Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Around the same time that Vahn was being berated by a flustered and embarrassed Eva, Theo was eagerly trying on her raiment. Though it lacked the designation of Eternal Partners, the rarest type of Pactio, it was anything but common. Near the bottom of the card, where is denoted the type of Pactio that had been formed, Theo's had the words Servitum and Fides in bold text. This literally translated to Servitude and Faith, so, while not nearly as rare as Eternal Partners, it demonstrated that the relationship between them was rather 'unique', to say the least...

Fortunately, while Theo was very serious about their relationship as Master and Sub, she was, first and foremost, a future Empress who enjoyed brawling. Her raiment consisted of a black halter-top that left most of her back and shoulders exposed, black armbands that covered her arms down to the fingertips, and a rather baggy pair of white trousers that tapered at the calves. To complete the outfit, she had a hempen rope tied around her waist, light plating hanging on the sides, and leather wrappings around her feet that left the toes and heels exposed.

Overall, Theo's outfit made her look like a martial artist, and, with her unique Asauchi, consisting of plated gauntlets, it wasn't difficult to imagine her physically beating her opponents into submission. As for her Artifact, 'Arma Asura', it took on the form of a flower-patterned golden disk that floated behind her back. From this disk, two large white arms would manifest, each capable of imitating her movements or acting independently to protect her body. It was an exceptionally suitable Artifact for Theo, and, though it would take some time to master, she was bound to become a monster at hand to hand combat.

Since she was using Vahn's energy to manifest her Raiment and Artifact, Theo found herself filled to the brim with energy. If not for them being inside, Vahn could easily imagine her attacking him just to test her Artifact on a strong opponent. Fortunately, despite being a little excitable at times, Theo was a rather sensible young woman who took others into consideration. It was currently very late at night, so, rather than try to convince him to do battle, she deactivated her Artifact before straddling his lap in her Raiment and expressing her 'gratitude' until the sky outside began to illuminate...

After they had both calmed down a bit, Vahn sat with Eva's back to his chest as they perched upon the branches of a massive World Tree. It was only around a year old but its height had managed to exceed 100m under the influence of the rather ridiculous amount of Elemental Energy that existed within the Diorama. Now, it served as a secondary line of defense, protecting the stability of Space and Time within the Diorama.

Even if an enemy was literally capable of destroying a planet, they would find it extremely difficult to destroy Theo's Resort Diorama. It had effectively become a 'Sub-Realm' at this point, and, in the future, Vahn was intending to use it to shelter the beaten, downtrodden, and exploited. At the very least, he wanted to provide sanctuary to the Elves, as, no matter how much time passed, it was hard to imagine people giving up on trying to exploit them.

While discussing various matters of the future, including their wedding, Eva made it very clear that she didn't want to get married until they defeated the Mage of the Beginning. This wasn't much of a hurdle, but, as if to light a fire under his butt, she took things a step further by saying she wanted to preserve her chastity until their honeymoon. This had come as quite the surprise, as, more often than not, she was the one enticing or trying to seduce him.

It didn't take long for Vahn to realize Eva was placing the restriction on herself, not him, so, after a rather potent silence, he ultimately nodded his head. He knew it wouldn't actually take much effort on his part to convince her otherwise, but, imagining how meaningful it would be if their first time was on their honeymoon, he decided to just go with the flow...

When Vahn nodded his head, Eva felt an incredible amount of relief. She was afraid that she would gradually lose her desire for revenge if her relationship with the over-affectionate idiot progressed even further than it already had. Now, even if she lost her patience and became desperate, she was confident Vahn would be able to rein her in. He placed an inordinate amount of value in each of his promises, so, unless something completely unexpected occurred, she didn't have to worry about doing anything 'stupid' before obtaining her revenge...

More confident in Vahn's restraint than her own, Eva shimmied around until she was face-to-face with her new fiance. Then, after linking her arms around his neck, she whispered, "You're a real idiot, you know that...?" before laying her head against his chest.

Rather than take offense to Eva's words, Vahn just lightly chuckled, his arms gently embracing her body as he replied, "I love you too, Eva..."

Feeling a sour sensation in her nose, Eva took a few deep breaths to calm down. Then, even though it caused her to feel embarrassed to the point of wanting to scream out, she managed to reply in a meek, almost inaudible, tone, saying, "I love you too...dummy..."

Having stayed up all night, Eva and Theo both appeared exhausted by the time everyone gathered together for breakfast. This was noted by everyone present, but, rather than say anything, everyone just enjoyed breakfast in relative silence. It was only when the table had been cleared that Eva broke the silence, surprising even Vahn by saying, "Though it won't take place any time soon, Vahn and I have agreed to be wed..."

Immediately following Eva's announcement, an oppressive silence descended upon the table before Theo, showing a bit of confusion on her face, asked, "Weren't the two of you already engaged...?"

As Vahn often referred to Eva as his fiancee, nearly everyone outside of the Diorama believed they were engaged. This had been the case for more than four years, so, with Vahn and Eva sharing a bed every night, Theo, Arika, and even Asuna had all assumed they were actually engaged.

Hearing Theo's response, Eva found herself at a loss for words. She suddenly felt like she had fallen into some kind of carefully laid trap, but, knowing Vahn, this was extremely unlikely. It wasn't that he was incapable of scheming, but, when it came to the people he cared about, he was transparent to the point that even Asuna could see through him.

After recovering her senses, Eva extended her left hand to show the ring Vahn had given her after she accepted his proposal. It didn't stand out much at a glance, but, once you looked directly at it, it seemed to gradually pull you in. It seemed to become progressively more beautiful the longer you stared at it, and, after learning about its effects, even Eva had been completely gobsmacked...

Seeing the ring on Eva's finger, another silence permeated the room as everyone's eyes fixated on the simple yet exceptionally refined white band. Even Arika, who had grown up never caring about such ornamentations, couldn't help feeling captivated by the blue gemstone at the center. It gave off the impression of looking into the night sky, almost as if an entire cosmos had been condensed into the size of a pea.

Preempting any requests to have rings of their own, Vahn broke the silence, a calm smile on his face as he produced a few neatly packaged gifts, saying, "While it might not compare to an engagement ring, I put my heart and soul into forging each of these. I hope you will accept them..."

Without leaving anyone out, Vahn passed around gifts to Arika, Theo, Asuna, Fenrir, Xiao Bai, and, much to their surprise, the entire assortment of Chacha sisters. Even Chachazero ended up getting a brand new set of knives, each graded as B-Rank armaments. She had a propensity for cutting things up, and, before Eva was forced to take her first life, Chachazero had done her best to keep her safe, dispensing of anyone who conspired against her Mistress with malicious intentions...(A/N: Eva was born in the 1400s. Not exactly the best time period to be a pretty young girl without a place to call home...)

Though they couldn't be compared to an SS-Rank engagement ring, none of the girls showed any signs of disappointment when they opened their presents. Arika ended up with an S-Rank bracelet that not only enhanced the efficacy of her spells, it also stored nearly three times her own reserves. It was a more advanced version of the accessories he had produced for Haruhime in the past, and, over time, Vahn intended to give her a matching set to greatly amplify her capacity as a Mage...

Since few gifts could compare to the collar he had already gifted to her, at least within Theo's mind, Vahn had to spend a bit of extra time on her present. Her box ended up being the biggest of all, as, on the inside, a full-body membrane was neatly folded within. It was a special type of garment that was worn like an extra set of skin, perfectly matching Theo's original skin tone. What made it truly special, other than its defensive capabilities, was the fact that you could channel magic power into the membrane to exponentially increase its resistance and weight. Though its maximum weight was only 200kg, this could effectively multiply the force behind Theo's strikes while also allowing her to drastically increase the effectiveness of her training.

After learning about the effects of the peculiar skin-like clothing, Theo's sapphire-blue eyes were glimmering with excitement. She nearly stripped then and there to wear it, but, after a warning look from Eva, she alighted to a nearby room to change in a more discreet manner. When she returned, her appearance hadn't changed in the slightest, but, when she pounced on Vahn, it felt like he had been hit by a truck due to her weight effectively quintupling...

Once Theo had finally calmed down, Vahn helped Asuna properly wear her gift. She had taken up the habit of wearing bells in her hair, seemingly with the intent to further train her ability to sneak up on him, so, after a bit of consideration, he decided to give her a hand. She was already immune to most physical and magical attacks, so, rather than infusing resistances into the bells, he did his best to make them as durable and sensitive as possible.

Unless you channeled an extremely precise amount of magical energy into the bells at all times, they would release a persistent and pleasant tune. Even opening the box was enough to cause the four bells to ceaselessly chime, and, due to how difficult it was to route precise amounts of magical energy through the hair, it took Asuna several minutes to get them under control. Despite this, she had a happy smile on her face, pouncing on him in much the same way as Theo the moment she got the bells under control...

Wrapping up the present opening session, Fenrir opened her's to reveal a voucher that allowed her to make any singular request of him. As for Xiao Bai, he received a pair of manacles that, much like Theo's present, also had the function of increasing their weight. Instead of 200kg spread out across the body, however, they each weighed 50kg, and, when activated, increased to 500kg.

Five-hundred-kilograms wasn't much for someone like Xiao Bai, so, to make them even more useful for training purposes, Vahn enchanted them to be attracted to each other. Unless you maintained perfect control, even separating them would be difficult, so, if he wasn't careful, even someone like Xiao Bai risked serious injury while performing complex moves and techniques.

Without waiting, Xiao Bai readily wore the metallic manacles around his ankles, laughing excitedly once he realized how difficult even walking would become. He was a hopeless training junkie, so, while others might feel inconvenienced by such a gift, he could hardly resist the urge to go on a long sprint. As for Fenrir, she decided to hold onto her voucher, an excited glimmer in her eyes that told Vahn she already had something in mind regarding its use...

Once everyone had opened their presents, the atmosphere within the dining room had improved considerably. This took a bit of the wind out of Eva's sails, but, as nobody had been surprised by the mention of her engagement to Vahn, she decided not to care. She had expected a bit of drama, but, due to Vahn's intervention, everything had been neatly concluded. The only thing remaining was to discuss the arrangements she had made with Arika and Theo, so, after appreciating the sweets Vahn had prepared, she dragged the two into her private room.

The moment the door closed behind them, the atmosphere around Arika and Theo changed quite a bit, both showing varying degrees of seriousness. Even Theo could guess what Eva wanted to talk about, so, taking the initiative, she asked, "How long do you want us to wait...?"

Resisting the urge to wince in response to Theo's question, Eva adopted an apologetic expression as she answered, "I asked Vahn to wait until our honeymoon...unless something changes, we won't be married until after we defeat the Mage of the Beginning. I know this is a little unfair to the two of you, but I don't want us to get distracted before we complete our objectives...we all have things we want to accomplish. Vahn's love is more potent than a drug...I was afraid I would lose my desire for revenge and end up leaving everything to him..."

Surprising Eva somewhat, Arika was the first to nod, her expression turning even more serious as she said, "I understand your concerns. After spending these four years together, even I have had thoughts of entrusting everything to Vahn. I once believed I would be able to stand proudly with him supporting me from behind, but, after experiencing his memories, I can't help but question my capacity as a ruler. There are times when I just want to request him to 'fix' our world, but, knowing he intends to move on someday, I am unable to place the burden of my own responsibilities on his shoulders..."

Nodding her head in agreement, Theo added, "If I didn't take a firm stance, I'm positive that Vahn would have returned to the Capital to eliminate all of my enemies. Entreating him to become my Master was all I could do to prevent myself from begging him to become my Emperor, shishishi~."

Towards the end of her words, Theo affectionately rubbed the collar around her neck, a somewhat goofy smile on her face as she continued to snicker. This earned her pointed looks from both Eva and Arika, but, even without experiences like the previous night, she was confident she would never regret her decision to submit to her Master...

Deciding to ignore the masochistic idiot, Eva turned her gaze toward Arika, plainly stating, "Then we need to discuss how we'll proceed from now on. If we leave everything to that idiot, we're bound to become just another group of women that relies on him to solve all our problems. I'm already a big enough burden as is...I don't want to become a useless woman who just watches from the sidelines as Vahn fights my battles for me..."

Hearing Eva's words, Theo finally stopped laughing as she, alongside Arika, nodded her head in firm understanding...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'The birth of the Bronze-Skinned Asura...','Anti-climactic xD...','TFW the person you like is a literal God without any perceivable limits...')(A/N: Click this comment to see what Theo's raiment and artifact look like.)