Building a Safe Zone with My Harem In The Post-Apocalyptic World

Jasper kept walking ahead of the others, following the old railway tracks as they disappeared deeper into the mine.

The terrain had changed again without him noticing exactly when.

The railway tracks beneath them eventually disappeared completely, swallowed by thick layers of white growth, and the ceiling rose higher until the support beams were replaced by enormous natural stone arches.

The floor became uneven as they crossed the cavern, with narrow stone bridges forming naturally between deep cracks.

Below them, pale strands hung from the darkness like roots suspended over a bottomless pit.

Several of the glowing mushrooms had grown directly from those strands, their faint light revealing movement far below.

Then Daniel walked beside him. He suddenly appeared after he accepted everything.

Accepting the voice in his head, the way his brain keeps repeating the same image of the death of his brother, and the smell of blood and the sound of his screams when an aberrant tore him apart...

Then, Jasper strangely turned calm. His anxiety, his hesitation were all gone. What remained was the figure of his brother by his side.

His brother looked exactly as he remembered him, wearing the same old jacket, his brown hair slightly messy and his expression tired but gentle.

There were no wounds on him anymore, no blood, no signs of the aberrant attack that had taken his life.

Jasper simply stared.

Daniel smiled sadly. "You really aren’t going to say anything? After all these years, I finally stand beside you again, and you’re just going to keep walking as if I’m another aberrant?"

Jasper’s lips trembled slightly, looking back, making sure no one was able to hear him, before he finally answered, "I thought about you every day."

"I know."

"I wanted to see you again."

"I know that too."

Daniel walked alongside him, his hands tucked into his pockets as though they were simply brothers returning home together.

Jasper could hear Petter and Addam talking behind them, with Nick occasionally telling them to keep their voices down.

Gideon was walking among them, calm as ever, occasionally giving directions whenever the tunnel split, and of course, his eyes kept observing him.

He didn’t care.

Jasper looked at his brother again. "How are you here? You are dead... are you just my imagination? Am I going insane?"

Daniel’s smile faded. "Because you wanted me here. You spent years wishing you could see me again, wishing you could apologize, wishing you could change what happened."

"You thought nobody heard you because you never said those things aloud, but something did."

Daniel continued before he could answer. "You remember what happened, don’t you? You remember the day I died. You remember me screaming for you while those things surrounded us. You remember looking back at me and then running."

Jasper’s throat tightened as he stopped walking. His hand rested on the wall beside him as if it was his only anchor.

His team stopped as well, he could hear Nick saying, "What’s wrong, Jasper?"

Jasper slowly turned; there was still distance between them.

"It’s okay... I just feel dizzy. You guys can walk ahead of me. I will watch your back."

Nick and the rest weren’t sure. They looked worried; even Gideon raised his brow.

"If you can’t continue anymore, I can send you back with my power," Gideon said.

Jasper’s jaw tightened; he would rather die than accept his help.

"No. I will be fine."

Nick and Gideon looked at each other and nodded. They finally moved past him; Nick grabbed his shoulder as if making sure he was fine. Followed by Petter and Addam.

When their distance was enough, Jasper finally turned to his brother again.

His voice trembled as he said, "I was scared and young."

"I know."

"I thought I would come back."

His brother looked at him with an expression that hurt more than anger ever could.

"But you didn’t."

Jasper lowered his head.

Daniel’s voice remained quiet, almost gentle. "You ran until you couldn’t hear me anymore. You never came back, Jasper. You didn’t even know how I died. You just kept telling yourself that I was already dead because it was easier than admitting you left me there."

Jasper’s eyes burned. "I couldn’t save you; I was too weak back then, young and cowardly."

"Yes." Daniel stepped closer. "And you chose yourself."

The words struck harder than any weapon.

Jasper closed his eyes, but Daniel continued.

"You promised Mom and Dad that you would protect me. They died doing exactly that. Dad stood between the aberrants and us until they tore him apart, and Mom kept me behind her even after she knew she wouldn’t survive."

"Then you grew up, became strong, learned how to fight, and when it was finally your turn to protect me, you ran."

Jasper’s breathing became uneven.

Ahead of him, Petter laughed, probably successfully pissing off Nick, and the sound seemed impossibly distant. Their voices felt like they mocked him.

"I’ve killed thousands of aberrants since then," Jasper whispered. "I’ve spent years making up for it."

Daniel looked at him sadly. "You killed them because you hated yourself."

Jasper didn’t deny it.

"You became Freebound because you wanted to make sure nobody else had to die the way I did. You became one of the strongest because you were terrified that one day someone would scream for help again and you’d run."

Jasper’s fingers tightened around his rifle. "Then why are you here?"

Daniel smiled. "Because you finally found something that can give you what you wanted."

Jasper looked at him, making sure he was still his brother he knew and he was real.

Daniel placed a hand against his shoulder.

"The hive mind heard you. It found your memories, your regrets, everything you buried. It gave you me because you wished for me. You don’t need to pretend I’m gone anymore."

Jasper’s eyes became wet.

"I don’t want to lose you again."

"You won’t."

Daniel glanced toward Gideon.

"Unless he destroys it."

Jasper followed his gaze. Gideon was walking with Nick now, listening while the older man explained something about the tunnels.

Petter and Addam were joking with each other, apparently comfortable enough to forget they were several levels beneath the surface.

Daniel’s expression hardened.

"Look at them. They already trust him."

"They trust him because he is a hero who saved many people."

"They trust the image he created," Daniel replied. "You know nothing about him. He appeared from nowhere, built a territory in months, has power nobody understands, and now he’s walking through this place as though the parasite can’t touch him. Did you ever ask yourself why?"

Jasper stared at Gideon. His dislike of him turned to hatred. Like someone pouring oil into fire.

Daniel continued, his voice becoming increasingly bitter. "You saw it yourself. The creatures attacked you; they attacked the others, but Gideon stood there watching. He wasn’t afraid. He was studying them and didn’t even run to help you."

Jasper’s jaw tightened. "Maybe he wanted to understand them."

"And what happens when he understands them?"

Jasper didn’t answer.

Daniel looked directly into his eyes.

"He destroys them." His voice became softer. "And me with them."

Jasper’s expression changed.

"He will kill me again."

"No."

"You already lost me once because you weren’t strong enough. Are you really going to let that happen again?"

Jasper’s hands trembled.

Daniel stepped closer and whispered, "Your friends won’t help you. Look at them. Petter laughs with him. Addam follows him. Even Nick trusts him. They will stand beside Gideon when the time comes because they don’t know what he really is."

Jasper looked back.

Petter had just slapped Gideon’s shoulder while laughing about something, and Addam immediately joined in. Nick shook his head, but even he looked more relaxed than before.

Which was weird. They were in the middle of mine full of aberrants. People lived dependent on them, and how were they able to relax and laugh like that?

Daniel’s words suddenly made Jasper see something else. A group that had already chosen a side.

"They’re fake," Jasper whispered. "They pretend this is some kind of field trip. They don’t care about people up there... they just want to have fun, take the glory to themselves, and kill you..."

Daniel smiled. "Now you understand."

The tunnel ahead seemed to stretch farther into the darkness, while the white vines along the walls slowly thickened around them.

Jasper looked down at his hands. He wasn’t afraid anymore. If this strange entity had truly brought Daniel back, then he couldn’t allow Gideon to destroy it.

Not again. Not when he had finally been given another chance.

"I’ll protect you this time."

Daniel’s expression softened. "Then you’ll have to stop him."

Jasper nodded slowly.

In front of him, Gideon’s voice called through the cavern.

"Jasper, we’re taking the next tunnel on the right."

Jasper nodded. His expression was calm, almost peaceful. He then started to walk again, as if nothing had happened.

"Of course, Chief."

Daniel smiled beside him.

And Jasper followed Gideon deeper into the mine.

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