Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Early the next morning, everyone that was going to be leaving Avalon had gathered together to eat breakfast and discuss their itineraries. For obvious reasons, they couldn't exactly use public transport as, with the exception of Catherine and Tristana, whose movements would undoubtedly draw the attention of the Mage's Association and Holy Church, none of the residents of the Ivory Castle had passports. Illya and Iris were both considered to be dead as well, meaning traveling by plane and other public transport that required identification was simply impossible.

Vahn immediately shot down Astolfo's remark about using his Hippogriff, at least during the day, while Da Vinci's offer to produce a bird-shaped golem capable of flight and stealth was also denied, at least for the time being. The simple truth of the matter was, until they intended to start openly opposing the other factions, there were no easy means to even travel without drawing a lot of attention to themselves. As a result, Vahn could only rely on Alaya to use her Space Transfer ability to help people reach their destinations. She was less than enthused about the request but, as Vahn had provided far more than the requisite amount of Magical Energy, Alaya ultimately conceded without arguing against it.

Before everyone went their separate ways, Vahn made sure each person had an [Effigy of the Hero] while Da Vinci had performed some last-minute upgrades to the [REquip] accessories, allowing them to hold inorganic items other than clothing in a small storage space. This would allow everyone to buy souvenirs and store anything they found interesting during their travels. She had cracked the [Interspatial Ring]s that Vahn allowed her to study several months prior so it didn't take her too long to incorporate the same technology into her [REquip] system. As Vahn had learned very shortly after working alongside Da Vinci, being able to use all Magecraft with SS-Rank proficiency made her into a monster when it came to innovating upon existing ideas...

After everyone had made their preparations, the 'exploration group', consisting of Astolfo, Catherine, and Nobunaga all gathered together. Vahn shared a short embrace with the Nobunaga, resulting in her nibbling on his earlobe playfully before rejoining the other two. Then, in a burst of blue magical light, all three vanished in an instant, their destination a few kilometers outside of Paris, France. Their plan was to go sightseeing in the French countryside before doubling back to visit Paris itself. From there, they would move to the port near Cherbourg, a few kilometers to the northwest, before flying over the English Channel with Astolfo Hippogriff under the cover of night. Then, with the obvious exception of London, Astolfo wanted to explore his former country to see how it had changed over the last twelve-hundred years. In total, their trip was expected to take around two weeks as they slowly made their way to the western coast of Fishguard, Wales, the closest physical location to Avalon.

With the exploration group departed, Vahn spent a few minutes talking with Illya, Iris, and Kenshin. While giving Illya a long and comforting hug, Vahn reminded, "If there are any issues at all, do not hesitate to contact me. I will trust this matter to you but never forget your lives are infinitely more important to me than the success of your mission..." This caused Illya to nod her head while nuzzling into the nook of his neck before answering, "This is something I need to do...but I'm not going to endanger the happiness I have found by doing anything foolish..." With that said, Illya gave Vahn a short peck on his cheek before releasing her grip on his body. Then, with a red face, Illya retreated to the side of Iris, eliciting a giggle from her mother as the latter stroked her daughter's head with an amused smile on her face.

Vahn also returned a smile before looking at Kenshin and Scáthach, primarily addressing the former as he said, "I'll leave their protection to the two of you. Still, make sure you take care of yourselves as well. Germany is a lot colder than Japan and Ireland..." Though Scáthach was virtually immune to the cold, and would primarily be in spirit form the entire time, Vahn was mainly reminding them to dress properly. Illya and Iris were already wearing winter clothing, consisting of long white overcoats and fur caps, but Scáthach was still wearing her purple bodysuit while Kenshin a modified kimono that, while it was adorned with extra fabric and a fox-fur mantle, would stand out like a sore thumb among 'normal' people. However, considering her hair was anything but normal, Vahn knew it was ultimately pointless to try and get her to dress 'properly'. He was hoping that most people thought she was part of a drama or a famous actress they simply hadn't heard of...

Still being a little 'absentminded' outside of combat, Kenshin gave a confident smile as she replied, "Leave it to me, Your Majesty. I will protect the Imperial Family and preserve my own life at the same time...!" As for Scáthach, she just gave a small nod while, towering over her from behind, Heracles just emitted steam from his body due to the temperature difference. Vahn was intending to try and undo his [Mad Enhancement] in the future but, as it was granted by the Holy Grail, it would likely take a powerful piece of equipment to pull it off. Even if he gave the mountain-like man a new body, it wouldn't remove the [Mad Enhancement] that had been embedded directly onto his Ego.

Without going out of his way to comment on Kenshin's bold statement, Vahn just shared a short embrace with the powerful warrior woman before turning his attention to Iris. She returned her characteristically 'innocent' looking smile in return before, taking her daughter into consideration, giving Vahn a ver short and proper hug. After this, their five-person group gathered together before, much like the previous group, they vanished in a burst of blue magical light. Their destination was a subsection of the Rothaargebirge mountains, located just south of the Ems River basin. Though Vahn had initially been surprised that the Einzberns had made their home in one of the more populous regions of Germany, it wasn't that difficult to believe considering that London was the very heart of the Mage's Association...

With Illya's group gone, it was nearly time for Vahn's to head out as well so, after giving a curt nod to the smiling Merlin, Vahn turned to Fenrir, Artoria, Mordred, and Da Vinci. They were all wearing winter clothing as well, looking rather fashionable in long fur coats. Fenrir's even had a hood that had a thick matt of somewhat spikey fur, much like Mordred's, which was used to keep her ears concealed. She had already reached the point where hiding her ears, tail, and paws didn't require much effort but, as it was always better to be safe than sorry, Fenrir chose to conserve her Magical Energy. Fortunately, it was a small fashion trend for some groups to have small tail-like accessories so, even if Fenrir's drew some attention, most people wouldn't really question it. Since it only moved in response to her 'willing' it to do so, most of the time it just hung rather pathetically, the only real exception being when Vahn showed it some attention.

Since Circe and Medusa had already been 'pacified' by him previously, Vahn didn't idle for too long and, after linking hands with everyone, they were all teleported away by Alaya, now latched onto Vahn's shoulder after he finished embracing everyone. When they vanished from sight, Merlin turned his head towards the north, his eyes glimmering with magical light as he began to lightly chuckle to himself. Then, after tapping his staff against the ground, Merlin's body dissipated like an illusory mist as he remarked, "Let's see what kind of future awaits...Empires are never built without bloodshed..." Then, as if he had never been there from the start, Merlin had completely vanished from the area...

---

Instantaneous Space Transfers were always rather jarring as, in one moment, you could be in a relatively warm and comfortable environment before, in less time than it took to blink, you could find yourself in the middle of a snowbound plain. As there was currently a small snowstorm raging in the region they had been transported to, Mordred had been the most caught off guard as a result of her size. With a layer of fresh powdered snow, her body sunk up to her h.i.p.s the moment they were transported. This caused her to fumble backward, falling into the snow and burying her entire body in one singular motion that caused Vahn's brows to rise in humor when Mordred 'burst' out of the snow moments later, smiling excitedly instead of appearing upset. She immediately scooped up a handful of snow, shouting, "Eat this...!" as she threw it towards the location on Vahn's shoulder where she assumed Alaya to be.

Before it could impact the area, the snowball outright disappeared midair before reappearing right behind Mordred, pelting her in the back of the head. This time, she was less than enthused, patting snow out of her ponytail as she complained, "Even if you were ten times as cute, I wouldn't like you. You're a big jerk, Alaya..." Unfortunately for her, Alaya didn't even bother to reveal herself, much less dignify Mordred's words with a response. This left Vahn using his cleaning magic to pull the snow from Mordred's hair as he created an area around them that the snow couldn't penetrate. Then, after looking around the area, Vahn noticed they were surrounded by an evergreen forest while, around two kilometers to the east, there was a frozen lakebed.

Though he had asked Alaya to transport them a few kilometers outside the range of any standard Magi's detection, he could tell at a glance this was nowhere near London. After sending off Mordred and Fenrir to go play in the forest for a bit, Vahn pulled Alaya from his shoulder, asking, "Where is this?" In response, she monotonously answered, "This is a forest located seven kilometers south and twenty-four kilometers west of the Sperrin Mountains in Northern Ireland. The people you seek are located in a large Manor located to the north, near the divergent point of the Foyle and Derg Rivers. Do you want me to create a String of Fate so you can find them more easily...?"

Hearing Alaya's explanation, Vahn briefly wondered why Rin would have taken Sakura to Northen Ireland but, considering she would undoubtedly explain it to him, Vahn just nodded his head in response to Alaya's question. As a result, a red string appeared, this time latched onto his pinky in a distinctly different way than the blue one he used to track down Paracelsus. Even without needing to ask, Alaya understood his question, answering, "The color of the String of Fate is determined by the affinity between the linked individuals. Red means both parties have a mutual affection for each other." With that said, Alaya retired to her spot on Vahn's shoulder, leaving the latter pondering with a smile on his face.

Recognizing the look on Vahn's face, Da Vinci asked, "What are you thinking about? Did Alaya tell you something interesting?" As she asked this, Da Vinci adjusted the large rounded spectacles on her face, a special item she had produced to make it impossible for people to discern her true appearance. Since having the [Golden Rule:EX] skill would cause her to stand out, even amongst a crowd of a million people, Da Vinci had to take extra precautions to avoid drawing the attention of everyone they passed. This was especially necessary as, after a few days' preparation, Da Vinci was in her freshly produced body, appropriately named, at least according to her, [Dedication to the Sage Emperor].

Vahn quickly explained the function of the red string on his finger, garnering attention from both Da Vinci and Artoria as both women wondered what color their strings would be. Though it cost a fair amount of Magical Energy, Vahn rarely used it so Alaya had a relatively monstrous amount sitting in reserve. Curiously, Da Vinci's String of Fate glowed with a golden light, the meaning of which implied they held similar ideals and were fated to walk alongside each other indefinitely. As for Artoria's, hers was even more peculiar, possessing three intertwined strings, one red, one white, and the final one being black. The red's meaning was obvious, implying that he and Artoria had a mutual affection towards each other while the black and white represented 'authority' and 'innocence' respectively.

According to Alaya, black meant that he either put himself in a dominant position over Artoria or, earning a blush from the latter, it meant she placed herself in a submissive position to him. Since she was his Knight Commander, this wasn't all that odd but, going by what Alaya explained, it had little to do with things like vows and pledges. As for the white string, it meant that Artoria was largely ignorant of anything outside of her interpersonal relationsh.i.p.s, meaning Vahn had a lot of sway over her perspective of the world. This color was often seen between religious figures and their followers, or between parents and their children.

As tempted as he was to tease her, Vahn remained relatively stoic as he explained the meaning of the three colors to Artoria. Her embarrassed and fl.u.s.tered expression were admittedly adorable but, as it was undoubtedly awkward to have her 'nature' exposed in such a way, Vahn chose not to press the issue. He already knew there was little that Artoria wouldn't do, so long as he asked, so it wasn't all that surprising if she saw herself in a submissive position. When they returned, Vahn figured it would be better for their future interactions if he started to build up Artoria's confidence again. She had mellowed out quite a bit since becoming Mordred's mother so, depending on the situation with Rin, Sakura, and Gray, it might be time to summon someone else from Artoria's life. So long as there were people looking up to her, a role Gray could probably fill, Artoria would undoubtedly become a confident woman once again...

After dismissing the Strings of Fate between himself, Artoria, and Da Vinci, Vahn placed his fingers into his mouth, issuing a loud whistle that echoed through the small winter storm. Less than two minutes later, Fenrir and Mordred both appeared from the woods, the latter holding a large Sika Deer above her head with a triumphant smile on her face. Since Mordred had a habit of 'hunting' whenever she got the opportunity, Vahn wasn't all that surprised as he stowed the fresh carcass into his Inventory before rubbing her head and saying, "Good job, Mordred. You must remember not to hunt too much while we're outside though, okay? There are a lot of nearly extinct animals in the world and it would be a shame to wipe out a species on accident..."

Without taking her Chichiue's words to heart, Mordred nodded her head before pulling on the back of Vahn's coat. This caused Alaya to frown but, as she was very familiar with Vahn's mannerisms and habits after observing him for nearly seven months, she sunk into the collar of his shirt before biting the fleshy area beneath his ribs while Mordred climbed onto his shoulders. Vahn knew he might be spoiling Mordred a bit too much these days but, as it was her first time in the outside world, he felt that making the memory a happy one would be good for her mental development. She had made great strides towards stabilizing, to the point that her [King Arthur's False Heir] had actually changed into the peculiarly named [Sage Emperor's Pampered Princess: B].

Though this was a small flag, it was still irrefutable proof that an Innate could change based on the perspective and comprehension of the person it belonged to. Vahn even theorized that it would be possible for him to change the nature of his own Innates, simply by 'believing' they worked in a certain way and pushing that ideal to the extremes. After all, according to Sis herself, Innates were not restricted by the Records, meaning they were without limits from the start. Two people could even have the same Innate yet, based on their comprehension, the form that Innate took could be vastly different.

A good example that Vahn thought of was one of his former favorite manga, a series called Naruto where the protagonist worked to become Hokage, the most powerful ninja in his village of Konoha. This village was also home to a Clan known as the Uchiha, possessing a unique set of eyes known as the Sharingan. Vahn had no doubt that the Sharingan themselves were an Innate but, while their base form was almost always the same, the evolved form, known as the Mangekyou Sharingan, could have a variety of different abilities. These were always related to the nature of the person who awakened them, allowing for a variety of different abilities that made use of several complex and high-tiered Laws. Though Vahn didn't know how the series came to an end, he had always dreamed about having a similar set of eyes, at least when he was younger...

With Mordred leaning from side-to-side on his shoulders, Vahn walked with Fenrir, Artoria, and Da Vinci following close behind as he used his domain to compress the snow, making it easier for them to traverse. Fortunately, their destination wasn't all that far away so, after a leisurely stroll through a scenic snow-laden forest, Vahn and his entourage emerged on the other side where a series of factories and a small town were located. Atop a large hill to the east, a very noticeable Manor stood out amidst the surrounding trees, appearing like a large chateau-style residence with large stone walls surrounding its periphery. As there was even a tall tower attached, it almost looked like a small fortress which, considering the secrecy most Magus families preferred, was very likely the intent behind its construction.

Though it would have been obvious from the start, Vahn noted that the red string drew a straight line between his pinky finger and the hillside chateau. Thus, taking advantage of the fact that the snow would easily obscure the vision of normal people, Vahn set out a platform for them all to stand on before using his Telekinesis to levitate them all through the air, a method he had come up with on the spot as a result of Artoria's [Magic Resistance]. Though she had a real body, Artoria still had the [Magic Resistance:B] and the [Riding:B] skills that had been granted to her by the Holy Grail. This made it difficult to use Magecraft against her as, anything B-Rank or lower would simply 'break' powerlessly against her, regardless of its elemental affinity. Even toxins, poisons, and curses were unable to affect her, much less his relatively lackl.u.s.ter Telekinesis.

While resolving to improve his Telekinetic abilities in the future, as they were actually very useful, Vahn carried everyone towards the chateau, reducing the distance even faster than a helicopter as a result of his excitement. Though it had only been a little more than a month since they parted, at least from the perspective of the three girls, it had been more than half a year for Vahn. He often felt guilty about parting with Sakura so soon after she became his daughter so Vahn was intending to use this as an opportunity to make it up to them before venturing to South America to recruit Type: Mercury to his cause...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Merlin is such a Chuuni...','Strings of Fate come in a variety of different colors xD...','Seriously though, Telekinesis can be super broken if pushed to the extremes (o___o)...')

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