The camp was quiet except for the low crackle of embers dying in the firepit. Morning sunlight poured through the canopy, kissing the damp earth with golden warmth. Andy stirred first, half-lidded eyes adjusting to the brightness, the rhythm of two different heartbeats close against him. Nia lay curled on his left shoulder, strands of auburn hair soft against his jaw. Aurelia on his right, her golden locks untangled from last night's braid, breathing evenly as if sleep had never left her.
Andy exhaled, a small smile tugging at his lips. He knew he had gone further than he'd imagined last night—balancing warmth, loyalty, temptation, and the fire of bonds growing in their own directions.
And then—
---
🔔 System Notification
[Constellation System – Orion]
[Bond Progress Updated]
Nia ⭐ 40% | Aurelia ⭐ 36%
[Tier I Progress: 50% Reached]
[Reward Unlocked → Shared Inventory Tier I: Stability Complete]
Description:
Inventory capacity → Infinite.
Durability conservation locked → 100%.
Bond-linked retrieval → latency removed (instant recall).
Aura Sync → equipped weapons/staff evolve smoother with owner's mana pulse.
Notification extension → Andy only.
---
Andy blinked as the familiar glow streaked across his vision, unseen by the women still resting against him. He clenched his hand, and the pulse of Draconic Oathblade inside the Shared Inventory resonated in answer. No weight. No delay. Perfect synchronization.
He thought: This… is what it means to walk further. The bond is no longer just love—it's a constellation, pulling each of us tighter into the same sky.
---
The stirring beside him drew his attention back. Nia murmured sleepily, shifting closer, her arm wrapping across his chest. "...you're awake too early. Or maybe I was too late falling asleep," she teased softly, voice husky from exhaustion that wasn't entirely from lack of rest.
Aurelia cracked open an eye, her lips curving in a wicked grin. "Early? Hah. If you two didn't sound like you were trying to summon thunder last night, maybe I'd have gotten some sleep."
Andy groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose—but the corner of his mouth betrayed him. "You both…"
"Both?" Nia half-raised her head, a faint flush in her cheeks. "Don't act like you didn't enjoy every second."
Aurelia stretched like a cat, deliberately brushing her arm against Andy's. "And don't act like one night will be enough to satisfy me."
The playful, heated banter hung in the air, but underneath it was something deeper. The bond threads inside Andy's system glowed faintly, no longer fragile lines but thicker, steadier connections.
---
🌌 System Inner Pulse (Only Andy)
[Bond Dynamics Stabilized]
→ Romantic Core: Nia
→ Playful Core: Aurelia
Synergy increasing… Constellation Tier II locked until both reach ⭐100%.
---
Andy closed his eyes, the weight of responsibility mixing with the warmth of loyalty and desire. He could almost hear the sky above whisper: halfway… keep walking.
And for the first time since the Phoenix trial, he felt no fear at the idea of carrying both women forward—together.
The sun had climbed higher when the trio finally stepped outside their cabin. Andy led the way, silver-black hair brushing the light, with Nia and Aurelia flanking him—two contrasts bound to the same orbit.
The villagers who had sailed with them froze mid-conversation. Some dropped buckets of water, others paused sharpening tools. What they saw wasn't just three people leaving a room—it was a presence.
Andy's stride carried a quiet authority, aura dragon-phoenix now steadier, woven through his veins even in stillness. Nia walked at his left, noble staff strapped casually at her back, her eyes softened with warmth only for Andy yet gleaming sharp against anyone who'd dare challenge him. Aurelia moved at his right, steps light, golden hair like fire kissed by the breeze, smile too playful for a battlefield, yet aura radiant enough to make hardened sailors swallow.
The villagers began whispering:
"Is that… them?"
"They're glowing…"
"No—look closer. It's not glow, it's… threads. Stars themselves."
Andy suppressed a smile. Of course they couldn't see the system's numbers, but the bond constellation had started to seep into reality. Fine strands of faint light shimmered between him, Nia, and Aurelia, visible only when the sunlight caught just right.
[Constellation – Orion Tier I: 50%]
[Bond Aura Manifestation: Visible Threads → detected by NPC perception.]
Children ran closer, fearless, giggling as they pointed at the faint lights. One girl tugged on her mother's sleeve. "Mama, they look like the stars that protect us."
Nia crouched, her noble poise melting into a tender smile, brushing the girl's hair. "Perhaps we are only guided by them, little one. The real stars are up there."
Aurelia leaned in, deliberately close to Andy's ear, her whisper hot enough to sting. "Stars, huh? I wonder what they'll call us when they realize what those threads really mean."
Andy chuckled low, careful not to let the villagers hear. "Behave, Aurelia."
"Not in my nature," she teased, brushing her hand against his briefly, daring Nia's narrowed glance—only to meet it with an innocent flutter of lashes.
The villagers began to gather, murmurs turning into chants. Hope was a rare flame, but it now crackled like wildfire through the crowd. They looked at Andy—not as a boy, not even as a warrior, but as the center of a constellation that gave them courage to breathe again.
Andy tightened his jaw. The corrupted lands ahead weren't going to forgive them. Yet here and now, under this sun, he let himself accept the weight.
They see hope… Then I will not let them down.
He glanced at Nia and Aurelia—their threads pulling tighter into him, into each other. Rivalry, love, teasing, loyalty—it no longer mattered. It was one constellation, one shape, half-formed but blazing.
And when the horizon darkened with that faint shadow, no villager missed the way Andy's hand curled like he was already holding the Oathblade.
The corrupted north waited.
But so did they.