Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos
chapter-1172

According to modern Thaumaturgical practices, there were no such things as the Holy and Death elements, even though their effects could clearly be seen. Instead, they were both classified as a ’neutral’ element and, only by using specific types of Magecraft, such as Curses, Necromancy, and Purification, would they gain any meaningful effect. In that regard, rather than having Holy and Death elemental affinities, Gray was considered to have an Earth affinity, one of the five ’known elements’ consisting of Earth, Wind, Water, Fire, and Ether.

Everything else was classified, somewhat foolishly, into ’imaginary factors’. These were the True Ether, Hollow and Nothingness elements which, when broken down according to Laws, were actually just Creation, Destruction, Space, Time, and Void elements all loosely lumped together to ’explain’ that which they were unable to truly comprehend. Even more arbitrarily was, for everything they couldn’t explain according to their flawed rationale, the Mage’s Association simply classified the phenomena as ’Mystery’.

When Vahn had first learned these things, he had treated them very seriously as, with thousands of years of research, he didn’t want to completely discredit the efforts of early Magi. Now that he had a better understanding of things, however, Vahn felt like the Mage’s Association, and potentially every other major power, had ’crippled’ themselves by arbitrarily assigning ’meaning’ to things they simply failed to comprehend. Then, after coming up with these definitions and developing theories using skewed logic, they had cultivated the idea of Magecraft, bastardizing Laws and pursuing a tangential path that would lead them down an incalculable number of dead ends.

Though Vahn didn’t assume his understanding was correct, he knew that Laws were what governed all Records and, with the existence of Gods that embodied things such as Life and Death, it was honestly a little ridiculous that modern Magi had discredited them as elements for no other reason than they couldn’t manifest it properly. Thus, instead of wasting his time trying to make sense of the bastardized logic of the Mage’s Association, Vahn had defaulted back to what he had learned from Eva and his own comprehension of the Laws.

After all, when language and runes could literally create phenomena that could fundamentally alter the nature of the physical world, he thought it was rather foolish to try and ’define’ things according to strict guidelines. The people who created these guidelines weren’t even able to reach the Root, making it seem like the entire Magus Community had become part of an elaborate joke, one which they had been playing on themselves for the last twenty-seven-hundred years.

Knowing what he knew, Vahn was confident he could educate a few Magi that, over the course of mere decades, would be able to drastically outclass all but the most prodigious Magus families. This was due to the fact that, while they may have used flawed logic to develop their abilities, the families that had persisted the longest had been able to break away from the ’established’ system to develop their unique Magecraft. They recorded all of this knowledge into Magic Crests which, over the course of hundreds, or even thousands of years, would allow their progeny to become extremely powerful, at least compared to other modern Magi. Some even reached the point that, amongst their peers, their bodies were considered to have ’developed’ Mystery, granting them even greater power.

Vahn found the fact they just arbitrarily explained away the comprehension of Laws as some obscure and mysterious force was laughable. In truth, they were just increasing their Soul Tier and, by gaining comprehension of one of the Laws, they had been able to distinguish themselves from others. It was unfortunate that by believing their power was nothing more than ’Mystery’ given form, they actually decreased their potential power considerably. The only ones who were able to break free from this trend were those who, either by living much longer lives than normal, or simply by losing their mind, had stopped caring about things like Mystery entirely...

Though now might be a strange time to consider such things, Vahn had quite a bit on his hands as he continued to hug Gray, allowing the petite woman to drain a considerable amount of his blood. One of her greatest secrets, which not even Lord El-Melloi II knew, was how she had ultimately gained the appearance of Artoria. When she was younger, only her face looked vaguely similar to the portrait her family had of King Arthur, passed down for generations. Then, when she reached puberty and had started to become more feminine, Gray had been made to ingest a vial of blood that had been sealed away by her Ancestors. This contained the actual blood of Artoria and, after forcing Gray to undergo a ritual to try and imbue Artoria’s soul into her body, she had ultimately lost her life...

Fortunately, though it had caused Gray to bear a heavy trauma, the same ceremony that was used to call upon Artoria’s soul had simply called her own back. Since she had actually died, however, Gray had brought ’death’ back with her, polluting the body that now bore the same appearance as her distant Ancestor. Her golden-blond hair quickly lost its color, turning a greyish-white like ashen bones while her pristine blue eyes gained a ghostly green hue. More troublesome was the fact that, as Artoria herself was akin to a Nature Spirit, combined with Gray’s ’death’ element, she became an entity infinitely close to a Vampire. However, with her Holy element and the cloak she always wore, which served as a ’Holy Shroud’, even the most astute Vampire Hunters would not be able to mistake Gray for a Dead Apostle.

From the time of the ritual’s failure, Gray’s life became increasingly more difficult as, feeling she had failed the family that had elevated her like an idol to be worshipped, she cut off her emotions from the rest of the world. If not for her appearance matching King Arthur’s, combined with her ability to use the Holy Spear, there was a good chance she would have outright been abandoned, killed, or used to ’produce’ the next generation heir. Even her mother had been ’selected’ by the Clan at an early age, i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.ed with an embryo that had been cultivated from analyzing King Arthur’s DNA. With her own body sharing the same characteristics as Artoria, the only thing that prevented Gray from sharing that fate was the intervention of Lord El-Melloi II...

After having been ’saved’, Gray shared many of her secrets with Lord El-Melloi II, only leaving out the most important aspects to avoid being labeled a monster. Only Add knew of her pseudo-vampiric traits and, in order to keep it a secret, he would drain the blood of enemies Gray had killed through small channels. Then, when they were alone, Gray would sate her blood thirst by consuming small amounts of blood every couple of days. As for her other symptoms, they were largely kept at bay by the existence of her Holy elemental affinity. The only time they would become unbearable was when she had been fighting for long periods of time, especially against humanoid enemies, or when she was required to visit places with a high concentration of Spiritual Energy. As all Vampires hailed from True Ancestors, which were Greater Nature Spirits, the presence of an abundance of mana could exacerbate Gray’s need to ’feed’ considerably...

Since she had decided to follow Vahn, Gray had confided her greatest secrets to him after the scare of imagining life as Svin’s ’pet’. When he had learned about this, Vahn had surprised Gray quite a bit by explaining his [Magia Erebea] constitution and how, rather than the Pseudo-Divine Spirit he had claimed to be in the past, he was, in truth, a Greater Divine Spirit that, in essence, was considered to be a True Ancestor. With that being the case, even though it hadn’t been his intention by bringing it up, Gray had asked him if she could suck his blood. This would, in essence, make her into a Dead Apostle Ancestor and, as the first source of ’living’ blood she had ever drained, it would intrinsically link them together for the rest of their lives.

By allowing Gray to suck his blood, Vahn would gain a nigh-inviolable dominion over her, showing just how much she trusted him to go through with the ceremony. Not only would she feel compelled to obey him but, if he didn’t periodically give her blood, Gray’s body would begin to slowly degrade over time. Her Holy elemental affinity would greatly delay this, especially if she were around Artoria and continued to possess Add, but he would still need to allow her to suck his blood every couple of days. This would not only grant her a significant boost in her already high combat power, but it would actually ’decrease’ her compulsion to obey his orders. The only time a True Ancestor would allow someone to suck their blood was when they were choosing a life partner or choosing their kin. By allowing her to suck his blood consistently, Gray would inevitably break free from his compulsion completely, becoming an existence on the same level as a True Ancestor herself.

With that in mind, Vahn continued to hold Gray in his embrace, finding the process of having his blood sucked strangely ther.a.p.eutic. Holding a petite young woman in his arms while a warm feeling spread throughout his body reminded him of the time he had spent with Eva. Though there were, in truth, numerous differences, Vahn was doing his best not to think about them. It wasn’t Eva’s fault that her body was essentially stuck in a perpetual state of youth. Comparing her to Gray, who had various soft and plump features that Eva fundamentally lacked, was somewhat unfair and, knowing she would probably ’punish’ him for such thoughts, Vahn did his best not to think about them...

The most distinct contrast between Gray and Eva was the fact that, while the latter was able to keep her composure after hundreds of years of adaptation, Gray was experiencing the euphoria of sucking blood for the first time. It wasn’t well-known but, for those Dead Apostles that had been human, the process of sucking blood itself was an extremely intimate expression of love. This was due to the fact that, while a powerful charming effect flowed into the body of their victims, it also stirred up their own desires considerably. It was this aspect of vampirism that caused them to become addicted to the process and, after subordinating hundreds, or even thousands, of victims, they would begin to develop a feeling of superiority. These were the same emotions that allowed Dead Apostles to turn against their Masters, becoming Dead Apostle Ancestors by draining the blood of their creators...

As Gray continued to suckle his blood with increasing fervor, her hands simultaneously began to explore the surface of his back while, though she had resisted it at first, she began to grind against his leg with her lower body. Vahn could feel hot moisture soaking through his trousers and, as there was only one way this could end, he pulled out a bed from thin air. There were actually no people buried in this section of the mausoleum and, with the lower floor even being isolated from the rest of the world, it was essentially just an ornate room full of empty coffins. Even the large tomb at the top, which was supposed to have housed Artoria’s body, contained nothing more than the broken fragments of the original Caliburn, shattered in her battle against King Pellinore in the distant past...

Suddenly finding herself parallel to the ground, separated from the bed by Vahn’s body, Gray took a brief moment to extract her teeth from his shoulder, her ghostly green eyes blazing as a deep blush had already spread across her entire face and neck. The emotions she had been holding back welled up inside her at this moment and, not caring about anything else in the world, Gray was breathing heavily as she pressed Vahn down with surprising strength, greedily seeking his lips. At the same time, Vahn hiked up the side of Gray’s dress and, feeling more than a little heated himself, tore the fabric of her white hosiery instead of placing it into his Inventory. He had decided that, during this important moment in Gray’s life, he wasn’t going to hold himself back as much as he ought to...

Gray could feel the cool air against her bottom but, instead of complaining, she began to wiggle her h.i.p.s expectantly as her fingernails, now sharper than before, dug into Vahn’s scalp. Since he was almost immune to attack beneath B-Rank at this point, this showed that Gray’s Strength parameter, unmodified, had to be around lower A-Rank. As he was certain this hadn’t been the case previously, it was clear that sucking his blood had been a considerable boost to her parameters. At the same time, her Mana Circuits currently looked like hot metal, shining with vibrant light after becoming saturated with the energy from his blood. It wasn’t just her Mana Circuits that had changed as, with their bodies overlapped, Vahn could feel a similar aura to Eva’s and his own coming from Gray’s body...

Deciding to worry about her changes later, Vahn moved aside the drenched fabric beneath her ripped hosiery while lifting his glans to Gray’s hungry entrance, allowing her to devour his member in one swift motion. This caused Vahn’s h.i.p.s to buck, eliciting a pleasured m.o.a.n from Gray as her Holy elemental affinity caused his p.e.n.i.s to tingle madly. It wasn’t just her vampiric nature that had been awakened and, with a phenomenal amount of energy flowing through her body, Gray’s Holy and Death elements had been drastically strengthened. Not only was her body greedily absorbing his energy, similar to a Succubus or a Dryad, but it felt like his own body was being ’purified’ just by being in contact with her...

Feeling his own passions amplified by the ’frustrating’ sensation, Vahn sunk his own fingers into Gray’s butt which, while not the plumpest, was very soft to the touch. Her cheeks were still wrapped in the pure white hosiery but, with his own fingernails and rough movements, it wasn’t long before they also submitted. As for Gray, to a soul-shaking extent, she was rocking her own h.i.p.s madly while Vahn, holding almost nothing back, was stabbing against her insides. A loud and indecent sound, literally that of meat slapping against meat echoed through the area, accompanied by loud, almost visceral m.o.a.ns. When she regained her senses later, Vahn knew Gray would be beside herself with embarrassment but, for the next few hours, the only thing that mattered was their union...

By the time Vahn left the mausoleum, the sun had just started to appear on the horizon and, causing Gray to wince, even though the sunlight didn’t affect her more than normally. Though it had always hastened the degradation of her body, the primary reason she always wore clothes that concealed the majority of her body, Gray’s current reaction was nothing more than the general hatred people had when the sun poked in through a crack in the window, flashing across your eyes and forcing you awake. Before then, she had been sleeping snuggly on Vahn’s back so, feeling the cool air against her body and having the unrepentant morning sun shining on her face, Gray buried her face into Vahn’s shoulder and complained, "Turn out the lights..." before dozing off once again...

Hearing her rather adorable remark, Vahn had a strong urge to laugh but, out of consideration for how tired she must have been, he kept it restrained. With Gray’s body now becoming infinitely closer to that of a True Ancestor, she had essentially become immortal. Even if her body was destroyed, she would continue to regenerate and, with few exceptions, the only way to kill her would be to seal her away. Even Holy Sacraments and Purification wouldn’t be as effective against her as other Vampires as, unlike them, Gray still had an inherent Holy elemental affinity. She was an enigma, even amongst other Dead Apostle Ancestors and, if given enough time, there was a good chance that Gray would become one of the most powerful. After all, the blood she was absorbing was his own, that of a Tier 4 entity that was comprised of Source Energy. As he grew stronger, so would she, without any limits whatsoever...

While walking back to the castle at a leisurely pace, as he was already late, Vahn took a moment to reflect on his decision. This was something Gray herself wanted and, though the memories of the last twenty hours would probably be a ’trauma’ for her, Vahn doubted she would regret it. The only thing he was considering now was whether or not to convince Gray to accept a body made from Source Energy. It wouldn’t change her nature as a Dead Apostle, as this was something imprinted upon her Ego and given form in her Innates and Skills, but it would increase her regenerative capabilities even further. He assumed she would refuse at first but, if he made an effort to convince her, Gray would likely accede without too much resistance.

Deciding it was best to broach the subject after Gray had ’broken free’ of his compulsion, Vahn made a mental note to have Artoria or Fenrir mention it to her at some point. Even if he was the one to set it in motion, it always meant more if the person made the decision without direct pressure. If he was the one to bring it up now, Gray would probably agree without any thought on the matter. He could even ask her to jump into a kiln or sink to the bottom of the sea as, for the time being, Gray’s Loyalty was represented with the ’Eternal Loyalty’ parameter.

This value only showed if the person, or entity, in question had no ability to resist his orders. Thus, until she had regained her independence, Vahn wasn’t going to put too much pressure on Gray since she would, quite literally, do anything for him. For the time being, the only thing Vahn truly wanted for Gray, something he had made very clear to her previously, was for her to be happy. Based on the smile she had while ’play-biting’ his shoulder in her sleep, causing her drool to soak into the fabric of his shirt, Vahn wanted to assume they were off to a good start...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: ’For a time, it was ’common sense’ that the world was flat. Assumptions can be dangerous if never corrected...’,’That went from 0 to 100 real fast (O_O)...!’,’*Munyaa~*’)