Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

In Orario, there were very few festivals and holidays as the culture had simply never developed to the point that it celebrated specific events. Other than the Harvest Festivals, New Years, the Denatus, and the Monster Feria, there were simply no organized events that people came together to celebrate. With the change of governance, however, one of the ideas that the Civilian Legislative Branch had come up with was organizing more holidays to bring people together. Not only was this a good way to circulate currency and goods into the markets, but it was a good method to at least create the illusion that things were going well.From the perspective of normal citizens, the only reason such holidays could be celebrated was that things were stable enough that large events could be organized without any major issues occurring; essentially, it was a means which a governing body could show their 'confidence' and dictate the general atmosphere within the City. Of course, this didn't mean they could just shoe-horn in a new holiday without any preparations so the CLB had decided to schedule the current festival during the period where the Denatus would generally be held. Even the Guild had stepped in to help prepare the festival, borrowing from an ancient festival that was sometimes celebrated after long periods of peace, the Holy Moon Festival.When this festival was brought up, however, Vahn felt that something was definitely afoot, especially with how Hestia had been behaving lately. She would spend long periods of time just watching over the children in the maternity ward or simply staying cooped up in her room. Though she didn't give a reason for her behavior, it was plain to see that 'something' was very wrong. When the name of the festival was released, Loki and Hephaestus had actually gone to the Guild in order to pry out what exactly was going on from Ouranos. His only response was that they should try to enjoy the festival and, even though Hestia hadn't been brought up during their conversation, he advised that she get out and breathe in some fresh air...As a result, though he mainly just wanted to put a smile on her face, Vahn asked Hestia to accompany him during the Holy Moon Festival, even though the looks on his daughters' faces had been very heavy. This put Hestia in a slightly better mood but, even though she had a vibrant smile on her face while Vahn was leading her around the various stalls, it didn't quite reach her eyes. She would also turn absentminded periodically and he kept having to guide her around obstacles and release a subtle aura to make people walk around them. Most people already kept a fair amount of distance from them but there were children, drunkards, and general festival-goers that weren't exactly paying attention to their surroundings.Eventually, seeing that Hestia simply wasn't feeling the festival, Vahn reached out his hand and stroked her silky black hair, drawing her crystalline blue eyes toward him as he softly said, "If you're not feeling well, why don't we head back, Hestia...? We can just relax on the Manor's balcony and watch the moon together..." To this, Hestia tried her best to appear happy, smiling as she said, "No, I'm fine...really...we don't get many chances to go on dates together so, even if I'm a little distracted, I'm still enjoying our time together..." Though she had started off strong, Hestia's expression became progressively more melancholic as she was speaking. Vahn gently pulled her into his embrace, resting her head against his chest while stroking her hair in a gesture of comfort...So she wouldn't feel bad about them heading back early, Vahn continued to guide Hestia around the lesser populated areas while moving closer to Babel Plaza. Though it was a city-wide festival, most of the larger events were taking place in the open area of the Plaza while the majority of the streets were filled with temporary stalls. To get people out and about, most restaurants were serving customers outside so it felt like all of Orario was out and about, creating a very lively atmosphere. Of course, none of this really mattered to Vahn as he was more concerned with Hestia state of mind...at least until a group of four people walked out from an alleyway and immediately caught his attention.Seeing this group, Vahn released a sigh that caught Hestia's attention, causing her to look at the approaching group with mild interest. She saw a strange boy with white hair and red eyes, a very uncommon set of features that immediately allowed her to discern his identity. Surrounding him were three girls, one bespectacled human girl with a very prim and proper appearance, a rather diminutive Pallum, and a tomboyish looking Amazoness with a large grin revealing a slight snaggletooth. The Amazoness and the Pallum didn't seem to get along very well while the intelligent-looking human girl had a very tired expression that spoke volumes about the situation...Not long after Vahn had noticed him, Bell also noticed Vahn, seeing him as something of a savior as he broke free from the two arguing girls and waved his hand, exclaiming, "Vahn~! Hey, it's me, Bell, over here~!" The fact he was shouting like this, even though they had already established eye contact, gave Vahn an urge to flick Bell's forehead. His body seemed to agree with this sentiment as, without thinking about it too much, Vahn intercepted the charging boy, causing the latter's head to snap back like he just dodged under a crossbow bolt. Somewhat amusingly, this didn't actually knock Bell down and he managed to find his footing in an instant, rubbing his forehead as he said, "Ow...that wa-"No sooner than Bell had opened his mouth to complain, a brown fist zipped past his face, landing squarely in Vahn's hand as he flipped his wrist and tossed the unknown Amazoness into the air. Her eyes widened as she uttered a 'Wha...?' while trying to flip in the air and correct her center of gravity. Vahn didn't allow this, however, extending his hand outward and stabilizing her mid-air with telekinesis as he calmly stated, "I see you've made a new friend, Bell..." Instead of Bell responding, the Amazoness began kicking around in the air, screaming, "Ah, what the heck is this!? Let go of me you asshole...! Grrr, I'm going to..."Midway through her thrashing, the Amazoness became strangely silent, eyes widening as she moved her head in an appraising manner, getting a better look at Vahn before asking, "Hey...is your name Vahn...?" This brought a small smile to Vahn's face as he nodded his head, noticing the cold sweat building up on the yet unnamed Amazoness. Fortunately, Bell had managed to collect himself by now, waving both hands in a placating manner as he said, "Taliah didn't mean any harm, Vahn...she just...umm..." Not waiting for Bell to finish, Vahn flicked his hand up, sending Taliah barreling skyward with an 'Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh~!?" while the surrounding crowd watched on with both shock and amazement.Vahn watched as the girl disappeared toward the sky for a few seconds before turning his attention to the surprised Bell and patting his shoulder, saying, "It's good to see you, Bell. That goes for the two of you as well, Line, Plum...I'm glad you're all okay after that last fiasco..." Line and Plum had both looked skyward, turning slightly pale when Taliah's figure disappeared, but immediately snapped their attention to Vahn when he spoke their names. Both girls bowed politely as a somewhat awkward laugh issued from Line's through as she said, "Thank you for your concern..." As for Plum, she didn't seem to have any words suitable for the occasion and just kept glancing towards the sky for any sign of her bickering companion...Eventually, Hestia gently tugged at Vahn's sleeve and with a slightly reproachful look, said, "Vahn, it isn't nice to bully girls..." Since he had already taught her a lesson, Vahn knew it wouldn't be fair to Taliah to play around too much so, after nodding his head to Hestia, allowed her to begin falling. She wasn't in any real danger, even if he let her fall freely, but Vahn slowed her descent when she was nearing the street as a frantic 'Eeeeeeeeeeei-' slowly became audible to the onlookers. Deciding it would be 'for the best', Vahn looked towards Bell and said, "Make sure you catch her properly, okay...?"This caused Bell's eyes to widen before he adopted a humorously serious expression and said, "Right!" A few seconds later, the pitch of Taliah's scream increased exponentially as her figure came into view, falling like a heavy stone towards the ground. She was actually falling much slower than the normal acceleration of gravity so Bell managed to catch her in a bridal carry as the young Amazoness breathed heavily like a startled rabbit. Vahn was just about to tease her a little but his words got stuck in his throat as, contrary to her appearance and behavior, Taliah's eyes began to water as she tightly clung to Bell and began to bawl rather loudly...Realizing he had taken things a bit too far, Vahn kept his teasing words to himself and nearly reached out his hand to placate her before Hestia 'swatted' it away and said, "You've done enough, Vahn~! Come, let's leave these four to their date in peace...!" Hestia no longer had an absentminded look on her face, which was a good thing, but Vahn couldn't help but hang his head in shame as she dragged him away amidst the laughter of the crowd. Vahn supposed the 'lull' over the last few weeks had been getting to him and, as the feeling of something 'wrong' still persisted in the back of his mind, it had slightly affected his judgment...maybe...?As this thought crossed his mind, Hestia's steps slowed to a crawl until she eventually came to a full stop and asked, "You did that to try and change the moody atmosphere I created...didn't you...?" Without waiting for his response, Hestia released a long sigh before turning around and tightly hugging Vahn's waist as she said, "I'm sorry for making our date so difficult for you, Vahn...I know you are working hard, even now...I should..." Not waiting for her to finish, Vahn tilted Hestia's chin upwards at a better angle, overlapping his lips with her's without minding the surrounding 'oohs' and 'aahs'.They kissed for a few seconds until Hestia, caught unprepared for the intimate gesture, snorted through her nose and tried to draw in air, without making an effort to actually break free from the kiss. Vahn eventually gave her a reprieve after a short while longer, noticing the slightly hazy look in her eyes as he said, "You can feel it...can't you...?" Hearing this, Hestia swallowed rather hard, nodding her head as she buried her red face into his chest to avoid having anyone see her directly. Because of the link they shared, Hestia could feel the care, concern, and 'love' that Vahn had for her right now, understanding her words were entirely unnecessary. Even so, she also had a small urge to beat him up because, just after she told him not to 'bully' girls, he 'bullied' her in public...Knowing she was embarrassed, Vahn just hugged Hestia against him and was preparing to fly off towards the Manor before a very familiar presence appeared within his domain. His body mood immediately soured before a 'calm' settled into his mind that caused Hestia to lift her head in confusion. She turned to face the same direction as, atop a stage set up on the edge of the Plaza, none other than Hermes began shouting in a very theatrical manner, "Ladies and Gentlemen, Mortals and Gods alike, please, may I have your attention...!"With his arms spread wide, and an exaggerated smile on his face, Hermes gesticulated to draw attention to himself as he continued, "Listen if you stand far; Watch if you stand close! My friends, lend me your ears and, should you find yourself emboldened, call out your name if you've got what it takes! Here before you, for one night only, a legendary spear rumored to answer to but a single owner lays embedded in an indestructible crystal. Should the spear find you worthy, not only shall you receive the blessing of the Goddess of Purity, but the Guild has decreed that he or she that is able to wield this spear will be invited on an all-expenses trip to explore one of the most sacred regions of the entire world! Now, come forth, test your fate against this spear and prove to the entire City that you have what it takes to be a true hero~!"Following Hermes' shouts, the large group of Adventurers and citizens that had gathered all shouted out, cheering in response. Hermes had produced an official document that was signed and sealed by the Guild, proving the validity of his claims and guaranteeing the reward was legitimate. Since most people rarely ventured outside of Orario, leaving the City on a Guild-sponsored trip was a rather exciting prize. Several people immediately shouted out their names, trying to scramble up to the stage to be the first to pull the ornate spear that was embedded into a mound of mystical blue crystal. Vahn had already inspected both of them with his [Eyes of Truth], shocked to see that the spear was actually impossible for him to inspect while the crystals had an incredibly powerful sealing formation, unlike anything he had ever seen before.Hestia, however, was much more focused on Hermes himself, her aura flaring up as the generally calm and gentle expression she was known for turned icy. Hermes seemed to have sensed this as well, shivering noticeably as his words got caught in his mouth, mid-sentence. He had been trying to rile up the current Adventurer to try his luck against the spear and now focused his gaze towards Vahn and Hestia, the smile on his face twitching slightly. He recovered very quickly though and, likely in an effort to smoothen things over, pointed theatrically towards Vahn and shouted, "Aha, if it isn't the famous Vahn Mason~! If anyone has a chance to free this spear, it must certainly be the strongest Adventurer within the City, no~?"Though many people had long-since noted Vahn's presence, they now got caught up in the momentum of Hermes' words and began cheering to get Vahn up on the stage. The man who had been struggling to pull out the spear previously used the opportunity while everyone else was distracted to sneak away from the stage while those who had been waiting in line made room. As for Vahn himself, his expression was calm as a placid lake, staring down Hermes with an unwavering gaze. He had already expected something to happen during this festival, especially with how the Guild had been acting, and it looked like Hermes had indeed been involved...meaning the 'Goddess of Purity' he mentioned had to be Artemis...(A/N: For those confused about why Artemis was thrown into the story at this point, its because, though the movie isn't canon, the timeline fits. Someone made a contribution through Paypal requesting that Artemis be included in the story, likely because of the Arrow of Orion event going on in the phone game recently...? Anyways, enjoy how things play out (o 3 o)...Also, this is one of three chapters I've written so far...? Well, I'll try to write the other two later x_x...)(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'The Guild is playing dangerous games...','Fly, you fool...!','The plot thickens...'')

Though he had more than a few questions for Hermes, Vahn didn't want to cause a scene in front of so many people, especially since this was an 'official' event. Every action he took had potentially far-reaching repercussions and, as this was supposed to be a festive celebration for the people, Vahn didn't want to ruin the atmosphere. Thus, after lightly patting Hestia's shoulder and earning a small nod, Vahn made his way up to the stage. Hermes' orange eyes looked slightly troubled and, without Vahn having to say anything, quietly, "I know you've been looking for me...don't worry, I will explain things later..." Then, changing gears in an instant, Hermes gestured grandly and said, "Everyone, give it up for the Sage Aldrnari, Vahn Mason! Let's show him our support and see if he can't release the legendary spear from its crystallized prison~!"As Hermes was riling up the crowd, Vahn was trying to analyze the spear but couldn't even identify a single one of its properties, nor its composition. The inside of the spear seemed to contain 'nothing', almost like it was an illusion, even though it was very clearly a physical object. On the other side of the spear, Hestia was looking up at him with her clear blue eyes, a look of support and confidence in her unwavering gaze. Vahn returned a smile to her and, amidst the cheering of the crowd, placed his hand on the spear's handle. A thread of energy that would have been indiscernible to normal people tried to enter through his palm, causing Vahn's eyes to squint slightly as he felt it 'collide' against the membrane protecting his soul.The spear, similar to the [Saint's Halberd]s wielded by Maemi and Emiru, had tried to inspect his soul, perhaps trying to test its purity, but was ultimately unable to influence it, even a little. When this thread tried to 'escape', Vahn caused his Source Energy to restrict around it as his [Eyes of Truth] tried to make sense of the thread's identity. There was a subtle 'intent' contained within it and, having experienced it several times, Vahn knew there was also Divinity present, even though he wasn't able to discern what kind. Since it had also tried to 'siphon' some of his Source Energy, ultimately being unsuccessful, Vahn decided to turn the tables and used [Yggdrasil's Blessing] to insert his energy directly into the spear.As if it was truly alive, the 'thread' began to wriggle around in a panic as it tried to return to the spear, which now began to peel away its muted grey exterior and gain a golden hue reminiscent of [Enkidu]. Vahn found this interesting and was about to break the spear away from the crystals until a feminine voice, not belonging to Sis, appeared in his head, exclaiming, ("Ano...please let me go...!") Since there was a great deal of anxiety contained within the voice, Vahn stopped restraining the thread of Divinity and allowed it to retreat back into the spear. As it did so, runes began to light up along its length as a relieved sigh sounded in his mind, followed by, ("I'm not sure if you are my Orion, but the purity of your energy is unlike anything I have ever seen...I will place my trust in you...")Following these words, Vahn felt the 'intent' leave the spear as the sealing formation contained within the crystals shattered, destroying them in the process. He was left holding onto the spear, which was slowly regaining its dull luster, while the crowd went wild. Hermes had a slightly confused expression on his face but, after a few seconds passed, managed to come to his senses as he shouted, "As expected of the strongest Adventurer! It looks like the winner of today's prize is none other than Vahn Mason! Now, to bestow him the promised prize, allow me to introduce the sponsor of today's event, the Goddess of Purity, Artemis~!"Hermes gestured towards the back of the crowd, drawing everyone's attention to an inordinately beautiful goddess long blue hair, styled ornately with two pointed bangs framing her face, fringe extending past her collarbone, and a partial braid in the back that was tied together by a white ribbon and fastened with golden accessories. She also possessed beautiful green eyes that, much like Hestia's glimmered like 'pristine' gemstones that felt like they could ensnare anyone that gazed into them for too long. As for her outfit, it consisted of a pale blue and white outfit that exposed the shoulders and snaked around her neck in a loop. Around her waist, she had a white sash folded over a brown belt that was adorned with metal plating on the side. Completing this outfit, Artemis had long brown boots that had crisscrossing straps extending to the middle of her thighs...Everyone was stunned by her appearance but, having followed the 'intent' from the spear, Vahn had witnessed the moment when Artemis 'appeared'. Previously, the spot she now stood at had been empty and, until the intent had escaped the spear, the only gods present were Hestia and Hermes. However, even with Artemis' appearance, this fact hadn't changed and Vahn was able to identify that, whatever was standing before him, was certainly not Artemis. Even so, Hestia's eyes widened when she saw her companion goddess, shouting, "Artemis...!" as she began running towards her friend.As if she were responding to Hestia's exclamation, Artemis also moved forward with a hurried pace, a 'longing' gaze in her pristine green eyes as she completely bypassed Hestia's charge and leaped towards the stage. Hestia's arms closed on empty air, a face that could serve as the textbook example of sublime confusion as she looked back to see Artemis now resting in Vahn's left arm. He had caught her out of the air and now held the 'goddess' rather ridiculously soft body against his. Though they weren't nearly as large as Hestia's, Artemis had two full breasts that could actually rival Hestia's own softness. Presently, Artemis was pressing the two shapely mounds against his chest as she tightly embraced his body and said, "I'm glad to have finally met you...my Orion..."The crowd, which had been stunned by the presence of Artemis, now began catcalling and cheering for Vahn, some even stating, 'another goddess has fallen' while Hestia continued to stare blankly at the stage. Hermes stepped in at this point, gathering the attention of the crowd as he said, "That concludes this evening's event! I pray that everyone enjoys the rest of the Holy Moon Festival to the fullest. As a consolation prize to those who feel as though they lost their opportunity to shine, the adjacent shops have all been informed to provide free alcohol for the remainder of the evening! Make sure to toast our young hero, Vahn Mason, and the beautiful Goddesses, Artemis and Hestia~!"Hermes' words caused more than just those who had gathered around the stage to begin cheering, the majority of them dispersing towards the already prepared stalls who had hundreds of disposable glasses prepared to hand out. At the same time, Hestia ran up on the stage with a face of extreme confusion, concern, and moderate relief as she separated Vahn and Artemis, turning to the latter to say, "Artemis, what are you doing here? How do you know Vahn? Why didn't you tell me you were in Orario? I was very worried, you know!?" As if she had just noticed Hestia for the first time, Artemis showed a face of surprise before it turned into a warm smile, followed by her embracing Hestia as she said, "Hestia, it is good to see you...I'm sorry to have worried you..."Hestia, being much shorter than Artemis, found her face pressed into the latter's breasts as she tightly hugged her companion goddess. Vahn, however, had slightly furrowed brows until Hermes stepped close to his side and whispered, "I will explain the situation in detail later. Even if you have noticed it, please do not tell Hestia...it will devastate her..." With Hermes' words, Vahn's suspicions were immediately answered and he was barely able to restrain his aura from exploding outward. He had been wondering what exactly this 'Artemis' in front of him was supposed to be but, after hearing Hermes' words, was able to infer the likely answer...this Artemis wasn't her real self, just a fragment of her intent that manifested itself from the remnant Divinity contained within the spear...Though he didn't say anything, Hestia had sensed the changes in Vahn and tears had started to build in her eyes, even as her face showed confusion. She muttered an 'Eh...?' before wiping away her tears and asking, "Why am I crying...? Vahn...?" Hermes moved forward like he was going to smooth over things but Artemis beat him to it, hugging Hestia even tighter as she asked, "Hestia, how do you know my Orion? You said his name was Vahn...are the two of you close?" This seemed to be enough of a distraction for Hestia who, upon being asked such a question, immediately smiled radiantly with a blush on her face as she said, "There are so many things I have to tell you, Artemis! Come, you can stay at the Hearth Manor tonight and I'll introduce you to everyone. We can talk-"This time, Hermes did step forward, breaking into the conversation as he said, "It's fine if the two of you play catch up for the evening, but there is a pretty tight schedule we need-" Placing his hand rather firmly on Hermes' shoulder, bringing a halt to the god's words, Vahn smiled toward Artemis and Hestia, saying, "I'll send you two back to the Hearth Manor and hear about the details from Hermes before making my way back as well. I know you have some catching up to do, but please inform the others to gather so I can catch them up to speed when I arrive..." Before his words had even finished, Terra appeared at Vahn's side with a curious glint in her eyes as she asked, "You called me, Master~?"Vahn nodded his head, indicating towards the two goddesses as he said, "Take Hestia and Artemis back to the Manor, please, Terra..." As she could sense the 'urgency' in her Master's voice, Terra gave a curt nod and, before Hestia and the somewhat startled Artemis could react, all three of them vanished from the stage. At the same time, Vahn put even more pressure into his grip on Hermes' shoulder as he said, "You and I have a lot to talk about, Hermes...as for your schedule, I assure you that the mode of travel at my disposal is much faster than anything you could prepare. Now tell me...is the real Artemis still alive...?"Though he didn't much appreciate the vice-like grip that felt like it was going to crush his shoulder, Hermes' expression didn't change much as he said, "I honestly never expected that the spear would choose you, though, considering you are in Hestia's Familia...perhaps it is fate...?" Vahn squinted his eyes, a very real threat contained within them that caused Hermes' smile to break slightly before he answered, "Artemis is still alive...which is part of the issue we are facing right now...you see, she is currently in a state much worse than death itself, Vahn...Artemis has been devoured. We are not sure how, but her Arcanum had manifested itself after a monster named Antares consumed her...if we do not kill Artemis, liberating her from that monstrosity, there may not be any force in the mortal world that could stop all life from being wiped out...!"Upon hearing Hermes' words, Vahn's mind had turned completely calm since he didn't want to stress out Hestia, even though part of him wanted to rip Hermes to shreds. With a dull monotone sounding from his throat, Vahn said, "Explain to me how such a thing could have happened...how were you involved? Why did you conveniently leave the City right after I purchased the Hermes Familia...? And...what is your connection to Enyo...?" Hermes' expression didn't change during the first two questions, nor did it change during the last, but Vahn saw the slightest of fluctuations in the god's aura. This time, his hand squeezed with a bit too much force and a very loud cracking sound emanated from Hermes' shoulder as he drew in a cold breath, a slight aura of Divinity radiating off of his body.Jerking his shoulder free of Vahn's grasp, Hermes' expression had turned extremely serious as he stated, "Damnit, Vahn, I'm not your enemy...! I thought you had more sense then this....tsk...!" Hermes couldn't even lift his left arm right now and there was an incredibly sharp pain radiating from his crushed shoulder as he clenched his teeth, explaining, "I don't have any connection with Enyo, outside of the fact I had been investigating her on behalf of the Guild. You should know that I'm a neutral party that simply collects information before selling it to the highest bidder. What would I have to gain from partnering up with a crazy goddess who is dead set on destroying the City? I don't know what you think of me, but you should at least be able to see that I have a vested interest in mortal affairs...damn...your power is starting to affect your rationality...!"The entire time Hermes was 'complaining', Vahn was looking for any signs that the god had been lying. He knew Hermes was the type that was almost impossible to read and, though his words made a lot of sense, Vahn also knew he was extremely manipulative as well. However, considering what Hermes said in greater detail, Vahn did agree that Hermes was the type that enjoyed the 'games' and none of his Divinities would point towards him wanting to destroy the City. From the brief contact they had made, Vahn could even see that Hermes' Affection towards him had been 93(Trust), though it had fallen to 88 after having his shoulder crushed.Realizing he had been steadily adapting to 'violent solutions' as of late, Vahn felt slightly guilty but didn't allow it to show on his face. Instead, he extended out his palm and sent healing energy through his domain while saying, "Explain how you ended up becoming involved in this event with Artemis..." Hermes released a sigh, his serious expression turning into one of mild exasperation as he said, "Artemis was the one to contact the Guild and requested help in conducting an investigation. Her Familia had been noticing a large influx in the number of powerful monsters around her territory and they suspected that Antares' seal was weakening. I was already scheduled to go an investigate before you even purchased my Familia...essentially, it was just a rather unfortunate coincidence..."With his shoulder now healed, Hermes rolled it a few times before adopting a somewhat 'sad' smile as he added, "This is a major incident that none of us have any experience dealing with. The Guild wanted to keep it under wraps while Artemis herself desires a pure-hearted Hero to save her...we're fortunate that you are the one to have taken up that spear, Vahn, as the chances of success have gone up exponentially. You must journey to where Antares is located and use that spear to end the tragic existence that Artemis has become...if we are unable to act before it is able to fully use her Arcanum, even the combined effort of every god in the mortal world would be powerless to act..."Though a god could activate their Arcanum in the real world, it would eject them long before they were able to achieve full activation. At best, they would only be able to manifest around 5% of their power before the world itself rejected them, making it functionally impossible to defeat a monster that was able to use the full power of a god's Arcanum. Nothing like this had ever happened since the gods had started descending into the mortal world and Hermes had already confirmed that Artemis' statue in Heaven had cracked. Her Arcanum was currently fully manifested and nobody knew what would happen if a monster was able to master its use...if they didn't kill Artemis and severe the connection between her and Antares, the mortal world itself would fall to ruin...(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'You ain't sneaky...!','Hestia, don't cry (T ^ T)...!','Before the fall...')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE

After issuing his ultimatum to the former Nobles, Vahn made good on his promise and decimated the properties of the Deval and Walder families. Anyone with a dark aura who stood in his way met their ends while, at the same time as this was occurring, the government facilities and extraneous properties of the former most powerful families in the City were seized. This event had struck Orario like a natural disaster, bringing sudden and unexpected changes to the status quo and everyday life. Fortunately, with the combined efforts of the Alliance, the Guild, and the newly established Civilian Legislative Branch, the transition was proceeding with only a few minor hiccups.During the days following this transformative event, the Civilian Legislative Branch made public the majority of the former Nobles' crimes, providing documentation and written accounting of many events, some dating back over a century. This caused a massive public outrage who, now knowing the 'full extent' of the Nobles' crimes, and feeling emboldened by the support of three massive factions, began to rally and protest outside of the various Manors within the City. Public order was maintained by the forces of the Alliance and, in order to 'appease' the citizens of Orario, the first trials presided over by the CLB were held. In the end, most of the former Nobles lost the majority of their properties, as many had been illegally seized in the first place, and hundreds of billions of Valis had to be paid out in reparations.The majority of these funds were accounted for by the newly established treasury, operated in coordination between the Alliance, Guild, and CLB. To prevent Misappropriation, Fortuna was placed in charge of the funds and publically tasked with using them to invest in the infrastructure of Orario. Though she was a goddess belonging to the Alliance, Fortuna had operated for more than six-hundred years as the leader of one of the most influential and trustworthy Merchant Familia in the entire City. She enjoyed a rather extreme reputation as being a fair businesswoman and, as a patron Goddess of Fortune, was considered the best possible candidate to manage the rather massive amount of funds.This also served to emphasize the fact that the three most powerful organizations in the City were cooperating together, a stark contrast to how the Nobles had rather selfishly regulated things. Since many new laws were established, the majority extremely beneficial for common citizens, there were few people that felt any sympathy for the former Nobles. In fact, the biggest reactions came from the few Dwarven Merchants who still tried to trade within the City, and the remaining criminal organizations. The former was forced to leave the City, packing up their goods on the spot and told to await a detailed evaluation of trade benefits, an audit of goods exchanged over the last 50 years, and the renegotiation of trade treaties. As for the latter, they had already been pressured greatly by the Alliance and, after this 'power play', the majority of the powerful criminal Familia issued orders to lay low, seemingly disappearing to tide over the transition since nobody wanted to be Vahn's next target...As a result of this latest action, people were genuinely referring to Vahn as the 'Emperor of Orario', a nickname that was only made in good humor previously. Though he didn't hold the actual position, it was an accepted fact that Vahn was not only the most powerful, he was also the most influential person in the entire City. Some even began to claim he was the most influential person on the entire continent, at least in regards to mortals. He could act with impunity, purportedly answering only to his 'wives', and enjoyed the full support of the Alliance, the Civilian Legislative Branch, the Elven Kingdom, and, though it has never publically been stated, the Guild. It was even rumored that, if Vahn declared war on the Iron Hills, which seemed rather likely, the entire might of Orario would be at his disposal...almost like the army of an actual Emperor. The simple truth of the matter is, there were actually a number of people who were looking forward to such a development while some taverns were even running odds and accepting bets for whether the Alliance would go to war with the Iron Hills or the Rakia Kingdom first...While such discussions were occurring, Vahn himself was busy spending time with his family, watching over the construction of both Haven and Spero, and doing his best to research various topics, including the materials produced by his union with Freya, the change in her Avatar, and possible solutions for Diana's 'voice'. As he had expected, she quickly became friends with Erika and was actually quite the studious girl, even though her true passion seemed to be drawing and singing. This also made her close with Alexa, Vana, Lenneth, Aisha, and, though he would likely never admit it, Masonia. Syr spent a lot of time watching over her while also educating Vahn's four new Maids about their duties while helping them to navigate some of the secret passageways of the Manor.Keeping his promise to Freya, Vahn also discussed the matter of her being able to spend more time with Lenneth and, though some restrictions were put into place, there wasn't that much resistance to the idea. So long as she was accompanied by one of the goddesses, or Vahn himself, Lenneth could freely visit the Southern Manor to spend time with her mother. Anubis had volunteered to be her permanant chaperone but, as she still spent most evenings at the School Dorm, Vahn didn't want to put that kind of responsibility on her. He wasn't so busy that he couldn't make time to visit Freya with Lenneth in tow, oftentimes bringing along Diana since Freya treated both girls rather affectionately. During some of these visits, Vahn also got to see the miniature Ottar, though his father was never present since Diana posed a very real threat, even to the 'King'...Other than some public appearances to show his support for the Civilian Legislative Branch, the most troublesome matters Vahn had to deal with were the ever-increasing affection of the Xenos, the growing tension of the expedition members on the 50th Floor, and the news of Bell constantly getting into trouble. Though the boy was growing very quickly, it seemed like an 'event' would happen every few days, causing Loki to vent her frustrations out on him when they were together. She had redacted his probation on Alicia's request but, three days after he began delving back into the Dungeon, Bell ended up triggering the spawn of the Goliath on the 17th Floor. He somehow managed to defeat it, activating his [Argonaut] for the first time, but ended up passing out on the 18th Floor after carrying both unconscious girls to the outskirts of the settlement...Vahn didn't really know what to do about Bell but, every time he had to pacify Loki, thoughts of using the [Fate Severing Knife] would enter his mind. If not for the fact that his general impression of the boy was more on the positive side, Vahn would have severed Bell's fate just to prevent him from inadvertently endangering others. However, as this was already within his expectations from the start, Vahn tried to show patience and understanding, especially since the trio had managed to avoid using an [Effigy of the Hero] in their battle. Line and Plum had only passed out from fatigue and light injuries, which was also the only reason Loki didn't 'castrate' the rather peculiar boy on the spot...In this manner, a surprising 'lull' had descended upon Vahn's life as the days turned into weeks before slowly transitioning into a full month. As though happening in the blink of an eye, stability slowly returned to the City and, without Enyo's forces showing up even once, the first phase of Haven's construction had completed. At the same time, Spero had now turned into a rather exotic and fantastical land with massive trees twining about each other, forming strange residential structures that towered over a lagoon-like floor where Marie's figure could often be seen. There were now several Xenos was 'humanoid' forms, being Gros, Lyd, and Gryuu, while a large number had slowly started to naturally make the transition, gaining human-esque features.During his research with Ray, who had become progressively more 'troublesome' to deal with, Vahn quickly discovered that the 'evolution' of Xenos wasn't actually difficult to trigger. So long as they trained hard, consumed a very large amount of mana-rich resources, and genuinely desired the change, the Xenos were capable of rapidly evolving. Since many of them, especially after seeing their leadership change, now genuinely desired such forms, their changes had been happening very rapidly. Vahn noticed that these changes occurred much faster in the female Xenos, specifically those in the 'troublesome' category...One of the very first to evolve under natural conditions was Naho, growing a pair of delicate and pale humanoid legs as her thorax completely vanished, leaving a small abdominal section like a tail above her now perky little butt. She could still weave silk, and had been making great strides towards the production of very high-quality cloth, but now looked closer to a human than an Arachne. Though her clingy personality hadn't changed in the slightest, Vahn had already adapted to her nature and no longer let it bother him, so long as she wore proper clothes...Following Naho were two of the Almiraj Xenos, Mlem and Arles, each gaining very dangerous appearances that made Vahn grateful their village was more of a rumor at the moment than common knowledge. As their Almiraj forms were only the size of large rabbits, the two girls assumed forms that were only 88cm and 90cm tall respectively. Though they didn't exactly look like children, with somewhat more rounded figures with relatively short limbs, Vahn still felt they were 'dangerous' with their adorable bunny ears, fluffy tail tufts, and the tiny horns on their foreheads. It took them several days to get accustomed to wearing clothing as well, as only Arles even had experience with clothes as she often wore her tiny blue vest before her transformation...(A/N: Think Lalafells from Final Fantasy 14, or Harvin from Granblue Fantasy.)This was one of the bigger 'struggles' that Vahn had faced with the Xenos, as their propensity towards running around in the buff was deeply rooted in their mentality. It felt a little 'wrong' to tell them they 'needed' to wear clothes, as none of the Xenos minded the nakedness of their kin, but it was a necessary measure before they could begin interacting with other surface-dwellers. It was fortunate that, so long as he gave them the clothing personally, the Xenos would actually wear it until the fabric turned to rags. Vahn worked around this by making them relatively high-quality clothing that could withstand a lot of active movements, finally 'solving' the problem of what had started to quickly develop into a nudist colony...One of the happier developments among the Xenos was that their community had actually increased by two members, comprising of a second Silverback and what would be the fourth War Shadow Xenos. They had been found by Gros and Lyd after making rounds through some of the more common Hidden Villages. The two newcomers were very surprised that their desire to live on the surface became a reality almost immediately after their rebirth, quickly blending into the developing society. Vahn had joined the Xenos to celebrate the new arrivals, getting permission to bring along Vana as the first 'outsider' to Spero Village. She got along very well with the Xenos, to the point that she could naturally communicate with even the less intelligent members with ease. Vulcan also got along well with Gryuu, though only after they had a spar where the latter came out ahead...Overall, things were going very well and, as a result of this simple fact, Vahn knew things were actually growing progressively more dangerous. He didn't know what would 'break' first, be it an attack from Enyo, some scheme from an unknown enemy within the City, or if Bell's 'fate' would come into play at an inopportune moment. Since there was a Denatus taking place very soon, Vahn suspected it would happen around that time, considering that it was often during such inconvenient instances that events would take place. With most of the gods gathered at the Denatus, and the majority of Adventurers taking a break from the Dungeon, it was the 'perfect' time for something unexpected to occur...In preparation for this, Vahn discussed the matter with everyone, both within the Manor and inside of the Dungeon, making sure they were all on the same page. As a result, Loki immediately put Bell under temporary house arrest, telling him to 'explore the City and take the girls on dates' until after the Denatus ended. Vahn also chose the 'completion' of the next event as the time when he would plant the Tree of Life so he began making preparations to ensure everything in the City was relatively stable since Terra would temporarily have to enter the Dungeon. Before then, he would be escorting some of the girls out of the Dungeon so their forces weren't consolidated in a single area. Once the teleportation ward was established, moving between the surface and the 50th Floor would be much easier, so it was a necessary measure to take in order to avoid the worst case scenario...During this momentary lull, Vahn also took some time out of his schedule to visit Sylfia back at the Elven Forest before bringing her back to 'explore' Orario for an afternoon. Though this caused a small commotion, Vahn didn't really care as it was also a good opportunity to discuss his intention of procuring 'retainers' and 'subordinates' for the future. Sylfia readily supported this aspiration though, considering the happy smile she had while clinging to his arm, Vahn felt like he could have said anything and she would have agreed to it. Later that same day, after introducing her to everyone at the Manor and Spera Village, Vahn returned Sylfia to the Elven Kingdom, avoided a lecture from her two caretakers, and declined an offer by Larfal to become the next Elven King...Vahn had suspected something to happen when he was escorting Sylfia around so he was a little surprised with how 'smoothly' things had gone, though he didn't drop his guard. Even when he was making plans to escort his daughters around during the upcoming festival, Vahn was on high alert and even had Terra fly around the City a few times to make sure there were no signs of Enyo's forces reappearing. Ever since the first batch was cleared out, there had been no signs of Enyo trying to place forces in hiding and, with Knossos being sealed off, there were few means by which an attack was even possible. Even so, especially since everything was proceeding without incident, Vahn never once dropped his guard, all the way until the day of the festival preceding the Denatus...(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'All Hail The Emperor, Vahn Mason','It feels like Vahn 'really' wants to use the [Fate Severing Knife]...','... ... ...'https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE

Chapter 847: Mood