章節 431: Great Responsibility (2/2)

Vahn stayed in the same spot, floating high above the rest of the world as his Heavenly City slowly continued its path along the horizon and became progressively smaller. Even though it was outside his detection range, Vahn could still 'feel' its presence and knew he could teleport to it with a simple thought. He had no idea how he was able to do this but knew it was part of his power and likely related to his own Divinity. He had been floating for nearly two days at this point, and Vahn had managed to somewhat understand what Divinities he had by seeing his own children's capabilities. Lenneth seemed to have influence over space, even though Freya didn't possess such a Divinity, so Vahn was able to deduce that one of his Divinities likely related to space. This, of course, was with the belief that Lenneth hadn't managed to develop such an ability on her own.

Other than space, Vahn felt like he had a Divinity related to Magic and Life, since he had an inexplicable skill like [Sower of Life] and remembered Hephaestus' belief that she had been pregnant from the very moment he ejaculated inside of her. Since he hadn't done anything to guarantee she was pregnant, Vahn felt like his past self had come up with a permanant solution and it likely related to his own Divinity being either Life or Fertility. As for why he believed he had a Divinity related to magic...Vahn had so many skills that transcended the restrictions of the world that he couldn't believe otherwise. If someone else claimed to be a god of magic, Vahn felt like he would have to educate the foolish person since he felt like he could cast any magic with a thought.

Even though he didn't remember the training, Vahn must have reunited with Eva in the past and learned from her because he had obtained the [Magia Erebia]. When this thought had come to mind, Vahn had inspected his own soul and found a naked Eva curled up in the fetal position surrounded by several chains making a sphere around her body. Knowing that he at least had Eva, Vahn had calmed down a lot and almost teleported back to meet with Hephaestus and the others once again. However, imagining how he would face those he had yet to meet, Vahn couldn't muster up the courage to move from the spot and just continued his lazy orbit.

---

Though he wanted to claim he was unaware of how much time had passed, Vahn knew it had been precisely eighteen days, seven hours, thirty-two minutes, and nine seconds since the time he had teleported into space. He had long deduced that he also had a Divinity related to Time and he was currently trying to make sense of how to use it in the hopes that he would one day be able to return to the past. Unfortunately, no matter how much effort he put into trying to use actual time magic, Vahn couldn't revert his own time for even a single second. He could influence other objects, to an extent, but his own time seemed to proceed forward irrespective of his own wishes.

Vahn had lost count of how many times he had cried during this time, even though he knew it was a total of one-hundred-nineteen times instinctively. It was like Sis still existed in his mind and could answer his questions yet, no matter how desperately he cried out for her, he wasn't able to hear her responses at all. Because everything else felt like an illusion, even though he could see that it was reality, Vahn felt the loss of Sis to be the greatest impact to his mind. She had been the only constant in his life ever since he obtained The Path, but now her voice no longer reached his mind and this made Vahn feel terrified. He felt that, even if he left this record and tried to move on, Sis would never return again and this made Vahn grieve more than the loss of the girls and twenty-two years of his life...

---

Nearly three months later, Vahn detected a presence enter his domain and he teleported away to evade it for what felt like the ten-thousandth time, even though it had only been four-hundred-twelve. Vahn knew they were trying to use Fafnir to track him down but they couldn't get anywhere near him unless he allowed them to. Vahn was surprised to see how big Fafnir had become, as its body was now 26m long, but he didn't want to meet the girls that were riding on its back right now. He had been tempted to return several times over the last three months, but the memory of his earlier decisions not to always prevented him from doing so. If not for his curiosity to see who they sent after him, Vahn wouldn't even let them get close enough to trigger his domain at all.

This time, Vahn had even detected Eina on Fafnir's back, but she was one of the people he was most afraid of seeing right now so he teleported an entire three-thousand kilometers away before continuing to teleport even further knowing that they would catch up to him if he stopped. However, even though he wanted to evade them, Vahn still teleported towards Eden so they could safely return to Orario without chasing him around above the ocean. Vahn had already learned that they would eventually give up after a while, so he went through the motions of evading them once again.

However, this time things didn't go quite as he expected and Vahn felt a powerful energy locking around his body after his first teleportation. He knew they were trying to prevent him from moving using a powerful magic that he had never seen before, even though he somewhat understood it was something of his own creation. Vahn was briefly tempted to allow them to capture him, but he broke through the massive sphere of mana with a giant spear of chaotic energy that shattered the entire structure without any resistance whatsoever. Shaking his head, Vahn looked in the direction of the approaching black dot and spoke into the void, knowing that his voice would carry to them, "Please stop chasing me...I need to work through things myself...I..." Vahn couldn't continue his words and just broke away from the re-emergent spell that was trying to lock him down once again.

He ultimately came to a stop right above Orario and fell down from the sky until he came to a stop atop the massive Babel Tower and looked down at the City below with a deep melancholy. This wasn't the first time Vahn had viewed the City like this recently and he was tempted to once again return to the Hearth Manor and reunite with Hestia and Eina. One of the thoughts that came to mind often in the recent days was the claim that they were both waiting for his return and had likely been doing so for several years. Vahn had promised to be with Hestia forever and every time he viewed the City from above he could feel his connection with her draw him back home. The cold of space had long spread through his entire body, and Vahn longed for the warmth of the home he had somehow lost...even though it was right in front of him.

Unlike the previous times he had stopped by, Vahn decided not to flee away and instead allowed the strange transformation to dissipate as he sat on the edge of the 200km tall tower and looked down at the City with a blank look. The only thing that prevented him from being 'happy' at the moment was his own indecision, but Vahn didn't know how to face the repercussions of his actions for the last twenty-two years. He knew that if he truly returned, he would feel obligated to do his best even though he didn't know where he would start. Twenty-two years seemed like such a long period of time, at least compared to the life experience he had accumulated for himself, and Vahn knew nothing about regulating an Empire and being a good ruler.

He even suspected that the entire reason he had created a solitary palace in the sky was so that he could avoid doing so himself. Instead, his past self had allowed his Empresses to manage things on his behalf and he knew most of his children were kings, queens, governors, and other types of rulers. In the span of two decades, he had conquered the entire world and now his family controlled everything...yet Vahn felt nothing but emptiness as a result. He felt like he had ruined the happiness of many others in his own pursuits and had now lost his own right to be happy...instead, Vahn felt like it was his duty to rule over from above and do his best to intervene whenever things got too difficult for others to handle...

"Now you understand the price of power...it's quite heavy, isn't it, Vahn Mason?" Hearing the unexpected words, Vahn teleported away from the ledge and appeared behind the tall old man that had somehow snuck up behind him through his 'inviolable' domain of 500m. Vahn knew his magic [Throne] gave him full control over everything within 500m and it shouldn't be possible for anyone to get around his detection. However, even though he was now standing behind the 240cm tall man, Vahn couldn't detect his presence at all.

The stranger waved his hand and Vahn felt the void around him become 'solid' and he was no longer able to teleport at all. Reaching into his inventory, Vahn pulled out the SSS-Ranked [Longinus] from his inventory and placed the shimmering black tip against the man's back and asked, "Who are you!? Tell me, is this all your doing!?" Vahn felt the chill fall to a point far below absolute zero and, if the man said he was the one responsible for everything that had happened, Vahn was prepared to make him suffer a fate worse than death.

The man began to laugh and Vahn could feel the space around him shake as a powerful aura bore down on him from above as an unfathomable Divine Power emanated from the man. Before he could process what was happening, Vahn found himself in an empty white space and the entire world around him had completely disappeared. Though he had immediately activated [Eyes of Truth], Vahn still couldn't see through the man in front of him who had now turned around and revealed the face of a 'kindly' old man.

The old man's upper body was bare, revealing a powerful figure that was wreathed in a black cloak with a hood that framed his elderly face. He had stark white hair and sky blue eyes that radiated with power as he smiled at Vahn before waving his hand, revealing a wooden table and two chairs with a piping hot pot of tea set out for their use. Vahn noticed that he couldn't muster any power, not even The Path, and the only thing he could do was glare at the unknown man that continued to smile at him while gesturing towards the chairs. After a while, Vahn gave up resistance and just released a long sigh before sitting down and unceremoniously drinking a cup of tea.

After laughing out in a rumbling voice, the man sat down and enjoyed his own cup of tea as he continued to hold Vahn's gaze with an unwavering expression of his own. Once he had completed half the contents of his cup, the man set his tea to the side and explained, "I believe introductions are in order...you are Vahn Mason, the Sage Aldrnari that seems intent on reforming the world. As for myself, I am known as Ouranos, God of the Sky and the chief representative of Orario and the Guild as a whole." Hearing the man's introduction, Vahn's mind blanked and he stared at Ouranos before asking, "What is this place...? Did you create an entire world just to throw me into it and see how I would react? How is this possible?"

Ouranos leaned back in his chair and laughed loudly before shaking his head and saying, "Foolishness! As if I can exercise such power in the mortal world, especially for a unique individual such as yourself. This world is one that you had created on your own and I'm merely something like a pre-recorded message set to trigger when you finally realize what you had sought for yourself." Vahn only grew further confused by Ouranos' words and asked, "What do you mean!? What am I supposed to have realized by coming to this place? Can I return to the past!?" Knowing there was a possibility to return to the past, Vahn had sat up from his chair and knocked over the pot of tea in his outburst.

As if he were completely unphased by Vahn's outburst, Ouranos picked up his cup from the table and took another sip as Vahn noticed that the state of the table had returned to normal. His own glass was completely filled once again and it was like his previous action never happened. Ouranos squinted his eyes and explained, "There is no future, nor is there a past, there is only the present. Your desire to return to the past is simply ridiculous..." Hearing Ouranos' words, Vahn plopped heavily in his seat and held his head with both hands as he lamented how things had developed.

After a long period of silence passed, Vahn lifted his head and noticed that the tea in his cup was still hot, even though he knew 'hours' had passed since he began brooding. During his silence, he had been contemplating Ouranos' words and asked, "I'm still in my bed at home...aren't I?" Ouranos' sky blue eyes glittered for a moment as a smile appeared on his elderly face and he shook his head, saying, "As far as I know, you should currently be staring blankly at a scroll, trying to comprehend its secrets...I'm not sure about anything else, as I'm not aware of anything going on in the real world."

Vahn released a relieved sigh before asking, "Has everything in this space been an illusion...or...?" Ouranos shook his head once again and explained, "The scroll you received is a rare artifact called the 'Scroll of Prophecy'. I'm not sure how it came into your possession, but it must mean that my real-world counterpart had taken an interest in your growth. The scroll allows the user to cast a powerful Divination spell that allows them to peer briefly into the future path they had decided for themselves. This isn't an illusion, nor is it a reality...neither is it the future, nor the past...it is simply the present you have constructed for yourself in your own mind. The complexity of this world is an orchestration of your own mind, the logical conclusions you had derived with the progression of time, and a fair amount of disillusionment caused by the inevitability of fate..."

Hearing Ouranos' words, Vahn couldn't make sense of anything and simply wanted to ask, "My children...Lenneth...they aren't real?" Ouranos' eyes widened slightly and he waved his hand before a puff of blue magical energy appeared and the naked body of Lenneth appeared floating in space. Vahn scowled at the old man that stared back at him without casting a single glance at the naked body of his daughter. Lowering his hand, she disappeared from the space and Ouranos explained patiently, "As I said, this world is a construct of your thoughts, the future path you had decided upon, and a powerful Divination spell. Everything in this world can become absolute truth, assuming you don't deviate from the path you had decided on...that is why it isn't the 'future', merely a single path.

Vahn nodded and felt a powerful feeling of relief overtake his body knowing that he could change the outcome of things and avoid such a tragic and lonely future if he put in the effort to avoid it. However, before he could completely relax, Ouranos stated in a powerful tone, "Foolishness...this kind of complacency is what led to this future you seem to find distasteful...how irresponsible." The amiable smile on Ouranos' face had disappeared and he now looked at Vahn as if he were viewing a latrine pit full of refuse. Before Vahn could speak, Ouranos continued is a disruptive manner, "If your mind is influenced so easily by such things, you'll find yourself unable to cope when things happen outside of your expectations. The entire reason you became a tyrant that conquered the world was over something petty like the deaths of loved ones..."

Hearing Ouranos say something so serious in a dismissive tone, Vahn felt rage and tried to flip over the table only to find it was completely immovable. When he tried to move around it, Vahn found himself back in his own chair as if he had never moved in the first place. Ouranos continued to stare at him in contempt before saying, "If you truly want to avoid such a fate, you need to understand your responsibility to the world before you take action. You must understand that death is a natural consequence of your failures and oversights, not something you use as an excuse to lash out at the world because you can't cope with the emotional burden. If you irresponsibly allow such feelings to compound, you'll one day find yourself in the exact same position that you lament so vehemently. Truly, you are just a child that has no understanding of the consequences of his own actions..."

Before Vahn could utter a retort, he once again found himself on the edge of Babel as he looked down on the City below. Turning his head, Ouranos was gone and Vahn could now feel his own power radiating from his body. A powerful fear overwhelmed his mind as he realized he was once again 'trapped' inside the Divination and, even though he tried to use [Chainbreaker] to break free, the only thing he accomplished was exhausting himself and destroying the top of Babel Tower. As a world of his own construction, he couldn't 'break free' from it, as he was the one that was keeping himself 'trapped' in the first place.

Unable to break free from the situation through force, Vahn sat down on the ruins of the tower and looked down at the chaotic City below. When he had lashed out, several forces began to move in order to discern what had happened atop the colossal tower. However, the only people that had access to the top were Freya and the other members of the Alliance, none of which were located at the top of the tower presently. Using the time it would take for them to mobilize, Vahn ruminated over Ouranos' words and his earlier actions. Because his memory was nearly perfect, Vahn could replay events in his mind indefinitely and he slowly began to understand what Ouranos wanted him to know.

According to Ouranos' words, this world was something Vahn had created for himself after using the scroll that Eina had given him. He didn't remember using it, but that was probably a function to prevent the user from realizing they were in such a world so it could enable them to act accordingly to their default personality. If Vahn knew this was a world of his own creation, he would have acted very differently, probably with much fewer inhibitions. After the twenty-two years had passed, his memories of the past were erased so that he could 'objectively' view the world he had created and slowly come to understand the repercussions of his actions. If he still had his memories, he might not even consider the current state of the world to be a problem at all. This meant that this world was the future path Vahn was walking, though now it would be influenced by his knowledge of events and would be irreversibly changed when he finally left.

Vahn recalled the earlier words, "Now you understand the price of power...it's quite heavy, isn't it, Vahn Mason?" and began to understand why Ouranos had given him the scroll. Because he acted as the role of an observer, Ouranos wouldn't interfere with the world he would create and wanted Vahn to understand the consequences of his actions if he didn't take them into proper consideration. The thing Vahn was most afraid of was losing the people he had loved and now he got a glimpse of a world he had created after experiencing such loss. However, Vahn knew that he likely could have prevented many of the events from happening if he had paid closer attention to things...

Chloe had died to an enemy attack, something that she shouldn't have been facing alone in the first place. Ryuu had the tragic fate of dying at the hands of Fenrir in what Vahn could only consider having been something easily preventable by exercising care and caution. Fenrir would only ever do such a thing if she had lost control yet she had only killed one person while seriously injuring a second...this showed that she had been reigned in somehow and she had spent nearly two decades after the fact sealing herself away as a result of her own grief. This showed Vahn it was an accident that could have been prevented by simply paying attention to the warning signs that would likely have emerged beforehand.

As for the death of Emiru, Vahn found this one of the most incredulous because he couldn't understand what had happened for Emiru to have been in the Dungeon without Maemi. The fact that Maemi died soon after showed their bond was still working, so Vahn couldn't rationalize what had transpired to lead to such a conclusion. He was tempted to go find out, but knowing the events in detail would likely cause him to make a mistake and would influence his decisions to an extent that would probably reshape his entire perspective on life.

The final loss, Tina, was something Vahn didn't even want to think about in detail at all. Since she was part of the Hestia Familia, her year-long disappearance didn't make any sense unless she had left the Familia at some point. Since it had taken fifteen years prior, that meant Tina was around seventeen at the time of her death. The fact it took them a year to find out was something Vahn couldn't comprehend at all and he wondered what kind of scheme she had been caught up in to have gone through such a tragic event. Because of her experience being kidnapped, Tina should have had more awareness regarding such things and should have avoided such a situation. If she had been training with the other girls, her own strength had to be high and this made it even harder to understand exactly how she had been entrapped...

Shaking the negative thoughts from his mind, the one thing Vahn could be sure of was that each event was something he could have prevented just by paying closer attention. Almost every event had taken place as a result of his own negligence, and the negligence of the network behind him. However, he couldn't blame them at all since he knew it was likely his behavior that had caused such events to transpire. Fenrir had probably lost control because she was influenced his own emotions, likely due to the grief he had experienced at the loss of Chloe. When Ryuu died, he probably felt even worse and potentially even blamed Fenrir or, even worse, tried to avoid blaming her. The fact that she sealed herself away was an indicator that she hadn't been satisfied with his punishment and decided to punish herself instead. Everything simply compounded off of everything else and all of the events all had Vahn as the core since this world couldn't even exist without his actions influencing it.

Without his notice, the world had suddenly turned white again and Vahn found himself sitting, not on the edge of the tower, but in the wooden chair holding a cup of tea. Ouranos now had a smile on his face as he repeated, "Now you understand the price of power...it's quite heavy, isn't it, Vahn Mason?" This time, instead of lashing out, Vahn nodded his head solemnly and took a sip of the hot tea within his hands. After savoring the flavor for a while, Vahn said, "Wielding great power and influence invites those that desire it to take action...a moment of complacency can lead to tragedy and, if one is not prepared to bear the consequences, they should never become complacent...this is the responsibility of those that wield such power. If I can't bear such burdens, I should avoid pursuing such power as it will invite further tragedy into my life that has far-reaching consequences that could even influence the entire world depending on my actions..."

Ouranos laughed loudly at Vahn's words for several long seconds before a large grin appeared on his face and he said, "Everything that happens, happens for a reason. As long as you understand that, and cultivate a mentality that can accept the result of the decisions you make, you are worthy to rule. Know that, though other are responsible for their own actions, you are ultimately to blame for any event you had set in motion as a result of your past actions...walk forward with your head up high, or do the world a favor at take your own life...though that also has consequences, as I'm sure you're aware."

Hearing Ouranos' words, Vahn was reminded of the quest he had received to save Haruhime since the actions he had taken would have inevitably led to her death. He knew that he would likely receive similar quests in the future, likely to prevent such tragedies from happening, so he clearly understood Ouranos' words and took them to heart. He also knew death wasn't the end of his journey, so arbitrarily deciding he should leave the record would just cement a future that he no longer had control over. Without the ability to put the record into stasis, it would continue forward regardless of his desires and those he left behind would have to deal with the consequences of his actions.

Vahn couldn't allow such a thing, so he looked toward Ouranos and said in a confident tone, "I will shape a better future, not just for myself, but for everyone I love. I won't stray away from the path and walk such a lonely road...I don't want to end up in a future where those that I love treat me in such a distant manner. I would rather suffer and grieve at their sides than ever allow such a thing..." As he spoke, Ouranos' eyes gleamed with a magical light before nodding his head toward the end of Vahn's words and saying, "Very well, Vahn Mason, I will you good fortune. Ah, know that when you meet the real me, I will have no knowledge of what transpired in this place. Though I will know that you obtained the scroll, I will not know what kind of world you created through your actions. Other than that, I can only hope you don't resent me for putting you through this test...farewell, Vahn Mason."

Without realizing the transition was taking place, Vahn suddenly found himself seemingly thousands of kilometers away from Ouranos before he was suddenly standing in his own room holding a scroll that had begun to turn into ash. The package that Eina had given to him when she visited the previous day was sitting on the countertop and it seemed as if not even a single second had passed, even though he spent several months inside the Divination. However, none of this was important and Vahn did something that he found very necessary for his own peace of mind as he asked, ("Sis...please answer me...") Without any hesitation, Vahn heard a confused Sis say, (*Yes~? I'm here, Vahn, did you need something?*)

Vahn felt like a weight had lifted off his very soul as he asked, ("Can you not see my memories from the Divination...?") As Vahn asked the question, he realized he actually couldn't remember the majority of things, other than small snippets and his conversation with Ouranos. Sis also seemed to be very confused as the memories repeated through his mind and she said in a concerned tone, (*Vahn, what exactly happened? It's like a very long period of time passed, but I can't make sense of the information at all...this makes no sense.*) Shaking his head, Vahn rubbed his hands through his hair and simply said, ("Do your best to sort through the information...some of it might be very important for future breakthroughs. For now, the only thing that matters is that we're together again. Sis, you have no idea how great it is to hear your voice again...")

Though he was doing his best to act calmly, Vahn had started to tear up as he spoke and Sis was very aware of the distress he was feeling. Before she could console him, however, a bundle of midnight blue fur burst into the room and shouted, "Vahn, are you okay!?" Without waiting for a response, Fenrir ran over before hugging his body tightly and patting his back as she said in a consoling manner, "There, there, Fenrir is here, don't be sad Vahn~" Vahn felt a brief moment of anguish after seeing Fenrir and overlapping her current state with the version of herself he had seen in his Divination. After his mind cleared up, however, Vahn leaned down and picked up the adorable wolf girl in his arms and hugged her tightly as he said, "Fenrir, please tell me if you are ever sad or hurting...I will always be here for you..."

Fenrir was enjoying the sudden embrace but tilted her head in confusion after hearing Vahn's words and stated matter-of-factly, "Vahn is being weird...Fenrir and Vahn will be together forever~! As long as Fenrir can be with Vahn, she will always be happy~!" Then, piggybacking Fenrir's words, Sis said within Vahn's mind, (*I will always be here with you as well, Vahn. Together, we can make sure such a future never comes to pass. Remember, The Path will always have the answer you seek as long as you genuinely long for it. You don't have to worry about such a tragic thing ever coming to pass as long as we both do our best to prevent it...everyone else as well, we're all here for you.*) Vahn nodded his head while holding on tightly to Fenrir as he said, both to the wolf girl in his arms and Sis within his mind, "Thank you...lets create a beautiful future together."

(A/N: Know that I was very tempted to make the old man Stan Lee instead of Ouranos, kappa (UwU). Also, this will be the final chapter for the day since I didn't actually plan to write nearly 20k words today at all <.<...see you guys tomorrow!)

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Depression...','Confrontation with Ouranos : Powerlessness','Home')

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章節 432: Revelations

After collecting himself adequately, Vahn contacted Hephaestus, Loki, and Eina through the network and also explained a bit of what he had experienced to Hestia. Because the 'Scroll of Prophecy' showed an actual path that he could walk in the future, this meant that many of people and events that took place were things that would actually happen in the real world. Vahn didn't remember everything, but he remembered many key details and even knew the names of some of his enemies that they would face in the future. Just knowing that the One-Eyed Black Dragon in the Dungeon wasn't the real thing was a piece of information that would drastically impact their future, especially regarding Ais.

Eina was originally too busy to come to the meeting but ended up arranging things after she understood the seriousness of the matter. Coincidentally, when she told the manager she had something to deal with, she was given permission to leave without them asking any details. When Vahn learned about this, he knew that Ouranos probably had expected this to happen ever since he gave the scroll to Eina. Vahn wasn't quite sure what to think about the elderly god, but he knew they weren't enemies, at least for the time being. Their first official meeting would be at the wedding reception, but that was something Vahn would worry about later.

Because of the 'significance' of the matter, Vahn ended up using [Shundo] to retrieve Eina and Hephaestus while he sent Fafnir to pick up Loki. His enemies would find a way to get to him regardless of how 'low-key' he tried to remain, so Vahn decided it simply wasn't worth worrying about at all. Based on what he knew from the Divination, Vahn's enemies were far less successful when he started proactively taking action that they weren't able to adapt to. Giving them breathing room while trying to remain low-key was inviting them to bring harm to those that he loved, so Vahn wasn't going to keep taking a back seat role in his own life.

Fafnir could fly much faster than Vahn could use [Shundo], so Loki was the first to arrive at the Manor, excluding Anubis who lived nearby and, by the time Vahn arrived with Eina and Hephaestus, the atmosphere had become very tense in the residence. Vahn was tempted to alleviate their concerns by explaining things, but he didn't know if it was the best idea since there were several negatives involved. Until he talked things over with people more intelligent than himself, he couldn't make the best use of the information to guide his future actions. Especially when it came to the girls that had died, or those that he had a 'peculiar' relationship with...Vahn was very sensitive to their presence at the moment and knew he still needed to calm down a bit before he associated with them closely.

---

Vahn had been tempted to have Riveria attend the meeting, as she was a very intelligent woman, but he felt awkward at having to explain that they ended up having a child that became the King of the Elves. He still wasn't sure what had transpired to bring them closer together, so Vahn was a bit on edge against her, and many of the other girls for that matter. He knew at some point, the path he had walked resulted in the majority of them getting pregnant and Vahn felt somewhat awkward knowing this, especially with girls like Lefiya, Preasia, and Shizune in the house. The Loki from the Divination mentioned that, of the girls living in the Manor, the only exceptions were, Milan, Tina, Emiru, Maemi, Ryuu, Chloe, Misha, and Eina. Many of the ones that had 'evaded' him were those that had died while it was very understandable why he never managed to sire a child with Milan and Misha.

After gathering Anubis, Hestia, Hephaestus, Loki, and Eina in his own room, since it was the only one that had a soundproof barrier installed in the central building, Vahn explained in as much detail as he could the events that had transpired. He had even written down a 'chronology' of the events so they could get a better grasp of what he was trying to convey. Vahn included everything starting from the death of Chloe to Valletta Grede, his presumed response to the event, Ryuu's death to Fenrir, and many other things. When he got to the part about 'conquering' the world, Hephaestus, Anubis, and Eina had looks of disbelief while Loki seemed to get somewhat excited at the prospect. As for Hestia, she had a serious expression but just listened quietly while looking through the book that Vahn had written regarding the events.

By the time he was finished with his recounting of events, Loki was practically fidgetting around before saying, "So I was right...if things continued as they were, you would eventually take over the entire world! Kekekeke, I never thought about being an empress before...and our daughter became the ruler of Orario? Shishishishi~!" Vahn frowned slightly so Loki put her hands up in a defensive gesture and said, "Don't worry, I know how serious this matter is, Vahn. Ouranos got us really good this time...that sly old fox! Using something as rare as a 'Scroll of Prophecy' just to establish a link with the core of the Alliance!"

Eina, who had been the one to deliver the scroll, had been the most affected by the revelations that were just brought to light. In a hesitant manner, she asked, "The 'Scroll of Prophecy'...how accurate is it?" Loki's eyes opened slightly and she looked between Hephaestus, Anubis, and Hestia before saying, "The 'Scroll of Prophecy' isn't something as simple as letting the user view the future...it creates a perfect replica down to the flow of each particle of mana within the world. Every scroll is a precious artifact dating back to the reformation of the three realms, meaning they are between 500-540 million years old! It shouldn't even be able to exist in the mortal world, so I'm curious to know how that old codger managed to pull such a feat off..."

This time, it was Vahn's turn to be surprised since he had searched through the shop for the scroll and found they were listed at 1,000,000,000OP each. Knowing Ouranos had used such a precious artifact just to establish a connection with him made Vahn feel somewhat uncomfortable. He started to wonder if Ouranos had gleaned something from the future through other methods and wanted to alter the course of events. However, Vahn didn't plan to let himself get wrapped up in such schemes anymore and wanted to simply walk forward confidently while doing his best to protect those close to him. He was better prepared to face potential losses, but he was also determined to prevent them from happening in the first place now.

Vahn looked over everyone and said, "There are several things that need to be changed after taking these matters into consideration. I've never cared much about power, or becoming something like an Emperor, especially if I have to live such a lonely existence...but I will do whatever it takes to prevent such tragedies from happening if it is something I can avoid through proactive measures being taken. I don't want to restrict anyone lives, nor direct which path they walk in the future, but I won't stand idly by as they fall into the schemes of our enemies anymore. Also, Eina...I want you to undergo 'Nirvana' before the wedding, or at least soon thereafter. Knowing that you spent twenty-two years raising my other children is something I can't agree to at all...not when I'm in a position to change such things."

Eina had been brooding a bit about having delivered the scroll to Vahn, but now she completely blanked after hearing Vahn's firm declaration. After processing the information, her face turned beet red and she lowered her head in embarrassment before saying, "Okay...Vahn..." Knowing that Vahn was 'determined' to have her bear his children made her heart beat like a drum in her chest and she could feel a bit of anxiety and nausea welling up in her stomach. A small part of her wanted Vahn to wait before they conceived a child, but his determined look made her feel sheepish and powerless to resist his insistence. She couldn't imagine what it was like to have a burden of twenty-two years of memories to cope with, so she gave in very quickly since she was the root cause of the event.

Vahn smiled as he affectionately stroked Eina's hair for a few seconds before turning his attention to the gathered goddesses and saying, "One of the most important things we need to take into consideration are the 'Vanir' that will be born in the future. The children I sired with goddesses weren't normal Demigods at all, but something far more powerful. They reached physical maturity very early and then seemingly ceased aging after the fact...the most problematic thing is, as they grow in strength, the influence of the Divinities increases and they can potentially even become gods and goddesses if they grow strong enough. The evolution of my soul allowed me to awaken my own Divinities, so you should expect that our children will have such potential as well..."

Though they already knew the matter was very serious, hearing Vahn say it so plainly caused each goddess to show a solemn expression, at least until Hestia asked with a silly smile on her face, "So we had a son named Damen...? Ehehehe~" Vahn had also been serious when he spoke, but his mind stalled a bit when he heard Hestia's words. With Hestia's words as the catalyst, Loki said, "Ah, now I know that my child is going to be girl...I'm kind of tempted not to name her Disa. It's a little frustrating knowing the machinations of fate..." Hephaestus piggybacked her words and mumbled, "Three children...I wonder how far apart they were...?"

The only goddess that didn't get wrapped up in the conversation was Anubis, who had never given birth to a child sired by Vahn. She had a thoughtful expression on her face but remained relatively quiet until Vahn turned his attention to her. With a gentle smile, Anubis said in a low tone, "I will leave it to Master to decide..." Though she had been speaking to Vahn, everyone else heard her words and Loki began to laugh mischievously before snickering as she said, "As long as we try to increase our personal power, we can have as many children as we want~! Let's show fate that it can choke on the sands of time and die off for all we care!" Then, as if realizing something, Loki looked at Vahn and her grin grew abnormally large as she asked, "So, you and Riveria...kekekeke~."

Eina seemed to be awakened by Loki's words and she turned to Vahn with a serious expression on her face as she said, "Vahn, you can't treat Riveria-sama poorly...oh my, can I really be the first wife in this kind of situation...fuuuueeeee~." Because she was a Half-Elf, it would complicate matters if Riveria and Vahn were to marry in the future, but Vahn ignored her plight and just hugged her from behind as he nibbled on her ear and said, "Don't worry about things like that anymore, Eina...it was worrying about such things that caused such a tragic future in the first place. From now on, we'll do our best for our family without worry about how this world looks at us. No matter how you view things, this world is more 'broken' than I am, so it would be better to try and fix it instead of worrying about trying to maintain the status quo..."

Loki shot up at Vahn's words and shouted, "Yes, that is correct! Ahahahaha, the world is constantly changing so why should we worry about keeping things the 'same' when they are so obviously fucked up! It was never an option for the Alliance to not seize power over time because Vahn's children would simply be too powerful to be suppressed!" Then, as if realizing something, Loki pointed to Vahn and smiled widely as she said, "Vahn, you need to become much stronger if you want to keep your own kids in line~! If they mature in as little as five years, that means they could quickly overtake you unless you 'regulate' them from an early age."

Vahn recalled how deferential his own children were to him when he was an 'Emperor' and knew that was likely the same decision he had made along that path. As Loki stated, his children would grow powerful very quickly and, if there wasn't anything keeping them under control, they would potentially bring devastation to the world. The fact that two of his children 'betrayed' him was something fresh in his mind and Vahn regretted not asking about the identities of each of his children before he brooded in space for several months. He forgot many things from the Divination, but he was able to recall the names and significant events that were conveyed to him through his conversations with other people.

Nodding his head, Vahn looked around and said, "I don't know what it means to be a good father...and I can tell from the Divination that it isn't something I'm capable of without assistance. As long as there are threats, I will always have to increase my own strength to provide security for our family. If I have to become an authority figure for my own children, that is something I'm willing to do, but I never want to be in a position where they are more respectful to me than affectionate. Please, if I ever walk down a path where I'm pushing away those close to me...seriously...slap the crap out of me until I return to my senses. I'm the type that gets caught up in the momentum and suffers under the burden of my own emotions...I don't want to find myself with absolute power sitting on a lonely throne with everyone I love thousands of kilometers away."

Vahn bowed low to the gathered women and 'pleaded' for them to always guide him along the correct path. He knew that he had walked a path where they became distant and Vahn thought this was the greatest mistake he could have made. What was the point of having the power to protect the things he cared about if he couldn't even be close to them? Just imagining Hephaestus' melancholy and her 'gratitude' when they had sex made Vahn feel very uncomfortable. Since she was the closest person to him in the Divination, it meant that he probably didn't spend much time with anyone else...Vahn didn't want to ever find himself in such a sad position again.

As he was bowing, Vahn felt his head lifted by Hephaestus and she hugged him close as she whispered, "Vahn, no matter what, I'll always be at your side...just make sure to grit your teeth when the time comes..." Hearing her words, Vahn began to laugh as he hugged Hephaestus' body tightly against his own before lifting his face from her chest and sealing her lips. Even though he had hurt her so much, Hephaestus had never left his side even when he walked such a lonely path wrought with sadness. He felt like he owed her more than he could ever repay and didn't mind spending the rest of his life paying off the debt...with interest.

Before they got lost in their own world, however, Vahn felt a smack to the top of his head that had come from Loki. She looked at the two of them with an incredulous expression as she asked, "Are we done talking? I don't mind if you lovebirds want to turn this into a massive orgy, but I thought we were having a serious discussion~!" Vahn swallowed his saliva while Hephaestus blushed and pulled away from him slightly without fully separating their bodies.

Loki nodded her head and asked, "So, what are we going to do with this information? We obviously need to consolidate our power and start trying to eliminate our enemies, but what else needs to be considered? Do we share this information with the other girls on the network, or do you want to play it by ear and leave things to develop in a natural manner? I'm sure Chloe would probably be a lot more cautious in her actions if she knew her death was the catalyst for such a dismal future..." Loki's questions struck to the heart of several matters and this was one of the reasons Vahn had gathered the core members of the 'network' to explain the situation.

Vahn knew that telling the core members was necessary, but he was conflicted about who else to inform since it could drastically alter how they choose to live their lives. Telling just those that he 'selected' could be dangerous, since it would affect the group synergy and cause others to feel left out. However, it was the existence of so many 'speculative' lovers within the Manor that made Vahn very worried about informing everyone. With a slight grimace on his face, Vahn said, "I want to tell everyone...but I also don't want to tell everyone...it feels like I'd be manipulating them with information that is no longer 'true', but just 'possible'. Just having this conversation has already altered the outcome of future events and letting them know about such possibilities could have adverse consequences..."

Loki nodded her head casually before asking, "So, you're worried about the girls that you haven't had sex with yet?" Vahn flinched at her words and his reaction confirmed Loki's speculation which caused her to laugh as he earned himself a somewhat distraught look from Hestia. After a short while passed, Loki looked around at everyone present and said, "Who here expected any of the girls to escape Vahn's clutches in the future? Just a show of hands, please~!" Of the girls present, the only one to raise her hand was Eina who looked around in confusion before lowering her hand out of embarrassment. Vahn felt somewhat ashamed knowing that it was 'expected' that he would end up with most of the girls eventually.

Out of nowhere, Vahn received a light slap from Loki and she pointed at him with a serious expression and said, "You wanted to be smacked when you started pushing people away right~? I can almost guarantee that, when you do have 'relations' with those girls, it would most likely be because they wanted to be with you, even if it's just for a short while. If you really want to create a future through proactive action, sitting on such information for fear of causing awkwardness is just ridiculous. If some of the girls get scared and run away, that is less for us to worry about in the future! Vahn, this whole fiasco is a result of you getting caught in the moment, so you need to start thinking about what you can do to overcome adversity, not worry about how it 'might' impact you!"

Without waiting for permission, Loki started walking toward the door while saying, "I know you want to tell them, so I'll save you the anxiety and inform them for you. It might be awkward, but you'll have to learn to deal with such temporary things if you want to be able to deal with real problems in the future. Baaaah, sometimes I wonder how I ever fell for such an idiotic boy...still pretending to be 'innocent' when you're literally playing around with a dozen different girls..." Hephaestus let go of Vahn's arm and shouted, "Loki, don't do anything rash!" Loki looked back and asked in a snide tone, "Tell me, are there any actual downsides besides Vahn potentially losing a girl or two? Most of them would probably be happy knowing they actually got with him at some point, and it's not like anything is set in stone now. Why are we even worrying about this when actual lives are involved?"

Loki looked around at everyone for a brief moment before asking, "Let's simplify things then...go ahead, if you think there are any actual downsides besides some internal stuff that can be easily dealt with, please raise your hand~!" Though her words were harsh, everything Loki said generally cut straight through to the heart of the matter and Vahn couldn't help but agree with her claims. The only real reason he was withholding information was that it was awkward, specifically for Vahn himself. Knowing the potential dangers would make the girls more cautious and it also gave him more room to discuss things openly with them to ensure that such a tragic fate never came to fruition. The best example was how Emiru and Tina died, both fates that could have simply been avoided through simple discussion...

Seeing that nobody raised their hands for several seconds, Loki nodded her head and said, "Such a powerful Divination is something we need to make proper use of, not something we need to keep under wraps. As long as we make the girls take a vow, there isn't any real danger of the information getting out to other people. If we want to make a strong organization to confront our enemies, we'll need to ensure that our internal bonds are unshakeable. Keeping information from those that are directly impacted by the events is just foolishness~!" Though she was interested in the future they would make from now on, especially knowing that Vahn had the potential to be an Emperor.

Loki wanted to ensure that things went as smoothly as possible and knew Vahn would behave like an idiot trying to keep the information to himself. Even if he had no intention of doing so now, he would eventually act on the information in the future even if he didn't tell the girls about it at first. Since they would eventually find out, Loki wanted to bypass the drama and force the situation to a point early on so they could begin taking 'corrective' actions much sooner. If the core of the group wasn't unified, there would be all kinds of problems that would need to be addressed in the future.

---

After being 'convinced' by Loki, the group moved to the dining room where almost everyone had been gathered together waiting for the 'important' discussion to come to an end. Anubis had sent a message to Nanu, since she was one of the girls that gave birth to one of the 'Council' members in the Divination, and she arrived shortly thereafter. Other than Freya and Inari, most of the people Vahn was aware of from the Divination were gathered together when Loki explained, "Okay children, I'll make this as simple as I possible can...if you intend to be involved with this idiot for the rest of your lives, you're going to need to take a final vow to protect all the information you're about to learn. This is something that will greatly impact each of you, so you need to have the conviction to carry the information to your graves regardless of any dissatisfaction you may feel in the future. Even if you choose to leave, you will never be released from this vow so take it seriously!"

As Loki spoke, she pointed to the statuesque Vahn that was flanked by Hephaestus and Eina with a mild blush on his face. Knowing that several of the girls were about to learn they gave birth to his children had overloaded Vahn's circuits. Fenrir was even going to learn that she ended up killing Ryuu and would eventually have a physical relationship with him. Though Vahn expected something to happen between them in the future, as they were both being that could live forever and would travel several worlds together, he hadn't expected things to come to a head like this so early. He was just hoping he would be able to convince her to 'wait', even if it was a bit selfish on his part in doing so.

With the exception of Mona, everyone else was willing to take the vow and Vahn was somewhat surprised since had had almost disregarded her entirely. She spent most of her time working at the Hostess of Fertility so the only time he saw the busty Cow Person was during dinner. Unlike the other girls, she often used a private bath and was the girl that Vahn associated with the least. If Loki's words weren't inaccurate, Vahn would have a child with her in the future unless she had simply left at some point before things got 'serious'. Now that she had excused herself from the discussion, Vahn felt like she would probably leave in the future, or at least would never take a proactive role in the events that would transpire.

Once Mona left, Loki took on the responsibility of conveying the Divination to everyone present and also passed around the five books Vahn had prepared earlier. Chloe had taken a bit of an impact knowing that she would have died within a years time to an enemy she had never met, but it was Ryuu and Fenrir who suffered the biggest blow early on in the discussion. Even though Fenrir hadn't actually killed anyone, she felt regret knowing that such a thing had ever happened. Unless they were trying to harm Vahn, Fenrir didn't want to hurt anyone because she knew it would make Vahn sad. Ryuu, knowing that she would die in such an unexpected manner, showed a serious expression and Vahn could see the flames of resolve burning in her sky blue eyes.

Knowing they would die together, but far apart from one another, Emiru and Maemi promised to never separate in such a manner, no matter what life threw at them. As for Tina and Milan, the small cat girl sobbed in frustration while Milan hugged her tightly with Shizune after the revelation. Vahn felt very guilty seeing how distraught they were but hoped it would give them both a bit of awareness about the dangers they would face if they tried to bear burdens alone. Unless they left the Manor very early, they would always be the target of the enemies that appeared trying to undermine the Alliance...

After that, things got both serious and awkward at the same time because Loki began discussing about Vahn's 'conquest', his unification of the various species, the establishment of an Empire, the creation of an Academy, and even the construction of the Heavenly City. During these events, she also explained Vahn's 'relationships' with the other girls and told them the positions some of their future children had the potential of holding. Riveria knew about the existence of an item like the 'Scroll of Prophecy' and that it wasn't simply a 'vision' of things that might happen, but things that 'would' happen unless events were changed.

Riveria became pale knowing that she ended up in a relationship with Vahn, but her uneasy feelings diminished somewhat knowing that her son became the Elven King and helped in the unification of all species. It was, in many ways, her penultimate goal so she was content knowing things had gone well, even if it was only after a war. Regardless of her wishes, Riveria knew that war was an inevitable consequence of rapid change so she wasn't too surprised knowing it was looming in the future. Knowing that Vahn also had the potential to ascend to godhood and even possessed a Divinity related to magic had returned her complexion to a neutral state as a thoughtful expression appeared on her face.

Ais had also taken a big impact knowing that dragon she was pursuing wasn't the real thing and that, even after twenty-two years had passed, they had never found the true body even when Vahn had the capabilities of traversing the entire world. However, she was able to redirect her 'hatred' towards what she learned to be the true enemy, which was the Goddess Enyo that was 'sealed' within the Dungeon. Tiona and Tione were at her sides and had been 'comforting' her a bit, even though Tiona had an awkward smile on her face knowing she had nearly been killed by the adorable Fenrir within the next two years. She decided to become better friends with the wolf girl so that, even if she lost control, there was a better chance that things wouldn't end in such a fashion.

As for the rest of the group, knowing that they had conceived Vahn's children in the Divination caused them to have a variety of reactions. Haruhime seemed to be especially jubilant as her tails danced around behind her while Mikoto had a vexed expression on her face. Lili, knowing that she had three children sired by Vahn, felt very prideful and had an excited blush on her face while Naaza's tailed wagged slowly behind her. The 'worrisome' Preasia and Shizune also had reactions that made Vahn feel somewhat unnerved because they both eyed him like a predator after knowing they would 'eventually' get to him. None of the girls from the Hostess of Fertility were surprised at all and Tsubaki was just happy knowing that her future child was a girl that would bear her mother's name. She sat affectionately stroking her stomach with a happy expression on her face while the other girls clamored about.

Some of the biggest reactions had come from the girls that hadn't born Vahn's children, however, especially the girls that had died. Chloe and Ryuu seemed to be burning with resolve to become stronger, but they also gave Vahn periodic and thoughtful glances. Milan had a complex expression on her face but it was Tina who was 'fired up' now that she had been able to process things better. She had resolved herself to become much stronger and to improve her relationships with the other girls in the Manor in the future. Knowing that Shizune eventually got together with Vahn gave her a bit more confidence, which had been waning in the last few months since she had started to feel that she had lost the chance. She hadn't vocalized it to anyone, but she was somewhat resentful at having been born 'too late' to actually be with Vahn.

The biggest reaction of all, however, had been from the generally bashful Lefiya. Hearing that she eventually gave birth to one of Vahn's children had caused her face to turn maroon and she had passed out on the spot with steam rising from her head. She ended up having to be tended to by Riveria since Vahn's 'interference' would just make the problem worse. As for Vahn himself, he had been watching everyone's reaction with mixed emotions because he felt like all of his defenses had been torn down in an instant. Especially regarding Emiru and Maemi, Vahn felt like he wouldn't be able to 'refuse' them for much longer since they had died before ever having the opportunity to be with him in a meaningful manner. He was positive they had sex before the twins had died, but they didn't give birth to any children before then and now eyed Vahn from the side as they shared a mental conversation with each other.

However, though her reaction wasn't the biggest, the most problematic girl was Fenrir who didn't even know what it meant to bear children yet. Her education on such matters had been limited and now she was about to receive a crash course from Riveria and Milan. Vahn expected that he would be able to keep their current relationship for a few years longer, but Fenrir would eventually want to 'try' various things with him in the future. He was hoping that he would be able to convince her to restrain herself with the excuse that they would be together forever and didn't need to rush such things...

One good thing that emerged from the discussion was the existence of Bell, which had been brought up and emphasized by Vahn. He still hadn't met the hero-class character yet, but he knew that Bell actually played a big role in the events of the Divination when it came to facing their enemies within the Dungeon. Though Ais had been the Commander of Haven, Bell had been the one spearheading the expeditions in the 'Frontier Floors' and was the only other Level 9 that Vahn had been made aware of. Even Ais had only reached Level 8, alongside Haruhime and Lili, and this was a testament to Bell's incredible potential.

During the discussion about the Dungeon, the matters of the Xenos were also brought up and Vahn himself was very curious to meet them in the future. Knowing that he eventually had a lover amongst the group of monster girls stirred up his curiosity a great deal, especially since his own daughter was rather beautiful. Their main reason for bringing this up was to prepare everyone in the Manor for their future meeting with the group so that there were no great tensions and conflict. Of course, since Vahn wasn't sure how their early interactions played out, he made sure everyone was prepared to defend themselves in the event of an emergency...the last thing he wanted was unexpected deaths because people had dropped their guards thinking things would go well.

(A/N: If it isn't obvious, I'm planning on fleshing Danmachi world quite a bit, so don't expect him to move on to a new world within the next 1000 chapters kappa.)

(A/N: 'Vahn speak the tru true','Loki ain't having any of your shit','Add 'em to the schedule!')

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