Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos
chapter-1828

With everyone’s input, Vahn was able to come up with a number of interesting Templates, both to populate the Emerald Grove and to prepare for future events. This included at least one Template from each person’s Record of origin, and, most notably, a number of ’unique’ Templates that came about as a result of Sis’ suggestion.

Breaking down each Template by the Record they drew inspiration from, Vahn had created Vegeta as a rival for Goku and Android 21 as both a research assistant and reserve combatant. The former was known as the ’Prince of all Saiyans’ back in his original Record, and, though he normally lagged behind Goku, he was currently much stronger due to the fact he was created later. As for Android 21, she was more of an amalgamation of various different races than an actual android, but, most notably, she possessed a constitution that allowed her to absorb the power and adapt the traits of others.

Vahn had originally wanted to create a Template for Bulma, as she was inarguably the most brilliant scientist in her verse, but, much like Goku, Vegeta wasn’t fond of the idea of having his ’canon’ wife appear before he had the chance to fight. This was one of the downsides to Templates inheriting knowledge and information pertaining to their original Record.

Though they were not their actual selves, both Bulma and Vegeta would have knowledge of their original counterparts’ relationship. This awareness virtually guaranteed they would become involved with each other as some relationships were simply too ’iconic’. Bulma and Vegeta were an excellent example of this, as, with very few exceptions, they ended up being paired together in virtually every Record that Vahn was aware of.

As a testament to how influential their subconscious biases could be, the Template Vahn created for Orihime ended up blushing madly the moment she met Ichigo. This caused the latter to feel more than a little embarrassed, and, by the end of the day, the two surprised a grand total of zero people when they announced the start of their relationship at dinner. Ichigo had apparently even tried to ’accept responsibility’ by proposing, but, being the more sensible of two, Orihime politely refused before suggesting they start with dating and getting to know each other before making important life decisions...

Wrapping up the Templates inspired by the Record of Bleach, Vahn decided upon Kisuke Urahara to serve as his ’Chief Researcher’ within the Tower. He was a remarkably intelligent individual, so much so that he could easily be classified as the most intelligent person within his Record. He was more than capable of substituting for Bulma, and, though his counterpart was often paired with Yoruichi, Vahn wasn’t worried about the feline beauty betraying him. This wasn’t even accounting for the fact that she was templated from his adolescent fantasies, a truth she took great pleasure in leveraging against him...

Fortunately, not that they were made for that specific purpose, Urahara didn’t have to worry about lacking female companionship as each of his fellow researchers were female. This included Android 21 and two of Vahn’s ’experiments’, Pokemon hybrids with characteristics derived from completely unrelated Records.

The first was a Pikachu Templated from a rather infamous tsundere known as Misaka Mikoto, one of the Main Heroines from a Record known as To Aru Majutsu no Index. Not only was she remarkably intelligent, but, thanks to the unique power structure of the Toaruverse, her abilities would serve as a perfect point of reference for understanding AIM Diffusion Fields and Personal Realities.

Though there were some peculiar concepts at play, the Toaruverse was an example of a Record where Science and Magic had been developed to the extremes. There were even beings on both sides of the spectrum that could alter the very structure of the multiverse so it was an interesting Record to pull inspiration from. As for why he didn’t just create one of these beings as a Template, Vahn had learned his lesson after creating the Law of Identity, Arceus, Palkia, Dialga, and Giratina.

Despite possessing appearances and abilities similar to their original counterparts, many of the more powerful beings created by Vahn were a far cry from the entities they were Templated from. There was a ’very’ good chance they would eventually grow to rival or even exceed their original selves, but, at least for the time being, their power was limited by his own comprehension.

Before trying to create a Template that could literally alter the structure of Complex Multiverses with a thought, Vahn wanted to increase his understanding of Esper Abilities and Magic from the ground up. Mikoto was an ideal candidate for this, as, despite her tsundere nature, she was a very kind, caring, and astute young lady. As for her counterpart on the Magic side of things...well, the only thing Vahn could really say about her was that she was cute...

Possessing Innates such as [Perfect Memory], [Information Transfer], [St. George’s Sanctuary], and [Index Librorum Prohibitorum], Urahara’s final assistant, intended to help him understand the very nature of Magic, was a silver-haired girl named after her own Innate, Index Librorum Prohibitorum. What made her unique, other than the fact her ’true form’ was that of a Jirachi, was that her Innate defied conventional reasoning by coming ’pre-loaded’ with 103,000 Magical Grimoires.

Though he had no way of knowing if it would work, Vahn’s main reasoning for creating Index, other than the fact he found her original self rather pitiable, was specifically due to her status as the Index Librorum Prohibitorum. She was ’known’ to possess virtually all knowledge pertaining to the unique Magic of her Record, including the method to turn someone into a ’Magic God’, so Vahn decided to take a gamble by entrusting his own expectations to The Path. As for why he Templated her from a Jirachi, known as the ’Wishmaker’, Vahn hoped that it would increase the chances of her possessing the knowledge she was best known for...

Fortuitously, his gamble had paid off, but, in exchange, Index was effectively a carbon-copy of her original self. This included a lazy, somewhat bratty, and extremely gluttonous personality that left her prone to emotional outbursts. Fortunately, these weren’t really issues so long as she stayed in the Emerald Grove as everyone, even Madara and her brother Izuna, were all very understanding. She was even ’adopted’ by another of the other Templates Vahn had created, specifically Edward ’Whitebeard’ Newgate, the monstrously powerful rival that had been created at the insistence of Roger.

Though he didn’t have access to anything like Devil Fruits, Vahn’s [Universal Mind] allowed him to effectively ignore such things. As a result, Whitebeard had full access to his abilities in the form of a Non-Standard Innate known as [Tremor Human]. This, combined with the fact that he appeared as a much younger version of himself, made Whitebeard into a remarkably powerful individual. He also benefited from being created significantly later than Roger, so, while the King of the Pirates didn’t go down easily, he was ultimately crushed under the might of Whitebeard’s fists.

As a monster of a man, standing 666cm tall, Whitebeard was easily the most physically intimidating Template Vahn had ever created. His strength was also unbelievable thanks to his Innate, [World’s Strongest Man], a horrifying ability that let him ’ignore’ physical limitations based on his anger and willpower. His attacks also completely bypassed conventional durability, so, even though the Ninth Layer had been reinforced to compensate for Yuri’s ridiculous strength, Whitebeard was still able to devastate the landscape with his punches.

Fortunately, Whitebeard had inherited perhaps his greatest attributes, his caring, compassionate, and understanding nature. He also placed a heavy emphasis on the importance of family, so much so that he had even tried to make Vahn into one of his children.

In the end, Vahn was able to escape his fate of calling the man Pops by defeating him in battle on the Ninth Floor. This, in turn, spared everyone else from a similar fate, as, according to Whitebeard, the ’strongest’ had the responsibility of being a parent to and guiding the weak. There were many people who had been forced onto a dark path by circumstance; so, unless their character had been twisted beyond reform, Whitebeard firmly believed in the notion that people could be guided back onto the correct path with proper ’parental guidance’.

Though it wasn’t exactly his way of doing things, Vahn didn’t necessarily disagree with Whitebeard’s beliefs. Rather, he found them rather admirable and was looking forward to what the man would be able to accomplish after being let loose in the Tower. He was bound to cause tremendous waves in the Middle and Outer Towers, and, thanks to an agreement he had made with Roger, it was only a matter of time before the battles between their respective crews resonated throughout the entire Tower. This was something Vahn was greatly looking forward to, as one of his principal reasons for creating Templates was to see what they would accomplish without his oversight.

In that same vein, Vahn was also beginning to make preparations for the formation of Fairy Tail by creating Templates derived from Mavis Vermillion, a young Makarov Dreyar, and the final two of the Strauss Siblings: Lisanna and Elfman. The latter two were primarily created for the sake of Mira, even though she stated there was no need. As for the former, they were similar to Mikoto and Index with Mavis’ true form being that of a Celebi while Makarov’s was Templated from a Regigigas. As for why Lisanna and Elfman were spared the Pokemon conversion, it was primarily due to the fact that they, like Mira, already possessed the ability to transform thanks to the Innates that served as the source for their Take Over Magic.

Though it wasn’t nearly as intimidating as Mira’s [Satan Soul], which allowed her to transform into a number of extremely attractive Demonesses, Lisanna’s [Animal Soul] and Elfman’s [Beast Soul] were nothing to scoff at. Lisanna’s was easily the most versatile, allowing her to adopt the characteristics of various animals, and, though many of her transformations were clearly designed with ’fanservice’, in mind, that didn’t make them any less useful. As for Elfman, he possessed the ability to transform into various powerful beasts, including one known as the ’King of Monsters’.

As its name suggested, the ’King of Monsters’ was an inordinately powerful creature, and, though it was a little difficult to control, it’s adaptability was monstrous. It not only provided him a substantial increase in all physical attributes but, most prominently, it gave him an ability reminiscent of Tiona’s Pactio, the ability to regenerate from virtually any wound and develop resistances to whatever had damaged him. So long as he had the reserves to power the transformation, Elfman would gradually become stronger until he had either defeated his opponent or become completely immune to all of their attacks.

Vahn still had a ’personal preference’ for Mira’s transformations, but he couldn’t deny the charm of Lisanna’s and the monstrous potential of Elfman’s. They might not have stood out all that much in their original Record, but, now that they had inherited his Soul Tier, it wouldn’t be long before they had completely transcended their original capabilities. Of course, even if they chose to never fight, Vahn wouldn’t particularly mind since he would never force anyone to fight on his behalf. They had the right to choose how they lived, and, even if they wanted to help, he would endeavor to resolve most things on his own or with support from Fenrir.

Now that he had reached the 20th Floor, Vahn was intending to have Fenrir accompany him during his journey up the Tower. Ho and Grey had already been released into the Middle Tower, so, while Ryun would likely accompany them, Fenrir would be his primary traveling companion until he had reached the absolute pinnacle of the Record. This would expose her to great danger, but, with her unique Innates, it was only a matter of time before she became one of the strongest beings in the entire Tower. The only entities that could reasonably hope to compete with her, especially with his constant support, were the three Templates he had created in an effort to test the limits of his [Universal Mind]...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: ’Mikotochu~!’,’Gurararararara~!’,’The promise of a brighter future...!’)