Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Vahn felt a searing pain in his eyes as he floated weightlessly within a cold void. It felt like both of his eyes were burning, and he felt warm blood flowing between his palms as he tried using [Hands of Nirvana] to stifle the pain. However, no matter how much he willed himself to use the skill, it wouldn't activate and he could do nothing but gnash his teeth through the pain. Even his brain started to feel like it was melting, and Vahn thought he might lose his mind if things continued as they were.Suddenly, a cold sensation spread through his mind and began to combat against the debilitating heat radiating from his eyes. Vahn let out a gasp that was a mixture of relief and profound anguish. Even though the pain continues to wrack his body, the cooling sensation in his mind brought him some small comfort and allow him to protect his mind from losing itself to madness. After what seemed like several hours, the pain finally began to recede as the cooling sensation spread through the rest of his body, including his eyes which currently felt like coarse sand within his eye sockets.After several more hours, the cooling sensation returned the 'moisture' to his eyes, and Vahn no longer felt like they were compacted by hot sand. Mustering up a bit of strength, Vahn tried to open his eyes and immediately felt terrified by what he didn't see. Reaching his hands to his face, Vahn could feel that both of his eyes were opened, but he couldn't see anything. No matter where he turned, there was absolutely no light that could be picked up by his eyes. If he couldn't feel his body, Vahn would have suspected it didn't even exist.Vahn felt a sour feeling in his heart and could feel tears welling up in his sightless eyes. He tried seeking comfort by calling out to Sis in his mind, but even she didn't answer his call. Vahn felt terribly lonely at the silence and the fact he was no longer able to see. Imagining having to spend the rest of his life blind, Vahn felt a profound sadness overtake him as he recalled the faces of everyone that he had grown close to over the last few months. The idea of never being able to see their various expressions broke his heart. It wasn't the loss of his sight or his inability to fight that hurt him the most, but the fact that he would never be able to see the smiles of one of those he cared about.For what seemed like days, Vahn continued to cry as he floated weightlessly in a space that carried not a single sight or sound other than those from his own memory and body. None of his skills or abilities worked in this space, and even the system of 'The Path' couldn't be accessed. The only thing that kept Vahn from going crazy was the cooling sensation that was everpresent in his mind. He knew it was the influence of [Will of the Emperor] and found some solace knowing that he hadn't lost everything yet.After a long period of time, when Vahn had slowly started to let go of his thoughts and just allowed his body to float in space, he finally caught sight of something. Though he didn't react at first, when his mind finally processed what he had just 'seen', Vahn felt excitement well up inside of him. The tears that he thought had long dried up came back like a tidal wave as he stretched out his hand toward the tiny white light. It was so small, almost like a figment of his imagination, but Vahn knew in his heart it was real. He wanted to reach out and grab it so badly...Suddenly, the inconsequentially small light exploded with an irresistible force that quickly overtook Vahn's body. Though he could feel the explosion was more powerful than anything he could even conceive, the shockwave passed through Vahn's body without any resistance at all. Even though it was a cataclysmically devastating force, Vahn was entirely unaffected by its passage as he just bathed in the warm energies that penetrated through his body.The previously soundless and sightly space was suddenly awash with limitless colors that rapidly expanded from the origin point of the small light. Vahn could feel the energies spreading through his body, almost like they were reshaping everything that defined his previous existence. He could feel the passage of countless eons as he observed the formation of the nebula, stars, and even planets as they filled out the previously empty space that brought him so much sadness before.Vahn felt like he was watching the birth of the entire cosmos, and though he couldn't influence it in the slightest, it made him feel proud to have witnessed such a beautiful and awesome sight. The long years he had spent without a single light had impacted him deeply, and now everything within his vision brought comfort to his mind. Even the individual particles of cosmic dust that floated within the vast emptiness were infinitely interesting to him, and Vahn felt like everything had a beautiful purpose as his eyes overlooked their existence through the infinite passage of time.He had long forgotten how long he entered this space, but no matter how much time passed, Vahn was never lonely or sad anymore. Though he had a longing for something that he couldn't recall, he was satisfied with just observing the cycle of creation and destruction around him. At this moment, Vahn felt like there was order in all things, and an overwhelming sense of completion spread through every fiber of his being for having had the opportunity to observe everything taking place since its emergence from the tiny white dot.While Vahn was reveling in the sense of 'completion' in his body, all of the lights around him started slowly vanishing. Though he didn't mind it at first, as destruction was part of the natural cycle, after a large portion of the lights had extinguished, Vahn felt like there was something wrong. Looking through the void which was previously awash with an incredibly vibrant array of colors and sights, Vahn could see darkness encroaching from all directions. Though he desperately wanted to halt its advance, much like how he could do nothing to stop the spreading of the light, Vahn was unable to prevent the darkness from slowly reclaiming everything.Eventually, though an incredibly long period of time had passed, the darkness had claimed everything in what seemed like an instant. Vahn was suddenly overwhelmed by loneliness again as his eyes looked through the darkness, but could find no light. He knew that he wasn't blind, but that there was simply nothing to see at all. Even if he traveled through the void for an eternity, he may never be able to find another light like the one that had brought him so much comfort.A powerful sense of desperation welled up inside him as Vahn turned his focus to the inside of his body. Though he couldn't use 'The Path', or any of his abilities, it didn't stop him from being able to inspect the inside of his body. He was desperately looking for something, anything, which might be able to restore some of the light to this now perpetually dark world. Eventually, he found what he was looking for, deep within the core of his heart.Though he wasn't sure why it was there, Vahn had an instinctual understanding that he would be able to find it if he looked. Within his heart, or the area where he believed his heart to be, there was a small blue light very reminiscent of the white light he had previously seen long ago. Vahn wrapped his intent around it and slowly guided it along his body until the blue light emerged from his bare chest. Though there was nothing else in the space, the blue glow of the light gently illuminated his skin and his palms which cradled the light.Even though there was now a void in his heart where the blue light used to reside, Vahn felt happiness well up inside of him as he stared at the gentle blue light. Tears began to flow down his face as an image replayed itself through his mind from long ago. Moments before the original white light had expanded, Vahn had seen another figure illuminated by the white light which he desperately saw. Though he hadn't given it any attention at the time, now that he reflected on it, Vahn could see the eyes of another person reflecting the gentle white light as it looked toward him. Just as Vahn was about to reach out for the light, that was when the cycle of creation and destruction began.Now, Vahn held the gentle blue light in his hands in a manner similar to the unidentified entity from long ago. As he slowly raised up the light, he looked into the darkness and could feel a powerful sense of love spreading through his being as he saw the eyes of countless individuals peaking through the darkness and seeking out the light in his hands. They all looked sad and desperate, and they reminded Vahn of himself from a time long ago. The moment one of the entities got close, Vahn exhaled gently and the blue light in his hand exploded outwards with an irresistible force. Unlike the time when the energies had passed freely through his body, this time they tore Vahn apart, almost like the light was using his body itself to fuel the process of creation and destruction that would follow...The last desire Vahn had before he ceased to exist was a desire that his sacrifice would be able to resist the darkness for even a second longer than the white light that had brought him so much happiness.---Vahn awoke in the bed he had purchased for Evangeline and stared wide-eyed at the infinite black sky above. For a brief moment, he thought he was still stuck in that timeless place with no light, but when he felt the covers on his body he suddenly felt incredibly warm and safe. From his left, an annoyed, but gentle, voice spoke out, "Boys shouldn't be so quick to cry...you look like an idiot."Turning his head, Vahn could see Evangeline looking at him with furrowed brows as she had an expression of mock contempt on her face. However, he could see the concern in both her aura and eyes as she looked at him.Vahn couldn't help but feel happy to have some companionship after what seemed like a literal eternity of loneliness. Though he had experienced all of creation and destruction from the very beginning of time, even the 'completion' he felt then couldn't compare to a single moment of his interactions with those around him. Though he knew she would probably get mad, Vahn couldn't help but smile and say, "After what feels like an eternity, I can't help but feel grateful to wake up next to a beautiful girl."Evangeline immediately frowned at him before turning away and jumping off the bed. She spoke in an angry without looking at Vahn, "You've been asleep for almost twenty hours, aren't you supposed to be in a hurry to get better at forging? Don't waste my time with your shamelessness." Even though she was acting angry, Vahn continued to follow Evangeline's back as she returned to her desk. He could see that, when he complimented her earlier, her aura had become slightly chaotic and had a pink hue to it. For some reason, likely due to the fact she was only a memory, Vahn couldn't see the affection Evangeline had for him, but he assumed it wasn't as low as she pretended it to be.After collecting his thoughts for a few minutes, Vahn whispered out gently in his mind in a probing voice, ("Sis, are you there?") The moment the womanly voice began sounding with his mind, Vahn felt an incredible amount of relief wash over his body. Her presence had been one of the things he missed the most during his 'dream', and it wasn't until she spoke that he finally felt like he had returned. Though her words weren't very long, they brought a profoundly happy feeling to Vahn's heart as she said, (*Good morning, Vahn. I will always be here when you need me.*)Releasing a long and contented sigh, Vahn habitually inspected his system for any changes and found what he was looking for. As expected, Vahn had obtained an ability related to sight which had triggered at the moment when he was watching Evangeline's attack. It wasn't the first time the phenomenon of time slowing down had happened, so Vahn had some expectation he would develop a related skill eventually...[Eye of Truth]Rank: Innate (B) *Innate skills cannot be identified. Attempts to do so will result in a backlash.*[Passive]: Greatly increased perception and visual acuity. Absolute immunity to illusions depending on rank.[Active]: 'Oblivion'. All things in creation are born from and return to oblivion.(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Dreams of Eternity','Vahn is so deep','Voyeurism')

After reading the description of the skill, Vahn looked around and began inspecting everything around him. He could see a wavy particle in the air, and whenever he waved his hand through it, he realized it was the air itself that he could see. It was very similar to when Vahn saw a hot surface radiating heat, but now the entire airflow was visible to his eyes. When he turned his eyes to Evangeline and focused, he was surprised by what he saw. Her body turned into a 'negative' with all the colors reversed as he was able to briefly penetrate through the layers of clothes and skin on her body before looking into the interior and seeing a massive amount of compressed mana flowing through every cell of her body.Evangeline felt a chill run down her back as she turned to look at Vahn. She could see a subtle blue glow in his eyes that made her feel uncomfortable, almost like Vahn could see through her everything. She knew he had awakened something in his eyes, and now she suspected the use of the skill had something to do with 'seeing-through' things. If it weren't for the fact that Vahn's expression was of curiosity and contemplation, she might have slapped him silly for staring at her in such a manner.When Evangeline turned toward him, he wasn't able to see her expression easily because she was currently just a mass of shining blue mana in his eyes. Vahn stopped focusing his eyes and looked at the perturbed expression on her face as she asked, "Your eyes, what do they do?" Vahn could hear a mix of intrigue and a mild amount of inhibitions in her voice. After forming his thoughts in a cohesive manner, he responded, "As far as I can tell, it lets me see the magical elements in things like the air and people. I saw the massive amount of mana contained within your body and got a bit distracted. I'm sorry if I offended you."Though it was very subtle, Vahn was able to hear Evangeline sigh in relief before she turned back to her books. As she picked up her pen and started writing, she said, "For a moment, I thought you were able to see through my clothes. Do me a favor, and don't use those eyes when you're looking at me." Evangeline said the words plainly, but Vahn could hear the 'warning' contained within. He wasn't sure if she had seen through his explanation and hit upon the truth, but he decided it was best not to ask.After stretching for a bit, Vahn decided to continue processing materials to practice controlling his 'eternal flame' before he ran out of time. Though he had enough time to forge some standard equipment, he was more inclined to producing things like the [Dance of the Amazon] which he had created earlier. Since he didn't have enough time to dedicate towards the production of a high-quality item, he spent the remaining few hours preparing things for his next visit. It wouldn't be that long before his return, and then he'd have an additional three days to create more items.When there was less than an hour left, Evangeline put down her pen and spoke toward Vahn. In a somewhat emotionless voice, she said, "You'll be leaving soon, and I've used up a fair amount of mana maintaining this space. I also used quite a bit in my earlier display when I tested your weapon. Since you've obtained plenty of benefits in your time here, I'll be expecting more sweets and books in the future."Vahn had been listening to her speak and started organizing his tools as she stared at him with her icy blue eyes. The moment he placed down the last tool, he could feel his body become slightly weightless and he said, "I can move on my own, you don't have to force me." Evangeline ignored his words before dragging his body toward the bed and setting him down on top of it. She then crawled onto the bed before sitting in his lap and facing him with a blank expression on her face.Vahn stared into her eyes for a moment before closing his and relaxing with his arms loosely wrapped around her back. Evangeline placed her palms on his shoulders before bitting into his neck so that she could suck his blood. As it was the third time she had drained his blood, Vahn had made the proper mental preparations and wasn't affected by the initial bite or the warmth that started spreading in his body.Since she had learned her lesson from the previous incident, Evangeline didn't overexert herself by trying to drain Vahn's blood faster than he could replenish it. Instead, she drained his blood in a much slower fashion and drew out the time until just before Vahn was to be ejected from the orb.Vahn had been feeling pleasant for the entire process, so he didn't utter a single word or complaint till the moment his body began to dissolve. Since the process always started from his legs, Evangeline eventually fell slightly onto her butt when his legs disappeared. She looked at his vanishing figure with a blank expression and said, "Make sure you bring more stuff when you return. These books won't last for four years. I also want wine and other baked goods, not just cake."Vahn released a humorous sigh as he smiled toward Evangeline and said, "Don't worry, I won't forget, Evangeline." At this point, he had disappeared up to his torso, but right before Vahn completely vanished, he reached out his hand and pat the small girl on the head. She immediately frowned before knocking away his hand and saying in a sharp voice, "Don't treat me like a child, and call me Master! M-A-S-T-E-R!"In response to her outrage, Vahn just laughed as the last remnants of his body disappeared. He wanted to retort that, after his dream, he couldn't help but see her as anything more than a child that just wanted to be spoiled. Of course, though he kept this thought in his mind, he would never say it out loud. Vahn knew that her trauma had been caused by her long life and immature figure, and it would be the same as treating her tragic life as a joke. Since she was treating him better, he intended to find a few sweets that the other girls liked before bringing them back for Evangeline to try.Vahn opened his eyes back in the real world and looked around in a manner similar to how he had within the orb. The same as then, he could see everything around in an incredible amount of detail. Not only the air, but Vahn could see rainbow colored particles floating around if he focused his eyes. He understood that they were the elemental energies naturally present in the world, and he could even influence them a bit if he expanded his domain. Presently, he could easily manipulate the fire elements, but he only had a marginal amount of control over all the others.After focusing for a few minutes, Vahn felt like his eyes were 'swelling', like there was a pressure coming from the inside, so he decided to stop focusing his sight. He noticed that, the harder he focused, the more energy it took to maintain the vision. Vahn was a little confused about why, since it seemed to be the passive effects of the ability, it used energy and focus to maintain the effect. He attributed it to his inability to use the ability properly. With that thought in mind, Vahn decided to head toward the training area since it was still pretty early.Strangely, when Vahn left his room, Anubis wasn't present for the first time. Scanning his eyes toward her room, Vahn noticed that he couldn't perceive her aura like he had been able to in the past. Vahn felt a little worried, so he expanded his domain to cover more than 300m, which was large enough to encompass the entirety of the house. Closing his eyes to focus, Vahn realized there were no presences other than himself within his mind. Turning his attention to his minimap, the blue signals that would typically represent allies were also missing, which confirmed his suspicions. Presently, even though it was only around 7 AM, there was nobody in the house other than himself.Vahn looked around the property a bit and even investigated the two rooms where the children stayed. Seeing that there was no damage or signs of a fight, Vahn assumed nothing had happened, and they were likely taken out by Anubis early in the morning. Since it was the weekend and they had time off, Vahn didn't think it was beyond the realm of possibilities. He had just grown so accustomed to Anubis in the past few days that it was a bit unnatural for her not to be around.While he was walking toward the training area, Vahn realized he would have been able to detect if there was a problem due to the fact that he slept with his domain spread. Nothing had triggered throughout the night, and the time he had spent in the orb was actually only a few seconds in reality. He still had difficulty wrapping his head around the time dilation when moving to and from the space within the orb.After allaying his own concerns, Vahn focused his mind after arriving at the training area so he could recover the energy he had expended earlier. Once he had recovered to his optimal state, Vahn opened his eyes and wanted to try the active ability of his [Eyes of Truth]. The description was a bit vague, but recalling the birth and destruction of the cosmos from his dream, Vahn felt like there was a lot of potential hidden in the skill 'Oblivion'.Vahn spread out his domain to encompass the entire training field and focused his eyes on a large stone roller that had been set up for weight training. The colors of the stone inverted, and Vahn was able to see its internal structure which comprised of inert and earth elemental energy. It looked a lot like static, and it was difficult to keep his focus on the object because of the variation in its composition and depth. It was almost like his vision was able to sift through the object like he was visually pushing through particles of sand.Taking several deep breaths, Vahn tried to focus on an individual point within the rock as he activated 'Oblivion'. The moment he activated his skill, he was able to see a small light appear within the stone roller, but the moment he stared at it, it blinked out of existence and Vahn felt a painful headache as a large amount of energy was drained from his body. It took a few minutes, but Vahn was finally able to recover and stabilize his breathing.Vahn was confused about how to use the skill, so he kept reading the description while trying to make sense of some hidden principle he didn't understand. The light he had seen inside the rock was eerily reminiscent of the small light that had led to the birth of an entire universe, and Vahn actually hoped that wasn't the case. If he 'accidentally' created a cosmos within the rock, there was a chance he would destroy the entire record, himself included.Considering his current soul tier and the strength of his other Innate skills, Vahn assumed this wasn't the case, but he was still a bit unnerved by the tiny light that consumed nearly half of his energy in an instant. After recovering his energy, Vahn began analyzing the rock with his sight again to see if he could find any changes. No matter how long he looked, he couldn't find any changes to the structure and composition of the rock.Taking a deep breath to prepare himself for the large energy expenditure, Vahn tried to focus on a specific point of the rock as he recalled the description of 'Oblivion', which said, 'All things in creation are born from and return to oblivion.' Vahn felt like the keywords were 'born' and 'return', so he tried focusing on the aspect of 'return' as he directed his intent inside the stone roller. He had assumed that the light he saw earlier was 'birth', so now he wanted to apply the opposite principle.The moment the skill activated, Vahn could see a black, translucent sphere expand from the point where his vision was focused. Vahn could feel his energy begin to deplete rapidly the larger the sphere grew, so he stopped channeling the skill and noticed that the sphere immediately vanished. Releasing a long sigh, Vahn fell onto his butt and drew long breaths as he tried to recover his energy. Once his breathing stabilized, he crossed his legs and tried to meditate while focusing on the [Mantra of Eternity]. Though he had yet to understand a single part of it, Vahn had learned that focusing on the sound made his mental energy replenish faster.After recovering his energy, Vahn focused his eyes on the stone roller once again to see if there had been any changes. The moment his vision penetrated to the core of the roller, Vahn noticed that there was now a void within the interior of the structure. Curious, Vahn approached the roller and split it in two with a quick chop of his hand. With the [Fist Strike] skill he had learned from Tiona, Vahn was able to insert his energy into his hands and shape it during strikes. This time, he used his energy like a blade and bisected the stone roller with ease.As expected, Vahn was able to confirm that what his vision had seen was accurate. The entire inside of the stone roller now had a spherically shaped void which was previously solid stone. Vahn was able to confirm the second use of the 'Oblivion' skill, which seemed to give him the ability to 'return', or 'destroy', matter. There wasn't even any dust on the inside and the spherically shaped hollow was almost flawless as if it had been polished for hours.Now that he had confirmed the second ability, Vahn wanted to try using the first ability to 'birth' or 'create'. After a bit of consideration, Vahn decided to focus his vision on the air instead of the inside of an object. Since there was nothing for his vision to be drawn to, it was actually far more difficult to pinpoint his vision on a specific spot. After failing several times, Vahn finally managed to keep his vision focused long enough to trigger the creation ability of 'Oblivion'. Since he still had a bit of inhibition about accidentally creating an entire cosmos, Vahn tried to focus his intent on a specific material.In the middle of the air, where Vahn's vision was focused, a bluish dot appeared and slowly began to increase in size. Unlike the black sphere, the energy drain of the blue sphere was incredibly exhaustive. By the time the sphere had grown to the size of a marble, Vahn had nearly collapsed into a state of 'Mind Down'. After he cut off the ability, the blue light disappeared and a small metal ball fell from the air. Though he was still struggling for air, Vahn moved forward and picked up the flawless, silver, bearing that he had created from nothing. The material he had tried to create was Iron, and he had managed to make around a tenth of a gram at the expense of almost all of his energy.A/N: Pure Iron looks like silver, but is less reflective. Google is your friend.)(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Jiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-','Aggressively stares at nothing','Missing Puppers, please call the owner if found')

Vahn awoke after four hours of rest and turned to see that Evangeline was still at her desk and translating books. After stretching a bit, Vahn asked with a yawn, "Do you not sleep?" Evangeline's pen stopped moving as she looked over at him with cold eyes and said, "What, did you expect me to sleep in the same bed that you occupy? I'm not one of your little girlfriends in the outside world."Rubbing his head to alleviate the awkwardness, Vahn couldn't help but frown a bit as he said, "I wasn't asking you to sleep at the same time, I was just curious since it's been almost an entire day and you're still awake." Evangeline's brows furrowed a bit as she turned away and continued writing in her journal without responding to his question. Vahn just shook his head before leaving the bed and continuing his work in processing the materials.Unlike the prior day, when Evangeline would constantly interrupt to ask him questions, she seemed to be keeping to herself which allowed Vahn to make steady progress. This was now the beginning of the fifth day since he started processing materials, and he had been intended to begin forging equipment soon. Every time he named an item after forging, he would gain marginally more OP than the requisite materials used in its construction. Vahn was excited by the prospect of creating an infinite loop which allowed him to gain experience, OP, and Valis when he sold the items later. Unlike equipment purchased from the system, he could give away the items he forged without relying on the 'gift' function in the system.Since he had been naming so many items, Vahn had inspected his [Keeper of the Akashic Tome] through the system and learned a very pleasant fact. Even though the system time showed the passage of time in the real world, the cooldowns on his abilities seemed to be tied to the passage of time within the orb. His original 60-day cooldown was already less than 39 days, even though only around two weeks had passed in the real world. At this rate, he could reduce the cooldown on his abilities by around 7 days per actual day that passed in the real world. (A/N: 6 days in the space, 1 day in the real world.)With all this new information, Vahn forged in high spirits and wanted to improve his skills as much as he could before the cooldown finally came to an end. He planned to use part of the time till then to create the framework for an item which he intended to name using the power of his Innate skill, instead of the traditional naming method. He already had a few ideas in mind and was trying to decide which of them would be the most optimal for his future progress. Though it wouldn't have the same power as the original, if Vahn decided to forge a sword and name it Excalibur, he knew that it would possess a fragment of the power of the original. If he put effort into it, it would even be able to grow and exceed the original in the future.Right now, Vahn didn't have much need for equipment, since his [Rakshasa Body] gave him incredible fighting potential. He also had [Enkidu] as well as his [Will of the Emperor] which would give him an edge over almost anyone. However, this didn't mean he had no interest in equipment at all since the idea of wielding cool looking armor and weapons made him feel excited. Even if he didn't use them much, just being able to wear them would be awesome.Vahn knew these were all matters for the future, so he didn't spend too much time thinking about it. Once he got out of the space, he would have a lot of recreational time to consider things, so, for now, he continued to forge the large weapon he started earlier. After seeing the 'Urga' of Tiona, Vahn had wanted to try creating a similar weapon. Even with his powerful physical strength, he still had trouble handling the metal after realizing how difficult it was to work with a heavy and long object.It took him nearly twelve hours to shape the 140kg piece of metal into the correct shape while ensuring it had proper balance. Without the support of his domain and control over fire, Vahn would have been unable to complete the weapon, since it was far more difficult than he had expected. After consideration, he mocked himself for making it all as one part instead of creating a mold for the individual blades and then linking them together later. However, since it was all one piece during its construction, the mana circuits were linked properly and the entirety of the blade was far more durable. He had used a triple layer composite of adamantine for the core, mithril to act as a cushion and conduit around that with reinforced magisteel lining the edges.Vahn held the gigantic weapon that was longer than he was tall, and marveled at his own personal achievement. For the time being, this was his greatest masterpiece, and he even considered holding onto it until the cooldown of his Akashic Tome had ended so he could give it a powerful name. Eventually, he decided against waiting, because he was curious how much OP he would get from completing a weapon that far exceeded even his own expectations. After a bit of deliberation, he decided to name the weapon [Dance of the Amazon] after imaging Tiona jumping around and cutting through monsters in her characteristic lively movements. The moment he decided on the name, Vahn obtained 3,705 OP from the system and couldn't help but smile at the result.[Dance of the Amazon]Rank: A (Magic)Slots: 0P.Atk: 911+90M.Atk: 83Ability: Impact Dampening(B), Hardening(C), Crushing Blow(A)A gigantic weapon comprised of two blades meticulously crafted to be well balanced for ease of use. Uses a triple-layer-composite to increase the durability and striking potential of the weapon. This weapon carries the will of its creator and the hope that it will allow the wielder to dance freely amongst their enemies. Creates a thin barrier of wind around the wielder that increases agility.Seeing the description, Vahn couldn't help but be pleased with his own workmanship. Though he didn't know how his [Dance of the Amazon] stacked up against Tiona's [Urga], he believed that his creation wouldn't be far behind. Remembering that her weapon had been made by a [Master Smith], Vahn grew excited at the prospect that he wasn't too far from that realm. His [Blacksmith] skill was already rank S, so the only thing he needed was experience, perseverance, and time.Evangeline had raised her head to stare at the gawking face of Vahn as he looked at the abnormally large weapon with a silly expression on his face. Before long, he started swinging around the sword to test its use, and her brows raised a bit when she saw the elemental energies of wind dancing around his body. Though she could tell he was very skilled at forging, she hadn't expected him to be able to create magical weapons with such ease. Generally speaking, it took a powerful catalyst like a magic core or artifact if you wanted to make a magical weapon, but Vahn was able to do it using his forging skills alone.Placing her pen down, she left the large chair Vahn had purchased for her and used Shundo to immediately close the distance between her and Vahn. Since he had been testing the weapon, Vahn had his domain focused and his senses heightened enough to be able to catch Evangeline's movements. He still couldn't catch her actual speed, but he was able to sense when she entered and exited the movement at the very least. Expecting her to suddenly attack, Vahn got into a position to intercept, but she just ended up standing in front of him and giving him a strange and amused look.Seeing the small girl looking at him in such a manner, Vahn couldn't help but feel a hint of embarrassment. If it wasn't for [Will of the Emperor] helping him maintain his calm, he expected that he might have blushed a bit. Before he asked, Evangeline answered his question, "I wanted to inspect that weapon you made. I can sense it possesses a magical ability as well as a powerful affinity for magic in general. It's actually pretty impressive that you're able to forge such a weapon considering your age. I guess your intentions of becoming a [Master Smith] aren't as baseless as I expected."Reaching out her hands to accept the weapon, Vahn looked at her for a moment before handing it over. It annoyed him how her 'compliments' always seemed to have sharp criticisms hidden inside them, but he was quickly learning that it was Evangeline's way of concealing her own emotions. Since he could easily see her aura, it was very difficult for her to fool him just based on her words and actions alone. Though Vahn still remained on guard a bit after his negotiations with Loki, he had quickly understood how to better read the aura by matching against the values in the system.After Evangeline received the [Dance of the Amazon], she was surprised when her hands dropped a few millimeters. Though she expected it to be heavy, it was a bit more than her assumption due to the adamantine core. Swinging it around a bit, she could feel the wind forming a small barrier around her that made her body feel lighter. With a slight smile on her face, she disappeared from in front of Vahn before reappearing nearly 200m away in an instant.Vahn was amazed by the sheer speed she was capable of achieving and wondered if he should ask her to teach him that movement. He could tell it was some kind of technique, but he wasn't able to understand the principles behind it presently. While he was a bit lost in thought, he saw Evangeline jump high into the air before coming to a stop. Vahn's brain started to buzz because the moment she came to a stop he could feel an incredible amount of magic flowing through the air like an endless tidal wave that made him feel a bit pressured.Evangeline wanted to see how useful the giant weapon was as a magical catalyst and she was amazed by how smoothly her magic could consolidate and flow through the blade. She felt like the weapon in her hands could rival some of the masterpieces created by magical blacksmiths back in Mundus Magicus. If she hadn't seen the process herself from start to finish, she wouldn't have believed Vahn was the one who forged the item in her hands. After her magic reached a critical level, she spun around in the air once and struck out with the heavy weapon.From Vahn's perspective, the moment Evangeline spun around, the entire world seemed to slow down as the image in his eyes was magnified with an incredible amount of clarity. He felt like he could see every movement of the muscles beneath her skin and dress, and could even see the flow of the magic creating thousands of small magical circles in the air around her. The attack that shot out from [Dance of the Amazons] seemed to contain an irresistible force which collided with the ground and sent a shockwave that reached his position from 200m away, even though she had aimed in the opposite direction. Vahn stared in horror at the giant pillar that seemed to stretch to the heavens from where her magical energy had struck. By the time the light had disappeared, there was a canyon-sized hole with the infinite white space of the floor that slowly started regenerating.When Evangeline nodded her head with a satisfied look on her face, Vahn felt a sudden throb in his mind as both of his eyes started to emit a painful sensation which caused him to close them with a grimace. From her elevated position, Evangeline saw Vahn's state and had a questioning look on her face as she teleported next to him without saying anything. She could feel the mana in his body converging on his eyes and around his brain and knew that he had likely awakened something due to watching her earlier actions.After a few excruciating seconds, blood started to drips from Vahn's closed eyes and Evangeline began to worry as she watched him continue to struggle. Since she had no understanding of his magic system and origins, she didn't know what she could do to help. When Vahn fell to his knees and clutched his palms over his eyes, she felt a slight twinge in her heart as she grits her teeth and watched the process complete. It took nearly twenty minutes, but the energy began to stabilize in his body before he finally passed out.Vahn fell face first onto the ground with tears of blood dripping down his face, but he no longer had a pained expression. After sighing in relieve, Evangelina used telekinesis to pick up his body and lay him down on the bed. Using a handkerchief, she wiped the blood away from his face. After he was cleaned up, Evangeline stared at him blankly for a few minutes before she was unable to resist her own curiosity any longer. Using her index and thumb, she opened the eyelids of Vahn to inspect if there had been any changes to his eyes. Though he still had the same aquamarine colored iris, she could see there was a hint of azure blue around the pupils which glowed with a magical light.Evangeline released a long sigh as she let Vahn's eye return to a closed state. Everything about him was a mystery, and the longer she was around him, the more the mysteries seemed to deepen. Since she knew about his past from his own recounting of events, she began to wonder why those researchers had tracked him down in the first place. She knew it likely had something to do with his blood, but there seemed to be far more to the story than Vahn understood from the events. Sitting on the bed next to him, Evangeline watched his sleeping face with a bit of curiosity and intrigue in her eyes.(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Amazon bait','Forging Cheat','Jiiiiiiiiiiii-')

Chapter 158: Oblivion