"Soul-Bond candidates detected: 2"
"Choose one to survive this battle."
The glowing words hovered in Kane's vision like a tutorial window from hell. He blinked, then blinked again, hoping the floating text would go away.
Nope.
Still there.
Still terrifying.
"…What does that even mean?" he muttered aloud, voice cracking.
The system responded instantly, as if it had just been waiting for him to ask:
[Affinity Core Activated]
This is a bonded-choice survival event. You are under lethal threat. Select a compatible target to establish a temporary Soul-Link. Linked partner receives massive stat boost. You survive longer.
Kane barely processed that before the bunker ceiling exploded. Again.
Dust and fire rained down. Kane yelped and dove behind an overturned table, hugging his head.
Outside, Zara and Celeste were locked in a violent ballet of destruction—steel versus sanctity, blades versus divine light. Every clash sent shockwaves ripping through the facility.
"This isn't a fight!" Kane shouted. "It's a goddamn Dragon Ball Z episode!"
Celeste hovered a few inches off the ground, her robes flowing unnaturally, eyes glowing. "Release the Male! The Goddess wills it!"
Zara, already bleeding from her forehead, sneered. "Your Goddess can shove it."
The priestess's expression darkened.
"Unholy heretic."
"Cloistered fangirl."
Sparks flared. Lightning cracked the air.
Kane stared between them, heart pounding.
The system was still waiting.
Choose One:
[☐] Zara Ignis – Crimson Commander
[☐] Celeste – High Priestess of the Celestial Union
He swallowed hard. "Do I have to choose one right now?"
Yes.
Or die in 47 seconds.
"Oh come on!"
💥 The Bond Begins
Outside, Zara was getting pushed back. Her armor was scorched, her stance heavy. Celeste pressed forward with an eerie calm, divine light blazing from her staff.
Kane knew what he had to do.
Didn't mean he liked it.
"Okay," he whispered. "Okay, okay, okay—Zara! I choose—"
Before he could finish, a blast of holy energy screamed toward him.
Zara spun—lightning-fast—and threw herself between Kane and the blast. She screamed as it hit her, but she stayed standing.
Kane's heart dropped.
[Soul-Bond Initiated: Zara Ignis]
Link established. Commander class unit: stats boosted x4.
Desire Affinity: 67%
Protective Instinct: 91%
Romantic Compatibility: …Pending
Zara straightened.
And something changed.
Her eyes glowed red. Heat shimmered off her body. Her armor pulsed with energy.
Celeste's eyes widened.
"…Impossible. You formed a Bond?"
Zara grinned, blood dripping from her lip.
"Damn right."
Then she moved.
Faster than sound.
In one instant, her sword sliced through Celeste's staff. In the next, Celeste was slammed into a wall hard enough to crack stone.
Light flared. A shockwave burst outward.
And then… silence.
🛏️ Recovery Room – Later
Kane woke on a soft medical cot, hooked to an IV, his head wrapped in a bandage.
The lights were dim. The bunker had stopped shaking.
Beside him, Zara stood with her arms crossed, gaze intense. Her armor was repaired (somehow), but her shirt was unzipped just enough to show a very intentional amount of cleavage.
Kane sat up, groaning. "I feel like I got hit by a train."
"You almost did," she said bluntly. "Several divine blasts. Congratulations."
"…So I didn't die?"
She smirked. "Not yet. And now you're mine."
Kane blinked. "I'm sorry, what?"
"Soul-Bond. You chose me. That's a temporary mating contract under international law."
"Mating?"
"It means no one can touch you without my permission."
He stared. "That sounds… medieval."
"It's better than being kidnapped by the Holy Union, dissected by the Sky Vault, or mounted by a beast girl in the wilds."
He blinked again. "That last one sounded disturbingly specific."
She sat on the edge of the bed, leaned in close. Her breath was warm against his cheek.
"Listen to me, Kane. You're not just the last male alive. You're a living nuke with a zipper. People will kill for you. They'll lie to you. Seduce you. Enslave you if they can. But if you stay under my command, I'll keep you alive."
"And in return?"
Her eyes gleamed.
"You pretend to be mine. Publicly. The others will back off—at least temporarily. I'll assign you guards, secure housing, luxuries. But the world thinks you belong to me now."
Kane's brain short-circuited somewhere between "pretend" and "belong."
"…Do I get a choice?"
She smiled sweetly.
"No."
🛬 Arrival: Crimson Empire – Royal Quarters
Two days later, Kane was on a sleek hovercraft descending into the heart of Zara's capital—a sprawling fortress city built into the side of a massive, molten canyon.
Everything was red: the banners, the guards' armor, even the sky looked tinted from the heat.
He stepped off the ramp and was greeted by a royal welcoming line of elite warriors—all women, all stunning, all staring at him like he was a walking feast.
One of them whispered, "So that's the Male?"
Another licked her lips.
A third winked. "Shotgun on first cuddle shift."
Kane swallowed hard. "I feel like a lamb at a very horny petting zoo."
Zara was unfazed. "They're soldiers. They can look. But they touch only when I say so."
She paused.
"Unless you say so."
He looked at her.
She looked back.
"…Let's take this slow," he said quickly.
🛌 Royal Bedroom – That Night
Kane's quarters were bigger than his entire high school gym. Plush carpets, velvet drapes, a bed big enough for ten, and golden trays of food, fruit, and strange drinks. It would've been paradise if he hadn't felt so much like a very pampered prisoner.
He wandered to the balcony and looked out over the empire. Airships floated above lava-cracked mountains. Training yards sparkled with swordplay. Even in this "peaceful" moment, the world felt like it was always on edge.
Behind him, the door creaked.
He turned.
Zara stepped in—wearing a loose, crimson robe with a plunging neckline, her silver hair cascading over one shoulder. Her expression was unreadable.
"Kane."
"Yeah?"
"I want to test the Bond."
His heart jumped.
"Test… how?"
She crossed the room in two strides, standing inches from him.
"I want to know how strong our connection is. If the Affinity System boosts you as well."
He tried not to look at her chest. Failed.
"I… don't know how to activate it."
She raised an eyebrow. "Maybe we try physical contact. Controlled conditions. Strategic touch."
"…Strategic."
She leaned in, lips barely an inch from his.
"Scientific."
He was about to speak—maybe say something clever, or beg for mercy—when the windows shattered from a sonic boom.
An alarm blared.
Zara cursed. "Dammit. We have a breach."
Kane ducked behind the bed. "Another attack?!"
Zara grabbed her sword from the wall.
"Looks like the Beastlands got impatient."
📢 END OF CHAPTER CTA:
💥 Who should Kane bond with next?
Will the feral Mira from the Beastlands steal him away in the night? Or is Zara's grip on him getting tighter… emotionally and physically?
📝 Comment your favorite girl so far!
📌 Don't forget to follow — Chapter 3 drops tomorrow!
✅ Up Next:
Chapter 3: "Tied to a Tree and Threatened With Marriage"
➡️ Kane gets kidnapped by beast-girls. Again. This time with rope.