Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

"You scoundrel! What do you think you're doing!? Release me this instant...!"

Unable or perhaps unwilling to believe what had just happened, Asuka attempted to jump to her feet only to find her legs unresponsive. As a result, she could only glare towards Vahn with a slightly vexed yet threatening look on her face as she demanded to be let go.

Rolling his eyes, Vahn was about to let Asuka stand when Izayoi suddenly stepped up, hands in his pockets as he asserted, "Not cool, man. Going around bullying little girls? You should find yourself a better hobby."

Exhaling through his nose, Vahn elected to ignore Izayoi's remark as he released Asuka from his compulsion. He wasn't against teaching them a lesson, but he wasn't going to pick a fight with a bunch of kids.

Not expecting Vahn to simply 'back down', Izayoi felt as if he had just tried to punch a large cotton pillow. Most of the 'arrogant' individuals he had encountered would either get offended or speak highly of themselves whenever someone acted casually or failed to show them respect. Thus, for a very brief moment, he wasn't sure how to proceed until Yo helped Asuka up, saying, "We shouldn't be fighting. Now's the time to gather information." (A/N: I'm just going to call her Yo since Yō/You doesn't read well in English text.)

"Cat girl's right. Mind telling us why you brought us to this world, long legs?"

Since it had been mentioned several times that Vahn was simply an observer, Izayoi shifted his attention to the befuddled-looking Black Rabbit. She had been floundering around at the side, but, in response to his words, she quickly regained her senses, a serious expression on her face as she said, "My name isn't long legs! It's Black Rabbit! As for why I invited you here...*ahem*...!"

Clearing her throat, Black Rabbit performed a cutesy spin before spreading her arms and saying, "Welcome, everyone, to the Little Garden~! We are willing to give the three of you a chance to participate in the fabulous Gift Games! Isn't that exciting~!?"

Though Izayoi looked like he was prepared to ask what Gift Games were, the words got caught in his throat as Yo attempted to sneak up behind Black Rabbit and grab her ears. The moment she extended her hand, however, her wrist was suddenly caught by Vahn, who, from the perspective of everyone paying attention to him, seemed to teleport.

"That isn't very polite, young lady..."

"Vahn!?"

Not expecting Vahn to appear behind her, Black Rabbit ended up shouting his name as Yo, showing a genuinely apologetic expression on her face, meekly replied, "Sorry. I was just curious. I've never seen anyone with rabbit ears before."

Releasing the young girl's hand, Vahn adopted a genial smile as he said, "There are many different races living within the Little Garden. It's fine to be curious but you can't go around touching people without their permission. Black Rabbit's ears are especially sensitive so it would have caused her a great deal of pain if you were to grab them without proper care."

"Ah..."

Feeling even more apologetic, Yo crossed her hands over her lap before bowing at a steep angle and saying, "Sorry. I'll be sure to keep that in mind."

Nodding his head in approval, Vahn stepped off to the side so that Black Rabbit could recover and continue her explanation. He noticed that Izayoi and Asuka were both staring at him with serious expressions on their faces, but, rather than pay them any mind, he just yawned before manifesting a pocket watch out of thin air to check the time...

"This guy isn't simple..."

"I'm well aware of that..."

Responding to Izayoi's remark, Asuka's expression was far more severe than the blond-haired youth's. Her clothes were still wet after falling into the lake so her bottom was now covered in a layer of fresh dirt. She may have come to the Little Garden seeking to change her ways, but, after a lifetime of having everyone follow her will, she resented the fact there was a person with a similar yet more powerful ability than her own...

As various thoughts waged war within Asuka's mind, Black Rabbit reached the part of her speech where she wanted to challenge the trio to a Gift Game. To that end, she pulled out a deck of cards, saying, "Since a single explanation might not suffice, how about we all play a simple Gift Game right now~?"

Since he had half-expected a fight to break out, Izayoi's brows furrowed slightly the moment he saw the deck of cards, asking, "For real...?" in an audibly annoyed tone.

Without losing her stride, Black Rabbit returned an excited smile as she said, "Of course! You see, there are all kinds of Communities within the Little Garden. It isn't strictly required but all residents of this world typically belong to various small, medium, and large-scale organizations. Rather, with few exceptions, it would be difficult for most people to survive without joining a Community."

Snapping her fingers, Black Rabbit caused a rather luxurious dealer's table to appear out of thin air as she added, "Now then, I wouldn't mind letting the three of you join the Community Black Rabbit is a part of. However, if you can't even win a simple Gift Game, it will cause serious problems for us. You'd be in the way and a real drain on resources. Basically, the three of you would be nothing but trouble and we can't have that now can we~?"

Despite her nervousness, Black Rabbit managed a smug smile that caused the faces of Izayoi and Asuka to scrunch up slightly. As for Yo, she just played with the paws of her cat with a blank look on her face. She was paying attention, but, unlike the other two, she wasn't bothered by Black Rabbit's taunting words.

"Now wait just a minute! We haven't even accepted!"

Never one to allow others to dictate the flow, Asuka took a stand with the intention of gaining a bit of leverage in the conversation. In response, Black Rabbit just crossed her arms with an ostensibly helpless expression on her face before cupping her cheek and remarking, "If you're afraid, we can just send you back. However, if you turn back now, you'll never have a chance to experience what lays beyond your original worlds. Would you really be satisfied with that~?"

Clicking her tongue, Asuka approached the table with a serious expression on her face as she said, "I'm not afraid of anything. Now, tell me, what are the rules?"

Though she was tempted to command Black Rabbit to explain the rules, Asuka held back when she noticed Vahn squint his eyes. She didn't know the full extent of his power at the moment, so, until the Gift Game officially began, she couldn't use her Gift wantonly.

"It's simple, really~!"

After spreading the cards out in a flawless, evenly spaced arc, Black Rabbit spread her hands happily as she explained, "You just need to pick a face card from among these fifty-two face down cards on the table. However, you only get one chance and each person only gets to draw a single card."

Adopting a contemplative expression, Asuka was about to ask whether or not they could use any method to inspect the cards when Izayoi suddenly chimed in to say, "Boring. You clearly brought us here for something more important than this. How 'bout we skip the small stuff and move on to the big boy problems? At the very least, you could have come up with something more interesting than a simple card game."

Not expecting such an interjection, the smile on Black Rabbit's face froze as the ears atop her head twitched in frustration. She had worked really hard to come up with a simple game to serve as the trio's introduction to Gift Games as a whole. It was also intended to serve as a segue into a number of other topics so she wasn't quite sure how to proceed now that someone had interrupted...

Surprised by Black Rabbit's remarkably 'innocent' reaction, an inaudible sigh escaped Izayoi's throat as he combed back his hair and said, "At least spice things up a little. How about a rule stating you tell us which face cards to draw. We can also make things more interesting by placing something of substantial value on the line. If you really want us to spook us, you should have made the stakes as high as possible from the start. A regular card game just seems pointless. Wouldn't you agree, big guy?"

Raising his brows, Vahn replied, "I'm not a part of this. If I got involved, the only way you could win is with a handicap. Besides, there isn't really anything you could offer me. Even if your Gifts evolved to become the most powerful in the Divine Realm, they would just be another random card among the functionally infinite number I already possess. I don't mind humoring you, but I'm more than a little out of your league at the present moment."

Raising his hand, Vahn produced a metal cube approximately 1km in diameter from his Inventory. It didn't exactly blot out the sky, but, having lived in modern settings where most other people didn't possess any form of superpower, the trio's eyes widened in shock as it began its descent.

"How about this for a Gift Game. Stop the fall of this cube. You can use any means necessary so long as you stop it before it hits the ground. If you win, you can make any single request from me. If you don't ask for my help, you die. If you do ask for my help, you lose and have to join Black Rabbit's Community. High enough stakes for you, brat...?"

With a Geass Roll manifesting out of thin air, Vahn made it clear he wasn't playing around. At the same time, the cube of steel, weighing nearly eight billion tons, continued falling towards them as a massive amount of wind pressured began to press down on the surrounding forest.

Staring up at the apocalyptic sight, an amused smile spread across Izayoi's face as he shrugged his shoulders and remarked, "Okay, old man. You called my bluff. Call off your meteor. I'll be a good sport and participate in Black Rabbit's little card game..."

Though he returned a smile, Vahn didn't place the cube back into his Inventory. Instead, he began to close his hand, his fingers trembling as he attempted to force it into a fist. At the same time, the massive metal cube began to release a monstrously loud sound as its perfect corners and flat faces began to deform into the shape of a sphere. It took a lot more effort than he expected, but, once everything was said and done, Vahn managed to compress the sphere to the size of a softball-sized white orb that released a tremendous amount of heat and energy.

Catching the orb with his transformed arms, Vahn adopted a serious expression as he met the gazes of the trio and explained, "This is the Divine Realm. This is the home of the most powerful being in all realities. The three of you may have unlimited potential but you'll need to work hard if you want to stand at the top. For now, try and get to the point where you can casually shatter a planet with a punch. That wouldn't be enough for me to take you seriously, but it's a step in the right direction."

Having drained all the energy from the glowing white ball, a shimmering black lump appeared in Vahn's hand. Under normal circumstances, its mass would have produced a localized gravitational field. Instead, Vahn placed a magical seal on its surface so that its weight would only affect people willfully trying to pick it up. After that, he placed it on the ground for some random person or God to find later on...

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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Bad touch...!','Asuka is a very prideful young lady...','*Heavy sweating*...')