Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos
chapter-1925

With nothing of note happening, even after an entire week, Vahn's interest in the Hidden Floor was rapidly diminishing. He was starting to question why they were even there, and, were it not for the promises he made to people like Daniel and Yura, he might have given the order to retreat. Instead, he did his best to remain patient whilst alleviating his boredom through reinforcing the Town of the Wandering Minstrels and renovating the facilities most commonly used by his people.

Unfortunately, as was often the case, doing 'busy work' ultimately resulted in him feeling even more annoyed during the moments when he had nothing to do.

In an effort to remedy his frustrations, Vahn had been spending an ever-increasing amount of time watching over the progress of the other groups. The eight months he had spent watching over the progress of his Template had primed him to do the same with others; and, compared to looking for vile and despicable people to erase, it was a lot more interesting watching the interplay between his friends, family, and loved ones.

Though he believed he knew them quite well, Vahn found it both strange and refreshing to see how differently everyone acted when he wasn't around. It was almost like they were completely different people, when, in reality, they were simply demonstrating the parts of their characters they generally kept hidden when he was around.

Fortunately, while there were some notable tensions among specific individuals, Vahn was able to see there was no real animosity between them. Instead, they seemed to be silently competing with each other, not for any particular prize, but to demonstrate their capabilities and prove something to themselves.

In particular, Vahn enjoyed watching the interactions between Team 'Saberface', and, to a lesser extent, the interplay between people such as Madara, Yoruichi, and the members of Fenrir's 'pack'. The latter gave off the impression of a very hard-working group, but, due to the quirks of each of its members, watching over them always brought a smile to his face...

Sensing the approach of a guest, Vahn momentarily ceased his spying, saying, "It's open." before the person on the opposite side could knock. This led to a somewhat awkward silence, but, after a few seconds had passed, he was unsurprised to see the face of Mikoto peeking in, asking, "Are you busy?"

Considering he had been lounging in an oversized beanbag whilst spying on the group consisting of Fenrir, Illya, Atalanta, Ryun, and Ai, Vahn could only offer a wry smile as he answered, "No...I was just keeping my eye on a few things. Is there something you needed from me...?"

Seeing Vahn's figure half-buried in a leaf-green bean bag, Mikoto's surprise prevented her from immediately responding to his words. As a result, Vahn's smile morphed into one of amusement as he performed a 'come hither' gesture and said, "If you're bored, we can watch some anime. I'm sure we can find a version of your Record of origin that doesn't involve a version of you being played by Touma."

As was often the case when she was embarrassed, Mikoto's face immediately became beet red, her ahoge releasing sparks as she shouted, "I told you to stop saying things like that! You...you stupid dummyhead...!"

Rather than responding directly, Vahn simply manifested one of the countless Memory Projection Orbs that currently littered his Inventory before adjusting his position in the bean bag. This caused Mikoto to inflate her cheeks and adopt a look that was equal parts indignant and adorable, but, as the purpose of her visit had actually been to see if Vahn wanted to spend some time together back in the Little Garden, she ultimately deflated before transforming into her Pikachu form and running over to his side.

With the adorable pokemon seated in his lap, Vahn adjusted his position a second time so that they could recline back comfortably before surprising Mikoto quite a bit by bringing his left hand to rest on her squishy, soft, and furry underbelly. If not for her bright yellow fur and the red circles coloring her cheeks, he imagined she would be blushing rather furiously right now, but, rather than trying to flee, she just released a mewl-like, "Pika~" as he rubbed both her belly and head simultaneously...

Several hours after Vahn had started his anime viewing session with Mikoto, seven other versions of himself appeared alongside several other unique and eccentric-looking individuals atop a mountain overlooking the Town of the Wandering Minstrels. Among them, three people stood out more than the rest due to their style of dress and rather unique appearances. This included a flowery man with inordinately long white hair, a golden-haired beauty garbed in shadows, and, most notably, a giant of a man with golden hair and sharp features garbed in pirestly-looking, blood-red, robes.

A stark contrast to how the situation would have presented itself in reality, the golden-haired man stood at the centermost position with Fenrir, currently resembling a giant wolf, lying obediently at his side. This greatly annoyed both Fenrir and every Vahn present, but, due to the system's inherent bias, they, as well as the two eccentric individuals flanking him, were compelled to obey the golden-haired man's commands.

Had they known this beforehand, they never would have put in the effort to have him summoned. Now, however, it was too late to do anything about it as the system, unable to differentiate things like Soul Tier, automatically placed them beneath the man it identified as 'King Jahad'. It even gave him authority comparable to his younger Data self, and, while this was technically the reason they had summoned him, the man's presence had completely undermined the group's ongoing efforts.

Similar to the actual Jahad, the Data of King didn't care in the slightest about the Hidden Floor or the Data Humans residing within. The only thing he cared about was eliminating the traitors that were conspiring against him and removing a threat to the Tower's stability. As a result, one of the first things he did following his manifestation was attempt to destroy both the Hidden and Hidden Hidden Floors in an attempt to send a message to his true self. This was fortunately opposed by the current Administrator of the system, Data Jahad, who, despite having unwavering admiration for his real-world counterpart, called the Data of the King out for being a coward.

Shortly after the private exchange between the two Jahad's, the Data of the King gathered each of the other Sworn Enemies, picking and choosing the more 'useful' among them before eliminating the rest alongside many of the Data Humans they had painstakingly rescued from the Hidden Floor. This left a bad taste in the mouth of virtually every Sworn Enemy, as, not only did Jahad proactively choose to undermine their efforts, he had ordered them to carry out the deed. Fenrir, in particular, had been used to dispose of both Data Humans and Sworn Enemies, an action that greatly stressed her out, but, much like everything else, Jahad didn't care about her mental state, only that she was useful.

Seemingly oblivious to the heavy atmosphere surrounding him, Jahad silently observed a number of displays that only he could see, his expression a mask of apathy as he monotonously declared, "How pathetic...your ineptitude has provided the enemy an opportunity to circumvent the system's authority and secure a defense position. Had you done your duty from the start, this situation could have been avoided. Instead, you wasted your time trying to save the lives of beings who are little more than illusions and collections of data. Now, both the Hidden and Hidden Hidden Floors are in jeopardy. What do you have to say for yourselves?"

Glowing in response to Jahad's words, every Vahn present looked like they wanted nothing more than to tear his throat out as the one set upon by the King's gaze unhesitantly replied, "You're an entitled piece of shit. You literally tried to destroy both Hidden Floors and you're trying to give us shit for preserving its people? Get over yourself, you fucking hypocrite."

Showing no signs that he cared about Vahn's remark, Jahad remained completely expressionless as he walked past each of them to get a better view of the town below. Then, in an authoritative voice, he said, "Begin making preparations for an assault. We will besiege the town at sunrise and lure out the traitors lurking within. Your primary objective is to capture the Guides accompanying the group. Should that prove impossible, capture or kill as many of that man's companions as possible. If he is anything like you clowns, we can use that as leverage to issue an ultimatum or force him into doing something stupid. Either way, our penultimate objective is eliminating as many enemies as possible in order to lure out their leader. Once we've defeated him, things can finally start going back to the way they once were. That is our duty as Sworn Enemies..."

Though they hated every fiber of the man's being, each of the Vahns immediately set out to make preparations for the coming conflict. This left only Jahad, the wolfish Fenrir, and the two eccentric-looking figures atop the mountain's peak. As for the reasons why, Jahad had a very different set of plans for them, his expression turning severe as he commanded, "The two of you will do everything in your power to recover the Command Key. As for you..."

Setting his gaze on Fenrir, earning a low growl in response, a somewhat vicious smile spread across Jahad's face as he said, "You are the key to this mission's success. Let us hope your precious Master is as reliable and considerate as you believe him to be. I don't normally get excited about things like this, but I'm quite looking forward to his reaction. That fool genuinely believes he can defy fate and seize my throne. Let's see how he reacts when something precious is taken from him..."

Growling with increased intensity, the hairs across Fenrir's body stood on end as their tips became finer than the sharpest of needles. Despite this, her aura hardly leaked out, as, prior to their arrival atop the mountain, Jahad had forbidden her from using any of her stored power. The only reason she was able to increase in size was due to her emulation of [Chainbreaker], an unbelievably useful skill that Jahad intended to exploit as much as possible.

Showing no signs of fear or trepidation, Jahad approached the prone Fenrir before placing his hand atop her snout and musing, "You would even prove useful to my true self...once this is over with, I'll make sure he learns of your existence. Your potential is completely wasted serving a fool who limits your growth for the sake of his own enjoyment. You should be able to roam free and unfettered like a natural disaster. Until then, however, I'm afraid you must remain nothing more than a convenient tool...what a pitiable creature..."

With her claws digging into the ground, Fenrir continued to growl with even greater ferocity, but, no matter how hard she tried, it was impossible to overcome her programming without the power to destroy the Hidden Floor itself. Jahad was well aware of this fact, so, with his counterpart in the Hidden Hidden Floor refusing to accede to his demands, he decided to take matters into his own hands by causing as much stress to the peculiar blue wolf as possible. He also knew how close she was to their primary target, so, while it would do little to remedy his past trauma, a part of him was tempted to see how Vahn, a man directly compared to himself, would turn out after experiencing a similar setback...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Vahn is slowly becoming a voyeur...','Mistakes were made...','Bruh...you can't even comprehend how badly you're about to fuck up...')