บท 1793: Impact
Not expecting such a nonchalant response, Graham stared back at Vahn for several seconds before issuing a light chuckle and remarking, "I see. Well then, I take it you won't mind if we monitor your exploits from here onward...?"
Shrugging his shoulders in a lackadaisical manner, Vahn continued to smile as he answered, "I enjoy my privacy, but I also understand some things simply can't be helped. So long as your organization doesn't go out of its way to try and intervene in my affairs, we will remain on amicable terms. As for Phae, she will move up through the ranks of the Workshop before revealing the answers to a few of the questions you have sought after since time immemorial. You probably saw her as nothing more than a talented artisan previously...the truth of the matter is that she is so much more..."
To emphasize his point, even though Phae wasn't the one who forged it, Vahn manifested Laev-tan in a burst of brackish flames. This caused Graham's calm aura to surge outward slightly, but, quickly realizing he wasn't under attack, he began to scrutinize the blade with increasing enthusiasm visible in his glowing silver eyes.
Noticing the man lift his hand, Vahn allowed Laev-tan to vanish before he could ask to inspect her more closely. Then, before Graham could be too disappointed, he explained, "There is much we can learn from each other. Unfortunately, now is neither the time nor the place. Temper your curiosity until Team Wolf Pack has reached the 20th Floor. When the time comes, Phae will serve as a bridge between our two organizations."
Stroking his beard, Graham adopted a thoughtful expression as he spent several moments staring directly at Vahn. He quickly realized that, while he could see, sense, and even analyze the man, he was unable to actually learn anything about him. The Shinsu in his body was abnormal, possessing an ambiguous quality that made it seem thin yet extremely dense. Even stranger was the peculiar feeling of 'emptiness' he got when trying to sense the man's potential...
One of the main requirements for becoming a Teacher was being able to see through and analyze the true nature of an object, person, or place. Many could even analyze the structure of a person's Soul, effortlessly determining what kind of person they were based on its color and stability.
Graham was one of the Teachers who could determine a person's potential based on the structure of their Soul. It was this ability that led him, and many others, to support Jahad during his ascent up the Tower. The man had possessed a truly remarkable, seemingly limitless potential. They genuinely believed he had what it took to surmount the Tower, but, unfortunately, he had disappointed them beyond comprehension by choosing to become a 'King' instead.
When he was looking at Vahn, the first incongruency Graham noticed was that the 'entity' seated across from him didn't possess a Soul. Despite this, he radiated a tremendous amount of vitality, so much so that it seemed boundless. This impression became progressively stronger the longer he viewed Vahn, almost like he was viewing a reactor capable of producing infinite energy rather than a living creature...
After allowing Graham to scrutinize him for more than a minute, the edges of Vahn's smile curled up slightly as he activated the State of Nothingness. This caused the man's brows to raise quite a bit, but, before he could ask, Vahn issued a light chuckle before asserting, "I believe we both have other matters to attend, Mr. Graham. Be sure to give my regards to the Great Father...I'm certain he will find this matter most interesting..."
Though he wanted to stick around and ask Vahn all kinds of questions, Graham understood when to push and pull. If Vahn was truly an Axis User, he wasn't an existence they could afford to offend. They would need the assistance of Phantaminum in order to oppose him, but, considering the latter had slaughtered his way through Jahad's Palace before subsequently disappearing for thousands of years, requesting his assistance wasn't really an option.
Deciding it would be best to report this matter to his Master as soon as possible, Graham was the first to rise to his feet, bowing politely toward Vahn before saying, "I look forward to our reunion on the 20th Floor." Then, with an amused smile on his face, his body changed into a cross-shaped light construct before collapsing in on itself and vanishing without a trace.
Finding the man's flashy departure rather amusing, Vahn issued a light chuckle before shaking his head and returning the two chairs, table, and tea set to his Inventory. Afterward, he performed a few light stretches, loudly popping his neck and back before pulling out an apple and manifesting the Little Garden...
---
With many of the core members of the Lo Po Bia Faction disappearing overnight, taking most of the Faction's assets with them, an unstoppable wave of change began to sweep through Paradise Bay. It was almost like a revolution had occurred, and, though selfishness and corruption were guaranteed to ruin things, a tentative peace had been established through the unification of the major factions.
Unfortunately, with no desire to spend an entire year on the 5th Floor, it was only a matter of time before things devolved back to their previous state. Vahn had tried to circumvent this by coming to an agreement with the Floor Guardian, but, with the contract stipulating that he, personally, remain on the Floor for a hundred years, he had little choice but the refuse.
Though he could potentially create a Template to serve as a proxy, Paradise Bay was ultimately just one of many settlements that existed on the 5th Floor. If he wanted to bring about real and lasting change, he would need to tackle the source of the problem directly. Focusing on the symptoms had very little impact in the grand scheme of things, as, the moment they moved on from the 5th Floor, even the people he had previously saved might meander down a dark path.
Unless you had tremendous power and authority, the Tower was not a kind place for those with a benevolent or magnanimous nature. There were millions of Regulars competing for the chance to reach the top, and, much like the 2nd Floor's Deathmatch Test demonstrated, they were willing to do whatever it took to ascend. Betrayal was extremely commonplace, and, more often than not, a Regular would go through dozens, if not hundreds, of teammates before they finally reached the 134th Floor.
Only by reaching the 134th Floor and confronting Jahad himself could Vahn overthrow the current system. The former was one of the central pillars supporting the existence of the Regular system, so, if he wanted to remove it, he would need to dethrone the wayward Emperor before implementing a new system with the support of the Guardians and the Workshop. This couldn't be accomplished by idling around on the 5th Floor; so, shortly after the creation of the Alliance, Vahn had Khun pick and choose a few powerful and trustworthy Regulars to watch over the burgeoning organization in their stead.
Fortunately, it was possible to establish a binding contract by appealing to the Guardian and having them serve as an intermediary. This would allow the Alliance to remain relatively stable for upwards of eleven months, and, with any luck, things might just 'stick' for a few years after the fact. After all, the current system was actually a lot more beneficial than the corrupt mess that existed before; so, with the promise of greater benefits, things should remain relatively stable until someone arrogant and powerful comes along and attempts to monopolize everything for themselves...
---
Having already decided upon their departure, Vahn found himself seated at the 'head' of a circular table, smiling as he listened to Khun's attempt to explain the many benefits of becoming one of his 'Children' to the prospective members of his Familia. His targets were four young girls and a young boy. Curiously, among the four 'women' present, the girl with a mature figure, pink eyes, and raven-black hair was actually the youngest at seventeen-years-old.
If not for the presence of the young boy with pale-blue hair and electric-blue eyes, appearing very similar to his cousin, the girl, Yeon Yihwa, would have been tied with Khun as the youngest member of Team Wolf Pack. This was in spite of the fact that Yun-Yun, Jung, Nare, and Anak appeared much younger than her.
Fortunately, there was at least one person present whose appearance accurately reflected their age as the young boy, Khun Ran, was only twelve-years-old. He was a remarkably talented young man who descended from the direct line of Khun Eduan, the Leader of the Khun Family. This allowed him to compete with people much older than him, and, if not for the overabundance of prodigies within Team Wolf Pack, he would have quickly secured his position as one of the strongest members...
Since they had already learned quite a bit about Team Wolf Pack during their time together on the 5th Floor, Khun primarily focused on explaining the functions of the Familia Crest, the existence of the Quest Board, and, most importantly, Vahn's existence as a God of Infinite Possibilities who could resurrect the dead and help people change everything from their race to their gender.
As could be expected, Khun's explanation was met with considerable skepticism by Ran, Yihwa, and Serra, but, after a few demonstrations, they ultimately accepted the reality they had become a part of. As for Jung and Yun-Yun, the former never really cared about such complicated things while the latter's only real interests were sleeping and tasting delicious dreams. She especially liked the taste of Baam's innocent and naive dreams, a rare delicacy within the Tower; so, with the guarantee of a tasty treat and the promise of a much easier ascent up the Tower, Yun-Yun never once considered refusing the offer to join Vahn's Familia.
In the end, the most difficult thing about becoming a member of Vahn's Familia, at least for Serra and Yihwa, was enduring the process of having his Familia Crest applied to their backs. The former had a marginally easier time, but, as the descendent of a matriarchal family that placed an extreme emphasis on the importance of purity, it was difficult for Yihwa to accept having her back touched by a man.
By the end of the procedure, Yihwa's face had turned completely crimson, and, if not for Phae providing counsel after the fact, it wouldn't have been surprising if she had demanded that he 'take responsibility' for 'defiling' her body. Even after that, however, it took several days within the Little Garden before she could even look at or talk to other men, specifically Khun. She had developed a bit of a fondness for the boy ever since he outwitted her, so she couldn't help feeling self-conscious and ashamed whenever he was around.
Unfortunately for Yihwa, Khun had never once reciprocated her burgeoning affection. As a result, he took advantage of her state to demonstrate his general disregard for her feelings. He wasn't overtly mean or rude to her, but, whenever she was acting bashfully around him, he would shift his focus to virtually anything else. This resulted in Yihwa setting her room ablaze due to her inability to control both her flames and emotions, but after a few days had passed, she invariably returned to her usual, aloof, self...
---
Taking advantage of the week-long vacation he had afforded Team Wolf Pack in order to help their newest members adjust, Vahn could be found lying atop a grassy hill with several colorful figures encircling him. He was enjoying a bit of sunbathing with his usual cuddle buddies while seriously considering whether or not he wanted to create any new Templates.
At this point, Vahn had assigned True Names to Gandr, Yoruichi, Hinata, and, for the sake of a grand experiment, Arceus. Unfortunately, despite possessing the name of the most popular Creation Deity within countless Records of Pokemon, Arceus currently lacked the capacity to autonomously create life. This was largely due to a mistake on Vahn's part, as, like other Pokemon, Arceus revered him as the Creator. As a result, her Innate ability [Progenitor Pokemon], required 'assistance' if she wanted to create Pokemon, assistance only he could afford...
Though it would certainly make things 'easier', Vahn currently had no intention of becoming the literal father of Pokemon. It was surreal just imagining an entire world filled with his descendants, beings capable of freely morphing between a human and Pokemon transformation. Thus, for the time being, he had Arceus developing a miniature world alongside Palka, Dialga, and Giratina. He had high hopes that Arceus would be able to create actual Pokemon by the time she reached Tier 5, but, even if that wasn't the case, he would at least have a 'playground' for his children to explore in the future...
With Kushina suddenly bitting his thumb, Vahn snapped out of his reverie to realize he had been rubbing her belly a little too fervently. Her eyes had become a little moist, and, though she was still in her nine-tailed fox transformation, he could tell her tensions had increased quite a bit due to his incessant petting. What made this situation worse was that most of his other cuddle buddies were staring at the scene rather intently, their gazes ranging between general curiosity, slight envy, and ample amusement...
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'An unfathomable existence','Khun's heart can't be swayed so easily~!','Vahn is simply incorrigible xD...')
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