Chapter 1334: Atmosphere
Vahn was somewhat disappointed with how things ended but he didn't let it get him down as, in the grand scheme of eternity, more battles would come. For now, coming to an accord with the powerful Vampire Princess before him was more important as, even without Alaya explaining the details, it was obvious she pulled her power directly from the Counter Force.
Since it would be problematic to take her to the Hanging Gardens due to the presence of Semiramis, Vahn idled in the air for a moment before asking, "Can you recreate that Marble Phantasm of yours? It will be more convenient to converse in an area where others cannot spy upon us..."
As he spoke, Vahn turned his gaze toward nothing in particular but, in response to his actions, a small 'blip' in space-time occurred within his domain. The airspace around the Hanging Garden was closely monitored by various organizations so it was a given that some foolhardy types thought they could get away with listening in on his conversations. Unfortunately for them, the act of observing him directly was enough to trigger a response from CHALDEAS so it wouldn't take long for Sherlock to pinpoint their location and intent.
Though she wasn't as sensitive to spatial fluctuations as Vahn, Arcueid had noticed the abnormality due to him bringing attention to it. Thus, with a wave of her hand, the surroundings instantaneously changed to a familiar scene. This time around, Vahn was able to get a look at the scene and, while it was a little strange to see a blood-red sky, the way light refracted in this crimson world was quite the sight to behold. Even the vibrant crimson moon shining above glimmered like a ruby and, if not for the malignant energy that seemed to radiate from its surface, he would have been able to appreciate it quite a bit...
Just as Vahn was preparing to whip out a table and some chairs for them, Arcueid beat him to the punch by manifesting an entire castle out of her own shadow. This, too, was quite the sight but, with the castle giving off an eerie and lonesome vibe, Vahn couldn't help but frown slightly. Even without an explanation, he could guess that this was Arcueid's home. To have stayed in such a place, it was obvious something terrible had happened to her in the past...
With a sigh escaping his lips, Vahn caught the attention of Arcueid who, curious as to what he was thinking about, asked, "Why are you sighing? Are you disappointed with my castle...or, perhaps, you still wanted to battle...?"
As Arcueid asked her question, she lifted her right hand to form a pair of claws, seemingly ready to continue where they had left off. This caused the smile to return to Vahn's face but, considering they had only just stopped fighting, he opted for the route of diplomacy, shaking his head as he said, "I'm certain we can find the time to battle in the future. For now, lets clear up the misunderstanding from earlier. If given the option, I'd rather fight you as equals instead of enemies."
Hearing Vahn's response, Arcueid's nails retracted in an instant, her grisly claws resuming the look of dainty and delicate digits. If he hadn't seen Gray do the same in the past, he would have wondered if the ability was related to actual body transformation, rather than a racial trait of all Vampires...
---
With Arcueid leading the way, Vahn soon found himself in a circular library with bookshelves that seemed to stretch upwards into eternity. Despite this, there were several towers of books littering the area while, at one corner of the room, an old wooden desk, complete with a few spent candles, could be seen amongst the clutter.
Seeing the state of her library, Arcueid felt a little embarrassed so, with a wave of her hand, each of the books promptly returned to their shelves. Then, with similar ease to his own actions, she pulled out two ornate chairs, a circular table, and a tea arrangement. Vahn found this even more curious than her transformation ability as, from what he could ascertain, she was literally manipulating the reality around them to her preference. It wasn't simply Creation but the 'actualization of intent', a phenomenon that would undoubtedly drive Da Vinci crazy.
After taking his own seat, Vahn watched with intrigue as Arcueid picked up the previously empty kettle and, by the time she was actually pouring it, perfectly heated tea filled its insides. This was about what he expected from a Tier 5 being and, for a brief moment, he actually compared the golden-haired beauty across from him to Eva. They were both True Vampires but, a stark contrast to his beloved neck-biter, Arcueid clearly had very little understanding of proper etiquette. She was a little clumsy and, despite being someone who could, quite literally, manipulate individual atoms, she still made the cup overflow whilst pouring...
Using her reality manipulation, Arcueid, with a completely straight face, caused the spilled tea to simply cease existing before filling her own cup immediately thereafter. Throughout this entire process, Vahn had a casual smile on his face, pretending he didn't see the accidental spill. Instead, he took it upon himself to break the silence, remarking, "This is quite the collection of books. Do you enjoy reading...?"
For reasons unknown, Arcueid winced in response to the sudden question, her expression turning sullen as she answered, "I wouldn't say I'm fond of reading..." before falling silent again. This caused Vahn to struggle with maintaining his smile but, considering the circumstances, he managed to will himself to do so.
Since she would probably need time to collect her thoughts, Vahn waited for nearly two minutes before he returned an understanding nod in response. This seemed to confuse Arcueid a bit but, in much the same way as him, she simply remained silent for several minutes before smiling in turn. In truth, she was an extreme introvert and, while she could get emotional at times, her default state was quiet and, at times, quirky. She enjoyed the silence between them more than actual dialogue so, at least for the time being, she simply sat across from Vahn, refilling her teacup every time it got low...
---
Unexpectedly, two hours had passed within the Millennium Castle by the time the tenuous silence was broken. This was due to Vahn's own infinite supply of tea, something Arcueid had taken notice of since she had thought to offer him more when he ran out. Still, it took refilling their cups more than fifteen times before her curiosity finally got the better of her. Even then, she simply asked, "You can make tea...?" in an innocent tone.
Hearing Arcueid's question, Vahn's smile widened slightly and, though it may not have been the best idea, he extended his cup toward her, asking, "Would you like to try?" This was his bad habit acting up but, against all expectations, Arcueid surprised him by nodding her head and accepted the cup. It didn't seem to bother her at all that it was the same cup he had been drinking from as, without any discernible hesitation whatsoever, she sampled the mint tea within.
Vahn already suspected it but, based on her behavior, he could tell that Arcueid was a very innocent and naive woman. He knew she was around eight-hundred years old but, contrasting how fierce she could be in battle, there were massive gaps in her personality. This made him feel a little guilty as it meant she was highly susceptible to being taken advantage of, something that had undoubtedly happened several times in the past. Now, just by conversing with her, Vahn would be the next in a long line of people to exploit Arcueid's naivete...
Shaking his head, Vahn convinced himself that it was better for her to fall under the umbrella of the Empire than stay inside this lonely castle. The only time she left was to hunt one of the Dead Apostle Ancestors and, if not for the support of various people, even this would likely prove impossible. Even Merem had assisted her on occasion while Zelretch, having watched over Arcueid from the moment she came into existence, offered aid and advice when the opportunity presented itself.
As a Greater Divine Spirit on a similar level to Crimson Moon, Arcueid was sensitive to the subtle changes in a person's aura. Though Vahn's expression rarely changed, she could tell he was thinking about something troubling as, in spite of his smile, he gave off a melancholic aura. Since she didn't really understand what had upset him, she looked between the two cups in her hand and, after a period of silent deliberation, 'realization' hit her.
Noticing the curious actions of Arcueid, Vahn was about to ask what she was thinking about but, as if she had discovered some great truth of the universe, the golden-haired Princess turned to him with a happy smile and exclaimed, "The tea was very delicious, thank you~!" Then, creating an exact copy of the type of tea Vahn had used, Arcueid returned his cup before giving herself an approving nod and returning to her own...
Vahn was, admittedly, a little at a loss. Everything Arcueid did screamed 'naive' so, while he needed to talk to her about 'Crimson Moon's Curse' for the sake of his World Power Quest, the words never quite reached his lips. He even considered going to retrieve Spenta and someone like Artoria to act as a mediator between them as it wouldn't weigh as heavily on his consciousness if someone else were to convince her. It almost felt like he could spin a grand tale and, without questioning it in the slightest, Arcueid would eat it up.
Ultimately, it was exceedingly apparent that Arcueid was starved for meaningful social interactions. If she agreed to become a part of the Empire, he would need to find her a support group so that she could slowly learn how to interact with others. The problem with this was, due to no small fault of his own, most of the pertinent peoples within the Empire were involved with him. He could leave her to the Homunculi but, while she would undoubtedly get along well with them, Vahn wasn't ignorant of the fact that the entire group of white-haired beauties basically viewed him as a God...
As that thought crossed his mind, so too did the images of Fenrir, Jeanne, Gray, and Gareth. This made Vahn sweat a little as it was almost guaranteed these four, in particular, would endeavor to 'corrupt' the naive Arcueid. While this wasn't exactly a 'bad' thing, the sheer innocence of Arcueid made Vahn feel guilty since he knew the most likely path she would end up on. He didn't really have it in him to refuse those that were close to him so, depending on how things played out, it was easy to imagine this ethereal beauty ending up in his harem...
Realizing his own thoughts, Vahn nearly laughed out loud as, once again, he was essentially worrying over nothing. So long as he treated them well and provided for them, there was nothing intrinsically wrong with being intimate with people who wanted to be with him. She may be innocent now but, if she made use of the Virtual World, it wouldn't take long for Arcueid to mature. It wasn't in his nature to avoid helping people so, knowing Arcueid had a tragic past, one plagued by loneliness, Vahn was compelled to move forward.
Having convinced himself, Vahn turned his attention toward Arcueid to find her blood-red eyes staring back at him curiously. She seemed slightly surprised by the fact he looked toward her but, rather than avert her eyes, she just lowered her head slightly. This created a scene where she was looking up at him and, though it obviously wasn't her intention, the low cut of her gown created a tempting sight just outside of a normal person's field of view.
With his ability to create near-perfect three-dimensional representations of pretty much everyone he had ever met, Vahn managed to avoid letting his eyes wander from Arcueid's eyes. Instead, he put his teacup down on the nearby saucer, smiling as Arcueid emulated his action. Then, for nearly a full day after the fact, Vahn regaled Arcueid with tales of his past, his aspirations for the present, and his dream for the future. He even used memory orbs to allow her to view some scenes directly, many of which pertained to events that had taken place in the Nasuverse...
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'CHALDEAS is literally a cheat...','To an introvert, the best conversations often have little to no actual dialogue o3o...','For some reason, I feel as though Vahn abruptly became more punchable...')
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