Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Following his departure from the 44th Floor, Vahn decided to remain relatively low key for a short while. His time with Yuri had exhausted him somewhat, so, even if it was just until he reached the 50th Floor, he wanted to decompress and search for a safe place to deposit people like Eduan, the members of Roen's entourage, and the Arie Siblings.

Though he was planning to create a base of operations that would allow the residents of the Little Garden to freely traverse the outside world, Vahn was still of the mind that people needed to face challenges and experience difficulties if they wanted to become truly powerful. He also wanted to avoid increasing the number of people whose fates were tied directly to the Empire and his rather ridiculous rate of growth, so, with this in mind, he was ultimately intending to eject everyone who wasn't a part of his immediate family, a member of his harem, or one of his Templates.

With this in mind, Vahn spent several weeks simply gathering information while completing the task assigned to him by the 45th Floor's Guardian, a giant sea urchin whose dimensions were difficult to grasp despite his domain extending for upwards of 90km.

Like many of the previous Guardians, the Guardian of the 45th Floor had tasked Vahn was ensuring the safety of a critically endangered species. To this end, Vahn was tasked with traveling to a region many considered to be one of the most dangerous prior to the 100th Floor, a poisonous lake filled with peculiar purple Shinsu that formed countless whirlpools, several of which surpassed a hundred meters in diameter.

Immune to the continually evolving toxins in the lake, Vahn had very little difficulty trespassing the hidden village located within its depths. There, he found a species of fairly alien-looking merpeople with dark blue skin, glistening scales covering parts of their bodies, and, most notably, glowing blue mantles that extended from their shoulders and down to their tails, an appendage reminiscent of a bird's tail feathers.

As the species rumored to have taught the first generation Wave Controllers how to command the waves, Merfolk had an understandably mythical status among residents of the Tower. Unfortunately, as was often the case, their blood, bones, and other raw materials could be used to create a variety of elixirs, medicines, and even staves capable of manipulating Shinsu. There were even a number of rumors alleging that the flesh of a young Merperson could grant eternal youth upon consumption, so, as could be expected, they had been hunted to near-extinction even before the rise of the Jahad Empire. To make matters even worse, the majority of these rumors were actually true, so, whenever a Merperson appeared within the Tower, they almost always disappeared shortly thereafter.

This being the case, Vahn couldn't really blame the remarkably reclusive peoples for attacking him the moment he trespassed their home. Even his usual display of power did little to pacify them, so, much to his dismay, he had been forced to capture them whilst defending himself. This exacerbated the misunderstanding between them quite a bit, but, after a few months of relatively peaceful living in the vast ocean of Shinsu that comprised the Fifth Layer, the High Priestess of the Tribe was finally willing to listen to reason.

Despite what her title might suggest, the High Priestess of the Merfolk, for reasons Vahn could only ascribe to fate, appeared to be the youngest among her people. Of course, as was often the case in such situations, she was, in fact, the oldest of her tribe. The reason for her youthful appearance was actually the result of a misunderstanding among the Tower's residents, as, rather than developing in a similar manner to humans, Merfolk were born resembling adults after a seven-year gestation and gradually regressed into a far more powerful child-like state as their power matured.

Simply put, the Merfolk that resembled mature warriors were actually the youngest members of the tribe. As a result, they used weapons ranging from Needles to Tridents as they gradually mastered the basics of Shinsu Control and Wave Manipulation. Then, as they matured, they would gradually compress their bodies until they ultimately ended up looking like children between the ages of 10 and 14. Of course, this was only when you compared them to humans, as, more often than not, it took hundreds of years for a Merfolk to reach the point where they could compress themselves into their more 'compact' forms...

---

Having accepted an invitation to meet and discuss terms, Vahn soon found himself seated across from a youthful-looking Merfolk garbed in little more than a purple sarong, bindings around her arms, breasts, and ankles, and, most notably, several ornaments comprised of seashells and deep-sea stones. This included a large shell that covered her diminutive breasts, which, in reality, were actually bladders that could be inflated or deflated to store and expel Shinsu for emergency use...

Though Vahn hadn't expressly cast his gaze upon her body, the High Priestess had long-reached the point where she could sense things like emotion and intent through the subtle fluctuations of the surrounding Shinsu. Thus, even without Vahn brazenly inspecting her body, she was vaguely aware of the fact he was doing 'something' to analyze and evaluate her. This made her feel more than a little uncomfortable, not because she believed he had any licentious thoughts, but because it wouldn't be the first time a human had tried to 'domesticate' them in order to procure a perpetual supply of immortality.

With the Law of Identity narrating the woman's thoughts, Vahn couldn't help frowning as he said, "I assure you, as difficult as it might be to believe, I have no need for such things. Rather, if it required me to consume the flesh of the innocent, I wouldn't want to be immortal."

Without changing her expression in the slightest, the High Priestess, known among her people as Nami-ue, closed her deep-purple eyes and replied, "I do not profess to have absolute wisdom, but I would wager that my people have been betrayed more than any other race within the Tower. We have trusted in your kind countless times in the past. In the end, the greed of humanity will always win against reason. You might not desire the bounties our bodies provide, but that does not mean those around you will share in your sentiments. Still, for the sake of my people and our continued existence, I am willing to compromise with you. Tell me, what must we provide in exchange for the release of our youngest? Even if you genuinely wish to protect us, we would rather not entrust the survival of our species to someone with the power and means to imprison us at his leisure...if you are truly a friend of the Merfolk, you will not keep us against our will..."

Having heard similar arguments from the leaders of other Native Ones, Vahn wasn't particularly surprised by Nami-ue's words. Thus, without even needing to consider his words, he nodded his head and explained, "Capturing you wasn't exactly my preferred course of action. Under normal circumstances, I would have convinced you outside before accepting a few families and allowing them to prove my claims. To that end, I am more than willing to free all of you in the hopes that it will help smooth relations between our two peoples and pave the way forward for the prosperity of all Merfolk."

With the intent of expressing his sincerity, Vahn, who had been sitting in seiza, bowed his head in a respectful and apologetic fashion. This caused Nami-ue's aura to fluctuate in a manner indicative of surprise and disbelief, but, as could be expected, her expression revealed neither of these emotions. Instead, she appeared completely apathetic, and, due to the surrounding temperature nearing -4°C, she gave off the impression of someone remarkably cold and distant.

After several long seconds of silence, the majority of which involved Nami-ue simply staring at the top of Vahn's head, the youthful-looking High Priestess once again closed her eyes as she said, "As the leader of my people, ensuring our survival is my highest priority. To that end, I have little choice but to trust you. To that end, I would propose some form of mutualistic or cultural exchange. Even if your intentions are pure, even the magnanimity of the strong has its limits. Without some form of equivalent exchange, anxieties are bound to arise regarding your true motives..."

Though he understood the woman's skepticism, Vahn ultimately raised his head before shaking it as he explained, "There is plenty of time to discuss such things during the period in which your people are exploring the territory I have prepared for them. For now, we should focus on transporting your people outside. I'm sure your young ones would feel more relaxed once they are in a more familiar setting. As comfortable as the conditions in Little Garden are, I understand they are no replacement for the concept of 'home'."

Nodding her head in affirmation, Nami-ue was about to rise in order to personally inform the tribe of their return a peculiar shift occurred in the surrounding Shinsu. Immediately thereafter, a feeling of familiarity donned upon her as Vahn supplied an amused smile and revealed, "It's done. I'll leave you to convince your people not to run away. Of course, if you feel compelled to send a few off, just to be safe, I won't stop you. Instead, I will wait here until you are ready to discuss matters in greater detail."

With that said, Vahn picked up his now-chilled cup of tea, heat flowing from his palms to quickly heat it as he closed his eyes to take a sip. This left Nami-ue to stare at him silently, various thoughts conflicting within her mind until she ultimately returned a curt nod and said, "I will return shortly..." before swimming off in a manner similar to a Shinheuh. This was a rather strange sight to behold considering the density of Shinsu wasn't particularly dense, but, as he had seen far stranger things, Vahn simply sampled his tea without paying it much attention...

---

When all was said and done, Vahn managed to convince the Merfolk in much the same way as the other native tribes. He provided them the opportunity to increase their numbers in a remarkably short period of time whilst also allowing them to interact with the other tribes under his protection. Most importantly, however, was the fact that he had made it clear from the start that they could not stay within the Little Garden indefinitely. He also revealed his status as a God, his affiliation with the Tower's Guardians, and, most notably, his ability to transform into virtually any race. This last ability was especially important, as, more than anything else, the Merfolk feared being harvested for their immortality and being treated as little more than livestock.

By demonstrating his ability to not only become a Merfolk but create seemingly infinite copies of himself, Vahn was able to convince the few remaining skeptics that he simply had no need for the resources they might provide. He even went a step further by agreeing to Nami-ue's proposition and producing a Merfolk Template to act as both an intermediary and proxy. This resulted in a few awkward interactions between them, but, after presiding over the duo's marriage and leaving them to their own devices for a few years, Vahn, or, more specifically, his Template was able to convince her that they were separate entities. This saved the original Vahn quite a lot of trouble, as, despite thinking Nami-ue was cute, he wasn't particularly interested in becoming the Chieftain of a Native Tribe...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Vahn is like a parent that wants their kids to get out of the house...','Their true forms are larger than orcas...just saying...','Vahn used Substitute! It's Super Effective...!')

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