Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

The day following Lefiya’s ’birthday celebration’, she became a very popular topic of discussion within the Manor, especially when everyone found out she had undergone a racial change. Riveria, especially, was completely shocked by the fact that Lefiya had not only become a Spirit, but had a direct link to the Sacred Trees, made evident by her name. Just as Vahn had compared her to Terra, for a brief moment, all the Elves within the Manor had a very similar impression, even Eina and Risna. For Riveria and Ryuu, both have close ties to the Sacred Trees within the Elven Kingdom, Lefiya now had nearly the same presence as a sapling of the Sacred Tree.

Of course, they weren’t the only ones that found the changes in Lefiya very interesting as both Ais and Tiona were ecstatic when they learned she could sprout wings. Almost as if they couldn’t wait for a single moment longer, they had dragged her off to the Sub-Space orb to fly around together, with Ais being the first to pull Lefiya along. Since she had only recently discussed including Ais in their next ’play’, Lefiya’s face had turned beet red to the point where illusory steam sprouted from her tri-colored hair. Even so, she followed along with Ais and Tiona with a happy smile on her face, though the glimmer in her eyes was apparent to those possessing high perception.

Once Lefiya had been dragged away, Vahn was forced to explain everything that had happened, including some of the more ’intimate’ details, such as Lefiya’s ’dangerous’ capabilities in the bedroom. He was surprised when Ryuu, having been born into a family that tended to the Sacred Trees, nodded her head in understanding, explaining, "It isn’t that well known, but there are certain ’ceremonies’ that take place to help increase the vitality of the Sacred Trees. Usually, we would carefully raise animals that had a very high affinity with nature before sacrificing them on the roots of the Sacred Tree. It isn’t that surprising that Lefiya’s body would have a similar quality and, as your...fluids...are rather unique, I’m not surprised that kind of thing happened. Just...make sure to be careful..."

Watching Ryuu run her fingers sheepishly through her golden hair, Vahn’s expression softened into a smile, nodding his head as he said, "Sure...thanks for worrying about me, Ryuu..." Eliciting a rare blush from Ryuu, Vahn’s smile grew in size until Loki suddenly chimed in, saying, "The fact that your creation ability produced an item that can change a person’s race is a bit difficult to believe. If not for the fact that I had seen it with my own eyes, I would have never imagined such a thing was possible. Vahn, you really should put more effort into learning how to control that ability of yours. Since it was able to increase Lefiya’s strength so drastically, it would not only be a great asset to the Alliance, but it would help keep everyone safe in the future."

Loki wasn’t the only one who was struggling to comprehend what they had just learned, as all the goddesses present had moderately incredulous expressions on their faces. They had all lived for hundreds of millions of years, during which time nothing even remotely similar to what Vahn had just accomplished had happened. Yes, new races would pop up every now and then, but these were just natural mutations and rare exceptions. The fact that he had simply given Lefiya a ’vial of light’, which changed the very nature of her existence in just an hour, was very difficult to believe. If he hadn’t done something even more unbelievable in the past, by reversing the time of Shizune’s body, it would have been even more difficult to wrap their heads around.

Hearing Loki’s words, Vahn nodded his head in agreement, sincerely wishing he actually had a way to obtain more ’unique’ grade items from the system. Unfortunately, the only way such items could be obtained were through Quests and, though he had completed several dozen random quests while exploring the Dungeon, he had never been awarded such an item. Thus far, it was only through increasing a person’s affection that he had been able to obtain them, though Quests such as [A Man’s Responsibility] had also afforded him unique, though only his children could use them.

Vahn had long since realized that unique items were usually obtained through Quests related to his bonds with other people, especially his loved ones. However, even though this was the case, even girls like Hestia had never given him any extra quests. Sis had informed him that there would be a way to get Unique items later on but, until now, she had never been able to reveal any details. Unless he managed to increase the functionality of The Path, by completely hidden objectives and unlocking optional quests, there was no way to make any headway. Unfortunately, not that he was complaining, he had always been very busy with the various matters that required his attention. Vahn simply didn’t have the time to try and discover new system functions, nor did he want to invest what little free time he did have trying to learn how to ’exploit’ his system further...

Seeing that he was seriously considering the matter, Loki nodded her head in satisfaction, saying, "It’s good that you’re treating things seriously. Your powers and abilities are something that has never existed in this world, not in all its long history. Nobody can really help you understand your unique capabilities unless you yourself are putting in the effort. However, never forget that you can always talk to us whenever you’re confused about something. At the very least, I’m certain most of the hopelessly infatuated brats can help you out..." As Loki was speaking, she adopted a mischevious smile and gestured to Riveria, Ryuu, and, Syr.

As he had turned his eyes to the girls while Loki gestured to them, Vahn saw their reactions to being referred to as ’hopelessly infatuated brats’. Riveria had furrowed her brows slightly while Ryuu had adopted another rare blush, averting her eyes to the side as if she couldn’t see him looking at her. As for Syr, she just issued a gentle smile, squinting her eyes slightly as if she found the situation rather amusing. She didn’t really mind that a nearly five-hundred-million-year-old goddess referred to her as a brat, especially considering the difference in their age. Even so, Syr wondered how she would be able to get even with Loki, though just a little bit...

After this discussion had come to an end, Vahn ended up being pulled aside by Loki, reminding him that he still needed to tend to Eirene later this afternoon. Since he couldn’t forget such a thing, even if he had been busy with ten-thousand other tasks, Vahn assured her that he would take care of it. Unlike his feelings towards Freya, which were currently a little complicated, Vahn had a very good impression of Eirene. Not only was she a very beautiful and mature looking goddess, but her character was also righteous and she had a simultaneously gentle, yet lively, disposition. She was always quick to compliment others and, though she could be a little abrasive when it came to discussing what made someone a Hero, her strong desire for a peaceful world resonated greatly with Vahn.

Being a Goddes of Peace, Order, and Longevity, Eirene was someone who never ceased her pursuit of true peace within the world. It was her earnest desire that all people could live alongside each other, working together to maintain order and interacting amicably amongst their fellows. She disliked conflict but, in order to keep things from escalating out of control, Eirene had taken it upon herself to create the Familia that was responsible for maintaining public order within the City.

However, even when she came across people that had committed villainous acts, Eirene never judged them too harshly. She always tried to set people back on a course where they would be able to not only better their own lives, but the lives of others. This had the unfortunate consequence of some people taking advantage of her kindness, but Eirene never let it get to her. Even now, nearly 30% of her entire Familia was comprised of former criminals that she had tried to set on the right path, even though many simply joined to avoid longer jail times, or worse punishments.

While thinking of Eirene’s rather complex affairs, as some of the people that had let her down were her former lovers, Vahn made his way to Terra’s Garden. He needed to spend some time with Alexa before the afternoon came, or there wouldn’t be any time later. It was fortunate that Lefiya, while showing an unnatural draw towards s.e.x.u.a.l acts, wasn’t as inconsiderate as Freya had been. She had put off her own ’celebration’ until the early afternoon, giving Vahn ample time to visit Alexa beforehand. It was very important that, unless it couldn’t be helped, Vahn always showed up on time. After all, just imagining Alexa patiently waiting for his arrival every day, even if he was sometimes ’days’ late, made him feel very guilty. This was exacerbated by the fact that he would inherit the memories of his memory fragment, who would often check up on Alexa as she spent days watching the empty space where he was set to appear from...

With the lonely image of Alexa in his mind, Vahn stepped into Terra’s Garden, unfazed by the fact she was lazily sitting on her perch, waiting for his arrival. Though he certainly wasn’t immune to her beauty, Vahn had become very accustomed to Terra being n.a.k.e.d, much like everyone else that visited the Garden. The only time she seemed to don clothes was whenever she left the area, or when one of the children came along with him. Since her beauty seemed like it was simultaneously enhancing, and enhanced by, nature, Vahn felt like it was perfectly natural for her to be like this. He was just happy that her memory fragment had enough propriety to always wear clothing within the Spirit-Time orb, lest Alexa picks up a similar habit...

Lightly nibbling on her finger, Terra issued an elegant, yet sensual, smile while saying, "These last few days have been very interesting for you, haven’t they, Master~? Ufufufu~." She was very aware of all the ’new’ girls her Master had been sleeping with lately and, though she wished it had been her in their place, Terra was actually ’proud’ that her Master was so capable. From her perspective, just as he thought her n.a.k.e.dness was ’natural’, Terra felt her Master ’should’ be surrounded by women. If other women didn’t seek him out, be they mortal or goddess, Terra would have felt this went against the natural order of things. After all, he could even tame ridiculous existences like Eva, while giving meaning and power to existences such as herself.

Returning a small smile to Terra, Vahn walked forward, not even breaking stride when his feet contacted the water’s surface. With his mastery of [Shundo] and [Koku Shundo], creating a foothold on the surface of water was much easier than forming them in the air. Thus, with a casual ease, Vahn walked up to Terra and accepted the orb she offered to him. After perusing it for a short while, Vahn turned his eyes back to her and said, "I guess I’ll entrust my body to you, Terra...go easy on me, okay~?" Vahn knew exactly how much Terra got off on the fact that he left his defenseless body in her care, even if he wasn’t actually in any danger. True Dragons were not only prideful, but they were very ’possessive’ of their treasures, with him being the most precious treasure to the elegant woman before him.

Releasing a peal of sensual and satisfied laughter, Terra then smiled before bringing her body to a seated position and wrapping her wings around her Master’s body. She pulled him in close, embracing his body tightly while saying, "Leave it to me, Master~." Accenting her words, even though it didn’t exactly inspire confidence, Terra traced her long tongue up his cheek before laughing with an ’ufufufufu~’ once again. Vahn just shook his head in a slightly exasperated manner before sighing lightly and inserting his intent into the orb. Terra would never put him in a compromising position so, if someone approached while she had been entrusted with his body, she would deal with the situation easily, and efficiently, even if it was an enemy as powerful as Siegfried...

Vahn wasn’t surprised to find Alexa hovering in front of him the moment he entered into the orb, her face only a few centimeters away from his own. A small smile spread across his face and, as she was already very close, Vahn gave the small True Dragon a kiss on the forehead before saying, "I’m back, Alexa..." In return, Alexa produced a small smile of her own before nodding her head and flittering around to sit on his shoulders. She crossed her arms on his head and leaned forward, knowing that he would lose his balance even if she sat a little awkwardly. Then, with an expectant smile on her face, Alexa said, "Welcome back, Papa..."

For the next hundred hours, Vahn spent his time watching over Alexa’s Cultivation progress, helping to guide her whenever she was making any mistakes. She had been practicing hard for the last two month, so the amount of progress she had made was very commendable. Vahn noticed that, as a result of using the [Mind of Still Water, Heart of Eternal Ice], Alexa’s disposition had become calm and, when she wasn’t interacting with him, somewhat cold. Her eyes seemed to be sharper and there was an aloof feeling contained within their leafy green depths. However, when she turned them to him, Vahn saw those cold emotions melt away in an instant as she patiently listened to his guidance.

During the times when she wasn’t demonstrating her practice, and receiving guidance from him, Alexa had him serve as a glorified body-pillow as they took long naps together. Though it might have seemed a little wasteful to use their time simply lounging about, Vahn knew that Alexa was genuinely happy just having the warmth of a ’real’ person, especially if it was his.

Though the memory fragments had the exact same warmth, most people were able to tell there was something ’off’ about them, especially if they knew the ’real’ people the fragments were based off of. After all, a normal person had a physical body, mana body, and spirit body. The memory fragments, however, had none of these things and simply ’emulated’ the functions. Though they were very realistic, it wasn’t something that could fool those with high perception and, when it came to True Dragons, they had some of the highest.

Thus, knowing that it would be another sixty days before he could give her the warmth she craved, Vahn didn’t mind indulging his cute little Dragon Princess’ requests. Even if she wanted to spend the entire 100 hours just sleeping away under the gentle rays of light shining down from above, Vahn wouldn’t have minded at all. After all, it was the right of young daughters to be a bit willful and, as a respectable and doting father, Vahn knew it was his responsibility to be there for them during such moments...

(A/N: 10,860/30,000)

(A/N: Alternate Titles: ’One day, all the girls are going to be able to fly through the sky xD...’,’Terra will protect Master, surely (UwU)...’,’I actually feel a little sorry for Alexa at this point...’)