Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Though he was the one that gave them a five-hour deadline, Vahn's perception of time made it feel like a much longer period of time had passed. As a result, he was starting to feel a little bored as he considered whether or not it would be considered cheating if he made a copy of himself to go have some fun...Fortunately, while he was technically stuck in place, there were still plenty of things Vahn could do to pass the time. His internalized realm still existed, and, if he wanted to, he could always visit his personalized Little Garden to let the girls know what he had in mind.In the end, Vahn decided to do both.Since it had been quite some time, at least from his own perspective, the first place Vahn visited was the Actualized World of Dog Days. Leo had given birth quite some time ago, and, despite his efforts to keep things platonic between them, it hadn't taken long for him to sink his teeth into Milhi and quite a number of other girls.Though he sometimes felt guilty about turning the world of Flognarde into his personal relaxation paradise, such sentiments faded away the moment Vahn stopped by to visit. The way the people of Flognarde showed affection was simply infectious. He had also sired eleven children, who, alongside Zhuque, Xiao Bai, Lady Xuan, and Grandpa Qin, made up the Godly Pantheon of that world.Now that he was planning to spread his Empire into the Divine Realm, Vahn decided he might as well incorporate Flognarde into his plans. The people of that world were already familiar with the concept of settling disputes with games and competitions so they would fit in splendidly among the Little Garden's residents.What Vahn had planned was making Zhuque, Xiao Bai, Lady Xuan, and Grandpa Qin the Leaders of their own Communities. They had worked hard to protect Flognarde at his behest, so, now that he was in the highest of Realms, he wanted to give them the chance to fight alongside him. They were, after all, an intrinsic part of the person he had become. If he was serious about ascending to Tier 7, he would need them at his side, not watching over people who had become more than capable of protecting themselves.When everything was said and done, Vahn intended the Aldrnari Empire to be comprised of more than a hundred different Communities, each led by someone he trusted. Most of the people living within his personalize Little Garden could go toe-to-toe with beings in the 4-Digit Gates. With the support of the Alliance and a functionally infinite amount of resources, it was only a matter of time before the Aldrnari Empire became one of the most powerful factions in the Divine Realm.Fortunately, the Gods that governed the Divine Realm had created a protocol that would aid him in this endeavor.No matter which Pantheon of Gods you looked into, each and every one of them had some kind of reference to an 'End of Days'. The reason for this was simple: the moment they became the Leaders of 4-Digit Communities, each and every one of them had been made aware of the requirements for becoming a 3-Digit Community.Though they were quite a number of non-destructive methods, the 'simplest' way to earn a 3-Digit classification was to secure at least six Gates between the Ranks of 1000-1010. Then, so long as you possessed at least ten Fragments of Origin, you could wager your very existence to trigger the most infamous Gift Game in the Divine Realm: Last Embryo.While each of the Cardinal Districts had their own name for the event, ie: Ragnarok, Armageddon, Li Hong, and Frashokereti, they all represented the same eschatological concept. Simply put, the event was one of the Last Trials of Humanity, a Gift Game so cataclysmic in nature that it could lead to the complete destruction of Pantheons and utter annihilation of countless metaversal structures.From the perspective of the people who knew about them, Last Embryos were considered to be evil and profane. In actuality, they were simply trials that humanity would need to overcome in order to avoid extinction.One such example of a Last Embryo was Shiroyasha herself. She represented a concept known as the Endless White Night. To some, this represented the inevitable death of a planet's parent star. If they were not able to expand beyond the stars, they would inevitably be destroyed along with it.The true nature of the Endless White Night was the reversal of entropy and the collapse of the universe to its larval state. It was what many scientists and scholars referred to as the Big Crunch, the antithesis of the Big Bang that served as the catalyst of countless universes.Though he would invariably earn himself the designation of a Demon God, Vahn didn't particularly mind. He was aiming to become the literal foundation of the Record so he couldn't really afford to be concerned about the views of others. The only thing that truly mattered was that he stayed true to himself and the people who believed in the ideals he represented........."Even though I'm basically the one who taught you how to manipulate time, it's still hard to wrap my head around the fact that eighteen months have passed for you despite only three and a half hours passing for us...""Mmm..."Since he had already explained everything in detail, Vahn was no longer interested in talking about the events that had transpired outside. Instead, he just hummed a curt response while continuing to nestle his face into Eva's inordinately soft and full breasts..."Geez...you're acting like a baby..."In spite of her words, Eva continued to caress Vahn's head with a complacent smile on her face. She enjoyed moments like this as they made Vahn seem a lot more vulnerable than he actually was. The fact she was among of the first people he came to after returning to the Little Garden also filled her with an inkling of pride, so, while she fully intended to nag him at some point, it could wait.........Though he was the one that had made the decision, Vahn couldn't help clicking his tongue at the version of himself that was sleeping in Eva's embrace. They were one and the same person, literally linked through thought and sense, but, in spite of this, he was still envious of his counterpart's luck.Just a little bit.Smacking the remarkably toned bottom pushing against his hips, a teasing smile developed across Vahn's face as he mused, "For you, it's only been a few hours since the last time we had sex. You're behaving even more like a cat than usual..."Ignoring Vahn's words, Yoruichi continued to bite her bottom lip, a glazed look in her eyes as she proactively slammed her pert, creamy brown bottom against his hips. It didn't matter that only a few hours had passed from her perspective. Knowing more than eighteen months had passed for Vahn, she was determined to make up for lost time.As much as he appreciated Yoruichi's concerns, the problem Vahn was facing was that nearly every woman in his harem had a similar train of thought. It had only been a few hours since his return to the Littel Garden and he had already had sex a grand total of 293 times between thirteen different versions of himself. If not for his limitless stamina and the fact he could manipulate time, he would have been having sex for four days straight.Fortunately for the girls, limitless stamina and time manipulation were only the tip of the iceberg in regard to Vahn's capabilities. He was also just as excited as they were to be back together, so, using his recently regained Sex Divinity, Vahn made sure each and every one of his women were satisfied. It was, quite literally, the least he could do.........A stark contrast to the regal attire she usually wore, Artoria, now appearing as her more mature self, was sitting atop Vahn's lap in a pair of form-fitting jeans and a long-sleeved sweater. She also had a mug of fragrant black coffee in her hands, as, despite her nigh-unlimited stamina, she was feeling a little muddleheaded after going at it for the better part of thirty hours."I thought you were through with expanding the Empire? I'm not complaining, I just don't want you pushing yourself in an effort to appease us."With an affectionate smile on his face, Vahn tilted his head ever so slightly to the side as he picked a few strands of loose hair from Artoria's face, stating, "You should know by now how selfish I am...I created the Yggdrasil Network to provide everyone freedom. In spite of this, I can't help wanting to keep each of you near me. Simply coming to visit whenever I have free time isn't enough. I want to occupy the same space as everyone... to smell their fragrance when I enter a room...to breathe the same air...I want it all..."Though even Vahn found his words to be a bit creepy, Artoria didn't seem to think that way. Rather, a carnivorous smile developed across her face as she leaned into him, silvery eyes glistening as she sensually whispered, "Then take me with you...I've said it countless times before, and I'll keep saying it as many times as it takes. I may be your Empress, but, first and foremost, I am your Knight. Even if you were to raise your banner against all of creation, I would forever stand at your side...""..."Seeing the resolution contained in Artoria's eyes, Vahn was moments away from pushing her down an umpteenth time. Unfortunately, he was well aware of the fact their son was currently looking for them. Artoria was easily among one of his most loyal women. However, if she were to learn he put off meeting with their son just to fool around, she would invariably give him a very stern talking to.Even if she wouldn't stay mad at him, Vahn hated seeing Artoria push herself to be angry. Thus, in response to her words, he just nestled his forehead against hers, saying, "I love you..." in the most sincere tone he could manage.Squinting her eyes, Artoria playfully snapped her teeth before adopting one of her characteristically radiant smiles and musing, "Good. If you didn't, the other girls and I might have to lock you up until you returned to your senses..."Since she could also sense Arthur's approach, Artoria willfully placed Vahn's palm against her lower abdomen so he could help her calm down. Arthur was very young but he was still a True Dragon. If he smelled her pheromones, it might cause a reaction in his body. It might be remarkably common for the children of True Dragons to lust after their parents. In fact, a whelp's first partner was almost always one of their parents. Artoria just had no interest in such things. She was absolutely faithful to Vahn, so, unless he directly ordered her to attend their son, she would never even consider it.Unaware of Artoria's rather dangerous line of thinking, Vahn sent several pulses of cleaning magic through the interior of the room. By the time he was finished, it had been cleaned and sterilized to the point that even an electron microscope wouldn't be able to find an iota of dust. This gave the room a smell reminiscent of ozone, but, unless you had a remarkably overturned sense of smell, it was largely unnoticeable...Following a polite knock, a young boy with faint golden hair, red eyes, and a perpetual smile on his boyishly handsome face made his way into the room. When he saw Vahn, his eyes began to sparkle as he placed his hand over his heart, bowing as he said, "Welcome back, Father. I came as soon as I heard of your safe return."Unable to contain himself, a prideful smile developed across Vahn's face as he blinked across the room to pat his son on the head. This caused a happy smile to develop across Arthur's face, but, as a 'proper' Knight, he did his best to appear calm and composed even as his father showered him with praises.........(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Vahn casually claiming entire worlds...','Yoruichi is a naughty kitten...','Artoria be like, "Ride or die till the end of time."')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh

After a longer than anticipated stay within his personalized Little Garden, Vahn's consciousness emerged to find a rather peculiar sight waiting for him."Hooo~? Not bad..."Since he hadn't completely severed the flow of time between his Internalized Realm, the Little Garden, and the outside world, Vahn's unconscious body had been left outside without anything to protect it.Fortunately, anticipating that 'something' might happen, Vahn had basically turned himself into an indestructible and immovable statue. What surprised him was the fact that most of his surroundings had been destroyed."It's about time you woke up. You know, it isn't very polite to fall asleep in the middle of a fight..."Shifting his attention to the person that had spoken, an amused smile developed across Vahn's face as he found Asuka, Yo, and Xiao Yun seated within a spherical barrier while Izayoi repelled anything larger than a boulder.Raising his brows, Vahn stared directly at Xiao Yun, musing, "I see you made some new friends..."With an extremely guilty look on her face, Xiao Yun promptly averted her eyes, muttering, "Sorry, Papa...did Xiao Yun do a bad thing?" while pressing the tips of her index fingers together.Shaking his head, Vahn maintained a casual smile as he answered, "Of course not. I only asked you to beat up Izayoi. I didn't say you couldn't make friends. In fact, I'm happy for you."Exhaling a sigh of relief, a radiant smile developed across Xiao Yun's face as she looked towards Yo and Asuka, saying, "Yay~!" while making double peace signs.While Yo was happy for her newfound friend, Asuka's expression became noticeably awkward as she stared at Vahn, asking, "So, what now? We already destroyed the planet. How much longer are you going to keep us cooped up inside this place?"Ignoring Asuka's questions, Vahn spread his senses through the area to find a cracked golden ring floating within the massive sea of debris. This caused his brows to furrow as he had never expected the trio to be able to damage one of his Zanpakuto. They were nigh-indestructible, and, so long as they were allowed to make full use of their power, they were essentially Tier 5 beings without any upper limits to their strength.Peering through time, Vahn discovered that Izayoi had used a mysterious pillar of light in order to defeat Brahm. This wasn't particularly surprising. Rather, he fully expected the young hero to grasp victory from the jaws of defeat. What bothered him was the fact he had used such an unreasonably overpowered Gift to fight and defeat someone using a fraction of their true power...Fortunately, so long as he lived, Vahn's Zanpakuto couldn't be destroyed. They were a fundamental part of him, and, so long as they fell within his domain, he could, quite literally, reach through time to pull them from danger. Thus, moments before Izayoi struck Brahm with the blindingly white pillar of light, Vahn pulled the young shota to his side.Seeing Brahm suddenly appear next to Vahn, Izayoi, Asuka, and Yo all tensed up. The fiery youth had been a nightmare of an opponent, and, were it not for Izayoi's power spontaneously evolving near the end of the fight, they would have been soundly defeated.Ignoring the stunned gazes of the trio, Vahn gently caressed Brahm's head, whispering, "You did well..." before reverting the fiery youth to a Gift Card. Then, with an ostensibly sadistic smile on his face, he stared directly at the now serious Izayoi, adding, "Five hours have passed. It's my turn."Without waiting for the trio to respond, Vahn slowly lowered the hand he had been aiming skyward for the past five hours. From within the spell circle he had constructed, a dragon head larger than a planet slowly emerged, its fiery maw large enough to swallow entire worlds.Feeling an emotion similar to existential dread, Asuka visibly paled as she shouted, "Wait! What are you doing!? We already destroyed the planet! This wasn't part of the agreement...!"While observing his creation with unconcealed fascination in his eyes, Vahn's voice became deep, somber, and resonant as he replied, "You have not destroyed the planet. You have simply changed its form..."With an expression similar to someone that had swallowed a bug, Asuka balled her hands into fists before stepping forward and desperately shouting, "Stop...!" in an authoritative tone.Perking his brows, Vahn shifted his attention to the 21-year-old brunette, asking, "Seriously...?" in a slightly incredulous tone. In spite of this, and the blood that was pouring from her orifices, Asuka's expression became even more resolute as she pointed towards him and shouted, "I...said...stop...!"Were it not for the fact he was willfully reducing the amount of backlash she was receiving, Asuka would have fried her own brain in her attempts to command Vahn. Luckily for her, he was actually impressed by her conviction. The fact he could even feel her words tugging at his mind showed an admittedly startling level of progress.Maintaining his smile, Vahn completely lowered his hand. In response, the massive dragon head began to slowly open its incomprehensibly massive maw. Flames reminiscent of solar flares began to emerge from within, but, before it could unleash them, Vahn decided to clarify things for the trio, explaining, "This was always intended to be your final lesson. You see, one of the things you need to understand about the Gods is that they rarely, if ever, play fair. Just as you had exploited a loophole during your Gift Game against Black Rabbit, there are a functionally infinite number of technicalities we can take advantage of. Keep this in mind when you go picking fights in the future..."Without waiting for the trio to respond, Vahn telepathically commanded the massive dragon head to unleash its fiery wrath. From their perspective, it looked like a star was expanding towards them at an unreasonably fast speed. Izayoi attempted to do something about it, but, without any energy stockpiled, he was only able to produce a pencil-sized version of the pillar he used to defeat Brahm. It grew in size as he attempted to absorb the energy from the massive surge of flames, but, despite his best efforts, he was invariably consumed along with the rest.........Opening her eyes with a start, Asuka nearly fell back in her chair as she spontaneously rose to her feet. Fortunately for her, an invisible force prevented her from falling over as Vahn softly muttered, "Calm down. The battle is over. You're not in any danger."Though she didn't immediately relax her guard, Asuka quickly regained her senses as she saw the spread of food laid out before her. She realized they were back in the dining room, and, other than a slight headache, all the aches and pains in her body were gone.While using his Telekinesis to gently guide the befuddled beauty back to her seat, Vahn maintained a calm and soothing tone as he explained, "To further emphasize how truly ridiculous things can get in the Divine Realm, I created a divergence in the flow of time prior to the start of our game. Simply put, everything you experienced was real. Your consciousness simply looped back to a point in time where the events had yet to take place. If you've ever read a story where the main character is sent back in time to a younger version of themselves, it's kind of like that."Understanding the implication contained within Vahn's words, Asuka was about to ask the all-important question. Unfortunately, Izayoi was rather adept at stealing the spotlight, so, before the words could form on her lips, the blond-haired hero beat her to the punch, asking, "Are you trying to tell us we just died? Seriously, man? Not cool."Shrugging his shoulders, Vahn maintained a casual demeanor as he replied, "Death isn't really that big a deal in the grand scheme of things. In fact, the automatic protections of most Gift Games set the trigger for expulsion at death. In other words, when you're eliminated from a Gift Game, you are basically reborn outside of it. I just emulated the process using a more...direct method..."Though he furrowed his brows, Izayoi didn't say anything in response to Vahn's words. Instead, he directed his gaze to the food displayed on the table before picking up a seasoned chicken wing. He wasn't very happy with how things had turned out, but, understanding there was nothing he could do about it, he decided to simply drop the matter. After all, while his methods were questionable, it couldn't be denied that Vahn had taught them a number of important lessons...Seeing Izayoi fall silent, a vexed expression developed across Asuka's face. She would be lying if she said she wasn't annoyed by the fact he had spoken out before her. At the same time, however, she was also relieved to know they were on the same wavelength. Thus, seeing how quickly Izayoi had dropped the matter, she couldn't help wondering if she should do the same...Looking to Yo for answers, Asuka was unsurprised to find the girl devouring a piece of medium-rare dragon steak. This caused a wry smile to develop across her face until she heard Vahn musing, "You are free to express any concerns you may have. After all, it would be negligent of me to teach you a lesson and then refuse to answer your questions. Our Communities might not be allies in the truest sense, but I'd like to think we're friends."Scoffing in response to Vahn's words, Asuka adopted an incredulous look at she stared back at him and asked, "Are you serious? What kind of 'friend' uses death to teach someone a lesson...?"Caressing his chin, Vahn appeared to seriously consider Asuka's question before answering, "In this instance? A damn good one, I'd wager. After all, you're the one who said you wanted to experience the distance between you and the 'top'. Under normal circumstances, a battle against a being of my level would end with your erasure. Instead, I allowed you to accumulate six years of experience in a relatively safe environment before providing you a platform to grow even stronger. Considering how rude you've been during the majority of our interactions, Ms. Kudou, some would argue that I'm a better friend than you deserve..."Not expecting such a snippy and borderline harsh remark, Asuka found herself at a momentary loss for words. She wanted to rebut, but, before she could think of anything to say, Vahn manifested a handkerchief to wipe his mouth before adding, "Prior to my arrival in the Divine Realm, I was both a God and an Emperor. If you believe your status as the heiress of a major conglomerate makes you special, you're beyond delusional. The only reason you can sit at this table, eat my food, and freely converse with me is because I place little value in matters of etiquette and propriety. If you can't see the irony in behaving arrogantly in front of a God-Emperor who tolerates your presence, you will no longer be welcome in the Sage Dragon's Hearth after today."Finished with his admonishment, Vahn rose to his feet before offering a curt nod towards Yo and Izayoi. Then, without further ado, he disappeared from the dining room. He had much better things to do than entertain an ingrate, so, after briefly checking in on Lily and Jin, Vahn teleported to his workshop to begin working on the next batch of Companions. The presence of adorable creatures had always helped to calm him down, and, now that he had six years' worth of memories related to the time Izayoi and Jin spent in the Game Board, Vahn was eager to finish their Companions.........(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Izayoi's very existence is bullshit...what does that say about Vahn?','Scum Che would like to know your location...','After spending time with his family, friends, and loved ones, it's no surprise that Vahn is tired of Asuka's shit xD...')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh

Since he was effectively immune to gravity in his current state, Vahn continued to smile even as the massive purple sword impacted the center of his forehead. This caused an even larger magic circle to appear, but, even after his relative gravity skyrocketed to more than three hundred billion times Earth's normal gravity, not even the feathers of his wings rustled."It's a good thing I stabilized the surrounding space. It would be rather ironic if they did themselves in by creating a black hole..."Waving his free hand, Vahn erased the magic circle above his head before manifesting more than a hundred Gift Cards behind him. Then, with a snap of his fingers, the cards rearranged themselves to form a deck as he used his Telekinesis to draw one at random."Brahmandastra? Wow, and I thought my luck was bad..."With the myths stating it was capable of burning the entire cosmos to ash, the Brahmandastra was one of the most powerful weapons in Hindu Mythology. Vahn's version took on the form of a small golden ring, but, when worn, it allowed the user to generate and manipulate golden flames capable of burning space and time itself.Shaking his head, Vahn tossed the golden ring into the air. It immediately burst into a fiery cocoon formed from golden flames. After that, a young boy with inordinately pale skin, faded golden hair, crimson eyes, and six arms appeared in a two-toned robe of gold and crimson."Have fun but try not to kill or traumatize them. They've matured quite a bit but they're still a bunch of kids."Nodding his head in understanding, the pale-skinned shota replied with a courteous, "Understood, Father." before shifting his attention to Asuka and Yo high in the sky. Weapons formed from golden fire manifested in each of his six arms, but, instead of containing the Law of Destruction, they were just normal, albeit solid, golden flames.Since there was very little chance Asuka and Yo would be able to defeat an S-Rank Zanpakuto Spirit, Vahn decided to leave them to Brahm as he shifted his attention to Izayoi. The youth hadn't moved ever since he was sent skidding across the planetary barrier for a good 17,000km or so. He was just sitting in place was a pensive expression on his face."Let's see if your luck is any better..."Drawing yet another card at random, Vahn's brows furrowed as he muttered, "Diqiu? Xiao Yun...?"Though he was tempted to place the card back into the deck, Vahn ultimately shook his head before tossing it up into the air. Then, from within a massive amber crystal, a remarkably beautiful woman with long, earthy grey hair, matching eyes, and black horns appeared.Unlike the majority of Vahn's Zanpakuto Spirits, Xiao Yun had a shapely figure that included large breasts, a thin waist, and plump thighs. To make matters worse, at least from his perspective, her outfit consisted of a skintight bodysuit that left very little to the imagination. Sure, she also had a rather stylish attachment to her hips that concealed her pert and shapely bottom but that did very little to conceal her other womanly attributes."Papa~!"Though her appearance was quite a bit different from her sisters, Xiao Yun was just as affectionate, if not more so, than Vahn's other Zanpakuto. She had the blood of a Celestial Qilin flowing through her veins. Her true form might resemble a chimeric mix between a dragon, a lion, and a goat, but, at the end of the day, Xiao Yun was still a True Dragon.Had he not anchored himself to his current position, Vahn might have been forced to take a couple of steps back when Xiao Yun promptly pounced on him. As for why she wasn't crushed by the 1.07-billion-times Earth's gravity, it was because Celestial Qilins represented the planets themselves. She was functionally immune to the effects of gravity as it was one of the many fundamental forces she had complete dominion over.Patting the ashen-haired girl on her back, Vahn suppressed a wry smile as he said, "I need you to go and beat someone up for me. You should try to avoid severely injuring or killing him. However, if he says or does anything perverted...feel free to teach him a lesson..."Nodding her head in a manner that resulted in her nuzzling against Vahn's chest, Xiao Yun replied with a chipper, "Okay, Papa~!" before releasing him from her monstrously strong grasp. Then, after spreading her senses across the entire planet, she bolted off in the direction of Izayoi. She couldn't actually fly, but, every time she took a step, it created an amber ripple in the air that allowed her to treat the sky as if it were flat ground.Watching the buxom beauty prance away, Vahn's expression darkened as he muttered, "I swear...if that brat tries to lewd my daughter, I'm going to curse him with a magical enchantment that gives him taste buds between his butt cheeks..."After guffawing loudly within the back of Vahn's mind, Sis wiped away a tear from her eye as she suggested, (*You could always send someone to support her. He would have fewer opportunites to take advantage of the situation if there are a dozen or so Zanpakuto bullying him.*)"Hmmm...that isn't a bad idea..."Though he wanted to let Xiao Yun have fun, her abilities weren't exactly suited for a confrontation against Izayoi. Her most powerful attacks relied on manipulating the terrain and gravity. The latter could prove to be effective, but, given the nature of Izayoi's Gift, there was a chance he could adapt and overcome the gravity she was capable of manipulating. Her maximum output was only around 500G. This was more than enough to deal with most foes but Izayoi was heroic protagonist whose power was derived from a Poet. In other words, his power influence reality itself, so, if he got fed up with the ever-increasing gravity, there was a fair chance he would simply become impervious to it's changes.........Thanks to her Companion making her impervious to most flames, Yo was able to go toe-to-toe with Brahm while Asuka provided support using a Japanese-style longbow. As the heiress of a traditional Japanese Clan, she had trained in swordsmanship, spearmanship, horsemanship, and archery every since she was six-years-old. The time she spent in the Game Board allowed her to hone these skills even further, as, with the exception of her Spirit, her Dexterity was her highest parameter."Eat this, you six-armed hooligan! Fimbul...!"Releasing an arrow that split into six icy beams of light, Asuka was hoping to freeze each of Brahm's hands. To her credit, she was actually able to accomplish this, but, without the slightest bit of effort, Brahm was able to pull his hands free before continuing his assault on Yo. His flames might not be able to burn her in their current form but he was more than capable of smacking her around.Seeing her attack broken in an instant, Asuka clicked her tongue before preparing another arrow as she screamed, "Freeze...!" in an authoritative tone.Though she experienced a backlash that caused her brain to feel as though it was melting, Asuka was able to stall Brahm long enough for Yo to land an ax kick in the center of his crown. This sent the fiery Zanpakuto Spirit hurtling towards the planetary barrier at tremendous speeds, but, despite putting all her strength into the blow, Yo felt as though she had done more damage to her leg than Brahm's head.Realizing they couldn't fight the youth head-on, Yo darted towards Asuka, who, as a result of the backlash she had received, was currently bleeding from her nose and ears. The only thing keeping her from passing out and falling towards the sky was the support provided by Abyssinian.Offering no resistance to Yo's embrace, Asuka adopted a wry, bloodstained smile as she weakly muttered, "The next time I get the bright idea to try and command one of Vahn's Gifts, please give me a hard smack on my noggin..."Feeling how cold Asuka's body had become, Yo's expression became fretful as she momentarily forgot the former had fused with Abyssinian."Don't close your eyes! Asuka...!"Though Asuka had, in fact, closed her eyes, it wasn't because she was about to pass out or die. It was because the wind pressure made it hard to keep them open. Thus, the moment she heard Yo calling out to her, a potent pout developed across her face as she flatly replied, "I'm neither dead nor dying. Stop shouting...!"......While Asuka and Yo were busy running from their opponent, Izayoi had a cheeky smile on his face as he stood upside down on the planetary barrier. This had given him an extreme case of vertigo at first, but, after accepting that the ground was currently 'overhead', he got over it pretty quickly.Hoving in the air a few dozen meters from Izayoi's position, upside down from his point of view, was none other than Xiao Yun. She wasn't quite sure how to go about attacking an opponent that was 50km above the surface of the planet, so, for the time being, she was just observing Izayoi with a calm and calculating look on her face."Well hey, hi, and hello there, pretty lady. Did you come all this way for little ol' me~?"Though she was a little confused by Izayoi's words, Xiao Yun nodded her head before answering, "Xiao Yun came here to beat you up." as if she were stating a simple truth.Realizing his opponent might not be 'all there' in the head, Izayoi just smiled before placing his hands into his pockets and asking, "What if I refuse to fight back? Are you going to beat someone who has surrendered...?"Furrowing her brows, Xiao Yun's expression became visibly troubled as her Papa had taught them to never to bully their opponents. If Izayoi didn't want to fight, it wouldn't be right of her to force him. This placed Xiao Yun in quite the predicament as she really wanted to beat Izayoi up...Seeing the conflict on Xiao Yun's face, Izayoi had to fight hard against the urge to laugh. Instead, he maintained a casual smile as he said, "You're pretty cute. How about we both take a seat and get to know one another? Who knows, we might even be able to become friends?"Staring back at Izayoi with her greyish, clay-colored eyes, Xiao Yun contemplated his offer before directly stating, "My Papa wanted asked Xiao Yun to beat you up. He wouldn't ask Xiao Yun to beat someone who didn't deserve it. Trying to trick Xiao Yun? You must be a bad guy."Though the corner of his smile twitched, Izayoi managed to maintain a relaxed demeanor as he removed his hands from his pockets and said, "If that's what you think then feel free to attack. Just know that I have no intention of fighting back."While he considered himself a champion of gender equality, Izayoi would rather avoid fighting a woman if he didn't have to. He could tell Xiao Yun didn't harbor any actual animosity toward him. In fact, despite her sinful appearance, she gave off a very childish and innocent vibe. If Vahn didn't tell her to attack, he doubted she would ever go out of her way to harm another person.Unfortunately, while Izayoi's impression was on the mark, he failed to grasp the true nature of Xiao Yun. She wasn't a person. She was a Zanpakuto Spirit whose true form resembled a pair of massive gauntlets. She had an almost instinctual desire to punch things, so, after considering Izayoi's words for the better part of three minutes, her expression hardened as she said, "Don't worry. I will not kill you."Before Izayoi could try to talk her out of it, Xiao Yun manifested one of her gauntlets before firing an amber beam of light in his direction. This caused the smile on his face to turn wry, as, now that he had told her he wasn't going to fight back, he had basically shoehorned himself into being her punching bag.........(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Vahn: *casually commands cosmos-destroying spirit to 'have fun'*','Asuka is surprisingly op...','The prophecy has come to fruition...!')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh

Chapter 2140: A Not-so-Brief Interlude