Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Chapter 1811 Seed

Though they were basically as flexible as they wanted to be, that didn't stop the women residing in the Emerald Grove from exercising and stretching their bodies. A bit of physical training every now and again helped to balance both the body and the mind so it had become a tradition of sorts for everyone to gather together before breakfast to perform some light Yoga and Tai Chi.

Vahn never got tired of seeing realistic depictions of the women who had left deep impressions on his childhood unashamedly stretching their bodies just a few meters away from him. It gave him the impression he trapped inside of a never-ending dream, one where all of his hopes, aspirations, and desires could be actualized. There was virtually nothing that could stop him, and, so long as he put in the effort, he could potentially even recreate the Records from his childhood...

With Mira performing a rather tantalizing 'standing forward fold' just a few meters away from him, Vahn couldn't help but imagine himself recreating the entirety of the Fairy Tail within the Middle or Outer Towers. He was actually quite fond of people like Makarov, Gildartz, Natsu, and many others, so it didn't seem like such a bad idea. The only problem was that Mira wasn't the only girl from the titular series he had taken an interest in. He also had a number of expectations for how each of the characters should act so Vahn wasn't fully confident in being able to fully remove his bias from the equation in order to guarantee the greatest amount of freedom for each of his creations.

Unless he proactively altered their Templates in some way, it was virtually guaranteed that people like Natsu, Lucy, and even Lissanna would end up together. Grey and Luvia would almost certainly end up as a couple, and, though he had never really liked Jellal's character, the only other person Vahn could imagine Erza falling for is himself. This was the crux of the issue as it was very easy for him to imagine any attractive, interesting, or powerful female character falling for him.

Vahn was well aware of his bias towards women, so, other than the pairings he had subconsciously or willfully decided upon, he couldn't really imagine them ending up with someone else. This made it a little harder to create female Templates as his expectations could have far-reaching impacts on the girls' characters. There wasn't really much he could do about this though, as his desire to both protect and ensure the girls' happiness made it impossible for him to 'not care' about their futures during the creation process.

One of the only solutions Vahn had been able to come up with was creating child-like versions of the Templates so that they could grow up and develop naturally. This would make it a lot easier for them to develop True Egos of their own, but it also created a whole host of other issues. After all, if he simply wanted to take care of children and allow them to grow and develop freely, the far more sensible thing to do would be to sire his own. He had already established a precedent with Hinata and Kushina, the latter of which literally intended to give birth to Naruto.

Thanks to his Source Energy, Vahn's children were heavily influenced by the expectations of their parents. This allowed them to, quite literally, give birth to children with specific features, innates, and even personalities. They could even determine the gender and race of their child, if they really wanted, so it wasn't an exaggeration to say that any of Vahn's current Templates could give birth to virtually any other Template. Madara had even toyed around with the idea of asexual reproduction, effectively 'willing' herself to become pregnant by triggering parthenogenesis without the need for fertilization.

Though it seemed rather nonsensical, the fact of the matter was that Vahn didn't possess anything even remotely similar to a genetic code. None of his children had inherited any of his genes, and, in some situations, they didn't inherit any genes at all. He could literally sire offspring with conceptual entities, beings formed from pure energy, or even the void itself. This made it seem rather pointless to create child-like Templates using [Universal Mind] as there was literally nothing preventing him from siring them directly...

Imagining Mira giving birth to Natsu or even her own sister, Vahn couldn't help but shake his head as a wry smile developed across his face. Siring Templates, while feasible, would just be too strange unless the mother's of said Templates were already supposed to give birth to them. He could accept Kushina birthing Naruto since her original counterpart within the Records had done the same thing. As for others, it would undoubtedly be better if he simply created them from scratch, disregarding his bias completely.

Nodding his head in approval of his own thoughts, Vahn waited until the girls had wrapped up their yoga class before gesturing for Mira to come over. This caused a brilliant smile to spread across the latter's face, her blue eyes glistening ever-so-slightly as she approached him to ask, "Did you enjoy the show~?" in a playfully teasing tone.

Without even needing to consider his response, Vahn unhesitantly nodded before musing "I never grow tired of seeing such a breathtaking sight. At this point, I'm not sure I could even start my day properly without watching you and the others perform your routine."

Covering her mouth with her left hand, Mira giggled in response to Vahn's words before combing through her fringe bangs and asking, "What did you want to talk about? I'm on breakfast duty, but I can probably have Kushina cover for me if you're in the mood."

Though he generally appreciated Mira's straightforward and caring nature, Vahn couldn't help but smile wryly in response to her assumption that he wanted to have sex. He certainly wouldn't mind going for a few rounds, but it wasn't exactly at the forefront of his thoughts. Unfortunately, it wasn't 'entirely' unrelated so he couldn't help but feel a little awkward as he replied, "I'm not going to say no, but my actual intention was to ask for your opinion regarding future Templates..."

Realizing she had jumped to conclusions after feeling Vahn's gaze on her throughout the exercise routine, a subtle blush spread through Mira's cheeks as she suggested, "Why don't we talk after the fact? I don't have too much to say on the matter, but I know you'll be a lot more clear-headed after we're finished."

Understanding there was a fair amount of truth contained within Mira's words, Vahn decided to just go with the flow, smiling as he answered, "That sounds like a great idea..." in a whimsical tone. This elicited another giggle from the white-haired woman, who, feeling a little excited, promptly planted a kiss on his lips before they teleported back to their love nest...

---

Proving that it might not be the best idea to think about important decisions while spectating a group of inordinately beautiful women exercising, Vahn's mind cleared considerably following his mid-morning rendezvous with Mira. This allowed him to remember his previous decision to hold back on the creation of Templates until he could move about more freely. After all, there was no need to create more Templates when he already had two, maybe even more, children on the way.

Vahn hadn't completely made up his mind on the matter, but the rapid development of Arceus' miniature world had caused him to consider providing the 'assistance' she insisted was necessary to fulfill her duties as a Creation Deity. This was something he was personally responsible for, so, after spending a considerable amount of time exploring Arceus' developing realm, he had been opening up to the idea of helping her populate it.

Though he didn't want to become the literal father of every single Pokemon, Vahn was well aware of the fact that Arceus wanted to fulfill the 'sacred duty' she had assigned herself. She was secretly very stressed out about the fact that she had yet to produce even a single Pokemon, so, before she had a mental breakdown or became depressed, Vahn wanted to reward her efforts. His only reason for putting it off was because he didn't want to open the veritable Pandora's Box that sleeping with one of his Pokemon represented.

Fortunately, Arceus was a bit of an outlier, so, unless their relationship progressed much further, Vahn didn't think it would be a problem. He viewed the majority of his other Pokemon as his own children, a view that wasn't likely to change any time soon. In fact, he couldn't even imagine Latias, Kyrie, or Xerneas regarding him as a member of the opposite sex. Instead, they viewed him as their Creator, the person who gave them life, shaped their being, and afforded them the opportunity to live relatively peaceful and tranquil existences.

Confidence in his assertion, Vahn decided that it was best to simply avoid thinking about problems that didn't exist. Instead, he focused on enjoying his time within the Little Garden to the fullest, be it through training, meditation, or simply watching the backsides of beautiful women as they cooked him a delicious meal. He really had nothing to complain about, as, compared to the vast majority of people, he lived a rather idyllic and enviable lifestyle. The only thing he had to worry about was his own penchant for overthinking things, but, thanks to constant reminders from people like Madara, Roger, Yoruichi, Kushina, Hinata, and even Mira, even that was only a passing concern...

---

While Vahn was enjoying a lifestyle few could even imagine, the elimination competition was finally drawing to a conclusion after the barrier surrounding the battlefield forced the remaining Regulars to confront and eliminate each other. By the end, only 12,832 of the original 128,320 Regulars were rewarded the qualifications to advance to the 11th Floor. From this total, only 160 were selected to participate in the upcoming Seeded Tournament, 32 contestants representing each of the five main Positions: Fisherman, Scout, Spear Bearer, Light Bearer, and Wave Controller.

Generally speaking, it was rare for even a single member of a qualifying team to participate in the final Seeded Tournament. After all, only 0.12% of all participating Regulars had a chance to qualify for the event. Because of this, it came as quite the surprise when people realized that nearly every member of Team Wolf Pack had qualified for the main tournament. The only exceptions were Alea and Nare, but, considering the former was a pacifist and the latter only cared about money, neither was particularly surprised by their exclusion.

Thanks to their coordination, teamwork, and individual skill, Team Wolf Pack had secured more than 12% of the total seeds for themselves. This was impressive all its own, but many of them were in the top twenty overall and top five for their respective Positions. Their Fishermen, in particular, secured the top five seeds with Endorsi being given the number one seed by default while Anak, Serra, Jung, and Yihwa were rewarded the 2nd through 5th Seeds respectively.

Not losing out to their Fishermen counterparts, Gandr, unsurprisingly, secured the Top Seed for the Scout Position. Hatsu, however, lost the 2nd Seed to a young man belonging to a branch of the Ha Family. He ended up as the 3rd Seed while Tasha, Chunhwa, and Shibisu secured the 7th, 13th, and 27th Seeds for themselves. This earned the latter a few teasing remarks, but, considering he was the 27th Seed chosen among thousands of other Scouts, it was still a commendable result for someone who had only started training seriously a few months prior...

--------------------------------------------

[Seeds]

[Fisherman]

1: Endorsi Jahad

2: Anak Permata

3: Arie Serra

4: Ha Jung

5: Yeon Yihwa

[Scout]

1: Gandr Erebus Mason

2: Ha Suk

3: Hatsu