Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Seeing Vahn holding the unconscious woman in a princess carry, Eva couldn't help roll her eyes, crossing her arms as she asked, "What are you intending? Based on what I can tell, that woman seems pretty dangerous. If I'm not wrong, she is some kind of Greater Wight. If you allow her-"

Though he knew he would 'pay' for it later, Vahn sent a pointed look towards Eva, interrupting her words before going on to say, "This woman is not all that dissimilar to you...she did not choose to become this...thing. Her existence is the byproduct of another's greed. Her very existence might be a danger to others, but, unless she willfully chooses to inflict harm, I will not pass judgment onto her..."

Adopting a slight pout, Eva shifted her gaze to the sleeping woman, brows furrowed for several seconds before she ultimately released a sigh. She knew her senses weren't as sharp as Vahn's, so, rather than simply assume he was arbitrarily picking up another woman, she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Nodding her head in affirmation, Eva adopted a more relaxed stance as she remarked, "I still want to know what your intentions are. Are you intending to have us sit around on this train for the next couple of months?"

Shifting his gaze upwards, Vahn fell silent for several seconds, a thoughtful glimmer in his eyes as he said, "The next fragment of the Thorn is located on the 43rd Floor, the Floor of Death. I'm a little annoyed about what happened on the 30th Floor so I don't intend to let this one escape my grasp. As for the Hidden Floor, there are a surprising number of Quests pertaining to it, two of which have caught my interest..."

Though he could have continued explaining, Vahn ultimately shook his head, his expression turning slightly exasperated as he said, "Honestly, the matters related to the Tower are beginning to annoy me more than they ought to. It might be the result of splitting my time between the Little Garden and traversing various Actualized Worlds, but these incidents...the 'wrongness' of it all...it makes me want to simply destroy everything..."

Noticing the worried looks on nearly everyone's faces, a sad smile spread across Vahn's face as he added, "Don't worry...I'm not quite at that point just yet. Rather, as angry and frustrated as it makes me feel at times, I can't help but do my best to try and make the world a better place. If the people at the summit are unwilling to bear the burdens of the present...it is the future generations who will suffer for it...I will not entrust my children with a burden I could not shoulder. For their sake...for the sake of all who will follow the path I am currently forging...I will never stop..."

Though they were quite used to Vahn's speeches at this point, nearly everyone present was slightly taken aback by the resolution that seemed to emanate from every fiber of the former's being. Even Eva felt a strange feeling of awe wash over her, filling her with a slight sense of guilt and a powerful desire to act. As for the more zealous women within the group, chiefly Fenrir and Ryun, they looked like they might pounce on Vahn at any moment, a fiery fervor contained within their eyes...

Being the first to recover, Artoria startled everyone else to awareness by dropping to a knee, head bowed low as she attempted to reaffirm her vows. Before the words could leave her lips, however, a paradoxically irresistible yet gentle force guided her back to her feet as Vahn said, "There is no need for such things...I am well aware of your devotion...ever since we made that promise all those years ago, I have never once questioned your fealty and love..."

With his mood having already improved considerably, a loving smile spread across Vahn's face as he gazed into the beautiful blonde's eyes. This caused her to turn uncharacteristically bashful, but, rather than avert her eyes, she returned a loving smile of her own as she softly affirmed, "No matter what happens...we will continue walking this path together..."

Nodding his head in affirmation, Vahn was about to say something more, but, before he was able to, Eva chimed in, teasingly remarking, "Speaking such flowery words with an unconscious woman in your arms...how bold..." with an amused smile on her face.

Issuing a light chuckle in response to Eva's teasing, Vahn briefly eyed the white-haired woman in his arms before suggesting, "Let us retire to the Little Garden. There are, approximately, nine days until we reach the next station. After that, we'll have about a month to explore at our leisure. They might not be particularly useful for us, but there are a number of secrets onboard the Hell Express. At the very least, I intend to locate the 'Soul Furnace' before seeking out the antechamber containing the entrance to the Hidden Floor."

Though there were secondary and tertiary power sources, the Soul Furnace served as the primary power source for the entirety of the Hell Express. With that being the case, Vahn imagined it was also the location where most of the spirits trapped within the hellish locomotive were located.

After analyzing her structure, Vahn was beginning to suspect that many of the 'souls' onboard the Hell Express had already been absorbed by the white-haired woman. It wasn't difficult to imagine FUG engaging in such a scheme, but, until he had confirmed it for himself, he wasn't going to give up. The fact the Hell Express was still operational proved there were still a number of spirits being used to power it, so, at the very least, he would liberate those that remained.

With this in mind, Vahn looked over everyone present, smiling in response to their resolute gazes. Then, without needing to actually extend his hand, he manifested the Little Garden out of thin air, transferring each of them to where his secondary vessel was located before taking the white-haired woman to a secure location in the outer rings...

---

Similar to the previous Floors, there were a handful of Regulars waiting to board the Hell Express at the 38th Floor's train station. This time, however, Vahn made no attempts to stop them. Instead, he let Anna's growing army of stuffed animals handle things on the platform while Vicente, Daniel, and Yura protected her.

With the average strength of Anna's dolls reaching C-Rank, without Shinsu Enhancement, very few D-Rank Regulars could hope to compete with them. Their only advantage was that Anna had been told not to kill, severely limiting the capabilities of her otherwise emotionless, unhesitant, dolls.

Though Vicente was a unique exception, most members of the Arie Family had been taught, from a very early age, never to hesitate when it came to killing. They were taught to 'become' swords, and, as a result, the vast majority of their kin were emotionally stunted.

What Vahn found most ironic was the fact that they were, very clearly, attempting to reach a state similar to the State of Nothingness. Unfortunately, this had nothing to do with suppressing oneself and inhibiting your emotions. Instead, it required them to gradually let go of everything, even their own sense of self. Though these might seem like the same thing, the former was similar to placing limits on oneself based on preconceived notions. In other words, it was unnecessarily complicating things while the latter, inversely, completely ignored such sentiments.

Though there were exceptions to every rule, the majority of people capable of entering the State of Nothingness had relatively laidback personalities. Musashi was one of the best examples of this, as, rather than hold herself back, she generally did whatever she wanted from a very young age. As for Asuna, she had seemingly started off as a blank slate, but, hidden beneath her expressionless mask, an inquisitive girl with a remarkable zest for life could be found.

The simplest way to describe the State of Nothingness was by comparing it to a state of absolute contentedness. It was a state where you wanted for nothing, and, for a brief moment, the only two things that mattered were your sense of self and the person standing across from you. Musashi had even likened it to 'falling in love at first sight', a moment in time where everything else just seemed to melt away, fading into nothingness along with the concepts of time and space...

As someone who had pursued the 'absolute pinnacle' of swordsmanship for tens-of-thousands of years, it wasn't an exaggeration to say that Arie Hon was one of the most skilled opponents Vahn would ever face. Despite this, the man had failed to achieve the States of Infinity and Nothingness. Instead, he pursued the exact opposite path of most grandmasters, focusing on strengthening and becoming one with his sword rather than mastering both it and himself.

Though he found such comparisons rather peculiar, Vahn would like Arie Hon to what some might refer to as 'overgeared' or 'pay-to-win' player. He had inherited a powerful sword in his youth, and, rather than focus master his skills, his primary goal had been to master said blade. This continued even during the 'Great Journey', and, while his skills improved to an arguably unreasonable extent, the majority of his efforts had gone into procuring progressively more powerful weapons.

Due to his obsession with obtaining even more powerful swords, Hon had come into possession of the only 'known' S+ Rank weapon in the entire Tower, the 'Peerless White Oar'. It was the only blade ever forged by Macseth, the Great Father and Founder of Gong Bang, the lesser-known name of the Workshop.

While each of the Great Warriors had made their own demands of the Workshop and the Guardians during their ascent up the Tower, Hon had been single-minded in his pursuit of the 'most powerful' weapon. Unfortunately, no weapon could remain the most powerful indefinitely, so, in an effort to meet Hon's requirements, Macseth had forged a weapon capable of, quite literally, devouring the sword intent of others.

The thing that made Arie Hon the most powerful swordsman in the Tower was neither his skills nor his functionally unlimited supply of Shinsu. No. What made him truly terrifying was the fact that he could effectively siphon the sword intent of others, and, as a result, assimilate their knowledge and experience into his own. In essence, his power was an amalgamation of other swordsmen, and, due to being the Head of a Family that produced countless prodigies, his power was forever increasing as a result of their effort and sacrifice.

As someone who benefitted extensively from the mere existence of his Templates, Vahn might not be the best person to make such claims, but, in his opinion, Arie Hon was an absolute monster. His only reason for creating a Family was merely to increase the power of his sword, and, as a result of his greed, countless members of the Arie Family had given their lives for his sake. Many even did so willingly, as, from the moment they were born, nearly every member of the Arie Family was taught that it was a 'great honor' to become a part of their father's sword...

Though Hon might not have any malicious intent, only asking those near the very ends of their lives to sacrifice themselves, Vahn couldn't help but disdain a father who viewed their children similar to whetstones. He didn't even bother to remember the names of any children who had yet to become a Ranker, and, to make matters even worse, the majority of their mothers were picked from a list to be artificially inseminated since Hon had no interest in such things. Then, once they had given birth, they were separated from their children and forced to accept 'compensation' in exchange for their silence.

Despite how terrible this sounds, this was just the tip of the proverbial iceberg when it came to the antiquated and oftentimes ruthless internal affairs of the Ten Great Families. The Arie Family wasn't even the worst among them, but, due to Hon's complete lack of interest in a family that effectively worshiped him as a God, Vahn couldn't help but resent him. He was also directly responsible for the monster known as White, and, as a result, the deaths of countless billions...all for the sake of making his weapon stronger...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Pot, meet Kettle...','Artoria is a good girl (OwO)...','Hon may as well have spent the last ten-thousand-years using that sword to dig a hole...')

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