Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Though it had originally been part of his duties as an Advisor, Vahn made a habit of meeting with Solon and Zelretch every few days. This mainly involved him listening to Solon complain for a short while before Zelretch finally got around to explaining various problems all around the world. Today, however, things were a little different as, upon his arrival, Vahn found Zelretch alone as Solon had holed themselves up in their own room, apparently due to mental fatigue.

Vahn, of course, understood why Solon was stressed out so, rather than comment on it, he enjoyed a casual conversation with Zelretch, skirting around the matter of the Holy Church entirely. Instead, the elderly Magus was more curious about the various persons of interest who had come to reside in the Empire as of late, specifically Aoko and, after a brief period of drama, her sister Touko.

When it came to discussing the two hot-headed siblings, Vahn could only smile wryly as he shook his head and remarked, "Touko is a sensible woman but she is super petty. As for Aoko, well, I'm certain you have an even better understanding of her personality than I...haaaaa..."

Hearing Vahn speak like an old man, Zelretch couldn't help but laugh at the former's expense before musing, "I wasn't really surprised that you were able to bring those two in your camp. What I'm really curious about is how things are developing between you...have you, you know...?"

Refusing to dignify Zelretch's question with an actual response, Vahn remained silent as he thought about the first night Aoko stayed in the castle. She had clearly misunderstood his intentions so it had led to a rather awkward situation where she ultimately ended up butting heads with several people and skirmishing with Fenrir. Surprisingly, however, the latter became rather fond of Aoko after their conflict and, the last time Vahn saw the duo, Fenrir's strength was increasing at a monstrous rate...

Aoko had the ability to draw forth a person's maximum potential, either by borrowing it from the past or the person's future. This allowed her to restore a Heroic Spirit to their maximum potential and, in many cases, make them even stronger than they were in their prime. As for Fenrir, the only thing that prevented her from becoming one of the most powerful people in Avalon right now was her own mental state. If she increased her power beyond her ability to retain her rationality, it would obviously become a problem. Thus, she had been focusing more on her mental development while sparring with Aoko at almost every opportunity...

Seeing Vahn ruminating, Zelretch decided to let his previous question fade into the void. Instead, he gazed off into the distance in much the same way as the young Emperor before commenting, "There is one person I think you ought to meet in the near future. With how things have developed, I fear a larger misunderstanding will transpire if you aren't introduced soon."

Even without Zelretch alluding to whom he was talking about, Vahn blinked back to awareness, asking, "Arcueid...?" in a curious tone. This surprised Zelretch somewhat but, remembering who it was he was dealing with, he just responded with a dry chuckle before nodding his head. He knew Vahn's information network had already developed beyond comprehension and, after dealing with the Holy Church, there was a very good chance he had already learned a great deal about Arcueid's existence.

Despite Zelretch not asking, Vahn decided to throw the old man a bone, explaining, "I've already told you about the coming regression. In order to prepare for the conflicts to come, we'll need to unify all of the world's influential figures under one banner. I don't intend to micromanage everyone but, no matter how strong they are, everyone will be required to follow the Common Law. I'm not going to have people capable of sinking countries wandering around unchecked just because they have been able to act with impunity till now..."

Along this same line of discussion, Vahn mentioned his intention to deal with the Dead Apostles, their Ancestors, and the creators of them all, the True Ancestors. He had no problem with people pursuing immortality but, if they used their eternal life and borderline infinite power to rule over and suppress others, he would deal with them. Since some Dead Apostle Ancestors literally kept human farms in order to feed their Bloodkin, despite alternatives being readily available, he didn't have too much patience for the errant Vampires.

Zelretch had already expected Vahn to do something about the Dead Apostle Ancestors as, during his travels, he found the signs that had been left behind by the micro-golems. As a result, some of the Ancestors had actually gone into hiding as, despite their pride and arrogance, they trusted the word of their Prophet, the Ancestor known by the code name 'Rose Prophecy'. She specifically had the ability to foretell the death of a Dead Apostle Ancestor with perfect accuracy, allowing them to prepare a successor in advance as her prophecies, thus far, had never been wrong.

It wasn't difficult to imagine the fate that would befall many of the Dead Apostle Ancestors in the near future as they would not have fled if things would be going in their favor. Vahn would most likely purge the Eclipse Faction in its entirety, eliminating Altrouge and her cronies who advocated the supremacy of Ancestors. True Ancestors were the original Masters of the nascent human race, brought into existence as a direct result of Gaia's contract with Crimson Moon. They truly believed that humans were meant to serve them and had been machinating to reclaim the world for several thousand years.

Vahn was, of course, aware of the existence of every Dead Apostle Ancestor, their two factions, and the penultimate plans of both sides. The analysis of Ark, the brilliance of Da Vinci, and the deductive prowess of Sherlock were an unbeatable combination. They also had Merlin to provide insight into the future while CHALDEAS could observe the state of the world at any point up until the emergence of Angra Mainyu. With all of these things, Vahn knew when and where the various opposing factions would strike as, even if he couldn't peer into their Bounded Fields, they obviously had to leave them if they wanted to attempt anything...

Even as he sat here discussing things with Zelretch, the Empire was already preparing counters to any scheme their enemies could come up with. The moment they tried anything, they would find themselves dealing with insurmountable odds as, with the passage of time, the Empire's advantages increased exponentially. He was already preparing for the next batch of summoning and, while it would take a while to enforce order, massive cities were being built on each continent. These would serve as the primary habitats of humanity in the future and, if people wanted to seek shelter in their protective walls, they would have to acquiesce to the Empire's rule.

There were so many things going on behind the scenes that Vahn rarely had any time to relax since the day of his announcement. If not for the time dilation within the Projection, he would be too busy to even spend time with his quickly growing children. This was a troubling matter as, at this point, even his youngest children were nearly two years old. As for Isanna and Naavi, they already matured to the point they were in their late teens, worrying him to no end...

For what must have been the ten-thousandth time, Vahn regretted not holding off on his current plans until his children had matured. Unfortunately, this wouldn't have been a futile course of action as, due to his period of 'increased activity', he ended up getting Olga and Circe pregnant, the latter coming as a complete surprise since, according to the person herself, she shouldn't be able to get pregnant a second time. This meant she needed constant supervision as, if anything went wrong at any point in time, they needed to be ready to deal with whatever abnormalities may appear...

To further exacerbate matters, Illya would be awakening soon as Aoko had 'helped' by accelerating the growth process. At this point, she had the appearance of a young woman in her late teens and, while she still appeared very 'youthful', it was a marked improvement from her perpetually ten-year-old figure. Vahn knew he would need to tend to her quite a bit when she finally emerged as, with each passing day, he could actually feel her frustration and urges building.

Illya was actually the reason he had been holding back in some of his other relationships as, while she didn't directly oppose his relationships with others, it was very obvious she was the jealous and possessive type. Fortunately, she would undoubtedly be joining the Menagerie upon awakening so the presence of like-minded people should mellow her out a bit. Vahn was just hoping that their first time together didn't involve anything too graphic and gory as, despite Cath Palug's insistence, he would never get used to the whole biting aspect...

With Illya near the top of a growing list of women he would need to deal with in the coming days, Vahn felt like his own peace of mind was a distant dream. Still, he didn't regret it in the slightest as, regardless of how troublesome things got in his intrapersonal relationships, he really did enjoy each and every moment. He loved the women around him dearly and, while his affections towards some may not match his intimacy with others, he would never stop doing his best to satisfy them...

As if he had recognized the look in Vahn's eye, Zelretch gave a sly smile but ultimately refrained on commenting. He had realized by Vahn's past reactions that the latter wasn't going to talk about his nightlife so it was best to avoid the topic. Those that had angered so-called 'Dragon Emperor', the name which had been given to him by people all around the world, generally met with a bad end.

Vahn had noticed the change in Zelretch's expression so he gave the man a pointed look before adopting his usual smile and saying, "If you have the means to contact Arcueid, please inform her of my intention to meet with her. She is one of the major players in the world and, while her power may be sealed, it is a simple matter for the Empire to restore it. I know she has been hunting other Dead Apostle Ancestors so I'm certain she will be willing to cooperate..."

Zelretch gave an understanding nod in response but, just to make sure he and Vahn were on the same page, he asked, "Do you intend to destroy the Eclipse Faction?" To this, Vahn answered with a nod of his own, adding, "The Aylesbury Valesti Ritual is fated to fail in almost every timeline, even without my intervention. I'm certain this is something you've confirmed yourself, yes...?"

Having seen countless parallel and tangential timelines, Zelretch knew the truth contained in Vahn's words. After all, the Aylesbury Valesti Ritual was an affront to the World itself and, as a result, it was always interrupted by unstoppably powerful Counter Guardians. The only possible way to complete the ritual was to secure the Holy Grail but, understanding the intentions of the participants, Alaya had never failed to intervene. This often led to the destruction of the Eclipse Faction but, as a result, Arcueid would often experience a terribly tragic fate...

This time around, Zelretch intended to help Arcueid avoid her destined end as, before Vahn, things such as fate had little to no relevance whatsoever. In fact, he seemed to control the very entities that shaped the fates of others so, with his assistance, Arcueid should be able to experience the peace she had sought for the last eight hundred years. There was even a chance she would be able to find genuine happiness as, from what he had observed of Vahn, Zelretch could tell the man possessed an extreme amount of empathy towards those that had suffered unjustly.

With their intentions aligning, Zelretch agreed to reach out to Arcueid while Vahn, having spent too much time on idle conversation, ultimately parted ways with the aged Magus to pick up the children and take them back to Avalon. It was already late in the afternoon so they would be returning to the Projection for rest, relaxation, and personal studies. This would also allow him to divest his time in a more efficient manner as, with his main body back in the Projection, he would have two bodies to interact with his ever-expanding harem and family...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Fenrir be like, "So, you're telling me you can grant me infinite power...? I like you, we will be good friends','When 'play biting' goes too far (o,...,o)...!','Vahn has a strong affinity with Vampires...')