Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

After collecting himself, Vahn realized there was a slight delay in his thought processes as his main body slowly awoke from a dazed state. Fortunately, Fenrir had kept his body floating above the construction site, even though her telekinesis was rather lacking. She didn’t even ask any questions about what he had been doing, instead, coming to his side when Vahn reached out his hand. He hadn’t expected the union with Freya would cause his awareness to be completely dominated by what was happening on the surface. Though Sis would have snapped him out of it if there had been an enemy attack, Vahn knew he had erred quite a bit this time around. Since Fenrir had kept him from embarrassing himself, Vahn sat in the air and had her sit in his lap, pulling out an ornate brush as he began combing through her hair...

Back on the surface, Vahn let his constrained domain return to its normal size and immediately noticed the abnormalities in the surrounding area, specifically those in the nearby room. His eyes widened and a bit of cold sweat caused his skin to become clammy as he tried to process what had happened. Sis immediately chimed in at this point, explaining, (*The synchronization between your domain and Freya’s Divinity caused the connection between her Avatar and her Divine Body to become much stronger. If not for you instinctually restraining her Arcanum with [Enkidu], Freya would have been forced back to Heaven. However, since you weren’t actively trying to seal her Divinity, some of the ambient energy diffused into the surroundings. The Arcanum itself was sealed but the...S.e.x Energy spread out and likely affected several bystanders...*) As her perception was restricted to Vahn’s own, Sis wasn’t entirely aware this was happening during the moment and hadn’t noticed until Vahn himself expanded his domain...

Vahn knew he would probably have to issue an apology and explanation of what had happened later and wasn’t looking forward to it. He was hoping that the fallout wasn’t too great as, if something ’tragic’ happened during the time he was united with Freya, the amount of regret he would feel...it wasn’t a pleasant thought. Fortunately, as he would later learn, the energy emitted by Freya, though influencing several hundred people, mainly resulted in them going to seek their lovers out or head off to the Red Light District. Those in close proximity had to ’suffer’ a bit, but the majority of those nearby belonged to the Freya Familia and actually had a fair amount of resistance to charming effects. The greatest ’victims’ of this unexpected phenomenon were the five unfortunate girls within the side room, as they were essentially located near ’ground zero’ of the energy’s influence...

Concerned about what was going on around them, Vahn released Freya from his embrace, a not-so-stoic expression on his face as he said, "I think your Divinity leaked out and affected others..." Vahn didn’t really have to explain exactly what happened to Freya, as their union had been a shared experienced where they were able to completely understand the heart and mind of the other person. Thus, when she heard this, Freya became slightly pale and looked toward the side room as she picked up the now golden-crystal bell and rang it.

Everything within the vicinity cordoned off by [Enkidu] had actually been elevated to the extent of materials that could only be found in Heaven, making the space of around 8m around them worth several hundred billion Valis, at the very least. Though this would be a matter of extreme importance in most situations, Freya knew there were more pressing matters to attend. When nearly a minute had passed without the girls showing up, she took the initiative to try and separate from Vahn, nearly falling from the throne in the process. Vahn had reached out to catch her, holding her in his arms as he traced his hands around her butt and the back of her thighs. This wasn’t intended to be s.e.x.u.a.l, however, as Vahn was instead revitalizing the muscles of her legs while removing the rather extreme fatigue that Freya was experiencing...

Once she was able to walk, Freya released a sigh, tracing her palm across Vahn’s chest as she said, "I’ll be right back...don’t worry, I will deal with this...haaaa..." Freya was more than a little worried about the state of the girls next door because, if anything happened to them, Vahn would probably never let her experience that amazing feeling again. Even now, though it felt like her insides were ’full’, Freya also felt indescribable loneliness, every step away from Vahn increasing the melancholy in her heart. She didn’t stop her steps, however, and tried to keep her chin raised proudly as she hurriedly went to the adjacent room to bear witness to the effects of her Divinity on others...

After passing through an immaculately sculpted marble door, fitted with ivory and gold handles, Freya’s heart shook but she almost immediately calmed down and released a sigh upon realizing the ’worst’ hadn’t happened. Though Momo, Sakuya, Elizabelle, and Merribelle were entangled together on the ground, clothes disheveled as they overlapped each other, their expressions ruddy and filled with fatigue. Sitting a little aways from them, the person Freya had been most concerned about, was a very young girl with a beet red face, peeking over a coloring book as she looked wide-eyed towards the other four girls.

This girl had long blond hair, extending to the small of her back, neatly arranged to frame her adorable facial features. Her eyes were blue like sapphires and, though she was also wearing clothes similar to a Maid, they were light blue, frilly, and matched the large ribbon in her hair. Since she was currently sitting with her knees up, there was a lot of white frills visible beneath her skirt, though her dignity was protected by the pure white hose that she was wearing. When she saw Freya enter, the girl quickly adjusted her seated position to appear more lady-like as she stammered, "L-Lady Freya...I don’t know what happened...everyone just...uuwwaaaaa...."

Using the coloring book in her hands, the young girl tried to obstruct her view of the four disheveled Maids on the ground, the two pointed ears on the side of her head waggling anxiously. Freya smiled slightly upon seeing the girl’s reaction, walking to the side where a large wardrobe was located so that she could wear something to cover her n.a.k.e.dness. Once she was wrapped in a silk gown, Freya made her way to the girl’s side and, performing an action that would shock any that would claim to know her well, picked up the girl and hugged her closely. Still carrying her, Freya made her way to the room’s entrance before looking towards the four girls on the ground, plainly stating, "Clean yourselves up...your Master will likely be leaving soon..."

Without sparing them a second glance, Freya gently stroked the back of the young girl and walked along the cold marble floor until reaching the room where Vahn had been waiting. She knew he wouldn’t blame her for what the girl had witnessed, as it was both of their faults, so the fear and trepidation she felt earlier had started to melt away. Instead, every step she took closer to Vahn filled Freya with expectation and happiness, chasing away the ’melancholy’ that was shrouding her heart after their momentary separation...

Seeing Freya bring in what looked like a very young girl, Vahn couldn’t help but inhale rather deeply as he fought to remain calm. Freya seemed to have calmed down a lot and, given the aura of the young girl, Vahn knew the situation probably wasn’t as bad as anticipated. Even so, the fact that Freya had a young girl wearing what appeared to be an ornate Maid outfit bothered Vahn a little, though he decided to give Freya the benefit of the doubt and allow her to explain. Since she was carrying the girl personally, Vahn felt like the situation wasn’t simple and didn’t want to jump to any conclusions, believing Freya wouldn’t do anything to overtly trouble him...

Turning her body slightly, Freya stroked the young girls back and said, "Diana...this is Vahn..say hello..." Diana, who had been resting her head on Freya’s shoulder, now looked over towards Vahn, her blue eyes widening in an instant as she immediately turned away once again. Freya chuckled lightly, looking toward Vahn and saying, "It looks like your charm even works on Spirits...how peculiar..." Even for Freya, who was known to have one of the most powerful charms in both Heaven and the mortal world, it had absolutely no effect on Spirits, especially a High Spirit like Diana. They were existences that served as the ’template’ for the godly Avatars every god used in the mortal world. This was why people referred to Spirits as the ’children loved by the gods’, as they were directly created with Divinity and magic to aid the surface races since time immemorial...

Though he had noticed the abnormal energy in Diana’s body, Vahn was surprised that Freya referred to her as a Spirit. Generally, what most people referred to as ’Spirits’ was actually just the mana contained within the environment. For Spirits that had physical forms, they were known as High Spirits and Great Spirits, with the latter group being considerably rarer. Within the current world, the number of High Spirits was extremely small, to the point that there were less than a dozen even residing in large population zone like Orario. Vahn had only ever seen the ’Gnome’ High Spirit, Bom Cornwall, and the ’Undine’ High Spirit, Silica Swiftstream. Other than them, only Lefiya could qualify as a High Spirit, though Vahn would liken her closer to a Great Spirit after her body had adapted a bit of his Source Energy...

Vahn was glad he had chosen to wear clothing when Freya had left earlier, even though the Spirit in her arms was likely much older than he was. He rose to his feet, doing his best to assume a calm and gentle appearance as he neared the two girls and softly muttered, "Hello, Diana...it is nice to meet you...?" Vahn tried to look over Freya’s shoulder and peer into Diana’s face, but she immediately turned her head away, causing Freya to release a peal of bell-like laughter that could make a man’s heart tremble. The only thing he felt right now, however, was confusion, at least until Freya explained, "Diana is a ’Xana’ High Spirit, so she can’t easily look at other people...especially if they are men..."

With Freya’s explanation, information regarding the Xana appeared within Vahn’s mind, allowing him to better understand the situation. They were a very uncommon Spirit that had actually been hunted to near-extinction long ago after being associated with the deaths of several men. This was a result of their natural charm, their unique abilities, and their hypnotic song that could calm the hearts and minds of ’pure’ individuals while causing a suffocating feeling that could drive those with dark hearts to insanity. They were rumored to have been created by the Gods in order to curb the amount of evil-hearted men in the world, giving them the appearance of young women with blond or brown hair that could ’stir’ the negativity in men’s hearts. When their voices reached the ears of such men, the only thing awaiting them was a rather gruesome death as they clawed at their own eyes and ears...

Knowing that the ’young girl’ in Freya’s arms was an existence that had been the nightmare of many men, at least before their true nature had been uncovered, Vahn felt more than a little shocked. As far as he knew, there hadn’t been any reported sightings of a Xana in almost six-hundred years, to the point that they were considered a protected species by the Guild. Even then, there were no known publically protected Xana and it was even possible that Diana may very well be one of the last of her kind. Since they were immortal, their appearance would never change under normal circ.u.mstances and Vahn had no idea how long she had lived...or how lonely and existence she may have had...

As if to clear up his confusion, Freya lightly stroked Diana’s back, explaining, "Diana was captured and illegally imprisoned by slave traders...fortunately, the voice of a Xana cannot be obstructed by physical barriers and most of the people that had tried to buy her initially lost their lives. She spent the last sixty years locked away since even the slave owner was afraid to get near her. A member of my Familia stumbled across her cell, completely sealed behind a concrete wall, and alerted me to Diana’s existence. I promised to introduce her to someone that could help her live a free and happy life..." Though Freya would have generally found an existence like Diana’s to be very ’interesting’, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say the Spirits were truly loved by the gods. She actually felt a bit of kinship towards Diana, treating her as a proxy of her own daughter since the latter had been living within the Hearth Manor...

Vahn’s mind was racing to make sense of what was going on and, now that he had ’melded’ with Freya, his understanding of her had increased greatly. He suddenly felt very guilty for having kept Lenneth within the Manor, as the mother and daughter only met each other during supervised visits. Seeing Freya show such care and concern for Diana made Vahn feel like he had been a terrible father, even though he tried to treat Lenneth with as much care and concern as he could manage during the times they were together. Though part of him felt like Freya had orchestrated things so that he felt this way, she couldn’t truly hide anything from him and he knew that, while she was a bit extreme in her behavior, Freya wasn’t incapable of love...in fact, she had a lesser-Divinity related to it...

Repressing a sigh, Vahn reached out with both hands, one stroking Freya’s while the other rested on Diana’s as he said, "I think we need to have a discussion with the others...you should spend more time with Lenneth. Though Hestia doesn’t want men inside the Manor, I’m certain she wouldn’t mind if you brought the little Ottar by as well..." Even before he had finished speaking, Vahn saw one of the most loving smiles he had ever seen on Freya’s faces bloom into existence. At the same time, Diana peeked over at him, curious about the source of the very comfortable energy entering into her body. She knew this was the man that Freya had told her she could trust but, after spending such a long period of time locked away, it was rather difficult to believe...

Vahn’s eyes stared back at the sapphire blues looking at him, their gazes matching for several seconds before Diana quietly muttered, "Hello..." Though she spoke very quietly, Vahn felt a strangely refreshing ’tingle’ in his heart that caused his smile to soften even more. Since it wasn’t a negative effect, his [Will of the Emperor] didn’t resist the influence of Diana’s voice and Vahn was able to experience a very pleasant and peaceful sensation. This caused Diana’s eyes to widen slightly as she hesitantly asked, "Are you not going to try and eat me...?"

The pleasant sensation practically washed over him, causing Vahn to release a light-hearted laugh as he stroked Diana’s head and said, "Don’t worry, I’m not going to eat you...hahahahaha~." Even if she might be several times older than he was, Vahn could never ’eat’ a girl with an appearance that made Eva seem mature. Diana’s physique was closer to a girl around 7-8 years old, causing absolutely no fluctuations in Vahn’s heart, other than a simple desire to protect the beautiful smile that Diana had produced. She now no longer looked away from him, smiling radiantly in the equally radiant Freya’s arms, creating a dual-impact on Vahn’s mind since the smiles of girls were a lethal weapon in such circ.u.mstances...

(A/N: At the time of writing this, I needed to head out to visit my dad and elder brother. There should be two more chapters today, but they will probably be in the afternoon. I can’t really predict the future though, so don’t spam f5 xD...)

(A/N: Alternate Titles: ’Ground Zero...RIP Meido-sans...’,’High Spirit, Diana Sonata’,’Ultra Combo Finisher~!’)