Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Though it took a while to sort out all the details, it wasn't long after his conversation with Lo Po Bia that Vahn found himself standing opposite from what could best be described as an exotic beauty comprised entirely of aged bark and faded leaves. Her presence caused everyone in the Lo Po Bia Family to lower their heads in a solemn gesture of respect, and, for a brief moment, it seemed that all the tensions between the branches had simply vanished into thin air.Noticing the atmosphere that had been created by the woman's presence, Vahn's smile turned into a troubled expression as he stared into the faded green pupils of the woman smiling back at him. Unlike every other World Tree Spirit he had encountered, the Great Mother seemed to be lacking in vitality. Her bark was broken and frayed, and, despite appearing rather remarkable at a glance, her complexion was an amalgamation of yellows, browns, and faded greens. She resembled a tree that had been forced to lay its roots in an inhospitable region, and, despite radiating vitality from every fiber of her being, Vahn could feel her power and life force waning with each passing moment...Sensing the change in Vahn's mood, the Great Mother's smile softened into a gentle and motherly look as she softly muttered, "Do not lament. I have lived a life more fortunate than most. Besides, death is not the end. It is simply the beginning of a new chapter. Now...shall we begin...?"To indicate her own preparedness, the Great Mother manifested a branch-like Needle in her left hand as various types of trees, plants, and shrubbery began to spread throughout the arena. The complexion of her face and body also became a healthy shade of green, but, with his ability to sense the flow of energy, Vahn could tell she was burning what remained of her life force in order to sustain her empowered state.Understanding his opponent didn't have a lot of time, Vahn wasn't going to dally for the sake of sentimentality. Instead, he took a moment to appease Leav-tan before surprising virtually everyone by manifesting a petite young woman with fair skin, dark brown hair, inordinately long and pointed ears, branch-like wooden horns, and, fur-covered legs that ended in hoofed feet. She also had a tail that ended in a tuft, but, before anyone could get a proper grasp of her features, the young woman promptly transformed into a wooden bow carved with the motif of two dryads shrouded in emerald green leaves and vines.Though it had been some time since he used archery within a fight, Vahn's skill had only matured with time. He also possessed numerous Zanpakuto Spirits in the form of bows, but, unlike the rest, this particular variant had very little combat ability. Her name was Dea, and, while her name could be credited to the Roman Goddess of the same name, what distinguished her among her siblings was her 'compassion'. Arrows loosed from her branches did not leave wounds. Instead, they did the exact opposite, and, though he could use her to stun, paralyze, and put things to sleep, Dea's main function was healing targets from afar.Without explaining this functionality, Vahn's figure flashed away from the Great Mother, effortlessly evading her vines as he twisted his body in the air and loosed several vibrant green arrows formed of Nature Elemental Energy. This confused the Great Mother's senses, and, for a very brief moment, she was almost tempted to let the arrows hit her before manifesting a root more than thirty meters in diameter to block the approaching arrows. At the same time, a series of plant bulbs erupted from the ground all throughout the arena, many growing to the size of skyscrapers before blooming into a series of beautiful flowers that released a tremendous number of spores.Under normal circumstances, Vahn would have been tempted to see what the spores were capable of, but, having experienced the terror plants were capable of at the hands of Xysteria, he swept Dea in a horizontal motion that caused every flower within the arena to be bifurcated. This earned him a pouty complaint from the faun that inhabited the bow, but, with a few carefully chosen words, Vahn managed to coax her by promising to fill an entire forest with flowers for her to frolick through...With the Spirit of his Zanpakuto momentarily pacified, Vahn manipulated the flow of Shinsu in the surroundings to consolidate most of the spores into a centralized location as he continued loosing arrows towards the Great Mother. This caused the latter to feel a tremendous amount of pressure, not because he was inflicting any actual damage, but because the vitality emanating from each of the arrows had already started to suffuse through her body. As a result, she felt mildly intoxicated, and, despite her best efforts to slow the intake, her malnourished cells greedily absorbed each and every micron of natural energy.Noticing the Great Mother's lack of focus, an amused smile spread across Vahn's face as he easily evaded a series of massive, thorn-covered, vines before teleporting directly in front of the hunched-over beauty with his bow drawn. The very tip of his arrows was pressed to the Great Mother's head, so, even if it was incapable of dealing damage, her vibrant green eyes widened as she instinctually stabbed towards his chest with her Needle.Adding to the World Tree Spirit's surprise, Vahn made no attempt to evade the momentous attack. Instead, he let it pass harmlessly through his body in a manner similar to Katakuri toying with Luffy during their showdown in canon. At the exact same moment, he loosed one of Dea's vibrant green arrows into the Great Mother's forehead. This would have caused most people's heads to snap back due to whiplash, but, unlike conventional arrows, Dea's didn't carry any actual momentum. Instead, the arrow disappeared into the Great Mother's head, instantaneously robbing her of consciousness as the leaves comprising her hair and clothing practically exploded due to their exponential growth.With the Great Mother now resembling a clump of vibrant green grass, Vahn allowed Dea to return to her faun form before sending her on her way after a healthy amount of petting. This earned him a fair number of complaints from his other Zanpaktuo, but, as was often the case, Vahn managed to pacify them with promises of maintenance. This was one of the downsides to possessing well over a hundred Zanpakuto, but, as needy as they could be at times, Vahn felt genuinely blessed to have so many adorable, versatile, and powerful Spirits to dote upon. They were also a part of him, so, even if he did have any complaints, the only person he could really blame was himself...As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn's body tensed up as the Great Mother's eyes spontaneously rolled forward. Their previous exchange had actually been his attempts to treat her condition, so, in a way, it was basically the warm-up heralding the actual battle. After all, the original agreement was that he would fight her in his Sage Dragon Emperor Transformation. Their goal was to eliminate any future dissent, so, while he could easily defeat her in a few swift exchanges, it would take something more 'theatrical' to convince the naysayers of his superiority.With this in mind, Vahn smiled towards the Great Mother before teleporting a few kilometers away in an effort to evade the spores she had sneakily released. Then, in front of the stunned eyes of the entire Lo Po Bia Family, his body began to rapidly increase in size, quickly exceeding five-hundred-meters in height and more than twice that in length. Unlike his past transformations, however, gold scales were not his most prominent features. Rather, since this was supposed to be his Sage Dragon Emperor Transformation, he elected to emulate Artoria's ivory scales in order to give himself a more regal appearance. This helped the golden accents of his body stand out even more, but, at a glance, it was his fiery blue eyes, the blade-like horn protruding from his head, and the shimmering golden glaive attached to the end of his tail that drew the eyes of the crowd.Since this was far larger than his previous transformations, Vahn was forced to adopt a quadrupedal stance just to support his own weight. If not for his contract with Gluttony, even half this size would have been too much for him, as, despite his breakthroughs in the Toaruverse, his ability to bend the laws 'outside' was still limited by his comprehension and authority. This restriction was waning with each passing day, but, the moment he departed the Tower and trespassed a higher realm, he would, once again, be at the mercy of the Laws.Dismissing such thoughts from his mind, Vahn waited patiently as the Great Mother attempted to create a Spiritual Avatar that could rival his current form. This ended up being a mistake, as, rather than settling on a construct of similar size, she created a behemoth of organic matter that towered over him several times over. Since her 'true body' was the inordinately large briar bush surrounding them, this wasn't particularly surprising. Still, with his own limit barely eclipsing 500m, Vahn couldn't help frowning as he noticed her head grazing the ceiling of the arena...Fortunately, prior to the battle beginning, Vahn had tasked Lo Po Bia with making sure there were no audience members on the western section of the arena. He also made sure most of the Floating Palaces had moved out of the way, as, the moment he released his attack, everything in front of him was bound to 'vanish'. The Great Mother's size meant very little in the fact of true power, so, before her impossibly large fist could squash him like a bug, golden light began emanating from the scales in his chest, rapidly spreading through his body before gathering in his spread wings.Just as people began to squint from the intense light, the atmosphere within the arena seemed to darken as the flow of time slowed to a crawl. Then, in a voice that shook the very souls of everyone present, Vahn's could be heard stating, "Sage Dragon Emperor's Majestic Roar." as a relatively thin beam of golden energy erupted from his maw. Said beam passed through the Great Mother's Spirit Avatar as if it was little more than an illusion before continuing on until it impacting the distant wall of the 113th Floor. Then, despite the beam rapidly contracting into nothingness, the hole produced continued to expand until it had formed a passageway more than three-kilometers in diameter...Satisfied with the result, an uncanny smile developed across Vahn's draconic maw as he tapped his glaive-like tail against the ground. This caused a series of golden ripples to emanate from the point of contact, rapidly spreading through the arena before crawling up the nearly destroyed barrier and producing countless shimmering runes. Shortly thereafter, the barrier was completely repaired, and, as a result, the audience was finally able to exhale the breath they had been holding. His aura was a little too potent in this particular form, so, from the moment he transformed, most of the audience members had turned completely statuesque, their minds wholly incapable of processing what they had just witnessed.Passing his gaze over the stunned onlookers, Vahn did his best to control the egotistical urges he felt whenever he transformed into a dragon, asking, "Is anyone not convinced...?" in as calm a tone as he could manage. In response, most of the Elders immediately averted their eyes, as, even if they were from one of the feline families, they only had one life. None were foolish enough to speak out against the indescribably powerful being staring down at them as if they were little more than weak and powerless children...(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Leaf-bae getting bullied...','A Zanpakuto for every occassion~!','Blaaargh...!')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh

With none of the Elders stepping out to contest his victory, Vahn's time in the spotlight had come to an end. He still needed to remove the Great Mother's curse, but, with the assent of Gluttony, this wasn't particularly difficult. Other than that, his only business with the Lo Po Bia Family was taking in the remnants of the Grey Wolf Family, a total of thirteen females and six males, so that Elaine would no longer feel obligated to restore the entire family on her own. He was also intending to meet with the Lo Po Bia Family's Princesses of Jahad, but, understanding he could always deal with them after taking care of Jahad, the only two he was 'obligated' to meet with were Lilial and Shilial.Ever since Jeanne had accidentally purified the blood curse on Lilial, she and her twin sister, Shilial, had ceased climbing the Tower. Their sudden disappearance had caused quite a stir, but, thanks to Maschenny sheltering them, they had managed to escape the Royal Enforcement Division's pursuit. This was made easier by the fact neither had received a 13 Month Series, so, even if their death was mandated by Imperial Law, Jahad had never bothered to issue an official kill order.Though the twins' circumstances were the result of their bloodthirsty natures and poor decision making, they, like every other Princess of Jahad, were ultimately the victims of a system designed to turn impressionable young girls into weapons. Their instincts and conditioned loyalty actually made them even more susceptible than other Princesses, so, while he could simply ignore them, it simply wasn't in Vahn's nature to do so. Thus, in the days following his exhibition match against the Great Mother, he easily resolved the matter of her curse before observing the transition of power from Lo Po Bia to Genzo. Then, when everything else was said and done, he tracked down the burgundy and blonde-haired Princesses to a remote location on the outskirts of the recently vacated 77th Floor.With the disappearance of Baek Ryun and the bulk of Wolhaiksong, the 77th Floor had become yet another haven for refugees and criminals fleeing the Jahad Empire. The other Floor Rulers had tried to install a proxy in Baek's absence, but, due to the contract between Ureko and Hon, the Floor was ultimately the possession of the tomboyish blonde. They fundamentally lacked the authority to strip ownership away from her, and, even if they tried, doing so would be akin to assigning themselves a death sentence.Though it was technically considered a lawless territory, the fear that Ureko would rain down justice upon them caused most of the people fleeing to the 77th Floor to behave. It was no secret that she disdained people who broke the law and exploited others, so, even though there were a number of opportunistic individuals who migrated to the Floor, very few attempted to establish themselves as a 'power' within the region. Those that did were Merchants or Rankers attempting to establish their roots in a territory outside the Empire's control. For many, this was an opportunity to start their own organization, so, even if the chances of success were slim, they, at the very least, wanted to try...A stark contrast to this sentiment, Shilial and Lilial had 'retired' to a frontier village located on the very outskirts of the 77th Floor. There, Vahn found the younger of the two sisters, Shilial, tending to a potato garden with a very disgruntled expression on her face. Long gone were the days where she could doll herself up in lavish and expensive clothing. Instead, she was reduced to wearing relatively simple clothes that were as easy to dirty as they were to clean. This included a simple blue sundress, patched-up blue trousers, dirty rubber boots, gardening gloves, and a simple yet fashionable straw hat.With her attention fully focused on the potatoes she was unearthing from the soil, Shilial failed to sense Vahn until his shadow was lingering over her. This caused her eyes to widen, and, though she was supposed to be trying to remain low key, that didn't prevent her from performing an acrobatic somersault and raising her gardening trowel as if it were a weapon.Raising his hand in a casual manner, Vahn ignored the hateful glimmer in Shilial's eyes as he smiled and said, "Long time no see. How's life as a farm girl treating you...?"Though she had always been known as an outwardly respectful woman, Shilial teared up slightly in response to Vahn's words, gritting her teeth as she asked, "Have you come here to make fun of us? If so, get it out of your system and leave. My sister and I have enough problems without your stupid face to remind us of the past...!"Restraining his urge to lecture the not-so-young-lady, Vahn adopted a far more serious expression as he explained, "It would appear you are unaware of the happenings within the Tower. Ownership of the Lo Po Bia Family has exchanged hands within the last couple of days. So long as you promise not to cause trouble, I have made arrangements for you and your sister to attend the Great Mother. I have removed her curse, so, now that she no longer has to conserve her energy, she is looking for suitable candidates to train as Guardians and Priestesses of the Lo Po Bia Family. I'm not sure what she has in mind, but I imagine it beats growing potatoes here on the 77th Floor..."Blinking in response to Vahn's words, Shilial slowly lowered her gardening trowel as she asked, "Are you for real? Have you truly taken over the Lo Po Bia Family...?"Shaking his head, Vahn created a three-dimensional projection of Genzo's visage as he explained, "I battled against the Great Mother, but ownership of the Lo Po Bia Family has been transferred to this man, Genzo Shibata. His passion regarding animals and people with animalistic features can be said to be second to none. His power is also comparable to my own, so, after dominating more than half of the Elders, Lo Po Bia willingly transferred his status and authority."Seeing the projection shift to Genzo's battle against several famous Elders, Shilial promptly decided to trust in Vahn's words. There was a chance he was attempting to deceive her, but, considering the vast disparity in their respective powers, there was little she could do even if he decided to have his way with her. She was also bored out of her mind living in the outskirts of the 77th Floor, so, even if his intent was to deceive her, she didn't really care.Having made up her mind, Shilial inhaled a deep breath before shouting, "Lilial! Get your lazy butt out here! We're going home...!" at the top of her voice.Hearing her sister's shout, Lilial, appearing somewhat worse for wear, came to the window of the small cottage she shared with her young sibling. She was about to shout something about Shilial having lost her mind, but, seeing Vahn standing a few meters away, her expression briefly paled before quickly returning to normal as she asked, "Are we really...going home?"Being the more ambitious of the two sisters, Lilial had taken their fall from grace much harder than her twin. After all, she was technically the reason they were forced to flee, so, for the last year or so, most of her time had been spent brooding over what could have been. Now, however, a tiny flame had reignited from the smoldering ashes of her aspirations, and, even if she had to sell her soul to a lecherous dragon, she was willing to do whatever it took to recover and transcend her past glory.Instantly jumping to the wrong conclusion, Lilial didn't bother waiting for her sister's reply before looking towards Vahn as if he were a piece of choice meat. She seemed to forget she was wearing rather plain pajamas, and, for a brief moment, her haughty expression returned as she mistakenly believed Vahn had fallen for her charms. Unfortunately, the moment she crossed her arms and was preparing to speak, the person in question promptly stated, "I'm not into spoiled brats..."Both stunned and confused, Lilial stared at Vahn as if he had said something nonsensical, the light from her vibrant blue eyes gradually faded as realization donned upon her. Immediately thereafter, a remarkably painful sensation spread through her heart, but, fearing she might compromise their chances of returning home, she swallowed her grievances and asked for an explanation...---After purifying Shilial's blood and leaving both she and Lilial in the care of the Great Mother, Vahn's business with the Lo Po Bia Family had effectively come to an end. His plan to create Templates for each of the branch families had been scrapped a long time ago, so, with Genzo in charge, everyone had effectively become part of the same family. This should help to ease tensions between previous rivals, as, unlike before, the only person with any authority in the entire Lo Po Bia Family was Genzo himself. Though he would never use this power with malicious intent, the former Elders had no way of knowing this, so, for the time being, they had no choice but to obey.Fortunately, despite numerous differences, such as some branches being born cold-blooded, there were few limitations on who members of the Lo Po Bia Family could breed with. In fact, their unique genes allowed for a certain degree of 'variability' in mating pairs, so, even if someone from the Boa Family was to breed with a member of the Snow Leopard Family, they could produce offspring with traits of both. In the past, such chimeric mixes were considered forbidden, but, now that Genzo was in charge, such restrictions no longer applied. The members of the Lo Po Bia Family were allowed to love whoever they wanted, and, even if their preferences leaned towards members of the same sex, anyone who wanted to complain would promptly find themselves on the receiving end of Genzo's german suplex.Though there was a chance that someone with the power to rival Genzo would appear, that was an event for the far future. For the time being, even Jahad couldn't do anything about him, and, due to the protections granted to the Great Mother, the Lo Po Bia Family was basically untouchable within the 113th Floor. This meant they had, at the very least, a few tens-of-thousands-of-years to resolve their interpersonal affairs, as, with the exception of Vahn's other Templates, the only people with the potential to surpass Genzo were his own offspring.Confident in this assertation, Vahn decided to leave the affairs of the Lo Po Bia Family to the Lo Po Bia Family. They were no longer his concern, so, after tying up a few loose ends related to the Snow Leopard Family, he decided to temporarily retire to the 199th Floor in order to watch over Pram and help her control her newly awakened Innate. Death Energy was no joke, and, unless they were born with it, mastering the extreme form of Yin Energy was remarkably difficult. There was even a chance it would consume the user, so, while he was tempted to wrap things up within the Tower, Vahn had never considered helping those who were willing to die for him a waste of time. Pram might have a lot of issues to work out, but, were she incapable or unwilling to change, breaking through to Tier 4 would have been impossible. Thus, much as he had in the wake of events on the 100th Floor, Vahn afforded the Tower three weeks to adapt while splitting his time between watching over Pram and investigating what, exactly, had transpired within the Po Bidau Family...(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'This is some advanced form of bullying...','Oof...','Vahn be like, "Taking care of floof is infinitely more important than dealing with a Chuuni Emperor..."')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh

After explaining the situation, Vahn released Tperie so he could deal with the fallout of events on the 129th Floor. The Tu Perie Family served as one of the central pillars of the Empire when it came to administration, so, while Tperie held no official title, he was the first person people went to when something unexpected or disastrous transpired.Taking advantage of the man's departure, Vahn decided now was as good a time as any to expel the members of the Research Team from the Little Garden. They were one of the last groups remaining, and, while he had grown rather fond of some of the members, the majority had only been there for the sake of their family and laying a foundation for themselves in the future politics of the Tower. To that end, now was the best time to strike, as, not only had he already defeated the Khun, Arie, Yeon, and Ari Families, he was well on his way to taking over the Lo Po Bia Family.Though he advised them not to take things too far, Vahn didn't mind if the girls used his name to secure a position for themselves within the leadership of their own families. He also assigned them non-Templated Pokemon to both protect and watch over them, so, as long as they didn't use their newfound status to suppress others, they would have a relatively smooth path moving forward. The only people they really needed to safeguard themselves against were the more opportunistic and malicious members of their Families, but, considering most of them would be 'removed' in the near future, they shouldn't have too much to worry about.As a special service, Vahn escorted each of the girls to a destination of their choice before returning to the 113th Floor with the intention of settling things up with the Lo Po Bia Family. To that end, he used his Unit Management to recall Genzo, who, rather than accompanying them back to the Little Garden, decided to stay back and enjoy the Lo Po Bia Family's hospitality.Not expecting Vahn to teleport him while he was in the middle of petting half a dozen animalistic beauties, Genzo's somewhat ridiculous expression immediately hardened into a far more serious and solemn look as he crossed his arms and asked, "What do you want?"Shifting his attention away from the cat-like ears atop Genzo's head, Vahn met the man's gaze as he answered, "I didn't create you without memories. Even if you possess the personality of the original Genzo Shibata, it is irresponsible of you to behave like this. You know full-well I have no intention of killing anyone, so why are you acting so defensively?"Without needing to consider his response, Genzo immediately replied, "If the Lo Po Bia Family were a group of 'normal' people, you would not have tolerated their behavior. Instead, you have afforded them clemency because you know they are not fully in control of their actions, instincts, and desires. I don't have a problem with you facing off against Lo Po Bia. The issue here is that you are behaving violently and unruly when it is completely unnecessary. Lo Po Bia has already acknowledged you as his better and has shown no hostility towards you or anyone else in the Aldrnari Empire. If you can't see the problem with assaulting someone who is already cooperating with you, there is nothing for us to discuss. We will be enemies from here onwards."Though he had already anticipated this response, Vahn couldn't help exhaling an exasperated sigh as he combed through his dark-brown, almost black, hair. He was beginning to think his creation of Genzo had been a little rash, but, understanding the man would soon be in charge of the Lo Po Bia Family, this type of behavior was to be expected. He clearly cared deeply about each and every one of the branch families, so, as frustrating as it was to have one of his own Templates standing against him, Vahn also felt an iota of pride deep within.After a moment of consideration, Vahn ultimately nodded his head before saying, "Though I cannot agree with you wholeheartedly, there is a fair amount of wisdom contained within your words. Since you were created with the Lo Po Bia Family's interests in mind, I'll leave this matter to you..."With that said, Vahn gestured a half-hearted farewell before rising to his feet. Genzo was also a Tier 5, so, even if he was left to his own devices, there was nothing that could stand in his way to taking over the Lo Po Bia Family. He was also the person Vahn was going to leave in charge of cleaning up the Lo Po Bia Family's messes, so, rather than make the man's job more difficult, it seemed wiser to simply move on. After all, most of his interest currently lay outside the Tower, not within...Just as Vahn was about to teleport away, Genzo surprised him by saying, "I believe there has been a misunderstanding. I wasn't saying you shouldn't fight the Lo Po Bia Family Leader. The main point I was trying to make was that you shouldn't fight him with the intention of meting out some kind of punishment. He never acted with malicious intent, and, even now, he does not harbor any grudges towards you. Rather than attempting to conquer the Lo Po Bia Family using fear tactics, would it not be closer to your ideals to settle things as friends? You wouldn't have created me if you didn't think the Lo Po Bia Family were beyond saving."Finding himself at a loss for words, Vahn looked over his shoulder to find Genzo staring back at him with a massive grin on his face. This left him feeling a little helpless, not because Genzo had hit the nail on the proverbial head, but because the four-hour-year-old Template was using his own private thoughts against him. Everything he mentioned was something Vahn had deliberated at length, but, for the sake of 'fairness', he had been intending to punish Lo Po Bia in a similar manner to Arie Hon.Shaking that thought from his mind, Vahn adopted a wry smile before extending his hand to the inordinately muscular man and saying, "It seems the Lo Po Bia Family is about to experience an era of prosperity...you'll make a fine leader, Genzo..."---Following the impromptu meeting between Creator and Template, Vahn and Genzo met up with Lo Po Bia to discuss the upcoming 'competition'. It was decided that the first round would basically be an exhibition between Vahn's Sage Dragon Emperor Transformation and the Guardian of the entire Lo Po Bia Family, the Great Mother herself. This was the entire reason this particular venue had been prepared, and, while it was a little strange that Lo Po Bia wouldn't be representing himself, most of an Anima's combat potential was derived from the creatures they commanded.As the 'mother' of every first-generation descendant of the Lo Po Bia Family, the Great Mother was effectively the source of their animalistic traits. She was also the entity who had gifted Lo Po Bia the twenty eggs that would eventually go on to become the original Guardian Beasts of the Lo Po Bia Branch Families. This made her the single most important entity within the Lo Po Bia Family, and, to the surprise of even Vahn, she was actually a stayover from a time before Gluttony and his children were placed in charge of the Tower. The only reason she wasn't older than the aforementioned was that her true form was essentially a World Tree, one that had died and been reincarnated countless times...With World Trees appearing in virtually every Record he had visited, Vahn was unsurprised to learn that the Tower had its own variant of the surprisingly common yet inordinately rare organism. The only reason he was even marginally surprised was that he had been unable to detect the presence of the World Tree's Spirit due to the Great Mother currently being near the end of her life. She had been prolonging her life by sealing away her essence, and, as a result, her true form was none other than the giant briar bush that dominated a large portion of the 113th Floor.It was Lo Po Bia's hope that Vahn would be able to reinvigorate the Great Mother's life force, but, even if he couldn't, defeating her now would ensure she became even more powerful in her next incarnation. This was how the Great Mother had persisted since time immemorial, as, every time she was killed, she would become resistant to whatever had killed her. She was also part of the network that allowed for the existence of multiple Floors in the Tower, so, even if Gluttony wanted to get rid of her, doing so risked compromising the integrity of the 109th through 117th Floors. He was also bound by a law that stipulated he prevent the complete eradication of individual species within the Tower, so, with the Great Mother being the last of her kind, she was effectively 'untouchable' under normal circumstances.While this might sound like a tremendous boon from certain perspectives, the simple fact of the matter was that the Great Mother was still the last of her kind. She had also been cursed to prevent her from producing offspring that might threaten the stability established by the Guardians, so, for hundreds-of-millions of years, she had effectively been imprisoned within the Tower's 113th Floor. It was only during the Age of Ascension that she finally met someone who could hear the 'voice of all things'. This was none other than Lo Po Bia, and, due to his innate ability to communicate with and understand all living creatures, it wasn't long before she entrusted her everything to him.Loneliness was one of the most powerful emotions any sapient creature could experience, so, even if was only for a relatively short few tens-of-thousands-of-years, the Great Mother vowed that she would watch over and protect the Lo Po Bia Family. This was the sentiment that allowed Lo Po Bia to become the Tower's first genuine Anima, as, despite countless new species coming into existence since the creation of the Tower, all Shinheuh within descended from the Great Mother and her sister trees. They were the origin of every native species of the Tower, and, as a result, Lo Po Bia was able to exercise his control over every living organism, people included.The only limitations on Lo Po Bia's power were that he couldn't exercise his control over those with greater power, Irregulars, and anyone who had specifically made a contract with the Guardians to receive protection against mind control abilities. He also had no desire to rule over everything, so, after establishing the Lo Po Bia Family, most of his time had been spent communing with the Great Mother and nourishing the eggs she had provided. This was also one of the reasons he was so loyal to Jahad, as, prior to becoming King, his old friend had vowed to find a way to break the curse that prevented the Great Mother from creating sisters for herself.Upon learning these things, Vahn not only agreed to fight an exhibition match against the Great Mother, he also promised to remove her curse. This was something that Gluttony was vehemently against, but, with Vahn promising to liberate the eldritch entity within the next two years, it offered no real resistance against his decision to treat her. Thus, rather than complicating things by meting out a one-sided punishment, Vahn's first step towards settling things with the Lo Po Bia Family was earning the sincere respect and admiration of its current and soon-to-be-former Leader...(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Vahn be like, "Git..."','This is a very advanced form of self-counseling...','Vahn's affinity with trees and lolis has now spanned four Records xD...')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh

Chapter 2009: Power Overwhelming