Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Having never left Shiroyasha's side since the previous night, Vahn alerted the sleeping demoness, asking, "You're seeing this, right...?"

Though she wanted to pretend she was still asleep, a sigh escaped Shiroyasha's throat as she sat up and answered, "Indeed...still, it would make things easier on everyone if you followed through with your original plan. Didn't you say something about it being more meaningful to compel malicious individuals into contracts than it was to impose them on good people? Laius may be a bastard and a half, but he is far from irredeemable. Take it from someone who has witnessed the creation and destruction of every multiverse comprising our current reality. Laius isn't evil. He is just a misguided brat trying to win his father's attention..."

"..."

Recalling that Shiroyasha was, in fact, a conceptual entity that had existed since before time itself, much of Vahn's rage and indignation promptly dried up. Laius had crossed the line by attacking his home, but, at the same time, petrification wasn't something he couldn't deal with. Rather, much like the rest of his children, Usalia's kittens were outfitted with clothes that made them virtually immune to damage and negative status effects...

"Fine. So long as he yields after I smack the crap out of him, I'll settle with making him spend the next hundred years bald and celibate..."

Imagining the scene of Laius walking around with a perfectly bald head, Shiroyasha couldn't help snickering as she asked, "Why not make him take a monk's pledge? The Buddhist faction has a lot of influence in the Divine Realm. If you're going to shave his head and force him to be celibate, you might as well make him into a monk. A hundred years of helping people will go a long way towards rehabilitating him."

"Hmm..."

Though he wasn't particularly fond of the idea of forcing people to convert to a specific religion, it wasn't all that different from binding them to a contract. The only real notable difference was who Laius would be held accountable to...

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While the conversation with Shiroyasha was taking place, Vahn was simultaneously removing the petrification effect from his workshop. He wanted to directly infiltrate the Perseus Community to teach Laius a lesson, but, due to the organization being located in a 5-Digit Gate, his options were limited. The Sage Dragon's Hearth was still a 6-Digit Community so he would need to abide by the timeline that had been established by Perseus, the Host Community.

Simply put, Communities of a higher-digit Gate were unable to challenge those of a lower-digit Gate unless specific conditions had been met. This was one of the things that allowed lower-digit Communities to pressure and outright suppress groups in the outer gates. This was frowned upon by most Communities; but, as there were no Laws against it, less reputable organizations relied on this, and other methods to eliminate future enemies, expand their influence, and scout talent.

Perseus had branches that extended as far as the 7-Digit Gates but their Headquarters was located in Gate #26745. Even if Vahn outright declared war on them, the only people he could target were those in the 6 and 7-Digit Gates. As many of these were affiliates who were forced to obey Perseus, it simply wasn't worth the effort. Thus, after calming down, he decided he would just wait until the seven-day deadline had passed before teaching Laius a lesson. After all, Perseus had already issued a declaration. They no longer had the option of backing out...

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Hearing about what had happened to the advance party, Laius had fallen into an uncharacteristic silence as he sat atop a stone throne adorned with gold and jewels. At his side was a phantasmal beauty with long golden hair that seemed to billow despite the lack of a breeze. She also had azure blue eyes that radiated intelligence, but, were anyone to stare directly into them, they would find a perennial flame of wrath contained in their cold and calculating depths.

"You have erred greatly this time, Laius. What could have possibly compelled you to challenge a Pure-Blooded Dragon to a Rite of Challenge? Have you completely lost your mind?"

Though he would have lashed out at anyone else, Laius hung his head in response to the woman's words. She may only be a spiritual projection but her true identity was none other than the Greek Goddess of War and Reason, Athena. As for what she was doing here, well, word got around pretty quickly when half his Community had been tasked with keeping an eye on him and reporting to his father...

Exhaling a sigh, Athena crossed her arms under her rather prominent bust before saying, "Just do your best to survive. Our influence in the East is far too weak. Even if you're my Godson, I wouldn't be able to seek vengeance should you lose your life. The Demon of the White Night is far stronger than you can possibly imagine and the capabilities of the one referring to himself as Vahn Aldrnari Mason are simply unknown..."

Balling his hands into fists, Laius wanted to protest, but, knowing Athena was always just a single slight away from losing her temper, he did his best to remain in control of his own. After all, with the exception of Hephaestus and his father, she was his greatest benefactor. It wasn't because she was a Goddess that she sometimes referred to herself as his Godmother. She had literally given him her blessing when he was born.

Seeing the usually brash and unyielding Laius hanging his head in shame and frustration, a second sigh nearly escaped Athena's lips as she extended her hand to delicately caress the bald spot on the left side of his head. If this wasn't her spiritual avatar, she might have been able to remove the curse that had been placed on him. Unfortunately, Zeus wouldn't allow any of the Olympians to leave the South until his grudge with Odin had been settled. Her father was exceptionally petty, so, ever since Odin had tricked him into bedding a donkey disguised as one of his Valkyries, tensions between the Greek and Norse Pantheons had been at an all-time high...

Retracting her hand from Laius's head, Athena's body began to shimmer as she said, "I'll leave you with a parting gift. It should be able to preserve your life in a crisis. However, you must promise me that you will immediately surrender the moment it activates..."

As the color drained from her ephemeral figure, an obsidian black Gift Card glistening with fiery red runes manifested in her hand. This caused Laius to immediately perk, a greedy look in his eyes as he restrained the urge to snatch the card from Athena's hand.

Amused by Laius's response, a sonorous chuckle emanated from Athena's throat as she pulled the card away from him and said, "Promise me."

Understanding that she would never part with the card under normal circumstances, the muscles in Laius's jaw flexed a few times before he forced himself to say, "I promise..."

Nodding her head in approval, Athena willfully handed over the Gift Card that had been infused with a fragment of her Divinity. When Laius saw what it was, his eyes immediately lit up, a smile developing across his face as a boisterous, somewhat crazed-sounding laughter began to exude from his throat. This earned him a disapproving shake of the head from Athena, but, as she had already exhausted this form's spiritual energy, it wasn't long before she simply evaporated into a pale, bluish-white mist...

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After making sure each of the children had eaten their fill, Vahn gathered alongside Black Rabbit, Jin, Lily, Izayoi, Asuka, and Yo. He noticed the latter was still wearing the onesie she had adorned during the Gift Game against Fores Garo. He was tempted to ask why, but, seeing her tail wagging as she affectionately cuddled with one of the elemental foxes he had created for Lily, he decided against it. Instead, he opened the discussion by asking, "So? How was it? Did you enjoy your first Gift Game?"

Snorting through her nose, Asuka sent a glare towards the lazily reclining Izayoi as she answered, "We might have if a certain someone hadn't tried to hog all the glory for themselves..."

Half-opening one of his eyes, Izayoi briefly met with Asuka's gaze before smiling in amusement and reclining back even further. He was tempted to comment that she was playing with fire, but, having experienced having his head blown off by Seraphina, he decided to just kick back and pretend she didn't exist. After all, this was inarguably the easiest way to piss her off...

"You...!"

Slamming the table as she jumped to her feet, Asuka seemed like she was half a second away from leaping across the table to give Izayoi a firm slap. Before she was able to, however, Jin adopted the closest thing to an authoritative voice he possessed, saying, "Kudou-san! Please calm yourself! We haven't gathered like this to argue amongst ourselves...!"

Though she didn't cease her glaring, a hint of a blush spread across Asuka's cheeks as she realized he was being chided by an eleven-year-old. She was also the instigator in this case, so, after several seconds of growing awkwardness, she just issued a haughty harumph before crossing her arms and sitting back down.

Suppressing a relieved sigh, Jin's expression relaxed as he met Vahn's gaze and answered, "Given the circumstances, it would be improper to say we enjoyed ourselves. However, considering it was our first real Gift Game, I can't help feeling proud of each and every one of us. We have much room to improve, but, for people who had only known each other for a day, we were able to support each other without issue. I would have preferred it if Izayoi remained with the group but I understand his reasons for going off on his own. Thus, at least this time around, I am willing to forgo admonishing his behavior..."

Having had a lengthy heart-to-heart discussion with Izayoi the previous night, Jin's understanding of the older boy was far more comprehensive than Asuka's. He understood that Izayoi was the type of person to try and carry everyone's burdens himself. They were very alike in this regard, so, even though he didn't approve of Izayoi running off on his own, Jin understood he would probably do the same if he possessed such tremendous might.

Nodding his head in approval, Vahn prevented Asuka's imminent outburst by saying, "I agree. There are quite a number of things you can improve upon but the coordination between you, Asuka, and Yo was exceptional. If Izayoi coordinated with Yo and acted as the main vanguard, your Community could probably go undefeated until the 4-Digit Gates. Barring a few obvious exceptions."

Since there was no way in hell the No Names would be able to defeat his Community, Vahn would be lying if he said they could defeat anyone. He would feel an itchy sensation across his body at the mere thought of spreading misinformation, so, for his own sake, he wasn't going to lie and say they were unbeatable.

As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn surprised nearly everyone by creating a three-dimensional projection of the forest surrounding Fores Garo. He passively recorded everything within the range of his perception so he could replay the events of the previous night in super ultra-high definition. This earned him a frown from Izayoi, as, before anyone could speak, Vahn centered the camera on the blond-haired youth so that everyone could see what he was up to after their separation at the beginning of the Gift Game...

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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'You fool! Don't you know he will only become even more powerful without hair!?','Odin be like, "You want to bed one of my daughters? Well, if you insist..."','RIP Izayoi. There is nothing a Tsundere fears more than having their secret actions exposed xD...')