Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

With nothing to distract him, Vahn ended up spending several hours at Lakshmibai’s side, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere of the forest clearing. Though they kissed and cuddled a fair amount, their time together was mainly spent feeding each other delicious morsels of food and just talking. Vahn always enjoyed moments like this as, while it was certainly enjoyable to have sex all the time, even he would begin to feel something was wrong if that was the only way he spent time with his women.

Fortunately, while Lakshmibai had become a very ’open’ woman, one who enjoyed sex a little bit too much, she fundamentally lacked the ability to take the lead. She always allowed him to take the lead so, unless he told her to do something, there was little chance of things spiraling out of control like when he was with Nobunaga or someone like Ishtar. These two, in particular, were rather notorious for leading things toward sex but, considering one was a prideful conqueror, while the other was a literal Goddess of Sex, this wasn’t all that unexpected.

Things like that made moments like this all the more important so, while it was somewhat tainted by his petting parade with Alaya and Tiamat, Vahn enjoyed just lounging about. There was something soul-cleansing about being able to use a beautiful woman’s plump thighs as a cushion while having her hand-feed him grapes. Better yet, however, was when their roles were reversed as, in stark to his calm and relaxed demeanor, Lakshmibai became extremely bashful when doted upon...

If not for Alaya’s ill-timed request, Vahn would have been able to enjoy this peaceful moment to the fullest. Though he would be lying if he said he wasn’t enjoying what was happening on both ends, it was also extremely awkward due to his past inhibitions and the presence of Tiamat. The latter lacked an Ego of her own but that did little to stop her from emulating Alaya. She also had the instincts of a Primordial Goddess of Creation so, from the moment his petting devolved beyond a simple display of affection, the white crosses in her eyes gained a pink color.

Now, Vahn had to deal with a bound woman affectionately rubbing against him while Alaya, a stark contrast to how she would react to similar touches in the past, straddled his right leg while releasing heated gasps. It was honestly a little perturbing as, even when he went all out previously, she would show virtually no reaction whatsoever. This implied she was allowing herself to be influenced by his touches and, while it was certainly interesting, Vahn couldn’t help but feel fretful as the blue-skinned beauty rubbed her lower body along his thigh. Though she still lacked a sexual organ, there was still a palpable warmth, a characteristic squishiness, and, against all logic, gradually increasing moisture.

Truthfully, Vahn was very interested in the peculiarities of Alaya’s body but, as her behavior was far removed from how she normally acted, he found it difficult to take advantage of the situation. Part of him still had considerable inhibitions toward her and, knowing how ’potent’ her affection was, he restrained his growing urges for fear of how she would behave in the future. Based on how far she was taking things after his earlier acquiescence, it was clear that Alaya would need clear direction in the future or she might even become worse than Hestia had been at the onset of their relationship...

Just as Vahn was thinking about how best to restrain Alaya’s overbearing affection in the future, the woman in question surprised him by suddenly resting her head against his chest, her body trembling madly as a phenomenal amount of liquid covered his leg. He didn’t have to ask to understand what had happened but, seeing Alaya’s pale-blue body become slightly translucent, Vahn couldn’t help but ask, "Are you okay...?" in a concerned tone.

Before Alaya could answer his question, Vahn found himself at a complete loss for words as, while Alaya continued to lean against him, Tiamat’s eyes brightened considerably. At the same time, her water-like hair coiled around his leg and Alaya’s lower body, intermixing with the fluids produced by the latter. Her hair was cool and pleasant to the touch but, knowing Tiamat was basically absorbing Alaya’s bodily fluids, all while licking his neck with her impossibly long tongue, he didn’t really know how to feel about the current situation...

Lending to Vahn’s incredulity even further, Tiamat didn’t seem completely satisfied with what she had obtained from Alaya so, after clearing the evidence, her hair began to coil around the latter’s thighs. This was enough to apparently return Alaya to her senses as, with a glare reminiscent of how one would view their mortal enemy, she looked toward Tiamat and firmly stated, "Stop."

Like someone who had received a severe shock, Tiamat immediately ’bounced’ away from Vahn’s body, flying back several tens of meters in an instant. The white crosses in her eyes had turned red in an instant and, rather than flowing gently from her scalp, her hair now rolled chaotically like the sea during a storm. Then, much to Vahn’s surprise, Tiamat freed her right arm from its constraints, her hand forming into a vicious claw covered in black scales as she bared her shark-like teeth at Alaya...

As interesting as a battle between two Tier 5 entities would be, Vahn knew Tiamat fundamentally lacked the ability to hold back. Thus, before things could get out of hand, he repeated Alaya’s words, stating, "Stop." in a commanding tone. This caused the red-hue to Tiamat’s eyes to fade away in an instant, her hair regaining its usual calm state. She even returned her hand to its previous position, despite the chains no longer binding it in place, seemingly incapable of realizing she had broken free in the first place.

With Tiamat temporarily pacified, Vahn released a sigh of relief before habitually placing his hand on Alaya’s head and saying, "You should calm down as well. You know better than most that Tiamat has no control over her actions. Come, unless you want things to revert to how they were, you should try and make up with her..."

Hearing Vahn’s words, Alaya, for the first time in her long existence, wanted to scream. She wanted to point out that Tiamat was just an empty shell, incapable of emotions and fundamentally unable to even comprehend what an apology was. However, after observing Vahn for more than three years, she knew these types of arguments were completely useless against him. She also couldn’t ignore his orders so, while it made her feel more frustrated than she even thought possible, Alaya floated over to Tiamat and obediently apologized...

Vahn was actually aware of Alaya’s frustration but, as this was a chance for both of them to grow, he pushed her to make amends. Though it could backfire on him in the near future, Vahn was confident in his ability to pacify Alaya, even if she somehow became vengeful. He just needed to treat her well in the future as, with her becoming increasingly more honest with her emotion, it was only a matter of time before their relationship became something more genuine. He had seen her develop from an emotionless being to an adorable woman with a propensity to pouting so, if he put a serious effort into guiding her, it wouldn’t be that difficult to stabilize her mentality.

With this in mind, Vahn surprised Alaya considerably by placing a simple kiss on her forehead after she returned to his side. Then, while guiding her over to Tiamat with his hand on her hip, he smiled affectionately and said, "Thanks. I know it isn’t easy for you." This was enough to cause Alaya’s face to transition from pouting to confusion and introspection. He could lines of data-like runes flickering across her irises, evidence that she was either communicating with Akasha or putting a lot of effort into processing something...

While Alaya was distracted with her own thoughts, Vahn unabashedly grabbed Tiamat’s right hand, pulling it away from her neck. This caused her to tilt her head to the side, her mouth parting slightly as an ’Owaaa...’ escaped her lips. She then began to wiggle around her fingers with a smile on her face, seemingly just now realizing her hand was freed from its shackles.

Seeing Tiamat’s innocent reaction, Vahn couldn’t help but smile before asking, "Can you free your other limbs now? Go ahead and give it a try..."

In the past, Tiamat’s chains had proven impossible for even Okita’s [Purgatory Sword] to break so it was quite a surprise when he saw how ’easily’ she pulled her hand free. He had tried to have her do so in the past but, after struggling for several hours, the ancient golden chains hadn’t budged in the slightest. This meant that Tiamat was growing progressing stronger with time and, while this wasn’t exactly a surprise, Vahn was hopeful she would develop an Ego in the near future.

As she was compelled to follow the orders she had been given, Tiamat wasted no time in trying to break free from her restraints. Since most of the chains binding her right hand had also bound her left, it didn’t take much effort for her to liberate both hands. Her legs, however, proved far more difficult and, even after generating enough power to cause the void to tremble around her, they remained unmoved.

Since the bindings of Tiamat’s legs were far more comprehensive than the ones on her arms, Vahn wasn’t surprised she was unable to break them. Thus, before she could destroy the surrounding space with her raw power alone, he placed his hand on her head, softly ordering, "That is enough. You did well, Tiamat."

Hearing Vahn’s words, Tiamat immediately stopped exerting her power and, in response to having her head caressed, a happy smile spread across her face. She might not realize emotions in the same way as others but, with her instincts still intact, Tiamat was still capable of understanding things like happiness. This was one of the reasons why Vahn couldn’t give up on beings like her, Skoll, and even Alaya as, in the grand scheme of things, patience, understanding, and a basic appreciation for life were all that was needed to nurture a nascent Ego...

One of the things Vahn would never understand is how many people, for no clear reason, looked down upon others. This wasn’t just unique to humans, either, as all sapient species seemed to have this trait. Even more nonsensical was the fact that, if they lacked a group to oppress, they turned against their own race, creating social and class divides in order to elevate the few over the many.

In truth, Vahn knew it was the influence of Karma and various Laws that led to this phenomenon but, as the people committing these atrocities rarely took this into account, it seemed senseless. Knowing he would have to contend against these forces for the rest of eternity, Vahn couldn’t help feeling just a little helpless. Though this wasn’t enough to deter him from the path he had chosen, as there was simply too much at stake, it was evidence of the fact he still had a long way to go, both as a God of Creation and Destruction...

Eventually, a time would come where Vahn became one of the things he hated the most, a passive entity that allowed evil to exist as a matter of course. He knew, the more he intervened, the harder it would be to secure his own happiness. Thus, at some point in the distant future, he would ultimately have to remove himself from the equation, becoming the lynchpin of a reality where atrocities may very well be committed in his name.

In the past, Vahn had never even considered this but, as his power and responsibilities continued to increase, he began to understand the perspective of Gods and higher-tiered entities. He was slowly beginning to understand the futility of taking proactive action as, with such vast disparities in power, the matters of mortals became increasingly more mundane and insignificant. Though it would likely take him thousands of years to reach the point where he stopped caring completely, Vahn resolved to never turn a blind eye to senseless oppression. Even if he had to become a literal God of Order, it was one of the things he would never compromise on...

(A/N: I am still very sick. Pray for me xD...)