Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

With all of the Heroic Spirits gaining physical bodies, new life had been breathed into the Sub Space Projection as, instead of spending their days idly, everyone was now training in earnest. This actually made the castle seem rather empty as, with everyone spending most of their 'day' inside the Training Orb, the Ivory Castle had moments when the only people present were Catherine, Merlin, Iris, Illya, Da Vinci, and Circe. Iris was another example of a 'pure mage' so, while her strength was gradually increasing, she did not need to engage in live combat to benefit.

Instead, Iris spent most of her day alongside Illya, helping the latter with her studies and bestowing their family's techniques to her. She also spent a lot of time cataloging her knowledge as, without the restraints that prevented her from sharing the secrets of their 'former' family, there was nothing to stop her from passing it along to others. As for why she would do such a thing, this was her way of taking revenge on the Einzbern family for their failure to protect Illya, the only actual descendant they had remaining.

As for everyone else, at least if they intended to take part in the future battles, they would spend long periods of time within the Sub-Space Orb designated as the 'Training Orb'. When Fenrir wasn't training with Scáthach, even she could be found within the Training Orb just observing the combat styles of the others. Scáthach had told her something she already knew, something her Master had already brought up in the past, so she was doing her best to polish this ability further. This was her ability to mimic almost anything she saw, so long as it was compatible with her current form. Though she obviously couldn't do something like bulk up to the size of Siegfried, Fenrir could read the flow of mana in their attacks and was slowly memorizing all of their movements. With this kind of ability, so long as she was even remotely comparable with her opponent, Fenrir would be able to become stronger than them before the fight inevitably resulted in her victory...

Vahn suspected that Fenrir's mimicry was related to a developing Innate as, after leaving the Record of Danmachi, she no longer had the Development Ability. The fact she had been able to develop such an ability in the first place was the only proof he needed to know she was uncommonly gifted at copying the speaking habits, mannerisms, combat techniques, and even a few unique skills of other people. Now that she was focused on developing it, as Scáthach had given her the 'homework' of copying Artoria's fighting style, it was becoming increasingly obvious that Fenrir had a vast and untapped reservoir of potential just waiting to burst forth onto the surface.

One of the most interesting developments was how, once night fell, everyone would gather together a lot more than before. Vahn enjoyed seeing everyone together so he was very appreciative of this fact, even though their primary reason for doing so was the practice the Meditation and Cultivation Techniques he had passed around. It was necessary for the former Heroic Spirits to strengthen their soul as, though there weren't any issues thus far, it was better to be safe than sorry. As the potential of a person was directly tied to the strength of their Soul, Vahn had pointed out the approximate levels of everyone at present. This served as a powerful motivator for those with Tier 3 Souls while girls like Lakshmibai, who hadn't even known they were already treading in the realm of the Gods, redoubled their efforts with renewed confidence.

To aid in everyone's growth, Vahn had already given his Familia Crest to everyone within the castle, the only exceptions being Paracelsus and Da Vinci. The latter believed her current appearance was already close to perfect and, while she was interested in strengthening her own Soul, she intended to pioneer a method through innovation and research. As every major Magus family in the world was trying to reach the pinnacle of any single ideal, knowing full-well it would inevitably lead them to the Root, Da Vinci's logic wasn't actually misplaced. None of her Innates seemed related to combat so, as long as she continued her research without ceasing, it was certainly possible for her to reach Tier 4 and higher. After all, some Gods had Divinities such as Trickery, Peace, and Music, meaning the methods to reach Tier 4 were functionally without limit...

The only thing any person needed to break into the realm of Tier 4 was enough understanding of any specific Law that it became an actual part of them. Instead of manipulating the Law, they were able to manifest it to an extent that wasn't regulated in the same way as other forms of Magecraft. In a way, it was like reaching the realm of True Magic as the power you were capable of using at Tier 4 was undoubtedly the product of 'Mystery'. At this point, Vahn was fully aware that Mystery was just the term that had been colloquialized when discussing anything that people couldn't easily make sense.

In that vein, Myster was the same concept as the Laws themselves and the reason most Magus never reached that point is because they were focused on observation and affecting the external world. They put such a heavy focus on their research, intending from the start that it was something that would be passed down to their descendants to be further refined. Instead of strengthening themselves internally and pursuing the Laws themselves, they were trying to comprehend them according to a fundamentally flawed set of principles from the start. Unless the Law they were trying to comprehend was 'Research' or 'Innovation', the chances they would ever succeed in reaching the Root or becoming Tier 4 were infinitesimally small at best...

When Vahn was explaining the concept of Laws to everyone, he encourage them to either polish their current Innates to the extreme, picking a 'concept' they could dedicate themselves to as, so long as they continued to strive towards that concept, it was only a matter of time until they began to comprehend the Laws related to it. He demonstrated this with his understanding of Petting Laws, prompting Mordred to ask him if he would one day become a 'God of Petting'. She had asked this as a result of her curiosity but it still got a round of laughter from everyone that had been present at the time, causing Mordred's face to become red, even though they were actually laughing at Vahn. In response to her question, Vahn decisively answered that, so long as you pushed any concept to its most extreme limits, you could 'literally' become a God at anything...

After his long explanation on Laws and the nature of the Soul, everyone had picked a concept they believed represented themselves, many choosing their actual Origins as a template. Artoria, though she was no longer a King, wanted to understand what it meant to be a true King as, if she was able to comprehend this, she believed her past regrets would no longer burden her. At the same time, though Vahn felt a small headache as a result, she intended to delve into her Dragon Origin. If she managed to succeed, which was only a matter of time given her ridiculous fate, Artoria would almost certainly awaken her currently sealed True Dragon Race, becoming an existence even the One-Eyed Black Dragon couldn't match. Since she already had a skill literally named [Instinct], which she had relied on her entire life, Vahn could only steel himself for the future that awaited him once she awakened the instincts of a True Dragon.

Fortunately, Mordred didn't take after that aspect of her mother so Vahn would only have to worry about a single blond-haired True Dragon running around. As for what she had decided to focus on, Mordred wanted to be a Goddess of War, much like Kenshin. To that end, she spent a lot of her 'study' time leaning Zen Buddhism from Kenshin and training in the same methods that the latter had used for her own rise to pseudo-godhood. The only reason Kenshin wasn't considered an actual god was due to the fact that she had 'borrowed' the power of Bishamonten, even though she had more or less made it her own at this point. So long as she realized the power she wielded was her own, instead of accrediting it almost wholly to Bishamonten, it was only a matter of time before she became an actual Goddess of War. Since her training Mordred would actually be very good for the latter's mentality, both Vahn and Artoria had agreed to her training their daughter during the evening hours...

As for the others within the castle, Fenrir had obviously decided to pursue the Elemental Laws of Water, Ice, and Yin, as these were the things she already focused on, while also trying to refine her understanding of Devouring Laws. She had the ability to 'literally' eat anything she was capable of comprehending so, with that in mind, Fenrir also intended to push her mimicry to the point that she could intuitively comprehend anything she saw. She had a unique perspective on things compared to almost everyone else as, while they had only been focused on their own lives in a single Record, Fenrir had been intending to walk alongside her Master through thousands. The power she sought for herself was far beyond the comprehension of even someone like Da Vinci, assuming the latter was not brought with them to future Records...

Medusa had a similar perspective to Fenrir, albeit less 'devout', as her only interest was really staying at her Master's side and avoiding death. Much like her Master, she felt a powerful connection to him that made her feel almost 'empty' whenever she thought about not being able to stay at his side. To that end, she wanted to pursue Magic, Summoning, and Time as her focuses. At the same time, she wanted to become the 'Goddess of Snakes' as, even though she had a humanoid form, Medusa was more empathetic to her not-so-distant kin than she was towards humans. Though she felt closer to everyone that had a body created by her Master, Medusa could often be found near the lakeside surrounded by snakes when she was bored...

Though Vahn was a little worried about Medusa detachment to people, he didn't believe it would become an issue as, in accordance with his expectations, she had actually become good friends with Circe. The latter had made good on her promise to open up to others and, after realizing they were all relatively friendly, she stopped looking down on them. She was still prone to bouts of jealousy, especially if he didn't give her attention at least a few hours a day, but she now cooked for everyone in the castle, even when he wasn't present. As a Demi-Goddess, she obviously didn't care all that much about learning any other Laws, intending to focus on her current pseudo-Divinities related to Magic and Love. There had already been several 'close calls' where she was very tempted to give up her current power but, keeping his own promise, Vahn had prevented her from taking things too far...

Circe was one of the few remaining 'troubles' he had to deal with in the castle, the only other factors being Cath Palug and his training sessions with Scáthach. She obviously had no need to study any particular Law, as she had a basic understanding of 'all' Laws, so she spent more time teaching what she knew to others rather than developing her own comprehension further. To that end, though it took a fair amount of convincing, Scáthach had been transcribing a 'training manual' for everyone that would potentially help them advance their understanding of the Laws. She had no intention of teaching them directly but, as even people like Siegfried didn't make the cut from her perspective, but it didn't take her much effort to put pen to paper after Vahn performed exceptionally well in a few training sessions...

As a result of Scáthach's efforts, everyone spent long hours every single day talking about their own progress and their developing understanding of the Laws. Even concepts such as being a 'Hero', the path Siegfried had intended to pursue, had been explained in great detail by Scáthach. This was very fortunate as, if Siegfried had also pursued the path of a Dragon, Vahn knew he would once again have to rise up as the 'Alpha' in order to prevent issues from arising. Fortunately, though Siegfried had gained several attributes of True Dragons, this was only the result of him slaying Fafnir and not his primary interest. He only wanted to be a reliable friend while trying to understand if the path he had walked in his previous life was the correct one, much like how Artoria sought freedom from her own burdens as a King by understanding the very concept of Kingship...

Amongst everyone else in the castle, the strangest pursuits that people had decided upon were Astolfo's pursuit of Adventure, Speed, and Cuteness, Nobunaga's focus on her Anti-Divin Origin, and Lakshmibai deciding upon the concepts of Fortune, Misfortune, and Fate itself. Astolfo had never cared that much about battle so, as long as he could travel wherever he pleased, that was the only thing that mattered. He had even traveled to the Moon in the past so his next goal was to reach the point where he could even travel to other stars, venturing out into the cosmos to see what wonders were just waiting for someone to discover.

As for Nobunaga, she decided that 'Conquest' might not exactly be the best choice so, understanding there always needed to be a force to lay Gods low, she wanted to pursue the path of killing the unkillable. The thought alone was enough to excite her so she had actually started to study various legends related to the death of gods and the myriad weaknesses of every Hero that had been recorded in history. Fortunately, or perhaps not, she had managed to make acquaintances with Da Vinci as the latter had been very interested in her ability to freely change her age based on her Od reserves. They couldn't be considered friends, not by a long shot, but Nobunaga had always had a lot of appreciation for Innovation and the like, making Da Vinci tolerate her presence within the workshop on a few occasions...

Lakshmibai was, by far, the strangest character in the bunch as she had actually contemplated making 'S.e.x' one of her main focuses, a thought that had nearly caused her to pass out as she imagined all the things she and Vahn could do together. Fortunately, as she was already the vessel of the Goddess Alakshmi, Lakshmibai had a fair amount of leeway in deciding what she wanted to focus on. To that end, she intended to awaken and fuse together with the slumbering Ego of Alakshmi in an attempt to understand the concept of Misfortune. As a true understanding of this concept would also give her an understanding of Fortune, Lakshmibai believed she would one day be the vessel for the Goddess Lakshmi as well. Then, like Kenshin, she would make both powers her own and, for the first time, take charge of her own Fate in a more comprehensive way than most...

In support of Lakshmibai's pursuit, Vahn spent a lot of their time together talking about the concept of Karma, the balance of the world, and the influence Fate had on both its user and the people around them. As the person with the greatest amount of Fate within the castle, Vahn had Artoria attend the same discussions as she needed to understand her own influence better. This would also help her understand her own path as many of the bad things that had happened to her were the result of her own fate and how she had interacted with others. By trying to be a 'perfect' King to her people, distancing herself from most emotions and unnecessarily empathizing with people who did not necessarily deserve her forgiveness, she had been the catalyst for her own demise.

Though this was something she technically had no control over, as Fate had a powerful influence on people, that would no longer be the case now that Vahn was present. He was intrinsically an entity without fate, meaning he was also the most vulnerable to things like Karma as there was nothing to protect him against its influence. As a foreign entity in the world, he was like a blank slate that could drastically alter the fate of others, albeit at the cost of exposing himself to the powerful fate of other entities in the world. Because of his nature to change fate, those with strong fate were almost always drawn to him, both as a means to 'exploit' the nature of his existence and to 'balance' the anomalous force that now existed in the world.

This meant Vahn's actions almost always set some event or other in motion as, without a fate, Karma itself was proactively taking steps to restore the imbalances he caused. Fortunately, he now had the 'protection' of Akasha, her superiors, and Alaya, all entities that were not bound by the system of Karma present within the Root. Since he was also perceptive enough to sense the flow of Fate itself, Vahn also had the option of 'choosing' whether or not he wanted to be directly involved with the events and trials that would be faced by others. Previously, he had avoided letting Bell influence him too much but, as a test to see how things would turn out, Vahn had been allowing Artoria to freely influence him. This came as quite a surprise to her but, as they had already made promises to each other, Artoria felt more warmth than guilt at the thought she had been influencing Vahn without even knowing it...

As people couldn't be blamed for their own Fate, and Vahn himself was the one who accepted it, he told Artoria not to mind such things. The moment she started trying to 'escape' her fate, without something like the [Fate Severing Knife], things would become increasingly more chaotic. Though she didn't know the full truth, Artoria was aware of the importance of things like the Holy Spear and its connection to her so, even though it was troubling to know she shouldn't even try to escape her fate, she was resolute in bearing the burden. Since it wasn't her's alone to bear, it made her feel a lot closer to Vahn, in a way her budding affections couldn't quite match. As a result, the rest session following their discussion actually had Artoria taking the offensive for the first time, something Vahn had enjoyed quite a bit...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Fenrir, Goddess of Mimicry, Devourer of Reality, Goodest Girl','I like how Nobunaga is like, "I want to kill the unkillable" instead of just focusing on 'Death' xD...','Is this a sign that Artoria's True Dragon instincts are already awakening!?')

(A/N: As I'm certain everyone has noticed, the chapters I write become info dumps when I'm busy. Don't worry, as there should be action relatively soon, something a few of you have desperately been anticipating xD...')

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