counted as exercise. The dyed hair spread across the pillow like purple flames. The eager, playful expression that was uniquely Minji. And between her thighs, her pussy glistening with arousal, pink and perfect and waiting for him.
"Stop buffering and get over here," she demanded.
He covered her body with his, kissing her deeply as he positioned himself at her entrance. She was soaked, had probably been wet since she'd first planned this, and when he pushed inside, she took him easily. Her walls stretched around him, hot and tight and welcoming.
"Oh fuck, Oppa!" Her back arched, pressing her breasts against his chest, her nails digging into his shoulders. "Full penetration bonus. Critical hit."
He started to move, and she moved with him, their bodies finding a rhythm that felt like they'd been doing this forever. She wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him deeper with every thrust, demanding more. The sound of their bodies meeting filled the room, wet and rhythmic.
"Harder," she gasped. "Difficulty setting: Legendary."
He obliged, increasing his pace until the bed creaked beneath them, until the headboard knocked against the wall with every thrust. She matched him stroke for stroke, her competitive nature refusing to let him do all the work. Her inner walls gripped him, squeezed him, milked him with deliberate muscular control.
"Yes! Yes! Right there, Oppa! That's the weak point!"
Her dirty talk was absurd and endearing and somehow incredibly hot. Gaming metaphors shouldn't have worked in bed, but with Minji, everything worked. She made everything into play, even when the play was deadly serious.
He shifted his angle, hitting a spot that made her scream. Her whole body jerked, her pussy clamping down on him so hard he nearly came right then.
"COMBO! Oh god, keep doing that, don't stop!"
He didn't stop. He drove into her relentlessly, feeling her pleasure building through the network, feeding it back into her, creating a loop of sensation that had them both climbing toward the peak.
"Oppa, I'm—I'm getting close—"
"Me too."
"No!" She tightened around him deliberately, making him gasp. "I want to cum first. This is a race."
"Then you'd better hurry up."
He reached between them to find her clit, rubbing circles around the sensitive nub while he continued to pound into her. The dual stimulation was too much. Her competitive instincts crumbled under the assault of pleasure.
"That's—that's cheating—you can't just—OH FUCK—"
She came with a sound that was half scream, half laugh, her body shaking beneath him as the orgasm tore through her. He felt every wave of it through the network, the intensity nearly pulling him over the edge with her.
"Oppa OP," she managed between gasps. "Nerf this dick."
The absurdity of it made him laugh, which made her laugh, which somehow made the sex even better. He kept moving through her aftershocks, building toward his own release.
"Inside," she panted. "Cum inside me, Oppa. Fill me up. I want—want to feel you—"
Her words, the feeling of her still-rippling walls, the sight of her flushed and wrecked beneath him—it was too much. He buried himself to the hilt and came, spilling inside her in long pulses that had him seeing stars.
She held him through it, stroking his back, pressing kisses to his shoulder.
"GG," she whispered. "Good game, Oppa. Good game."
They lay tangled together afterward, catching their breath, neither willing to move.
"Round two?" Minji asked hopefully. "I feel like there's a secret boss we haven't found yet."
"Give me five minutes."
"Timer started." She snuggled closer, her head on his chest. "Hey, Oppa?"
"Yeah?"
"I love you. Like, actually. Not just because of the system or the network or whatever. I love you. The guy who plays games with me at 3 AM. The guy who remembers my favorite snacks. The guy who came back from an S-rank fight alive."
He kissed the top of her head. "I love you too, Minji. All of you. Even the ridiculous gaming references."
"Especially the gaming references."
"Especially the gaming references."
She was quiet for a moment, then: "The five minutes are up."
"That was maybe two minutes."
"Timer doesn't lie, Oppa." She was already moving, climbing on top of him, her competitive spirit fully restored. "Ready for the next stage?"
He was.
Later, much later, they finally emerged from the room to find the celebration still going, though many had drifted off to bed. The music had softened, the dancing had slowed, and small groups sat together talking quietly about the future they'd almost lost.
Sarnav spotted his mother across the plaza, speaking with Chen Wei. She looked up as if sensing his gaze, and again, their eyes met. This time she held it longer. There was pride in her expression, yes, but also something troubled. Something she wanted to say but couldn't find the words for.
He should go to her. Should check in, make sure she was handling the stress of civilian leadership, ask if she needed anything. But Minji was warm against his side, and the night had been long, and there would be time tomorrow.
There was always time tomorrow.
"She's watching you a lot," Minji observed quietly. "Your mom."
"She worries."
"Mm." Minji didn't push, but he felt her curiosity through the network. She'd noticed the strange tension between mother and son, even if she didn't understand it.
Nisha appeared from the crowd, looking tired but content. "There you are. I was starting to think Minji had kidnapped you permanently."
"She tried." Sarnav pulled Nisha into a one-armed embrace. "How are the wounded?"
"Stable. Sana worked miracles, as always. She's finally sleeping." Nisha leaned into him, her presence warm and familiar. "We should all sleep. Tomorrow there will be questions. The government will want answers. The Ascendancy remnants might retaliate. And that thing the Herald mentioned..."
"The sealed entity."
"Whatever it is, we need to be ready." Nisha looked up at him, her nature magic humming softly beneath her skin. "But tonight, we rest. We earned this."
She was right. Tomorrow would bring new challenges, new threats, new complications. The government. The Ascendancy's revenge. The mysterious entity straining against its seal. And his mother, standing across the plaza with something unspoken in her eyes.
But tonight, he had his wives. He had his home. He had a future worth fighting for.
And he had a very satisfied gamer girl hanging on his arm, already planning round three.
"Come on, Oppa," Minji tugged at him. "I have a save point we need to reload."
"That doesn't even make sense."
"It will when we get back to the room."
Nisha laughed softly and waved them off. "Go. I'll make sure everyone knows not to disturb you."
As they walked back toward the residential wing, Sarnav glanced one more time at his mother. She had turned away, was speaking with another council member, seemingly focused on whatever administrative crisis had emerged.
But just before he looked away, he saw her hand press briefly against her chest. A small gesture, almost unconscious.
The gesture of someone whose heart hurt in ways they couldn't explain.
[DAY 74]
[WIFE COUNT: 7/32]
[ESSENCE: 759,100 / 1,000,000]
[HP: 12,847]
[VICTORY: CELEBRATED]
[MINJI: SATISFIED (FOR NOW)]
[HARMONY SAFE ZONE STATUS][POPULATION: 920][FULL TOWNSHIP INFRASTRUCTURE: OPERATIONAL]
[NEXT: RECOVERY]