Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

For a period of nine days after Enyo's capture, her forces had continued to stage small scale terrorist attacks throughout the City. Though the Alliance had cleaned up a large number of them, those who had escaped thus far were becoming increasingly more difficult to pin down. Their methods became more discreet and, even with the City gates being temporarily locked down, it was likely that several members had left Orario. With their [Helm of Darkness], a weaker and mass-produced version of the [Helm of Hades], they were able to move invisibly, giving off no presence whatsoever, even if the mana cost was rather intense. Unlike the [Helm of Hades] itself, which was able to naturally pull mana out of the air, the [Helm of Darkness] was limited to about an hour of use, though Tiona seemed to be an exception to this rule as her body itself allowed her to power it almost indefinitely...Because they had been the ones primarily subjugating the enemies, Ais, Tiona, and Tione ended up looting quite a number of [Helm of Darkness]. Since they were very proficient at controlling their own mana, they had been playing around with being invisible, pulling off a few pranks on Vahn to lighten the mood. This resulted in Vahn gaining increased proficiency in detecting invisible enemies so, even with Tiona sneaking kisses and touching parts of his body unexpectedly, it wasn't really a bad thing. The first time she did it, however, Vahn had been successfully spooked and nearly ended up attacking her, something that only fueled her later actions as she claimed it made things more exciting...With so many items as research material, Asfi had actually made her own prototype of the [Helm of Darkness], this one taking on the appearance of visored goggle that Vahn intended to issue to the Pallum Scouts that were being specially trained by Chloe. After he had used the [Star Fire Sphere]s against Enyo, Vahn realized there was a great deal of merit to making use of produced goods to make fights easier. Yes, it reduced the amount of Exilia you could gain from defeating enemies but it wouldn't matter how much experience you could gain if you ended up dead as a result of your own hubris...Vahn understood the dangers of mass-producing powerful equipment that could be used by weak individuals as, if the technology was stolen and replicated, it would make future wars for everyone more difficult. If Asfi's, [Stealth Visor Mk. 1] fell into the hands of a thief or a murderer, the amount of damage even a single person could do was monstrous. They had all learned this first hand from Enyo's forces as the majority were only around Level 1-2 in strength. For better or worse, Enyo's influence over them made it so that they were unable to join other Familia, meaning their relative strength was rather low. Vahn also had the unfortunate opportunity to discover that, as expected, many of these individuals had been 'raised' by Enyo and her pawns since birth and, outside of completely erasing their memories, there was no way to truly free them from her control...By the time the Xenos had helped to secure the 60th Floor, Vahn had rescued a total of 1,274 victims of Enyo's 'birthing' chambers. Of this total, 102 had been male while the remaining 1,172 were a mixed assortment of females, fourteen of which were High Spirits. Vahn had incorrectly assumed that the largest number of victims would be Elves as, after clearing out the other rooms, it became apparent that Enyo's pawns had tried to separate the chambers by race. This depended on the specific traits of the High Spirit, as Vahn found a lot of Chienthropes in a room with a dog-like Spirit while another room had an assortment of Pallum and Dwarves connected to a Gnome. (A/N: This isn't the garden gnome spirits, but an actual Earth Elemental Gnome.)From Ein's research notes, Vahn had been able to learn that they were trying to discover how High Spirits had bred with other creatures in the past, as it should have been impossible to impregnate them. It was in these same research notes that Vahn was able to discover the answer to one of the important questions he had wanted to uncover, this time relating to Ais. There was an entire section of research documents relating to her as the 'alpha subject', dating back nearly a thousand years, even before Ein had become Enyo's pawn. It was Ais' existence, and the cells of her mother Aria, which had laid the foundation for the research into the breeding chambers and trying to cultivate what the documents referred to as Demi-Spirits...Vahn had stumbled across this information while he was trying to confirm the connection between Enyo's 'Familia' and the victims within those nightmarish chambers. He ended up regretting the discovery, however, as there was no easy way to explain the truth of the matter to Ais. This was primarily due to the fact that Ais may not even be her original self at all, even if her soul and ego had been transplanted in successive generations of herself. In essence, she was essentially just an avatar, or a clone, of the original Ais...someone who had died a very long time ago. If not for the fact that something had gone wrong in the research, causing the 'clone' to be spat out in a different part of the Dungeon, Ais likely would have existed as nothing more than a test subject...Even with his inhibitions, Vahn still revealed the truth to Ais and, as she had been comfortable with them knowing of her origins, everyone else within the Manor. She took the news surprisingly well, even better than Vahn himself had, simply nodding her head in understanding with a small, "I see..." as Tiona, Tione, and Lefiya comforted her. Nobody thought lesser of her after the revelation as, much like everyone that existed, she had simply been a soul that migrated to a new body. Unlike others, however, Ais had been born through the reincarnation process of the Dungeon, much like the Xenos. This made her very unique and, after learning the truth, Ais' hatred towards monsters had faded greatly while her kinship with the Xenos had blossomed...From the research notes related to Ais and her mother, Aria, Vahn was able to glean some insights about the Dungeon, Tartarus, itself. Though it felt awkward to look into the particulars, given Ais' association to them, Vahn had her consent to seek out the truth. This was a very important part of understanding the very nature of the world and could give him insights that even gods would err in their path to obtain. After all, Enyo had been outright obsessed with the Dungeon and, given the nature of her Divinities, this didn't make a lot of sense...What Vahn was able to glean thus far was that the reincarnation cycle was something that even the gods themselves didn't fully understand. Though it was certainly operational within the world, to the point where it was even possible to track a person from one life into the next, there were always exceptions. The biggest 'unknown' was the Realm of Hades, as even the gods in Heaven were unable to access it through any known means. Though gods like Hermes could potentially find a way to traverse into the mysterious third Realm, it was unlikely someone like him would tell anyone about what he discovered there...One thing Vahn knew, ever since the discovery of the Xenos, was that the Dungeon, Tartarus, had a self-contained system of reincarnation. Not only could it take in the budding souls of monsters across the Continent, allowing them to be reborn in its depths, but it now seemed possible that the surface races were also subject to this. The thing about this fact was that it didn't make any sense, as a physical object like the Dungeon shouldn't be able to influence souls to such a degree, at least from what Vahn understood. There had to be some greater laws at work and, only by probing into the depths of the Dungeon, could he find any real answers. If it truly did connect to Hades, the chances this mysterious third Realm connected to the cycle of reincarnation were very high...With even Anubis unable to give him any insight into the cycle of Life and Death, Vahn was left with nothing but a few hundred years of research and a seemingly infinite number of questions beyond his comprehension to answer. One thing he knew was that Tartarus was the name of the Primordial Goddess that connected the three Realms by sacrificing her body. This created another question, however, as Vahn couldn't understand the reason why she would have made such a sacrifice. History stated that Nuwa and Tiamat, two other Primordial Deities, remained behind in 'Hell', which he now believed to be 'Hades'. It was also documented that 'Hell' was the remnants of the Realm that existed before the formation of Heaven and the Mortal World...It was this line of thought that gave Vahn insight into the truth of the matter, at least as far as his own comprehension allowed. If the Dungeon was truly Tartarus, which was almost certainly the truth since The Path designated it as such, it meant there was a high chance that...if you were able to descend its depths, you would come out in 'Hades', the true nature of which was the Primordial Gods' plane of existence. It was 'impossible' for mortals to ascend to Heaven but, if there was a physical path to a Realm that even transcended Heaven, there was no way of knowing what kind of power one could obtain. Enyo may very well have wanted to return to the 'origin' of things...for reasons that Vahn could only guess...When Vahn had discussed this with the goddesses, they had been greatly shaken by the revelation as the Dungeon's 'name' wasn't actually common knowledge, even to the gods themselves. The Dungeon had existed long before the creation of most living gods and, though they knew that Tartarus had become the bridge connecting the Realms, they had no idea her 'body' had become the Dungeon. If that was true...it both made sense as to why Ouranos kept it a secret, as there was no way of knowing how most gods would react to knowing they had access to the original plane of existence. Instead, he wanted 'mortals' to be the one to venture forward and conquer the Dungeon's depths which, in a way, was actually 'ascending' from the Mortal World to one of the godly planes...Ouranos had always been a silent observer to History, taking action so rarely that his only two notable actions were recorded by History. His first 'action' had been assisting the other Primordial Deities to rewind time, restoring balance to the Shattered Realms. After that, he took no major action in Heaven, even when other gods tried to contend for his position. It wasn't until he had descended to the Mortal World, something that had been 'necessary' with the pressure from the entire godly community, that he was once again noted in History. Since then, other than serving his role as a Mediator to maintain balance and order, Ouranos' only action had been sealing the Dungeon...Loki had originally thought that Ouranos seal had spelled doom for the Mortal World as, with the increased mana possessed within its walls, the strength of monsters would continue to rise. However, it wasn't until Ouranos sealed the Dungeon that the Xenos began emerging in the world. In a way, their existence was the Dungeon's way of maintaining equilibrium as they were 'neutral' monsters that often sought to avoid conflict. The Dungeon even changed its own structure, creating safe areas for the Xenos to reside while the continued to feed on the ambient energy of the Dungeon, all while desiring to 'escape' and reach the surface. If this had worked as intended, the energy within the Dungeon would have slowly been drained away by the Xenos but, in order to prevent this, Evilus, likely as an extension of Enyo's will, ensured that the Xenos were treated as true monsters...Vahn couldn't help but wonder if Ouranos understood the 'purpose' of the Xenos as, before the Guild announced they were a protected species, there were active subjugation rewards posted for their successful slaying. Since Ouranos' personal policy was that the Xenos' existence was unique, even claiming they would be able to coexist with those living on the surface, he had remained silent as his own organization hunted them down. It was contrary actions like this that confounded Vahn, even though he could somewhat rationalize this as Ouranos' way to remain neutral. If he had truly taken action to protect the Xenos, this would have been a clear indicator that he had sided with them, even as the perspective of mortals and gods painted them as enemies...With as much power as Ouranos possessed, Vahn knew the elderly god would be able to act with impunity in both Heaven and the Mortal World. The fact he was 'content' to simply observe was, in a way, something very commendable. His age was arguably twice that of almost every other god and, in that time, Ouranos had watched as each new era began and ended, never wavering in his 'duty' to the world at large. Vahn knew this was something he simply wasn't capable of, as watching the world around him be destroyed was beyond him. Even though he knew this only invited greater chaos in the world, so as to oppose him, Vahn couldn't back down and just watch as people suffered...Though Vahn found it difficult to 'forgive' Ouranos, he could also rationalize that the elderly god had done nothing wrong. There was nothing that 'required' him to take action and, if he had truly been an arrogant god who exploited his power, the world may have been a very different place. In fact, with Ouranos serving as an inviolable power, and a truly 'neutral' force, it was possible to keep the other gods restrained. If he hadn't descended before the others, the number of Nation-Type Familia would likely be far greater, to the point that the Mortal World would truly just be a playground for the Gods. So long as Ouranos simply sat on his throne, helping to seal the Dungeon, other gods would gather around him, building an 'accepting' community that couldn't be found anywhere else on the Continent...Even so, Vahn still couldn't truly 'understand' Ouranos' perspective on things, which wasn't difficult to rationalize considering one of them was nearly a billion years old. Since there was literally nothing he could do to change the way Ouranos acted, Vahn had no choice but to simply accept how things were...at least for the moment. It was very likely he would one day come to understand Ouranos' position but, at the very least, Vahn knew he would be able to change things when he connected the records in the future. Though a lot would change between now and then, Vahn would do his best to fight against the forces of chaos, even if the Tier of the records were constantly elevated to keep the balance...(A/N: Some people may not like how things were 'wrapped up' in regards to Ais, but know this isn't the end of things. Remember, the avatar of the One-Eyed Black Dragon was supposed to be on the 60th Floor...even though Vahn hasn't encountered it? Ufufufufu~. Also, this will be the last chapter for today since I don't want tomorrow's to be late. I'll probably have out three before I get busy but the day after should be 'normal'? I'm not entirely sure, so I'll let you know as things change~! Also, also, though some of you may hate Ouranos, you have to consider that 'someone' needs to be in his position in such a world. If even the most powerful gods are corrupt, then it would be borderline impossible for mortals to even exist with any semblance of peace xD...)(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'All your base are belong to us...','Ais is essentially a Human Xenos with the cells of her Mother spliced into her (T _ T)...','The legendary Tartarsauce~! Ouranos' neutrality, at what cost...?')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE

Deep within the 60th Floor of the Dungeon, Vahn was standing before an icy pillar more than 9m tall, casting out a thick chill that brought down the surrounding temperature to nearly -100 degrees Celsius. Even with their combined efforts, Vahn and Terra had been unable to replicate Eva's [Eternal Ice Coffin], as their understanding of Laws relating to Time, Space, Ice, and Darkness were simply below the necessary standard of Tier 5. Even so, their efforts hadn't been entirely in vain and, with Vahn using his own Source Energy to power the ritual magic ward they had created, the final result should end up holding her in place for several hundred years.Though it wasn't impossible to move Enyo out of the Dungeon, the chances of something going wrong exponentially increased. Since it was, ironically, safer to seal Enyo within the Dungeon, Vahn had decided to seal her away in one of the natural safe regions of the 60th Floor, close to the Observation Rooms location. Here, there would always be a guard rotation of Xenos watching over Enyo, a duty they took very seriously after learning how she had been exploiting and experimenting on their people...Even if the Xenos did slack off, it wouldn't make too much of a difference as, in order to decrease the chances of something going wrong, Vahn and Terra had designed the room as a self-contained system. All of the mana that flowed away from the imperfect [Eternal Ice Coffin] went into the intricate ritual magic ward that covered every single surface. This formation worked as a space-time lock of sorts, slowing the flow of time within the room to a crawl depending on the amount of energy fed into the system. Even in the final stages of her awakening, they would have upwards of several years to make preparations, during which time Vahn could always use [Enkidu] once again...This being the case, Vahn didn't actually like the idea of imprisoning anyone, even someone as errant and dangerous as Enyo. However, when he considered that the passage of time she would experience would only be a 'blink' within her long life, it was easier to accept. Even so, Vahn had put Enyo into a deep slumber before they cast the [Eternal Ice Coffin] on her, making it so that she wouldn't even 'experience' the passage of time from her own perspective. For Enyo, it would feel like she had simply 'blinked', allowing hundreds of years to pass on the outside. During that time, any threat she posed would have been largely mitigated, especially since Vahn would have already returned after linking the records...The sole purpose of the patrols keeping watch over Enyo's chamber was to prevent external influences, though the chances of this happening were relatively slim. Only those that had very high Loyalty and Allegiance towards Vahn were allowed to operate on the 60th Floor. This region had now become one of the closely guarded secrets of the Alliance and its importance was arguably greater than even Haven. Other than the Observation Room, there was a large network of 'safe' areas to make use of and, with the research notes of Ein, their understanding of the Dungeon itself had increased greatly.On Ein's person, there had been several unique Magic Items, including an artifact that had been identified by The Path as a [Dungeon Controller]. This was an incredible discovery as it allowed the user to trigger the 'transportation' function of the Dungeon. So long as you had the spatial coordinates of your location, it was possible to use the [Dungeon Controller] to traverse through the Dungeon and emerge out at the specified location. The 'downside' was that its functions only worked within the safe areas of the Dungeon and the only viable targets for transfer were the Xenos...Just knowing it was possible to ride the mana streams of the Dungeon was an important discovery, as it should be possible to reverse-engineer the process with time. Until then, Vahn knew it was possible to 'modify' those that would reside within the 60th Floor into humanoid Xenos, though that wasn't something he would do without serious consideration. For the time being, he had entrusted the artifact to Gros, the first to volunteer to observe Enyo and make sure she was unable to escape. He had never required sleep as a Gargoyle Xenos and, even after becoming a 'Titan', this nature of his hadn't changed. If it meant he could protect, not just the Xenos, but everyone that lived on the surface, Gros was the type that would stand vigilant for thousands of years without leaving his post...Back on the surface, Ray had become the 'Village Chief' of Spero and was helping the seventy-one new Xenos adapt to life within Spero. As he had expected, the Xenos were very adaptive and, even after experiencing Enyo's influence, they were able to bounce back quickly amongst their kin. They would be under 'observation' for a few months, training with the more powerful humanoid Xenos within the village, before some of their members joined Lyd's Search and Rescue Expedition...Of the three former Leaders of the Xenos, Lyd had become responsible for leading the team that explored the depths of the Dungeon to scout for any emergent Xenos. His focus of operations was now on the 60th Floor, waiting for the 'Observation Team' to investigate the areas around the Xenos' Hidden Villages for their kin. Upon discovering any traces of their people, Gros would use the [Dungeon Controller] to send the group to the closest transfer point, allowing them to recover the emergent Xenos and escort them to safety. As a result, the population of Spero was steadily increasing and they would likely be nearing five hundred residents by the year's end. With the Observation Room and the [Dungeon Controller], they were finding an average of one Xenos every thirty hours...Overall, things were going very well, to the point that Vahn couldn't quite believe something hadn't gone wrong to disrupt his relatively peaceful life back at the Manor. Though he had certainly been busy within the Dungeon, things had calmed down quite a bit in regards to his personal life. He now had a lot of time to spend with his children and, after checking his 'Main Quest], Vahn noticed that 'killing' Enyo had never been a requirement. Currently, he just needed to unify the other seven major regions of Eden, descend into the depths of Tartarus, and finish establishing the Divine Council. Thus far, he had (11/30] members picked out and it wouldn't be that difficult to get the other nineteen after dealing with external issues...One curious thing Vahn noticed was that his 'Optional Objectives' had also progressed a great deal, especially in regards to acquiring followers, subordinates, and retainers. Originally, this number was a measly nine while, after all of these events had transpired, Vahn now had (2,937/10,000). The curious thing was that his 'Sire 100 Children' had increased from (18/100) to (21/100) before he had noticed. Upon discovering this, Vahn had used his [Eyes of Truth] to 'investigate', finding that, other than Syr and Shakti, Lunoire had also become pregnant. This caused a bit of a stir, as she hadn't really been trying to get pregnant, but Vahn was just glad it hadn't been Tina. He hadn't confirmed if she had taken the pill after their first night together and, being a Cat Person, it was almost guaranteed she would have been pregnant if she chose not to...Vahn didn't have any issues with Tina wanting to become a mother but, with how things had been developing within the Manor, it wasn't exactly an ideal time. He didn't want to cause any kind of strange tension with Milan and, with Tina herself also wanting to become much stronger, becoming pregnant would have thrown a wrench into her plan. Not everyone was like Lili, training twice as hard after giving birth just to catch up on the training time she had lost during her pregnancy. If possible, Vahn wanted everyone to start relaxing and enjoying life a bit more, especially now that one of the largest threats was already dealt with...Even with that being the case, Vahn still found himself thinking about his future actions and contemplating the best method to move forward. He still had several promises to keep and would have to deal with the Amazoness country, Telskyura in the near future. Before that, however, Vahn had a bone to pick with the Iron Hills, as their actions have been grating his nerves for quite a while. This would likely tie into his confrontation with the Rakia Kingdom and, based on how things develop, Vahn knew he would have to make personal efforts within the other regions of the Continent as well...The closest region, which Vahn had a bit of genuine interest in, was the 'Land of no Sun', located a little over a thousand kilometers to the north of Orario. He found himself curious about the status of Shiva, the Dark Elf he had saved in the past, and wondered how well her revenge had been going. Since others didn't have The Path serving as an incredible boon to their potential and resources, it could take several years for a personal campaign or revenge for most people. Shiva had been strong, but she was only around the strength of a Level 4, which couldn't be the strongest within a region. It had been nearly two years since she had set out on her journey and, with things as they were, Vahn wondered if he might be able to help her unify the 'Land of no Sun' if he showed up to assist...Though he believed this could be a good idea, Vahn knew he needed to take care of other things before he decided to assist Shiva. For the time being, he had posted a commission within the Headquarter of the Haven Defense Forces. It was prompted accept by a four-person squad, which was the standard in their organizational structure, consisting of two Pallum Scouts, a Chienthrope, and an Elf. Such squads were highly mobile and, with their racial composition, they had advantages in almost any type of terrain and situation. The Chienthrope in the group acted as the nose and ears while the Pallum had keen eyesight and could easily scout dangerous areas. As for the Elf in their squad, they served the purpose of monitoring the natural energy in the environment while also having the natural ability to see mana.Vahn entrusted them with the task of investigating the Land of no Sun and, if possible, learn of the location of Shiva and any of her allies. Since it was only an investigation commission, they didn't have to engage in combat unless they were targetted first. Given the culture and traditions of the Dark Elves, it wasn't difficult to imagine they would be attacked by some of the clans that made a living off looting merchant groups. So long as they used their squad composition to their advantage, most of these threats were easily avoidable, however, so Vahn told them to exercise caution above all else...It wasn't just this squad who ended up having a mission as, even with Enyo's 'defeat', there hadn't been a single person who wanted to leave the Haven Defense Force. Instead, the organizational structure of the group was becoming increasingly more stable with each passing day. Though Finn ended up stepping down from his position after the successful defense, relinquishing it to Haruhime, the momentum and morale of the HDF members was through the roof. Not only was their strength increasing very quickly, but their sense of unity was stronger than most armies that had worked alongside each other for years. Since this would only stabilize the foundation of Haven even further, Vahn hadn't opposed converting them into a permanant fixture of the emergent City...In an effort to ensure things were running smoothly, the HDF became an organization that emulated the Guild while having aspects of a standing army. There were ranks that could be obtained through merit or by increasing your individual strength to a certain point and applying for promotion. Much like the Guild, the HDF issued quests and commissions that only its members could take, acquiring contribution points much like the system used by the girls within the Hearth Manor. Your rank and contribution points determined your weekly salary while also giving you access to a larger pool of valuable items and equipment. It was even possible to obtain S-Rank equipment through the contribution system, turning the HDF into something of a meritocracy, even though you could be assigned to a squad and given missions at the behest of the organization itself.One thing that Vahn truly believed in was that, if people are making an effort to improve themselves, they should be rewarded for their efforts. He liked systems that promoted this ideology and, so long as people weren't trying to gain benefits at the expense of their companions, he didn't mind a bit of competition between the HDF members. It helped that they were all his Subordinates and Retainers, meaning they had a natural ability to work with each other for the greater good of the organization. Even if someone wanted to use the HDF as a means to promote themselves for selfish gain, it would be very simple to identify them since their values within the system interface would likely be very low...To ensure that such individuals never rose to a rank of power, the HDF regulations specifically stated that Vahn had to approve of anyone that wanted to rise to a command position, making them a Captain within the organization. In order to gain this position, Vahn would conduct an interview with the applicant and, so long as their Loyalty or Allegiance was high enough, it was very likely they would get the position. If they didn't meet these requirements, Vahn would use the interview as an opportunity to set them on a better path, even if it meant 'ordering' them to do so.Since his orders didn't actually affect the free will of his Subordinate or Retainer, they would either correct their actions and become a Captain after an evaluation period, or they would be 'retired' from the organization. This would be necessary as, if they weren't even following his orders as Supreme Commander when he tried to correct their errant path, they would become a seed of corruption within the HDF. Though it was a little 'unfair' to opportunists, Vahn's Unit Management made it impossible for anyone to truly rise up and use the organization for their own means. The moment they began taking selfish actions, their Loyalty and Allegiance would begin to drain away, raising a red flag that made them easily removed after an investigation...This type of system was necessary as, without any doubt whatsoever, Vahn was sure there would be individuals who seek to join the HDF for personal gain. Even with him recruiting all the members himself, people could change a lot under the right circumstances. All it took was a single instance of someone feeling they had greater power and authority than they had earned to set them down the path of a corrupt tyrant. With powerful Magic Items and Equipment at their disposal, there was even a chance they would try and profit off selling the equipment to the black market, depending on the circumstances. This wasn't necessarily because they were tempted by the money, but it wasn't impossible for things like blackmail, hostage taking, and other factors to come into play...Knowing that, regardless of the actions he took, fate and karma would allow evil to propagate under his influence, Vahn could only do his best to weed out the corruption from the start. He would try and ensure that any organization he established was free from people using it for their own benefits, especially things like the HDF, the Sage Aldrnari School, and the Haven Academy. Since these three organizations would produce some of the most powerful individuals in the world, Vahn wanted to make it exceedingly difficult for cruel and malicious people to rise up. Even though he knew it would inevitably happen, Vahn believed it was his duty and obligation to hold back the tide of fate, even for a short while...(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Imperfect Sealing...? No worries, we'll just use that imperfection to power a second seal~!','The HDF seems like an ideal organization...until you get that 'loyal' person who is also tyrannical xD...','It is very frustrating, knowing that every positive action you take just increases the power of future evils...')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE

Vahn decided that it would be best to confer with the goddesses back at the Manor before he made a final decision. In truth, he had been struggling with how best to use the [SAS: SSS] since receiving it and, if it could put this matter to rest, Vahn didn't think it was a bad trade. The only problem with this was the fact that Vahn still lacked a great deal of information, including what Enyo's actual purpose had been. Even now, he still didn't know how Ouranos was involved, how Ais' parents were involved, or how Bell had been expected to kill Enyo in the future...The manga very well may have had the setting where Bell and his companions managed to 'defeat' Enyo, only for her true form to be revealed after. She would have then gone deeper into the Dungeon, causing the strength of monsters to gradually increase with time as the original residents of this world desperately resisted. Bell had already reached Level 9 in the Divination so it was very possible he would have grown beyond the restriction of Falna at some point, all while having the potential to reach Tier 4 himself. The final battle could have been the Tier 4 Bell, using his incredibly broken Innates, fighting against Enyo in the very heart of the Dungeon...Realizing how complicated things had become, Vahn released a sigh, completely ignoring the shaking black egg that seemed to be desperately trying to free itself. It was shortly after this that Vahn realized he actually had no way of moving the egg from this spot, as the chains of [Enkidu] were protruding from the void to lock it in place. If he left the area, the chains would fade away the moment his domain no longer overlapped with them. He had the option of producing [Enkidu] out of his own body but that would still mean he was stuck lugging around a 5m tall egg until he was able to take it back to the surface. He knew [Enkidu] would completely prevent him from being transported with teleportation magic, meaning he was 'stuck' egg sitting until they could seal her away...With nothing better to do at the moment, Vahn began absorbing the ambient Fire Elemental energy to rapidly cool down the massive chamber, which now had a teardrop shape. Because of the pillar of flames he had directed into the deeper Floors, the molten crystal lake had drained away, creating a 'funnel' of sorts that continued for several hundred meters. Vahn noticed that the liquid crystal had also flowed out into some lower passages and could only help that there weren't any innocent lives claimed during his fight against the errant goddess. His decision to use the [Star Fire Sphere]s had been a spur of the moment thing, prompted by his frustration with Enyo...now, Vahn realized he needed to properly research the best use for some of the emergency weapons he created...As that thought crossed his mind, Fafnir popped its head out of the shadows before adopting a humanoid appearance and flying over to Vahn's side. Sensing this, Vahn stated as a precaution, "Be careful, Fafnir, I have her sealed away but there is always a chance something could go wrong..." With how devious Enyo had been, Vahn wouldn't be surprised if she still had plans that had been put into fruition that didn't require her oversight. He already suspected that she had a Familia of her own and, with how 'patient' Enyo had been, the odds of them having infiltrated several sections of society were very high.Though she likely wouldn't have been able to bestow her blessing upon people, resulting in her need for corrupting monsters, capturing Xenos, and creating Creatures, Vahn assumed that Enyo hadn't just been idling about. Just as she had likely manipulated Evilus for her own ends, Enyo had probably planted her pawns within other influential Familia over the centuries. There was even a chance her forces had spread out across the Continent, merely waiting for the day when she would break free so that they could bring about the destruction of the surface world...Realizing this was very likely to be the case, Vahn released a heavy sigh while his main body back at the Manor had awoken from meditation and was moving to explain the situation and make preparations for what was to come. It was the middle of the night now but almost everyone was still awake while Syr had even been waiting for him to exit his temporary seclusion. Though her expression seemed calm, accented by a beautiful smile, Vahn could tell she was troubled by something, asking, "Is it bad...?" He had anticipated that, other than attacking Haven, Enyo had probably done something to try and divert their focus back to the surface as well.Confirming his suspicions, Syr nodded her head, explaining, "There have been numerous attacks within the City. The Alliance forces are working to control the damage and deal with the culprits, but the number of fires has proven troublesome..." Vahn nodded his head, saying, "I'll head out to try and deal with the fires and see if I can't provide assistance...has anything happened near the Manor...?" As they had already anticipated an attack on the City, Vahn wasn't surprised by Syr's words in the least. A few hours after he had ventured into the Dungeon, the 'War Council' of the Alliance had already started to mobilize forces to deal with any attacks that might befall Orario.This time, Syr's smile seemed more genuine as she said, "Though there were some enemies skulking about, they were all swiftly dealt with by Terra. Most of the attackers had tried to target Spero but they were unable to penetrate the barrier. The more troublesome matter is that the enemy had been planting some kind of strange 'seeds' inside of tamed monsters, turning them into the strange plant-like mutants that you warned about previously. They are able to emit a poisonous miasma that caused a great deal of chaos...fortunately, the [Panacea] that had been prepared in advance has proved effective. Though some of the storage warehouses were compromised, the reserve stock you prepared had gone unnoticed..."Even before they knew of Enyo's ability to directly interfere with a person's mind, the Alliance had already made preparations to deal with inside enemies ever since the 'enemies within' warning. It likely hadn't been her intention, but Enyo ended up giving them advance warning for what was to come, allowing them to prepare backup supplies in the event something went wrong. Vahn was tempted to tease the shackled goddess about this fact but decided that talking to her at all would only cause more problems...Syr gave her report within the Sub-Space orb to save time, allowing Vahn to also update her on matters on his end. Once they were both up to speed, they exited the orb and headed towards the Guest Residence, which was currently the emergency headquarters for dealing with this situation. Syr had already written most of the details into the network, which updated when they exited the orb, so the gathered goddesses were already informed by the time Vahn reached the residence. Currently, Loki, Hephaestus, Minerva, Freya, Alala, and Bast. The latter was a goddess from the Southern Sands who had joined the Alliance over a year ago but only recently became a part of the War Council.Bast was unique in that, much like Anubis, she had the same olive-colored skin as a member of the Southern Tribe, but was instead of Cat Person. She had short black hair that was neatly trimmed in a straight line while her eyes glimmered between gold and emerald. Though she was a bit of an airhead at times, Bast did have a Divinity related to War and had been good friends with Anubis for a very long time. Contrary to Anubis, however, Bast had a bit of a sadistic and playful personality, even though she could be easily 'bullied' if she recognized you as being in a higher position...Upon Vahn's entry into the room, most of the goddesses shifted their focus to Vahn while Loki craned her head back and said, "There is a bit of chaos, but the situation on the surface is under control for the time being. Syr should have already explained things, but those girls had already dealt with most of the major threats. You don't have to worry about the fires either, as most of the areas being burned are in low population centers..." Though he gave a curt nod in response, Vahn still asked, "What are we doing to combat the invisible enemies? Is Fels still locked away in the underground...?"Instead of Loki, Minerva answered rather quickly, "The glasses created by Asfi have allowed our forces to track down some of the invisible enemies. Though some slipped through our grasp, it is very likely they will lay low for a while before drawing more attention to themselves. As for Fels, well..." Loki picked up the sentence, adding in a voice filled with scorn, "That bastard, Ouranos, tried to send Hermes over, asking for Fels to be freed to help deal with the attack on the City. I told him he could shove his feathery hat up his ass...!" The fact Ouranos even thought to request they free an 'enemy' that had tried to kill Vahn was laughable to Loki. Currently, Fenrir and Alexa were watching over the bound skeletal figure after Loki threatened that, if Hermes tried to free him, she would truly castrate him in both the Mortal World and Heaven...Hephaestus placed her hand on Loki's shoulder, a small attempt to get the latter to calm down, as she looked toward Vahn and said, "Hestia, Demeter, and Artemis are taking care of the children. They are all having a big sleepover together tonight..." Though it wasn't exactly a 'coincidence', even Hermes wasn't able to use his movement ability to break into the Manor, so long as Hestia was within. Her Divinity made the Manor an almost inviolable territory while few gods truly wished to antagonize her. Hermes' strength was actually on the weaker end of the spectrum and, if not for his ability to move about freely, his status as an Olympian wouldn't have held out for very long.Though he had already been informed about the sleepover from Syr, Vahn gave a small nod to Hephaestus, a casual smile on his face. In truth, he'd like to just sneak into the room and enjoy a peaceful night's rest with his children but, as matters stood, he had other duties to tend to. To that end, they began to discuss how to deal with Enyo, what to do with Fels, the future of Orario, the continued development of Haven, and how to deal with the large network of individuals who had been influenced by Enyo's abilities. Vahn was very tempted to just 'wrangle' up every god with [Enkidu] just to make sure they were in the clear but that could cause no end to future troubles within the godly community. There was also very little reason as, now that Enyo was sealed away, she shouldn't be able to influence them further.Everyone that still acted on Enyo's behalf, at this point, would be someone who had been fully indoctrinated and manipulated by her. They were those who had been led astray, raised within the darkness and brought up believing in their goddess' teachings. Though there were some who could be redeemed, such as some Creatures, Xenos, and the captives on the 60th Floor, others would never be able to live a normal life. It was better to simply return them to the reincarnation cycle and pray they are able to live freely in the future. The Alliance would likely take in any young members that were discovered, but that would be on a purely situational basis...Ultimately, it was decided that, instead of Vahn immediately bringing Enyo out of the Dungeon, he would remain on the 60th Floor. The defense of Haven had gone relatively smoothly and, without Enyo's influence to guide them, most of the monsters had been defeated without ever breaking through the defensive lines of the Haven Defense Force. Now, Vahn would call some of the Xenos he had subordinated and named to his side so they could establish a forward base within the 60th Floor.With the existence of the Observation Room alone, the Alliance had more than enough justification to establish a large presence on the Floor. Vahn would be creating a teleportation ward with Terra's assistance later while they systematically wiped out the remnants of Enyo's forces and rescue her victims. He hadn't been able to save them earlier but Vahn had already verified the existence of thirteen 'birthing chambers' after reading through the notes of the skeletal entity, 'Ein'. She had been serving at Enyo's side for more than 800 years and, from her notes, Vahn was able to get a few answers regarding some of the questions he had...Though further investigations would be necessary, Ein had recorded that Enyo had been one of the gods to descend into the world alongside Ouranos nearly a thousand years ago. Unlike the other gods, who had been drawn to the mortal world out of general curiosity, Enyo's goal had been the Dungeon the entire time. She had even formed a cooperative alliance with the forces of Albert Waldstein, who was then leading a Mercenary organization called 'Wings of Freedom'. It wasn't just her Familia who ventured alongside the legendary Hero's party, however, as several other gods that would one day make up the member of Evilus had been present...The Dungeon had long been considered a threat to the survival of the surface races and, with existences like the Black Dragon King, it was paramount that they were able to seal it away. As a result, more than ten Familia had banded together to probe into the Dungeon's depths, trying to unlock its secrets. Enyo was one of the few gods that accompanied the party and, by continually upgraded her Familia's Status Boards, they had become one of the mainstays in the Alliance. Being a Goddess of War, many proud warriors answered the call to arms and, fighting alongside the other members of the Alliance, the 'Wings of Freedom' had slowly made headway into the Dungeon...After several hard-fought battles, the group finally arrived at the 60th Floor of the Dungeon and, though it was not recorded in History, they battled against a monstrous entity named Typhon. Ein's records stated that the creature was more than 300m long, possessing the upper body of a winged giant and the lower body of a massive serpentine creature. By the end of the battle, the layout of the Dungeon itself had been fundamentally changed, causing almost every Floor to collapse as a result of the climactic battle. Even with this level of destruction, and almost every member of the 'Wings of Freedom' falling, they still came out victorious. However, it was also this battle that allowed creatures like the Black Dragon King, the Behemoth and, spawning from the corpse of Typhon, the Leviathan to break free...With no other choice, the Wings of Freedom retreated from the Dungeon to give chase to these cataclysmic threats. To prevent further monsters from escaping, Ouranos, supposedly inspired by the fervor and heroism of Albert's party, made the rare decision to create a large seal on the Dungeon, using the emergent Tower of Babel as the foundation.The real reason for this action, however, was to prevent what he and many of the other gods had seen during the conflict between the Wings of Freedom and Typhon from leaking out. Not only was the creature nearly as strong as a god, but they could sense there were even more dangerous entities contained deeper within the Dungeon. They watched helplessly as Enyo entered into a secret chamber, followed by the emergence of a dreadfully powerful aura...However, instead of confronting the enemy then and there, Ouranos, being the 'observer' he had been since time immemorial, chose to seal it away, waiting for a 'True Hero' to rise up one day and deal with the threat.Ouranos had believed that Albert would be the one to uncover the secrets of the Dungeon and open the way towards the future, even going so far as the bestow the first blessing upon the young Hero. As a result, Albert made an Eternal Vow that, so long as the Dungeon exists, he would dedicate all of his lives to subjugating it...all so that the surface world could one day be free from the impending threat of destruction that even gods were powerless to protect them from...As for how Ein knew of these things, it wasn't exactly clear from the documents that Vahn had discovered, only that she had compiled excerpts from several journals and texts that had still existed on the 59th and 60th Floors. When the Wings of Freedom had been wiped out, they had thousands of members and Vahn suspected it was the compilation of their own expedition reports that had allowed Ein to make her deductions. After all, they were events had taken place more than two hundred years before she came under Enyo's influence while the matters related to Ouranos seemed grossly out of place...almost as if they had been added later.Vahn suspected it was Fels, who had come to serve under Ouranos, who had been feeding information to Ein. Though there was nothing showing they were brother and sister, the fact that Fels still had a pure aura, while still choosing to interact with such malicious entities, showed there had to be 'some' kind of relation. Ein had probably come under Enyo's influence at some point and, unable to leave his sister to suffer alone, Fels had been doing his best to act as support...at least, that is what Vahn would like to believe. In truth, unless Fels and Ouranos gave them the answers, it was impossible to know the truth...(A/N: I'm going to be busy for the next couple of days and can't really guarantee how many chapters will be coming out. Also, I'm moving apartments very soon and will be leaving for work around June 14th. At the very least, I will be releasing a chapter every single day and, so long as I can make time, you can expect around 4 chapters other than when I'm moving. Today should still have one or two more, though they may not be until later. I'll keep everyone posted as things continue to develop (UwU)~!)(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Vahn should just make Bell into a powerhouse and then lock him in a room with Enyo xD...','Enyo's schemes echo throughout History...','You know nothing, Vahn Mason...')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE

Chapter 886: Discovery