Day 49 Post-Impact - Evening
The garden behind the medical wing had become Sana's refuge.
She sat on a bench beneath a tree that shouldn't have been blooming, its branches heavy with white flowers that Nisha's magic kept alive. The evening air was cool, carrying scents of growing things and distant cooking fires. Normal smells. Human smells.
She'd spent most of the day processing.
The harem. The system. The bonds that connected Sarnav to five women, soon to be more. It should have horrified her. Back in Japan, before the impact, the idea of sharing a man would have been unthinkable. Shameful. Wrong.
But the world that had held those rules was gone. Burned away in cosmic fire and rebuilt into something stranger.
And honestly? After sixteen days of believing she would die, after watching people suffer and struggle and cling to hope despite everything, conventional morality felt... small.
"Mind if I join you?"
Sana looked up. Nisha stood at the garden's entrance, two cups of tea in her hands.
"Please."
Nisha settled beside her, offering one of the cups. The tea was warm, fragrant with herbs Sana didn't recognize. She sipped it gratefully.
"You've been quiet today," Nisha observed. "The others are worried they overwhelmed you."
"They didn't. Well, Minji did a little." Sana smiled slightly. "She's very... energetic."
"That's one word for it." Nisha's laugh was soft. "She means well. They all do. We've just never had someone new join under these circumstances before."
"How did it usually happen?"
Nisha considered the question. "Different for each of us. I was first. Sarnav and I grew up together, childhood friends who became something more after the impact. There was no harem then, just us trying to survive."
"That must have been easier."
"In some ways. In others, it was terrifying." Nisha stared into her tea. "Learning that the man I loved needed multiple partners to grow stronger. That I would have to share him, not once but many times. That the system had chosen him for something that would change both of us forever."
"How did you accept it?"
"I almost didn't." The admission was quiet, honest. "I cried. I raged. I told him I hated him, even though I didn't. I thought about leaving, finding somewhere else to survive."
"What changed your mind?"
Nisha looked at her, brown eyes warm. "I watched him struggle with it too. He didn't want a harem, not really. He wanted normal. Wanted me. But the system doesn't care what we want. It offers power in exchange for what it demands, and in this world, power is survival."
Sana absorbed this. The partial bond in her mind pulsed gently, as if responding to the conversation.
"He could have forced the issue," Nisha continued. "Some men would have. Taken what the system offered without caring about the cost to others. But Sarnav... he agonized over every choice. Made sure each of us genuinely wanted this. Made sure we understood what we were agreeing to."
"Even when he bonded with me unconscious?"
Nisha's expression flickered with something complicated. "That was different. You were dying. There was no time for consent, no alternative that didn't end with you dead. He knew you might hate him for it afterward. He did it anyway, because saving your life mattered more than protecting himself from your anger."
"I don't hate him."
"I know. I think he knows too, even if he doesn't quite believe it yet." Nisha reached over, squeezing Sana's hand. "The point is, this isn't what it might look like from outside. It's not about possession or control. It's about connection. About building something together."
"A family."
"Exactly." Nisha smiled. "A strange one. Unconventional. Sometimes complicated. But real."
Sana looked at the blooming tree, the flowers swaying in the evening breeze. She thought about the sixteen days in the rift. The people she'd kept alive. The way she'd pushed herself past every limit because giving up meant watching them die.
"I understand that," she said quietly. "Building something. Giving everything for people who matter."
"I know you do. That's why you fit."
The next few hours were a study in contrasts.
Ishani found her after dinner, dragging her to the training grounds for what she called "a light workout." It turned out to involve running, stretching, and basic combat stances that left Sana gasping for breath.
"You need to build your physical base," Ishani explained, not even winded despite doing twice the exercises. "Healing magic is great, but if you can't run away from danger, all the power in the world won't save you."
"I'm a healer, not a fighter."
"In this world, everyone's a fighter. Some of us just prefer different weapons." Ishani's grin was fierce. "Besides, exercise releases tension. And you've got plenty of that."
She wasn't wrong. The physical exertion did help, burning away some of the nervous energy that had been building since Sana woke up.
"How did you end up here?" Sana asked between sets of stretches. "With Sarnav, I mean."
Ishani's expression softened unexpectedly. "He rescued me. My group was under attack, outnumbered, outgunned. I'd been fighting for hours, running on empty. I thought I was going to die." She paused mid-stretch. "Then he showed up. Tore through the attackers like they were nothing. Saved nineteen people who would have been slaughtered."
"That sounds familiar."
"It's kind of his thing." Ishani laughed. "Saving people. Being stupidly heroic. Making you fall for him before you even realize it's happening."
From the edge of the training grounds, Sana noticed a woman watching them. Tall, elegant, with features that reminded her strongly of Sarnav. His mother, she realized. Mythili. The woman who ran Harmony's civilian operations.
Their eyes met briefly. Mythili's expression was unreadable, something complicated passing behind her gaze before she turned and walked away toward the western expansion site, where construction crews were raising new housing blocks.
"Don't mind her," Ishani said, following Sana's glance. "Mythili's protective. Takes some getting used to, watching her son collect wives."
"That must be strange for her."
"Strange for all of us, in different ways." Ishani shrugged. "But she keeps the civilian side running like clockwork. Western expansion's at forty-five percent now, housing for another two hundred nearly ready. Mostly because of her coordination."
Sana felt her cheeks warm. "I haven't..."
"Sure you haven't." Ishani's knowing look said otherwise. "But it's okay. We all went through it. The denial, the confusion, the 'but this isn't how relationships work' phase. Then you accept it, and it's actually pretty great."
"How is it great? Sharing him with four other women?"
"Five now, counting you." Ishani finished her stretch and moved into a fighting stance. "And it's great because we're not competing. We're cooperating. Each of us brings something different. Nisha brings stability. I bring fire. Minji brings fun. Jade brings brains. Ananya brings heart. Together, we're stronger than any of us alone."
"And Sarnav?"
"He brings purpose. Direction." Ishani threw a few practice punches at the air. "And really, really good sex. But that's a conversation for later."
By the end of the session, Sana was exhausted but clearer. Her muscles ached in ways they hadn't since idol training, and somehow that familiar burn was comforting.
On her way back from the training grounds, she passed the construction zone. The western expansion was visibly progressing—wooden frames rising where empty lots had been, work crews directing earth manipulators to level foundations. A woman with a datapad stood at the center of the activity, coordinating with quiet efficiency.
"That's Mythili," Ishani said, following her gaze. "Sarnav's mother. She runs civilian operations."
"His mother lives here?"
"She was one of the first survivors we rescued. Now she basically keeps the whole place functioning while we handle the fighting." Ishani's tone was respectful. "Fair warning—she's protective. Watches all of us like a hawk, especially new additions."
Sana filed that away. Meeting the mother. That felt significant somehow.
Jade approached her differently. The pale hacker found Sana in the common area, dropped a tablet in her lap, and said, "Read this. It's everything we know about the system's mechanics. Ask questions if you have them."
The document was dense, technical, and occasionally disturbing. Essence calculations. Bond multipliers. The way intimate connection translated into literal power. The daily caps, the overflow mechanics, the difference between partial and full bonds. Sana read it twice, trying to understand the math behind the magic.
"This is... clinical," she said when Jade returned.
"The system is clinical. It doesn't care about romance or love or any of the emotional stuff. It measures connection, converts it to numbers, and outputs power." Jade settled into a chair across from her, legs folded beneath her. "Understanding the mechanics helps you work with them instead of against them."
"But the emotions are real. Nisha said so."
"The emotions are real for us. For Sarnav. The system just... uses them." Jade's expression softened slightly. "Don't mistake the measurement for the thing being measured. We love him because we love him, not because the system says we should."
"And the partial bond?" Sana touched her temple, where the warmth of the connection seemed to pulse. "What does it actually do?"
"Energy transfer, primarily. Emotional awareness, though dampened compared to a full bond. Basic location sense within a few kilometers." Jade pulled up something on her own tablet. "Your readings show the bond is stable but incomplete. Like a door that's open but not locked."
"Can he feel what I feel?"
"To some extent. Less than with us, more than with a stranger." Jade met her eyes. "If you're worried about privacy, a partial bond doesn't transmit thoughts. Just emotions, and only the strong ones."
That was both reassuring and terrifying. Sana thought about the feelings that had been building since she woke up. The gratitude. The attraction. The growing warmth whenever Sarnav was mentioned.
If he could sense those...
"He's not reading you," Jade said, apparently guessing her concern. "He's too busy feeling guilty about bonding without consent to pay attention to what the bond is actually telling him."
"That sounds like him."
"It really does." Something almost like a smile crossed Jade's face. "He's frustratingly noble sometimes. Makes you want to shake him until he accepts that good things can happen to good people."
Minji's approach was simpler. She dragged Sana to what she called the "gaming corner," a section of the common area where salvaged electronics had been rigged into a functional entertainment center.
"Okay, so the world ended, but that doesn't mean we can't have fun," Minji declared, shoving a controller into Sana's hands. "What games did you play before?"
"I... I was an idol trainee. We didn't have much free time."
Minji's eyes widened. "An idol? Like, singing and dancing idol? That's so cool! I mean, I'm more of a gaming streamer myself, but I respect the hustle. The training must have been intense."
"It was." Sana looked at the controller, memories surfacing. "I came to Malaysia for a collaboration event. Three days before the impact. My agency had arranged showcases in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore."
"And then the asteroid."
"And then the asteroid." Sana's grip tightened on the controller. "I was at the venue when it hit. The building collapsed. I awakened in the rubble, my power the only thing keeping me alive."
Minji was quiet for a moment. Then she leaned over and hugged Sana, sudden and fierce.
"That sucks," she said simply. "Like, massively sucks. But you're here now. You survived. And we're going to make sure you don't have to survive alone anymore."
The hug lasted longer than Sana expected. When Minji finally pulled back, her eyes were suspiciously bright.
"Anyway," Minji said, clearing her throat, "let me teach you how to play. It's a good way to forget about all the terrible stuff for a while."
For the first time since the rescue, Sana laughed.
Day 50 Post-Impact - Morning
Ananya brought her breakfast.
The young dancer was quieter than the others, her presence gentle rather than overwhelming. She set the tray down, arranged the food carefully, and sat across from Sana with her own meal.
"The others can be a lot," Ananya said. "I wanted to make sure you had some peace."
"Thank you." Sana picked at the food, her appetite still recovering. "You're a dancer?"
"Bharatanatyam, traditional Indian classical. Though I also loved K-pop before..." She gestured vaguely at the world outside. "You know."
"K-pop?" Sana felt something lighten in her chest. "I trained with several K-pop agencies before focusing on J-pop. The styles are different but the discipline is similar."
Ananya's face lit up. "Really? I always wanted to learn proper idol choreography. The precision, the synchronization... it's like a different kind of art."
They talked for over an hour. Dance styles, training regimens, the dreams they'd had before the world ended. Ananya had been preparing for a major performance, her biggest opportunity yet. Sana had been on the verge of her solo debut, years of training finally paying off.
Both dreams had died with the old world.
But somehow, sharing that loss made it easier to bear.
Sarnav found her that afternoon.
Sana was back in the garden, practicing basic healing exercises that Nisha had taught her. Small things. Encouraging a flower to bloom. Mending a torn leaf. Her power was still recovering, but the exercises helped.
"May I?" he asked, gesturing to the bench.
She nodded, making room.
He sat beside her, close enough to feel but not touching. Through the partial bond, she sensed his presence more clearly than before. His exhaustion, still lingering from the backlash. His grief for the fallen. His uncertainty about how to proceed.
"The others have been welcoming," she said.
"They like you." He was looking at the garden rather than her. "Nisha especially. She says you understand things in a way most people don't."
"I understand sacrifice. Giving everything for others." Sana turned a flower between her fingers. "I spent sixteen days doing nothing else."
"That's not nothing. That's everything."
"It didn't feel heroic. It felt desperate. Terrifying." She finally looked at him. "Every morning, I woke up wondering if today was the day I couldn't save them. If my power would run out, and I'd have to watch them die one by one."
"But you kept going."
"What else could I do? Stop?" She shook her head. "I thought about it. Hoarding my energy, saving myself. But then I'd look at their faces, and I knew I couldn't. Even if it killed me, I had to try."
Sarnav was quiet for a moment. Then, softly: "That's why you fit."
"Everyone keeps saying that."
"Because it's true." He turned to face her fully. "This world breaks people. Makes them selfish, cruel, willing to sacrifice others for their own survival. The ones who don't break, who keep fighting for something bigger than themselves... they're rare."
"You're one of them."
"I try to be." His smile was tired. "Some days it's harder than others."
The partial bond pulsed between them. Sana felt his sincerity, his exhaustion, his hope. And beneath it all, something else. Something warmer. Something that made her heart beat faster.
"Nisha told me about the system," she said. "About how the bonds work. What they require."
"She told you everything?"
"Jade gave me the technical documents. Minji explained the emotional parts. Ishani demonstrated the physical commitment." Sana smiled slightly. "And Ananya just... talked to me. Made me feel less alone."
"They're good at that." He hesitated. "And what do you think? Now that you know?"
Sana considered the question carefully. She thought about the bond in her mind, the warmth that pulsed whenever he was near. She thought about the five women who had welcomed her without reservation. She thought about the life she'd lost and the life that might be waiting.
"I think," she said slowly, "that I want to understand more. Not from documents or explanations. From experience."
His breath caught. "Sana..."
"I'm not saying now. I'm not ready for..." She felt heat rise to her cheeks. "For everything. But I don't want to dissolve the bond. I want to see where it leads."
Through the partial connection, she felt his relief. His hope. His carefully restrained desire.
"Then we take it slow," he said. "No pressure. No expectations. Just... getting to know each other."
"I'd like that."
She reached out, took his hand. His fingers intertwined with hers, warm and strong. The bond pulsed at the contact, and she felt his heartbeat accelerate slightly.
"Can I ask you something?" she said.
"Anything."
"When you came into the rift... when you found me dying..." She swallowed. "What did you feel? Through the bond, when it formed?"
He was quiet for a long moment. When he spoke, his voice was rough. "I felt your light. That's the only way I can describe it. Even unconscious, even dying, there was this... warmth. This goodness. Like standing in sunlight after a week of rain."
Sana's heart stuttered.
"I knew you were special before the system told me anything," he continued. "Not because of compatibility ratings or bond potential. Because you spent sixteen days giving everything you had to keep strangers alive. Because even at the end, when you had nothing left, you used your last strength to protect someone."
"I wasn't trying to be heroic."
"That's what makes it heroic." He squeezed her hand. "You didn't think about it. Didn't calculate the odds. You just saw someone in danger and acted. That's who you are, Sana. That's why you fit."
She felt tears prick her eyes. Blinked them back.
"I was scared," she admitted. "Every moment in that rift. Terrified that I'd fail them. That they'd die because I wasn't strong enough."
"But you didn't fail."
"Because you came." She looked at him, really looked, seeing the man behind the power for the first time. The exhaustion he tried to hide. The grief he carried. The hope he refused to abandon. "You came when I'd given up on being rescued. When I thought we'd all die forgotten in that nightmare place."
"I would have come sooner if I'd known you were there."
"You didn't know. You came anyway. For strangers. For people you'd never met."
"That's what Harmony is supposed to be." His thumb traced circles on the back of her hand, almost unconsciously. "A place where people matter. Where we don't leave anyone behind."
The sun was setting now, painting the garden in shades of gold and rose. The white flowers on the tree caught the light, glowing like small stars.
Sana leaned closer. He leaned in too, pulled by something neither of them had named.
Their faces were inches apart. She could feel his breath, warm against her lips. Through the bond, she sensed his desire, his restraint, his desperate hope that he wasn't misreading the moment.
"Sarnav..." she whispered.
The garden door opened.
"There you are!" Minji's voice shattered the moment. "Dinner's ready and Nisha made something special for Sana and... oh." She froze, taking in their closeness. "Oh. Am I interrupting something?"
They pulled apart, both flushed.
"No," Sarnav said, his voice slightly strained. "Just talking."
"Uh-huh. Just talking. Right." Minji's grin was entirely too knowing. "Well, whenever you're done 'just talking,' food's getting cold."
She disappeared back inside with a poorly suppressed giggle.
Sana pressed her hand to her burning cheek. "That was..."
"Minji," Sarnav finished. "She has terrible timing. It's practically a superpower."
Despite everything, Sana laughed. The tension broke, replaced by something warmer. Something easier.
"We should go eat," she said.
"Probably." He stood, offering his hand to help her up. "But Sana? This conversation isn't over."
She took his hand. "I hope not."
They walked together toward the common area, fingers intertwined.
And Sana felt, for the first time since the impact, like she might actually have a future worth living.
[DAY 50 - EVENING]
[PARTIAL BOND: STRENGTHENING]
[SANA INTEGRATION: PROGRESSING]
[HARMONY SAFE ZONE STATUS][POPULATION: 565][WESTERN EXPANSION: 45% COMPLETE][MEDICAL WING: FULLY OPERATIONAL]
[WIFE CULTIVATION STATUS][NISHA: D+ (82% TO C-RANK)][ISHANI: D+ (76% TO C-RANK)][ANANYA: D (61% TO D+)][MINJI: D (58% TO D+)][JADE: D+ (44% TO C-RANK)]