Descend- Bursting Out: A litrpg adventure

by David Burke

  It became harder for Jay to manage the channels. Instead of wrapping two pieces of thread together this was more like weaving together three threads. The complexity level was just greater as he needed them to all overlay just right, but once accomplished the rush was tremendous. Whereas the amount of PSI he had pushed into Amelia had been doubled by her ability it was doubled again by Huong.

  He repeated the process again with Meikiyo. It was a rush of exhilaration as the PSI level doubled again and was pushed past three hundred thousand.

  Alexis called out, “How can you hold all of that?”

  But none of them paid her any heed. They were bound up in the unity they felt. The complexity of the weave kept increasing as he added Jessie and then Mia. The PSI level was making the air around him hum and their bodies throb with the racing pace of the energy.

  It now surged through their merged channels and was like a raging storm. Jay tried to hold onto it but he felt like he had a tiger by the tail. Still he pushed on once more. Ava was the perfect wife to anchor the end of the union. She was submission personified and so accepted the molten fire and icy rush of power that he pushed into her. She willingly took it all in.

  By this point the first of the girls were passing out. Amelia and then on down the chain collapsed in a bliss deeper than any orgasm and more profound than the realization of first love. In the end only Jay was awake and filled with nearly two and a half million PSI.

  He laughed inside his own head. He had thought he was becoming superman before. What he was before was nothing. The power that he held now… That was the power of a god. With this sort of power he could do anything. Still he compressed it and forced the power to do one simple thing. They had agreed on a field built on thirty seconds so his subconscious did that.

  What they had not expected was how powerful the multiplicative power of this union would be. The field now had a time distortion of 237,483:1. In other words those thirty seconds were now stretched into over eighty-two days for these thirteen souls stuck inside the field. That thought was the last to pass through Jay’s mind before he fell to the ground unconscious.

  Chapter 32- Addiction

  When Jay came to the girls were already awake. Amelia, Meikiyo, and Jessie as the less scientifically minded were all sitting around him waiting for him. The others were hard at work at various work stations.

  “How long have I been out?” Jay asked.

  “About six hours,” Amelia answered. “We thought about trying to wake you but as far as we could tell you were still healthy and Alexis said that you had been holding a star-like brightness worth of PSI energy inside you when you created the tempus fugit field.”

  “Yeah it was more than I had anticipated. At least the field is only created for thirty seconds outside. I might be able to end it prematurely but it will take an equal amount of power to make that happen,” he replied.

  “I’d actually be up for experiencing that again, although I worry about what it could do to the little one,” Jessie said as she rubbed her tummy which wasn’t showing yet.

  “We will have to practice that, you need to learn to control that power. I felt it surging through us and just knew to my core that I could have burnt all of our enemies to the ground. That was not the kind of power that a person was meant to have, but if it will make us safe, then you can’t ignore it. But, I agree with Jessie, I won’t do it again while carrying our baby, lover,” Meikiyo said.

  Jay nodded and Amelia said, “You still haven’t said how long we are going to be in here.”

  “As near as I can tell a little over eighty-two days,” Jay answered.

  “You turned thirty seconds into almost three months?” Amelia said. Jay was actually happy to have shocked Amelia. She usually acted like she could take everything in stride.

  “To be fair, it wasn’t just me. It was all of us. This is the power of a harem obviously. When we fuse together there is so much more we can do that can’t be done by any of us alone,” he said.

  “Definitely a situation where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts,” Jessie added.

  About that time, his other wives wandered over. After some expressions about being glad he was awake now, Huong said, “I get what me and the tech division are going to do for eighty-two days, but what are you four going to do?”

  “I’m sure that we can contribute in some way,” Jessie said.

  Meikiyo simply said, “Train.”

  Amelia laughed and said, “Well while you geniuses are busy over there sciencing up a miracle to get us out of here, I will just have to keep Jay occupied. Eighty-two days sounds like a perfect little honeymoon, even if the setting isn’t exactly a beach. But I will have to keep him out of your hair so you can work. You know, for science.”

  Huong returned the laugh as she said, “Who’s the slut now?”

  “So not to interrupt the playful banter, but one other thing came up. You all know I fused Bong-Cha before this. I mean I know she was on the approved list and all but it did happen faster than I intended. That got me to thinking though and seeing the power of the fusion made it clear to me that I have to get over my hesitation a lot faster,” Jay said.

  “Does that mean you are ready to fuse with the other girls here?” Mia asked.

  He could sense the minefield that this was. His wives wanted him to be stronger. They knew it was necessary. They had accepted each other and even the idea of a larger harem with the pods but in that system they sat at the top as little queens. Yet every girl that he fused lessened the specialness of what they had with him.

  Or maybe it didn’t, but that was definitely the fear that they had in their minds. Jay was shocked to see that even Ava had some of that concern. It was just buried deeper in her.

  “Well, if I have your permission. I mean you six are my wives, and anyone I fuse with, also becomes fused with you. You all know how I feel about you, and know how hard this has been for me, but I have come to accept it may be necessary,” Jay replied.

  They all looked at him. He could feel the communication going between them at the speed of thought but still wasn’t willing to read their minds. Privacy was all too rare here, for any of them. He would respect that for these women that he loved so dearly.

  Finally Amelia said, “We agree it would be for the best, but only if they are willing to make a lifetime commitment to be faithful to you and to us as a fused whole.”

  Jay bit back the laugh that wanted to burst out of him. She was repeating back the concerns that he had been expressing for months. Oh well, as long as it worked out. “Agreed. So can you tell me who you think might be open to that here? I’ve realized that we need to optimize these fusions. Whoever I fuse with next will get their Awareness stat boosted and so we need to pick someone that will benefit.”

  “I’m pretty sure that Veronica doesn’t want a true relationship with anyone. She is just too isolated in her own mind,” Huong said.

  “Yeah but, Alexis is jonesing for him to ask her. That much is obvious,” Jessie said.

  “That leaves Nalani, Sofia, Simone, and Cadence,” Mia said before continuing, “I’m pretty sure Nalani and Sofia are open to the idea.”

  “Simone is out too, I spoke to her before about how she hopes to be able to leave the group someday. She is grateful and all that but she doesn’t feel the same bond that most of us do,” Huong said.

  “So Cadence is the only question mark. We know that Alexis’ ability to see PSI would benefit from a boost to Awareness so that seems like an obvious choice,” Mia said.

  A moment later they had all agreed and Jay was left with his thoughts for a few minutes. In the background he heard his wives working on a list for him to start fusing with and trying to now factor in who would benefit from which stats the most. Apparently, one of them hadn’t wasted any time because a moment later, he heard Alexis approach and ask, “Um, I was told you wanted to talk to me.”

  Jay froze for a second. So far the fusions had felt so natural. I
t has been his wife, the accident with Trina and then Bong-Cha as they commiserated over how loss can affect a person. If he propositioned Alexis he would be doing it not because he wanted a relationship with her.

  It wasn’t that he didn’t like her. She was fun in bed and pleasant enough out of it. But, he wasn’t in love with her. His mind was filled up already with too many women that he was drawn to. She didn’t even make the second ring of attraction in his mind with people like Maddy and Char.

  Well, there was nothing to do about it but present the issues to her and be upfront. “Alexis, thanks for finding me. Would you mind if we went into the back office? I made sure to include it in the time distortion field.”

  Her eyes got wide for a second. She obviously thought that this was a particular type of invitation, and he guessed it might include that too. It must have shocked her but a moment later she said, “Gladly.” So obviously she wasn’t put off by what she must have been expecting.

  As they walked there Jay said, “You have heard about the fusion connections that I have with my wives, correct?”

  “Uh yeah. It is one of the things that the other girls talk about the most. What’s it like? Who will he pick next? And so on,” Alexis replied as they reached the conference room.

  “The other girls? Is it not something that you talk about?” Jay asked.

  Alexis paused while pulling out a chair to sit down in. “I don’t really need to. I understand what fusion is better than anyone except those of you who have experienced it. My power allows me to see the connections between you all. I’m not even sure if you know just how completely connected you are.

  “Any time that two or more of you are near, there is a flow of ambient PSI energy between you. Especially when you are there. Energy just seems to ooze out of you and into the girls you are fused with but lately I have been seeing it flow back from them to you also.

  “In fact, I can tell that your last couple of fusions must have really made you jump in power, by the way that you practically glow with PSI energy now. I have had to tamp down my power so that it doesn’t glow as strongly, but I would guess that you are holding at least thirty times more PSI than I am, probably more.”

  “Interesting that you can see it all like that. Well, there is no easy way for me to say this, so I am just going to blurt it out. I would like to fuse with you…” Jay began.

  “Okay,” she interrupted.

  “No you need to hear me out, so we are clear on everything,” Jay said.

  “Fine, but yes. Please. I agree with whatever conditions you have.” Her breathing had become much faster as she responded.

  “First, I have to be blunt, I am not asking you because I’m in love with you. Like, yes. Have fun with, yes. But not in love,” Jay said.

  “Oh, is that what you are worried about. I know that. We all do. I mean, honestly you are this amazing guy, but even you have a limit on how many women you can love with the passion that we see you having for your wives. But it isn’t like you don’t treat the others well too.

  “All of those who were on the mission to the fourth floor still talk about how you reacted when you saw Kayla being attacked by that water monster. You went ballistic and flexed some of that awesome Jay muscle. We know that you will fight for any of us. What more could a girl want? And don’t forget, I can see the power flowing around between you. I want to be connected just like that too,” Alexis replied.

  “And you understand that this is a lifetime commitment, right? We will be stuck in each other's head so to speak.”

  Alexis nodded.

  “And that this is exclusive, right? You agree not to be with any other men,” Jay said. Even as he said it he felt the inherent unfairness of that, but it wasn’t an unfairness that he had created so he shoved it to the side.

  “Yes, I’m not saying I’m in love with you but I’m content with the situation. It isn’t like any of us asked for the end of the world. And yes before you ask, I know I will have to have your babies too. Assuming we can find a new home, we are going to have a world to populate,” Alexis answered.

  Jay said, “Then I guess we are on the same page. I can do this in a completely clothes on way or…”

  “No, I prefer the clothes off method, please,” she interrupted.

  The conversations with Nalani, Sofia and even Cadence went much the same way. Jay actually found that with each fusion he was becoming more and more addicted to the sensation. With the last two of them he only got five levels each while they got thirty levels, but it still pushed him past the eighth threshold and shot his power up.

  The progression was going even faster than he had thought. Three of his stats were now over eleven hundred and the other two were in the eight hundreds. Despite daily practice at a ridiculous pace, his skills were still lagging behind his stats but his overall power was just off the charts compared to anything he had before.

  Awareness: 864, Durability: 1179, Kinesis: 834, Metabolism: 1183, Formation: 1112

  Beyond that he added some nifty powers including PSI Sight from Alexis which allowed him to see the PSI energy so much better. Then there was Molecular Separation from Sofia, Chemical Creation from Cadence, and Matter Absorption from Nalani.

  When he wasn’t spending time training, fusing or other activities with the girls, Jay found himself interested if lost in studying the girls’ projects. About three weeks in Ava discovered a way for them to interface into the A’snkarnt technology with PSI energy through the creation of a special crystal with Mia’s help. It was a big breakthrough and Jay was looking forward to trying it out as they went out to explore the ship.

  He was a bit shocked at the reaction that came around day sixty-five when Cadence announced that she had found a way to remove the stimulant from the water and to create an aphrodisiac-free substitute. He thought everyone would be excited about it, but his wives in particular were despondent at first, and most of the other girls other than Veronica weren’t far behind.

  Finally Huong explained it to him in part and Meikiyo the rest. On a superficial level they had come to enjoy their shared activities every bit as much as he had and wondered if he would be interested enough to continue without that stimulation. The more concerning thought was the one that Meikiyo raised. She pointed out that up to this point all of their relationships had been against the backdrop of that aphrodisiac. They weren’t sure what it would mean for them. Would they all be as close?

  Despite the fears, they started trying it out in small doses and found that sure enough it worked. If anything Cadence had refined the way the stimulant effect worked and they expected that it would produce a twenty percent increase in leveling or evolving speed. Not that it was much of an issue for Jay. Fusion had become his primary means of evolving at this point.

  The rest of the fears were put to rest as Jay continued to demonstrate all of the same eagerness. The only one who excused herself from such activities was Veronica. She was a woman on a mission but kept her research to herself until she finally announced that she had found a way to create a small implant that would manage the evolution the same as the A’snkarnt one, but wouldn’t be connected to their system.

  The decision was made to hold off on removing the current implants for fear of tipping their hand any further to S’vanth or even D’varn. Amelia and Sofia did however work on developing a scar-less form of brain surgery that would be able to break down the implant without having to open the skull up. They obviously couldn’t test it out for sure, but had a high degree of confidence.

  The final breakthrough came on the evening of the eighty-second day. Ava again came through for the win. She had created an entirely new type of engine or drive for space travel based upon her power. She was calling it a spatial jump drive but for something that had the potential to set them free even without gaining control of the leviathan, she wasn’t very happy.

  Jay was concerned when everyone congratulated her and she still didn’t show much excitement. It concerned him enough t
hat he had Huong go and speak to her.

  Ultimately though the eighty-two days passed quicker than he would have guessed. Good company was no doubt part of that. He was equally surprised by how much he missed his kids. They were just little pudges at this stage but he still found that not getting to see them each day left an empty spot in him.

  Of course that was softened after Meikiyo and Jessie gave birth. Jessie first because of the time distortion before. She gave him a beautiful daughter that she named Kylee. He was glad to see that his daughter had not suffered an ill effect for having been conceived in a tempus fugit field.

  After that Meikiyo soon presented him with his second son, Higen. He couldn’t have favorites but there was always something about Meikiyo and her son held a special place in his heart. Not only was he the second boy out of many children, but he was also bright and lively. He manifested his mother’s pyrokinetic power shortly after birth which kept everyone on their toes.