Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

By the time two weeks had passed in the real world, a total of fourteen came to pass within the Projection. In this span of time, Vahn had been spending a lot of time with his family while making the final preparations for the showdown against the Barthomeloi Family. More important than this, however, was the fact he had helped bring two more children into this world, courtesy of Luvia and Circe.

Luvia had, surprisingly, gone into labor before Circe, despite having gotten pregnant several days later, at least from the perspective of those within the Projection. She gave birth to a healthy baby girl with the same golden locks that the Edelfelt family was known for. This most important thing, though Vahn didn't particularly care about it, was that his new daughter, Ullagelita, had inherited her mother's [Golden Rule:EX] without issue. Her Guardian even took on the form of a Golden Dragon of Prosperity, a forty-centimeter long western dragon whelp with tiny wings, golden scales, and vibrant, ruby-red eyes.

On the day of Ulla's birth, Vahn had invited over Luvia's family to celebrate alongside her before helping them get settled into their Manor. The Dwarves had managed to construct a lavish Manor in less than a week, with the exterior grounds and basic structure having been completed within the span of two days. They were incredibly skilled builders and, though it wasn't as sturdy as the Ivory Castle, anything less than B-Rank, tactical-class Magecraft, would struggle to deal any substantial damage to the core structure.

It was during the same seven-day cycle, when everyone was still celebrating the birth of Ulla, that Circe went into labor. Vahn had been in the middle of a discussion with the three generations of Edelfelt's when Alaya informed him of the situation. He had to quickly excuse himself as, with Circe's nature, she wouldn't take kindly to being left waiting. It was fortunate that Medusa has been with her at the time or Vahn imagined she might hold a grudge at being left alone, regardless of whether or not he had a good reason.

In hindsight, Vahn should have known Circe would be giving birth during this particular evening as, high in the sky, a full moon was present. Though she had renounced her faith and heritage, Circe was still descendant of Hecate, meaning her daughter would almost certainly be born on the night of a full moon. He could feel an incredible amount of Yin Elemental energy flowing into her body during the delivery, chilling her core temperature to dangerous levels.

If not for his presence, there was a good chance that Circe would have lost her life during childbirth, one of the detrimental effects of her cursed Innate. Fortunately, his Source Energy wouldn't so easily lose out to the invasive energy and, with his [Hands of Nirvana], Circe wasn't in any real danger. She was very anxious in the beginning, as she knew the probability of her death was high, but all her fear had faded away by the time she heard the sound of their daughter crying.

Circe had given birth to a peculiar little girl with similarly pink hair and sky-blue eyes. She was a very beautiful infant but, what stood out more than anything else, was the fact she had pointed ears, tiny wings, and a set of three feathered tufts near her scalp. This was proof of Hecate's Blessing which, in spite of the fact it harshly punished the mother, blessed their child with their lost heritage. Vahn now understood why the Innate was called the [Blood Moon's Curse], as it essentially burdened the new child, often motherless, with carrying on the legacy of Hecate's descendants. He even suspected that, if she weren't on the Reverse Side of the World, Hecate would have tried to adopt his daughter after guilt-tripping him over Circe's death.

Even with Circe telling him not to blame Hecate, as she knew the risks the moment she gave up her Blessing, Vahn had cemented his ire for the crone-like Goddess. In fact, he was really started to hate most of the Greek and Roman Gods in the Nasuverse as their history and legends painted the vast majority in an extremely negative light. The only exceptions were those like Hestia and Demeter but even their origin wasn't entirely unblemished. If he had the chance, Vahn wanted to meet this world's version of the Gods and Goddesses he knew but, with what he knew of Zeus, Hera, Aphrodite, Hera, and Hecate, he wasn't in a particular hurry.

Penelo's Guardian was a Spirit known as a Gluttonous Emperor, a type of Divine Spirit that took on the form of a pig with pearl-white skin, sky blue eyes, and runic engravings over much of its body. It had an ability similar to Fenrir, allowing it to eat virtually anything in order to increase its power. The downside to this Innate, known as [Gluttony], was that the stored energy did not provide permanant benefits. It needed to constantly eat to replenish its reserves but, at the same time, it didn't suffer the same detrimental effects of Fenrir's [Insatiable Hunger]. Since it also had the ability to share its energy with Penelo, the Guttuonous Emperor was actually a very powerful Guardian, albeit with very limited combat potential on its own.

Overall, Vahn just felt blessed to have two more beautiful daughters in his life, even if the mothers of said daughters would invite him a lot of trouble in the future. This was something he would address when the time came and, if necessary, he didn't mind going to war with the entire Greek Pantheon if it meant protecting his own children and the families of his vassals. After all, there was no way Hera would ignore Heracles so, once the boundary between the Surface and Reverse ceased to exist, she would undoubtedly try to stir up trouble...

---

With Scáthach giving him a break from training, Vahn felt happier during the last few weeks than the entirety of his time within the Nasuverse. He could always be found with a happy smile as he got to spend every day watching his children grow and spending time with the people he cared about. It was a very fulfilling way to live, even if there were a few awkward moments here and there. Though one of these resulted in him having a fresh bite mark on his shoulder, courtesy of Illya, it was still a pleasant memory that Vahn would cherish.

If anything, Vahn was more troubled by his brilliant little daughter, Sophia, as she had a propensity for causing mischief, specifically targetted toward him. The last time he went to pick her up, Vahn was shocked to find that he had stepped on a mine that had stealth capabilities. When it exploded, rainbow-colored powder enveloped his body and spread through much of the Workshop while, at the side, Sophia was seated in a blue 'mech', laughing like a mad scientist. Shortly after, Da Vinci came out from her hidden workshop and, after seeing the mess, simply smiled before activating the automated cleaning system of the workshop.

Sophia, despite being twenty days old, had her mental development stop at 16 years old. She was an incredibly brilliant infant and, if not for the limitations of her body, Vahn imagined she would already be building mechs that could rival Ina's. Her current model was produced after she connected to the neural link of the [Gradiation Air Printer], allowing her to template out a design and print it without any help whatsoever. It had the function of hovering around a meter off the ground and, to make up for her own limited mobility, it had several articulated robotic arms. What had come as the biggest surprise, though Vahn wasn't quite sure why he hadn't seen it coming, was that Sophia had a small diode transmitter on her neck that allowed her to speak through the speaker on her mech without having to say a word.

Vahn had underestimated how quickly Sophia would develop but, considering she never seemed to sleep, he really should have expected something like this to happen. Da Vinci also allowed her to do whatever she wanted while inside the Workshop, so long as Ark was monitoring her. This gave the young genius free rein to design and invent things and, due to incorporating a 'feeding system' in her mech, she didn't even have to bother her mother when she was hungry. It was a vexing situation but, as Vahn couldn't help but feel proud of his little genius, he could only smile wryly with his face covered in powder he could have easily evaded.

Fortunately, despite her advanced mental age, Sophia still enjoyed spending time with her other siblings. Most of her inventions were designed with them in mind, allowing them to play together and have fun, often at their father's expense. This was especially true whenever she teamed up with Isanna as the latter, much like Sophia, could freely float through the air now, just like her mother. In fact, appearance-wise, Isanna and Naavi were almost carbon copies of their mothers, albeit in a chibi form. They had even started to grow crowns on their head and, while Naavi had yet to manifest hers, Isanna could already form her raiment.

The first time Vahn saw Isanna's onesie turn into her raiment, his mind had blanked before he sat down with the young Vanir and explained to her why she shouldn't wear such an outfit until she was older. Though she was only around seven weeks old, she had the mental development of an eight-year-old so she wasn't incapable of understanding his words.

As for why he wanted her to wear her onesie, at least for the time being, it was because Isanna'a raiment was almost as revealing as her mother's. All she was ended up wearing was a white band embroidered in gold, a garment that was similar to intricate black panties, and a pair of mismatched leggings, one black and the other white. Since she was also adorned with various golden accessories, which just looked strange on an infant, Vahn had to be a little stern with her. Fortunately, since this discussion, Isanna had always worn her onesie properly, perhaps understanding she was causing him the 'bad' kind of stress.

Still, when Isanna and Sophia teamed up, Vahn could only do his best to be warry as they seemed to be slowly grasping his capabilities. They were getting better at pushing the boundaries and, during a game of hide and seek, Isanna had been able to completely conceal her presence. If he didn't have the ability to sense spatial fluctuations, it would have been nearly impossible to find her unless she wanted to be found. She could already teleport short distances but, as she never went more than a few meters away from Daiki, it was easy to lure her out just by moving him around.

Isanna and Naavi were both very fond of their younger brother who, as time passed, ended up being much smaller than them. After seven weeks inside the Projection, they already looked like two-year-old toddlers while Daiki was still a very small infant. Despite this incongruity, they treated him like he was an integral part of their existence, understanding he was their triplet despite his diminutive size. Naavi was extremely protective of him, to the point that she rarely left his side, while Isanna was the big sister of the trio, often getting them into trouble but never endangering them.

Because of his overprotective sisters, Daiki had become quite the crybaby over the last seven weeks and, if he didn't have at least one of them nearby, he would cry 'very' loudly. Vahn had been worried that they had some kind of special link that he couldn't sense, much like Emiru and Maemi, but even Merlin and Alaya hadn't been able to sense anything. He chalked it up to them having grown close to each other while in the w.o.m.b and, much like how normal twins hated being separated, they were almost always together.

---

Of Vahn's children, the one he was least concerned about, with the obvious exceptions of Mordred and Sakura, was his eldest son, Kamiya. He was a very quiet child and, though he was developing at a relatively normal rate, it was obvious he would be quite intelligent when he grew up. Nobunaga doted on him quite a bit and, much like how Isanna and Naavi were attached to Daiki, Mordred had grown rather fond of Kamiya. She didn't go out to play as much as she used to and instead spent a lot of her free time in Nobunaga's room helping take care of her younger brother.

Though he already understood why Mordred took such great care of Kamiya, he had decided to ask her outright for verification. Her response, as expected, was that Kamiya carried the burden of being the natural-born heir to the Throne. While she would certainly do her best to earn the right to rule herself, Mordred had always been unnaturally adherent to things like social hierarchies. She always sorted people into categories based on their presumed status, showing respect to those who were higher than her and expecting respect from those lower than her.

Even though the Empire didn't use the traditional system of inheritance, it was hard to change the minds of people like Gawain, Mordred, Galahad, and even Artoria. Despite Artoria and Mordred both being females, they still inherently supported the ideology that a male heir was necessary in order to inherit status and land. Though the decision was ultimately his to make, they would treat Kamiya as if he was the true heir to the throne until Vahn had officially announced a successor.

Fortunately, they didn't insist on raising him with that mentality and, unless Kamiya worked for it, he would just be Vahn's eldest son. Though this didn't stop Mordred from elevating him, it wouldn't be a problem since Nobunaga, Mordred's Aneue, always watched the duo like a hawk. She intended to raise Kamiya her way, as she was a very traditional woman despite her peculiarities, so it wouldn't matter what other people decided. His decisions would be his to make and, unless he was willing to put in the effort, Nobunaga would never allow him to think he had any inherent right to the throne.

Vahn always supported the decisions of his children's mothers as, with his own duties often requiring him to split focus, they were the primary caretakers of the children. So long as the seeds of internal conflict were not sewn as a result of their rearing, he didn't mind their methods. His duty was to set the example for his children to follow while also serving as an unshakeable figure that would protect them from harm. He would spoil them a fair amount but, when they made real mistakes, Vahn would not hesitate to discipline them when the situation required him to do so.

More than anything else, Vahn had to make sure his children had the chance to find happiness for themselves, preferably without infringing upon the happiness of others. They would learn to work for what they received, just like each of the future residents of the Empire. Though there would be a few situations where they received gifts, such as during birthdays, everything else would be provided to them based on needs, not wants. With the power they wielded, his children had infinite potential for causing harm if they were not taught to be responsible early on.

Fortunately, with so many amazing women at his side, Vahn didn't have to worry too much about how his children would develop. With the exception of Circe, who generally cooped herself up in the Menagerie, all of the girls worked together to look after the children. Even Da Vinci helped out in her own way as she provided protective equipment for the children and personally developed advanced Companions for each of them. She even gave Rin, Ereshkigal, and Ishtar a device that allowed her to track down Isanna if the mischievous Vanir decided to teleport away with Daiki and Naavi when they weren't looking.

Ishtar's control over Space was far more developed than Isanna's so, with the wave of her hand, she could easily teleport the trio back if they were in danger. The device just helped her locate Isanna as, despite only having a pseudo-Divinity related to the 'Sky', she was already adept at concealing her presence. Since the limited-omniscience of Gods prevented them from obtaining information about each other, she had to sense Isanna through the fluctuations in space or by using the tracker that Da Vinci had developed.

Isanna was aware of the tracking device but, as she didn't want to get in too much trouble, she had never tried to remove it. Since her mom's allowed her to play around and explore a bit, so long as she didn't do anything dangerous, she had no reason to be rebellious. Naavi also implored her to stay out of trouble but, as the golden-haired Vanir was considerably more demure, she always got dragged around at Isanna's whims. It helped that Daiki seemed to enjoy the excursions quite a bit, as there were a lot of interesting things to see and curious people to meet while exploring the halls of the castle.

Contrary to their younger brother, Isanna and Naavi weren't too fond of the Homunculi that would greet them in the halls as, more often than not, their focus would be on Daiki. Since they were quite protective of their younger brother, the two Vanir adamantly refused to let random Homunculi hold him. The only exceptions they made were the Governesses that had been assigned to them as they had been present since the time of their birth. Since their mothers all shared the same body, Isanna and Naavi knew it wasn't easy on them to take care of three children at once so, despite never truly trusting the pale-haired humanoids, they tolerated their presence for Daiki's sake...

(A/N: Phew. This about wraps up the slow-build so the next couple of chapters will involve the final preparations for the duel and other important developments. Though the children will be a mainstay in the story, you won't have to worry about them eating up too many chapters unless I'm in a bad mood and just want to write something light-hearted xD...)

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