Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Down to her last weapon, a dagger-like parrying blade with a hooked end, Elaine's assault gradually slowed to a stop. It had taken her several minutes to reach this point, and, as a result, the tears from her eyes had largely ceased. Instead, a glimmer of conviction could be seen burning in their depths as she asked, "What do you want from me...?"

Resisting the urge to sigh, Vahn closed his eyes for a brief moment, shaking his head as he said, "If anything, the only thing I would ask of you is that you live. Be a better person than the monster the Lo Po Bia and Po Bidau Families forced you to become. As for matters such as revenge...honestly, it would be better if you put them behind you. Though I can help you obtain the power you seek, my journey cannot be delayed for every individual seeking revenge. I have more than enough power to bring about an end to the suffering caused by Jahad and the Ten Great Families. Let me take care of it. You have already wasted more than a thousand years of your life at their behest. Don't waste the rest of it arbitrarily chasing revenge."

Expecting Vahn to try and convince her to join his cause, Elaine didn't know how to respond to him telling her to simply move on with her life. She had spent more than a thousand years locked away inside the Name Hunt Station. She had no direction or purpose beyond her identity as Kaiser, and, even if she did leave, her Family would hunt her down as a traitor. The orders of the Family Leader were absolute, so, even if she never took any action against them, all twenty branch families would seek her out for daring to abandon the duty assigned by their 'God'.

As this thought crossed her mind, Elaine pointed the parrying blade in her hand towards Vahn's throat, the light in her eyes gradually faded as the monotonously replied, "My role is to do what the family tells me to do...I am nothing without the purpose they have assigned me...if death is the only option left before me, I would rather spend my final moments fighting to protect my beliefs...even if they are ultimately nothing more than a delusion..."

Unamused by Elaine's words, a sullen look spread across Vahn's face as his aura began to permeate the surroundings like a gravitational force. It wasn't that he was particularly angry with Elaine, but, knowing the Lo Po Bia and Po Bidau Families had pushed her to this point, his frustrations with both began to compound. More specifically, he was annoyed with Gustang's practice of always putting the end before the means, and, though he couldn't fault the Lo Po Bia Family Leader for his loyalty, the fact he was willing to sacrifice his own family members in order to pander to the Jahad Empire was...unpleasant...

Reacting to Elaine lunging at him, Vahn deflected her blade to the side before forming a 'gun' using his index and middle fingers. Then, far faster than she could react, he placed the tips of said digits against her mask, saying, "From this moment onward, the being known as Kaiser is dead..."

With those words have left his mouth, everything above Elaine's shoulders simply ceased to be as a directional shockwave ripped through the interior of the Grand Gallery. In its wake, the farthest wall was completely devastated, and, though her Spirit remained, Elaine's physical body collapsed to the ground lifelessly.

Shifting his attention to the ethereal figure that seemed to blend together seamlessly with the void, Vahn continued to frown as he asked, "Are you satisfied with this outcome?"

Before answering his question, Elaine took a moment to inspect her ghostly figure before staring down at her headless corpse and saying, "I won't lie...this outcome is rather unpleasant. Did you really have to blow my head off? With the power you possess, I'm certain you could have used a less extreme method to get your point across..."

Rather than deny it, Vahn nodded his head in affirmation, saying, "There was an infinite number of ways in which I could have ended the fight without needing to resort to violence. Things ended up like this because I wanted to teach you a lesson and afford you the opportunity to forge your own path. You harmed a considerable number of people during your time as Kaiser. Though the fault for this set of circumstances ultimately lies with the Ten Great Families, you would have never been able to move on unless you had received some kind of punishment...at least, that is what I believed..."

Furrowing her brows slightly in response to Vahn's words, Elaine continued to stare at her lifeless body for several seconds before shifting her ghostly green eyes to him and asking, "So, what now? I have heard the rumors of your ability to resurrect the dead. Are you going to offer me some kind of deal...?"

Though he didn't like how things had settled, Vahn ultimately shook his head, explaining, "This kind of ending honestly pisses me off. In the end, however, it was always your decision to make. If this is the outcome you believe you desired, it is not my place to question it. I do my best to try and help everyone I meet, but, regardless of my personal feelings on the matter, I learned, long ago, that you simply can't live for others. I can carry the burdens of countless people, but, no matter how strong I become, the only person I have the right to make decisions for is myself..."

Frowning intensely, Elaine's eyes continued to inspect Vahn's face for several seconds, seemingly searching for any sign that he was trying to deceive her. Despite her earlier 'bravado', she didn't truly wish to die. There were actually a considerable number of loose ends she wanted to attend, and, if Vahn's words were true, her family needed her now more than ever. It had been hundreds of years since she met another member of her branch, so, if it was true that her funds had been going to support her enemies, it was safe to assume that the Grey Wolf Family was currently in dire straits.

Exhaling a sigh, Elaine took a moment to collect herself before adopting a slightly pointed look as she said, "I'm not sure if this is just another scheme to turn me into a tool...but, so long as it allows me to reunite with my family, I am willing to do whatever it takes. Please, allow me to serve you to the fullest extent of my capabilities...that is the least I can offer in exchange for my life..."

Adopting a deadpan expression, Vahn met Elaine's pointed gaze with one of his own as he said, "If I was the type to treat others as tools, why would I charge into battle on my own? I have no problem reviving you, but you are mistaken if you believe I have some ulterior motive for doing so. Don't get me wrong, you're pretty strong for a Regular and your looks are nothing to write off, but...well, let's just leave it at that...you'll understand the truth of the matter soon enough..."

Understanding the futility of trying to convince her with words, Vahn decided it would make things significantly easier if he just let Elaine figure things out on her own. This might result in her having an existential crisis of sorts, but, depending on the choices she made from then onward, she would be able to grow exponentially stronger after a few setbacks...

Ignoring the perturbed glimmer in Elaine's eyes, Vahn began to reverse the order of entropy around her body, quickly restoring it to an uninjured state. This resulted in her Spirit being yanked forward as if it was under the influence of a powerful magnet, a rather disorienting experience that resulted in the masked beauty having to quickly tear away the silver covering in order to expel the contents of her stomach. Then, with a conflicted look that was equal parts frustration and admiration for the strong, she wiped away the astringent residue using her sleeve before bowing ever-so-slightly and saying, "My life is yours to command..."

Since he was literally in possession of her Name, allowing him to order her at his leisure, Vahn just rolled his eyes in response to Elaine's words before directing his gaze towards nothing in particular and saying, "Now that I'm in charge, I want to abolish the rules of the Name Hunt Station. You are free to change them however you want, but, no matter what, I never want anything even remotely similar to what has taken place here to ever occur again. As for the responsibility...you can just leave that to me. If Jahad and the Ten Families have a problem, they can seek me out and attempt to put an end to me. If they succeed, feel free to change things back to how they were."

Though it might seem like he was talking to nobody, the Guardian of each Floor was effectively omniscient in any region containing Shinsu. After all, the Shinsu of each Floor was a part of their body, and, similar to his domain, they could sense everything occurring within without exception.

Rather than answer him directly, the Guardian attempted to pull Vahn into the sub-dimensional space in which it resided. Unfortunately, Vahn was in no mood to deal with the massive angler fish, so, rather than accept the 'invitation', he resisted its pull, adding, "I have no intention of trying to compromise with you. I don't care about the contract you made with the Great Warriors all those years ago. The rules dictate that the person in charge of the Name Hunt Station has the authority to alter or outright annul them. Though I might not be here to watch over things, neither are the Great Warriors. Don't go playing favorites when you're supposed to be objective."

Seemingly realizing it couldn't pull him into its sub-dimension, a massive vortex of Shinsu appeared within the Grand Gallery as a paradoxically thunderous yet gentle voice echoed, "The Great Warriors have always selected a Champion to represent them and help maintain order...if you wish to uphold these changes, you must do the same..."

Frowning in response to the Guardian's words, Vahn briefly entered a contemplative state, eyes cast downward as he considered a number of solutions. It was around this time that Elaine tried to make herself useful by stepping forward and suggesting, "I will stay here as your representative. I cannot escape being branded as a traitor, so-"

With Elaine being close enough for him to reach out and touch, Vahn ended up holding his hand up to her face, silencing her completely as he looked towards the spiraling vortex of Shinsu and said, "Rather than choose a representative directly, I would like to establish a trial to decide the future Ruler of the Name Hunt Station. The Floors exist to test those climbing the Tower, not keep them bound to one place. You trying to force the issue is contradicting the purpose you have been given."

Though it couldn't be seen through the massive vortex of Shinsu, a low grumbling could be heard emanating from the other side as the Guardian replied, "Very well...what kind of trial did you have in mind...?"

Rather than answering directly, Vahn pulled out an elegant sword that looked virtually identical to the Caliburn before stabbing it into the ground and activating the Law of Authority. Then, in a voice that resonated even more so than the Guardian's, he uttered, "This sword can only be drawn by the pure of heart and the righteous of character. Whoever possesses the power to pull this sword from its purchase shall become the true and rightful Ruler of the Name Hunt Station..."

Though it was invisible to people like Elaine, Vahn and the Guardian were able to perceive a peculiar golden shimmer spreading through the area in response to the former's words. This light effectively made the stone in the surroundings completely indestructible, and, so long as they possessed less authority than him, a Tier 5 being, nobody would be able to break the enchantment he had placed upon it.

Satisfied with the result, Vahn nodded his head in approval of his own work before looking towards the spinning vortex and asking, "I trust you have no objections~?" in a discernably proud tone.

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Clinging to what remains...','Vahn be like, "You're about a 7..."','Can someone please smack this smug and unoriginal asshole...?')