Bonds of Power
Copyright© 2025 by SomethingLewd
Chapter 27: The Politics of Power
Science Fiction Sex Story: Chapter 27: The Politics of Power - Dungeon incursions threaten humanity. Ethan’s rare S-rank Essence Bonder Class grants permanent growth and demands multi-partner bonds, powering his abilities with essence created by intimacy, pushing his team into a harem dynamic none expected. As they navigate stigma and personal boundaries, political pressure mounts: many claim Ethan owes society his power, not loyalty to his D-ranked sister and girlfriend. Torn between duty and choice, he must justify the team he refuses to abandon.
Caution: This Science Fiction Sex Story contains strong sexual content, including Ma/Fa Fa/Fa Lesbian Heterosexual Fiction GameLit High Fantasy School Science Fiction Magic Sharing Incest Brother Sister Group Sex Harem Polygamy/Polyamory Cream Pie Exhibitionism Facial Masturbation Oral Sex Voyeurism
The team arrived early at their training facility on the edge of campus, thankful for the warm turn in the weather. Armor was put on and weapons unlimbered as they made their way out to the training yard.
“I’m still not sure why I haven’t been able to channel any other abilities,” Ethan griped as they stepped outside. “When I surged it just ... worked. I didn’t have to think, I just did it.”
“Maybe we should go revisit that scorpion bot at the arena? I could take a hit for ya and see if it works.” Penny teased him.
“Haha, very funny.” Ethan deadpanned. “Seriously, though. I’m stuck.” He watched as Grace began to do some basic warm up exercises, a mixture of different attacks and footwork she made look effortless.
Alice cast a glance at Penny, her eyebrow raised in such a way to let her know the joke hadn’t landed. Penny mouthed a quick “sorry,” to her and she watched as Penny went off to begin training. Alice shook her head, at least when Penny made a bad joke she was always willing to apologize for it. She put the thought out of mind as she made her way to the far corner of the training yard to begin her workout.
“Could it be related to seeing us in danger?” Mei suggested to Ethan. “You’ve heard about the stories of people doing crazy things when adrenaline is coursing through them, maybe it’s something like that?”
Ethan thought back to the dungeon, to watching Alice getting hurt. He winced at the memory, uncomfortable thinking about it. Maybe Mei had a point, though? Maybe he hadn’t grown in his class long enough to be capable of reliably channeling abilities?
“Ive got an idea,” Mei spoke, Ethan looking up as she did. “It’s all about the bond with your class, right? So the bond is where we should look. Remember the lectures on ability activation, how they told us it was mostly intuitive? That the better we got with it, that’s where a lot of our growth comes from?”
Ethan nodded, unsure where she was going with the idea.
“Well, what if channeling our abilities isn’t intuitive? What if you need to learn how to activate our abilities through the bond.” Mei was getting more excited as she spoke, feeling that she might have struck upon the right idea. “They say the way every ability activates is different, but that the marks doing most of the work. If that work isn’t being done for you, you’d have to do it all yourself.”
“I think you’re onto something,” Grace said, not interrupting her movements. “There was a talk Sofia Varga gave a few years back, one of the things she talked about was learning how to control your mark without training wheels, as she called them.”
She paused, finishing her first set of warmup exercises. “She said that while the marks do a lot of the work for us, they also limit you. The same way training wheels on a bicycle don’t let you lean your bike, so does the mark keep you ‘upright’ as she explained it. If you can take those wheels off, learn to activate abilities without the help, you get a lot more flexibility in your skills.”
Ethan was nodding as she explained. “So, you think that I need to learn how to not only activate skills without mark assistance, I need to learn how to do it through the bond. For abilities I’ve never used, and have no feeling for?”
She shrugged. “It’s a better lead than what you had five minutes ago.”
“Maybe you can focus on the bond while I cast?” Mei suggested, getting ready to start her own workout. “I was planning on Firebolt practice today, so I’ll be casting it back to back. Maybe you’ll feel something?”
“I’ll run the bot for you, then.” He walked over to the bot control console. “Any idea where Harris is? He said he’d be out here when I told him our arena slot got cancelled.”
Mei shrugged. “Not sure. Set it up for perpendicular movement, please. I need to practice leading my target.”
The bot activated and rolled out as Ethan punched commands into the console. As it began to move back and forth he sat down, closing his eyes and focused on his bond with Mei. There had to be something there. The first telltale sound of a Firebolt went out and ... nothing.
He gave a small shake of his head, chastising himself for expecting to get it on the first cast. If it were that easy he’d have picked it up a month ago. Focusing again, he concentrated deeper on the bond with Mei, hoping to feel anything.
Penny knelt on the training ground, meticulously recording her long-term growth progress. Her shadow minion stood before her, its form solidifying from the darkness. She measured it with practiced precision—height, strength, speed, durability—and everything in between.
Four feet and two inches tall. She whistled softly under her breath. In just seven weeks, the minion had doubled in height. She shook her head, marveling at the sheer power of Ethan’s class. At this rate, she’d surpass what most D-ranked classes achieved in a decade before the month was out.
Her notes were filled with similar impressive gains. The minion’s durability had increased by 30%, its speed by 25%. Each stat was a testament to Ethan’s unique ability to boost and imbue. Even after the better part of two months she hadn’t gotten used to improving this quickly.
Next, she turned her attention to her Shadow Bolts. Seven projectiles materialized before her, a significant increase from the four she could cast initially. She could almost sense an eighth bolt forming, tantalizingly out of reach. She focused, casting again and again, each attempt pushing her limits.
On the ninth try, she put every ounce of effort into it, screaming “Yes!” as an eighth bolt finally appeared. The triumphant shout echoed across the training yard, drawing curious glances from the rest of the team. She grinned, satisfaction coursing through her veins. This was just the beginning.
She turned to see Ethan watching her with a mix of pride and curiosity. “Eight bolts now?” he asked, walking over.
“Yep,” she replied, still grinning. “And I think I can push for more. You having any luck?”
He shook his head. “Nothing. Having trouble even using Surge again.” He thought for a moment. “I think I need to try and figure out how to use my abilities without the mark helping. Feels like skipping a step if I don’t.”
“Do you think Mage Thompson would be able to help? She’s already had us exercising our abilities, I’m sure she’s familiar with the technique.”
“Yea. I was hoping to speak with her this morning, but neither she nor Harris have responded to any messages.”
Ethan closed his eyes as Penny resumed her training. He felt towards his mark, activating his heal briefly on himself before stopping and repeating, activating the skill over and over. Nothing. He let out a deep breath in frustration, feeling like he was missing something obvious.
Ethan sighed, opening his eyes as he gave up on the attempt for now. Maybe he was going about this all wrong? He had been able to use Surge without thinking, but even that wasn’t working today.
He needed to take Penny’s advice and speak with Mage Thompson, she might have some insight or guidance on how to approach this challenge. There was little point in sitting her struggling aimlessly. He stood, calling out to the rest that he was going to head to the staff offices to see if any of their advisors were free. A round of acknowledgements rang out as he left the training yard.
A short walk later brought him to the admin building where the advisors and their staff had their offices. As he walked through the halls, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. Maybe it was just his frustration clouding his judgment, but he couldn’t help but feel like there was more going on than met the eye.
He reached the advisor’s office suite and approached the secretary sitting at the front desk. “Excuse me,” Ethan said politely. “I’m looking for Mage Thompson. Is she available?”
The secretary looked up from her computer, her expression apologetic. “I’m sorry, but Trainer Harris, Strategist Lee, and Mage Thompson were all called into an urgent meeting. They should be back later this afternoon.”
Ethan frowned, a sense of unease settling in his stomach. “Do you know what the meeting is about?” he asked.
The secretary shook her head. “I’m afraid not,” she said. “It was called suddenly, and no details were given. I’m not sure when they’ll be available.”
Ethan nodded, trying to hide his disappointment. “Thank you,” he said before turning to leave.
As he walked back through the halls, his mind raced with possibilities. He couldn’t shake the feeling that this meeting was somehow connected to Marcus and his attempts to sabotage their team. He shook his head, catching himself assuming that every inconvenience was somehow related to Marcus.
As Ethan was about to leave the building, Guildmaster Thompson appeared from around the corner and called out to him. “Ethan! Do you have a moment?”
Ethan turned around and waited for the Guildmaster to catch up with him.
“Walk with me?” The Guildmaster asked.
“Sure thing,” he replied, falling into step beside him as they walked.
“How are things progressing?” Guildmaster Thompson inquired.
“Pretty well.” Ethan answered. “We’ve been working on our teamwork and strategy, and I think we’re making good progress. We should be ready for D-ranked dungeons fairly soon, despite some mistakes in the last raid.”
The Guildmaster nodded approvingly. “That’s good to hear,” he said. “I know you have a lot of pressure on your shoulders, but I believe in you and your team. Keep up the good work.”
Ethan was led through a secure door the Guildmaster badged open and into a section of the building he’d never seen. The hallway had few features, lined with closed doors and little decoration. It didn’t seem as if many people worked in this area, or if they did, they weren’t moving about the space very often, the hallways empty barring them.