Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Seeing the monstrosity before him was one thing but, hearing 'Enyo' refer to their struggle as something aking to a game to be played, Vahn's expression hardened once again. There were a few trump cards he had been holding in reserve, as he didn't want to destroy the surrounding Floor and the secrets it might contain, but this monster before him needed to be dealt with. He wasn't making any real headway and, though the changes in his Zhuque form had given him a small advantage, it wasn't anything to celebrate over...Just after the 'invitation' by the hundreds of masks, Vahn extended his domain until it completely contained the oozing black creature, saying, "Let's see how durable you really are...". This time, instead of attacking himself, Vahn used his domain as a medium and brought out ten small red marbles that glowed with a bluish-white radiance. If Zeus had been present, seeing just one of these marbles would have caused the arrogant god to sweat as each one contained even greater destructive force than the attack Vahn had used to teach the man a lesson. They were [Star Fire Spheres], created with his 'Oblivion' and comprised of a mixture of 80% pure Fire Elemental energy and 20% Star Elemental energy.Even Vahn didn't know how much devastation these ten marbles would cause so he immediately adopted a defensive posture, even though he should have relatively immunity to the attack. Enyo, however, closed the large maw in an instant, almost as if she were trying to devour the [Star Fire Spheres]. When he saw this, Vahn couldn't resist raising the side of his lips in a sneer as an absolute silence began to dominate the massive chamber. He could feel Enyo try to establish a link with him but, once again, Vahn simply ignored it as the surface of the black ooze began to bubble. A large volume of watery black liquid began to pool out from the giant dome which, for the first time, began to shrink at a discernable rate...As Vahn watched through his guard at what was going on, he saw 'Enyo' trying to force away the [Star Fire Sphere]s, each rising like bubbles on the black dome before rolling away to the side. This was an ultimately futile action as, without the black mass keeping them constrained, the spheres began to rapidly increase in size. Vahn noticed that he actually didn't feel any pain whatsoever, likely the result of his Zhuque form temporarily suppressing the nature of his [Magia Erebea]. Enyo was significantly less fortunate, as the bluish-white spheres of flame rapidly grew larger than the black dome and rapidly melted the surrounding Dungeon. The ceiling continued to rise as the liquid crystal drooped down, adding to the molten lake that had formed in the sinking Dungeon floor...Vahn was able to keep himself in position by creating footholds in the air but he noticed that even the mana in the surroundings was getting pushed away very quickly. This attack was turning out to be even bigger than he expected, even though it hadn't actually reached critical mass and exploded just yet. He never expected that the spheres would begin to fuse together, increasing the destructive force in a way he couldn't predict. Vahn felt that, if he didn't do anything, it was likely that the surrounding Floors would all be destroyed when the attack completed. This would destroy the Observation room and, though not likely, there was a chance the explosion may even be able to reach Haven...Instead of defending himself, Vahn extended his palms towards the constantly expanding blue star and tried to take control of the Flame Elemental energy and compress it once again. This caused the vermillion feathers on his arms to begin radiating an intense light which, very slowly, gained a subtle blue hue. Vahn didn't have time to observe this change, however, as all of his efforts to reign in the now 50m diameter sphere had, at best, just slowed it down. Since he was almost positive there would be more of Enyo's victims present on the Floor, Vahn clenched his teeth and continued to restrain the flames until a 'solution' entered into his mind...Realizing it was impossible for him to reign in so much energy on his own, Vahn used [Shundo] to drop below the expanding sphere before striking at the base. His hand entered into the vibrant bluish-white sphere, filling him with an incredible amount of energy in a very short period of time. This brought a smile to Vahn's face as he 'pulled' down, manipulating the energy contained within the Sphere to become unstable. It had been expanding out gradually at first but now Vahn had created an instability, giving the energy a second path to flow through. As a result, a large column of bluish-white flames descended downward, piercing through the molten lake below and continuing into even deeper Floors...Vahn allowed himself to bathe in this energy, finding it strangely comfortable as it washed over his naked figure and soaked into his feathers. If Enyo was still alive after the sphere had leaked all of its energy away, Vahn was confident he could immediately continue fighting against her. He even had thirteen more [Star Fire Sphere]s and two of the spectacularly difficult to produce [True Ice Sphere]s. Though he could make 'anything' with his Oblivion, Vahn was limited in his own comprehension when it came to making 'solid' Elemental Spheres. Fire was relatively easy for him to comprehend and control whereas Ice, though easy enough to understand, strangely required several times the amount of Source Energy during its production...Though it had taken nearly twenty minutes, the sphere stopped trying to expand and instead started to shrink at a noticeable rate. Vahn noticed this relatively quickly and decided to prepare himself for the coming battle, assuming there even was one. His instincts told him that Enyo wouldn't be so easy to defeat and, even though she hadn't counterattacked during the baptism of flames, she would probably be very angry once they had faded away. Thus, as the sphere continued to shrink, Vahn continued to watch, searching for any traces of the strange black ooze, the eerie white masks, and Enyo herself...Due to his focus on the sphere, Vahn hadn't even noticed the changes in his own Zhuque form just yet. Now, instead of pure vermillion feathers, the tips of some now had a subtle blue tint like star-fire. Even his eyes had started to change colors, a blue glow emanating around his pupils, while his hair now had strands of wispy bluish-white near his scalp. His wings, however, had undergone the biggest change as the vermillion coloration had now become even deeper while small eye-like red markings were visible on the plumage. Within these eye-shaped markings, there were wisps of bluish-white flame glowing with a beautiful radiance, shining proudly even without anyone to bear witness to their majesty...Though the temperature inside of the room was still close to around 70,000 degrees, Vahn could feel the atmosphere gradually cooling as the sphere shrunk to only 20m in diameter. If the black ooze had been unaffected, he would have been able to see it by now but, even as the sphere of flames continued to shrink, there were no signs of Enyo. Vahn didn't drop his guard upon seeing this, however, as his instincts were sending him danger signals that continued to grow in intensity as time passed. Even with the previous room expanded to nearly a kilometer wide, the result of the walls, floor, and ceiling all being melted away, Vahn felt like the space around him was shrinking, trapping him inside and causing him to feel claustrophobic...Even before the flames had faded in their entirety, Vahn knew the battle was far from over as a black dais, floating in the air, slowly came into view. As the flames faded away even further, a shimmering black object, very similar to an egg, also emerged. There were intricate runes cover its oily black surface, many of which were similar to the hieroglyphs that represented the language of the gods. Vahn noticed similar glyphs on the black dais itself, reading the words 'Thou whom hast ventured into the depths of Tartarus, bear witness to the ilk of Echidna, Mother of Monsters'.Almost as soon as he has finished reading the letters, Vahn watched as the damaged runes covering the egg slowly began to fade away. With the fading of each rune, the sense of dread within Vahn's heart compounded several times. He had already realized that, instead of being a protective barrier, the runes had been a 'seal', restraining the egg upon the black stone dais. Vahn's attack had not only destroyed the black ooze but had overtaxed the powerful sealing Magic that had been keeping the egg trapped here. With this realization, it didn't take Vahn any time at all to understand that Enyo had been playing him from the start...Though he would have to confirm his speculations in the future, Vahn now understood exactly why Ouranos had been sealing the Dungeon, preventing powerful monsters from reaching the surface. It was because Enyo, similar to Artemis, had been fused together with a monster...unlike Artemis, however, Enyo seemed to have initiated the process herself. Vahn could imagine her finding this egg and, using her ability to influence the minds of even gods, slowly corrupted the dormant creature until it became a suitable vessel. If she could 'erase' its ego entirely before the fusion, Enyo would be able to fully manifest her power in the real world while being in complete control of her actions...This time, when Enyo tried to establish a link with him, Vahn allowed her laughter to enter his mind as she said, ("You have my gratitude, Vahn Mason. I have been unable to break this seal for nearly a thousand years, ever since that bastard Ouranos...well, it doesn't really matter. To express my gratitude, I have decided to allow you to escape today. I'm curious to see exactly how strong you can become while trying to fend off the attacks of my children in the shadows...kukukuku~.") While she was speaking in his mind, the 'egg' upon the dais had started to crack, emanating an incredible amount of Arcanum that caused the mana within the Dungeon to begin coalescing towards them...Not content to just 'watch' as a goddess-monster hybrid was born into the world, Vahn moved forward with [Shundo] and tried to place his palm against the egg's surface. He was unable to even get within 10m of the egg, however, as a powerful repulsive force smashed into him, sending his body crashing into the far wall in the blink of an eye. Enyo's voice once again sounded out, cheerful and crazed laughter contained within as she exclaimed, ("Now, the path towards Hades shall be opened...! Enjoy the few years you have, Vahn Mason. Make as many preparations as you like, become as strong as you can, and struggle as desperately as you are able...once I reach the heart of this Dungeon, you will bear witness to the true nature of this world...uwahahahahahahahahahahahaha-!")As powerful as the repulsive force was, Vahn was able to recover in an instant and, even as Enyo continued her mad diatribe, he wasn't going to just let her get away with this. She had already hurt too many people and, if he allowed her to get away, even more would be harmed in the future. He may not have a way to kill a fully manifested god just yet but that didn't mean he was as powerless as she wanted to make him out to be. In fact, there were numerous ways Vahn knew of that would allow him to deal with this situation, including...In the midst of her laughter, Enyo felt an incredibly oppressive force that was even more powerful than the seal that had locked her in place for so long. From around the black stone dais, nine gold chains appeared out of the void and, even though she tried to repulse them with her Arcanum, they were completely undaunted. If she had eyes at this point, Enyo's would have widened greatly as the chains continued to coil around space, contracting closer towards her until they were firmly wrapped around her egg-form body. She suddenly found that none of her power could be used at all, causing an intense feeling of dread, unlike anything she had ever experienced in her entire long life. Even her 'voice' could no longer escape, leaving her powerless as the boy she had just been looking down on slowly drifted over...Standing next to the 5m tall black egg, Vahn shook his head and said, "I may not be able to kill you just yet, but that doesn't mean I can't seal you away, Enyo. There are greater forces at play than your small-minded hubris would ever allow you to understand..." Though he could contain her Divinity, there wasn't much Vahn could do against Enyo's fully manifested Arcanum. She likely had a similar degree of 'indestructibility' as [Enkidu] in her current state and, even if he got a Tier 5 weapon, it would be almost impossible to actually destroy her.For now, Vahn just collected one of the egg fragments while ensuring that the chains around Enyo's egg were nice and firm. He would conduct a bit of research on the fragment while trying to obtain information from the egg itself. Though he wouldn't treat her as an experimental subject, even though she very much deserved such treatment, Vahn would continue looking for ways to completely destroy Enyo in the future. Her fate, for the time being, would be spending her days trapped inside of the glossy black egg until he had come up with a way to seal her without using his [Enkidu] all the time. If he teamed up with Terra, it shouldn't be impossible to use one of the Tier 5 sealing spells within Eva's notes.Though its strength would still be restricted by the record, it should at least buy them plenty of time if they trapped Enyo in a 'reverse' Sub-Space orb where time was slowed down, instead of sped up. It should only take them a few years to come up with a more permanant solution, even if it ended up just being Fenrir increasing the strength of her [Devour] to the peak. Vahn, right now, had the option of giving his [Skill Advancement Scroll: SSS] to Fenrir, which would immediately give her the power to [Devour] Enyo. This could even increase the strength of Fenrir's soul a great deal, something that would potentially become very useful in future records...(A/N: For those asking, "Why didn't Vahn just use [Enkidu] from the start?"...well, it is one of his most powerful tools and, with the 'information war' going on between him and Enyo, it wouldn't have made sense to use one of his trump cards so early. There were too many unknowns about the situation but, once Enyo's 'true form' was revealed, [Enkidu] became a far more practical solution to the problem. Imagine if he used [Enkidu] against the black ooze, only to find out it was just another one of Enyo's pawns...?)(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Vahn goes P2W~!','Enyo's short-lived victory...','Don't feed Fenrir rotten eggs~!!!')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE

Vahn decided that it would be best to confer with the goddesses back at the Manor before he made a final decision. In truth, he had been struggling with how best to use the [SAS: SSS] since receiving it and, if it could put this matter to rest, Vahn didn't think it was a bad trade. The only problem with this was the fact that Vahn still lacked a great deal of information, including what Enyo's actual purpose had been. Even now, he still didn't know how Ouranos was involved, how Ais' parents were involved, or how Bell had been expected to kill Enyo in the future...The manga very well may have had the setting where Bell and his companions managed to 'defeat' Enyo, only for her true form to be revealed after. She would have then gone deeper into the Dungeon, causing the strength of monsters to gradually increase with time as the original residents of this world desperately resisted. Bell had already reached Level 9 in the Divination so it was very possible he would have grown beyond the restriction of Falna at some point, all while having the potential to reach Tier 4 himself. The final battle could have been the Tier 4 Bell, using his incredibly broken Innates, fighting against Enyo in the very heart of the Dungeon...Realizing how complicated things had become, Vahn released a sigh, completely ignoring the shaking black egg that seemed to be desperately trying to free itself. It was shortly after this that Vahn realized he actually had no way of moving the egg from this spot, as the chains of [Enkidu] were protruding from the void to lock it in place. If he left the area, the chains would fade away the moment his domain no longer overlapped with them. He had the option of producing [Enkidu] out of his own body but that would still mean he was stuck lugging around a 5m tall egg until he was able to take it back to the surface. He knew [Enkidu] would completely prevent him from being transported with teleportation magic, meaning he was 'stuck' egg sitting until they could seal her away...With nothing better to do at the moment, Vahn began absorbing the ambient Fire Elemental energy to rapidly cool down the massive chamber, which now had a teardrop shape. Because of the pillar of flames he had directed into the deeper Floors, the molten crystal lake had drained away, creating a 'funnel' of sorts that continued for several hundred meters. Vahn noticed that the liquid crystal had also flowed out into some lower passages and could only help that there weren't any innocent lives claimed during his fight against the errant goddess. His decision to use the [Star Fire Sphere]s had been a spur of the moment thing, prompted by his frustration with Enyo...now, Vahn realized he needed to properly research the best use for some of the emergency weapons he created...As that thought crossed his mind, Fafnir popped its head out of the shadows before adopting a humanoid appearance and flying over to Vahn's side. Sensing this, Vahn stated as a precaution, "Be careful, Fafnir, I have her sealed away but there is always a chance something could go wrong..." With how devious Enyo had been, Vahn wouldn't be surprised if she still had plans that had been put into fruition that didn't require her oversight. He already suspected that she had a Familia of her own and, with how 'patient' Enyo had been, the odds of them having infiltrated several sections of society were very high.Though she likely wouldn't have been able to bestow her blessing upon people, resulting in her need for corrupting monsters, capturing Xenos, and creating Creatures, Vahn assumed that Enyo hadn't just been idling about. Just as she had likely manipulated Evilus for her own ends, Enyo had probably planted her pawns within other influential Familia over the centuries. There was even a chance her forces had spread out across the Continent, merely waiting for the day when she would break free so that they could bring about the destruction of the surface world...Realizing this was very likely to be the case, Vahn released a heavy sigh while his main body back at the Manor had awoken from meditation and was moving to explain the situation and make preparations for what was to come. It was the middle of the night now but almost everyone was still awake while Syr had even been waiting for him to exit his temporary seclusion. Though her expression seemed calm, accented by a beautiful smile, Vahn could tell she was troubled by something, asking, "Is it bad...?" He had anticipated that, other than attacking Haven, Enyo had probably done something to try and divert their focus back to the surface as well.Confirming his suspicions, Syr nodded her head, explaining, "There have been numerous attacks within the City. The Alliance forces are working to control the damage and deal with the culprits, but the number of fires has proven troublesome..." Vahn nodded his head, saying, "I'll head out to try and deal with the fires and see if I can't provide assistance...has anything happened near the Manor...?" As they had already anticipated an attack on the City, Vahn wasn't surprised by Syr's words in the least. A few hours after he had ventured into the Dungeon, the 'War Council' of the Alliance had already started to mobilize forces to deal with any attacks that might befall Orario.This time, Syr's smile seemed more genuine as she said, "Though there were some enemies skulking about, they were all swiftly dealt with by Terra. Most of the attackers had tried to target Spero but they were unable to penetrate the barrier. The more troublesome matter is that the enemy had been planting some kind of strange 'seeds' inside of tamed monsters, turning them into the strange plant-like mutants that you warned about previously. They are able to emit a poisonous miasma that caused a great deal of chaos...fortunately, the [Panacea] that had been prepared in advance has proved effective. Though some of the storage warehouses were compromised, the reserve stock you prepared had gone unnoticed..."Even before they knew of Enyo's ability to directly interfere with a person's mind, the Alliance had already made preparations to deal with inside enemies ever since the 'enemies within' warning. It likely hadn't been her intention, but Enyo ended up giving them advance warning for what was to come, allowing them to prepare backup supplies in the event something went wrong. Vahn was tempted to tease the shackled goddess about this fact but decided that talking to her at all would only cause more problems...Syr gave her report within the Sub-Space orb to save time, allowing Vahn to also update her on matters on his end. Once they were both up to speed, they exited the orb and headed towards the Guest Residence, which was currently the emergency headquarters for dealing with this situation. Syr had already written most of the details into the network, which updated when they exited the orb, so the gathered goddesses were already informed by the time Vahn reached the residence. Currently, Loki, Hephaestus, Minerva, Freya, Alala, and Bast. The latter was a goddess from the Southern Sands who had joined the Alliance over a year ago but only recently became a part of the War Council.Bast was unique in that, much like Anubis, she had the same olive-colored skin as a member of the Southern Tribe, but was instead of Cat Person. She had short black hair that was neatly trimmed in a straight line while her eyes glimmered between gold and emerald. Though she was a bit of an airhead at times, Bast did have a Divinity related to War and had been good friends with Anubis for a very long time. Contrary to Anubis, however, Bast had a bit of a sadistic and playful personality, even though she could be easily 'bullied' if she recognized you as being in a higher position...Upon Vahn's entry into the room, most of the goddesses shifted their focus to Vahn while Loki craned her head back and said, "There is a bit of chaos, but the situation on the surface is under control for the time being. Syr should have already explained things, but those girls had already dealt with most of the major threats. You don't have to worry about the fires either, as most of the areas being burned are in low population centers..." Though he gave a curt nod in response, Vahn still asked, "What are we doing to combat the invisible enemies? Is Fels still locked away in the underground...?"Instead of Loki, Minerva answered rather quickly, "The glasses created by Asfi have allowed our forces to track down some of the invisible enemies. Though some slipped through our grasp, it is very likely they will lay low for a while before drawing more attention to themselves. As for Fels, well..." Loki picked up the sentence, adding in a voice filled with scorn, "That bastard, Ouranos, tried to send Hermes over, asking for Fels to be freed to help deal with the attack on the City. I told him he could shove his feathery hat up his ass...!" The fact Ouranos even thought to request they free an 'enemy' that had tried to kill Vahn was laughable to Loki. Currently, Fenrir and Alexa were watching over the bound skeletal figure after Loki threatened that, if Hermes tried to free him, she would truly castrate him in both the Mortal World and Heaven...Hephaestus placed her hand on Loki's shoulder, a small attempt to get the latter to calm down, as she looked toward Vahn and said, "Hestia, Demeter, and Artemis are taking care of the children. They are all having a big sleepover together tonight..." Though it wasn't exactly a 'coincidence', even Hermes wasn't able to use his movement ability to break into the Manor, so long as Hestia was within. Her Divinity made the Manor an almost inviolable territory while few gods truly wished to antagonize her. Hermes' strength was actually on the weaker end of the spectrum and, if not for his ability to move about freely, his status as an Olympian wouldn't have held out for very long.Though he had already been informed about the sleepover from Syr, Vahn gave a small nod to Hephaestus, a casual smile on his face. In truth, he'd like to just sneak into the room and enjoy a peaceful night's rest with his children but, as matters stood, he had other duties to tend to. To that end, they began to discuss how to deal with Enyo, what to do with Fels, the future of Orario, the continued development of Haven, and how to deal with the large network of individuals who had been influenced by Enyo's abilities. Vahn was very tempted to just 'wrangle' up every god with [Enkidu] just to make sure they were in the clear but that could cause no end to future troubles within the godly community. There was also very little reason as, now that Enyo was sealed away, she shouldn't be able to influence them further.Everyone that still acted on Enyo's behalf, at this point, would be someone who had been fully indoctrinated and manipulated by her. They were those who had been led astray, raised within the darkness and brought up believing in their goddess' teachings. Though there were some who could be redeemed, such as some Creatures, Xenos, and the captives on the 60th Floor, others would never be able to live a normal life. It was better to simply return them to the reincarnation cycle and pray they are able to live freely in the future. The Alliance would likely take in any young members that were discovered, but that would be on a purely situational basis...Ultimately, it was decided that, instead of Vahn immediately bringing Enyo out of the Dungeon, he would remain on the 60th Floor. The defense of Haven had gone relatively smoothly and, without Enyo's influence to guide them, most of the monsters had been defeated without ever breaking through the defensive lines of the Haven Defense Force. Now, Vahn would call some of the Xenos he had subordinated and named to his side so they could establish a forward base within the 60th Floor.With the existence of the Observation Room alone, the Alliance had more than enough justification to establish a large presence on the Floor. Vahn would be creating a teleportation ward with Terra's assistance later while they systematically wiped out the remnants of Enyo's forces and rescue her victims. He hadn't been able to save them earlier but Vahn had already verified the existence of thirteen 'birthing chambers' after reading through the notes of the skeletal entity, 'Ein'. She had been serving at Enyo's side for more than 800 years and, from her notes, Vahn was able to get a few answers regarding some of the questions he had...Though further investigations would be necessary, Ein had recorded that Enyo had been one of the gods to descend into the world alongside Ouranos nearly a thousand years ago. Unlike the other gods, who had been drawn to the mortal world out of general curiosity, Enyo's goal had been the Dungeon the entire time. She had even formed a cooperative alliance with the forces of Albert Waldstein, who was then leading a Mercenary organization called 'Wings of Freedom'. It wasn't just her Familia who ventured alongside the legendary Hero's party, however, as several other gods that would one day make up the member of Evilus had been present...The Dungeon had long been considered a threat to the survival of the surface races and, with existences like the Black Dragon King, it was paramount that they were able to seal it away. As a result, more than ten Familia had banded together to probe into the Dungeon's depths, trying to unlock its secrets. Enyo was one of the few gods that accompanied the party and, by continually upgraded her Familia's Status Boards, they had become one of the mainstays in the Alliance. Being a Goddess of War, many proud warriors answered the call to arms and, fighting alongside the other members of the Alliance, the 'Wings of Freedom' had slowly made headway into the Dungeon...After several hard-fought battles, the group finally arrived at the 60th Floor of the Dungeon and, though it was not recorded in History, they battled against a monstrous entity named Typhon. Ein's records stated that the creature was more than 300m long, possessing the upper body of a winged giant and the lower body of a massive serpentine creature. By the end of the battle, the layout of the Dungeon itself had been fundamentally changed, causing almost every Floor to collapse as a result of the climactic battle. Even with this level of destruction, and almost every member of the 'Wings of Freedom' falling, they still came out victorious. However, it was also this battle that allowed creatures like the Black Dragon King, the Behemoth and, spawning from the corpse of Typhon, the Leviathan to break free...With no other choice, the Wings of Freedom retreated from the Dungeon to give chase to these cataclysmic threats. To prevent further monsters from escaping, Ouranos, supposedly inspired by the fervor and heroism of Albert's party, made the rare decision to create a large seal on the Dungeon, using the emergent Tower of Babel as the foundation.The real reason for this action, however, was to prevent what he and many of the other gods had seen during the conflict between the Wings of Freedom and Typhon from leaking out. Not only was the creature nearly as strong as a god, but they could sense there were even more dangerous entities contained deeper within the Dungeon. They watched helplessly as Enyo entered into a secret chamber, followed by the emergence of a dreadfully powerful aura...However, instead of confronting the enemy then and there, Ouranos, being the 'observer' he had been since time immemorial, chose to seal it away, waiting for a 'True Hero' to rise up one day and deal with the threat.Ouranos had believed that Albert would be the one to uncover the secrets of the Dungeon and open the way towards the future, even going so far as the bestow the first blessing upon the young Hero. As a result, Albert made an Eternal Vow that, so long as the Dungeon exists, he would dedicate all of his lives to subjugating it...all so that the surface world could one day be free from the impending threat of destruction that even gods were powerless to protect them from...As for how Ein knew of these things, it wasn't exactly clear from the documents that Vahn had discovered, only that she had compiled excerpts from several journals and texts that had still existed on the 59th and 60th Floors. When the Wings of Freedom had been wiped out, they had thousands of members and Vahn suspected it was the compilation of their own expedition reports that had allowed Ein to make her deductions. After all, they were events had taken place more than two hundred years before she came under Enyo's influence while the matters related to Ouranos seemed grossly out of place...almost as if they had been added later.Vahn suspected it was Fels, who had come to serve under Ouranos, who had been feeding information to Ein. Though there was nothing showing they were brother and sister, the fact that Fels still had a pure aura, while still choosing to interact with such malicious entities, showed there had to be 'some' kind of relation. Ein had probably come under Enyo's influence at some point and, unable to leave his sister to suffer alone, Fels had been doing his best to act as support...at least, that is what Vahn would like to believe. In truth, unless Fels and Ouranos gave them the answers, it was impossible to know the truth...(A/N: I'm going to be busy for the next couple of days and can't really guarantee how many chapters will be coming out. Also, I'm moving apartments very soon and will be leaving for work around June 14th. At the very least, I will be releasing a chapter every single day and, so long as I can make time, you can expect around 4 chapters other than when I'm moving. Today should still have one or two more, though they may not be until later. I'll keep everyone posted as things continue to develop (UwU)~!)(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Vahn should just make Bell into a powerhouse and then lock him in a room with Enyo xD...','Enyo's schemes echo throughout History...','You know nothing, Vahn Mason...')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE

As he lay upon the ground, visions and voices assaulting his mind, Vahn was actually very calm, at least the version of himself back within the Sub-Space orb. Though he had been in deep meditation previously, Vahn now found that his mind had become crystal clear as he experienced what was happening to his other self. It seemed that Enyo's ability, or whatever was happening to him, was something that was proximity based. Now, Vahn could watch what was happening as it played out six times slower than reality, analyzing every minor detail to get a better understanding of the situation...For Enyo to have overpowered his [Will of the Emperor], at least for a moment, she would have to have an Innate that was at the very peak of the record. This, combined with the difference in their Soul Tier, had given her a momentary advantage. However, even as her influence tried to taint his mind, nothing Enyo did had any effect on his ego whatsoever. Vahn was now trying to 'separate' his thoughts from his mind, something he knew was possible since his body wasn't 'real' from the very beginning. He could even collect himself and regenerate from minute particles of mana, maintaining a sense of self through his domain instead of relying on his brain. If he could simply 'sever' the connection and reliance of his mental faculties from that of his ego, Vahn knew he could possibly gain a basic immunity to Enyo's influence.It was fortunate that whatever was going on with his avatar, the entity looking down on him seemed to be enjoying his suffering with sadistic glee. The creature, who very well could be Enyo herself, kept poking and prodding at his defenseless body, almost as if she were trying to understand his make and composition. Small tendrils of oily black corruption would pierce into his skin, only to be 'rejected' by his blood after a very momentary contact. This seemed to intrigue 'Enyo' and, at least for the time being, she hadn't done anything too drastic like trying to destroy his body. Based on how she had behaved thus far, Vahn assumed she was likely trying to seize control and even brainwash him for her own purposes...Seeing her actions, Vahn was reminded of the Scientists and Doctors of his previous life, doing whatever they wanted without consideration for what their 'subject' was going through. If she only knew the wrath he was going to bring down upon her, Enyo would have likely destroyed his body in an instant. She was looking down on him a great deal and, though Vahn knew he had also erred quite a bit in this engagement, he was gaining more information by the second. The only thing he needed to do now was 'cut' the connection between his mind and his ego and, hopefully, it wouldn't cause his body to break down and dissipate...In order to execute his plan, Vahn tried to shift his body from being a normal Progenitor into a full Doppelganger, thus making his 'brain' no longer necessary for interpreting external stimuli. This ended up making him feel very disoriented but, after a few seconds had passed, Vahn's mind sank back into a deep meditative state while, deep within the Dungeon, the 'visions' Enyo had been forcing into his mind faded away in an instant. Vahn chose this moment to compress his domain down to only 20m, instead of the 1.7km radius it had been previously. His mistake had been stretching his domain outward and creating a gap within his own mind by having part of his focus split on the surroundings. Now, not even a whisper of Enyo's could be heard as Vahn bounded to his feet and used the [Sacred Duplex Nail] to shatter the eerie white mask.Though he had stabbed it in the forehead, causing a small fracture, the previously sculpted mouth now cracked open, revealing two large rows of molar-like teeth. As if it wasn't affected by the golden nail at all, the oily-black entity lurched forward like a snake that was trying to devour its prey whole, a grating laugh echoing through the entire chamber. Vahn opened some distance with [Shundo], dodging the attack while transitioning into his Zhuque form and creating a column of fire to counterattack. He couldn't sense whatever the black entity was but, based on appearances, Vahn felt it was akin to pure Darkness, Corruption, or an outright representation of Evil. Yang fire should be the natural counter to such entities, especially with his Source Energy fueling the attack, so Vahn intended to burn the creature with purifying flames...The creature laughed, it's voice sounding like several overlapping tones all echoing simultaneously as it agilely evaded the column of fire. A loud thunderclap then sounded out, but not before Vahn had already dodged the attack heading towards him, carrying a velocity several times the speed of sound. His attack, however, hadn't stopped in its path and, even though the 'snake' had evaded, Vahn watched as the vermillion flames impacted the massive black dome before seemingly being absorbed. This caused the 'snake' to pull itself out of the rubble, laughing evilly as it said, "Your flames are quite hot, Vahn Mason...ahh, I can feel my body burning up, kukukuku~."There was a sadistic undertone to the voice but Vahn completely ignored it as he observed the area where his attack had landed. Though it seemed to have absorbed his flames, Vahn saw small bubbles emerging from the mirror-like surface while, at the base of the dome, there was a small puddle of inert black liquid. 'Enyo' might be trying to play it cool but it was obvious his attack had done 'something' to her, as a mere Tier 4 entity wouldn't be able to resist an attack powered by his Source Energy. It might not have done much, but this was all Vahn needed to see to understand his endeavor wasn't futile...As if 'she' had understood what Vahn was thinking, the white-masked snake actually separated from the larger dome and began morphing very quickly until it had the figure of a 5m tall humanoid, the same white mask now adorning its head. It had four arms and, before Vahn could get a better look at it, the masked figure launched itself forward with seemingly impossible speed. Vahn's eyes had widened slightly as he instinctually moved to defend himself while dodging backward with [Shundo]. Though this bought him a very short window of opportunity, Vahn hadn't been able to exploit it before one of the massive fists 'stretched' forward, growing larger as it traveled, trying to slam into him.Without any time for thought whatsoever, Vahn instinctually manifested his [Aegis] to block the attack, causing a massive shockwave that made the surrounding crystalline structure fracture. Large shards started to fall, though Vahn wasn't truly able to see this as the world had currently lost most of its light. Time itself had slowed to a crawl and, even after several 'seconds' had passed, nothing around him had moved. Vahn experienced profound clarity as he felt the black substance making up the golem slowly breaking through his [Aegis], slowly but surely trying to destroy his indestructible shield. Through his domain, Vahn could also sense more entities forming from the larger black dome and he knew things were going to get very difficult, very quickly...At the moment time seemed to have returned to normal, Vahn had already stored his [Aegis] back into his Inventory as a second fist slammed forward, finding nothing by empty air before it smashed into the wall, causing a large portion of the room to explode outward. 'Enyo' looked around the area, the white mask completely expressionless as she tried to make sense of what had just happened. By the time the large shield had vanished, Vahn's presence had disappeared completely. Now, even with eight extra bodies, each taking on the appearance of large and misshapen monsters, he was nowhere in sight...Seeing that 'Enyo' hadn't been able to tell what had happened, Vahn released an echoing sigh of relief as he stroked the black scales of Fafnir and said, "You saved me this time, Fafnir. Now, let's teach this repugnant goddess a lesson..." Since he had been in his Shadow Emperor form from the start, Vahn was easily able to traverse safely through Fafnir's shadow dimension, even if it was almost impossible to get his bearings. Fafnir, however, had no such issues and just laughed happily as it said, ("I'm glad I could help out, Master~!") with an excited tone. It then moved through the shadow dimension, avoiding the 'black sphere' that represented the dome in the real world, before allowing Vahn to exit through the shadow of a pillar.'Enyo' immediately sensed Vahn's emergence but, instead of attacking with one of her nine forms, said, "That is a very interesting ability you have...moving through shadows~?" Then, as if to prevent him from using the ability a second time, the black dome began to flatten slightly as the bottom section spread out like water, slowly encroaching upon the surrounding surfaces. Seeing this, Vahn's expression hardened as he once against transitioned into his Zhuque form and charged towards the dome itself. One of the 'creatures' moved to intercept him, possessing a white wolf mask and a form similar to a Loup Garou's, albeit much larger.This time, Vahn taxed his reserves a great deal, putting nearly half of his remaining Source Energy into an attack that caused his surroundings to immediately fill with vermillion flames. Though wisps of shadows also suffused through the small 'star' that had formed, his attack was predominately pure Yang fire, the bane of all things evil. Vahn even felt his own body begin itching madly as if his Zhuque form was trying to expel the [Lanceae Umbrae] powering his [Magia Erebea]. At the same time, the black mass with the wolf mask 'dissolved' away in an instant as the mask itself turned into ash. Something similar was happening to the larger dome as well, appearing to slowly evaporate, black mist rising from its boiling surface...Compared to 'Enyo', the large crystalline room had taken the brunt of Vahn's attack, the blue crystal now suffused with a vermillion glow as every surface seemed to melt under the intense heat. The other eight constructs had to shield themselves with the black dome while five of them directly returned to it, causing the rate of destruction to slow greatly. Even so, the heat didn't fade away for several minutes as, back within the Sub-Space orb, Vahn downed a vial of his own blood to replenish his reserves. It had a strangely sweet taste but also carried the heavy metallic taste of iron as Vahn unhesitantly drank large gulps. Though his stomach felt a bit squeamish, and the conversion wasn't as fast as he'd like, Vahn was still able to bolster his regeneration for a short period of time...By the time his attack had ended, Vahn was no longer in his Shadow Emperor form, as it had been dispelled by the purifying energy of his pure Yang elemental flames. However, compared to his past transformations, Vahn's arms were now covered in vermillion feathers all the way to his elbows. Usually, there would just be a few feathers that emerged from the 'cracks' that would appear in his body, a stark contrast to the natural appearance he currently had. Even his hair had more than doubled in length, extending past his shoulders, as wisps of vermillion flames caused it to dance around without the wind's assistance. His eyes had also changed a great deal, burning like pure flames while his pupils were now suffused with blue light, the illusion of a majestic Emperor pointing his sword towards the Heavens contained within...While resisting the urge to laugh, Vahn followed his instincts and inhaled deeply as a smile spread across his face. Then, with a surge of vermillion flames, two wings burst from his back, the same vermillion color as the rest of his feathers. From Vahn's perspective, however, there was an obvious rainbow hue and, though Enyo couldn't see it, the amount of confidence this subtle glow gave him was immense. He clenched his fists, causing two heavy shrouds of vermillion flames to form around them as his wings flicked once, instantly increasing his velocity to hypersonic speeds...The remaining masked constructs tried to attack, each striking forth with incredible momentum that could shatter Dungeon walls with ease. Vahn simply ignored these attacks, allowing them to near his body without even making an effort to dodge them. Unable to get close to his body, the black liquid split apart and disintegrated in an instant as Vahn spun around in the air, using his wings as if they were blades. His feathers had already started to disintegrate the enemies before his attack had reached but, as fast as he was moving, Vahn still got to experience cutting through two of the malicious constructs. At the same time, Vahn sent two fist-shaped projectiles of vermillion flames towards the final enemy, the one possessing a woman's face, which was now horribly misshapen with an expression of unadulterated rage...In an incredibly short period of time, Vahn had found himself within a furnace-like room with nothing but the black dome to keep him company. He was no longer relying on his eyes to stare into it, having learned his lesson, and instead made use of his domain to sense his surroundings. So long as he didn't know the trigger for Enyo's mental control, Vahn couldn't take any risks as he began sending a constant wave of pure Yang flames to bathe the black dome. It began to sizzle and burn away but, no matter how much he seemed to destroy, Vahn noticed that its overall volume wasn't decreasing.So as to conserve his energy, Vahn created a bit of distance with the dome and began coalescing flames to produce vermillion spears. For the moment, Enyo didn't seem to be attacking, causing Vahn's instincts to trigger as a slight hesitation entered his mind. Even so, he sent the wave of spears into the dome, concentrating Source Energy in their tips. Similar to his previous attacks, the spears impacted silently against the dome before vanishing entirely upon contact. Other than a pool of watery black liquid, there were no other signs that his attack had even done anything. One thing for sure, however, was that Vahn's instincts were sounding the alarm, his skin practically crawling from the resultant discomfort...Now, instead of attacking, Vahn began to focus on replenishing his reserves while trying to understand the situation. Shortly after he began to inspect the surroundings, however, a needle-thin tendril shot out of the dome, soundless and impossible to detect. Vahn felt a twinge of pain in his chest before thousands of hair-thin strands of the black liquid 'exploded' inside of his body. Fortunately, as painful as it was, Vahn's body repelled the liquid a moment later while his wounds recovered at the very next instant. He felt Enyo try to establish a link with him but, failing to probe into his mind, the side of the dome instead opened up like a massive maw...From within the darkness, Vahn saw a pitch black void before several white masks emerged, numbering in the hundreds. Their mouths cracked apart, revealing vicious rows of teeth as they began to laugh eerily in concert with each other. At the very center, a feminine mask once again appeared, showing a smiling expression as viscous black liquid poured down from its blank eyes in a steady stream of tears. Then, as Vahn was trying to make sense of what was happening, the hundreds of masks all simultaneously chimed, "Come play with us, Vahn Mason~!"(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Observation...','Zhuque Form Descends','Come play with us~!')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE

Chapter 884: Trap