Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Though the teams participating in the Final Round had been designated high-class pavilions to accommodate all sixteen of their members, there was no rule requiring everyone to share the same residence. As a result, Arusha and Arryn effectively ghosted their teams throughout the entirety of the preparatory period. After all, they didn't really care about the items provided by the Workshop, so, knowing their Team Leaders were agents of FUG, they had no reason to stick around.

Since there were a few things he needed to take care of, Vahn allowed the two girls to reside within the Little Garden as he, accompanied by Fenrir and guided by Ryun, traveled to one of the so-called 'unexplored regions' of the 30th Floor. These were territories where the Jahad Empire had limited to no influence, something Vahn couldn't really make sense of considering they had been around for more than ten-thousand-years.

Vahn didn't know if it was because they were simply incompetent or just didn't care, but, in the end, it didn't really matter. All he knew was that FUG was going out of their way to antagonize him and he wasn't just going to sit around passively as they continued to grow bolder. He also disdained the fact that they had effectively spent the last ten-thousand-years just sitting around, 'conserving' their strength while people exponentially weaker than them sacrificed their lives towards for a cause that had made absolutely no progress in several hundred generations.

Borrowing a phrase from Loki, the fact that they were so 'backassward' to the point that they were directly interfering with people who shared similar objectives was completely ridiculous. They were supposed to be the preeminent organization that stood in opposition to Jahad and the Ten Great Families, yet, rather than unify the people behind their banner, they relied on blackmail, threats, and other forms of coercion to bend others to their will.

Though he had a somewhat reactive nature, Vahn had never been the type to just sit around and let his enemies conspire against him. He could be very merciful and empathetic, but, the moment they touched his bottom line, specifically targeting those around him and trying to coerce him, they had already dug their own graves. He had never shown such people tolerance, even when he was just a fourteen-year-old boy running around the streets of Orario. Now, he was literally both a God and an Emperor. He might not really care about things like politics and etiquette, but he wasn't the type of person that others could just blackmail, coerce, or manipulate for their own benefit...

---

Under the direction of Ryun, Vahn found himself high in the sky over what could best be described as an 'evil fortress'. It was comprised almost entirely of a murky black stone, and, though it was built into the side of a mountain, several spike-like towers stood out as its main features. There was even a massive demonic visage decorating the front gate, almost as if they were trying to advertise 'hey, look at us, we're the bad guys'.

Rather than wonder what the hell was wrong with FUG for them to believe themselves to be on the side of 'justice' despite literally decorating their fortresses like evil lairs, Vahn spread his arms wide as several vibrant spheres of light manifested around him. Instead of Baangs, however, each of the relatively tiny spheres of light were purified [Elemental Star]s. He had spent a fair amount of time trying to make a breakthrough in his [Eyes of Truth] so he had tens of thousands of them sitting in his Inventory. They weren't nearly as easy to control as Baangs of Shinsu, but, by nature, they were exponentially more powerful.

As could be expected, the guards manning the fortress quickly noticed the vibrant light show in the skies above their base. Before they could mount a real defense, however, Vahn created Acceleration Gates beneath each of the [Elemental Star]s as he coldly muttered, "Elemental Cataclysm." in a deep and resonant tone saturated with the Law of Authority. This caused the structure of the Acceleration Gates to change subtly, each radiating a vibrant golden light that seemed to illuminate the Heavens as [Elemental Star]s rained down upon the fortress below.

Though several Rankers had been present in the fortress, only three people managed to escape the expansion of the [Elemental Star]s as they coalesced into a dense black sphere that spread to cover nearly three-kilometers before collapsing into a single point and disappearing. In its wake, not even a speck of dust remained of the stronghold and the mountain it had been built into, mortifying the three Advanced Rankers.

Taking advantage of the trio's stupor, lightning momentarily danced across Vahn's exposed torso as he appeared next to the strongest of the three in an instant. This was a technique derived from the knowledge and experience he had accumulated from Yoruichi, and, though it wasn't comparable to her Innate-derived technique, it was significantly faster than the majority of movement techniques existing within the Tower.

Demonstrating why he was an Advanced Ranker, the man managed to pull out a strange purple cudgel at nearly the exact same time as Vahn's appearance. Unfortunately, even a window as small as a microsecond was more than enough time for the latter to execute any number of moves. As a result, the man found both his arm and cudgel spinning through the sky as Vahn brandished Laev-tan and pointed her towards his throat.

Seeing their companion held at sword point, the other two Advanced Rankers showed expressions similar to someone who had swallowed a bug. Before either of them could accuse him of taking a hostage, however, Vahn's aura caused the surrounding space to tremble as he declared, "This is the last warning I will afford you. The next time FUG seeks to intervene in my personal affairs, they will learn the terror associated with my title as Sage Dragon Emperor. I have no tolerance for a corrupt organization filled with crooks and nihilistic cowards. I don't care if your Elders want to sit around on their asses for another ten-thousand-years. Inform them that, if they pull another stunt like this, they will suffer the same fate as Jahad."

Hearing Vahn casually insult their Elders, the trio of Advanced Rankers adopted looks reminiscent of warriors who had prepared themselves for death. Unfortunately, they had severely underestimated who they were standing in front of. Vahn had already seen through thoughts before they had even fully formed, his eyes blazing like golden suns as he shouted, "Go!" in a voice that created a visible ripple that fractured the surrounding space. This was a technique combining both his Draconic Aura and Conquerors Haki, the latter of which was obtained thanks to the knowledge and experiences of both Roger and Whitebeard.

Feeling as if Vahn's words had impacted their minds directly, all three of the Advanced Rankers fell from the sky like flies that had approached a bug zapper. They weren't dead but they would spend the next few hours in a state similar to 'Mind Down', unable to move or muster any power. His voice would also haunt their dreams until they eventually gave up trying to oppose him or mustered a far greater resolve than any of them currently possessed.

Unable to restrain his disdain, Vahn snorted through his nose before turning away from the trio that had fallen into the massive hemispherical void. He had used the Law of Identity to investigate all of the people occupying the fortress so he had very little empathy for any of them. Yes, they each had a reason to hate Jahad and the Ten Great Families, but, rather than taking action to directly oppose the people they purportedly hated, most of them had spent hundreds of years performing actions that made even their most hated enemies look tame. They had raped, murdered, and blackmailed countless people in the pursuit of their objective, often relishing in the vile acts while excusing their actions as part of the 'greater good'.

Though there were few things he agreed with Merlin on, Vahn had come to disdain the concept of the 'greater good' quite a bit. He hated how so-called righteous people could justify even the most inhumane acts imaginable so long as it met their definition of the 'greater good'.

Over the years, Vahn had even read about Records where humanity had been pushed to the brink of extinction, and, despite being on their last legs, it was almost always revealed that the leaders of the remaining humans were either the cause or direct contributors to the problem at hand. They built their entire society around the concept of service and sacrifice, compelling countless people to die for them all while they sit back and consolidate all the most important resources for themselves. There were even Records where the population of mankind had been pushed to just a few million people, yet, in spite of this, there was still a class gap that comprised of Royalty, Nobles, and Serfs...

Realizing he was slipping into a negative mental state, Vahn just shook in mild exasperation before stepping through the unstable void and appearing thousands of kilometers away in an instant. His comprehension of Space and Time had increased extensively during his research into the Laws, so, even without a Divinity, his power and control had been steadily increasing. The experiences of his Templates also drastically increased his understanding as Arceus, Palkia, Dialga, and even Mavis all possessed Innates related to Creation, Space, and Time.

Though he didn't really slack off during the moments when he actually trained, Vahn's progress in the Transcendental Path to Heaven made his growth in previous Records seem like a joke. This was largely due to the existence of his Templates, but, more than anything else, it was his knowledge of the 'pinnacle' that aided him most. This was entirely thanks to the Law of Identity, but, by knowing how powerful the beings at the absolute pinnacle were, Vahn now had a far better understanding of the heights he was aspiring to. His final battlefield was a place where concepts such as speed and power were completely negligible. Instead, battles were fought using Authorities, Intent, and, most important of all, Willpower.

Understanding he still had a 'very' long way to go, Vahn decided to cool his head by taking a seat atop one of the Ember Isle's inactive volcanoes. From there, he could see most of the other islands in the distance, and, due to its size, the Archimedes stood out like a horizontal teardrop in the sky above the Workshop's geothermal facility. It was the size of a city from up close, but, at a distance of several dozen kilometers, it appeared as little more than a speck in the distance.

With his knowledge of the Divine Realm, Vahn was aware that entire Universes existed as little more than sub-atomic particles to the beings that inhabited the highest plane of existence. From a purely objective perspective, this made something like the Tower, a mere pathway between Realms, seem completely inconsequential. Unfortunately, unless he intended to abandon what made him human, he would forever remain a subjective entity that was bound by his inordinate empathy. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing, especially with what he knew of higher planes of existence, but, at times like this, it could be 'very' inconvenient to care about others.

Exhaling a tired sigh, Vahn habitually adopted a lotus position in order to clear his mind of wayward thoughts. He had already made his decision, so, even if FUG reacted violently to his affront, that was simply their fate. Even if all the factions in the Tower turned against him, he would continue pushing forward until they had either submitted or stepped aside. He had never expected the path towards the pinnacle to be bereft of bloodshed, so, while he couldn't help but feel guilty about the lives he had just taken, his time was better spent improving the state of the world rather than wallowing in negative sentiments...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'If you continually pester a Dragon, you only have yourself to blame when they turn around to bite...','Vahn is becoming even more of a monster o_o...','Some things never change...not that this is a bad thing (OwO)...')

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