Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Chapter 1270 - Interlude: Deep Rumination

High above the skies of Avalon, above even the dominion of the Sylph, Vahn was seated in silent contemplation. He would normally have a number of people at his side but, at this moment, he was enjoying the frigid atmosphere, despite the fact there wasn't even enough oxygen to take a single breath...

Vahn wasn't alone in his rumination. Rather, he had come up to this height, more than seven kilometers above Avalon, because it was only here that the most recent addition to his Empire could maintain itself.

Below Vahn, serving as a vast platform upon which he sat, was a massive whale-like creature with pure white skin. It had a body that was more than 30km in length, coiled around like a snake as large feathered wings protruded out from where its flippers would normally be. There were eight such wings adorning the length of its body while, where its tail would be, a thick mat of golden fur crested the tip like a lion's tail.

Though the creature was distinctly serpentine, Vahn still felt it was more accurate to describe it as a whale due to the fact its head was structured like a massive s.p.e.r.m whale. The only observable difference was that it completely lacked eyes while, inlaid into its pure white skin, a series of gold runic bands coiled all over its surface. This, however, wasn't even the most awe-inspiring aspect of this whale-like creature as, within its massive maw, a runic blade that was more than 6km in length was fixed between its teeth.

This phenomenal creature was none other than Leviathan, the Watcher Class Servant that Vahn had summoned. As for the blade within its mouth, it was an EX-Rank Noble Phantasm known as [Spear of Final Judgment]. Vahn wasn't quite sure what qualified it as a spear, as it looked like a singular giant blade, but he wasn't really in a position to question it. All he knew was that, if the conditions were met, Leviathan could use the [Spear of Final Judgment] to, quite literally, destroy the planet.

Fortunately, while its power was beyond measure, there were a lot of restrictions on Leviathan and, even with his Command Spells, Vahn couldn't order it to do anything. According to Alaya, it could only use its full power at a 'designated time', regardless of any efforts to try and force it into obedience. The only reason he was even able to summon it was due to its Watcher designation, a unique Servant class that only a select few entities could be summoned as.

The purpose of a Watcher, as its name suggested, was simply to observe and inform. At the same time, it served as a catalyst for the growth of its Master, guiding them various trials in an attempt to make their ultimate dream a reality. If their Master could not survive these assigned trials, the Watcher would then absorb them into their own shadow, becoming a part of the Watcher while their existence itself was erased from the time axis.

All of this had come as quite a surprise to Vahn, especially when he learned that Leviathan already had seven 'Shadows' absorbed within its body. When he first learned of their existence, Vahn had been tempted to help them but, as they weren't even transcribed on the Throne of Heroes, there wasn't anything he could do.

Leviathan wasn't actually an evil existence by any means. It could only be summoned under very strict conditions and, while the consequences for failure were extreme, anyone that had survived its trials had become a legend without equal. It could apparently even guide a normal human to become an existence on the level of a Heroic Spirit in a very short period of time as, inside of the Leviathan, a massive Labyrinth existed as a form of Bounded Field.

Leviathan's Labyrinth almost invalidated the need for the Clock Tower entirely as the inside of the seemingly infinite compound was filled with monsters. Some of these monsters were even strong enough to rival weaker Heroic Spirits in strength, affording a remarkable amount of experience if you were able to come out ahead. Unfortunately, only Vahn was qualified to enter the Labyrinth as it was meant to be a crucible to refine his strength, not the strength of others.

Vahn was able to bypass the restriction of Leviathan's Labyrinth with his Unit Management but, the moment he teleported someone inside, they would immediately be ejected. Even Scáthach had been forcibly expelled, despite her attempts to lock the space around her. After this series of events, Vahn had actually been trapped inside Leviathan's Labyrinth until he completed a trial but, as his power was already at a level beyond most Heroic Spirits, it hadn't taken him long to come out unscathed.

Now, Vahn just allowed Leviathan to float above Avalon at an altitude it was comfortable with. It had the ability to sense everything that was going on below it, its basic senses stretching out for well over a hundred kilometers in each direction. The most incredible part of this ability was that even people like Merlin could not escape the observation of Watcher and, while he was in direct contact with it, Vahn could share its senses.

While he was lost in rumination, Vahn felt a ripple in the fabric of Space-Time around him and, without even having to look, he asked, "Ikaros...is there something?"

By the time Vahn's words had finished, a handsome youth with sharp golden eyes and dark red hair had manifested. He was attired in ancient Grecian garb that was adorned with flaxen white feathers comprised of wax. On his back, two mechanical wings, also adorned with wax feathers, had degraded to the point that much of their structure had taken on a skeletal visage. There were perpetual burn marks on his back and shoulders and, though he was nowhere near water, Ikaros had a permanant layer of moisture covering his skin and hair.

In response to Vahn's words, Ikaros placed his left hand on his hip in an annoyed manner as he complained, "That vile woman wanted me to ask if you were available for tea."

Hearing Ikaros' words, Vahn turned his head to look back at the man, saying in a polite tone, "Tell Amelia that I'll be returning to the surface soon. She is more than welcome to join everyone when it is meal time, just like the rest of you..."

Ikaros just shook his head in response before retorting, "None of us are here to try and buddy up with your people. I'll tell her you refused. If you want to convey anything more complicated, do it yourself."

After stating his piece, Ikaros' body began to ripple before he dissipated into space like ink dissolving into water. It was a peculiar way to move through space that Vahn couldn't really wrap his head around. In fact, there were a lot of mysteries related to Levithan so, when he had nothing else going on, Vahn liked to sit on top of the colossal creature while meditating. As a result, his domain could now stretch upwards of 8km in every direction, a marked increase compared to the 5km he had been stuck at just a month prior.

While the range of his domain was nowhere near his perception when he tapped into the limited omnipotence of his Divinity, Vahn felt more like a God while seated upon Leviathan than when he spread his perception over the entire planet. After all, even if he wasn't completely aware of each and every particulate of mana within his perception, Vahn could 'recall' each of them if he wanted to. His mind recorded everything perfectly so, even if he overlooked something at first, Vahn was able to view scenes from his own memory as if he was looking back in time without restriction.

Due to this quirk, Vahn had developed a habit of extending his domain, even if he wasn't paying attention to what was taking place within it. Even from his current perch atop Leviathan, he was able to sense almost everything taking place within the Ivory Castle, bringing a smile to his face whenever someone noticed him paying attention. This was usually Fenrir but, after a while, some of his children had started to pick up on the fact that he was looking down on them from above.

For a brief moment, Vahn was tempted to stop by and play with Isanna and Naavi, who now had the physical appearance of five-year-olds, but he decided against it after seeing them having a staring contest over who got to carry Daiki. Fortunately, Ishtar now had a body of her own so she could easily rein in Isanna while Ereshkigal would hold back Naavi. As for Daiki, he was a bit of a mama's boy and, though he didn't like to be away from his sisters, he was always happy to be held by Rin.

Vahn couldn't help but smile at the scene playing out but, as he already had other plans from earlier, he decided to get them out of the way before playing around.

After a few more minutes of idle observation, Vahn vanished from the surface of Leviathan in a small burst of blue magical light. Immediately after his departure, the impossibly large creature, as if it was nothing more than an illusion, began to fade away until its figure had completely vanished from the world. Even if someone flew through the area where it had been previously, they would pass through unobstructed.

When Vahn reappeared, he was located on a small island to the north of Avalon, a landmass less than a single acre in size. A month ago, this had just been a rocky outcrop within the sea but, after his second round of summons, an altar had been constructed to house what could be considered Vahn's most powerful, yet potentially disastrous, ally.

This small island was a prohibited area to everyone except for Vahn himself as, while the entity inside wasn't malicious at all, its presence alone had caused a number of issues. After all, it was one of the so-called Outer Gods, beings that hailed from an entirely alien Universe. They were existences that embodied some form of infinity and, by merely being around them, people, even Heroic Spirits, would begin to hallucinate and go mad.

Vahn was completely immune to the influence of his troublesome ally so he made a habit of trying to visit, even though they didn't seem to mind their isolation. Still, as it was his selfish decision to bring them into the world, Vahn felt a certain sense of responsibility towards those he summoned. He didn't care if the true form of Foreigner was some eldritch horror as, in its base form, it looked like nothing more than a young and emaciated boy.

After lightly tapping on the altar, Vahn watched as the stone structure opened into a staircase that led deep into the seafloor. If others were present, they would have seen the simple stone steps as the maw of some monstrous creature and, if they were not able to escape from this illusion, there was a chance it would actually devour them. Since this wasn't something the entity inside had any control over, Vahn withheld judgment as, if you were able to resist the encroaching madness, it was actually very easy to communicate with them.

Much like his descent into the Welsh Dragon's chamber, it took nearly a half-hour to reach the bottom of the spiraling stairs as the interior was an isolated Bounded Field that disallowed the manipulation of space and time. It was completely impossible to teleport as the Laws inside simply did not allow such a concept to even exist. This was made possible by the abilities of the entity slumbering within as, much like ORT, it had a unique form of 'alien logic' that governed reality itself.

After reaching the bottom of the spiraling stairs, Vahn entered into a room that was almost completely empty. The only thing inside was a single bed and, though there were no actual light sources, rays of pure white light seemed to cascade down upon the bed, highlighting the figure laying atop the pillow-laden surface.

Vahn smiled upon seeing the slumbering figure, a pale-skinned youth with frail features and pure gold hair. This was, however, only how the figure appeared to him as, from the perspective of others, he appeared to be a mass of twisted flesh. Even Artoria had an extreme reaction to his presence and, if not for Vahn's intervention, there was a good chance she might have even tried to strike down the relatively defenseless entity. When he later saw what the figure looked like from Artoria's perspective, Vahn had been at a loss as they was simply no comparison between the terrible monster and the slumbering youth before him...

Without hesitating in the slightest, Vahn made his way over the side of the bed before asking in a low tone, "How are you feeling today, Azathoth...?"

In response to his question, the sleeping figure did not move in the slightest but, as if they were fully awake, a cheerful voice answered, "I am doing well. Thank you for coming to visit me again."

Though the true identity of the sleeping figure before him was the titular Rip Van Winkle, from the fairy tale of the same name, he was also the manifestation of the Outer God of Dreams, Azathoth, the Lord of the Outer Gods. He had the ability to manifest an entire Universe of his own and, by waking, that Universe, Azathoth himself, and all things within it, would be destroyed. He was the lynchpin of his own reality and, by spending time with Azathoth, Vahn was hoping to make some breakthroughs in the creation of his own Reality Marble.

After pulling out a chair to sit down, Vahn proceeded to pull out a book from his Inventory. It was a children's story about a princess trapped in a tall tower that reached beyond the clouds. Here, she waited for the day of her liberation but, up until the end of her life, the prince charming she had sought never appeared. At the very end of the story, she threw herself from the tower in a final attempt to take control over her own life but, after passing through the clouds below, she landed back in her own bed as a young woman once again.

Azathoth was fond of tragic stories that embodied aspects such as helplessness so, while it was a little unnerving, Vahn made a habit of reading to the slumbering Outer God during his visits. They weren't the worst books he had ever read and, as Azathoth had helped him out a few times, it was the least he could do.

When Vahn finished with the story, the slumbering Azathoth produced a small smile before his voice echoed in the surroundings, saying, "Thank you for reading to me. Did you want to see my world today as well...?"

Vahn just gave a small nod in response to Azathoth's question. In the next moment, he felt like he had been pulled through an invisible membrane and, though the immediate surroundings had not changed, he knew the world outside the chamber was now completely different from the Avalon he knew. Even Alaya was not able to venture here as she was tied to the planet Earth and could not venture beyond its Planetary Bounded Field. As for Azathoth's Bounded Field, it was on the level of an entire Universe, filled with countless planetary bodies and innumerable stars.

While it was impossible to teleport freely back in the previous world, Azathoth had given Vahn the ability to move around freely in his own personal Universe. This wasn't an exaggeration either as, just by wanting to go somewhere, Vahn would instantly appear in said location. He was trying to grasp the concept behind how this was possible but, even after spending several weeks at a time inside Azathoth's universe, Vahn had been unable to make sense of it.

The Laws at play weren't all that different from what he was familiar with but, as the restrictions were based on a completely different kind of logic, it was almost incomprehensible. One good example of how strange the Laws inside Azathoths' Universe could be seen in the way that fire flowed like water while the water itself twisted and flowed in a helical pattern, unbounded by the conventional Laws of Gravity.

Within Azathoth's Universe, even Life and Death were transient things as Vahn had found a species of creatures that lived and died as part of an infinite cycle of rebirth, never increasing or decreasing their numbers. They were honestly a little terrifying as Vahn had seen one of the fox-like creatures cannibalize another of its kind. Afterward, the latter burst forth from the former's stomach during its rebirth, repeating the process a few times until they realized the futility of their actions...

Vahn knew that staying inside might even have adverse effects on him so, after idling for a few days, he pulled out a golden key from thin air. The moment the key manifested, a lock hole had appeared within the void itself and, after Vahn inserted the key, he found himself back in the real world without any time having passed. Since Azathoth had made his Universe according to Vahn's request, it was completely separate from the axis of Space and Time, meaning Vahn could stay inside for a million years without a single second passing in the outside world. Compared to his own Sub-Space and Space-Time Orbs, it was like the difference between a grain of sand and an entire desert...

After thanking Azathoth for the experience, Vahn left the sealed chamber once again before making his way back to the surface. He always needed something, or someone, to ground himself after exploring Azathoth's Universe so, while there were better choices, Vahn decided to visit Illya before going to spend time with his children.

At this point, Illya had fully fused with Cath Palug so, a little more than two months ago, Illya had submerged herself into a tank similar to the one's Da Vinci used in the production of her vessels. She was trying to artificially accelerate her growth but, due to the influence of Cath Palug, it was a very slow and arduous process.

Though Illya was unconscious, Vahn knew it meant a lot to her that he visited as, while she was in this state, her mind was still active. He could ask Merlin to act as an intermediary to allow them to spend time together but, as Illya wasn't too fond of the flowery Magus, Vahn usually just stood with his hand against the reinforced crystalline container for the better part of an hour. Though this actually made Illya more than a little embarrassed, as she was completely n.a.k.e.d inside the container, she never really complained directly to him...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Who needs a Hanging Gardens when you have a 30km long whale? RIP Semiramis','Azathoth is creepy af xD...','Illya is working hard in her own way...')

(A/N: For those that were curious, the seven people inside Leviathan are: Ahab, Ikaros, Asclepius, Honjo, Orpheus, Amelia(Yes, Amelia Earhart), and Pelleas(one of the prospective Knights of the Round Table))

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