Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

After successfully preventing anyone new from boarding the Hell Express, Vahn and Co, now accompanied by FUG's former team, sans Elliot, began their ten-day journey to reach their next destination. This time, however, it wasn't Artoria and the rest clearing out the cars. Instead, Vahn had Yura act as the Team's Light Bearer, directing the trio of Daniel, Vicente, and Anna while Ryun rendered her services as a Guide. As for Angel, she had tentatively 'retired' to the Second Layer of the Little Garden, enjoying a momentary reprieve from an inordinately long period of suffering...As could be expected from a team comprised of 'elites', Daniel, despite being a Scout, was able to clear most cars without any assistance. He hadn't lived for more than six-hundred-years without picking up a few skills along the way, and, though he had lost Hoaqin's demonic parasite, he was still able to use a unique form of Shinsu control known as 'Necromancy'.Unlike the Necromancy Vahn was familiar with, Daniel's allowed him to absorb the 'souls' of the enemies he had defeated, storing them within a secondary 'container' that had been created near his dantian. Unlike the energy stored within the dantian, the wellspring that served as the 'root' of a person's power, the energy kept within this secondary vessel was finite. In other words, once he ran out, he could no longer use his abilities as a 'Necromancer', so, whenever he defeated a foe, Daniel would absorb the energy released from their 'souls' in order to refill this peculiar reservoir.Using the energy he stored within, Daniel was able to create 'living' Baangs of Shinsu. These often appeared as screaming purple heads, complete with twisted expression and teeth that could bypass most resistances due to their spiritual nature. It was quite the eerie sight to behold, as, even without his direction, these heads were capable of passing through objects and pursuing their enemies like vengeful spirits, wailing madly as they attempted to devour anything perceived as an enemy.With the ghostly heads able to absorb the 'power of souls' for living organisms, they were capable of both sustaining themselves and replenishing Daniel's reserves. The only downside was that most Shinheuh, for a number of reasons, provided very little 'soul energy'. This was especially true on the Hell Express, as, unlike those found outside, the Shinheuh found within were effectively 'projections' comprised of Shinsu. They even vanished into motes of light upon death, reabsorbed and recycled by the Hell Express in order to produce a functionally unlimited number of enemies for Regulars to face.Fortunately, what Daniel believed to be the 'power of souls' was just a purified form of Shinsu, so, even though the Shinheuh onboard were bereft of anything even remotely resembling an Ego, he was still able to sweep through them while replenishing his secondary reserves. The only thing that prevented him from defeating 'every' enemy was the fact he could only sustain two Baangs at a time, and, though they were quite fast, it wasn't particularly difficult to dodge ghostly purple heads that constantly announced their presence via screaming.Acting as the Fishermen of the group, Vicente wielded a peculiar sword, resembling a claymore with an inordinately wide guard, to deftly cut down any foes that ventured within seventy meters of him, his sister, and Yura. He was the type of swordsman who focused almost exclusively on defense and counters, so, as could be expected, his perception and reaction time were both remarkable. He also got 'a lot' stronger whenever he was protecting something, so, with his sister close behind, Vicente was able to demonstrate a degree of skill that would eclipse most B-Rank Regulars.With his techniques revolving around manipulating, curving, and severing Space, Vicente was able to create an 'absolute field of protection' that functioned similarly to a domain. This required him to remain stationary, but, so long as it was active, his technique allowed him to cut down anything that ventured into the hemispherical space surrounding him. This included other sword techniques, and, as could be expected, most Shinsu-related attacks.During his youth, Vicente, much like each of his other siblings that had been fooled by Hoaqin, had been ostracized by the rest of his Family. He was considered to be a prodigy on the level of Hoaqin, but, rather than go on the offensive, all of his techniques revolved around defense. This earned him a reputation as a coward, and, due to their inability to land so much as a single blow, even his older siblings began refusing to train with him. The only exception to this rule was Hoaqin, who, prior to becoming the entity known as White, researched all of his siblings before picking those who would be most useful to him after fusing.Hoaqin's swordsmanship focused entirely on offense, so, in order to cover for his own weaknesses, he extended a helping hand to Vicente around the same time that everyone else was shunning him. This was seen through by Vicente, but, having already given up on surpassing his father and being accepted by the rest of his Family, he didn't care about the consequences. He just wanted to belong somewhere, and, after getting to know his younger sisters, each equally as ostracized as he was, the only thing he really cared about was protecting them.In the end, White was an amalgamation of Hoaqin's otherworldly offensive capabilities, Vicente's unparalleled defense, Anna's innate talent for Sorcery, David's ability to temporarily possess other people, and Albelda's uncanny ability to completely erase their presence. These last two had been particularly useful as they were ultimately what allowed him to successfully fool countless people during his 'kingdom building' days. They were also what allowed him to survive his initial climb up the Tower, as, rather than appear as himself, he often possessed the bodies of talented Regulars in order to escape the scrutiny of the Ten Great Families.Unfortunately, though the whole Tower was better for it, White had been forced to separate into his constituent parts after his battle against Arie Hagipherione Zahard. This left him without the unique abilities he had relied on for thousands of years, and, though he still possessed a ludicrous amount of offensive power, his mentality as a 'God' made him blind to the schemes that had been enacted against him by a group of Regulars.Now, the only thing that remained of the tyrannical Slayer were the fragments he had been infused into the Egos of his siblings. Two of these had already been 'exorcised' by Vahn, so, for the first time in their lives, Vicente and Anna were free to make their own decisions. For the time being, their primary objective was saving their siblings. After that, Vicente wanted to study swordsmanship within the Little Garden, apprenticing under Vahn while Anna studied under Eva.Vahn had become rather fond of Vicente due to his resolute desire to protect the people he cared about, and, though their abilities were fundamentally different, Eva seemed to see her former self in Anna. She had also been ostracized at a young age due to her magical abilities, and, much like the former, her power had first manifested as an ability to create and manipulate dolls. She could also sense a powerful desire to prove herself simmering within the not-so-young girl's heart; so, with the intent to turn Anna into the Tower's most preeminent Magus, Eva had taken the taciturn girl under her wing.Though she had only been studying for a few days, Anna wasn't considered a prodigy in sorcery for naught. She might not have been able to make any real progress towards understanding the basics of Eva's constantly evolving magic system, but, with an Innate talent for creating puppets, she now had five mannequin-like humanoids, each with the aptitude of a powerful D-Rank Regular, fighting at her behest.Eva's intent was to guide Anna down a very similar path as her younger self, shaping the girl into an Archmage that could create a literal army of autonomous magical soldiers. This was something that Anna was also interested in, and, after witnessing Eva's instantaneous creation of several copies of herself, each capable of manipulating Shinsu to devastating effect, a powerful desire to develop her own ability had blossomed overnight. This brought the two of them a lot closer, but, unfortunately, Vahn was destined to remain 'hated' as Eva had forbidden him from approaching within five meters of her young apprentice...---After a relatively leisurely ten days, Vahn and Co found themselves outside of a chamber guarded by a giant, frog-like Shinheuh. It appeared almost identical to a standard bullfrog, but, instead of green skin, it's glistening hide was a peculiar shade of blue. It was also more than ten meters tall, and, rather than possess two eyes, it had a bulbous third eye located at the center of its forehead.Having spent much of the last six-hundred-years onboard the Hell Express, Daniel recognized the peculiar creature in an instant, saying, "I never expected to encounter the Three-Eyed Tyrant this early on. It normally only appears after the Hell Train had surpassed the 40th-"Before Daniel could finish explaining the specifics regarding the peculiar Guardian, Anna's dolls, now resembling various stuffed animals, began peppering it with concentrated beams of Shinsu. Her talent for Sorcery directly translated to an equally extreme potential as a Wave Controller, so, much like Ryun, she had managed to master the basics of the Shinsu Black Hole Sphere using the method created by Eva. This made her attacks especially devastating, and, though it had resulted in a number of puppets self-destructing, she had been working on manifesting the unique control skill through her ever-growing population of autonomous soldiers.Though he could have defeated it on his own, Daniel couldn't help but stare with his mouth agape as Anna's army of stuffed animals decimated the notoriously difficult enemy. It couldn't even fight back, as, unlike normal Shinsu, Anna's seemed to ignore conventional resistances, tearing apart the target without mercy.Turning his head, a fearful glimmer flashed across Daniel's otherwise vibrant blue eyes as he stared back at the white-haired girl, seemingly no older than ten, hugging a stuffed pink rabbit. She didn't even need to exert herself to defeat a foe that would have taken him several minutes to defeat, and, so long as Vicente and Yura were at her side, her defenses were nigh-impregnable...Noticing the former's gaze, Anna met Daniel's eyes with her own silver-whites, her face devoid of any emotion as she cocked her head to the side and asked, "What are you looking at...?" in a cold monotone.Feeling slightly unnerved by Anna's expression and tone, Daniel offered a wry smile in response as he said, "Ah...it's nothing...I was just surprised by how strong you've become in such a short period of time. The descendants of the Ten Great Families are pretty...amazing...?"Noticing the surrounding temperature decreasing, Daniel's instincts began to sound alarm bells in the back of his mind. He seemed to have stepped on a landmine by mentioning Anna's relation to the Arie Family, and, as a result, her expression became even icier than usual as the rabbit-like doll in her head raised its head to meet his gaze with its beady black eyes. At the exact same moment, each of the other dolls turned their heads toward him, necks twisting unnaturally due to their lack of bones...Fortunately, just as it seemed like he would suffer the same fate as the Three-Eyed Tyrant, Vicente moved to block Anna's view of Daniel, his expression and tone calm as he said, "Anna...he is not an enemy..."Calming down almost immediately, Anna just nodded her head before hugging her doll close and retracting her bloodlust. This caused the palpable chill in the surroundings to fade away, and, as a result of her apprentice's antics, Eva couldn't help but laugh aloud before making a few remarks at Daniel's expense...(A/N: Alternate Titles: '*The sound of every true Necromancer and Lich clicking their tongues*','Eva be like, "Not this time you little shit..."','Anna about to fuck up the Arie Family on her own o_o...')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh

With the Guardian taken care of with relative ease, there was nothing preventing Daniel from using the seal tattooed on his body to remove the seal that would have otherwise required more 'forceful' methods to bypass. On the other side, seated atop a wooden chair that appeared almost comically oversized compared to its occupant, a young boy with the characteristic features of the Arie Family could be seen staring back at them.Though it was their first time seeing their brother in hundreds of years, neither Vicente nor Anna showed any real reaction. Rather, much like every other member of the Arie Family, Hoaqin being one of the few exceptions, they appeared unperturbed by everything happening around them. This caused many within the Tower to view the entire family as emotionless killers, but, while it was true they weren't very expressive, that didn't mean they were bereft of sentiments such as affection and love.While Vicente exchanged nods with the presumed David, Anna made her way over to his side, not to say or do anything, just to be near him. This earned her a deadpan stare from David, but, after a few seconds, he dutifully reached his hand out to caress her head as he dully intoned, "It is good to see you, Anna. Have you been well?"With an unchanging expression of her own, Anna nodded her head before gesturing towards the compressed dolls visible from within the fashionable purse gifted to her by Eva. This earned her a head-tilt from David, forcing her to explain, "I have found a teacher. Now I can grow stronger like everyone else."Though it was almost imperceptible, the briefest hint of a smile could be seen on David's face as he retracted his hand and said, "I'm happy for you." before shifting his attention to Vicente and asking, "Where is Hoaqin? I would have thought he would be the one unsealing our chambers."Frowning slightly in response to David's mention of their elder brother, Anna squeezed her rabbit-like doll, retreating to Eva's side as Vicente went on to explain the details of Hoaqin's demise. This came as a tremendous shock to David, not because he was upset by Hoaqin's death, but, much like Vicente, he had been planning to become the 'center' when they re-fused as White. He hadn't even considered the possibility that they would remain separated, so, following the sudden revelation, he just stared blankly at nothing before gradually shifting his attention to the 'culprit' behind Hoaqin's death.Adopting a casual smile in response to the youth's gaze, Vahn took the initiative to explain, "Your power is remarkable, but it won't help you in this particular situation. Even if you wanted to try and seize one of our bodies, everyone here is exponentially stronger than you. Besides, the moment you tried pulling a stunt like that in front of me, you are effectively deciding your own death. I'm not the type to consider an ability evil by default. The moment you use it for evil purposes, however, expect no quarter from me."Fearful that his brother might make a mistake he couldn't take back, Vicente immediately followed up Vahn's words with his own, proposing, "This man is similar to father, someone from outside the Tower. If you are worried about living and making decisions on your own, I will allow you to inhabit my body. We can share control and improve together, just like when we were younger."Hearing Vicente compare Vahn to their father, David's expression became the closest thing to shock he could manage, brows raised slightly as his pupils retracted to the size of pinholes. They had been taught from a 'very' young age how amazing their father was, and, at the end of every year, he even attempted to 'encourage' them by performing a sword dance. This became the driving force behind each and every member of the Arie Family, but, at the same time, it also showed them how vast and seemingly insurmountable their Father was. This impression was so strong that it was impossible for them to compare him to another, yet, here, at this moment, Vicente seemed to be doing just that...Shifting his gaze back to Vahn, David's eyes began to wander across his body, seemingly searching for whatever made him exceptional. This earned him a light chuckle from the former, who, feeling a little emboldened by the youth's expectations, manifested Laev-tan. Before he could move to swing her, however, Eva promptly smacked him in the back of the head, saying, "Don't even think about it! You don't even know how powerful you are right now! What if you destroy the entire Hell Express in your attempts to show off!? At least return to the Little Garden before you do something stupid...!"Rubbing the spot where Eva had smacked him, Vahn maintained a carefree smile even as he felt a warmth flood into his cheeks. This earned him exasperated sighs from most of the women present, the only real exceptions being Artoria and Fenrir; who, in response to Eva smacking him in front of other people, adopted slight frowns. This caused her body to straighten out, but, rather than take a step back, she adopted a frown of her own and asked, "What? Everything I said was the truth. Don't even pretend that Vahn doesn't have a habit of destroying things whenever he is trying to show off. He might be a Grandmaster swordsman, but he is also an incomprehensibly overpowered God. Are you forgetting what happened during his most recent attempt to awaken his Bankai...?"Though they wanted to support Vahn, even Fenrir couldn't help but avert her eyes slightly as she recalled the destructive inferno that had devastated more than a third of the Ninth Layer, a texture that could rival Gaia in surface area. If not for Vahn preemptively evacuating the region prior to the attempt, there was a very real chance that someone could have gotten caught up in the blaze...Feeling even more embarrassed due to Eva's words, Vahn began chuckling lightly as he returned Laev-tan to his body. Then, before the conversation could continue, he hastily manifested the Little Garden, saying, "I still need to remove Hoaqin's fragment from David's Ego. We'll resume our search come morning. I'm sure these three have much to discuss and I'm certain Rindo will have some new dishes for us to sample..."Hearing mention of Rindo's incomparable cooking, the stomaches of nearly everyone present made their presence known via the issuance of a loud war cry. Eva was no exception to this, so, with a red hue coloring her cheeks, she nodded her head in compliance, saying, "Very well then. Let us be off." in an uncharacteristically demure yet expectant tone...---Having disembarked the Hell Express at the 37th Floor's train station, Elliot, feeling frustrated at his lack of strength and the loss of his Angel, spent several days venting his frustrations within the Red Light District of the Middle Tower before reporting the incident. This required him to venture to one of the territories managed by FUG, a surprisingly difficult task now that he no longer had someone to provide directions.Fortunately, so long as he ventured to regions where the public order was terrible, Elliot needed only follow the scent of fresh blood in order to track down a member of FUG. Then, after beating the trio that had attempted to extort him, brutally killing two in the process, he was guided to a night club that served as one of the FUGs many fronts.What Elliot never could have expected was, less than five hours after he had made his report, two figures, neither of which he had ever anticipated meeting, appeared before him. This included an inordinately handsome man wearing glasses, and, though it was 'very' dangerous for them to be seen together, a woman with pale-pink hair and cold blue eyes had appeared alongside him.Unable to move so much as a single muscle in the presence of the duo, Elliot lowered his body to the ground, sweat covering his entire body as the man, none other than Po Bidau Gustang, casually remarked, "It seems like FUG is well on its way to triggering its own annihilation..."Snorting in response to the man's words, the pink-haired woman, one of FUG's most influential Elders, Sophia Tan, remarked, "Preposterous. Though we might not be able to avoid a few losses, even Ureko would not be able to destroy the entirety of FUG. Besides, that man seems to be in a hurry, and, despite all his power, he gives off the impression of someone 'soft'. So long as we seek to compromise, I imagine he will willingly seek an accord."Though he couldn't completely refute Sophia's words, Gustang still shook his head, insisting, "It is a mistake to delude ourselves into thinking we can finitely ascertain anything related to that man. His existence isn't a mere anomaly, it is something that defies logic in its entirety. According to the data I have been able to collect, there is a 93% probability that he doesn't actually exist. Rather, the man we see and experience as the 'Sage Dragon Emperor' is the manifestation of something far beyond our capabilities to understand. I will not deny the merit contained within your assertations, but, the moment you begin basing your actions on the assumptions you have formed, you will have assured your own destruction."Understanding the kind of man Gustang was, Sophia couldn't help but frown deeply in response to his words. He wasn't the type to exaggerate things, and, the moment he finished speaking, she felt a sudden and intense feeling of existential dread. It was like 'death' was standing right behind her, and, had she been alone, she wouldn't have been able to avoid looking over her shoulder. Instead, she forced a smile as she said, "It seems there is a need to further distance Seolhwangyon from the rest of FUG..."With a peculiar sheen flashing across his square-rimmed glasses, Gustang gestured to push them further up his nose as he suggested, "If there is anything we can be reasonably certain of, it is that man's obsession with women. It will undoubtedly require some sacrifices to be made, but there is a chance you can, at the very least, earn his favor. Just make sure you don't pressure the women into approaching him. Keeping secrets from that man is impossible so it is best to choose someone with a resolute heart and sincere belief in FUG's ideals."As the backer for several 'female-only' sects and organizations, Sophia was spoiled for choice when it came to choosing women to entice Vahn. She even had a number of personal disciples who were remarkably loyal to the cause, but, due to her teachings, avoided direct involvement with FUG. After all, it was an organization comprised almost entirely of criminals, many of which had been shunned or chased out of society for various profane or vile acts. Allowing sheltered women to interact with such despots was just inviting trouble, so, more often than not, her faction operated independently from the rest of FUG.Before Sophia could come up with an answer, Gustang shifted his attention back to Elliot, saying, "I will take this one with me. I would appreciate it if you didn't inform Yama of his disappearance. As it stands, FUG will soon lose more than half of its Slayers. There is a 72.095% chance that Yama will be able to avoid this fate. Allowing this man to come into contact with him reduces that chance to only 11.853%."Since she didn't particularly care about Elliot, Sophia just nodded in response to Gustang's words before manifesting a dark-pink Lighthouse and saying, "In approximately six months, myself, Hwa Yon, and Khel Hellam are intending to meet with the Sage Dragon Emperor. The latter believes the Jahad Empire will take action around the same time. It would make things easier on us if you could run interference from your end."Having already deduced Vahn's reasons for boarding the Hell Express, Gustang offered an amused smile in response to Sophia's words before casually remarking, "Measures have already been taken. I am not alone in my interest in that anomaly. So long as he doesn't do anything 'too' excessive, we should be able to prevent a full mobilization of the Empire's forces. If anything, you should be more worried about Hana losing her temper and reducing the entire Floor to ashes. She has become little more than a puppet over these last few millennia so there is a high likelihood she will do something drastic at the behest of that incessantly vain woman."Frowning in response to Gustang's words, Sophia quickly forwarded a few encrypted transmissions through her Lighthouse network before placing her palm against the front face and saying, "We will make the necessary preparations. Farewell, Mr. E..."Without waiting for Gustang's response, Sophia vanished using a very advanced form of Lighthouse Teleportation. Unlike the traditional skill, hers only required the use of a single Lighthouse, and, so long as they made use of the same network, she could freely teleport to the location of any other Lighthouse. This included the Lighthouses of most Regulars, and, thanks to the cooperation of the Workshop, she could even hack into the Lighthouses of enemy Rankers in order to send assassins to their side. These were capabilities unique to her Lighthouse, and, though it wasn't on the level of an Opera or the Eyes of God, it was one of the only A-Rank Lighthouses in the entire Tower...(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'An entire family of anti-social introverts...,'The appetite demons demand sustenance...!','TFW you realize Phae produced an A-Rank Lighthouse prior to the 20th Floor...')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh

With the 'former' members of FUG under control, it wasn't an exaggeration to say that Vahn was now in total control of the Hell Express. Unfortunately, this didn't allow him to simply 'ignore' the rules of the unique testing grounds, so, even with Ryun guiding the way, it generally took several days to seek out and discover each of Hoaqin's siblings. Thus, by the time they reached the 37th Floor Train Station, colloquially known as the 'Wooden Horse', they had only found the youngest of the Arie siblings, a quiet and reserved young lady named Anna.Like every direct descendent of the Arie Clan, Anna possessed silvery-white hair, matching eyes, and inordinately pale skin. What distinguished her from her kin was the fact that, despite being from the family best known for their swordsmanship, Anna had very little talent for it. Instead, she had been born with an extraordinary talent for sorcery, specifically specializing in the production of doll-like familiars.Though they were only about as strong as skilled Regulars, Anna was able to create dolls that could learn from and emulate the capabilities of others. Her favorite was the plush rabbit she could often be seen carrying around, but, so long as it had been immersed in her Shinsu for an extended period of time, she could effectively control anything with a humanoid shape. This applied to actual people as well, but, for a variety of reasons, doing so was 'exceptionally' difficult.Unfortunately, despite possessing a remarkable ability with functionally unlimited potential, Anna had been born into a family that couldn't appreciate her talents. This led to her being ostracized by virtually everyone within the family, and, during her training, she was bullied excessively by her own siblings. The only people who were kind to her during this period were Hoaqin, Vicente, David, and Albelda, the same siblings she would later go on to fuse with for fear of being left alone.Anna didn't take kindly to the fact that Hoaqin had been killed, but, thanks to some careful coaxing from Vicente, she ultimately gave up on the idea of seeking revenge. After all, she was a remarkably intelligent young lady, so, while she was heartbroken by the loss of her older brother, she was also aware that someone needed to pay for his crimes. Hoaqin had killed billions in the pursuit of power, and, despite having numerous opportunities to confront their father, the purpose of their fusion, he spent thousands of years just idling about in the Outer Tower.Though he wasn't the only one guilty of such heinous acts, Hoaqin had gone out of his way to raise a Kingdom from the ground up. He united various peoples under a common banner and effectively became a Messiah to more than a hundred million people. Then, once his popularity had reached its peak, allowing him to masquerade as a literal God, he effectively vanished into thin air without selecting a successor.As could be expected, the power vacuum caused by White's spontaneous disappearance resulted in countless conflicts. There was no end to the number of people trying to seize power in his absence, and, as a result, the Kingdom eventually fragmented into a total of seventy smaller fiefdoms before eventually falling under the banner of a single, tyrannical, Empire.While his previously established nation was tearing itself apart, White had been busy masquerading as a sword-saint-turned-revolutionary in a distant kingdom. He worked his way up to becoming the leader of a massive revolution that was intended to tear down the nobility and return power to the people. This resulted in the deaths of countless revolutions, but, in the end, they were finally able to establish a Republic founded on principles such as freedom and universal education.From an objective point of view, White had spent more than a thousand years improving the lives of various people. In reality, his only reason for establishing order within the region was to grow the population and develop two rival superpowers with radically different systems of belief. This would ensure they were constantly at odds, slaughtering each other without end as he put the finishing touches on a massive ritual formation that spanned the entire continent.By the time White's activities were discovered by the Jahad Empire, his actions had resulted in the deaths of billions, each unwittingly sacrificed for the sake of increasing his power. This allowed his power to increase far beyond the scope of an average High Ranker, and, for a time, he became the public face of FUG, rising to prominence as one of the most prolific Slayers in history. He had even managed to start a number of successful revolutions in the lower floors of the Tower, his popularity exploding to the point that it became common for people to paint red markings around their eyes to indicate their intent to rebel.Unfortunately for the infamous Slayer, his power was far beyond the level required to defeat the true powerhouses among the Jahad Empire and the Ten Great Families. He was able to defeat the majority of their High Rankers with relative ease, but, hidden away within each of the families were powerful Rankers known as 'Blue Holes'. These were former Higher Rankers, who, for a variety of reasons, had faded into obscurity until they were invariably removed from the rankings entirely.During his attempt to conquer the 35th Floor and gain possession of the Hell Express, White had the misfortune of encountering one of the most powerful Princesses of Jahad at the time, his own older sister, Arie Hagipherione Zahard. If it were just her, he might have come out ahead, but, as a wielder of the Thirteen Month Series, possessing the Red October, her importance to the family was too high for her to travel alone. As a result, he found himself pitted against a peerless princess and one of the Arie Families three 'Sword Saints', Arie Orion, the former Rank 29.In the end, White attempted to secure an advantage by remotely activating the ritual formation he had spent more than a thousand years constructing. This was ultimately successful, resulting in the death of billions, but, before he could properly absorb the extraordinary amount of energy, he was struck down by Hagipherione's Red October.The enchantments on the Thirteen Month Series were rumored to possess the power to even slay immortals when ignited, so, in an effort to preserve himself, White was forced to flee at the expense of more than 60,000 of his allies. Even this wasn't enough to save him from death, however, so, as a last-ditch effort to preserve his life and escape pursuit, he used up most of his remaining power to undo the ritual binding him and his siblings before hiding within the Hell Express. His intent was to sacrifice the souls onboard to recuperate and further increase his power, but, the moment he tried to activate the ritual, his plans were interrupted and undermined by a group of inordinately brave Regulars.At the cost of her own life, Roen interfered with the activation of White's ritual, preventing him from absorbing the power of souls onboard the Hell Express. This caused substantial damage to White's own soul, forcing him to flee and ultimately requiring him to use the last remnants of his power to seal himself away for more than five-hundred-years just to heal. It was only after Daniel discovered his chamber that he finally awoke, and, after a brief confrontation, the former agreed to become his proxy, absorbing souls on his behalf in exchange for agreeing to resurrect Roen.In the single-minded pursuit of this objective, Daniel had spent the last forty-years luring the vilest and most despicable people he could onboard the Hell Express before killing them in secret. It was for this same reason that he joined FUG, effectively selling his soul to the 'devil' in order for a small chance at resurrecting the woman he loved. This was how FUG came to learn of White's awakening, and, as a result, Daniel became a relatively important figure within the organization due to the seal allowing him to locate Hoaqin and his siblings onboard the infamously labyrinthine locomotive.Unfortunately, after idling about for more than ten-thousand-years, most of the Elders within FUG had become political 'fence-sitters'. They were apprehensive about making any decision that might introduce great change within the organization, so, despite having the opportunity to revive one of their most prolific Slayers, they were hesitant to do so before they could gain leverage against him.It wasn't a particularly well-known fact, but, due to their propensity to elevate Slayers to the level of Gods within the organization, FUG's Elders had very little control over the rambunctious bunch. The position of Slayer was, by design, the 'highest' within the entire organization, so, unless they could come to a consensus and coordinate with other Slayers, interfering with the actions of another was very difficult.Of the 'seven' Slayers designated by FUG, three were currently inactive, one was 'dead', another had only recently ascended to his position, and the last was rather famous for not giving a damn about the organization's affairs. This put the Elders of FUG into a difficult position, as, without the support of an active Slayer, 'reclaiming' White would be very difficult due to the rules prohibiting them from taking overt action before the 'prophesied time'.Since Slayer Yama had absolutely no interest in anything unrelated to his personal enjoyment and the survival of his people, this left only Slayer Karaka as a potential backer. Unfortunately, the latter had only recently become a Slayer in the last 100 years, and, while his power could rival some High Rankers, he would struggle to break into the Top 500 even with the support of three Elders and his Master, the Rank 71 Ha Jinsung.For these reasons, the 'revival' of White had been stonewalled for decades as Daniel continued his efforts to accumulate souls at Hoaqin's behest. As for why they had chosen to resurrect him at this moment in time, it was largely due to the fact that the 'prophesied time' was fast approaching. This was originally attributed to the emergence of Baam, but, now that the former was 'dead', many of the active Elders within FUG were beginning to latch onto the idea that Vahn was the one they had been waiting for.Unfortunately for the opportunistic Elders, Vahn wasn't exactly 'cooperative', and, due to their past actions and continuing negligence, they were quickly moving their way up to the top of his list of elements that needed to be removed from the Tower. Their only lifeline at this point was Hwa Ryun, and, to a lesser extent, Vahn's understanding that FUG, despite all their flaws, weren't actually the bad guys. They had just become stagnant and corrupt over the course of thousands of years, and, much like the Heads of the Ten Great Families, the majority of the Elders had become desensitized due to their own longevity.Though there were exceptions to the rule, most 'mortals' were unprepared for a life that continued into perpetuity. Unless they had something to drive them forward, most people would simply break after a few hundred years. This is what led to most Rankers developing quirky personalities, as, after a while, they simply 'forgot' how to interact with people normally. Instead, their main focus became increasing their rank, expanding the influence of their families, and pursuing various hobbies.Those who failed to find something they were interested in either took their own lives or ended up latching onto others with a greater drive than themselves. They found meaning in following those who seemed to have a sense of purpose, something most of them had lost even before managing to become Rankers. After all, few people became Rankers without compromising themselves and making countless sacrifices along the way.During the average Regular's climb, they would experience frequent betrayals, witness the deaths of virtually every single one of their teammates, and, more often than not, just as they were beginning to spread their wings, they would invariably fall victim to the Ten Great Families. This was enough to leave the vast majority of fresh Rankers feeling 'extremely' fatigued. As a result, most spent the first hundred or so years after their ascent trying to justify why they had climbed in the first place. They would meander through the Middle Tower to experience all the things they had missed out on; and, in the end, quite a number chose to become Administrators, many searching for themselves amidst the countless Regulars following the path they had formerly tread...(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Being born a talented sorceress in a family of sword-machos...oof...','Daniel has ascended 'even further beyond' the realm of Super Simpin...!','The only things that survive the test of time are bureaucracy and sin o_o...')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh

Chapter 1869: Small Steps Forward