The bridge of the carrier became a vacuum of sound. The only thing audible was the low, tectonic thrum of Ren's power. The Harvester roared—a sound of pure, synthetic rage—and lashed out with his chain-whip. The blue links hissed through the air, aimed directly at Ren's throat.
Ren didn't dodge.
He caught the glowing chain with his bare hand. The blue energy fought against his golden Pulse, sparks of white-hot friction spraying across the bridge like dying stars. Ren's skin didn't burn this time; the energy simply washed over him, absorbed into the sheer density of his aura.
"My turn," Ren said.
He yanked the chain. The seven-foot giant was pulled forward as if he weighed nothing. Ren met him halfway with a shoulder charge that sounded like two tectonic plates grinding together. The Harvester's bone-white chest plate shattered, shards of ceramic armor flying into the control consoles.
"Don't let him breathe!" Serafina commanded.
She moved in a blur of gold, her staff striking the Harvester's joints with the weight of a falling sledgehammer. Each hit was reinforced by the Pulse Ren had shared with her, turning her into a demi-goddess of combat.
Viper followed in the wake of the strikes. She wasn't just fighting; she was dancing in the carnage. She climbed the Harvester's back, her knives plunging into the gaps Ren had created in the armor. She leaned into the giant's ear, whispering something dark before she ripped a coolant line from his neck.
The Harvester stumbled, his blue light flickering. He looked at Clara, who stood at the back of the bridge, her rifle humming with a terrifyingly bright light.
"End it, Clara," Ren growled, pinning the giant's arms back.
Clara didn't hesitate. She pulled the trigger. The bolt of kinetic energy was so powerful it punched a hole straight through the Harvester's torso and the reinforced steel bulkhead behind him.
The giant collapsed, his light finally going dark. The "World-Eater" was just a pile of broken scrap.
The carrier began to tilt, the internal explosions finally reaching the fuel cells.
"Time to go," Ren said. He scooped Clara up in one arm and grabbed Serafina by the waist with the other. Viper, ever the predator, simply leaped onto his back, her legs wrapping around his waist.
With a single, explosive jump, Ren shattered the bridge's reinforced window and leaped into the open air. They fell for what felt like an eternity before the black stealth-shuttle rose from the waves to catch them, the bay doors open and waiting.
Back at the Estate, the adrenaline hadn't faded. It had curdled into something much more potent.
They stood in the grand hall, their gear torn, their skin smudged with soot and the remnants of the Pulse. The danger was over, but the fire Ren had lit in them was still raging.
"We did it," Clara whispered, her eyes wide as she looked at Ren. She reached out, her fingers trembling as she touched the solid, warm muscle of his chest. "We actually did it."
The look in Ren's eyes was no longer cold. It was predatory, but directed solely at the three women who had bled for him. He reached out, pulling all three of them into the center of the room.
"You aren't just my wives anymore," he murmured, his voice a deep, vibrating rumble that made the floorboards shake. "You are my pillars. And a King must reward his pillars."
He led them to the master suite. The air in the room was already thick with the scent of sandalwood and the heavy, magnetic weight of their combined power.
The "intimacy" that followed was unlike anything before. It was raw, primal, and fueled by the triumph of the battlefield. Ren didn't hold back. He let the Origin Pulse flow freely, connecting their minds and bodies in a single, glowing circuit of pleasure and power.
* Serafina finally let go of her control, her pride melting into a desperate, vocal surrender.
* Viper found the "Master" she had always craved, her ferocity met with a dominant strength that finally tamed her.
* Clara, the heart of the home, was the vessel that held them all together, her love acting as the anchor for Ren's overwhelming energy.
As the sun began to rise over the Atlantic, the four of them lay in a heap of silk and exhausted power. They were no longer individuals; they were a singular force.
"This is only the beginning," Ren whispered, kissing Clara's temple while his other hand rested on Serafina's hip. "The Syndicate will send more. The world will try to take what's mine."
"Let them try," Viper murmured, her eyes half-closed in a post-coital daze. "We have a lot of space left in this bed for the next one who tries to hunt us."