Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Without caring about the response of the Hellas Empire and Megalomesembrian Confederation, Vahn focused his efforts on investigating the regions flooded during the brief confrontation against the Leviathan.

Fortunately, due to the existence of the Leviathan itself, there were very few cities located anywhere near a large body of water. The only real exceptions were places like Al Jamila and Sirenum, regions where the native population could survive in both the sea and on land. Their coasts were also lined with massive sea walls that reached upwards of 100m, well above the threshold of the Leviathan’s average tsunamis.

Other than some environmental damage, which would quickly recover due to the presence of both elemental and magical energy, there were no disastrous consequences of Fenrir’s ’minor’ gaffe. The only nearby population centers were the agricultural nation of Eos and a number of frontier military outposts owned and operated by the Megalomesembrian Confederation. These facilities, as could be expected, were surrounded by excessively high walls, so, regardless of whether or not the flood reached them, they would be largely unaffected.

After several hours of search-and-rescue, saving various animals and a few magical beasts that had been affected by the flooding, Vahn, accompanied by Fenrir and Asuna, made camp in the valley of a small mountain located a few hundred kilometers North of Lake Argyre. This region often served as a secondary battleground between the two superpowers, so, with their ’preferred’ battleground now impassable, they had little choice but to change venue if they wanted to continue the conflict.

Though there was a considerable Hellas presence in the region, the valley occupied by Vahn and his entourage was sparsely populated by ancient ruins. Such areas were often the breeding ground for powerful monsters, and, for reasons Archaeologists and Scholars had yet to understand, a variety of malicious magical traps, many specifically targeted people, could be found in such ruins. Disarming these traps was ultimately futile, as, after a few hours had passed, new traps would spring up, many far more dangerous than those which preceded them.

While dungeoneering or delving into ruins, the most common approach was to simply map out as many traps as possible without triggering them. Traps wouldn’t just randomly move around, so, if they had yet to be triggered, identifying the locations and triggering mechanisms of a trap would allow for ’relatively’ safe passage through an area.

With the ability to instantaneously map out everything within his perception, it took very little effort for Vahn’s party to trespass the ruins. It took them less than half an hour to reach the most isolated region of the ruins, a vast underground chamber that was actually guarded by a large baboon-like creature with a snake-headed tail.

Though it had a breath attack that allowed it to turn anything it touched into stone, the ten-meter tall monstrosity was ultimately defeated by Asuna in an instant. She had been excitedly leading the way up until then, and, after defeating the ’boss-like’ entity, she happily pried open an ornate stone chest that had appeared in a hidden room following after the monkey’s defeat. This also ended up being a trap, but, with her ability to negate external magic completely, Asuna ended up destroying the magical formation without even noticing its existence...

Taking advantage of the empty chamber formerly occupied by the giant baboon, Vahn pulled out a homely-looking cottage from his Inventory and began fixing dinner while Fenrir and Asuna washed up and changed clothes. He was mentally exhausted from his earlier escapades, but, after watching Asuna happily conquer the game-like dungeon, much of his usual vigor had returned. Cooking also helped a lot, as, not only was it something he genuinely enjoyed, it had always been a therapeutic way for him to simply cut loose and relax.

Though it might seem somewhat contrary considering his penultimate goal, Vahn wasn’t actually all that fond of conflict. He certainly enjoyed friendly competition and battling strong opponents, but, as such things were often predicated by exacerbating circumstances, it generally left a bitter taste in his mouth. There simply weren’t enough opponents he could go all out against, and, more often than not, those that could actually compete with him were vile and despicable existences he simply couldn’t enjoy battling.

Shaking his head, Vahn finished decorating his dishes by cutting a few sausages and apple slices into the shape of cute octopi and pointy-eared rabbits. He always found it rather amusing to see the conflict in Asuna’s eyes whenever she was forced to choose between eating what he had made or letting them go to waste. It might be a little ’mean’ of him, but, even after the passage of more than two-hundred-years, Vahn simply couldn’t help but enjoy teasing people. It was a core part of his character, and, though he sometimes got out of hand, most incidents quickly turned into fond memories that he could reminisce with the people he cared about...

After enjoying a rather lively meal, Vahn was seated on a large sofa with Fenrir and Asuna nestled on his right and left, respectively. The latter had already changed into her pajamas, but, rather than pay it any mind, Vahn just enjoyed their company as they watched a rather cinematic representation of the incident above Lake Argyre. Seeing it from the outside helped to put things into perspective, and, most importantly, allowed them to understand how others might view the event.

Ever the astute young lady, Asuna didn’t hesitate to offer her own opinion on things, saying, "I like the idea of drawing a visible line between the two sides but I feel like it will have more of an impact on the creatures living in the lake and anything trying to fly over than the two superpowers. Unless it could also block magical energy, they could continue to bombard each other from a distance and just use the ’Warp’ spell to transport their fleet across. It will certainly make things more difficult for them, but I can’t see it ending the war..."

Well aware of the points she was making, Vahn didn’t try to refute any of Asuna’s claims. Instead, he just issued an approving nod before explaining, "Even if we prevent them from openly fighting, they will still find ways to undermine and sabotage each other. Stopping the war won’t actually bring the fighting to an end, so, until we can draw out Cosmo Entelecheia, I intend to draw as much attention as possible to myself. This will allow Theo, Arika, and Eva greater freedom of movement, and, if fate allows, it will also draw the members of Ala Rubra directly to us."

Hearing mention of Ala Rubra, Asuna scrunched up her nose slightly before remarking, "I don’t like those people. Though I’ve never met them, everything I have read seems to imply that man, Albireo Imma, is the mastermind behind numerous troublesome events. Even if he did what he thought was necessary to defeat the Mage of the Beginning, the methods we use are equally as important as the outcome we desire. The moment we cease caring about the particulars, we become no better than the enemies we want to defeat."

Having learned a similar lesson the hard way, Vahn issued another approving nod in response to Asuna’s statement. There was no such thing as a finite outcome, and, even after you achieved your goal, there was always something more to follow. The compromises you made along the way would invariably lead to a karmic deficit, and, as a result, many Heroes often found their lives wrought with tragedy in the wake of their triumphs.

Unless an incident occurred to drastically decrease your power, victory against any established ’evil’ would subsequently lead to an extreme imbalance in power. As a result, ’something’ would need to fill the power vacuum created, and, though this could sometimes take thousands of years, the end result was always the tragic end of the Hero. There were even situations where the former Hero of a Record became the very threat a future protagonist would have to confront, as, over time, humanity and karmic deficits could even lead Saints down a very dark route.

Having nearly strayed down such a path twice, both in the Nasuverse and Danmachi, Vahn knew better than most how quickly power could lead people astray. It was one of the reasons he desired stronger opponents, as, without something ’above’ him, it was inevitable that a threat would come from ’below’. This would remain the case until he reached Tier 7, as, by then, there would simply be no opponents that could ever pose a threat to him. Rather, at that level, all conflict would become completely irrelevant...

Envisioning the peak he was aiming for, Vahn felt a peculiar feeling of ’emptiness’ in his heart for a very brief moment. Memories of all the people he had met along the way, including his family and lovers, quickly replaced any inhibitions he had about the future. This was the path he had decided upon, and, though it might seem like life would lose all meaning once he achieved such a degree of power, it wasn’t as if power was the thing that gave his life meaning. His greatest desire had always been to live freely, not without restraint, but in a way that allowed him to be proud of the path he had walked and the bonds he forged in the process...

Back within the ’observation room’ that allowed them to observe Vahn’s actions, all one-hundred of Sis’s avatars released a sigh of relief when they saw their troublesome little brother pull Fenrir and Asuna a little closer. They could feel his tensions gradually fade away, and, in their place, feelings of affection, positivity, hope, and a fair amount of ambition quickly replaced any feelings of negativity, at least for the time being.

Though he had an almost ridiculous amount of power at his disposal, Vahn had always had a fragile heart. His mind was actually very stable, largely thanks to her presence, but, due to the existence of his most powerful Innate, currently sealed by The Path, there were moments when his raw emotions transcended even his [Will of the Emperor]’s ability to cope with.

One of Sis’ primary responsibilities, even if it seemed contrary, was actually delaying the awakening of Vahn’s ’primary’ Innate, as, depending on the circumstances, it could easily lead him far from any and all paths. She couldn’t actually ’stop’ it from awakening, as it was simply inevitable, but, until he had obtained the happiness he sought, she would sooner sacrifice herself than allow him to endure the burden of the truth...

After lightly patting their rather voluminous chests to calm down, several versions of Sis rose from their seats in order to conduct some ’routine maintenance’. Vahn was clearly reaching a point where his own power was becoming a burden to him, so, before he experienced an existential crisis or did anything drastic, they would filter through his memories in order to ’purge’ the emotions contained within. This would cause Vahn to feel a sense of indifference when he recalled these memories, but, in the grand scheme of things, people simply weren’t designed to recall feelings of negativity with ’perfect’ clarity.

Even a normal person could be consumed by negative thoughts, so, with the ability to recall even the individual particles of sand on a beach, one of Vahn’s greatest strengths was also his principal weakness. When he was happy, he was ’very’ happy, and, as a result, everyone around him would experience a greater sense of happiness and fulfillment. This was because he literally translated his feelings through his domain, and, while it wasn’t intentional, these emotions greatly affected those around him.

Vahn had yet to realize it himself but he actually ’radiated’ his happiness and positivity like a flame giving off heat. He could quantifiably increase the happiness of others, but, in exchange, he actually drained his own happiness as if it was a finite resource. At the same time, further exacerbating the problem, he proactively absorbed the negative energy radiated by others, overdrafting his mental and spiritual energies in the process. This was one of the reasons his Karma increase so quickly, as, rather than simply helping people, he qualitatively improved their lives by altering their fates and setting them down a path that would invariably ensure their happiness...

Depending on how much of his empathy they had stirred, Vahn would place a disproportionately large ’seed’ of happiness within a person’s body. This was generally enough to ensure they would live a relatively free and happy life, but, by remaining near Vahn and receiving his care, attention, and the nourishment of his Source Energy, this seed would inevitably blossom. By then, you would become a source for his happiness, and, depending on the circumstances, there was a chance you would become a part of something far greater than any individual...

Unfortunately, as Vahn’s concerns and empathy spread beyond his immediate surroundings, the amount of happiness he spread greatly eclipsed his intake. If he tried helping too many people in a short period of time, he would gradually fall into a depressive state that exponentially increased the chances of him doing something regrettable. This could quickly result in a negative feedback loop, so, whenever Vahn was on the verge of a meltdown, Sis did her best to filter out as much negativity as possible, stopping short just when it seemed like her actions would directly affect his personality.

Though it was certainly troublesome, everyone needed a bit of negativity and sadness in order to maintain a state of mental wellness. If they were unable to recall tragic events without feeling even a small amount of sadness or remorse, they would gradually feel more detached and apathetic. This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing if you were a loner with a keen sense of purpose, but, when you were the lynchpin of both a Realm and an Empire, apathy became the catalyst for countless tragedies...

In the grand scheme of things, balance was equally as important in ensuring the stability of reality as it was in preserving the stability of the mind. Too much of any emotion, including things like love and happiness, could lead to dependence. This left you susceptible to breaking down when things weren’t going your way. More terrifyingly, you might even lose your ability to find happiness in the things that once brought you the greatest joy, desperately seeking means to fill the void that had been created in your heart...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: ’Map Function is secretly the MC’,’Shokugeki no Sage Dragon Emperor’,’The secret of the *sealed* remains concealed...but for how long...?’)