Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

When everything was said and done, the Heroes Faction ended up being forced out of the Moon Cell, their penultimate destination being Mt. Emei, one of the Four Sacred Peaks located in Southern China. Here, Chang’e established their official headquarters, claiming the 3100m tall mountain as the first official stronghold of the Heroes Faction. From there, they were free to do pretty much anything they wanted, so long as they followed the Common Law while doing so.

Almost immediately after the Heroes Faction had settled down, a not-so-unexpected separation in their forces occurred, chiefly as a result of a few of the more prideful Heroic Spirits refusing to be led by Shirou, even with Musashi’s support. As a result, Hippolyta ended up migrating west, seeking out her ancestral homeland near modern-day Turkey. This had led to a bit of conflict in the region, but, after a very brief skirmish, Hippolyta was able to claim the northern region of Terme, renaming it to ’New Themiscyra’.

Vahn hadn’t been fond of her rather overbearing display, but, after a brief period of negotiations, he allowed her to claim the territory so long as she allowed Companions to freely roam the lands. If she hadn’t acted in ’self-defense’ during the initial attack, however, he would have forced her to retreat, regardless of whether or not she had the support of Caenis, and, somewhat unexpectedly, Aife...

The penultimate goal of Hippolyta was the establishment of a ’Paradise of Women’, an area where females could flee to in order to seek greater strength. It was meant to be completely off-limits to men, as, after her death at the hands of Heracles’ treachery, Hippolyta had lost all faith in the more ’barbaric’ sex. As for why Caenis and Aife followed her, the former’s reasons were pretty transparent.

Caenis simply hated men, and, though she wasn’t fond of Hippolyta’s appreciation for Ares, their shared heritage and desire for battle brought them together. It only took Hippolyta displaying her prowess in battle to convince her, so, now that they were ’free’ to act as they pleased, Caenis felt that building a paradise for women wasn’t the worst way to spend her time. It would take a fair amount of time, but, due to the nature of the current world, it didn’t take long for their numbers to increase beyond five digits after they began accepting refugees.

The biggest issue with Hippolyta’s ’plan’ was the fact that many refugee women had families, with the obvious inclusion of some sons. Since it would be a grievous violation of the Common Law for her to forcibly exile the children, they established a secondary, outer, region along the outskirts of New Themiscyra. Here, males under the age of fourteen, a number Hippolyta had borrowed from the Common Law, were allowed to stay with their mothers. As for those older than fourteen, they were forced to venture out on their own, expected to take care of themselves from that moment onwards.

While this kind of society seemed unnecessarily biased, it would serve as a strong contrast to the communities within the Supercolonies. Since the women fleeing to New Thmiscyra had willingly done so, Vahn didn’t directly intervene with the establishment of the new city, built courtesy of Aife and her army of sapphire-blue automatons.

As it was relatively difficult to enforce the Common Law at the present moment, several communities had been established in the wake of ’The Fall’. Many of these were male-dominated societies, as men were, more often than not, more aggressive and ambitious than their fairer counterparts. As a result, many charismatic and exploitative men had taken over their local communities, taking advantage of and often suppressing females.

The Empire had destroyed thousands of budding communities that operated on such principles, but, regardless of how many they destroyed, others would pop up soon thereafter. Though this changed depending on things like region and culture, it was difficult to argue against Hippolyta’s and Caenis’ beliefs when there were countless examples of much worse societies. Even if there were also regions that were dominated by a few relatively powerful females, often reversing the dynamic between men and women. Though they were the minority, a saddening number of these communities came about as a result of those very same women being mistreated by their male counterparts.

Factors like stress could greatly increase the rate at which supernatural powers developed, so, with many people suffering as the result of selfishness within their community, rapid shifts in power were common. As this often led to the previously oppressed group turning around to oppress the ones who had treated them poorly, it had become a rather vicious cycle in some regions. Thus, while the existence of a ’female only’ community would undoubtedly cause problems, Vahn would tolerate it, so long as they followed the Common Law...

Fortunately, while Hippolyta’s actions were rather contentious, the Heroes Faction, as a whole, had been able to expand its influence at a monstrous rate. The current transitory era could be surmised as a period in which strength and ’superpowers’ reigned supreme. Thus, whenever someone with far greater power than normal appeared, it garnered a lot of attention.

While a large number of countries had collapsed under the economic strain and subsequent collapse of modern infrastructure, those with more ’structured’ political systems had managed to survive. This mainly included relatively small countries, such as Japan and South Korea, but, despite a period of ongoing political turmoil, even China and the United States of America had been able to crawl their way back to prominence.

Though their ’original’ governments had collapsed entirely, the organizations and families that had established those governments in the first place had continued to survive. They had hundreds, if not thousands, of years to make preparations for such events. Thus, while ’modern’ society had quickly collapsed, they were able to slowly reclaim their nations due to the existence of several powerhouses that already existed prior to The Fall.

As could be expected, this type of dynamic led to many large countries being divided into various smaller territories, each governed by a powerful or influential family. This, in turn, led to a few large scale conflicts, the majority of which were swiftly brought to an end by Imperial intervention. As a result, battles were decided by the number of powerful and influential people one side possessed, as, in accordance with the Common Law, dueling had been legitimized as a method of settling civil disputes.

With literal Gods, Demigods, Generals, and legendary warriors on their side, the Heroes Faction had been able to quickly expand their influence by allying with the more ’righteous’ families. At the same time, the aid they provided to the people greatly strengthened their popularity, restoring hope and inspiring communities to come together, working towards a common goal. This didn’t completely eliminate the number of people who got drunk off newfound power, but, regardless of how strong they became, there was little they could do in the face of a ’Hero’.

Even prior to The Fall, the concept of a Hero had captivated the hearts and minds of people all over the globe, aided by the advent of cinematography and expressed through mediums such as video games. It was difficult to find a person who didn’t have a favorite superhero or a specific power they believed to be the most powerful. Thus, when literal Heroes began to appear, striking down villains, ending bloody conflicts, and providing aid, the people readily rallied behind them, hoping for relief.

With careful political maneuvering, combined with forging alliances with the right people, it was only a matter of time before the Heroes Faction became one of the most influential forces in the world. It helped that, rather than seize control of the regions they provided aid to, they left the governance to the ’people’. This made their actions appear selfless, but, more importantly, it prevented the Heroes from becoming too well known. People could be exceptionally selfish, so, when someone with power appeared, doing their best to help, society began ’expecting’ them to help, forcing their burdens on others in order to live easier lives.

There had already been a few attempts to compel the Heroes Faction to rise against the Empire, but, by exposing the mastermind behind these movements, most rebellions were quickly quelled. While this had the consequence of some people linking the Heroes Faction and Empire together, this rarely grew beyond the point of rumors. It was hard to lay accusations on a group that had worked to save millions of lives, especially when they had the support of various political factions, including many traditionalist families.

Since it was one of the few opportunities they had to secure their sovereignty, the most powerful families had quickly realized the significance of the Heroes Faction. Though some were on the fence, at least in the beginning, their minds were made up once they realized the Empire largely ignored the group’s actions. This made it apparent that the Empire tolerated the existence of the Heroes Faction, affirming that the Common Law wasn’t just a series of convenient restrictions that could be ignored at the Empire’s discretion.

Many of the more ’forward-thinking’ countries had started to structure their system of governance around the Common Law, even before the advent of the Heroes Faction. The latter’s existence just proved the veracity of their assumptions, allowing them to more confidently secure their power and influence without fear of repercussions.

The greatest difficulty any country or faction faced in the present was the availability of resources, but, so long as you followed the spirit and letter of the Common Law, the Empire readily provided aid. This required the visit of an Auditor and a systematic analysis of needs, versus wants, but, as it all but guaranteed they were able to keep their people fed, most vying for power didn’t mind sacrificing a bit of privacy. There was no way to directly oppose the Empire, so, rather than paint a target upon themselves by resisting, they endeavored to reap as many benefits as possible.

Vahn didn’t particularly care how many nations, countries, kingdoms, and communities survived The Fall, as, from the very beginning, he didn’t intend to directly govern. The Empire had already staked a claim to the land required for the construction of the Supercolonies. This would allow him to provide protection and sanctuary to all sapient races during the coming convergence. Thus, so long as they were willing to follow the Common Law, he saw no reason to directly intervene in the governance of other countries.

In the end, trying to exercise ’complete’ control was pointless, as, due to the nature of the Universe and the existence of the Karmic System, you would only invite greater tragedy upon yourself. Even if he eliminated ’all evil’ within the world, the next set of enemies would either come from outer space, or, infinitely more troubling, other dimensions. He could seal off the Time Axis, preventing people from moving backward to invade his present, but, no matter how hard he tried, closing off the planet without completely isolating it was impossible.

Vahn knew that the Olympian Gods could all be classified between S and EX-Rank, putting them on par with existences such as Arcueid. Though she would ultimately be able to defeat them, the Divine Authority wielded by the Olympians would make them exceptionally troublesome opponents. This was especially true for Zeus, who, according to Merlin, had enough power to potentially inflict mortal wounds upon the planet itself. He was also a notoriously aggressive and self-entitled God, so, once he returned from the Reverse Side, it was all but guaranteed he would try and secure his place as the primary God.

Fortunately, with adequate preparations, the Divine Authority of Gods could be restricted. Better yet, due to the nature of Divinity within the Nasuverse, the Olympian Gods would actually get weaker as time passed. After all, their power was derived from much older Gods, many of which were still alive and well on the Reverse Side.

Once the convergence reached a certain point, older generations of Gods would begin to return, the Divinity they possessed superseding that of younger generations. Eventually, Goddesses like Ishtar and Ereshkigal would become far more powerful than most Olympian Gods, as, while not the oldest, the Gods from Ancient Sumeria, Babylon, and Mesopotamia were some of the oldest. They were the generation of Gods that had seized power from Tiamat, laying the foundation for the Surface World, and, subsequently, ensuring the Age of Gods would come to an end...

In order to prepare for far greater threats, Vahn couldn’t afford to worry too much about the matters of the ’outside’ world. Fortunately, with the combination of CHALDEAS, his ability to read the Flow of Fate, the analytical ability of Sherlock, and the systems created by Da Vinci, the Empire didn’t have to worry about being blindsided by future events. Most troubles were settled before they became even greater threats, and, due to the comprehensive nature of their forecasting, Vahn could even delegate specific personnel to deal with threats.

Though there were no such things as guarantees regarding the future, especially when powerful foes were involved, the ability to read the Flow of Fate allowed Vahn to make reasonable assumptions. He could peek into the future of anyone accepting Quests to determine whether or not they would face any substantial danger in the process. This allowed him to more confidently allow his subordinates, students, and children to venture out into the outside world, dealing with the various monsters that had started to appear around the world.

By delegating responsibilities to other people, Vahn was able to focus more on the internal affairs of the Empire, chiefly concerning the development of Avalon, the Yokai District, and the ever-growing population of Fae and other Spirits. He also spent a lot of time teaching his students, including most of his children, as, due to the nature of the Projection, they grew faster than bean sprouts.

By the time he had been in Nasuverse for a year, more than six had passed within the Projection. As a result, Isanna and Naavi appeared fully grown, and, while his other children grew at a substantially slower rate, his youngest, a son born to Olga, was nearing 21 months old. He was a quiet child, but, as most of his children proactively took care of each other, Vahn and Olga never had to worry about their son, Hans, being left out. Rather, Naavi had taken after her mother, so, whenever she had free time, the kind-hearted Vanir could always be found watching over her younger siblings.

Fortunately, with the exception of Artoria, there were no other pregnancies within Avalon, at least for the time being. Though some were more than a little tempted to become mothers, such as Tamamo, Nero, and Kenshin, they had other things they were more interested in. The former had become the de facto ruler of the Yokai District, largely due to the fact Shuten simply didn’t care. As for Nero and Kenshin, they had been working tirelessly to support the construction of the Supercolonies, often to the point of requiring Vahn to directly order they take some time off...

Though Nero had been notorious for delegating responsibilities to others, history also showed that she had been willing to personally lead the charge when she believed it was required. Now that she was no longer plagued by incessant migraines, she was even more focused and resolute than before, almost to an overwhelming extent.

Fortunately, as a result of her [Imperial Privilege] granting her A-Rank [Charisma], even her excessive actions were interpreted favorably by those she interacted with. She had even been able to win over a large portion of the refugee population around the European Supercolony, restoring order to the relatively chaotic region. As a result, the number of ’citizens’ acquiescing the Imperial rule had been increasing faster than initial projections, proving just how powerful Skills like [Charisma] could be at higher ranks.

In truth, Nero’s zeal was actually the result of the changes to Artoria, as, despite her best efforts, she found herself lacking in comparison to the aptly titled Dragon Empress. Thus, rather than compete in a contest she couldn’t hope to win, Nero decided to prove her value by excelling in the purpose that had been assigned to her at the time of her summoning. This wasn’t really necessary, as Vahn always showed consideration for all of his women, but, much like the other women, Nero couldn’t help but feel slightly threatened by Artoria’s changes...

Though she had always been the most influential woman in the Inner Sanctum, Artoria’s status had been elevated a considerable amount after her ’evolution’. Not only did she carry herself with even greater dignity and confidence, but, due to the nature of her Divinities, even Goddesses like Ishtar were somewhat cowed by her presence. This was due to the fact that, against expectations, Artoria actually had a ’Dragon’ Divinity, which, when combined with her Fortune and Fate Divinities, made her an exceptionally terrifying existence.

Only someone like Arcueid could directly contend against the current Artoria, but, as she possessed no desire to fight for status, spending most of her time reading or drinking tea with other members of the Inner Sanctum, Artoria was left unchallenged. Rather, there had been none to challenge her even before the change, so, now that she had become a Dragon Goddess, her position had virtually been secured. The only one with any desire to directly contend against her was Mordred, but, as this manifested in the desire to simply train harder, that wasn’t exactly a bad thing...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: ’People can be profoundly stupid’,’This is starting to sound like the back story for BNHA...’,’Uncontested Goddess of Dragons’)