Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos
chapter-1214

Rather than returning to the castle quickly, Vahn walked at a normal pace, his mind in deep thought as he reflected on what Vivian had told him. As it was her ultimate goal to stay at Merlin’s side, she was willing to offer her full support, so long as it did not involve directly interacting with others. Even though she had already ’imprinted’ on the flowery Magus, Vivian could still be corrupted if she were exposed to too many negative emotions. Thus, rather than provide direct assistance, Vivian offered her service as a High Elemental Spirit who had full mastery over the Language of Faeries.

The Language of Faeries, if languages could be classified in such a way, was what Vahn would refer to as a peak Tier 4 language. It had an incredible amount of potential, to the point that Artoria’s armaments and physical enchantments were all derived from the Language of Faeries. So long as the user had a proper understanding of the language’s structure, much like [Primordial Rune]s, there were no limitations to its uses. It could even grant people immortality, manipulate time, or, in the most extreme example, allow a person to move between ’Imaginary Spaces’.

One of the most well-known forms of Magecraft used by the Fae was the Faerie Circles which, if used to their full potential, could even allow for passage to the Reverse Side of the World. As for its lesser, but arguably more useful applications, it could be used to enchant weapons and armor, promoting them to the level of Noble Phantasms. Though all of these uses depended on the amount of mana and materials, these were things that could be dealt with easily. After all, Vivian also had the ability to manifest concepts, albeit limited to aspects of Nature, Water, Yin, and Purification.

What Vahn needed to keep in mind was the warning that Vivian had given him at the very end, the very thing that caused him to take his time when returning to the castle. She had explained that the efficacy of ’Faerie Runes’, which was the written form of the Language of Faeries, relied on the caster being alive. They were intrinsically connected to their creations which also meant that, if used for evil and malicious acts, the creator could be corrupted. It was for this reason that powerful enchantments would be placed on their creations, making it impossible for the vast majority of people to use.

As Vivian had already made a vow to him, stating that she would do anything he asked, Vahn, quite literally, had the authority to have her do whatever he wanted. High Spirits, especially Elementals, were incapable of lying and breaking their vows. Though he would never exploit this, it was enough to make him cautious and considerate of his future actions. After all, Vivian wasn’t the only High Spirit he would interact with in the future and, if he erred along the path he had decided upon, there was a good chance his actions would have disastrous consequences.

Vahn found that it was unfair that humans were able to make pacts and contracts with Spirits, Daemons, and Demons, binding them to their will. The fact that these were all Nature Spirits, existing as part of the natural order of the world, while humanity was more of an ’infestation’, made little sense to him. Though he knew this was a quirk designed by the Record’s Creator, Vahn couldn’t help but feel troubled by the reality he had to face. For better or worse, humanity seemed to be the principal race within most Records, at least those existing within the scope of his knowledge.

Though it wasn’t the first time he had such thoughts, Vahn was now realizing that his ascent into the higher Tiers would be marred by his encounters with two groups, being ’normal’ humans and those who oppressed and controlled them. Unless he proactively sought out Records that functioned from a fundamentally different perspective than what was considered ’normal’, he would be plagued by the same tropes endlessly. This meant, even if he passed through a hundred Records, Vahn would be stuck in the same cycle over and over again, almost as if he were being refined and tempered like a blade being hammered tirelessly...

Shaking his head, Vahn turned his eyes towards the blue skies above, muttering, "The only thing I can do is keep moving forward...when I reach the pinnacle, I won’t allow this kind of structure to exist within the reach of my power..."

In response to Vahn’s words, the gentle and soothing voice of Sis flowed into his mind like water, guiding him in the same way she had always had, (*When you have enough power to link and create your own Records, it will ultimately be up to you to decide how the world itself functions. Even then, you must not forget, Vahn. So long as you endeavor to create a world where everyone can be happy, there will always be forces at play that serve to counteract your efforts. Creation, Destruction, Life, Death, Yin, Yang...for a Record to function, it must exist in a state of balance...*)

Hearing Sis’s words, Vahn nodded his head before continuing along the path toward the castle. As troubling as the thought was, Vahn knew he could not stamp out concepts like evil. Despite his best efforts, there would always be a few people who resist the system, doing everything in their power to break free and rise above others. Even if he promoted a system where they were able to rise up to their full potential, this would not satisfy everyone. At the same time, there would always be people who feel that the system itself is restricting them, despite the reality being that they simply didn’t put in the requisite amount of effort to succeed.

So long as there were differences between people, the seeds for potential conflict would always exist, waiting for the time they could blossom and thrive. It could even happen amongst people who seemed pure and incorruptible as, once they are in a position of uncontested power, just the reality of dealing with the same mundane problems could eventually wear them down. Even Vahn felt that way at times, finding the machinations of existences such as Nobles and Gods to be mundane and repetitive. Most of his enemies had common traits, being that they were either greedy, licentious, despotic, tyrannical, or all of the above. The only real differences between them were their respective crimes which, after a while, seemed to blend together into the same monotonous representation of corruption...

Vahn found himself wondering if it wouldn’t just be easier if he created a system that could interpret the karma of individuals, automatically sorting them into tangential realities where they would only interact with likeminded people. This would pit those with high amounts of negative karma against each other, allowing ’evil’ to prosper in isolation while ’good’ would flourish on its own plane. What made this impossible, or at least foolish to consider, was the realization that planes like Heaven and Hell were an example of such a system which, given enough time, ultimately failed...

Resisting the urge to ruffle his own hair in frustration, Vahn’s figure vanished from the path he had been walking. He next appeared at the entrance to the castle, deciding it was fruitless to think about such things on his own. His path was not one where he arbitrarily decided everything, passing down commands from on high without proper consideration for those who had to follow his decrees. Even when he ruled over entire Records, which was an inevitability at this point, the best he could do was create a system that incorporated the aspects of balance. He might not be able to come up with the most ideal system on his own but, with the help of people like Da Vinci, and the support of all his allies, lovers, and children, Vahn felt they could come up with something...

Though there was still a few hours until he had to return to the Training Orb, Vahn decided to vent some of his frustrations. Scathach spent practically all of her time there, sometimes preparing a few ’surprises’ for him while, other times, building obstacles and altering the terrain for future lessons. If he showed up early, he was essentially allowed to ask for supplementary lessons or just seek general guidance from her so, without having to worry about being trashed the moment he stepped inside, Vahn unhesitantly dropped into the Training Orb. There, as always, he found Scathach waiting for him, her expression almost unreadable as she stared back at him with crimson-red eyes.

Before he could state his reasons for arriving, Scathach preempted him by saying, "You are lost and confused..." This was obviously not the first time she had seen Vahn in such a state, something which she had learned indicated that he was on the precipice of a big decision. With just this small amount of information, Scathach was then able to reach her own conclusions about what plagued his mind, causing her to nod in understanding before saying, "There are none who can force you to bear the burdens you accept upon yourself. Hesitation and frailty of the mind will lead to ruin...if you do not have the conviction to abandon everything, stay focused on the things you want to protect."

As she spoke, Scathach walked over until she was standing just a few centimeters away from Vahn, close enough that she had to crane her head to look up at him. She could see that her words had an effect on him but, with doubt clearly visible in the depths of his eyes, Scathach issued a rare smile as she said, "It is good that you are troubled. If you were not, you would have lost the qualifications to rule over others. This is why so many people support you. You should never have doubts, however, as doing so is an insult to everything you stand for..." Then, placing her palm against Vahn’s chest, Scathach added, "It is time you learn to be more selfish...you cannot live for others."

Hearing Scathach’s words, Vahn had a wry smile on his face as he grabbed her wrist, saying, "If I were more selfish, I fear that I would become a monster...I do not want to become part of the corruption I fight again..." To this, Scathach maintained her smile, staring back at him with an unwavering gaze as she replied, "This is why you’ve surrounded yourself with so many people. Do not look down on us, Vahn...if you step out of line, there will always be someone there to correct you. So long as you do not forget this, it is fine to act like a spoiled child..."

At the end of her words, Scathach prevented Vahn from saying anything further, extending her arms like in a blurred motion that was almost impossible to follow before hugging his face into her chest. She began to stroke the back of his head while adjusting her center of gravity towards the back ever so slightly. As a result, once Vahn began to relax, he naturally fell forward, causing her to tumble to the ground in a much smoother motion than an actual fall. This brought Vahn into a position where he was leaning over her body, his aquamarine eyes emanating a light that was invisible to most, but clearly discernible by Scathach. Seeing this, her usually emotionless face softened somewhat, a small smile on her face as she wrapped her arms around his neck and said, "So greedy...you want me to spoil you as well...?"

Though her words were obviously enough to give Vahn pause, as he knew the repercussions of such actions, Scathach didn’t afford him the time to think about it. Instead, she pulled herself closer to him, her lips close enough to tickle his ear as she whispered, "Give me everything...if you cannot bear the burden, you can entrust it to me...as your teacher, that is another of my responsibilities..." With this said, Scathach flicked Vahn’s earlobe with her tongue before pulling his center of gravity forward so that he was pressing into her. This was enough to cause Vahn to inhale deeply through his nose as he bit his upper lip to restrain himself.

Everything that was happening right now was completely outside his expectations but, seeing the woman who had ’tormented’ him for nearly a year suddenly pressed beneath him caused his brain to buzz instantly. Though he knew she was only ’acting’, as this was also a Skill within her endless list of capabilities, Vahn felt an almost irresistible temptation. This was only exacerbated when he saw the taunting look deep in her eyes, followed by the edges of her lips curling into a condescending smile. At the same time, practically making the decision for him, Scathach’s bodysuit vanished into motes of purple light as she hooked her calves around his legs and pulled him closer to her body...

Despite his inhibitions, Vahn felt that backing out at this point was impossible, but, despite this, he placed his hands down hard, flanking Scathach’s head. He stared into her usually emotionless eyes, resisting the temptation of her immaculately sculpted body and the stimulating heat that was being transmitted into him as he said, "I will not have s.e.x with someone who does not love me...even if I have feelings for them..." Since he had already known her for a very long time at this point, Scathach had become someone very important to him. She not only helped him grow stronger but, due to her own machinations, she now served as one of his ’goals’, something he shouldn’t be able to obtain arbitrarily.

Hearing Vahn’s words, Scathach had a rare pause, her expression distorting slightly as she squinted her eyes. Then, after a few seconds had passed, she stated in a firm tone, "You are the person most precious to me, Vahn Mason. If I didn’t want to give myself to you, there is little you could do to take anything from me..." Following this remark, Scathach quickly reversed their positions, pinning Vahn to the ground in an instant. Before Vahn could say anything further, she grabbed the sides of his face and said very matter-of-factly, "I want to spoil you. I want to give my body to you. If you want me to love you, make me. Don’t make excuses."

Though he was very familiar with how vicious Scathach could be, Vahn had been caught unprepared by her sudden actions. She made it very clear this was something she wanted and, even though he did his best not to rely on it, Vahn couldn’t help activating his View Affection. The moment he did so, Vahn saw something rather discomforting as, with each second he delayed, Scathach’s Affection had started to decrease. What surprised him most of all, however, was the fact that her value had already broken through the threshold, represented by the hidden parameter ’Faith’ at 413. This was the first time he had seen such a value, indicating that Scathach had a lot more trust toward him than he had expected...

Despite his confusion at the peculiar parameter, Vahn was very clear about what he needed to do as, with the activation of his View Affection, he was able to see Scathach’s aura. Though her expression had become somewhat vicious, there was actually no anger at all visible within her aura. Instead, it was a mellow yellow, tinged with sky blues and a healthy amount of pink. It could be the result of the fact she had riled up her own body so that it would be more responsive to him, but it was clear that Scathach wasn’t playing around. This became even more apparent as a small flower of purple began to bloom at the center of her aura, indicating frustration and a small amount of fear...

With his mind calming down a bit, Vahn looked directly into Scathach’s eyes, causing her expression to return to a more neutral state. At the same time, her Affection started increasing, albeit at a much slower pace than the previous decline. Upon seeing this, Vahn adopted a smile as he extended his hand out and tested the feel of Scathach’s ample bosom while saying, "I will make you love me using my own methods...don’t disappoint me, Shishou..."

Hearing Vahn’s words, Scathach’s face formed into a frown but, doubt filling her usually placid mind. It wouldn’t be the first time she had s.e.x with a student and, feeling that Vahn needed a ’boost’ to his ego, she was fully willing to play the part required of her. What she didn’t expect was him regaining his confidence in an instant, causing her current actions to feel like a ’mistake’. This wasn’t the first time he had surprised her, however, so Scathach quickly adjusted her mentality and adapted. As he began to fondle her b.r.e.a.s.ts, she began to grind her h.i.p.s against his, only stopping when Vahn’s eyes became sharp.

From this, she could conclude that he wanted her to remain an almost unreachable goal, something he could obtain, not something to be received. Though she should be happy with Vahn’s decision, Scathach felt a sudden ’emptiness’ in her heart, even though she was certain there had been nothing there moments before...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: ’Shit be whack, yo’,’Ara Ara...’,’Doki Doki’)