Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

With Olga laying atop a table that was slowly scanning her entire body, Vahn remained nearby to help her remain calm by holding her hand and making small talk as Ark analyzed the structure of her Magic Circuits and Crest. Though Olga was still red in the face from earlier, she had calmed down a great deal now that several hours had passed. If anything, she was getting a little bored and, without someone to talk to, she felt the only way she could stay in one spot for such a long period of time was by either sleeping or conducting research. To that end, she and Vahn talked about her results over the last month and a half, followed by Vahn explaining some of his own insights into the Laws and Astronomy in general.Though it may not be a proponent of all worlds within every Record, Vahn knew through his own research that energy like mana was not found in a usable form throughout the universe. Gaia was the only planet within the Solar System that produced mana from within, allowing it to propagate throughout the atmosphere and into the various plants and animals inhabiting the surface. Because of this, most forms of Astromancy used the Geocentric Model when conducting their calculations, placing the Earth, Gaia, at the 'center' of everything, even though it had long been proven by Science that Sun was the center of the solar system.Because of the unique ways in which reality was shaped by the beliefs of people which, on a global scale, could rewrite parts of history, this meant Astronomy had been very powerful when people still believed Gaia was the center of the universe. Now, as Science continued to uncover the secrets of the universe, purporting their enlightenment even as they failed to see beyond the surface, it was a given in the eyes of the Magus community that Astronomy would weaken. This, however, was only true if you allowed your own comprehension of the Laws to be influenced by the perception of other people.The most powerful people in the world obviously did not care about such things and, by persistently pursuing greater heights, they had continuously been able to reach them. Though this was largely in part due to their appropriation of resources and hundreds of years of concerted efforts, it was still a sign that their individual will could break away from what the Magus community referred to as the 'Collective Common Sense of Mankind'. By freeing themselves from these limitations, though it took an extreme amount of effort, it simply wouldn't matter how other people viewed the Thaumaturgy you were studying. From the very beginning, the principles themselves had always existed and, even if there were no humans to observe and practice them at all, they would have never been weakened.Vahn was trying to have Olga understand that there were no limits to her potential growth, clarifying another misunderstanding of hers by explaining, "All things in the Universe originate from the Root. As a result, it would be rather odd if you were able to reach the Root by only focusing on Gaia? Even in the Milky Way Galaxy alone, there are nearly four-hundred billion planets. Instead of limiting your path to a single planet, you should have already started looking toward the stars and other planets to push your understanding of Astronomy and Astromancy even further. Just imagine how powerful your predictions would need to be in order to make predictions using the entire galaxy...?"Though she knew Vahn was right, Olga still felt apprehensive about deviating from the methods her family had been developing for generations. In a vain attempt to cling to what she was comfortable with, she explained, "But even the Heliocentric model that some modern Magus families have been trying to convert to has proven less accurate than predictions made with the Geocentric model..."Hearing Olga's rather meek remark, Vahn's smile softened a bit as he stroked her hand and patiently explained, "Why wouldn't that be the case when the Geocentric model has been used for thousands of years? With the Heliocentric model being less than five-hundred years old, with most of the more prestigious families discrediting its value to Thaumaturgy, how could it overtake its predecessor? It would take a Genius, going against the grain of 'common sense', to have any hope of achieving such a feat. It isn't meant to be easy, Olga, as comprehending the true nature of the Universe is the same path as achieving, or even rising above, Godhood..."With Astronomy on the decline for the last few hundred years, Olga knew Vahn's words had to be true and, considering he even had existences like Alaya at his beck and call, it almost felt silly to even try arguing against him. Thus, after collecting her thoughts for several long seconds of silence, Olga affirmed her resolve, asking, "Will you help me...?" This caused her face to gradually redden, followed by a gratified smile spreading across her face when Vahn stated, "Of course..." Though he may not be the best suited to teach her, Vahn knew he could at least increase Olga's understanding of Laws themselves.Vahn's quick affirmation made Olga feel giddy and, as she looked at the smile on his face, her mind briefly wandered back to her Observatory. Though she had almost immediately regretted asking for a kiss, Olga hadn't been given time to take a step back as Vahn quickly sealed her lips. Then, instead of ending after a mild peck, she had been taken on a long journey lasting nearly twenty minutes. She had a strong desire to separate at the beginning but, as the kiss progressed further, Olga had felt her body heating up as expectation began to grow within her heart and mind. Unfortunately, though he had brought his right hand to her side, gently stroking her flank, Vahn only kissed her, causing Olga to feel some regrets about her wish in hindsight...Seeing Olga momentarily daze, her face suffused with a red hue, Vahn knew what she was thinking about. Though it was a slight contrast to his original intentions, Olga had been working hard over the last month and a half, causing Vahn's expression to soften as he squeezed her hand to bring her back to reality. Then, when her eyes came into focus, Vahn stated in a calm and guiding tone, "I look forward to seeing how much you progress, Olga. If you work hard, I'm certain you can make all your wishes come true..." By placing a little more emphasis on the word 'wishes', punctuating it with a wink, Vahn knew Olga would be able to understand the meaning behind his words. Ultimately, it was her decision to make and, if this was able to help guide her onto the path of progress, Vahn didn't mind being her anchor for a bit, just as Chloe had for him a long time ago...It would take a few days for Olga's Magic Crest to be fully analyzed and, as neither of them wanted to spend all of their time just waiting for Ark to scan her body, Vahn suggested she start sleeping in the Workshop for the next few days. This would allow her to continue her work and, as he needed to train and conduct his own research, staying at her side at all times wasn't possible. Olga herself was very aware of how busy he could be so, rather than try to plead that he accompany her, she put on a strong front and just asked that he visit when he wasn't preoccupied with other things. In response to this, Vahn had rubbed her head affectionately and, though they had already shared a far more intimate kiss, he punctuated the evening by lightly pecking her forehead.---After parting with Olga outside her room, Vahn stretched his body while walking through the empty corridor, wondering how he should spend his time. Since he was feeling a little motivated after his long discussion with the pale-haired Astronomer, he decided to move his body and see if he could make progress in his own understanding of the Laws. With that in mind, Vahn made his way towards his Sub-Space Training Orb, this time accompanied by just Alaya and Skoll as Skoll V2 had retired to Olga's room for the night. They had the ability to interpret when someone wanted companionship and, as Vahn felt Olga wasn't ready to have sex just yet, it was up to the adorable little Vanargandr to comfort her in his stead...As was often the case, Vahn felt slightly incongruous after entering into the endless white space as, from his past experiences, he would almost always have to immediately defend himself. He would never admit it but, not training with Scáthach every day had caused Vahn to miss her presence, just a little. Fortunately, these feelings often passed quickly as, the moment he began thinking about the purple-haired, ruby-eyed, woman, Vahn would become much more focused. If she discovered he was slacking off due to sentiments, her most likely response would be to skewer him through the chest with her spear. Thus, assuming a partial transformation that caused small golden antlers to appear from his head, Vahn instantly shifted in a training mentality...Though it was impossible for him to maintain his full Qinglong transformation for long periods of time, that wasn't necessary if he just wanted to practice Space and Time Laws. Just by assuming a partial transformation, his sensitivities to the two enigmatic energies were greatly increased and, with the intention of reaching the point he could even sense them in his 'base' form, Vahn used the bare minimum amount of energy to sustain his transformation. Then, while recalling the phenomena he had witnessed during his short elevator rides and his brief skirmish with Solon, he extended his palms outward and tried to 'fold' space in front of him...It was difficult to describe but, using the same method of compressing Space that allowed the outer edges of the Sub-Space Orbs to have increased pressure, Vahn could create an almost physical plane using the fabric of Space itself. This was achieved by contracting the Space against itself, creating an invisible membrane that, with practice, Vahn knew he would be able to shape at his leisure. He had several goals at present but, knowing it had the potential to sever and fracture virtually anything, the highest priority for Vahn was creating physical constructs using Space and Creation energy. Since the [Yi] arrows were already capable of creating powerful gravity wells, Vahn knew it was only a matter of time before he could create arrows of his own, reducing the need to rely on expending OP just to get an edge against his opponents...Unfortunately, though it was possible to create a physical membrane for a short period of time, there was an almost irresistible compulsion for Space elemental energy to 'expand' outward. It vehemently refused to stay in a solid state, causing most of Vahn's efforts to end in vain. This wasn't much of a deterrent, however, as it had led to other important and interesting discoveries. One of the things he found rather interesting was, by using Time Laws to try and stabilize the spatial membrane, Vahn had discovered that he could create an isolated flow of time within reality. As this was one of his ultimate goals, even scratching the surface of this principle had been very exciting to him.Using a combination of Space and Time Laws, Vahn had quickly reached the point where he could make a small disc-shaped membrane where time itself had been slowed to the extremes. This not only created a nearly indestructible barrier but, by focusing energy and objects through the super-dense membrane, the resultant speed could even reach was very near the speed of light. Vahn had tested this by creating several Acceleration Gates, the same type he had developed to try and launch objects from his Inventory. By compressing the Space-Time around these gates and then trying to send objects through them, the lead ball Vahn had used to conduct the test had instantly fractured into small pieces, each carrying such incredible momentum that the shrapnel produced several large shockwaves that tore through the dense white 'stone' within the Orb.It didn't take a genius to understand how powerful this functionality could be in a fight so Vahn was trying to reach the point where he could execute this process almost instantly. Currently, it took a few milliseconds to establish and, though this wasn't exactly a long period of time, any competent Magus or Heroic Spirit would be able to exploit this momentary gap. Even Artoria, if she pushed her limits, was capable of reaching bursts of speed that were massively hypersonic. Though it would sap her stamina and strength at a monstrous rate, she could even reach speeds nearing 120,000km/h, or 33,000m/s. This wasn't actually all that surprising, however, when he considered that even Ais had been able to achieve comparable feats, with her maximum speed nearly double that of Artoria's...Knowing that Tier 4 and Tier 5 entities could very likely move faster than the speed of light, Vahn did not allow himself to fall into the mindset that his own limits were restricted by the Physical Laws of the Records. By pursuing Speed Laws themselves, it was even possible to move without having to worry about things like air resistance and other restrictive mediums while, at the extremes, even things like instantaneous acceleration would have no detrimental effects on your body and its rather important organs. In normal circumstances, moving at such speeds would tear the body apart and, as Physics made very clear, convert matter into energy. This process would not occur, however, if the object moving at those relativistic speeds was 'bending' the Laws of the universe itself around them.Remembering how even Scáthach's spear strike seemed to move at the 'speed of thought', making it completely impossible to evade without having a similar level of comprehension, Vahn knew he had a long road ahead of him. That didn't stop him from coming up with all kinds of interesting ways to use what he had learned, however, even if, like in his current predicament, it sometimes ended rather catastrophically.Wanting to see what would happen if he tried to overlap two spatial membranes, similar to a set of lenses against each other, Vahn sent a small sphere of Adamantium through the Acceleration Gate. On contact, it seemed to freeze in the air but, as it was being directed forward by the energy of the magical ward itself, the perceptive could sense that the sphere was gradually accelerating. When it reached the second spatial membrane, however, Vahn quickly realized he had erred as, without the ability to defy the Laws of Physics, the sphere began to rapidly expand as it neared the speed of light. The only thing keeping it from exploding outward was the spatial membrane which, having several acceleration gates inside, caused the particulates of energy to accelerate far beyond the speed of light...Even before the mass of energy had cleared the spatial membrane, the 'light' it had been emanating vanished entirely, sending out an indiscernible pulse of energy that passed through Vahn's, Alaya's, and Skoll's body. Though this seemed rather harmless at first, even the flow of blood in Vahn's body had been brought to an instantaneous stop and, as his heart attempted to pump once again, every part of him began to break down into sub-atomic ash. Fortunately, as his awareness had not been robbed from him, Vahn was able to prevent himself from being completely destroyed but, with an extreme level of guilt, he watched as the nearby Skoll plopped forward, dissolving into nothingness. This action set off a chain reaction as, even with the subtle vibrations of the mechanical golem's fall, an area of several kilometers of white stone turned to sub-atomic ash along with it...Though he knew Skoll was still alive, as its 'consciousness' was just a single part of the system that Da Vinci had created, Vahn still felt heartbroken to see the adorable creature turned to ash. Even if this discovery of his was the same as unlocking another Trump Card, he decided to place a seal on its use until he could get a better understanding of the principles that made it possible. He would need to develop another Training Orb, this time using his and Da Vinci's Workshop since he knew full well that she would want to analyze this phenomenon in detail. Accelerating physical matter beyond the speed of light was rather significant and, though it was a dead end without comprehension of the Laws that governed it, Vahn knew it would only be a matter of time for someone like Da Vinci...With a heavy heart, Vahn looked around at the vast expanse of nothingness, wondering if this was another expression of the Laws of Destruction. Though it hadn't affected Alaya and ORT in the least, this was a level of power that anything beneath Tier 4 would be unable to resist. If he had used this technique in the real world, the entire Ivory Castle would have been destroyed, including all of its inhabitants. This thought caused a shiver to run through Vahn's body before he found some comfort in knowing that the materials and magical barriers in place would likely have reduced the destruction considerably.Still, Vahn was grateful for the existence of the Sub-Space Training Orbs and, to avoid any accidents happening, he wasted no time in seeking out Da Vinci to create a new one. If someone were to have entered into the Orb while he set off that attack, the only fate that would have awaited them was an almost instantaneous death. As the energy wave was moving faster than the speed of light, Vahn had only been able to sense it long after it had passed through his body. If he hadn't been immortal, he wouldn't have even known how he had died before vanishing entirely...(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Doki-Doki Olga-chan','So, he essentially created the Stasis Rune...?','Vahn, you bastard! Skoll-chan (T ^ T)!!!!')(A/N: To put it into perspective, some Rider-Class Servants can reach between Mach 180~400. This would be 1.8~4x faster than Artoria's maximum speed. Gilgamesh's Ship of Light even moves at the speed of thought, allowing him to move hundreds, or even millions, of lightyears in an instant, so long as he understood where he was going. Also, for those wondering where the earlier chapters went, there was a power outage early this morning so I ended up just going back to sleep and taking it easy until around noon. Now that I'm awake, I'm going to be releasing some more chapters, I just can't say when they will be published. It feels like my attempts to get back on a consistent schedule have met with little success xD...)https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE

It had taken a little longer than expected, but Da Vinci had finally been able to completely analyze the structure of Lev Lainur Flauros's Magic Crest. Immediately after this discovery, she had sent a message to Vahn using Ark, resulting in him arriving in their Workshop only a few minutes later. He had been at the shooting range with Lakshmibai but, as Da Vinci wouldn't have called him unless it was something important, Vahn had to cut their 'date' shorter than expected. When he arrived in the Workshop, he was equally as surprised when Da Vinci showed him the results of her analysis, causing Vahn to frown deeply. Instead of asking if her results were accurate, he instead asked, "Can we track this energy within other Magic Crests...?'In response to Vahn's question, Da Vinci had an uncharacteristically serious expression on her face as she explained, "This matter isn't that simple, Vahn. The fact that this has remained hidden for almost three-thousand years indicates that the only way to detect this malicious energy is when it is about to awaken. From what I have been able to discern from the structure of this Magic Crest, it indicates that the underlying structure of the crests is a system designed, not to advance Magecraft further, but nourish the souls of the entities sealed within the Magic Crests. I'll have to analyze other Magic Crests to be certain, but there is a chance that 'all' Magic Crests work from this same principle..."Hearing this, Vahn's frown deepened even further as, according to Da Vinci's findings, there had been an existence referred to in the Magus community as a 'demon' sealed within the Magic Crest. They were a type of existence that was akin to a 'Law of Nature', similar in structure to Spirits but almost exclusively predisposed to causing chaos and destruction. Though they were bound to humans, meaning they could only act at the behest of malicious and evil individuals, they were considered to be the embodiment of evil, the counterbalance to the existence of Heroes within the World's structure.Demons would periodically appear throughout history, often causing great destruction through war, plagues, famine, and other terrible phenomena. Though the Holy Church would take action the moment a demon emerged, it was usually the rise of a Hero that ultimately led to the entity's end. Though the existence of demons wasn't difficult to accept, the troubling part of Da Vinci's findings was that, much like how the micro-golems and companions were linked together, giving them a 'hive mind' of sorts, the Demon within Lev Lainur Flauros's Magic Crest also seemed to be just an extension of a larger network.Da Vinci had accounted for a total of seventy-two links and, while it should be possible to use the Demon in Lev's Magic Crest to develop a 'radar' of sorts, this had a very high chance of alerting the Demons they were searching for, potentially causing a chain reaction and awakening them all. Even this was pure speculation, however, requiring Da Vinci to have to request Rin to allow her Magic Crest to be studied to be sure. Before that, Vahn conferred with Alaya to see if she could provide any information pertaining to Demons but, as they were an extension of Gaia, she was prohibited from exposing their location and purpose. Under normal circumstances, the most she could do was pick a Saint to stand against any Demon that had already emerged, though only if a Hero failed to appear amongst the people.One positive piece of information they had been able to obtain from Alaya was, even if their power was significantly restricted due to their 'contract', it was possible for Vahn to summon a Saint from the past to aid them in the present. They had the intrinsic ability to track down their evil counterparts using an ability known as [Pure Eyes of the Saint]. Though there were various different types of [Pure Eyes], including some that were demonic in origin, they generally existed as a means for Demons to identify Saints and vice-versa. According to Alaya, the eyes were tied to the 'karma' of an individual, working as a force of natural attraction between 'good' and 'evil' that required them to eliminate each other, often with prejudice.Understanding how big of a pain karma could be, Vahn felt empathetic towards the Saints who, by making a contract with Alaya, essentially inherited a massive volume of 'good' karma by selflessly devoting themselves to the preservation of humanity. This meant that their lives would be plagued by the constant presence of evil and malicious individuals and, once their purpose had been served, they were often killed by the very people they wanted to protect. Sadly, once the 'evil' had been dealt with, the power possessed by Saints often became a source of fear for the people, especially amongst those who held power.The only way to avoid this fate was often by serving under the Holy Church who, when a Saint appeared, would flock to the individual to try and seize them. If they could not be controlled, the person wouldn't even be recognized as a Saint, often being labeled as a heretic and burned to prevent the faith of the people from being directed away from the church. Then, while slandering the person into oblivion, often erasing them from history entirely, the Holy Church would harvest the organs, bones, and even the clothes of the Saints they had killed, using them as materials to create their Holy Sacraments...Each new thing Vahn learned about the Holy Church made him dislike them even more and, though it was more than a little petty, he considered having Alaya help him identify the Saints so that he could summon them to the present. If he pulled them directly from history, Vahn believed that the Holy Church would be unable to harvest them as 'materials' for their own purposes. Unfortunately, while it was indeed possible to summon Saints through the Throne of Heroes, Alaya informed him that it was impossible to tear them from history directly.As they were an intrinsic part of the world's balance, serving as an extension of the Counter Force, their actions and history could not be altered without disastrous consequences. It was 'necessary' for the karma they had inherited to be balanced and, though it was undoubtedly tragic that their bodies would be harvested for materials, those very same tools would become the instruments to slay other demons throughout history. Even if the Holy Church may have a biased doctrine, it was a fact that they were one of the primary forces working to preserve humanity.Alaya, rather awkwardly, was actually the very same God that the Holy Church believed in, even though much of their doctrine was entirely contrived as a result of their interpretation of her will through human bias. As she had come into existence at the same time as humans, Alaya had been watching over them from the very beginning, protecting them from other Gods, Natural Disasters, and any Phantasmal Species that sought to destroy them. This 'Divine Protection', which was actually just the manifestation of 'Humanity's Will to Survive', was the origin of the being nascent human civilizations interpreted as 'God'.Even this had been skewed, however, as different people gave very different interpretations of the same events, often misconstruing things even further when Alaya would select a new Saint or send one of her Counter Guardians to protect a specific group of people. These people, given power by their interpretation of 'God', were treated as Prophets, Saints, and Arbiters of 'God's Will', dividing people into various different cultures based largely on a misunderstanding. From the very beginning, the 'God' almost every culture believed in was fundamentally the same thing and, though it had been Alaya herself, her existence was entirely the result of humanity's own will to survive.Humans were, in essence, their own gods, restricted solely by the systems they had established for themselves. As every human within the Root had the potential of returning to the Root, becoming one of the variables the experiment had been designed to produce, there was functionally no limit to their growth. This was something Vahn had been well aware of and, as Da Vinci also believed in the simple ideology that 'nothing is impossible', it wasn't hard for them to understand Alaya's words. It was clear that Alaya was actually a little frustrated with how humanity had developed as, if they were not so predisposed to misunderstandings and fighting amongst themselves, she wouldn't have to use Counter Guardians to purge entire civilizations just so that they didn't wipe out everyone else...After listening to Alaya's veiled complaints about humanity, Vahn asked her, "What Saint would you suggest we summon then...?" In response to this, Alaya bopped him on the nose, as he had been holding her up with both hands like a house cat, answering, "You should just summon Jeanne D'Arc, as the memories you have shared with other Heroic Spirits show you are already familiar with one of her manifestations. She was a very dedicated Sainte who never renounced her faith, even as the very people she dedicated her life to watched her burn on the pyre." As she had been observing him for a long time, Alaya knew exactly the kind of person Vahn was. Since Jeanne had the Noble Phantasm, [La Pucelle], which had the property of 'annihilating anything within existence', Alaya also felt that she would be a suitable reserve card if Vahn failed to defeat Angra Mainyu...Hearing Alaya mention the familiar name, Vahn's mind flashed with images of the stalwart and loyal Knight that had dutifully served him. Since she was also a counterpart to Lakshmibai, in a way, Vahn felt summoning Jeanne was a surprisingly good choice. Now was a period where drastic changes could occur at any moment so, while he still intended to summon Karna in the near future, it wasn't a bad idea to call upon other Heroes to give them time to acclimate before the conflicts began. Still, this would have to wait until the summoning formation was naturally active as he didn't plan to ruin Da Vinci's ongoing experiment and causing her to wait several months for another opportunity.With the demon inside of Lev's Magic Crest slumbering for nearly three-thousand years, it wasn't all that likely for others to begin appearing any time soon. Since he didn't want to have to deal with the Holy Church right now, who would undoubtedly appear with the emergence of Demons and Saints, Vahn felt it was better to stay focused on current matters. He felt like he was on a breakthrough in his comprehension of Space and Time Laws and, as he was only just now getting his feet wet in the political affairs of the Mage's Association, further distractions would only eat into the time he could spend with Mordred and Sakura. At the very least, he wanted to wait until Illya's and Astolfo's groups returned as, before he added anyone else into the mix, Vahn needed to sort his personal and private affairs better...---After spending a bit of time discussing things with Da Vinci, Vahn agreed to help her convince Rin, Luvia, and Olga to allow her to study their Magic Crests. With that in mind, Vahn sought out who he thought would be the easiest to convince, Olga, as he also wanted her to become the understudy of Da Vinci before becoming the Director of Chaldea. As Rin was currently teaching Mordred, Sakura, and Medusa, while Luvia was back in London dealing with business and politics, she was really the only one who could reliably assist Da Vinci in her attempts to understand the structure and hidden danger within Magic Crests. If all Magic Crests carried the same potential of corrupting their users, Vahn knew it would be a nightmare campaign trying to convince the Mage's Association of the dangers...Though she hadn't exactly been slacking off previously, Vahn could sense Olga flusteredly jumping into the seat of her telescope shortly after he triggered a proximity formation she had sneakily set up at the base of her Magus Tower. As he was the only one that really visited, with the exception of Da Vinci showing up to take a look in the past, she wanted to appear as if she was hard at work all the time. Vahn felt this behavior of hers was rather silly but, as it was also quite adorable, he decided to feign ignorance of the proximity trigger as he slowly made his way up the spiraling stairs to find Olga pretending to not have noticed his arrival.Leaning against the entrance to her Observatory, Vahn mused in an appreciative tone, "I see you are working hard, as usual..." These words caused Olga to look over, a poor facade of surprise on her face as she remarked, "Your Majesty, please give me just a moment. I want to finish this calculation and then I'll be right with you." Though she made it appear as if she was using quite a number of instruments, Vahn could tell at a glance that Olga was just performing a simple calculation to predict the weather. However, he pretended not to notice this and just gave an understanding nod before sitting down in a chair and watching her work. This caused Olga to fluster slightly, biting her lip to prevent a smile from spreading across her face, but it didn't prevent her from finishing up the rather simple calculation...When she had finished, Olga made a show of stretching her body, extending both arms out and producing a rather cute noise before rising from the telescope's comfortable chair and asking, "To what do I owe the pleasure of His Majesty's visit?" While these words left her lips, Olga made her way over to Vahn's side and, even though she was still very nervous under the surface, her ability to mask this had improved rapidly over the forty-seven days she had spent within the Projection. Now, even though it made her feel a little lightheaded, she could walk over and sit next to Vahn on the same sofa without fumbling over her own feet and embarrassing herself.Vahn pulled out tea and snacks as Olga sat down, understanding she had likely not eaten anything all day, answering in a calm tone, "There is a matter I wanted to discuss with you. At the same time, I wanted to see how you were doing. You shouldn't coop yourself up in the Observatory for too long, Olga. There is a difference between working hard and pushing yourself...you should get out of the castle and spend time with the others when you can." As she usually only talked with Lakshmibai and Fenrir, as they would visit her on occasion, Vahn wanted Olga to break out of her shell and interact with the others now that she was used to living in the castle.As this wasn't the first time Vahn had said something similar, Olga halfheartedly nodded her head, even though she also agreed with him. Instead of leaving on her own, however, Olga wanted Vahn to take her out first. Approaching others was very difficult and, as her research kept her well distracted, she was content with staying in the Observatory. She didn't really have anything else to do and, even if Vahn wanted her to train and become stronger, Olga wanted him to be the one to teach her the basics. Until then, she intended to continue cooping herself up inside, doing light exercises to stay in shape as she awaited the day she became the Director of Chaldea.Resisting the urge to shake his head in admonition, Vahn just produced a wry smile in response to Olga's peculiar obstinance as he explained, "There is an important request I have for you..." This caused Olga's attention and, as she had too much time on her hands these days, her mind began racing with expectation. Unfortunately, contrasting all of them, Vahn explained the discovery Da Vinci had made before asking if Olga was willing to allow her to study the Magic Crest he knew she had already inherited. In response to this, Olga had a fretful expression as the Magic Crest of a Magus family, especially once as prestigious as hers, was their most closely guarded secret. In was the culmination of their entire family's breakthroughs in Magecraft, passed along to a single heir through dozens, or even hundreds, of generations...Understanding Olga's apprehension, Vahn's expression softened a bit as he reached out his hand, startling her by stroking her pale hair and stating, "Please, trust me, Olga. This will also be a good opportunity for you to learn a great deal from Da Vinci..." Then, realizing this may not exactly be the best motivation, Vahn bit the bullet and added, "I understand I'm asking a lot...in exchange, I will allow you to make a request of me as well. So long as it is within my power, I will grant any wish you may have..." As he still possessed an item that could 'literally' allow him to grant a wish, Vahn was sincere when he made his claim. Though he understood Olga probably wouldn't suggest something so extreme, as he had some expectations for what she may ask for, the severity of his words was still conveyed properly...Now, rather than a traditional fretful expression, Olga's eyes began to swim around in their sockets as her face became beet red the instant she heard Vahn's words. Rather than focusing on protecting the secrets of her family, which may very well lead to her protecting the existence of a demon, Olga's mind was racing with possibilities about what she might request. She could tell he was very serious and, knowing Vahn would even answer 'extreme' demands, Olga's heart felt like it was going to burst out of her chest. However, fearing he would think lesser of her if she asked for too much, Olga only managed to tightly grip the hem of her skirt as she stammered, "K-k-kiss...I w-want a kiss...!"Hearing Olga say the word 'kiss' in a high pitched tone, Vahn barely resisted the urge to chuckle as, from one perspective, it almost sounded like Olga was giving away all her family's secrets for a just one kiss. Still, as this was much tamer than he had expected, while also being a huge step forward for Olga herself, Vahn decided to make it worth her while. Thus, before she could implode further, Vahn caused Olga to turn statuesque by moving his hand from the top of her head to the side of her face. Then, as her eyes gradually widened in response, he moved in closer, sealing her lips and giving her a memory she would not soon forget...(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'The demons within...','Poor Alaya, having all her actions misrepresented by opportunists...','Seriously, Vahn is bullying Olga at this point (&gt;/////&lt;)~!')(A/N: Okay, I have apparently misjudged how hard it is to transition back into a schedule where I write all the chapters back to back. For now, there will be two guaranteed chapters on schedule while the other 1-2 will be released in the afternoon, depending on when I can allocate the motivation and time to keep writing.https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE

Chapter 1185: Breaking Limits