Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

After picking up Altera, Vahn teleported directly to Mount Olympus' centermost region, a massive chamber that, at a glance, appeared to be an open amphitheater. Here, thousands of automatons modeled to look like Greek soldiers could be found covering nearly every surface of the floor. There were also a number of humanoid figures that must have been Demigods, but, due to the amount of damage they had sustained, it was difficult to ascertain what they must have looked like during life.

Amidst this veritable ocean of corpses, a large wolf-like creature with ghostly blue flames covering the majority of its body could be seen devastating the few surviving members of Olympus' security forces. This was Illya in her transformed state, now appearing almost exactly like a grown version of Cath Palug, appearing simultaneously adorable yet ferocious at the same time...

Though Illya's transformation drew the most attention, Vahn's senses easily detected the presence of his beloved Empress, bringing a smile to his face when he saw her walking along the periphery like an untouchable Goddess. She was wearing her bunny-like raiment, but, contrasting past versions of the peculiar attire, she also had on a pure white fur coat that gracefully flowed as she moved. Since she was constantly using [Avalon], all damage was mitigated in its entirety, and, as a result, she was able to capture and disable her foes with impunity.

What was truly terrifying about Artoria's abilities wasn't the fact she had almost unrivaled offensive and defensive might, but, as a Goddess of Fortune, she could control Luck in a similar way to Naavi. As a result, her foes would randomly trip, fail to release their spells, or even commit friendly fire as a result of unexpected deviations in their attack trajectory. There was even one instance where a pillar, seemingly undamaged from the fight, spontaneously cracked before pinning an unsuspecting group of automatons to the ground...

Due to being awed by the presence of his bunny-like Empress, Vahn was nearly swept off his feet when a bluish-white figure spontaneously appeared in his periphery, nuzzling against him with soft and squishy fur-covered cheeks. This was obviously Illya, causing him to laugh aloud while rubbing his own cheek against her giant face. She was currently around five meters tall and seven meters long, excluding tail and ears, so her head was big though that he couldn't even wrap his arms around her properly.

Seeing their hated enemy suddenly appear elsewhere, a group of Demigods, led by a burly man with bronzed skin and unkept purple hair, raised a golden spear in the air as he shouted, "The beast flees! Give it no quarter...!"

Following his outburst, the man threw his spear with enough force to create a series of shockwaves. In spite of this, Illya just flicked her tail, seemingly at random, batting the projectile aside as if it was little more than a toothpick. This didn't actually deter the Demigods from continuing their advance, largely due to the conditioning they had experienced since birth, but it made it very clear where they stood in relation to Illya's power.

While still snuggling with Illya, Vahn adopted a wry smile as he looked towards Altera and said, "I'll leave it to you."

Without requiring clarification, Altera became like a living tempest as she charged to meet the group of Demigods directly. They were a little stronger than those on the surface, but, against a Tier 5 who embodied destruction, the outcome was determined before the battle even began...

Having looted most of the treasures contained within Zeus' vault, Vahn was carrying a large number of Divine Artifacts in a sling over his back. He hadn't been too surprised to find Artifacts belonging to the other Olympian Gods present, as, at some point in the distant past, there seemed to be some kind of conflict among the Olympians. Though the others were still alive in another Sub-Texture, they had basically been imprisoned there in their Avatars, their true forms having already been destroyed.

Now that Zeus' tyranny had been brought to an end, Vahn was intending to either put Demeter in control or negotiate with the surviving Olympians to have them rule over the Olympus Texture. The surviving Demigods still needed the leadership of their parents in order to overcome this setback, and, since he wasn't willing to commit genocide, Vahn had the responsibility of placing a suitable guardian in charge of them.

Fortunately, Demeter seemed to be the most caring of the Olympians, choosing to live among them rather than rule from above. It shouldn't take much effort to convince her to pursue peace, allowing her to guide the remaining Demigods away from the pursuit of vengeance. She would also have the support of Goddesses like Hestia and Hecate, so, with careful administration, there was a fair chance those born in Olympus would one day be able to live amongst the Surface dwellers without causing too much trouble.

With this in mind, Vahn quickly teleported back to the Surface, turning over the Divine Artifacts to Da Vinci so that she could begin studying them immediately. It would take some time, but, with Da Vinci leading the project, it wouldn't be long before she uncovered all of their secrets. Knowing her, there was even a chance she could reverse engineer the Olympians themselves after scrutinizing the data and examining Demeter's True Body. This, of course, required the cooperation of Demeter herself, so, after reuniting Tiamat with Alaya and Gaia, Vahn returned to the Reverse Side, this time teleporting near what appeared to be a giant 'fruit' that had been cracked open.

Demeter was responsible for food production, waste management, and the harvesting of natural resources. She was also responsible for terraforming planets, making them conducive to lifeforms that, in essence, provided sustenance for the Gods. As a result, her True Body was a peculiar sphere with a greenish-blue exterior and a pink, somewhat fleshy, interior. The top had two pink wings that didn't seem to serve a purpose, while, near the base, a strange metallic protrusion, set with a giant eye, closely observed the daily lives of her 'children'.

One of the main reasons behind why Demeter was spared, other than the fact she didn't seem nearly as corrupted as the other Olympians, was her True Body housed a databank similar to the Moon Cell. Inside, billions of different lifeforms had their genetic code sequenced and stored. At the centermost region, there were even tens-of-thousands of fleshy nodes that served as artificial wombs, allowing her to birth a breeding population of virtually any species the Olympians had ever encountered.

It wasn't an exaggeration to say that, with a bit of help, Demeter could effectively repopulate entire planets. She even had a Divine Authority related to Motherhood, one brought with her, not one she had usurped from another. This made her exceptionally important to the Empire, as, even if she was unwilling to cooperate directly, there was a good chance she would allow Da Vinci to research and analyze her systems in exchange for peace between the Olympus Texture and the Empire...

Not too surprisingly, Demeter's True Body began to open as Vahn neared the surprisingly fragrant interior. There was a mellow, fruity, aroma that seemed to pervade the senses, and, though it was a little strange to see velvety membranes of flesh expand and contract like automatic doors, Vahn was able to proceed without any discernible discomfort. Rather, the deeper he descended into Demeter's True Body, the more potent the fragrance became, eventually reaching levels of saturation that could rival the rainforest in humidity.

By the time Vahn reached the innermost region of Demeter's True Body, he was forced to create a membrane of protection around his body just to prevent his clothes from being soaked through. A palpable pink mist made it impossible to see more than a few meters, but, through his domain, Vahn was able to sense thousands of different organisms writhing about within bioluminescent incubation chambers. It was a rather unnerving sight, as Demeter's interior was almost indistinguishable from a living organism. There was even an omnipresent heartbeat, and, if you listened closely, the sounds of biological processes such as blood pumping could be heard.

Fortunately, after spending some time in Illya's Marble Phantasm, Vahn had grown accustomed to such sights. This didn't completely remove the feeling of incongruity in the back of his mind, but, as it ultimately didn't matter, he approached the only isolated incubation chamber among thousands. There, through a slightly transparent membrane, he could see a child-like version of Demeter curled up in a fetal position, rapidly advancing through the stages of development at a rate visible to the naked eye.

Though it was a strange sight to witness, Vahn couldn't help feel a small amount of fascination as he placed his hand against the thin membrane, sending threads of Source Energy into the interior to try and understand the properties of the luminescent fluid. This caught the attention of the budding life within, causing 'Demeter' to open her eyes, staring back at him with a perpetual smile on her face...

Just as Vahn was expecting Demeter to begin speaking to him, a different voice sounded out from the surroundings. His senses were largely obscured within the body of a Tier 5 entity so Vahn hadn't noticed the arrival of a young woman with uncannily similar features to Demeter. The only difference was, rather than wheat-colored hair, she had pale purple locks and slightly sharper features. She also lacked Demeter's perpetual smile, her face fixed into a look of blame as she asked, "Are you the one who destroyed my mother's body...?"

Though not exactly accurate, Vahn didn't try to refute the woman's accusation. After all, Amaterasu and Arcueid were acting on his behalf, so, even if he didn't destroy Demeter's body, he still held a bit of responsibility in the matter. Thus, with a small nod, he answered, "In a sense..." before summoning [Enkidu] to prevent the woman's attack.

Seeing resplendent golden chains appear out of thin air, the woman, Persephone, manifested what appeared to be a futuristic-looking scythe. This was the limit to her resistance, however, as [Enkidu] had already locked down the surrounding space before contracting to bind her in place. As a result, her power was completely sealed, causing Vahn to offer an apologetic smile as he added, "Though it is understandable that you would be upset, there is little sense in battling within this place. Do you intend to injure Demeter's True Body and destroy her still-developing avatar...?"

As she couldn't muster up any power whatsoever, Persephone had little choice but to listen to the invader's words. She realized there was a fair amount of truth contained within them, and, if he really had destroyed her Mother's previous Terminal, she had virtually no hope of defeating him. Thus, with a rather venomous look in her eyes, she muttered, "I won't attack...so can you remove these chains?"

Shaking his head, Vahn answered, "I wasn't born yesterday. You can wait there until Demeter finishes developing. At this rate, I don't imagine it will take more than an hour...?"

Seemingly able to hear him, the teen-like Demeter within the incubation chamber nodded her head before, once again, curling into a fetal position with her eyes closed. She seemed to understand the futility in trying to resist, showing no discernible signs of retaliation in any of the currents Vahn was peering into. The only time she showed any hostility was when he injured or threatened the purple-haired Demigoddess, so, rather than rile her up, Vahn pulled out a comfortable chair, choosing to relax as the scythe-wielding beauty cursed him from within a soundproof barrier...

With the inclusion of Altera, and Vahn himself, the battle within the amphitheater concluded after a relatively short period of time. In the end, a little more than three-hundred Demigods had survived the conflict, around five percent of the total number of casualties if you included automatons and other support machines. As for why they had been spared, this was primarily due to the influence of Artoria's Divinity, allowing those with higher Luck to survive otherwise critical injuries.

Ignoring the hateful stares of the seriously injured Demigods, Vahn released an internal sigh as he looked towards Artoria, Altera, and Illya, forcing a smile as he said, "You all did well. Zeus ended up falling faster than expected, so, after we pick up Fenrir, we can return home. I've already picked up Amaterasu and Arcueid so she is the last one remaining. Circe has already cooked up a sizeable feast so we shouldn't keep everyone waiting too long."

Though they could tell Vahn was beginning to feel down about the amount of death that had been wrought as a result of his actions, Artoria and Illya decided to remain quiet. They would comfort him after the celebration had ended, once everyone was preparing to retire for the evening. This wasn't exactly their first time having to comfort their empathetic lover, so, once everything had settled, they would take him into one of the Marble Phantasms until he had made a full recovery...

Without anyone protesting his decision, Vahn teleported everyone to the hidden chamber that once housed the Heart of Olympus. Now, the house-sized crystal had vanished in its entirety, replaced by a rather 'fat' wolf that was laying belly up with its tongue hanging out.

Usually, Fenrir would waste no time in greeting him the moment he arrived, but, due to the difficulty of digesting the Heart of Olympus, she had passed out after growing to the size of a small cottage. It was probably the first time in her life she had been genuinely full, a contented smile visible on her canine face as the usually insatiable vortex in her stomach slowly processed the golden crystal that had inflated her belly.

As he had already seen this scene in his visions, Vahn wasn't really surprised by Fenrir's current state. Everyone else, however, had incredulous looks on their face, as, a stark contrast to the midnight-blue she was known for, Fenrir currently had vibrant gold fur. She looked like a fluffy golden wolf pup that had been scaled to gigantic proportions. The only parts of her body that weren't gold were the tip of her tail, her underbelly, the fur around her paws, and the markings on her face. These placed became a vibrant white that seemed to radiate a small amount of light, further cementing the fact that Fenrir had undergone a 'very' drastic change.

Before the other could recover from their stupor, Vahn took the initiative to collapse into Fenrir's thick coat of fur, causing her body to twitch happily as he nuzzled her underbelly and explained, "It isn't something you have to worry about. Once her body finishes refining all of the energy contained within the Heart of Olympus, her fur color will return to normal. This is just a byproduct of absorbing too much Divine Energy for her body to process all at once. Once she is able to convert her magical energy properly, it will take on a dark blue color with a ghostly tinge..."

Due to the phenomenal amount of Divine Energy she had absorbed, Fenrir's body was currently a lot warmer than normal. In fact, just snuggling against her gave Vahn a strong urge to nap as her aroma and warmth always made him feel calm and relaxed. Now, these two things were even more potent, so, for a brief moment, Vahn couldn't even hear the responses of Artoria and Illya until the latter had called out to him several times.

Seeing the girls looking toward him with concerned expressions, Vahn just laughed in a lighthearted manner before saying, "You have to try this. Once she returns to normal, her fur will feel somewhat cool to the touch. Right now, it's like resting against a warm cloud..."

Though Artoria and Illya didn't immediately move, Altera was the type that took things literally, so, after hearing her Master's order, she also plopped face-down against Fenrir's underbelly, nuzzling into the thick layer of ridiculously soft fur. From Vahn's perspective, it was almost impossible to see her, almost like she had concealed herself within tall, pure-white, grass...