Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos
chapter-1523

Though it hadn't been his original intention, none of the Inner Sanctum's residents were surprised when Vahn expressed his desire to restructure Olympus. Rather, they seemed to have anticipated it, Da Vinci even going so far as to prepare an administrative system to help govern in his stead. There had never been a doubt in her mind that his busy-body nature wouldn't come into play. Thus, with a vested interest in the technology of Olympus, she had prepared numerous measures to ensure order and stability returned to the devastated region.

In the end, Vahn became the new ruler of Mount Olympus, even if it was in name and title alone. The actual governance was left to the system designed by Da Vinci, leaving the Gods acting as little more than guarantors. This left Goddesses like Athena relatively bitter, but, after losing against every main combatant within the Empire, Vahn included, she stopped causing trouble. As for Hestia and Hecate, the former turned out to be more eccentric than expected while the latter, after a reunion with Circe and Medea, became surprisingly agreeable. She still pestered him like an In-Law, but it was nothing compared to the expectations he had built up after their first meeting...

With Olympus serving as the prime example, Vahn's intentions shifted from arbitrarily killing Gods to negotiating with them. He was already well aware of the fact that most Gods weren't actually evil, so, with the exception of Gods who were known to mistreat other races, Vahn wasn't unwilling to reach a compromise. Most Gods would give way to a higher authority, and, with Gaia, Alaya, Tiamat, and Amaterasu on his side, it didn't take much to 'convince' them to either obey or stay within their own Textures.

Regardless of whether or not they chose to obey the Common Law or remain in their own Textures, Vahn forced every God to sign a binding contract, not with him, but with Gaia. Their Divine Authority was 'borrowed' from her, so, if they ever went against the terms they had agreed upon, their powers would be stripped from them. As for the few Solar Deities that remained, they were either freed from their prison, subsumed by Amaterasu, or sealed away with the Textures they had become fond of...

When everything was said and done, more than three years had passed on the Surface, equating to more than twenty within the Projection. A lot had changed in this period of time, including most of Vahn's children growing into teens that spent most of their time outside the Projection. The only real exception to this was Sophia, as, after attending school for a single day, she completely lost interest in even trying to associate with her 'peers'. As a result, she had grown into a beautiful young woman who could give Da Vinci, Isanna, and Naavi a run for their money.

In this same time period, a number of changes in the interpersonal relationships between the Inner Sanctum's residents had occurred. The most noteworthy change was brought about by the maturity and subsequent 'graduation' of the Designer Babies. Vahn had even officially knighted Sakura, Mash, Astrid, and Zoe once they graduated from the Clock Tower and passed their Knight Selection Trial. As for Alex, he decided to follow in Siegfried's footsteps, becoming a wanderer who helped everyone he came across. This resulted in him gradually becoming the youngest member of the Designer Babies, allowing even Juliet, a proud Maid of the Inner Sanctum, to surpass him.

As could be expected, the Knighting of Sakura and Mash had some rather immediate consequences. This included accepting Mash's feelings, and, after several hours of tense silence, granting Galahad permission to marry Sakura. With this, the former happily became a permanent member of the Inner Sanctum whilst Sakura, as if to drive a stake into Vahn's bleeding heart, ended up getting pregnant less than two months after her honeymoon.

Though he was well over two-hundred years old at the time, Vahn felt more nervous about being a grandfather than being a father. There was something about seeing his daughter going through the stages of pregnancy that worried him to no end. As a result, he took his frustrations out on Galahad, forcing the reserved Knight to tolerate his grievances until Sakura intervened, lecturing him quite a bit in the process. After that, Vahn could only complain to Rin, who, unlike him, seemed to take the matter in stride...

Despite his misgivings, Vahn dutifully delivered his grandson once Sakura was ready to give birth. It was a relatively awkward affair, but, with Sakura herself asking that he perform the procedure, it was impossible for him to refuse. Afterward, though he never actually hated Galahad, Vahn suddenly felt like the man had become a part of his family. Seeing him on the verge of tears as he and Sakura held their firstborn son made it impossible to have any hard feelings toward him. Rather, if it came down to it, Vahn had no doubt in his mind that Galahad would sacrifice everything to protect his daughter, making him more than worthy as both a husband and father...

Following the birth of his grandson, Ren Aldrnari Mason, meaning 'lotus', only Artoria remained with child. This concerned many of the Inner Sanctum's residents, but, knowing it wasn't even considered 'long' from the perspective of a True Dragon, Vahn wasn't too worried. The only thing preventing the little hatchling from being born was the fact that Artoria enjoyed being pregnant. She felt no need to force the matter, either, so, whenever someone brought it up, she would simply laugh it off.

Using his ability to read the Flow of Fate, Vahn knew that Artoria's pregnancy, on average, would last around one-hundred years. He could, of course, speed up the process considerably, but, after seeing Artoria lying lazily on the sofa, affectionately stroking her belly, any desire he had to force the matter had evaporated. Instead, he would often join her, gently embracing her from behind as the lay lazily on the sofa for hours at a time...

With a stern expression on his face, Vahn stared back at the woman, who, at this point, had become a carbon-copy of his Shishou. The only difference was, instead of wearing a purple bodysuit, she was attired in the regulation armor of the Imperial Knights. This always created a sense of incongruity in Vahn's heart, but, in spite of this, he wielded the yet-unnamed Asauchi in his hand, adopting a loose stance as he muttered, "Your move..."

Without any visible hesitation, Scathach's body became a blur of white, gold, and dark purple as she turned into a veritable tempest. Her spear, colored in a characteristic blood-red, created vibrant trails of light that cut off all paths of retreat. Some of the trails even altered causality, bending cause and effect to ensure the attack couldn't be dodged.

Seeing the torrent of blows targetting each of his vital points, Vahn's pupils transitioned from their usual aquamarine to a vibrant gold for a brief moment. Time seemed to stagnate in response to this change, allowing him to see the always-interesting sight of Scathach, her body twisted in multiple forms that were all melded together into a singular whole. Though she only wielded a single spear, her movements split into seven unique trajectories, each as real as the others...

After admiring Scathach's ever-impressive display of skill, Vahn's body began to move without him needing to direct it. In the time it took for his fist to make contact with her abdomen, he could have counted to more than a hundred, but, in actuality, not even a millisecond had passed. It was like the world had been frozen around him, allowing only his painfully slow movements to proceed without pause...

Immediately after his fist made contact, Vahn felt as if time had sped up thousands of times in an instant. Most of Scathach's attacks spontaneously ceased to exist, leaving only a single trail to swipe harmlessly next to his face as the woman in question was sent flying like a cannonball. This wasn't even remotely enough to take her out of the fight, however, leaving the hair on Vahn's neck tingling as a spatial tear appeared right behind him.

With a quick twist of his head, Vahn managed to evade the sudden sneak attack, the edge of the spear nearly cresting the tip of his nose. At the exact same moment, Scathach created a foothold in mid-air, using [Koku Shundo] to immediately close the distance as her previous spear erupted in an explosion of scarlet energy. She ignored the shockwave that impacted her body, attempting to plant her own palm against her Master's chest, but, like a mantis catching a cicada, Vahn's hand instantly moved to grasp her wrist.

Once the fiery plume of energy faded away, Vahn was revealed to have an amused smile on his face. His hair was forced to the side in a rather comical fashion, but, as if it remembered the shape it was supposed to be in, it quickly fixed itself as he said, "You never cease to amaze me. Tell me, how have your matches with Mordred been going...?"

After staring at where her Master was holding her wrist, a very light flush colored Scathach's cheeks as she answered, "She has improved a lot, but I'm still leading with 2473 victories and zero losses..."

Hearing Scathach's answer, Vahn felt like he could hear Mordred crying out for justice in the back of his mind. He knew they had a bit of a one-sided rivalry between them, but, with Scathach improving at a monstrous rate, it was very difficult to surpass her. Even without the [Wisdom of the Haunted Ground], she subconsciously remembered all of her skills and abilities. The only thing that prevented her from winning against him was the vast, almost insurmountable, difference in Parameters.

Releasing Scathach's wrist from his grasp, Vahn nearly chuckled when he saw her how disheartened her expression became. She had become rather fond of him over the years, and, though there was always a bit of distance between them, Vahn appreciated her quite a bit. At this point, the only thing preventing them from moving forward with their relationship was the inhibitions he had developed after the death of her 'original'. Even then, it would only take her expressing her intentions for him to finally relent...

Though she was unaware of her Master's thoughts, Scathach seemed to be building up her courage as she absentmindedly stared at his lips. She had received a lot of advice lately, but, knowing of the trouble her original self had caused, she was afraid he would ultimately refuse her. After that, there would be no way to heal their relationship, so, despite the assurance of others, she was afraid to give voice to her feelings...

Due to the 'support' of others within the Inner Sanctum, Vahn and Scathach often found themselves alone together during normal training hours. He had also been lectured quite a bit about pressuring the heart of a maiden, so, after seeing Scathach gradually lower her eyes, Vahn released an internal sigh before asking, "How do you feel about me, Scathach? And no, I don't mean as your Lord and Master...tell me truthfully how you feel..."

To give her a little courage, Vahn gingerly traced his finger along Scathach's chin, compelling her to look up at him as their faces became marginally closer together. This caused her eyes to gradually widen, and, after swallowing audibly, she answered, "I don't...know...all I know is that my heart hurts when we are apart...I want to be at your side...I want to be wanted..."

While not exactly the words he was looking for, Vahn internally remarked ("Close enough...") as he slowly closed the remaining distance between their lips. It probably wasn't fair to think she actually knew what love was, as, even after thousands of years, her original wasn't able to figure it out. All she really knew was an instinctual desire to break free from the loneliness locked away deep within her subconscious. This was something he could grant her, so, without further ado, he decided to teach her what love was using his own methods...

After a long, passionate, and surprisingly tame kiss, Vahn separated his lips from Scathach, who, from the very beginning, had practically frozen in place as she instinctually reciprocated his kiss. He could tell she was forcibly restraining her own desires, allowing him to do everything in spite of the fact her body 'wanted' to respond more fervently.

Understanding his responsibility, Vahn eyed the Asauchi in his right hand before splitting his body in two. This caused Scathach's eyes to open even wider than before, her face turning completely scarlet as wayward thoughts began racing through her mind.

Seeing his former Master-turned-Apprentice's reaction, Vahn struggled to restrain his laughter as he lightly pat himself on the shoulder and exited the training orb. He still had numerous uncertainties regarding the Asauchi, especially with nearly thirty-seven years passing, so Vahn was unwilling to let it separate from his 'main' body. As a result, he could only leave himself to deal with Scathach, taking the Asauchi to play elsewhere...

After finding a place atop one of the Ivory Castle's Wizard Towers, Vahn gazed out over Avalon with a contented smile on his face. It was still the same peaceful and pristine land as before, but, with the passage of time, the overall population had eclipsed ten million. If you looked towards the direction of the port, it was now possible to find tens-of-thousands of aesthetically pleasing buildings, many combining the sensibilities of Japanese architecture with more futuristic designs.

With his domain now stretching more than eighteen kilometers, Vahn could 'see' the myriad peoples of Avalon going about their daily lives with smiles on their faces. Humans weren't even the dominant population so it was possible to see Companions, Fae, and even Yokai walking around. They all lived in relative harmony with each other, rarely requiring direct intervention. Even then, it was usually just to settle a drunken dispute after a few colleagues had too much to drink.

At this point, the first three phases of Vahn's plan were nearing, or at, completion. The only thing he was waiting for was the construction of the Supercolonies, but, with steadily rising support and rapid technological advancements, it wouldn't be long before they were completed. He had even used the Holy Grail created by Illya to deal with some growing issues, primarily things like disease and famine, so things were going exceptionally well, all things considered...

With his smile gradually increasing, Vahn turned to the Asauchi laying across his lap, musing, "Now, if only I could get you to wake up...seriously, how long are you going to keep sleeping? Am I doing something wrong...?"

Originally, six years was supposed to be the average for awakening a Zanpakutou Spirit, but, due to his usage of Marble Phantasms and Spirit Time Orbs, Vahn's age was nearing 250 years old. Now, it felt like a literal lifetime had passed since he forged the Asauchi, but, other than the occasional hum, it showed no signs of awakening. It was a truly troublesome matter, especially with a certain sakura-haired sword otaku constantly pestering him about forging another...

In response to Vahn's musings, the Asauchi released a pleasant hum, which, in his ears, sounded like it was saying, "Don't rush me. I'll wake up when I'm good and ready!".

Shaking his head, Vahn issued a dry laugh before pulling out an oil rag and meticulously polishing the Asauchi's blade. This caused it to release a steady and persistent hum, seemingly satisfied by the fact he was spoiling it.

Though he would never vocalize it, Vahn was pretty sure his Zanpakutou had already awoken, but, as it was very spoiled, it pretended to remain asleep. He had no way to confirm this, however, so, rather than make a big deal out of it, he patiently awaited the day when its voice resonated in his ears. This process could probably be sped up if he faced a powerful opponent, but, with few enemies posing a legitimate threat to him, this was largely just speculation...