From the other side of the doorway leading into the odah the area beyond the entrance looks veiled, opaque even. The second that Sophila, Stool, and I step through the door, we phase through what I can instinctively tell is a thin arcane barrier and the scene before us dramatically changes.

As the barrier meant to protect my brides parts to allow us entry, I gain my first glimpse of the luxurious housing area my brides are currently residing in. I silently step into a massive indoor courtyard where the central space is filled with ornate water features. Warm water is being poured into large pools by statues of beautiful women, and small amounts of steam waft off of the pools.

Numerous women relax and luxuriate atop plush seats located around the central fountains which dominate the middle of the courtyard. Some of the women are watched and served by female servants, who do things like fan or feed them. I can intuitively tell that each of the women here, even the servants, are idly concerned by something. I opt to assume that they are at least mildly concerned about my condition and are trying to distract themselves.

Surrounding the central courtyard are thick walls that are filled with doors that in all likelihood lead to private apartments for each of the women. My senses are sharp enough that I can listen in on the various conversations occurring throughout the odah, which it seems, is a truly massive part of the palace I am currently inside of.

As I take in and admire the complexity of the odah a loud noise rings out from right behind me. The sound startles some of the women who are currently in the shared space within the odah, all of whom turn in the direction of Sophila, Stool, and I. The second they notice us, and me specifically, they all gasp as they see that I have recovered from whatever was keeping me unconscious. The sound continues for a few seconds before it is replaced by a boisterous voice.

“All hail Emperor Grey! The Lord Of Lords has risen and walks among his loving brides once again. He is accompanied by his faithful servant, the imperial property known as Stool, and by one of his loving wives, Sophila Jur Jurnel.” The voice declares, causing me to chuckle. The voice itself seems to belong to some sort of magical device embedded in the walls of the odah.

To my slight surprise and amusement the whole thing surprises both Stool and Sophila. I manage to catch Stool whispering that she’s never heard of something like this occurring and Sophila eyes the walls of the odah curiously. As I watch my companions I see the women further in the odah rising up out of their seats and even notice the distant doors attached to the walls of the complex opening up and revealing more of my brides.

I also overhear distant gasps as eyes are laid on me. I have vaguely sensed Sophila and Stool acclimating to the odd reality that every second that passes I become more and more divinely beautiful, but my other wives have not laid eyes on me the entire time I have been transforming. As I glance at them I can tell they are not prepared for the oddity of my subtly transforming face.

Sophila takes the lead and guides me towards the center of the odah, a large space in front of one of the statue-fountains. At the same time my brides are also slowly approaching that place as well, and as they close in on me I get a true chance to admire the bevy of beauties I married.

If I were to attempt to ascertain my own proclivities as far as what I find appealing in women going off of the brides who are making their way towards me it’d be exceeding difficult. There is enormous diversity, aesthetically, in the group of smiling, excited, and overjoyed women who are approaching me.

Even without attempting to study facial features, I can see things like different skin tones, hair colors, and heights among the various individuals approaching me. I can also tell that some of the individuals who are approaching me are something other than human, as some of the women have superhumanly long, sharp ears, animalistic features, or even in one case a long snake tail in place of legs!

As the members of my harem approach me I smile warmly at my brides. They are now close enough to me to be able to see the strange, but positive changes that are occurring to my body. I have been either fully awake or semi-awake for close to half an hour now and the changes that have occurred to me are significant, especially as far as how they have affected my appearance.

With every passing second, my appearance grows more and more idealized. I was already handsome, in my own rugged way, at the moment my body began to change, and since I’ve been awake for hundreds of seconds my appearance has received truly hundreds of little touch-ups that have bolstered my allure.

Some of my wives actually stop mid-step when they consciously notice the subtle changes occurring to me in real time. My senses are sharp enough that I can see my reflection in their eyes as they study me and their eyes dart to where the micro-edits to my face and body are occurring. But not all of my wives stop when they see the changes happening to my body.

The first of my wives to reach me is a short elf with long blonde hair and cute furry ears. Somehow I know what she is; a type of elf. The word conjures images of beautiful creatures with long ears and supernatural grace and charm. She wraps her arms around me and begins to make sounds that mix her joy and her shock as she clings to me.

“Hyrria is so happy to see Master! Hyrria wishes to kiss Master and to express how much she missed him.” The elf tells me, speaking in an odd, but charming in its own way, style. If nothing else it can surely boost my ego to hear someone talk like that to me. Stool approaches her and, with a great deal of effort, pulls her off of me.

“Hyrrria, the Emperor’s recovery is… a bit more complicated than we initially believed it might be.” She explains, cryptically. The elf’s gaze turns to my first companion and I detect the subtle shifts in her face that indicate a mixture of confusion and fear. I see Stool notice them as well, and I hear the woman sigh softly.

As this occurs my other wives have continued to approach us. One of the taller women in the group, dressed in what I can tell is most likely an unorthodox suit of battle armor, approaches us and looks at Stool concernedly.

The woman possesses the same sort of regal, high-minded beauty that Sophila has in spades. She has long purple hair that is well-styled, sharp dark brown eyes, and she walked towards us with a confidence that would intimidate lesser, common individuals. Her armor is covered in various symbols and artistic designs.

“Little attendant, please either allow our Emperor to speak for himself or be quick to explain the circumstances of his that have you so nervous.” The woman commands. Her voice is accented, but only lightly so, and she speaks in a way that is distinctively dissimilar to how Sophila, Stool, or Hyrria speak.

I can hear an edge in her voice, but it is a nervous one, not a sharp one, and the look she gives Stool is that of a friend who needs to know what is going on, not one an angry boss gives an employee she is about to punish. At the same time, a mere split second after the imperial-looking woman asks Stool to speak, it is Sophila who speaks up.

“Good morning Yukimiko! Our husband has indeed awoken but it seems that his memories of his life are locked away somewhere deep within his mind. They are, for the moment, beyond the reach of his conscious mind.” Sophila explains, speaking gently and surprisingly succinctly. This causes the imperial woman, Yukimiko, to take a step back in surprise and turn to gaze at me curiously.

This revelation rocks the group of advancing women. I see many of them pause altogether upon learning this and look at me studiously. I smile gently at them to reassure the crowd even as I step forward and begin to speak.

“Sophila’s words are true. When I awoke in, apparently, my childhood bedroom I had no ability to recall memories of either Sophila or Stool. And sadly, as I look out and study you all my situation, for the moment, remains unchanged.” I begin, and as I speak I see a number of faces drop, while curiously a few others become intrigued or even excited! This is a curious predicament but to be excited by it is a weird, even dangerous reaction.

“That aside, I do not view this moment with fear. What lies before us is an opportunity. There is a certain, romantic, appeal to the idea of falling in love all over but in addition to that this can also serve as a chance for you all to come to me and speak freely without the fears of forgotten baggage weighing you down or coloring my opinion of you.” I point out, carefully.

This causes more of my brides to pause and to think about my words, and different expressions appear on different faces. I watch as my words are heard by my brides and as some of them frown sadly, distraught at the thought of having to start from scratch while others smile at the thought of me steadily remembering them over the course of long conversations. And, no doubt, other activities as well.

At the same time, I sense the mysterious powers deep within me flaring to life. The powers within me are quiet but massive things. I can feel them near where my heart ought to be, beating in such a way that their rhythmic pulses within my core almost remind me of Sophila’s heartbeat.

I turn inward, doing so without closing my eyes for the briefest of instants. As soon as I do so I sense my self-awareness expands tremendously as I learn, with the smallest of starts, that the powers within me have names.

The moment that I turn inward two distinctive powers, which in my mind’s eye are akin to fires floating freely within the landscape of my body, reveal themselves in a pair of explosive bursts. Several mysterious powers are still within view of my mind’s eye but they are so distant that it is akin to seeing a bird in the distant sky, far from me and further still from me being able to identify it.

The first power is known as “Eternal Ascension”, which is an odd power that pushes me further in every way with every passing second. I know, instinctually, that this power is what is responsible for my perpetual transformation.

The second power flaring to life within the depths of my body calls itself “Power Matrix”. It is this power that allows me to instantly master and understand my powers, or at least it will when such powers reveal themselves to me. I know, due to “Power Matrix” that my ability to keenly identify and name “Eternal Ascension” is itself a consequence of my possession of “Power Matrix”.

At the moment the superpowers of mine that have revealed themselves are… The superpower to identify and master superpowers, and the superpower to be perpetually becoming physically stronger, faster, more attractive, and overall just more myself, without training or active use of my powers. This is clearly a powerful set of abilities that feed off of each other, but they are also an odd pair of powers to get right away.

Even before I refocus on the present, a textbox that fills my mind’s eye suggests that other powers within me are not fully hidden away. After all, even before I knew about “Eternal Ascension” it was still alive within me, sharpening my abilities and attributes without fail. This suggestion is quite curious and makes me want to test things out, but I know that I can’t. Not yet. I want to get my bearings before I do anything that would reveal any unnecessarily honest truths.

“Good morning My Emperor. I am Yukimiko of the Suosoit, an ancient clan who live on and rule a fair amount of the island of Shrima, as well as the Zizing Sea. As always, your words are cautious and thoughtful words of wisdom. I look forward to seeing how you handle yourself and the empire in the days to come” Says the purple-haired beauty who was one of the first women to reach Stool, Sophila, and I. Yukimiko gets a touch closer to me and nods respectfully.

I can see love in her gaze as she introduces herself. I can also feel it in her body language. She is sympathetic towards my plight but also feels a bit torn on what to do. I think that’s a perfectly fair take. I lost my memories mere days before the hard work many of my wives put in to earn valuable and coveted positions within the imperial harem paid off in a real, tangible way. I can see how this news would be devastating to them. Nevertheless, Yukimiko calmly introduced herself and immediately began to do what she could to get me to trust her. She has nice instincts.

I mentally note that Yukimiko either has incredible luck or that she is a trend-sitter because not a few moments after she speaks others begin to do so as well. In no time at all I find myself surrounded by lovely, eager women who all desire to say hello and see if they can’t get me to remember the beginning of our group marriage. As this happens I smile and listen attentively to my brides, as eager to get to know them as they are to get me to recall them.