It all started with a misunderstanding. Or maybe a series of them, stacked like unstable magical artifacts, one over the other, until they finally exploded — metaphorically and nearly literally. The team had just wrapped up another victory in the Guild War Trials, though the term "victory" had become loosely defined when it came to Linked Hearts. Still, spirits were high, the sunset was golden, and the adventurers were gathered around a celebratory meal in their temporary camp.
Lina was the first to say something. It wasn't subtle. It wasn't planned. It just slipped out between bites of roasted meat and banter about exploding training dummies.
"I love you, idiot."
The campfire crackled.
MC blinked, a spoon halfway to his mouth. "Huh?"
Lina didn't repeat it. She didn't need to. Her hair, already the color of wildfire, suddenly sparked with a crimson blaze that wasn't normal. Her cheeks flushed, her pupils narrowed slightly, and a fiery aura flared around her — uncontained, surging, alive. It wasn't just magic; it was something else. Something deeper.
The System pinged in MC's head.[Link Complete: Lina – Affection Level 100%][New Skill Unlocked: Infernal Heart Fusion]Warning: This skill is extremely unstable when emotionally triggered.
And then everything went sideways.
Lina's fire spiraled into the sky, creating a vortex of molten air. Her magic evolved in real time — flames licking the sky, forming wings on her back, her sword glowing like a sun forged anew. She stood, radiant, fierce, her feelings given form as heat and light. Everyone stared, half-blinded, half-stunned.
Then Iris stood up.
She didn't shout. She didn't cry. She just walked forward, brushing a strand of silver hair behind her ear, her emotionless stare somehow even more intense than usual. Her voice was calm, but her words hit like a falling time crystal.
"He belongs to the guild," she said. "And I won't lose him to fire."
The temperature dropped. The world paused — literally. Time around them hiccupped, slowed, and twisted. MC's eyes widened as the System pinged again.[Link Complete: Iris – Affection Level 100%][New Skill Unlocked: Temporal Resonance Fusion]Warning: Using two Fusion Links simultaneously may cause… reality glitches.]
Reality glitches. Of course.
Iris's aura pulsed, delicate and ethereal, a soft blue shimmer of frozen seconds and drifting clock hands. Her steps left echoes, and the stars above seemed to bend toward her. Her gaze landed on MC — unreadable, infinite — and he suddenly saw her expression shift for the first time in weeks. Not a smile. But something close.
Two girls, fully synchronized with their own unique versions of system-powered affection, were now standing less than five feet apart, brimming with literal cosmic and elemental energy. And both of them wanted to be the one he looked at first.
MC tried to back away, knocking over a pot of soup. "H-Hey now. Let's not—uh—weaponize love?"
Lina ignited a small fireball in her palm, not aimed at anyone yet — but not exactly idle either. "You heard the System, right? I hit max affection. That's gotta mean something."
Iris blinked. "So did I."
"Yeah, but mine came with wings. And dramatic fire. That's how you know it's serious."
"I stopped time."
"You always stop time!"
"You set the forest on fire last week because he tripped and bruised his knee."
"That was symbolic!"
MC was sweating. Or maybe that was just residual heat from the magical fallout radiating off the two girls. Kaela was hiding behind a bush, whispering to Luna, "Should we, like, intervene or…?"
Luna shook her head rapidly. "This is above our emotional pay grade."
Jax tried to break the tension with music and was instantly silenced by a synchronized glare from both Iris and Lina that seemed to warp gravity itself.
MC raised both hands. "Okay! Okay! Let's all just… cool off? Heh?"
A pause.
Lina's flames flared. Iris's aura pulsed. Sparks and snowflakes filled the air at the same time.
And then both girls turned toward him. Their powers surged again, not in aggression, but… intensity. The Fusions activated. Lina's fire merged with MC's system in a burst of crimson energy that ignited a phantom flame-shaped heart above his chest. Iris's temporal link shimmered, freezing the flickering shadows into glittering shards, wrapping his form in soft-blue chronomagic.
He collapsed.
He didn't pass out — not exactly. But his body gave out under the weight of dual emotion-charged Fusion Skills syncing with his still-overwhelmed system. Visions flooded his mind — of past, future, alternate paths where each girl stood by his side through war, love, laughter, heartbreak. Two possibilities. Two timelines. Two literal forces of nature tangled around his soul.
When he opened his eyes, the battlefield was gone. The others had carefully backed away. Only Iris and Lina remained by his side — both flushed, both breathing hard, both very, very quiet.
He sat up, hair fried on one side, cloaked in lingering traces of fire and frozen time. "So, uh… we're all friends still… right?"
Neither answered. But the way they both looked at him — not with anger, but something way more intense — made one thing clear:
The love triangle had officially, irreversibly begun.
And the System, somewhere in the background of his mind, whispered a new, slightly panicked update:[Warning: Emotional fusion overload detected. Proceed with caution — or chaos.]
END OF CHAPTER 41