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42.91% Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos / Chapter 1010: Wall

Chapter 1010: Wall

With labored breaths, Vahn crawled out from an abyssal crevasse more than a kilometer deep. After failing to find his footing, he instead took to the air, disappearing from the area like a phantom as a massive tail, nearly 50m in diameter, swept by his previous location. The owner of the tail craned its head towards Vahn's emergence point, sending a black-hued laser that blotted out the sky towards his new location. As this wasn't the first time such an attack came his way, Vahn had already crossed his arms in a defensive posture as the black laser crashed into his body, fragmenting into several smaller beams that cut through the surroundings like a hot knife through butter. When the beam began to shrink in size, the rapidly regenerating figure of Vahn could be seen as he pulled out a pure black spear and threw it towards the mountain-sized monster's maw.

Instead of facing the tiny projectile directly, the beast tucked in its neck while using one of its six massive wings to protect its head. It had already made the mistake of underestimating Vahn's attacks and wasn't willing to pay the price of hubris. This ended up being the correct decision as, upon contacting the monster's wing, the spear exploded into a sphere of similarly black light that it quickly deflected while dodging to the side. With its size, complete evasion was impossible but it was still better than taking the attack directly. As a result, a large section of the Dungeon simply disappeared upon contact with the sphere's black light, taking several meters of the monster's scales along with it.

Seeing his attack fail to make purchase, Vahn clicked his tongue before feeding another 10,000,000 OP into the system to purchase a second pure black spear. The reason why he chose this particular weapon, compared to all others, was the fact that it shared a similar name to one of his most reliable tools, the [Yi] arrows. Vahn needed 'something' to deal lasting damage to the creature Vahn had dubbed Achron, the Mountain Dragon. With its size dwarfing actual mountains, Vahn felt it was a suitable name for the Guardian of the 98th Floor. Unfortunately, it was that same size, combined with its impossible regeneration, that was currently the bane of Vahn's existence...

After having failed to deal lasting damage to each other, Vahn and Achron both came to a standstill, separated by nearly a hundred kilometers. Both were capable of dealing almost instantaneous damage at shorter distances and, combined with Achron's body being more than 5km long, it was one of the only ways in which Vahn could take in the entirety of its figure. It also didn't seem to have any trouble seeing him as it's ten massive eyes held only Vahn in their focus. At this point, their battle had been doing on for forty hours and, though he wasn't far from exhaustion, Vahn was beginning to grow battle-weary after spending eight days to clear the previous six Floors. Though there were many other reasons leading to his fatigue this, many taking place outside of the Dungeon, Vahn was beginning to feel the limits of his current power...

With neither side willing to reinitiate combat, Vahn sat on the void itself as he propped the newly purchased [Yi's Judgment] on his lap. For a whopping ten-million OP, the single-use projectile could create a gravitational well that dwarfed the malformed four-star [Yi] arrow by several orders of magnitude. Not only did it leave a 300m wide expanse of 'nothingness' where it had struck the Dungeon's Floor, but the surrounding area had been twisted to the point that the mountains that dotted the landscape of the 98th Floor were no longer recognizable. Some had been leveled to the point that nothing remained while others were missing huge circular sections of their peaks after a stray beam fired from Achron's mouth. Their battle had not been kind to the surroundings but, unlike the previous Floors, there weren't any random Juggernauts appearing to prick at his side...

For nearly an hour, there wasn't much movement between Vahn and Achron until the latter began to lift its colossal wings, covering a large section of the horizon from view. Vahn released a heavy sigh upon seeing this before transforming into his Qinglong form and disappearing from his resting place within the void. This happened just as a torrential wind assaulted the area, twisting the landscape with air pressure that would have even torn Ais to shreds. On the low end, Vahn had estimated the wind to be moving at close to 37,000 kilometers per hour. Though this was slow, compared to the speeds he could achieve, it was an irresistible force if he tried to take it head-on. It was this same attack that had caused most of the surrounding mountains to slowly dissolve into flat plateaus...

Appearing near the base of one of Achron's wings, Vahn pulled his [Longinus] out of his Inventory before attempting to sever the troublesome appendage for what felt like the hundredth time. As the golden blade cut through the dense and muscular flesh, Vahn released a discontented sigh before vanishing from his location as a veritable tide of destructive mana washed over the area. His attack had only cut through eighteen meters of the thirty that would be necessary to actually separate the wing from Achron's body. By the time the mana tide had disappeared from the region, the gaping wound that had been left in his spear's wake had already healed...

Having exhausted his options several times at this point, including the vast majority of 'Stars' within his Inventory, Vahn was beginning to feel numb in the face of his constant failures. One of the only things he hadn't tried at this point was calling Fenrir to his side and allowing her to try and bore into Achron's body, destroying him from the inside. If not for the fact that a 'shroud' of mana, strong enough to even dissolve items with the [Durandal] trait, Vahn very well might have called her on the first day. Now, he was left trying to break through the limits of his mortality as, with everything else failing, Vahn felt like the purpose of Achron within the Dungeon was to serve as the final threshold that separated mortals and gods...

Without affording Vahn much time to think, Achron used its tail like a whip, moving much faster than the colossal beast itself could manage. Vahn had tried, and failed, to cut it off previously so he simply evaded the attack at a minimal distance while ignoring the wind pressure that had accompanied it. Then, using the small gap created by its movements, Vahn coated his hand in azure lightning before shouting, "Fixate. Seize. Load Magic, Azure Dragon's Wrath...!" in a voice that shook the surrounding void. In an instant, his Qinglong form had partially fused with his [Magia Erebea], allowing Vahn to seemingly move outside the constraints of time as he flew forward and slammed his previously purchased [Yi's Judgment] into Achron's eye. His own body had started to fragment apart but Vahn was able to teleport away by the time the spear had exploded into a black sphere of immense gravitational pressure.

Coughing up a mouthful of golden blood, Vahn collapsed atop a shattered mountain as he watched the devastation of his last attack with dull eyes. When the sphere finally faded into nothingness, Vahn saw that a large chunk of Achron's head was missing but, instead of turning to dust, it almost seemed as if time was reversing as millions of tons of flesh quickly came into existence to replace what it had lost. Vahn issued forth a burst of dry laughter as he watched this process before downing a [Max Ether] to replenish half of his reserves. By the time twenty seconds had passed, Achron was back in full health as its ten eyes glared towards him with endless menace. Each individual pupils shrunk to a house-sized point before ten black lasers, this time giving off a subtle red glow, tore towards Vahn at the speed of light.

Having already started to evade from the very moment Achron's pupils began to contract, Vahn managed to evade eight of the beams, losing a section of his left calf and right abdomen in the process. Much like Achron, Vahn's wounds healed almost instantly as he charged towards the massive monstrosity with a momentum that wouldn't lose out to the impossibly large creature. The charge was never completed, however, as Vahn was forced to teleport a short distance to the side as the lasers had doubled back, attempting the skewer him once again. Fortunately, or perhaps not, Acheron wasn't foolish enough to think it could continue relying on the lasers as it craned its head towards Vahn and released a sonic wave attack in the form of a roar.

With a fresh hole in his chest, courtesy of one of Achron's lasers, Vahn failed to inhale before releasing a shout of his own, this one less reliant on size and more on the power of his Innates. Vahn was still in his Qinglong form, giving his roar far greater power than it had any right to possess as it collided against the literal pillar of hypersonic sound created by Achron's bellow. The void around them shattered like glass but, without any hesitation at all, Vahn threw himself into it before appearing above Achron's open snout. It had been forced back by the collision of the two sound waves, causing its flesh to peel and fragment as it lacked the same resistances Vahn had to the gravitational forces contained within the collapsing void. Though this ultimately didn't matter, as the wounds were healing just as quickly as the formed, Vahn summoned a single link of [Enkidu] from the center of his palm before striking down with as much force as he could manage.

Like a meteor striking a planet head on, Vahn's attack caused an impact crater atop Achron's head as it dropped, seemingly in slow motion, towards the ground. With gravity being the same as it was on the surface, it would literally take Acheron nearly a minute to fully collapse, not that it was anywhere close to the point of staying down. As strong as Vahn's attack was, especially when aided by the Tier 5 [Enkidu], it wasn't able to restrain the titanic creature. Though a large section of the crater Vahn had formed had yet to heal, the drain on his reserves was ridiculous. This wasn't the first time he had tried using [Enkidu] but, seeing his attack fail yet against caused Vahn to release another sigh as he vanished from the spot, this time retreating back to the 97th Floor...

No longer sensing Vahn's presence, Achron released another earth-shattering roar as it flared out all size of its sky-covering wings in triumph. As a True Dragon itself, it had fought tooth and nail to defend its territory, even if the 'presence' of Vahn's Qinglong form caused its soul to tremble. Being able to defeat such a foe caused its pride to swell up like the tide pulled by the moon, rapidly increasing its power. It was this ability to 'grow' that had been the true bane of Vahn's existence as, every time he seemed to knock the mountain-sized Dragon down, it simply got back up stronger. Though this had also caused his own power to increase exponentially, Vahn felt like he was always one step behind the endlessly evolving True Dragon...

After arriving on the 97th Floor, Vahn made no effort to hold his body up as he allowed the force of gravity to pull him down. Even as his face impacted the hard bedrock of the floor, Vahn didn't particularly care as he was too tired to even move at the moment. This wasn't tiredness derived from a lack of stamina, something Vahn had to spare, but one that seemed to emanate from the deepest recesses of his soul. Knowing he was so close to breaking through the limits of mortality, only to fail at the finish line, was causing Vahn both mental and physical anguish. Fortunately, during the worst moments, Vahn could just allow his mind to 'blank' out as his focus became centered on his main body's antics...

Rubbing his temples to alleviate a bit of his mental strain, Vahn felt a pair of small hands against his back before a soft sensation pressed into him. Immediately following that, a tongue found its way to the lobe of his left ear before the teasing voice of Kali asked, "Having performance issues...?" This caused Vahn to snort through his nose before pulling Kali's wrist and forcing her to the front of his body. She gave a fearless chuckle in response before rolling onto her back with the momentum as the playfully remarked, "Scary, scary. Protect me, Amaterasu-sama~."

In response to Kali's words, a rather tired-looking figure curled up at the side released a light groan as her tails moved to cover her face. With an equally tired voice, Amaterasu muttered, "Let us sleep. Our body isn't as durable as an Amazoness'..." Wearing nothing but a see-through babydoll garment and a pair of pure white panties, Amaterasu wasn't in much of a mood to play after the previous nights 'exertions'. Vahn had been staying with her ever since arriving in the Far East and, though she had planned to put off the event until a bit later, the presence of Kali and Vahn's growing anxieties caused her to lower her guard. After having lost the purity she kept for more than six hundred million years, Amaterasu felt as if her insides were still stuffed as she held her thighs glued shut, even as she refused to leave the bed...

A complete contrast to Amaterasu, Kali was in high spirits as she snuck up to the former's side and pinched the exposed part of her left butt cheek. Amaterasu released a groan before covering the area with one of her tails and complaining, "Don't bully us...we will not tolerate such indiscretions..." Thought he tiredness hadn't faded from her voice, Amaterasu's golden eyes were releasing a subtle light that caused the hair on Kali's neck to stand on end. As a goddess purely aligned with the 'positive' forces within the world, it made Kali's scalp tingle to have Amaterasu directing her gaze towards her. This wasn't enough to scare her away, however, as Kali simply licked her lips in response before extending her hands towards the inside of Amaterasu's thigh this time...

Before she could escalate things any further, Vahn placed his hand rather roughly on Kali's head, nearly forcing her into the plush bed below. This caused Amaterasu to give an amused giggle as she tightly hugged her own tails and enjoyed the sounds of Kali's struggle. Eventually, Kali managed to free herself from Vahn's grasp but, instead of lashing out at him, she had a somewhat vicious smile on her face as she said, "Good, you back to normal now...?" In response to this, Vahn gestured to Kali before reclining back as he explained, "I'm fighting against a monster that could probably give the Charybdis a run for its money, at least on land..."

While listening to Vahn's words, Kali climbed onto his body before unhesitantly straddling his hips. Unlike Amaterasu, she had never bothered to wear clothes after their nightly activities had ended as, contrary to the virgin goddess, she was more than willing to continue where they had left off. Now that Vahn wasn't distracted by what was going on in the Dungeon, she wanted to keep his focus on her for a short while. Thus, while asking, "So you're just going to give up...?", Kali unceremoniously reached between her thighs before grabbing Vahn's member in her hands. Other than inhaling a little through his nose, Vahn didn't stop her frisky hands and instead shook his head as he said, "I wanted to take a break and refresh my mind before returning for round two..."

Hearing this, Kali began to cackle in a way that would have sounded 'wrong' coming from almost any other woman or goddess. Then, after licking her lips, she mused, "I can't let a monster in the Dungeon steal the spotlight, can I? Every time you fail to defeat it from here onwards, you'll have to defeat me at least twice...shishishishisi~." With those words having left her lips, Kali let her hips drop as her body trembled in response to the invading object. Though Vahn had 'adapted' its size several times, primarily out of consideration for the girls he often slept with, it was still on the larger end of the spectrum. Though no longer giving Lili's forearm a run for its money, it was far more than someone the size of Kali should have been able to take...

After adjusting her breathing a bit, Kali bit her lower lip before raising her body, a dauntless look in her eyes as she said, "This first one will be our warmup...haaafuuu..." This time, it was Vahn's turn to laugh as he extended his hands out for Kali to keep her balance. The first time they had sex, she tried to use some of her 'dance' techniques against him but, with the 'peculiar' qualities his penis had obtained after sleeping with Freya, such confidence hadn't lasted long. Though she would never admit it to anyone outside of the room, Kali hadn't been prepared for her first time with Vahn. She had suffered a 'humiliating' defeat after just a few short minutes and it was for this reason that she was prone to teasing Amaterasu. The demure Sun Goddess was the only one to bear witness to her shame and, though Kali had no intentions of killing her, she couldn't simply let the Goddess off without causing her embarrassment greater than her own...

Unaware of Kali's machinations, Amaterasu's grip on her tails tightened as she peaked through the silken furs, golden eyes reflected the carnal act between Vahn and her companion goddess. She could feel her body heating up as her heart, seemingly too large for her chest, began beating rapidly in response. It felt hard to breathe, causing Amaterasu's diminutive chest to heave up and down as she continued watching on without even taking the time to blink. This was all new to her and, though she didn't lack the required knowledge, witnessing Kali's frail and small body atop Vahn's caused her heart to flutter in fear, trepidation, and expectation.

Though she had already had sex with Vahn once, Amaterasu still had no idea how her body had been able to take in something so large. Seeing it 'mercilessly' gouge out Kali's insides caused her lower body to feel ticklish as, under the concealment of her tails, Amaterasu allowed her fingers to sneak past silken white defensive barrier before she stealthily worked to relieve her body's tensions. What she didn't take into account was the fact that Vahn's perception, even after losing the ability to read auras, wasn't something to be looked down upon. This, combined with the fact that her tails had betrayed her, three writhing around against her will, had exposed the truth. After that, though he didn't force her into anything she was against, Vahn ended up giving Amaterasu a heavy petting session later that caused her bond with Kali to further strengthen as, after seeing the puddle of malleable Kitsune Amaterasu had become after Vahn's 'care', Kali had found it in her heart to forgive her...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'BLAAAAAAAAAAAH---!','There must have been a sale on True Dragons','RIP Amaterasu-sama...')

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Chapter 1011: Comprehension

After diverting his focus to the surface world for a few hours, Vahn's avatar within the Dungeon, which hadn't moved since his 'rest' began, now twitched into an active state. It felt like his limbs had been set with lead but, after rising to his feet, Vahn had recovered his full faculties once again. Even so, he began to stretch in order to better his circulation while musing, "Now I have even more reasons to leave this world...I must return as soon as possible..." As much as he was enjoying his time spent in the Far East, Vahn was already beginning to feel something akin to separation anxiety, even though he could easily return to the Manor at a moment's notice. The only thing stopping him was his conversation with the goddesses who, knowing it would be 'easier' for him, advised Vahn to strengthen his resolve and focus on the journey ahead instead of giving himself more reasons to hesitate...

Only Hephaestus, Loki, Hestia, and Artemis knew the truth, at least to Vahn's knowledge, and they were doing their best to keep it a secret themselves as they continued to go about their lives and duties without letting the matter distract them, at least openly. Vahn knew it wasn't easy for them to pretend nothing was wrong as, even without entering into the Manor, he had stopped by on occasion to peek in on his children. During these visits, Vahn always found Hestia holed up in her room with Artemis while, spending most of her time away from the Manor, Loki had been rushing to take care of various tasks she knew Vahn 'required' to ensure his trip was successful. Seeing them like this made the time Vahn was spending within the Far East feel less 'real', even though he was doing his best to show his affection to Kali and Amaterasu...

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Vahn began focusing on the coming fight and what he needed to do in order to defeat Achron. He had two trump cards that would almost certainly guarantee victory but, upon starting his descent on the 90th Floor, Vahn had decided that he would rely on his own capabilities to further hasten the strengthening of his Soul. This included using items form The Path's shop as, even though it could be misconstrued as 'outside' help, Vahn knew The Path, and everything contained within, was a part of him. When he moved to other Records, The Path would forever accompany him while, regardless of how powerful they were, Artifacts like the [Sword of Evil's Bane] would be left behind. Even so, now that he had failed to defeat Achron after nearly two full days of fighting, Vahn was highly tempted to use the sword to at least deal some lasting damage to it...

After inspecting the immaculate blade for a few minutes, Vahn inevitably threw it into his Inventory once again before releasing a heavy sigh. He believed that Achron's purpose was to serve as the final 'push' needed for someone to reach godhood. If he started treating the battle with contempt, Vahn felt it would be the same as limiting himself as, compared to anything he had ever come across, Achron had fostered the most noticeable growth with him. Even though his parameters weren't changing much, it almost felt as if the numbers meant nothing at this point. True power was embodied by a person's understanding of the Laws while, as useful as they were, parameters merely served as a crutch that allowed people to glean insight into them. This was why two people with the same Agility might have drastically different speeds, especially if one focused on the concept of Speed itself when delving into the Laws...

Knowing his own 'specialty', Vahn held up his palm before activating his [Eyes of Truth] and condensing a cube of Pure Fire Elemental Energy. Though a sphere was the most stable form, Vahn liked how the cube would break at the points, dealing highly penetrative damage to anything that was unfortunate enough to get caught within its area of effect. He had even tried making a cross-shaped 'Star' to deal even greater damage but, with how thin each segment was, Vahn ended up destroying part of the Dungeon and dealing a significant amount of damage to his own body for the effort. Though his instincts told him it wasn't impossible to make more complex shapes, Vahn had defaulted to basic geometric shapes with an even number of faces and sides. These were the most stable forms energy could take when brought together, something many Mages quickly learned when they were delving into the craft...

After preparing a few surprises for his next encounter with Achron, Vahn's eyes sharpened as he brought both palms together and tried something a little more 'drastic'. His arms naturally transitioned into his Zhuque form, vermillion feathers extending all the way to his elbows, as a small marble of Pure Yang began to condense in his palms. Vahn was far more attuned with the higher-tiered elemental force in his Zhuque form, allowing him to grow the 'star' to the size of a walnut before it was on the verge of collapse. As even this wouldn't be enough to deal any real damage to Achron, Vahn muttered, "With how much time I've spent with the girls, there is no reason why I should fail..."

As he spoke, Vahn's body underwent a peculiar change that would have caused him to sweat bomb in almost any other situation. While maintaining the shape of the Yang Elemental Star, Vahn's body became increasingly more feminine until, at the very end, one of the things he had come to pride himself in had simply ceased to be. This wasn't enough to distract him, however, as Vahn ignored his now slender and delicate arms as he began to infuse Pure Yin, intermixing it with the Yang contained within the Star. Though the two forces were natural counters to each other, Vahn knew, with absolute certainty, they were capable of existing in a perfect balance. Not only that, they would further enhance what made each unique Element great, leading to a situation where their power was compounded several fold, not just arbitrarily doubled...

Though he wasn't sure if it helped, Vahn focused on the time he melded with the goddesses as he infused the Yin Elemental Energy into the Yang Elemental Star. This caused his own body to heat up rapidly but, without losing focus, Vahn continued to fusion of the two elemental forces until, nearly twenty minutes later, he held a peculiar violet sphere in hand that, while being a quarter the size of what he started with, held an unfathomable amount of power. Even though he had been the one to create it, Vahn sensed 'nothing' from the tiny violet sphere other than an instinctual fear of letting it go. Since Yin Elemental Energy was considered the product of the Spirit, significant enough damage by anything suffused with enough energy could even damage the Ego, effectively 'destroying' the Soul from some people's perspectives.

After tossing the small Star into his Inventory, Vahn breathed a sigh of relief as he used the back of his palm to wipe away a layer of glistening sweat from his forehead. Vahn's eyes were drawn to the fairness of his own hand, causing him to pay attention to his body for the first time since the process had started. Immediate realization hit him as he saw the two budding mounds protruding from his chest, causing Vahn's body to rapidly morph back into his default Progenitor state. Then, even though it was almost impossible that anyone had seen what had occurred, Vahn turned his eyes to the surroundings. Fortunately, he had been in an isolated area of the 97th Floor and, even with some of them having nigh-omniscience, Vahn was confident that his actions had gone unobserved...

Just as he came to this conclusion, Vahn felt a tingle in the back of his mind that represented his 'instincts' tell him he was wrong. This caused an exasperated sigh to escape his lips as he wondered which of the Primordial Deities was observing him. Upon considering he was the only challenger to make it this far into the Dungeon, it was highly possible that they were 'all' observing him from somewhere. Vahn was even fully expecting that, upon clearing the 99th Floor, he would find the gods and goddesses waiting for him on the other side. This meant he may be having a reunion with Tiamat sooner than he'd like, causing Vahn's scalp to tingle slightly as he transformed into his Qinglong form and tore a path through to the 98th Floor...

Though the 98th Floor was nearly 50,000km across, making the Continent of Eden seem small in comparison, Vahn could sense an 'intent' lock onto him the moment he entered the Floor's airspace. He had chosen a place that was far enough away from Achron that the massive True Dragon wouldn't be able to immediately attack him from, at least in any meaningful way. This didn't prevent Vahn from having to quickly begin dodging a few lasers, however, as their speed made it possible to attack anywhere on the Floor in an 'instant'. Fortunately, Vahn had a fair amount of leeway to dodge as they lost a significant amount of power and accuracy the further they traveled away from Achron.

After using the laser barrage as a means to 'warm' himself up, Vahn's lust for battle had been stirred so, without further hesitation, he tore through the void before appearing above Achron's body once again. While muttering, "Still a big bastard, aren't you...?", Vahn brought out a large 'cube' before throwing it towards the base of Achron's wings. Though not as fast as the speed of light, the attack still traveled fast enough that it seemed to 'teleport' the short distance before rapidly destabilizing. Vahn chose not to wait around to see the result, however, as he vanished from his location just as Achron's tail tore through the area with unstoppable momentum.

This time, Vahn appeared near the base of Achron's tail but, seeing that it didn't possess the orifice he had expected, a new plan quickly concocted itself within his mind as he was forced to dodge once again. Fortunately, he still had a surplus of OP available after mowing through the previous Floors, giving him a bit of leeway in his options. As a result, Vahn purchased another [Yi's Judgement] before appearing less than a meter away from one of Achron's oversized eyes. It's pupil contracted to a 'point' that was still larger than Vahn's entire body as an intense amalgamation of mana began to form from its depths. This attack would never find purchase, however, as Vahn unceremoniously stabbed the black spear into Achron's eyes before ejecting the star formed from Yin and Yang Elemental energies. With that task completed, Vahn moved so fast that time seemed to stop around him as his instincts warned him to clear the area as quickly as possible...

Just as the gravitational well caused by [Yi's Judgement] began to bloom, the black sphere actually fractured into pieces as the oppressive gravitational surge was simply no match for the combined forces of Yin and Yang. The moment the tiny Star began to expand, it was as if the influence of other Laws was simply overwritten as, without even contacting any part of Achron's flesh, his head began to vanish as if it had been erased from reality. An area a thousand times the diameter of the Star had become 'empty' as it continued to float in the air, completely bereft from Gravity's pull. Curiously, instead of becoming 'unstable' and growing in size, the star kept its structural integrity with the only discernable change being the 'field' surrounding it...

After moving more than a thousand kilometers away, Vahn had used his intent to observe the after-effects of his [Yin-Yang Dual Elemental Star]. He watched with dull eyes as Achron quickly moved away from the Star's influence, a large section of its head now missing. Though this section wasn't growing back, it was able to outrun the influence of the Star as the latter, while unbelievably destructive, wasn't very fast. It made up for this lack of speed by 'deleting' everything that came into contact with it, but Vahn couldn't understand why his instincts had reacted the way they did. It wasn't until nearly an hour had passed, with Achron fleeing in the complete opposite direction, that Vahn began to sweat a little...

While the Star's influence continued to grow, the Star itself showed no signs of destabilizing or diminishing. Instead, it simply hovered in the exact spot that Vahn had released it, pulsing with a gentle violet light that was unceremoniously destroying everything around it. Though the rate of destruction was rather slow, it showed absolutely no signs of stopping whatsoever. Vahn was beginning to realize that merging two elements to the point that they had achieved 'balance' wasn't necessarily the best way to create a consumable weapon of mass destruction. Though the Yin and Yang Elemental energy were certainly enhancing each other's aspects, they were simultaneously keeping each other in check, allowing for what seemed like 'infinite' growth...

Though it was hard to imagine, Vahn could visualize this small Star of his growing to the point that it would one day destroy the entirety of the 98th Floor. Then, though it would take an astronomical amount of time, its influence might even stretch to the entire Mortal World. Realizing this, Vahn released a self-deprecating sigh as his right arm morphed into his Zhuque form. If the Star existed in a perfect state of balance, he needed to forcibly create an instability before it grew to the point that he could no longer take action. Though he could easily deal with it upon his return to the Record, Vahn felt like he was going to 'fail' the Dungeon's challenge if he simply chose to ignore it...

Taking in a deep breath to prepare himself, Vahn leaned forward slightly before musing, "Well, at least I learned something new from this experiment..." Since Yin and Yang were able to exist in a 'perfect' balance like this, Vahn's mind was buzzing with infinite possibilities for the future. He had failed to make a cross-shaped construct with unstable Elements but, seeing how the [Yin-Yang Dual Elemental Star] retained its shape, he was contemplating making an actual weapon out of it. If he could control the area of its influence, there would be little that would be able to resist an arrow that could seemingly 'delete' anything it came into contact with...

Imagining the possibilities, Vahn allowed a smile to adorn his face as, unbeknownst to him, an invisible pulse radiated from his body. He was so focused on wrangling in the [Yin-Yang Dual Elemental Star] that he had missed the phenomenon entirely. Fortunately, Sis had documented it, much like everything else that happened around Vahn. Though she didn't have a body to perform the action, she imagined a smile on her non-existent lips as she silently encouraged, (*You can do it Vahn...!*) in a voice that, even within his head, Vahn couldn't hear. This didn't stop him from instantly moving into action, however, as if the words gave him the power needed to do what his instincts screamed was an extremely foolish action.

Unable to teleport within the area of the Star's influence, Vahn emerged just outside of the invisible aura before charging into it without any hesitation. Vahn could best describe what he felt as the same kind of feeling a person would have if they dropped from an incredible height and crashed into water. It felt like his body was being torn apart by an incalculable number of needles but, unlike everything else that came into contact with the Star's influence, his Source Energy wasn't so easily dealt with. At nearly the same speed that his body was being broken apart, Vahn was regenerating under the combined influence of his Qinglong, Zhuque, and [Magia Erebea] forms. It only took a single instant for him to reach the violet star at the very center of the phenomenon, causing Vahn to extend his vermillion hand forward to grasp it in his palm.

Though not the result of his Yang Elemental Energy destabilizing the star, Vahn felt as if time had come to a stop the moment he formed his hand into a fist. He was vaguely aware of the fact that the star had tried to absorb some of his blood before, in less time than an instant, Vahn's connection with his avatar had been completely severed. Back on the surface, Vahn had been in a meditative state with Amaterasu curled up in his lap while Kali was passed out at the side. Her tails were gently snaking about as a contented smile adorned her sleeping expression, something that would have caused Vahn to smile in almost any other situation. This time, however, he released a sigh before reaching out his hand and stroking her silky black hair while thinking about what had happened...

It was at this time that Sis's voice echoed within his ears, causing Vahn's brows to perk up as she said, (*Congratulations, Vahn, your Soul has finally reached Tier 4...!*). Then, understanding his confusion, Sis explained, (*I'm not sure if it was your comprehension of 'balance', or your willingness to stop the Star's destruction, but your Soul has undergone a qualitative change. Take a look...*)

Following Sis's advice, Vahn submerged his intent until he was outside of the rainbow-colored space that represented his Soul. He could see Eva's memory fragment sleeping peacefully within but, instead of being cradled by his Soul, it was almost as if she was a tiny nucleus as, compared to before, Vahn's Soul felt 'massive'. Even [Enkidu], which seemed to take up a large portion of his Soul before, now coiled around in a much larger arc that made it seem tiny compared to the past. Most importantly, Vahn could sense something new within his Soul that hadn't existed before and, even though it was hard to 'understand' what it was, he instinctually knew it was his own Divinity based on the connection they shared...

Extending his 'hand' outward, Vahn condensed the strange 'something' within his Soul until it formed into a tiny white shard. Since Divinity within the Record of Danmachi was fragmented, Vahn wasn't that surprised by the fact that his own only seemed to be a 'piece' of something greater. He would need to develop and nourish his Divinity further if he wanted to truly make it his own but, even this small fragment filled him with an overwhelming sense of 'completion'. Vahn couldn't really describe what he was feeling right now but, as if the destruction of his avatar had been a small matter, a feeling of supreme bliss welled up from within his heart before extending outwards to his surroundings...

Though they were sensitive to Vahn's emotions in his normal state, Amaterasu and Kali were both startled awake when they felt this particular pulse of energy. Amaterasu, who had been having one of the best dreams of her long existence, nearly hopped out of the bed in surprise as her golden eyes reflected the image of Vahn deep within. As for Kali, her eyes showed an extreme amount of excitement as her mouth formed into a vicious and predatory smile. Watching what was happening to Vahn's body made her own feel like it was suffused with liquid magma and, if not for her unwillingness to 'disturb' whatever process he was undergoing, she wouldn't have been able to contain herself.

Sparing each other a quick glance, Amaterasu and Kali could see understanding in each other's eyes as they both began to stir up their own Arcanum to mask the aura radiating from Vahn's body. Then, with shimmering eyes, they continued to watch as light radiated from each of Vahn's pores, casting his figure in a subtle blue glow. His hair, which had been moving as if a gentle wind was blowing it, changed from its traditional dark brown into a pure and untainted white. On his chest, in the same location as Freya and Artemis, a small glowing symbol emerged, this one emanating a radiance that even Amaterasu, a Goddess of the Sun, couldn't directly look at. It wasn't until the light began to fade, allowing Vahn's floating body to gently lower to the bed, that both goddesses were able to see that the symbol on Vahn's chest had taken the same appearance as his Maker's Mark. The only difference was, instead of being black, Vahn's glowed a sky blue on the edges while pure white light shone from within its depths. Neither girl stared at it for too long, however, as Vahn's eyes slowly peeled open to reveal a pair of blazing blue eyes that caused Amaterasu to gasp while, diminishing the impact of the moment, Kali released a sensual moan...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Preparing for a Raid be like...','Achron noped the fuck out','Kali, "My body is ready...!")

(A/N: Sorry for the late chapter. I'm a bit busy today, but I'll try to get out another when I can.)

https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link)

paypal.me/Einlion

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