Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Over the course of the next three days within the orb, Vahn only spent about half the time forging as he did in the past. He had quickly reached the point where his cooperation with the 'eternal flame' was nearly flawless and he could retain more than 90% of any type of metal, including the difficult to work with ones like Adamantine and Orichalcum. The only thing he needed to do now was focus on developing specific pieces of equipment and trying to push his skills further. Since he could process most materials, he needed to get to the point where he could forge them into the items that he wanted.The other half of the time, Vahn was relaxing with Eva who had turned relatively docile and attentive as the two spoiled each other. They spent time doing almost everything together, including cooking, cleaning, bathing, and sleeping. Unlike the relatively passionate interactions they had in the past, Eva seemed to be focused on helping him relax, and Vahn was very grateful to her. Though he wasn't as affected by the events as Milan and Tina, he had undergone a pretty big impact to his mentality and needed time to recuperate.After replenishing the stock of ingredients and spending a bit of time coaxing Eva, Vahn managed to convince her to treat (Nameless) a little better. He told her that when it finally evolved, it would end up being cute and it would remember how she treated it in its kobold form. Though she pouted a little, she eventually gave in and petted the ugly dog-head of (Nameless) which caused Vahn to see the illusion of it crying in happiness. Soon after that, they returned to the room and Eva drew Vahn blood as he once again held her gently until he dissipated from the space.Since he had been stroking Eva's back with his eyes closed and in a relaxed state of mind, Vahn awoke in the real world in a partial daze. His hands continued to stroke the back of the girl resting on his chest and he recognized that the sensation was quite different from Eva. When the bundle under the blankets began to squirm, Vahn remembered that he had returned to the real world and had just been affectionately stroking Lili who had been asleep in a similar position as Eva always rested.Lili had been having a good dream and was enjoying the warmth and scent of Vahn as she hugged his body, completely opposite of her offer to act as a hug pillow for Vahn the night before. When she felt his hands begin to wander around her back, she immediately woke up in a slight daze and thought she was still dreaming since Vahn seemed way more affectionate than normal. Her body went slightly rigid at first before she quickly began to melt from the sensation of his hand stroking her body.Though it hadn't been long since he began, Lili was quickly heating up and began to writhe on his body as she tried to return his affectionate actions. Unfortunately, her movement had awakened Vahn and he lifted the covers to stare down at her somewhat sleepy expression with a bit of confusion on his face. When she saw him staring at her, Lili felt suddenly emboldened and crawled up and gave him a kiss on the lips before he could awaken from his daze.Vahn was only slightly surprised by her actions and didn't let her take things too far as he gave her a simple kiss before trying to pull her body away from his face. Seemingly unwilling to let go, Lili clung to his neck and kept trying to kiss his lips but kept missing the mark by a small amount. Since Vahn didn't want to hurt her, and it was partially...well, fully his fault she had been triggered, he was trying to gently resist her advances. He was surprised with his much strength she could put into her arms and eventually decided enough was enough when she tried to grab his face with her furry palm-padded hands.Reaching his hands to her sides, Vahn pinched the fleshy part of Lili's waist and she yelped loudly as she shrunk her body away from the moderately painful sensation. Realizing what Vahn had done, she stared at him with a slight aggrieved look and said, "What happened...I thought you were finally showing me more affection..." She had a bit of tears in her eyes and, if not for the fact he could see auras, Vahn would have thought she was in pain.At this point, Naaza had woken up from the commotion and had sat up from the bed and stared at the teary-eyed Lili with a slight frown on her face. As far as she could tell, Lili had probably tried to do something to Vahn and had taken things too far. Surprisingly, Vahn reached out both of his hands and cradled Lili's face as he began stroking the side of her head and ears while wiping away the tears on her face.Vahn said in a gentle and apologetic tone, "Sorry, Lili, it was my fault. I...had a pleasant dream and hadn't been paying proper attention when I woke up." As he spoke, he continued to affectionately rub Lili's head and face as she had entirely stopped her whining. She had a slight blush as she allowed Vahn to continue caressing her for a few seconds. When it felt like he was about to stop, she opened her eyes and said, "It hurts..."Lili raised the hem of her nightgown and revealed the side of her hips where there was a small red mark from Vahn's earlier pinch. Though he knew she was just trying to receive more affection, Vahn just smiled as he placed his palm on the area and used [Hands of Nirvana] to alleviate any discomfort she might have been feeling. Since his hand was right above them, and she made no effort to cover herself, Vahn noticed that Lili was wearing pure white panties that had a slightly mature design that didn't compliment her petite body very well.Since the healing didn't take that long, Vahn removed his hand while Lili continued to hold up her nightgown as she visually inspected the area for several seconds. Vahn sighed at her attempt to try and entice him as he rustled her hair heavily until she tried to stop his movements with both of her hands. Finally finished dealing with her, Vahn turned to Naaza who had been watching them quietly since she woke up. Remembering that she had done her best to comfort him through the night without disturbing his rest, Vahn leaned over and gave Naaza a brief kiss right on her lips before stroking her head a bit with his right now.When Vahn kissed her, Naaza's mind blanked as her eyes opened wide in shock. It wasn't their first time kissing, but having someone kiss her right after she awoke was a completely new experience. Remembering the fact they had slept together while she used his shoulder as a pillow, a pink hue began to color her face before it transitioned into a full blush a few seconds later. Vahn smiled at her reaction before giving her another kiss on the forehead and crawling out of the bed to prepare for the day. It was still very early, and there wasn't any training going on, but Vahn intended to contact Hephaestus early this morning through the use of the communication scroll in Anubis's room.Lili and Naaza also climbed out of bed after him and began to change their clothing as well without speaking. Naaza had stood behind him, out of Vahn's line of sight, but Lili had taken the initiative once again by changing directly in front of him. Since she had only been wearing a nightgown, she quickly stripped off the singular piece of fabric as Vahn prepared to close his eyes. However, moments before he did so, he got a better look at Lili's transformed state and become a little curious. Though it was only brief, he glanced over her body in an instant before closing his eyes and pretending to not have seen anything.Seeing Vahn close his eyes, Lili sighed silently before putting on her normal clothing. She hesitated for a moment since she didn't like to wear the same clothing multiple days in a row ever since her lifestyle had improved after meeting Vahn. She decided that she would change her clothes after taking a bath in the onsen at Tsubaki's and was trying to come up with a method to get Vahn to enter as well.While Lili was hatching her scheme, Vahn had been getting dressed with his eyes closed while picturing the image he had seen right before he closed his eyes. Since she had been familiar with his Báihǔ form for some time, Lili's transformation closely matched his own appearance except she was more 'cute' than he was 'fierce'. Her hair had turned white with black undertones and she had two tiny tiger-like ears on her head. Even her eyes had changed color to be a similar blue to his when he was transformed. Since she could copy racial traits, she likely also had his night vision and enhanced senses as well.The most notable change, however, had been that she grew a layer of fine black and white hairs on her forearms and calves and now had incredibly tiny claws on the ends of her fingers and toes. Unlike his long and sharp claws, her's seemed to be little nubs that didn't look like they could deal a single point of damage against a monster. On her palms and the tips of her fingers, she had small little pads of sensitive skin and Vahn assumed it was the same for the bottom of her feet as well. Another notable feature was the fact she now had a long tiger-like black and white tail that was a little too long for her body. Vahn decided to inform her about it, but he was a bit conflicted since it would seem like he was advising her how to better appeal to him. Though he didn't want to admit it, Lili's ability to transform was very interesting to him, especially if she could copy his transformations to an extent.After they had all changed, Vahn opened the door to his room and was greeted by an empty corridor for the first time in a while. The two girls noticed his pause and asked if anything was wrong, but Vahn just shook his head with a somewhat sad smile on his face. He knew his life was changing and expected something to have happened the previous night, especially since he obtained a notification of his quest being completed when he had been walking Milan and Tina to the Hostess of Fertility. As he led the way to the dining room to prepare an early breakfast, Vahn looked through his system and reaffirmed what he had seen the previous night.//Quest Completed//[Quest: Forge an Alliance, Progressive]Rank: A (I-SSS)Objective: Convince Gods/Goddesses to form an alliance between their Familia(s). Current Allies (4)Rewards: 10,000 OP x Familia Rank. (S(received), I:10,000OP, F:30,000OP, D:50,000OP). Quest completion rank depends on the total number of allies.Grade Reward(s): A:40,000 OP(received), 1x[Rallying Whistle], 1x[Magatama of Fortitude], 1x[Saint's Reliquary]He had completed the [Forge and Alliance] Quest and additional three times and had obtained rewards for an F, I, and D-rank Familia which increased his OP by 90,000 and brought the total Origin Points in his possession to 490,294OP. The three items he received were also quite good and fit along nicely with his [Banner of Command] from the previous Alliance with Loki.[Rallying Whistle]Rank: UniqueUse: Creates a magical frequency that can only be heard by allies. Increased agility for 1H and creates an invisible tether that can be traced back to the source. Range: Infinite[Magatama of Fortitude]Rank: UniqueUse: Increases Endurance of all allies by 30% while reducing agility by 10% within an area for 10 minutes. Activation requires shattering the Magatama and the effective area with 30m.[Saint's Reliquary]Rank: UniqueUse: Container capable of storing any singular healing potion and enhancing its effects by 500%. Converts the contents of the potion into a mist that spreads through an area and affects all entities within.(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Lili gets triggered','Old Habits Die Hard','Dat Reliquary...')If you'd like to support my ******* so I can continue writing the story and expanding the world even further, please follow the link below~!https://www.*******.com/user?u=14397149I am currently at $717/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be accessible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images &lt;3

After the trio arrived in the dining room, both Naaza and Lili had headed towards the kitchen while having Vahn wait for breakfast. Even though he offered to help, they insisted that he relax and leave the cooking to them since it was a rare opportunity. Vahn accepted their offer before sitting at the low table and laying back on the floor while looking up at the ceiling. He wasn't particularly focused on anything, just relaxing in a daze while allowing his thoughts to wander.Closing his eyes, Vahn tried listening for the various sounds of life going on around him and used his ability to perceive auras to see if he could feel the presence of others around. He saw Lili and Naaza with yellow-ish auras while Lili's had a touch of pink compared to Naaza's sky blue. In the distance, through the walls, Vahn could detect the auras of the other children and realized they had already awoken. Though they weren't training in the normal area, Vahn noticed that the boys seemed to be doing various kinds of exercises while the girls were sitting around in a circle, probably conversing.Vahn allowed his domain to expand slowly from his body, almost as if it was gently radiating instead of the instantaneous speed he usually used it at. He tried to visualize the world around him and it seemed to take on a muted, somewhat hazy view as his senses continued to spread further and further until his domain had reached beyond the structure of the house. Though it wasn't clear, Vahn could detect the forms of everything within his domain to a might higher extent than just relying on his normal perception.Because of his mental and spiritual growth, his domain had reached the point of 314m when it was fully spread, and Vahn could now see the outskirts of Tsubaki's Manor in his mind while catching the briefest hint of pedestrians that crossed through the outer perimeter of his domain completely unaware they had fallen into his area of influence. Vahn remembered the men that had been tormenting Milan and how he had used [Enkidu] to kill them all in an instant. Though he felt nothing but rage at the time, now he felt disappointed by his own actions. Not for having killed them, but for doing so in such an impersonal way. It was very likely they hadn't even been aware of what had happened by the time they had died since he targeted their heads.Vahn felt like, if the men had lived to be judged, Milan might have recovered faster. She may have even wanted to take revenge on them herself, but Vahn had denied her the opportunity since he was only focused on saving her. Even though he knew she probably didn't mind, and he also didn't have many misgivings about what happened, Vahn still couldn't help but think back on the moment now that everything had calmed down.Realizing his thoughts had begun to wander in a strange direction, Vahn released a sigh before covering his eyes with his forearm to block the luminescent light from the magic stone in the ceiling. He realized he still needed to mature and apply the teachings of those that had been helping him deal with his problems in the past. Getting caught up thinking about negative things was almost instinctual for him since it had been something he did often ever since his previous life. Vahn decided to focus on more positive things instead of worrying about stuff he couldn't change.Strangely enough, the first thought that came to his mind when he wanted to think about something positive, Vahn imagined snuggling up next to a fat-bellied Hephaestus. A smile immediately touched his lips as he began to imagine what it would be like to have children with some of the women he had grown close to. Since Hephaestus and Eina were his 'wives', they would obviously have his children someday. Imagining Eina, who he liked to tease, nursing his child made Vahn almost burst out laughing. He had pictured himself nibbling on her ear as her face turned red while she tried breastfeeding their son.Vahn began to run through images of the other girls in his mind and pictured Tiona training their feisty little Amazon daughter in martial arts. For Ais, she seemed to be the gentle and reserved type that would read to their children in a garden, similar to how her mother had done for her. Since Anubis and Loki also wanted children, Vahn imagined Anubis playing with a small dark-haired chienthrope boy and Vahn realized for the first time that some of his children wouldn't be 'human' in appearance. As for Loki and his child...Vahn had trouble picturing the mischevious goddess pregnant at all, much less with their son or daughter in her arms. Picturing her looking 'affectionately' through her slit-like eyes at their child made Vahn feel a bit unnerved.Shaking his head to clear that thought from his mind, Vahn pictured Naaza holding their child and acting in a very motherly manner. For some reason, Vahn felt like she would make a great and caring mother that would raise their children to be capable and reserved. After that, Vahn had to cut his imagination short when he pictured the image of the incredibly petite Lili with a big belly and it made his mind buzz a little. Though the image of Loki being pregnant was somewhat scary, imagining the 110cm tall Lili in the late stages of pregnancy made Vahn feel a sense of danger. Even though he had nothing against Pallums, Vahn felt like Lili was someone he needed to protect and couldn't easily picture her as a mother at all.Sitting up from the floor, Vahn decided that he wanted to actually meet a Pallum that was already pregnant so he could see how the image in his mind matched up with reality. According to the books he had read, they were an incredibly fertile race that got pregnant easily and had lots of children. The typical pregnancy only lasted around six months, and the children themselves matured much faster than most races. Though they would never be very tall or powerful, most Pallums reached physical maturity as early as age ten and didn't change much from then onwards until their late sixties. This meant that Lili wouldn't change much at all, and Vahn had long realized she looked nearly identical to her manga counterpart already except for the fact she was significantly more fit.The Lili in the manga had been somewhat emaciated and in poor health, but the Lili he was familiar with was incredibly lively most of the time. She had healthy skin and had put on a few kilograms of weight to the point that she didn't look emaciated at all. Since she usually wore clothes that showed off her midriff, Vahn had noticed that he could see the outline of her abdominal muscles if they caught the light properly. Her training had been primarily focused on physical strength and flexibility, so she had an incredibly lithe, yet petite, figure.A few minutes later, Vahn had detected a few auras that he recognized enter within his domain. Since three of them were much larger than normal, Vahn assumed they were Hephaestus, Loki, and Anubis. The smaller auras showed that they were amicable toward him, so Vahn imagined it was probably Eina and Tsubaki given the situation. There was a chance they could have also been Tiona and Ais, but Vahn didn't think they would show up so early after their parting the previous night.As expected, the five that showed up were precisely Hephaestus, Loki, Anubis, Tsubaki, and Eina. Vahn immediately noticed they weren't in the best of moods and Loki even seemed to be genuinely angry. Hephaestus had a sad look on her face the moment she locked eyes with Vahn while Eina had a slight frown as well. Anubis didn't seem to be affected much based on her expression, but Vahn could see her aura was slightly chaotic. The least affected seemed to be Tsubaki, but her serious expression contrasted her typical cheerful expression and it made Vahn feel like something bad had happened.Vahn rose to greet them as Hephaestus stepped forward and handed him back his [Lævateinn] which he quickly put away in his inventory before she embraced him. Vahn reached his hands around her back and rested his face atop her breasts and felt like her way of comforting him was very similar to how Eva had done so. Vahn wondered if it was an instinctive trait of girls with bigger breasts.While she was holding onto his head, Hephaestus had misty eyes but it hadn't progressed to the point where she was about to cry. Things had actually gone very well for them during the negotiations, but having Vahn leave her Familia sooner than she expected made her feel somewhat sad. Even though she hadn't told him the news yet, she felt like she needed to comfort him after everything that happened last night. Of course, she had no way of knowing that Vahn had already been comforted for three days prior to their reunion so he was already in a much better state of mind.Since he disliked seeing her sad, Vahn decided to ease tensions a bit by teasing Hephaestus for the first time in what seemed like a long time. He spent so much time in the orb, that it had actually been more than a month since he showed her any real affection and, though it may not have been the most appropriate moment, Vahn decided it was necessary to take action now. While she was still tense and holding onto his head while trying to comfort him, Vahn reached his hands down her back and once again firmly gripped Hephaestus's butt.He had also used his [Hands of Nirvana] a bit, so the moment he gripped her butt, the melancholy she had been experiencing immediately flew away and she released a slight and audible moan. Realizing what had happened, she gave Vahn an incredulous look before turning to look at everyone else in the room while a fierce blush began to appear on her face. Turning back to Vahn, she frowned slightly before hugging his head tightly into her chest and shouting, "You little rascal! I'm trying to comfort you!"Hephaestus's outburst and peculiar actions had caused the tensions in the room to ease by a large amount as everyone realized Vahn had recovered by a great deal since they had last seen him.They thought that, since he was in a bad mental state previously, when they broke the news about the negotiations he would be depressed. Contrary to their expectations, he had seemingly returned to normal and even had enough wherewithal to tease Hephaestus when the atmosphere had been so serious.After a brief delay, Tsubaki started laughing out loud and shouted, "I guess I'm not going to have to beat you up this time! You recovered a lot faster than I expected, Vahn. Looks like you're growing up and becoming more reliable~!" Tsubaki stood with her arms akimbo and began laughing heartily to the point that it drew the attention of most people within the house.Loki also decided to tease them, but focused her attention on Hephaestus instead as she said, "Oh~? So Vahn really is the type that like big butts, isn't he? I was wondering why you had seemed a little different lately...have you been exercising your butt Hephaestus?" Since Loki was lecherous by nature and preferred to associate with women, she was actually incredibly perceptive to even minor changes in the physical appearance of the girls she associated with.Hephaestus's body turned completely rigid after hearing Loki's words and she couldn't find a way to respond at all. Ever since Vahn had complimented her on her butt in the past, she had actually been spending an hour each morning and afternoon exercising to tone her butt more. Though she didn't think much of it, since she didn't think anyone would notice other than Vahn, hearing someone point it out was a big impact to her mind.Vahn had also heard Loki's words and continued to develop the momentum as he focused on the feeling in his palms. He squeezed her butt with more force and realized there actually was a bit more resistance than there had been in the past. His actions had caused the petrified Hephaestus to squeeze his head even harder as he spoke in a muffled tone, "It feels better now; it has a nice resistance...thanks, Hephaestus." Since he knew she had done it to appeal to him, Vahn genuinely thanked her in a low voice even though it was getting to the point where he couldn't breathe.Since the majority of the people in the room were chienthropes or had sensitive ears, everyone except Tsubaki and Loki had heard Vahn's remark. Hephaestus's face immediately flushed to the point where it looked like it was trying to compete with her red hair while Anubis began to chuckle in a somewhat elegant manner as her tail wagged back and forth. Some of the other girls used their palms to check the feel of their own butts, and several of them had somewhat dejected expressions that Vahn had been fortunate to avoid seeing.Lili herself had also been fondling her own butt and was thinking about developing her magic skill to the point where she could alter her physical appearance more. As if a strange thought had crossed her mind, Lili looked toward Tsubaki who was standing off to the side with a big smile on her face. She noticed Lili's look as well as all the strange reactions of the other girls in the room and asked, "What happened, did I miss something?"Loki seemed to realize something as well, since she was probably the most perceptive person in the entire room. She had seen Vahn squeeze Hephaestus's butt again before mumbling something that caused the majority of the girls in the room to have a strange reaction. When Lili look at Tsubaki with a 'fierce' look in her eyes, Loki made the connection and began to laugh in a cheeky manner as she addressed Tsubaki, "I think she is jealous that you have the biggest butt in the entire room~? You had better be careful or Vahn might use his hands-"As Loki mentioned Vahn's hands, she remembered the 'massage' she had experienced previously and her expression changed multiple times before it turned absolutely serious as she continued, "You have to be very careful, Tsubaki. If Vahn gets his hands on your butt, you might never be able to walk again." Remembering that she had been completely paralyzed as her muscles were forced to relax if Vahn was serious and lost control while fondling someone, they may very well be unable to walk for a long while.Loki's unusually 'serious' words caused everyone in the room, including Vahn and Hephaestus, to look at her strangely. Vahn himself lifted his hands away from Hephaestus's butt as he recalled the fact that he wanted to tease Tsubaki more in the future. He turned his hands into claws as a gentle light radiated from them as he said confidently, "If it came to a massage, I don't think I'd ever lose another point to you again."Vahn's words made every girl in the room have a variety of different reactions ranging from fear and excitement to actual anticipation and curiosity. Tsubaki had been one of the curious ones as she recalled the parting blow he had given to her abdomen previously. It had sent a literal shock up her spine and caused a bit of moisture to build up in the fundoshi-like cloth she wore as underwear. Imagining a full massage session of similar things, even she didn't have confidence that she would be able to last long. However, she wasn't the type to back down, especially from someone that had once been her disciple, so she said in an arrogant voice, "If you think you can get an advantage on me, feel free to try. However, come prepared to suffer some pain~!"All three goddesses heard Tsubaki's words and looked at her like she had just signed her own death warrant. They had all 'suffered' at Vahn's [Hands of Nirvana] in the past, and there was absolutely no way to resist if they let him take control of the situation. Though Tsubaki was much stronger than they were, she was still a mortal and had much lower mental and physical tolerance. If even they, as goddesses, couldn't resist, Tsubaki will have lost the battle as soon as it started.Vahn saw the confident look in Tsubaki's eyes and felt like the flame of competition had been ignited in his mind. Ever since he polished his skills against Eva, he refused to believe there was someone that could resist his massage technique if he got serious. With a glint in his eyes and a serious expression on his face, Vahn spoke in a confident tone, "I'll get back all the points you owe me then."(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Serious chapter with lots of butts','Tsubaki's Death Sentence','The Godhand stirs from its slumber')If you'd like to support my ******* so I can continue writing the story and expanding the world even further, please follow the link below~!https://www.*******.com/user?u=14397149I am currently at $717/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be accessible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images &lt;3

When Vahn awoke early the next morning he could feel a pressure on his chest and, after moving the covers a bit, he could see that Lili had changed her position in the night and was now hugging his body like a koala. Vahn noticed that she was incredibly light so it wouldn't have been that uncomfortable if not for the wet stain on part of his tunic where her drool had soaked into the fabric.Turning his head to the right, Vahn noticed that Naaza didn't seem to have moved a single millimeter while she was asleep and continued to rest on his shoulder while holding his sleeve with her hand. Since his right arm was pinned by her body, and he didn't want to wake her, Vahn used his left hand to pull out the orb. Before he immersed himself into it, he looked at the tiny white ears on Lili's head for a few seconds before blowing into them with a puff of air. The small tiger-ears twitched and Lili turned her head to the other side and found a new spot to drool on.Vahn smiled at her reaction and then inserted his consciousness into the orb to meet Eva and calm his mind. Contrary to his expectations, Eva didn't drop onto him like all of the recent times he had visited. Instead, she was sitting off to the side in a white sundress with her hair somehow tied into a long braid that reached down to her butt. When they made eye contact, Eva asked, "With how you look, it doesn't seem like things went that well?"Releasing a sigh, Vahn sat up from the bed and rested against the headboard as Eva snuggled up next to him and waited for his explanation. Vahn recounted all of the events of the prior day from start to finish since it had been more than four years since Eva heard everything. She listened in silence all the way until the end while resting her head against his shoulder.When his story was finished, Eva asked in a quiet tone, "What do you want to do now? Will you continue to forge, or do you want to start training to become stronger?" When she got to this point, Eva repositioned herself before transforming into her adult form and hugging Vahn's head into her ample breasts. She whispered in a comforting tone, "Or do you want me to pamper you for a bit...?"Vahn allowed her to hug his head as he his body with his arms around her waist. The moment he embraced her, Eva began to stroke his hair gently and didn't say another word while comforting Vahn. After a while, Vahn asked in a slight daze, "I'm not sure what to do, Eva...I want to be stronger so things like this never happen again. But, I also want to keep the promises I've made as soon as possible."Releasing a sigh into her breasts, Vahn continued, "I want to be a hero...I want to be the light that helps people find their way out of the darkness...but I don't know what that really means. People tell me to just continue being myself, but everything I'm doing feels like it is only delaying the inevitable. The harder I try, the happier people become...but I feel like it just creates a gap in my own mentality that invites terrible things to happen. I want to be happy, but if my actions lead other people to suffer..."At this point, Vahn began to cry warm tears that trickled down Eva's cleavage as he hugged her waist tighter. She rested her cheek on his head as she continued to stroke his back and hair while Vahn continued trying to organize his thoughts. After a few seconds of silence, Vahn continued, "I don't want to be bad...I don't want to be evil...but I feel like the only way to protect the things I care about is to seek out and destroy the people that might harm them. The only way I can protect them is if everyone is too afraid to take action...but, I also don't want the people I care about to see me in that way...I don't want people to be afraid of me."Eva continued stroking Vahn's back as he turned silent for a long period of time. After a while, she spoke in a soft and gentle tone, "This is why most heroic tales end in tragedy...because there is too much darkness in the world for one person to resist. The harder you try, the more reliance people will place on you as they seek the warmth and security you provide. Since there is darkness in everyone, you'll bear their burdens and become susceptible to the plots and schemes of others..."Vahn silently listened to her words and knew that she was speaking the truth, at least as far as he could rationalize things. If he had never been involved with anyone in the 'record' of Danmachi, he wouldn't be wrapped up in all of these things...but he also wouldn't have been as happy as he had become. Lili would have continued to suffer until Bell saved her, and Naaza would have lost her arm. He didn't regret his actions, and there were so many things he wanted to protect, but Vahn still felt the strain of the burdens placed on him. If not for this secret place where he could vent, Vahn wasn't sure he'd be able to cope with the rapid changes to his life.Suddenly, Vahn felt a sense of weightlessness for a brief moment before he could smell various new aromas around. Lifting his head from Eva's breasts, Vahn noticed she had teleported the entire bed into the lively garden she had been developing over the last twenty or so years. The trees that they planted long ago had already grown by a fair amount, and it looked like a small piece of paradise with the neatly arranged rock formations and the artificial creek that had been carved into the landscape.Eva rubbed the side of Vahn's face with her hand and looked at him with gentle eyes as she leaned forward and kissed him softly on the lips. Vahn's mind blanked for a brief moment and didn't have time to reciprocate the kiss before she pulled away. Seeing his reaction, Eva smiled and said, "There is a simple solution, and I'm sure it's one you have already thought of but overlooked because of your focus and drive..."Vahn listened attentively and waited for her to continue; Eva laughed at his eagerness and explained, "Aren't there plenty of people around you to help share your burdens? Instead of trying to bear everything yourself, you can find those you trust and place your reliance in them. Just like now, when you're letting me consul and guide you, I'm sure there are others that are willing to do the same. Weren't you always talking about all the things that Hephaestus woman did for you that you wanted to pay back?"Eva's words caused Vahn to think about all of the various people in his life and realized that there were actually a number of people trying to make his life easier. In fact, there were few people within Vahn's immediate recollection that weren't trying to help him as he continued trying to move forward. It was their assistance and his willingness to try and make them happy that had been driving him all this time.While he was recalling all of the people he was in a relationship with, Eva continued, "I think the biggest problem is that you are too reliant on receiving their care and then trying to repay it and live up to their expectations. If you learn to work alongside them and help each other out, you'll be able to cover for each other's weaknesses and overcome difficulties together. You don't have to face everything alone..."At this point, Eva turned back into her normal appearance and crawled into Vahn's lap with her back resting against his chest. She grabbed his hands and placed them around her as she held them with her own. Turning her head to the side and tilting her body, Eva kissed Vahn on the chin and then said, "I'm sure you realize how much I rely on the time we get to spend together, even if it is only for a brief period every few years. It is because of what you have given me and the things we have faced together that I can continue forward and stall the decay of this space. I think that, if you learn to rely on others like what you're doing in here with me, you'll have a much easier life."Vahn considered her words for a while before releasing a somewhat tired, yet relieved, sigh. Putting a bit of strength into his hands, he held Eva tightly and hugged her against his body as he traced his head around her face and kissed her on the lips. Since she had been staring at his face, Vahn didn't have to go far before they made contact and kissed for nearly a full minute. When the kiss ended, Vahn looked into Eva's icy blue eyes and whispered, "After everything you've done...I feel like I need to repay you now."Eva began to laugh mischievously as she reached her hand up and caressed the side of Vahn's face and said, "Wrong again, my idiot disciple...we should work together to make each other happy. Every bit of affection you show me, I'll 'repay' it with interest. That way, no matter what, we'll always be working toward a greater happiness...together."In response to her words, Vahn traced his palms along her stomach and felt a gentle flow of mana as her white dress disappeared under his hands. Vahn also discarded his equipment and the two spent nearly two hours affectionately caressing each other without doing anything intense as they had done in the past. They just focused on exploring each other's bodies and discovering new things about each other that made them happier...together.When Vahn left the garden where Eva had fallen asleep, he felt incredibly refreshed and revitalized. He had learned that Eva was actually weaker to gentle caresses than she was more intense stimulation and after hugging her body as she drained his blood, she actually fell asleep while he was stroking her long golden hair. It turns out, when her blood pressure increases during excitement, she actually needs to release the pent of emotions and relied on his actions to do so. Since he didn't give her an easy outlet, her emotions continued to rise until her face was nearly beet red and Vahn felt like she was beginning to let off a small amount of steam. Since it was such a different reaction than her normal mischevious behavior, Vahn had gotten a little carried away and spoiled her quite a bit.Vahn had also seen (Nameless) sleeping under a tree and noticed that his body hadn't changed much. Other than its age increasing, there was no visible difference between his former and present self. When he noticed Vahn, (Nameless) rose from the ground and hobbled toward him with uneven steps and Vahn used Shundo to close the distance so it wouldn't have to struggle. Without any magical ability to speak of, (Nameless) couldn't substitute its energy by absorbing mana and it was barely able to sustain itself using some of the ingredients Vahn had left behind for Eva to cook with.Though (Nameless) was still quite ugly, Vahn treated it affectionately and scratched behind its ears as he channeled his energy into its body. (Nameless) seemed to be very pleased by Vahn's affection since, as Vahn learned later, Eva hadn't exactly been too fond of it. Though she made an effort to interact with it and even fed it so it wouldn't starve, she didn't like its ugly looks or lack of intelligence. Since they had no easy way to communicate and he couldn't understand her orders well, they had more or less lived in the same space without interacting too often.After fully replenishing its energy, Vahn made he way toward his workshop as (Nameless) trailed closely behind. Vahn allowed it to do so since it shouldn't cause any problems if he orders it to stay off to the side while he was working. Surprisingly, even without his order, (Nameless) just stood at the elevated platform where Eva's desk was and laid down on the floor as it watched Vahn work. If it had been a normal dog, its actions would have appeared cute, but Vahn couldn't help but feel slightly unnerved to see a dog with human-like arms supporting a dogs head as it stared at his actions with interest.Vahn resolved that, once the cooldown for [Keeper of the Akashic Tome] was up, he would come up with a name that would either make (Nameless) look very cool, or at least more appealing than the mangy humanoid dog that it currently appeared to be. He had already thought about naming it [Fenrir] based on the same mythos as Fafnir, but Vahn had a few misgivings about naming all of his subordinates after entities known for destruction. Fafnir already looked 'evil' and suddenly having a 'world-devouring' wolf might make people think he is some kind of evil tyrant.(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Poor (Nameless)','Vahn is still just a kid','Sometimes, being intense isn't as intense as being gentle')If you'd like to support my ******* so I can continue writing the story and expanding the world even further, please follow the link below~!https://www.*******.com/user?u=14397149I am currently at $717/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be accessible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images &lt;3

Chapter 202: Some things change, Some things stay the same...