Day 101 Post-Impact
Jiyeon had choreographed everything.
The main hall had been cleaned and arranged with careful attention to Japanese sensibilities. Minimal decoration. Clean lines. A low table for tea that Sana had prepared with traditional precision. Even the wives' positions had been planned, each woman placed to project specific impressions.
"Remember," Jiyeon said during the final briefing, "the Japanese delegation expects formality. Let me handle the initial introductions. Sarnav, you're the leader but approachable. Jade, try not to insult anyone for at least the first hour."
"No promises," Jade muttered.
Sarnav adjusted the collar of his formal shirt. Jiyeon had insisted on proper attire, and he'd learned not to argue with her about presentation. Through the bond, he felt his wives' various states: Nisha's calm support, Ishani's restless energy, Minji's barely contained excitement about meeting "the Ice Princess."
[INCOMING: TANAKA YUKI]
[COMPATIBILITY: 89%]
[RECOMMENDATION: FAVORABLE IMPRESSION ADVISED]
The system notes that first impressions are statistically significant for long-term relationship outcomes. Try not to be awkward.
He ignored the system's commentary and focused on the task at hand.
The helicopter appeared over the treeline at exactly 0900.
Japanese precision, Sarnav thought as he watched it descend toward the cleared landing area. The aircraft bore official government markings, a reminder that this wasn't just a researcher visiting. This was a diplomatic mission.
Three suited officials emerged first, their movements crisp and professional. Government handlers, clearly. They scanned the compound with assessing eyes, cataloging defenses, noting the armed guards, evaluating threat levels.
Then she stepped out.
Tanaka Yuki was smaller than he'd expected. At five foot three, she barely reached his shoulder, and her slight frame made her look younger than twenty-one. Large glasses framed an intelligent face, and she clutched a tablet to her chest like a shield. Her dark hair was pulled back in a practical ponytail, and she wore a simple white blouse and dark skirt that somehow made her look more like a nervous graduate student than one of the world's foremost researchers on dimensional anomalies.
But her power signature told a different story.
Ice radiated from her in subtle waves, visible only to those with the senses to perceive it. Frost crept along the helicopter's door frame where her hand had rested. The air around her was noticeably cooler. She was leaking energy, Sarnav realized. Nervous enough that her control had slipped.
Their eyes met.
She froze, and for a moment the temperature dropped another few degrees. Whatever she'd expected, he apparently wasn't it. Her gaze flickered to the wives flanking him, confusion evident. Then back to him, reassessing.
He smiled, keeping it warm and unthreatening. She blinked, some of the tension leaving her shoulders.
"Welcome to Harmony," he said, stepping forward. "I'm Sarnav Kish."
"I... yes. I know." She bowed, deeply, formally, holding the position longer than necessary. When she straightened, her cheeks were flushed. "I am Tanaka Yuki. Thank you for... for receiving me. Us. The delegation."
Her English was excellent but stilted, academic precision fighting against obvious nerves.
Jiyeon glided forward, rescuing the moment with practiced grace. "Tanaka-san, we're honored by your visit. Please, let us show you inside. Your journey must have been exhausting."
The Korean woman's diplomatic training was evident as she smoothly guided the delegation toward the main hall, her Japanese formal but warm. The government officials relaxed slightly, recognizing competent handling.
Yuki fell into step beside Sarnav, still clutching her tablet. Up close, he could see the dark circles under her eyes, poorly concealed. She'd been sleeping as badly as he had.
"Your compound is impressive," she said quietly. "The energy readings are... unusual. Stable in ways I didn't expect."
"We've worked hard to make it secure."
"Yes. I can see that." She glanced at the wives walking ahead, then back at him. "The reports mentioned your... unique situation. Multiple bonded partners. I admit I found it difficult to believe."
"And now?"
"Now I find it fascinating." No judgment in her voice. Pure scientific curiosity. "The power dynamics alone would be worth studying. The way they move together, react to each other... there's clearly some form of connection beyond the physical."
She's observant. The system approves of intelligence in potential candidates.
"Perhaps we can discuss it," Sarnav said carefully. "After you've had a chance to rest."
"I didn't come here to rest, Sarnav-san." For the first time, steel entered her voice. "I came here to work."
The formal introductions in the main hall were brief and efficient.
Mythili represented civilian leadership, her courtroom composure lending gravity to the proceedings. The Japanese officials presented credentials, expressed gratitude for hospitality, outlined the framework of potential cooperation. Diplomatic boilerplate, necessary but tedious.
Yuki sat quietly through it all, her attention clearly elsewhere. Her fingers twitched toward her tablet repeatedly, restrained only by social obligation.
When the formalities concluded and the delegation was escorted to their quarters, she practically vibrated with impatience.
"Now," she said the moment the officials were gone, "can we discuss the actual reason I'm here?"
Jade made a sound that might have been approval. "Finally. Someone who doesn't waste time on pleasantries."
They relocated to a smaller strategy room. Sarnav, Yuki, Jade, Serena, and Jiyeon. The others had duties elsewhere, though he felt them monitoring through the bond.
Yuki transformed the moment research became the topic.
The nervous girl vanished, replaced by a confident expert. She connected her tablet to Jade's systems, pulling up holographic displays with practiced efficiency. Data streams, energy readings, dimensional mapping. Her voice steadied, her posture straightened, her eyes blazed with intellectual fire.
"I've studied four sealed entities across Asia," she began, manipulating the display to show geographic markers. "Ours in Japan, yours here in Malaysia, one in western China, one in northern India. Different containment methods, different energy signatures, but they share fundamental characteristics."
She zoomed in on comparative data. "They're all degrading. Yours is fastest, but they're all following the same pattern. And they're all exhibiting what I call transformation behavior."
"The Voice mentioned that," Sarnav said. "Before he died. He said the entity was becoming something new."
Yuki nodded sharply. "The cult leaders have fragments of real knowledge, twisted through religious interpretation. The entities aren't static prisoners. They're... evolving. Adapting to their confinement. Learning how to escape."
"Learning?" Jade leaned forward, interested despite herself. "You're suggesting sentience?"
"Beyond sentience. Intelligence. Strategic thinking." Yuki pulled up another display. "Look at the degradation patterns. They're not random erosion. They're targeted. The entities are testing their seals, finding weaknesses, applying pressure at specific points. It's coordinated."
"Coordinated across four different locations?" Serena's voice was troubled. "That would require communication between them."
"Yes." Yuki met their eyes, her expression grim. "That's exactly what I'm suggesting. These entities, sealed separately across thousands of kilometers, are somehow communicating. Coordinating. Working together toward a common goal."
The room was silent.
"There's more." Yuki hesitated, then continued. "When I try to model the transformation processes, predict what they're becoming, I hit a wall. The mathematics don't resolve. It's like they're existing in probability states that shouldn't be possible."
Serena straightened. "When I try to read futures involving the seal, I get interference. Static. Like something is blocking my sight."
"Yes, but..." Yuki turned to her with sudden intensity. "When I try to read futures around you, I get clarity instead of static. Your probability manipulation responds to my presence somehow."
"I noticed the same thing." Serena's eyes narrowed. "What does that mean?"
"I don't know yet. But I intend to find out." Yuki's smile was fierce, hungry. The expression of a researcher who'd found a fascinating puzzle. "That's why I came here instead of sending data. I needed to study your seal directly. And apparently, I needed to study you as well."
Jade made another approving sound. "Her data architecture is actually good," she murmured to Sarnav. From Jade, that was extraordinary praise.
The afternoon dissolved into research discussions and data analysis.
Yuki's knowledge was vast and precise, her theories well-supported, her methodology rigorous. She and Jade fell into a technical dialogue that left even Jiyeon struggling to follow. Serena contributed probability modeling, her unique perspective complementing Yuki's dimensional analysis.
By evening, they'd established a preliminary framework for joint research. Yuki would have access to Jade's sensor network. Serena would participate in probability mapping experiments. The seal would be monitored with new protocols Yuki had developed.
But the data revealed something troubling.
"Entity activity has increased since this morning," Jade reported, frowning at her displays. "Specifically, since Yuki arrived."
Yuki paled slightly. "That's... concerning."
"Coincidence?" Jiyeon asked.
"In my experience," Serena said quietly, "there are no coincidences where these entities are concerned."
The implications hung in the air. Something about Yuki's presence had attracted the entity's attention. Whether that was her ice abilities, her research knowledge, or something else entirely remained unclear.
"I should leave," Yuki said suddenly. "If my presence is accelerating the degradation..."
"No." Sarnav's voice was firm. "We need your research. We need your perspective. If the entity is reacting to you, that itself is data. Information we can use."
"But the risk..."
"Is mine to assess." He met her eyes steadily. "Stay. Work with us. Help us understand what we're facing."
Yuki stared at him for a long moment. Whatever she saw in his expression seemed to settle something inside her.
"Alright," she said finally. "I'll stay."
Later, Sarnav found her on the balcony outside the guest quarters.
The sun was setting, painting the sky in oranges and purples. Yuki stood at the railing, her tablet finally set aside, staring at nothing. The ice aura had faded, her control restored now that the social pressure had eased.
"May I join you?"
She startled slightly, then nodded. "Of course. It's your compound."
He leaned against the railing beside her, maintaining respectful distance. "How are you finding the accommodations?"
"Adequate. Better than most places I've stayed since the Impact." A pause. "That's not why you came out here."
"No."
She was quiet for a moment, then spoke without looking at him. "Japan is dying, Sarnav-san. We have the lowest awakened ratio of any developed nation. Our rifts are multiplying faster than we can contain them. In six months, maybe less, we'll be overrun."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry. Help me." Now she turned, and her eyes were fierce behind those glasses. "I've been inside seven rifts. Solo expeditions my government didn't authorize. Everyone told me I'd die. I didn't care. Because if I die without finding answers, my country dies anyway."
He recognized the weight in her voice. The same burden he carried for Harmony. For his wives. For everyone depending on him.
"Why us?" he asked. "You could have gone to the Chinese seal. The Indian one. Why Malaysia?"
"Because you're the only one who might actually be able to stop what's coming." She said it simply, as fact. "The others have stronger seals but weaker guardians. You have the opposite problem. An unstable seal, but an S-rank awakened who's somehow bonded power with ten other people. The mathematics say you're our best chance."
"The mathematics."
"They're rarely wrong." A ghost of a smile crossed her face. "And... there's something else. Something I can't quantify. When I ran the probability models for this visit, they kept returning unusual results. Not interference, like with the seal. The opposite. Clarity. Like this path was somehow... correct."
The system notes that 89% compatibility often manifests as intuitive attraction. Probability manipulation may be related.
"Some things are hard to quantify," Sarnav said.
"Yes." Yuki looked away, her cheeks slightly pink. "I find that frustrating. I prefer variables I can measure."
"Maybe you'll learn to appreciate the unmeasurable ones."
She was quiet for a long moment. Then, softly: "Maybe I will, Sarnav-san."
The wives gathered in Sarnav's quarters for their evening debrief.
"Assessment?" he asked.
"She's genuine," Jiyeon said immediately. "Brilliant, driven, possibly obsessive. But genuine. Her research could be invaluable."
"She looks at you like you're a puzzle," Nisha observed. "Like she wants to take you apart and see how you work."
"Isn't that how all of us looked at him initially?" Ishani smirked. "Before we realized we'd rather have him put us together instead?"
"Her mind is acceptable," Jade said, which from her was practically a marriage proposal. "I want to work with her."
"Acceptable?" Minji laughed. "Jade, you were practically salivating over her data architecture."
"I don't salivate. I appreciate competence."
Elena spoke from her position by the window, quiet as always. "She's not a threat. Physically, I could neutralize her in seconds. But her ice abilities are significant. If she joined us..."
"She's not joined yet," Sarnav reminded them.
"But she will." Serena's voice was certain. "My probability sense agrees with hers. Some paths feel... inevitable. This is one of them."
Through the bond, he felt their collective assessment. Interest. Curiosity. For some, the competitive edge of evaluating a potential new sister-wife. For others, genuine enthusiasm about what she could contribute.
[TANAKA YUKI: INTEGRATION POTENTIAL - HIGH]
[SEAL INTEGRITY: 93.1%]
[ENTITY ACTIVITY: ELEVATED SINCE ARRIVAL]
[CORRELATION UNDER ANALYSIS]
The entity had reacted to her presence. Whether that was a warning or an opportunity remained to be seen.
But as Sarnav settled into bed that night, his wives arranging themselves around him in their familiar configuration, he couldn't shake the feeling that Tanaka Yuki's arrival had changed something fundamental.
Some paths felt inevitable.
He was beginning to understand what that meant.
[DAY 101]
[SARNAV: S-RANK (HARMONY SOVEREIGN - FIRST STAGE)][PROGRESS TO SECOND STAGE: 9%]
[WIFE CULTIVATION STATUS][1. NISHA - D+ | 2. ISHANI - D+ | 3. ANANYA - D+][4. MINJI - D | 5. JADE - C | 6. SANA - C][7. JIYEON - C | 8. SERENA - C+ | 9. ZARA - C][10. ELENA - S]
[HARMONY SAFE ZONE: 1,302 SURVIVORS | 3 SECTORS]
[SEAL INTEGRITY: 93.1% (ACCELERATING)]
[ENTITY ACTIVITY: ELEVATED - RESPONDING TO YUKI'S ARRIVAL]
[NEW ARRIVAL: TANAKA YUKI - "ICE PRINCESS OF TOKYO"]
[WIVES BONDED: 10/32]