Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

With Aeterna assisting him, Vahn felt like he had finally caught up with his former skill at forging. He had already known this but, with the eternal flame being at his side since the beginning of his career as a Blacksmith, Vahn was infinitely more used to working with a 'partner' than working on his own.After losing the eternal flame, it always felt like something was missing every time he picked up a hammer and tried to get the proper groove. It was simply less 'fun' doing it on his own as, from the very beginning, Vahn had never really aspired to walk the path of forging for forging's sake. He had done it out of necessity at the time and, after seeing how much people benefitted from his creations, he tried polishing his skills further and further.Now, Vahn was actually enjoying forging again, rather than treating it like a task he needed to focus, not just his mind, but his very existence on. This wasn't just due to the existence of Aeterna, either, as the Dwarves had actually given him permission to use the Great Forge. After Aeterna appeared along with her crown, he had been given the honorary status of an Elder. If not for the fact that the title of Master could only be given by the Council of Dwarven Lords, representing the remaining tribes, he would have already been recognized as a Master due to the craftsmanship of the crown.Since then, Vahn would make a point of visiting the Great Forge every few days, both as a means of building rapport with the Dwarves and allowing Aeterna to show off in front of her subjects. Though this ate into a lot of his time, Vahn felt it would be for the betterment of the Empire that he make an effort now, rather than later. If he could build his reputation amongst their community early on, any future Dwarves that came to reside in the Undercity would be influenced by the existing members. After they had a taste of the [Dwarven Draft], which was popular for obvious reasons, even the most obstinant of Dwarves viewed him in a positive light.---It was during one of Vahn's visits to the Great Forge that Alaya, who liked to watch him forge while hanging from his back, informed him, "Da Vinci is trying to give birth to herself. You should hurry."Vahn rarely lost focus during forging but, when his mind processed what Alaya said, his hammer was off target by a millimeter, causing a ripple to pass through the metal a compromising the structural integrity irreversibly. Since he had never really made such mistakes before, the spectating Dwarves were quite surprised but, after he quickly explained the situation, they practically chased him off so that he could be with Da Vinci. They might treat forging as one of the most sacred practices but, just from seeing how ardently they protected their womenfolk and youth, it was easy to understand what their priorities were.By the time Vahn reached the Workshop, less than ten minutes had passed within the Projection but, despite this, he found Da Vinci standing next to herself with a baby in her arms. He nearly slouched against the door upon seeing this but, considering who he was dealing with, Vahn actually wasn't all that surprised. There was no way Da Vinci would have wanted to make her delivery as public an affair as the past deliveries as, while she enjoyed conversing with people, she wasn't very social.Seeing Vahn appear in a flash of light, Da Vinci poked her tongue out at him before musing, "Looks like I beat you to the punch this time around, ufufufu~"Despite having just given birth, Da Vinci didn't even have sweat on her brow, making Vahn wonder what exactly happened. This was a question for later, however, as he was far more concerned about the blanketed bundle in her arms. He made his way over without retorting to her comment to find what could only be described as a 'masterpiece' staring back at him.Much like Isanna and Naavi, his new daughter was looking back at him with a discernible glimmer of intelligence contained within her sapphire blue eyes. She wasn't crying, nor did she seem confused about the situation in the slightest. Instead, she smiled as if recognizing who he was before reaching out her tiny hand and giggling happily when he extended his index finger for her to grab.While he was distracted by the antics of his newborn daughter, Da Vinci had a loving smile on her face as she whispered, "I always wondered what it would be like to be a mother...it feels like my heart is suddenly much larger...filled with a fluffy feeling that makes it impossible not to smile..."As she finished speaking, Da Vinci gently cradled their daughter in her arms and, for the first time since he had known her, Vahn saw a tear escape from her left eye. Though she enjoyed teasing him, Da Vinci wasn't actually that adept at expressing herself. The main reason she didn't like interacting with others was due to the fact that they simply couldn't understand her. She also had considerable trouble trying to empathize with others and, as her discussions usually resulted in the other party feeling awkward or dumb, she preferred to just avoid them whenever possible.Vahn couldn't attest to understanding Da Vinci completely but, as they spent a lot of time together, he had, at the very least, reached the point where he understood her character. Thus, after using his thumb to wipe away her singular tear, he looked her in the eyes and stated sincerely, "Here, at this moment, you are the most beautiful woman in the entire world...there is nothing beautiful than a mother's love..."Despite trying to comfort Da Vinci, Vahn felt a little emotional as the words left his lips. He managed to avoid crying but, with her attention to detail, it obviously couldn't escape Da Vinci's notice. Her smile blossomed into the most radiant expression he had ever seen on her face, causing Vahn's mind to blank momentarily as she extended the bundle in her arms toward him. He instinctually reached out to hold his daughter, cradling her gently in his arms as Da Vinci, with a slightly husky voice, said, "She needs a name...don't disappoint me~"Seemingly understanding what her mother had said, the beautiful baby girl in Vahn's arms had stars in her eyes as she expectantly waited for her name. This caused both Vahn and Da Vinci to chuckle before the former adopted a thoughtful expression. He actually didn't get to name his children all that often so he suddenly felt a lot of pressure on his shoulders, especially with the expectant look on his daughter's face.After sifting through a few names within his mind, Vahn looked between Da Vinci and his currently unnamed daughter before smiling as he asked, "How about Sophia?" He asked this question to his daughter while Da Vinci, turning her eyes up in rumination stated, "A name meaning Intelligent and Wise...not the most clever, but I think it is suitable. What do you think, little one~?"In response to her mother's question, 'Sophia' giggled happily, seemingly indicating her consent. It was a bit on the nose but, as she had undoubtedly inherited her mother's fearsome intelligence, it was a name suitable for a future prodigy. Unfortunately, Vahn would soon lament not naming her something along the lines of Pandora as, compared to all of his other children, Sophia would quickly become fond of making trouble for him.---Like all of his children, Sophia was given a Guardian of her own. It took on the form of an owlet with creamy-white and golden-brown feathers. It was a type of Spirit known, quite literally, as the Spirit of Wisdom. They were typically Spirits that protected Libraries and served as the familiars of powerful Magi, at least when Spirits were more common in the world.While the Spirit of Wisdom wasn't exactly proficient at combat, it had the unique ability to share the knowledge it had obtained with others. They also had the ability to archive information in their mind, much like a Library with an auto-search function, making them extremely capable Familiars for any Magi dedicated to their research. In the future, Sophia, assuming she didn't have a perfect memory already, would benefit greatly from its companionship.For now, however, the Spirit of Wisdom was just a tiny owlet that looked similar to a great-horned owl, albeit with different colored feathers and unnervingly black eyes. Though they were actually just a 'very' dark shade of brown, it was impossible to discern at a glance. This made it seem like the tiny owl's eyes were like a bottomless abyss as it stared, almost unblinkingly, right back at you. Still, this wasn't enough to really bother Vahn all that much so, despite the rather creepy visage, he gave the tiny owlet a few head scratches before letting it retreat inside Sophia to rest.After the tiny owl had vanished, Vahn lightly rubbed the tip of Sophia's nose before turning to Da Vinci and saying, "Though you may be troubled, it-" Before Vahn could finish, Da Vinci turned her eyes up at him, saying, "I haven't even fed her yet. Don't worry, I intend to introduce her to the other children later. For now, I'd like you to keep it a secret, okay? I really want to see the reaction of the other girls when I suddenly appear with a baby in arm~"Vahn felt his brain buzzing a bit after hearing Da Vinci's words but, while he would normally humor her, this time he smiled wryly as he said, "That is a little...extreme. I have to inform Artoria and Gray, at the very least. Though we can keep the celebration private, it is a little unfair to the others to keep it a secret like this."Da Vinci adopted a playful pout in response to Vahn's words but, rather than insist, she ultimately gave an affirmative nod before stating, "I want to surprise Nobunaga and tease Luvia. After that, you can do whatever you want. You already have a feeding apparatus so I'll entrust you with taking our daughter to explore the castle and interact with others. I don't want her to be cooped up in here all the time so you'll have to work hard to make sure she gets along with the others~"Hearing Da Vinci's words, Vahn knew she had seen through his intention of having her socialize with the others by taking Sophia to the daycare. Though he hadn't really expected her to go that often, as she was very busy with her research, he wanted her to at least be on friendlier terms with everyone else.Seeing through Vahn's thoughts, Da Vinci began giggling in amusement before saying, "This is the path I've decided to walk. You needn't worry so much, my darling Master...I'll make sure to spend a bit of time with the others in the future. You should worry more about our daughter. If you don't want her to become a reclusive genius, you'll need work pretty hard, ufufufu~"If Sophia was anything like her, Da Vinci knew it was only a matter of time before she grew bored of playing with the other children. They simply wouldn't be able to keep up, regardless of whether they were Demigods, Vanir, or something else entirely. Being a peerless genius was a lonely path so it was only a matter of time before her daughter began spending more time in the Workshop than with the other children. This was the reason she wanted Vahn to spend time with Sophia now as, in the future, she and her daughter would likely be working alongside each other for the remainder of their lives.---While Vahn was spending time with Da Vinci and the newborn Sophia, Merlin was seated in his Magus Tower with an amused smile on his face. He was very tempted to go spread the word of Sophia's birth throughout the castle but, as there were no real benefits to antagonizing Da Vinci, he ultimately decided against it. Instead, he tried to peer into the mind of the newborn Sophia, only to find that she was completely resistant to his attempts, just like her parents.After discovering his, Merlin began to laugh in a light-hearted manner, understanding the Empire now had another 'monster' in its midst. Not only did Sophia practically radiate intelligence, but he could also sense a phenomenal amount of power contained within her body. Like all of Vahn's children, she was completely immune to his foresight, something he had become increasingly fond of with the passage of time. Life was simply more interesting when you didn't know what was going to happen.Since he didn't want to let his intent linger in the Workshop for too long, as he was fully aware of the effort Da Vinci was making to detect his presence, Merlin let his focus shift elsewhere. This resulted in him peering in on Illya, something he had been doing with increasing frequency. He was honestly shocked after learning about the girl's attempts to fuse with Cath Palug, as it didn't really make a lot of sense to him.Before seeing it with his own eyes, Merlin would have never even considered the possibility that a Beast of Gaia could completely fuse with another person. Though Illya had a slightly better chance than most due to her nature being comparable to a Greater Nature Spirit, he knew it was primarily the influence of Vahn that made the fusion possible. The man produced mysterious energy that he couldn't make heads nor tails of. It seemed capable of literally anything, surprising Merlin time and again with its functionality.At this point, he was certain Vahn's energy was the reason why he had been selected as Type Omega by the entities governing reality from the 'Outside'. He knew something was going on that Vahn was either unable to tell them, or simply elected not to. The former seemed to be far more likely as, even when there were 'gaps' in Vahn's mind, which he normally would have been able to exploit, a foreign presence had, with great prejudice, kicked him out.Merlin knew there was a second entity inside of Vahn's mind as, even when the man was focused on other things, he had noticed discrepancies in the memories relayed to those he summoned. Just the fact that the memories varied from person to person, though not by much, was proof enough that something was guiding the process. Though it didn't seem like the memories themselves were false, it was apparent that Vahn was either keeping a lot of secrets, or the entity existing within him did so at his behest.Despite all these red flags, Merlin's opinion of Vahn had only increased with the passage of time as he really was a very hard-working individual. Though he had his quirks, he very rarely contradicted himself and the image he presented within his memories. This indicated they were indeed the truth and, while some parts were obfuscated, there was likely a good reason behind it. Vahn simply didn't come off at the type of person that lived by deceiving others. He was honest to a fault, almost to the point of seeming very naive at times...Though there was a chance Vahn was putting on an act, Merlin feared there was literally nothing he could do if the man was that capable of deception. Thus, rather than focus wholly on what Vahn was up to, Merlin focused on the changes he inspired in others. Since he was a very hardworking person, everyone around him worked a lot harder than they needed to, almost as if they were compelled to do so by some unseen force.The most obvious change could be observed in individuals like Cath Palug who, over the last fifteen-hundred years, had essentially served as Merlin's Familiar. During this time frame, he had come to know the peculiar Beast of Gaia nearly as well as he knew himself. Because of this, Merlin was a little shaken to see how much he had changed in fewer than two years. He had expected it to take several decades for any real change to occur in the destructive beast yet, with what could only be described as a middling effort from Vahn, the beast had practically been tamed.Gender had no real meaning to a Beast of Gaia, as they were singular existences, but Cath Palug had even abandoned the fact that it was originally male. Now, it had almost completely fused with Illya and, though nothing had happened, Merlin knew the beast was growing increasingly impatient as a very strong desire to mate had been seeded inside of it. It was, honestly, a little unnerving to try and peer into the fused mentality of the two as, though Illya was the dominant personality, she had been influenced by the 'feral' nature of Cath Palug.Merlin could only smile wryly as he watched Illya roll around in a pile of clothes that she had asked Fenrir to secure for her. She would hide them whenever Vahn came to visit but, at other times, she practically buried herself in a pile of dirty laundry. The most curious part of this development was the fact that Vahn was completely aware that Illya had stolen an entire wardrobe's worth of clothes yet pretended to be completely unaware of it. This wasn't to deceive and manipulate Illya, as that wasn't really necessary at this point, but because he willfully chose to avoid stressing her out as her fusion with Cath Palug progressed into its later stages.At this point, Illya had pure white hair, two large fluffy ears, and a fluffy tail that curled in an s-shape sticking out from her backside. Her formerly red eyes were now a vibrant violet color while, similar to Fenrir, she had fur covering her forearms and calves. She even had sharp nails and tiny pink pads on the interior of her palms and the bottoms of her feet, something Merlin himself was interested in. He had asked to touch them once but, as if she had never been more offended, Illya looked at him like a predator trying to entice her with candy. Since he liked to think of himself as a rather likable person, Merlin had been quite hurt by her reaction...(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Control the alcohol, control the Dwarves','Da Vinci is a cheeky weirdo xD','RIP Dick Wizard. Even little girls and companions of 1500 years avoid him (UwU)...')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE

Though it was a bit earlier than scheduled, Vahn found himself in the underground tunnels that had, in a very short period of time, become the home of the Dwarves and Vulcanae. It was nothing like the complex network of tunnels that Da Vinci's micro-golems had mapped previously. Now, a small city had already started to take shape several hundred meters beneath the island, home to a total of 419 Dwarves and an equal number of Vulcanae.Vahn had been invited by the Representative of the Dwarves, Gwent, and his partner Vulcanae, Firis, to the christening of their 'great forge', an object that represented the Dwarves intent to make the terrain beneath Avalon a permanant settlement. Previously, they only worked smaller individual forges, assisted in large part by their Vulcanae partners. Now, however, the Great Forge would serve as both the heart of the budding Dwarven community and the primary home of the Vulcanae.As Fire Elementals, Vulcanae could only propagate in places of intense heat and pressure. Though they had vaguely feminine features, they were completely asexual Spirits who breathed life into the embers of a forge when the concentration of mana was high enough. Due to their Covenant with the Dwarves, they only propagated when a new Dwarf was born, the only exception being when a new 'queen' needed to be born.This was the event Vahn was to bear witness to as, with the christening of the Great Forge, the new Vulcanae Queen was about to be born into existence. He knew from Merlin that Gwent intended to have the new Queen contract with him, essentially becoming his Partner while also serving to keep the other Vulcanae under control. Since they only listened to their Queen and their Partners, it was a necessary step to avoid 'accidents' like young Vulcanae setting fire to the surrounding forests, as they had an instinctual propensity towards setting things aflame.After reaching the Dwarven City, Avalon's Hearth, Vahn admired the earthen structures that served as both home and forge to each of the Dwarves within the City. He also got to see a female Dwarf for the first time, another sign that the Dwarves had truly made this place their home. They would never put their womenfolk and young at risk if they didn't believe they were safe from harm. What Vahn a little peculiar was that the adult women all had beards, much like their male counterparts, but the children were all petite and rather adorable.Though the males began growing beards as early as two years old, the females looked like human children with bronzed skin and slightly stocky features. He knew they would be this way for well over a hundred years, as Dwarves in the Nasuverse weren't considered adults until they were nearing their two-hundredth birthday. Since they had an average lifespan exceeding fifteen-hundred years, this wasn't too much of a surprise.Along the way to the Great Forge, a massive structure that looked like a fat vase from the outside, each and every Dwarf he passed either bowed or bent the knee. As for their Vulcanae counterparts, they would just laugh mischievously while some of the bolder ones amongst them even came up to circle around him playfully a few times. Since Vahn had an almost ludicrous resistance to fire, their heat didn't bother him in the slightest and, to ease the tensions of their Partners, he even extended his finger to shake hands with a few of them.Due to his 'friendly' nature, Vahn found himself crowded by a few dozen Vulcanae by the time he reached the Great Forge. However, since almost every Dwarf had been making their way over, this wasn't too much of a problem. Instead, he earned a few appreciative nods from some of the older Dwarves who, seeing how easily he tolerated the flames of the Vulcanae, understood why Gwent had spoken so highly of him. They were all interested to see his skills in the forge for themselves, as it was exceptionally rare for anyone to have skill rivaling even middling Dwarven Blacksmiths.When the large metallic doors of the Great Forge opened, a powerful wave of pressure and heat escaped, rapidly increasing the surrounding temperature by several tens of degrees. Even this wasn't enough to cause Vahn to sweat and, without any hesitation whatsoever, he made his way into the interior of the Great Forge where several stout figures, few exceeding more than 100cm in height, were waiting.At the foremost position of the group, Gwent, with his dark-grey beard now bereft of all ornaments, was wearing nothing by a thick smithing apron, dark gloves, thick pants, and sturdy looking boots. He was surrounded by a total of eight figures, six of which were males while two bearded women, possessing arms just as thick as their male counterparts, stood proudly with hammers at the ready.None of the Elder Dwarves were dressed up as, while they showed propriety when necessary, the Great Forge was a sacred place where such formalities could be considered a great insult to the sanctity of the forge. This was a place for forging and producing masterworks, not for pretentious political discussions and flowery ceremonies. If not for the respect Gwent had for Vahn, he wouldn't even be allowed to enter the Great Forge directly, regardless of whether or not he was an Emperor.Since Vahn already knew what to expect, he dismissed most formalities outright and simply nodded toward the gathering before smiling as he stated, "Thank you for your invitation. This place...is quite something. Truly impressive..."Though it might sound like Vahn was just being courteous, the Fire Elemental energy in the air was swirling around him in a perfectly natural way. Even the Vulcanae in the surroundings were tempted to join in, regardless of the silent protests of their Partners. This scene caused the nine Elders to give an appreciative nod toward Vahn while Gwent stroked his beard with and remarked, "You are loved by the flames...it's a shame you weren't born as a Dwarf, grahahahaha...!"With a few Vulcanae now seated on his head and shoulders, Vahn joined Gwent in laughing, causing the surrounding Fae to laugh alongside him. In truth, without the benefits provided by Akasha upon entering the Root, he wouldn't be able to resist the flames too easily. He no longer had the immunity granted to him by Hephaestus and the Eternal Flame but, as their flames didn't breach the damage threshold of a B-Rank attack, his body completely negated any damage they might have caused...While the residents of the Dwarven undercity continued to congregate within the Great Forge, Vahn joined Gwent and the other Elders at the mouth of the kiln. The temperature here reached nearly 1500 degrees while, at the centermost region, Vahn could feel temperatures close to 10,000 degrees, nearly five times hotter than coal-forges with an oxygen-rich environment. If not for the Vulcanae, these types of temperatures would be nigh-impossible to reach, at least without burning chemicals and manipulating the flames using a variety of special techniques.At the very center of the kiln, visible through the large opening, Vahn could see what looked like a pure white egg formed from flames. It was surrounded by several dozen Vulcanae and, after Vahn approached, most of the other Vulcanae in the room swarmed inside to feed their energy into the tiny egg. In the end, there were more than four-hundred Vulcanae dancing and singing around the egg containing their Queen while the most senior among them had their palms directly against the surface.As the temperature gradually increased, causing the flames near the mouth to exceed 3,000 degrees, the egg finally began to crack. Moments later, a fairy made of violet-white flames emerged from the interior of the egg, fully formed. She was twice the size of the other Vulcanae and even had twice the number of wings folded behind her, much like a damselfly. Given the color of her body, which was a stark contrast to the vibrant oranges and reds of her kin, Vahn assumed she was capable of creating temperatures far hotter than her counterparts.While the Vulcanae were loudly celebrating the birth of their new Queen, the Fae in question was already staring at Vahn, her eyes burning with a deep amethyst color. Like all Faerie Queens, she had inherited the memories of her subjects so, despite this being the first time she lay witness to Vahn, there was no confusion visible on her flame-wreathed face. Instead, she flicked her eight wings to life before flittering over to the mouth of the kiln, bringing with her a startling heat that caused all but Gwent and Vahn to take a few steps back.With the 20cm tall Fae only a few centimeters away from him, Vahn extended his hand with a smile on his face as he mused, "It is nice to meet you..." In response to his greeting, the Queen flittered to his palm before sitting down and curling up in a fetal position. Being born was a tiring process so, despite having much to discuss, she would rather get a bit of sleep. Before she closed her eyes completely, however, she looked up at Vahn and asked, "Name...?" in a voice that sounded like an amalgamation of serene sounds pulled from nature.Vahn found the Faerie Queen's actions rather adorable, despite the fact his sleeve had burned away due to the intense temperature she produced. When he heard her question, his smile turned gentle as he stated in a soft tone, "My name is Vahn...Vahn Aldrnari Mason...from now on, you will be known as Aeterna...Queen of the Vulcanae."Hearing Vahn's words, Aeterna gave a small nod before stretching her body and yawning in adorably before curling up in his palms and closing her eyes. This made him feel a little helpless as she was supposed to reside within the kiln, not within his palms. He couldn't really carry her around with him, especially if she continued to output such intense heat. Unfortunately, Gwent continued to stroke his beard with an amused smile on his face as he explained, "It isn't uncommon for Vulcanae to spend a few days synchronizing with their Partners. Make sure to care for her well, will ya? If she dies, the fire within the kiln will burn out and it will negatively affect all of our Vulcanae. We're counting on you, Your Majesty."After hearing Gwent's explanation, Vahn knew that he had been played by Merlin yet again. He could even hear the flowery Magus laughing in the back of his mind, something that annoyed him greatly, despite it just being an auditory hallucination. Fortunately, Gwent gave him an artifact that looked similar in structure to a lantern, albeit encrusted with gold and covered in complex runes. This was known as a 'Faerie Lantern' and, when not residing inside a hearth or kiln, most Vulcanae lived inside of the lantern-like object to conserve their heat and mana.Vahn placed the sleeping Aeterna inside the lantern which, contrary to its outward appearance, had a much larger interior. It also prevented any leakage of heat, allowing the outside to feel cool to the touch, despite the interior being nearly 5,000 degrees Celsius. Vahn was honestly a little amazed at the craftsmanship of the lantern which, according to Gwent, had been specially prepared for him and the new Queen. He had spent the last five days forging it without rest, putting his heart and soul into its construction as a means to express their gratitude for being given sanctuary beneath Avalon.Hearing Gwent recount the forging process he used, Vahn couldn't help but smile appreciatively as it was obvious the Elder Dwarf was exceptionally skilled. He might not be one of the great Masters of his people, but his skills were easily comparable to a [Master Smith] back in Danmachi. Vahn felt that he could help Gwent reach greater heights so, during the banquet following the christening of the Great Forge, he proposed having him undergo the Familia Induction Ceremony. This would allow the Elder Dwarf to take on Quests of his choosing, further contributing to the Empire while allowing him to finally reach the standards of other Master Dwarven Blacksmiths.Gwent had no reason to refuse Vahn's offer and, as he hoped it might serve to strengthen the bond between the Dwarves and the Empire further, he graciously accepted. In exchange, Vahn also gave him the official title of 'Lord of the Undercity' before applying the crest amidst the curious eyes of several hundred Dwarves and Vulcanae. After that, they feasted for several hours until it was finally time for Vahn to return.---As much as he enjoyed the lively and festive atmosphere of the Dwarves, there were other things on Vahn's plate. He also didn't like staying outside of the Projection for long periods of time as, during the short five-hour visit to the Undercity, thirty-five hours had passed within the Projection. This was time he could have spent training and interacting with his various lovers and children.Vahn knew things would eventually reach the point where it was counter-intuitive to remain inside the Projection, but that was still more than a decade away, at least from the perspective of those on the inside. He was already tempted to restrict access to the Projection to the evenings but, as there were too many threats present in the world, he didn't have a good reason to deny anyone access, at least for the time being. After all, it was simply too efficient to live inside the orb, especially during these chaotic times when the Empire was still in its nascent stages.The best example of the Projection's usefulness was the fact that Fenrir, compared to when she first entered the Record, was already at the point of being able to hold her own against Kenshin, at least for a few hours. She had the benefit of greater speed and range, allowing her to stay outside of the effective range of the monochromatic warrior. Though Kenshin could still target Fenrir with arrows that seemed to cut through Space and Time to reach their target, Fenrir had slowly learned how to deal with even this.According to Scáthach and Kenshin, it would only take another two years before Fenrir was able to directly contend against Kenshin during their spars. Though she would lose in a fight to the death, as Kenshin's was much stronger when she wasn't holding back, the fact remained that Fenrir's growth had reached monstrous levels. This was in spite of the fact she spent nearly half her time watching over Mordred and engaging with the other residents of the castle, himself included.Vahn could never truly express how grateful he was for Fenrir's efforts so, rather than use his words, he used his actions to convey his appreciation. There were times when he would just whisk her away so they could be alone together, usually to cuddle in some random location where they didn't have to worry about being found. At these times, Fenrir would behave very affectionately, releasing all of her pent-up stress on him as he pampered her, not necessarily to her heart's content, but enough to keep her going until their next retreat.This was how Vahn decided to spend his time after checking in on Nobunaga, Rin, Ereshkigal, Ishtar, Luvia, Da Vinci, and Circe. He had also spent some time with his children, made easy by the fact they were almost always together in the eastern wing of the Inner Sanctum. This was important as, even though only nine days had passed since the birth of the triplets, Isanna and Naavi were significantly larger than even Kamiya. They aged around 5~7 times faster than normal children, meaning they may very well be walking and talking in less than two months, Projection time.Fortunately, other than throwing a fit whenever they were separated from Daiki, both the Vanir were developing in a positive direction. They got along well with Kamiya and seemed to understand what people were saying when they were spoken to. Isanna had even started to exercise her vocal cords actively, speaking indiscernible baby-words that, with Vahn's auto-translate, actually translated to a rudimentary language. She seemed to be aware that he understood her as well, laughing happily whenever he responded to her remarks as if they were carrying on an actual conversation.It wouldn't be long before Isanna was capable of speaking coherently and, by the end of the year, outside of the Projection, she and Naavi would already be adults. This was a uniquely terrifying thought so, unless it was necessitated, Vahn felt compelled to stay inside the Projection so as not to miss them growing up. Even being gone for a single day could translate to more than a month in their development so he rarely stayed outside for more than a few hours.Still, this didn't mean he was always lingering around the young Vanir as, if he was present too often, they could become considerably spoiled in a very short period of time. Thus, like now, Vahn enjoyed laying in a field of perpetually blooming flowers which, despite the temperature being near-freezing, defied the chill as they proudly exposed themselves to the sun. At the same time, he had a familiar weight pressed into his chest, accompanied by the gentle nuzzling of Fenrir as he absentmindedly ran his fingers through her hair and down the line of her back. He would always come to an end at her tail, causing her hips to raise slightly whenever he passed over the pressure point near the base of her spine.In this manner, Vahn passed yet another day in the Projection, enjoying the peace and quiet while, at his side, a small golden lantern pulsated in a rhythmic fashion, similar to a heartbeat. Aeterna would be sleeping for upwards of three days, according to Merlin, so Vahn had free time until then. Though this would translate to him having to undergo a unique hell after resuming his training, Scáthach had already stopped holding back against him so there wasn't much of a difference. The only real change would be how she treated him after the fact but, as he was already used to being reduced to nothing more than a puddle, even that didn't deter him from enjoying this moment...(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Beards are a sign of status...!','Aeterna means 'Eternal' (^_^)','Vahn is living the dream, interspaced with various nightmares xD...')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE

Chapter 1246: Determination