Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

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

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

With the first skeleton dealt with, Vahn observed Fels for a few seconds before saying, "You are too dangerous to be left unattended. I don't know the conditions of your vows so I'll be taking your magic items before imprisoning you temporarily. If your vows are related to Enyo, I have a lot of questions you for after she is dealt with..." There were several means by which Vahn could kill Fels but, based on the information he had available, it was possible that Fels wasn't genuinely evil. Since he had lived for more than eight hundred years, Fels undoubtedly knew about most of the major events occurring behind the scenes. If he was only being prevented from speaking because of a pact with Ouranos, Vahn could use this event as a justification for having the elderly god nullify the vow and free Fels from his service...Once again, Fels remained quiet and didn't even try to resist as Vahn rather forcefully removed all of the Magic Items in his possession. By the time everything had been stripped away, Fels was left with nothing but his blackened armor as it had been grafted to his skeleton and also possessed the indestructible trait. Even so, Vahn had removed sixteen Magic Items from Fels' body and, unable to store them in his Inventory, Vahn created a sphere of pure Yang flames and destroyed each of the items. Fels' aura trembled slightly, especially when Vahn got to the two 'divine' grade rings, but there wasn't anything he could do to stop Vahn from at least trying to melt them down.At first, Vahn wasn't able to make much progress but, after infusing his Source Energy into the flames, even the divine grade gold was slowly melted down. When he was finished, Vahn had a marble-sized piece of divine gold that he was now able to store into his Inventory without difficulty. He did feel slightly guilty about destroying Fels' items but, considering the latter had tried to kill him, Vahn got over it relatively quickly. If they truly ended up being allies in the future, Vahn could help the errant Alchemist create new items. Besides, if he had been able to create them previously, Fels shouldn't have any difficulty remaking such items in the future...After making Fels effectively powerless, Vahn placed his hand against the strangely warm cranial bones of Fels' head and began to send waves of Source Energy coursing through him. Vahn was 'pushing' Fels' energy out of his body, causing the skeleton to tremble before he inevitably went limp. This was essentially the same as Mind Down for normal people, allowing Vahn to purchase some durable chains that were covered in sealing runes from the system shop. He spent some time wrapping Fels up as firmly as possible before placing a durable lock to keep them in place. Vahn finished up by placing a small barrier ward on the lock itself, hopefully preventing anyone from removing the restraints while he dealt with Enyo.When he had finished binding Fels, Vahn wondered if he should send the skeletal figure back to the surface so that he could temporarily be imprisoned. He was just going to leave him laying on the Dungeon Floor but, considering Enyo could send someone to retrieve him, Vahn decided against it. Thus, back within the Sub-Space orb, Vahn created a few more vials of his blood before calling Terra to his side, apologizing to the rather fatigued True Dragon before asking her to escort Fels to the secure room beneath the Guest Residence. As even his Innates couldn't really peer through the barriers there, Vahn assumed that Enyo wouldn't have any means of trying to recover him either. This was also within Terra's domain and, even if Enyo sent her forces to try and free Fels, Vahn was confident Terra would repel them relatively easily...Though she didn't let it show on her face, Terra was a little annoyed by having to move back and forth between the Dungeon so many times today. It took a great deal of effort for her to make each jump and it was beginning to wear her down. Even so, she kept a calm smile and said, "I hope this will be the last one for today, Master..." with a subtle plea in her tone. Vahn had picked up on this and, even though he had already apologized after calling her, he once again adopted an apologetic expression as he said, "You're the only one I can rely on for things like this, Terra...I'm sorry if it is troubling you..."Hearing her Master's words, Terra's tail flicked happily as she adopted a more natural smile and said, "Ah, if you put it that way, I can't exactly stay unhappy now, can I~? Ufufufufu~." Though she knew he relied on her a great deal, hearing her Master say that he relied on her made Terra feel especially fluttery in her heart. Most of her time these days was spent just watching over Spero, educating Alexa, and researching a few magic topics when she was bored. Her Master was generally very busy lately and, though they had a few intimate moments together, lazing about in her Garden could get rather boring. She used to have Riveria, Ryuu, and Lefiya to keep her company but now they were either busy in the Dungeon or taking care of things in the School...After promising that his schedule would open up a lot after dealing with Enyo, Vahn sent Terra on her way with Fels. She left in a much better mood than she had arrived but Vahn still made a mental note to get check on her when he had the opportunity. He still didn't actually know where Enyo's main body was located but, with the number of important personnel gathered here, Vahn felt she shouldn't be that far. This became especially apparent when, after moving along the natural crystal-laden path for a few minutes, Vahn found a very strange structure. He had already realized that this crystalline section of the Dungeon was one of the 'safe areas' that were naturally produced to serve as a safe haven to the Xenos. Now, in one of the larger chambers he had come across, Vahn found something akin to a throne while one of the adjoining rooms finally answered one of the questions that had always been on his mind...Covering almost every surface of the spherical room he was in, Vahn saw several panels, each showing a different section of the Dungeon. The most incredible discovery, however, was that there was a 'projection' of what Vahn assumed to be the Dungeon itself. It was a ridiculously intricate structure that looked like a series of stars linked together by an infinite number of strings. Upon touching his finger to one of the 'stars', some of the panels on the wall had their images change, showing what Vahn assumed to be the location he had clicked on. This was an amazing discovery and, though it might not be entirely accurate, Vahn committed the 'projection' to memory and compared it with his own map.As expected, many of the areas he had map himself overlapped with the projection, even though some parts had obviously changed. The Dungeon's structure was constantly morphing so it wasn't surprising to see that his map of certain areas was already outdated. This actually made the existence of this room even more amazing to Vahn, as the amount of information a person had access to with these panels and projection was monstrous. He was even able to click on the large 'room' he assumed to be the 50th Floor, finding several long-distance images of Haven. From the image's orientation, Vahn was able to determine that it was the 'lighting' within the Dungeon that was responsible for collecting information. Enyo's forces must have replaced hundreds of thousands of lighting crystals, bioluminescent moss, and other largely ignored components of the Dungeon with observation devices.Now that he understood how they had been spying on him for so long, Vahn couldn't help but release a sigh as his mind raced with possibilities. He had always wondered why Enyo's forces 'ignored' the girls whenever they would enter the Dungeon without him. It wasn't simply that she didn't have enough people to venture into the upper Floors, but there were no 'practical' means to track small groups with the projection. Unless she had someone keeping track of everyone entering and exiting the Dungeon, or the person monitoring this room was watching the entrance at all times, it was simply impossible to track small groups all at once...Vahn assumed they must have had some means of communicating with each other but, for the time being, that remained a mystery to him. He didn't even know how the crystals were connected together in order to feed information into this observation room. For the time being, his assumption was that they were somehow able to use the Dungeon's systems and mana itself...there was even a chance that this observation room had been a product created by the Dungeon, potentially to help the Xenos find their kin. Every thought led to even more questions but, the one thing Vahn knew for sure was that Enyo herself certainly had the means to manipulate some of the Dungeon's processes. He had been 'targetted' by Monster Parties in the past and she had shown, on several instances, the ability to manipulate the Dungeon's mana flow...Deciding he would have to look into things in greater detail later, Vahn clicked on some of the points of interest on the projection to see what the panels reflected. He focused his search on the 60th Floor, trying to identify from the projection the most likely location of Enyo. She would have placed her most trusted aide to monitor things on her behalf so he assumed she had to be relatively close by, even though he couldn't sense her presence at all. Ultimately, Vahn decided to seal off this room with a powerful barrier, in the hope that another one of Enyo's pawns wouldn't come by to sabotage the observation system. When he was finished, Vahn used his updated minimap to get his bearings before heading towards the largest chamber on the 60th Floor. Its appearance on the map was a perfect circle and, being dissimilar from almost every other part of the Dungeon, Vahn felt it was the most suspect location...The thing that drew his attention to this particular location even more, however, was the fact that this current room acted as something of an antechamber for the larger room beyond. What confused Vahnw as that, even as he neared the room, his perception wasn't able to sense anything contained within. This was a relatively big flag, causing his instincts to trigger so strongly that is felt like his skin was crawling with ants. Thus, even though he told himself he wasn't afraid to confront Enyo, Vahn found his feet slowly to a crawl as his [Eyes of Truth] peered through the walls to get a better look. When his vision reached the circular room, however, the only thing Vahn saw...was reflective darkness, almost like an abyss...Even though he wasn't in the room, Vahn could see his reflection against what looked like a liquid hemisphere of pure darkness. It had an appearance similar to oil but was more reflective than a mirror as Vahn felt his consciousness being 'sucked' towards the image of himself. He quickly broke free when his [Will of the Emperor] took effect, allowing him to deactivate his [Eyes of Truth]. Vahn realized he was breathing raggedly and had even ended up on his hands and knees, sweat pouring from his head before evaporating into wisps and returning to his body. In this state, Enyo's laughter reached his mind once again before she mused, ("You really do know how to ruin a girl's fun, Vahn Mason...I wanted you to come to me and see with your own eyes what you're trying to oppose. Now, I wonder if you will flee and continue playing the game like a good little boy~?")Though Enyo could very well be goading him forward into a trap, Vahn found his resolve upon hearing her taunting words. He rose to his feet and pressed forward, even though his instincts screamed at him to turn back. Using his [Will of the Emperor], Vahn buried these feelings away and, after a few minutes had passed, reached a pair of ornate crystalline doors that were more than 50m tall. On the other side of these doors, the black 'liquid' awaited him and, presumably within, Enyo's body should also be present. As if to emphasize this fact, Enyo's voice began to enter his mind but Vahn completely severed the connection with his [Will of the Emperor] while pushing against the massive door with all his Power.Surprisingly, the door opened relatively easily and, as a result of Vahn pushing forward with such force, cracks where present where his hand had impacted. The door itself slammed open before crashing into the adjoining wall with an explosive sound. As this had been rather unexpected, Vahn flinched slightly because of how tense his body had been, especially once the black liquid was within view. This time, however, it wasn't his own reflection that was present within, but the reflection of the Manor's residents. Behind them, there was a tall figure with a scythe and, while staring at it, Vahn found himself 'pulled' into an illusion like when he watched Haruhime. For a brief moment, he saw images of people being slaughtered by figured dressed in black robes. The girls were fighting against these figures but, even after slaying their targets, they ended up being stabbed through by invisible assailants, much as he had been...Vahn shook his head to break free from the image as Enyo's voice stated rather pointedly, ("That is a vision of the very near future, Vahn Mason. Because of your failure here, everyone you care about is doomed to die. Did you know that, even as we speak, my forces have already infiltrated into your little Haven and are simply awaiting my orders to cause chaos? If even your perceptive self can fall victim to my pawns, what chance do you think they have~?") This time, Enyo's voice sounded like it was spoken through amplification magic, resounding inside of his head and echoing loudly. Vahn channeled his [Will of the Emperor] to resist it but Enyo's laughter still reached his mind, causing him to feel nauseous and collapse to the ground.Unaware of what was going on around him, Vahn clutched at his head and attempted to resist the voice and images while an extension of the black liquid slowly made its way toward him. As it snaked along the ground, the bluish-crystalline structure of the floor began to rapidly turn black, spreading out like mold that corroded everything it touched. It continued forward at a slow and leisurely pace and, even upon nearing Vahn, didn't immediately reach out to apply the same corrosive force. Instead, the 'liquid' began to lift itself up like a snake that was about to strike a sleeping target before creating a shape similar to a teardrop. From the bottom end of this teardrop, a face that wasn't quite a reflection came into shape, looking like a white mask that was sculpted to match the expression of a smiling woman...---(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'If Fels had tear ducts, he would definitely be crying now...','Terra's pouting...','If you gaze into an abyss, the abyss gazes back...','Cliff-sama is not gentle o_o...!')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE

Chapter 883: Against the Darkness...