Day 33 Post-Impact - Dawn
They buried their dead at sunrise.
Two hundred and eighty-nine graves, dug into the earth outside the compound walls. There wasn't time for proper ceremonies. There wasn't energy for speeches. Just silent grief as bodies were lowered into the ground, one after another.
Sarnav stood at the edge of the field, watching his people mourn.
Through the network, he felt his wives' emotions. Nisha's exhaustion, her power drained to nothing from maintaining the barrier. Ishani's simmering rage, matching his own. Minji's shock, the gamer finally confronting death at scale. Jade's clinical detachment, hiding deeper pain. Ananya's quiet tears, her body trembling as she stood with the other dancers who'd survived.
Three hundred and twenty-three left. Half of what they'd been.
Families had been torn apart. Children had lost parents. Friends had watched friends die. The compound that had felt like safety now reeked of smoke and blood.
"This is my fault."
Nisha's voice came through the network, weak but clear.
No, he sent back.
I should have held longer. Should have been stronger. If I'd—
You saved three hundred lives. Without your barrier, there would be no one left.
It wasn't enough.
It was everything. He found her in the crowd, pale and hollow-eyed, leaning on Ananya for support. You are not to blame. Kane is. The Wolves are. And they're going to pay.
She didn't respond, but he felt her grief slowly crystallize into something harder.
Good. They'd all need that hardness for what came next.
The council met in the ruins of the main building.
Half the room was missing, collapsed during the assault. They gathered in what remained, standing among debris and dried blood.
"Assessment," Sarnav said.
Chen Wei, bandaged and bruised but alive, delivered the report. "Three hundred twenty-three survivors. Sixty-two awakened, down from seventy-nine. Most of the dead were non-combatants who couldn't reach the barrier in time."
"Supplies?"
"Food stores are intact. Water system is damaged but functional. Medical supplies are critical. We used most of them treating the wounded."
"The Iron Wolves?"
Jade stepped forward, tablet in hand. "Based on the force they sent, Kane committed roughly one-third of his strength. He still has two hundred plus fighters, around thirty awakened, including himself."
"His rank?"
"C-class. Strong, but not exceptional." She pulled up more data. "The problem isn't Kane personally. It's the numbers. Even weakened, he outnumbers us three to one."
"Can we recruit? Replace our losses?"
"The other raider groups have gone to ground. The Eastside Runners who joined us lost forty people in the attack. They're not in a position to help." Jade shook her head. "We're on our own."
Silence fell over the council.
Dr. Lim spoke first. "Perhaps we should negotiate. Offer terms. Kane wanted the Bangsar refugees. If we—"
"No."
Sarnav's voice cut through the room like a blade.
"We don't negotiate with people who murdered our families. We don't surrender our people to animals. We don't bow." He looked around at the survivors. "Kane thinks he's won. He thinks this attack broke us. He's wrong."
"What do you propose?" Encik Rahman asked quietly.
"We hit back. Hard. Before he can consolidate, before he realizes we're not finished." Sarnav's hands clenched. "I go into the Wolf compound and I kill Viktor Kane. Cut off the head, and the body dies."
"That's suicide," Chen Wei protested. "Even for a B-rank, fighting two hundred hostiles—"
"I'm not going to fight two hundred hostiles. I'm going to fight one. Kane." Sarnav met their eyes. "You've seen what I can do. An assassination isn't beyond me."
"And if it fails?"
"Then I die, and you retreat. Find somewhere else. Start over." He didn't flinch. "But I won't fail. Not this time."
The council exchanged uncertain looks.
"There's another option," Jade said slowly. "The Dimensional Core from the dungeon. You said it could trigger a breakthrough."
"It might."
"If you reach A-rank before facing Kane, the odds improve significantly." She hesitated. "But the breakthrough process could take hours. Days, even. Time we might not have."
"How long before Kane moves against us again?"
"Unknown. But he won't wait forever. He knows we're vulnerable."
Sarnav weighed the options. Strike now while Kane wasn't expecting it, or risk waiting for more power.
"How depleted is he? Really?"
"The assault force was his best. His C-rank lieutenant is dead. His coordination is disrupted." Jade considered. "If I had to guess, he needs at least three days to reorganize. Maybe more."
"Then I take two days to breakthrough. On the third day, Kane dies."
Day 33 Post-Impact - Evening
The compound slowly stabilized.
Survivors found housing in the remaining buildings. Medical teams worked around the clock. Guards watched the perimeter, exhausted but vigilant.
Sarnav delegated what he could, but his mind was already on the breakthrough ahead. The Dimensional Core sat in his pocket like a promise, its energy pulsing against his awareness.
He found Ananya in the garden.
Nisha's domain, normally. But Nisha was unconscious, her body demanding rest after the barrier effort. Ananya had taken over, using her rhythm magic to help the plants recover from the chaos.
She didn't look up when he approached.
"I thought I was going to die," she said quietly. "When the barrier flickered. When the Wolves broke through the walls. I thought this was it."
"But you survived."
"Because Nisha almost killed herself protecting us. Because you came back." She finally met his eyes, and tears streamed down her face. "I'm not strong, Sarnav. I can't fight like Ishani or analyze like Jade or create barriers like Nisha. I just... dance. And dancing doesn't stop people from dying."
He sat beside her, pulling her close.
"Do you know what I saw when I reached the compound? When I saw Nisha's barrier holding against everything Kane threw at it?"
She shook her head.
"I saw hope. A green light in the darkness, telling me my people were still alive." He tilted her chin up. "And do you know what kept Nisha going through all those hours? What gave her the strength to hold when she should have collapsed?"
"What?"
"You. Ananya, you and the other support teams, feeding her energy, keeping her focused, reminding her what she was protecting." He wiped her tears. "Strength isn't just combat. It's being there for the people who fight. It's giving them something to fight for."
"I feel so useless."
"You're not. You never have been." He kissed her forehead. "And I need you now. Not for fighting. For something else."
"What?"
"Tomorrow I attempt a breakthrough. It could be dangerous. It could..." He didn't finish the sentence. "If it goes wrong, I want tonight to matter. I want to be with you, really with you, before I risk everything."
She searched his face. "You're scared."
"Terrified."
"You don't show it."
"Leaders can't afford to show it." He managed a weak smile. "But with you, with all of you, I can be honest."
She kissed him.
Soft at first, tentative, then deeper as her emotions broke through her fear.
"Then let me help you," she whispered. "Let me show you that you're not alone. That no matter what happens tomorrow, tonight you're loved."
Her room was small but private.
Ananya led him by the hand, closing the door behind them, shutting out the world and its horrors.
"I want to dance for you," she said. "The way I used to dream about. Before the impact. Before everything."
"Ananya, you don't have to—"
"I want to." She stepped back, creating space. "This is what I have. Let me give it to you."
She began to move.
Not the formal movements of Bharatanatyam, though those were present in her foundation. This was something more personal. Modern, fluid, a fusion of everything she'd learned and everything she felt.
Her body told a story. Pain and loss, fear and grief. But beneath it, hope. Love. The belief that tomorrow could be better, if they survived to see it.
Her clothes came off as she danced, piece by piece, the removal integrated into the performance. Not stripping. Art. Each revealed inch of skin another verse in her silent poem.
When she finished, naked and breathing hard, tears mixed with sweat on her face, Sarnav realized he'd stopped breathing.
"That was beautiful," he managed.
"That was me." She crossed to him. "All of me. Everything I am."
He pulled her down onto the bed.
They made love slowly.
No urgency, no desperation. Just two people finding comfort in each other while the world burned outside.
Ananya moved above him, her dancer's body rolling in waves that made him grip her hips and groan. She was expressive in everything, even this, her face showing every sensation, her voice letting him know exactly how he made her feel.
"Sarnav... there... yes, right there..."
He watched her, memorizing every detail. The way her breasts swayed with her movements. The curve of her waist as she arched. The look of pure pleasure that crossed her face when he hit the right spot.
"You're beautiful," he said.
"You make me feel beautiful." She leaned down, kissing him while maintaining her rhythm. "You make me feel like I matter."
"You do matter. More than you know."
He rolled them over, taking control. She wrapped her legs around him, pulling him deeper, her nails digging into his back.
"More. I need more."
He gave her more.
He thrust deeper, harder, using his enhanced strength to drive into her with force that made her cry out. She responded with equal passion, her body meeting his every movement, her voice filling the small room.
"Yes! Don't stop! Please don't stop!"
Through the network, the other wives felt echoes of what they shared. Ishani's distant approval. Minji's sleepy amusement. Jade's reluctant interest. Even Nisha, unconscious, stirred slightly at the emotional resonance.
Ananya came first, her whole body shuddering, her voice breaking on his name. He followed moments later, burying himself deep, filling her with everything he had.
They lay tangled together afterward, catching their breath.
"I love you," she said. "I know I'm not the first. I know I'm not the most important. But I love you."
"You're not less important. Just different." He held her close. "And I love you too."
"Then survive tomorrow. Whatever it takes." She pressed her face against his chest. "Come back to us."
"I will."
He hoped it wasn't a lie.
Day 34 Post-Impact - Morning
The breakthrough chamber was ready.
They'd cleared a basement room, reinforced the walls, set up monitoring equipment. Jade would observe from outside, tracking his vitals through the network. The other wives would feed him energy if needed.
Sarnav sat cross-legged in the center of the room, the Dimensional Core in his hands.
"Final chance to back out," Jade's voice came through the intercom.
"No."
"Then good luck. Idiot."
He almost smiled.
Through the network, he felt his wives. Their fear, their love, their absolute faith in him.
We're here, Nisha sent, recovered enough to participate. Whatever happens, we're here.
Don't die, oppa, Minji added. I haven't shown you half my cosplay collection.
Come back to us, Ananya whispered.
Survive, Ishani commanded. That's an order.
The data suggests a 73% survival rate, Jade offered. Those are acceptable odds.
He closed his eyes and absorbed the Dimensional Core.
The energy hit him like a tidal wave.
Not cultivation essence. Something deeper, wilder, the raw stuff of dimensions colliding. It flooded his pathways, merging with the dimensional energy already in his system, pushing his adaptation from 41% toward completion.
Pain. Unimaginable pain. Every cell in his body screaming as it was rewritten.
Through the network, his wives screamed with him.
[DIMENSIONAL CORE ABSORBED]
[ADAPTATION ACCELERATING]
[41% → 58% → 72% → 89%...]
[WARNING: BREAKTHROUGH THRESHOLD APPROACHING]
[CURRENT ESSENCE: 433,500 + 85,000 (CORE) = 518,500]
[BREAKTHROUGH REQUIREMENTS MET]
[INITIATING SOUL TRANSFORMATION]
The pain intensified. Reality bent around him. For a moment, he existed in two places at once, his soul stretching between dimensions.
He saw things. Impossible things. The framework of reality itself, the boundaries between worlds, the vast emptiness between dimensions where things older than humanity slumbered.
Something noticed him.
Something vast and curious, reaching toward his fragmented consciousness—
The network pulled him back.
Five anchors. Five women who loved him, their combined will dragging his soul back into his body, forcing the breakthrough to complete.
[SOUL TRANSFORMATION: COMPLETE]
[NEW RANK: A-CLASS]
[DIMENSIONAL ADAPTATION: 100%]
[NEW ABILITIES UNLOCKED:]
[- USE 5 WIFE ABILITIES SIMULTANEOUSLY]
[- DIMENSIONAL SIGHT: PERCEIVE WEAKNESSES IN REALITY]
[- ENHANCED FLIGHT: SUPERSONIC CAPABILITY]
[- SOUL PROJECTION: FULL ASTRAL FORM]
[BLOODLINE REBIRTH: NOW AVAILABLE (COST: 100,000 HP)]
[TOTAL ESSENCE: 18,500 / 1,000,000 TO TRIBULATION]
Sarnav opened his eyes.
The room looked different. Sharper. He could see energy flows he'd never noticed before, dimensional weak points in the walls, the network connections to his wives glowing like golden threads.
"Sarnav?" Jade's voice, awed and frightened. "Your readings are... I've never seen anything like this."
He stood. The movement was effortless, his body responding with power that dwarfed his previous limits.
A-rank. Soul Transformation.
One of the strongest beings on post-impact Earth.
"How long was I out?"
"Six hours."
"Then we have time." He walked toward the door. "Call a council meeting. We attack tonight."