Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Chapter 1378 - Shifting Tides

Vahn very rarely turned his attention away from the planet he inhabited but, every now and then, he enjoyed basking in the vast and chaotic energies of space. Though there was a fair amount of radiation present, he was completely immune to its effects since his body naturally filtered away anything harmful. He also had no DNA to damage so, even if he snuggled up next to a nuclear reactor for a few days, he would be none the worse for wear.

Sophia, however, was not him so, while she was able to explore space, under close supervision, she did so using a craft that looked a lot like an adorable cartoon rabbit. It even had a snow-white hull, two eye-like sensory compartments, and flight wings that vaguely resembled angular ears. It was actually quite cute to behold and, while Sophia had inherited some troublesome traits from her mother, Vahn appreciated the fact they both designed things with an animal motif, rather than relying on more spartan designs.

Though he didn't need to wear one, as he didn't need to breathe, Vahn was wearing a face mask that allowed him to communicate directly with the shuttle. Using this, he was able to alert Sophia to any dangers he sensed and, if anything ended up threatening her from the outside, he would be able to deal with it without putting the craft in danger. After all, while Sophia's craft was ahead of even the most advanced aerospace technology from the previous era, there were a number of environmental factors that posed a serious threat to her safety.

Truthfully, Vahn had misgivings about even allowing Sophia into space but, knowing there was a fair chance she would venture out on her own, Vahn decided to directly assist in her research. It was one of the ways in which they got to spend some quality time with each other so, while it was more than a little disconcerting, he always enjoyed accompanying her. Besides, the view simply couldn't be beaten, something Sophia seemed to agree with as he heard her comment over the comms, "Simply breathtaking..."

Hearing the remark, Vahn silently nodded his head before hovering near the front of the craft and reminding, "Beauty often conceals great danger. We should finish up quickly before heading back home. You know I can't help but worry about you while we're out here..."

Following a peal of bell-like laughter, Sophia replied with a simple, "Understood, Papa~." before piloting her craft further out into space. They had previously been just outside of the Van Allen Radiation belt, an area where particles emitted by the sun gathered en masse, so, by heading just a few hundred meters, Sophia's craft would be bombarded by radiation. This always made Vahn a little uncomfortable, despite knowing her shielding was perfectly capable of withstanding such radiation levels, so he made sure to keep pace in order to prevent any hypersonic space debris from causing problems. Then, once they were within the region with the highest concentration of radiation, he had Sophia stay safely within her craft while he personally stress-tested her newest inventions...

---

Though it was currently the weekend, Mordred, Sakura, Mash, Zoë, and Astrid still made a point of attending the Clock Tower in order to build rapport with their fellow students. After all, more so than the educational aspect, the main reason for their attendance was to provide them with the chance to socialize amongst their peers. After all, even with the great changes that would be introduced in the coming era, it was impossible to completely abolish politics. Even if it was just from a social point of view, the central figures of the Empire would always be held to a higher standard and, if they didn't meet expectations, it was only a matter of time before the people lost faith in their would-be rulers.

In order to set a proper example for others to follow, all five members of the 'Imperial Quintet' put in a considerable amount compared to their peers. They could almost always be found training hard or completing various Quests, constantly improving themselves through their own efforts. Though they also had the benefit of Vahn's attention, they used this as motivation to work even harder, opening a considerable power gap between them and the vast majority of students. Though anomalies such as Rani couldn't be overcome so easily, even Astrid had managed to get a few small advantages against her during their spars.

Since even the most lackluster student within the Department of Unified Thaumaturgical Theory had experienced a qualitative increase in strength, the progress made by the Imperial Quintet was even more noticeable. As a result, their group had expanded from their original five members to a total of seventeen, most of which were female. This included nearly every member of the top-ten, consisting of all five members of the Imperial Quintet and a host of students belonging to the Atlas Temple.

Though Rani was still held the 2nd Ranking, she noticed how quickly the girls from the Empire were growing so, while not exactly the most competitive person in the world, she was compelled to put in a greater amount of effort to secure her position. Ideally, she would be able to overcome Mordred and secure the top position but, the harder she fought during their spars, the more she realized that the former wasn't going all out. Rather, there was such a vast gulf in their capabilities that, without a specially crafted weapon, Rani couldn't rationalize being able to defeat her.

Despite this difference in power, Rani was undaunted so, along with the other 'combat type' Artificial Humans, she ended up spending much of her free time associating with the Imperial Quintet. It was an opportunity to observe the training methods and abilities of Mordred, Sakura, and Mash, so, even if she often found herself being inexplicably teased, Rani didn't let it affect her mentality or progress. Rather, spending time with the Imperial Quintet had taught her the importance of socializing as, in order to become even stronger, they freely shared information and honed their skills against each other without fear of undermining their own status and exposing their capabilities...

Though the Atlas Temple believed in the propagation of knowledge, there were still a number of restrictions to this principle as, in order to secure a position for themselves, many Alchemists kept a few secrets. Rani herself was the amalgamation of various secret technologies so, better than most, she knew how peculiar it was for the Imperial Quintet to be so 'open' about their skills and abilities.

This made them seem exceptionally confident, not in their current skills, but their ability to grow and develop faster than the people emulating them. If someone could surpass them following the same path, it indicated they either hadn't put in enough effort or that the other person simply tried harder than them. They didn't scorn the efforts of others, nor did they try to suppress them. Instead, in line with the policies of the Empire, they encouraged their peers to work hard, often giving advice freely and without embellishment.

As a result of their nature, appearance, and, perhaps most importantly, status, the Imperial Quintet had quickly become the most idolized group within the entire Clock Tower. Unfortunately, unless you were a student of the Department of Unified Thaumaturgical Theory, it was rare to get a glimpse of them unless you encountered them on their way to, or from, the Aldnrnari College Commons. This led to a number of students lingering along the route whenever they had free times, some wanting nothing more than to catch a glimpse of the famous five while others, harboring the usual delusions of teens, prayed for a fateful encounter with one of the suspected Princesses...

Today was no exception to this as, after finishing their morning lessons, Mordred could be found leading a rather large group of girls as they all jogged back to the Commons. They had formed into two neat lines and, without minding the fact she was making a scene, Mordred called out a military-style cadence to help everyone stay in pace. This was a pretty common occurrence within the Clock Tower these days, serving as both a show of unity and a deterrent to anyone trying to solicit any of the girls belonging to the infamous Department of Unified Thaumaturgical Theory.

At this point, nearly every student within the Clock Tower lamented the fact they hadn't tried to join the Department in its nascent stages. Not only was it filled with a considerable number of beauties but, after the recent 'purge', it became the most influential Department in the entire Clock Tower. At the same time, all major factions had been abolished so, while several smaller factions still existed, it seemed pointless to join any organization unaffiliated with the Empire. After all, while London hadn't been as impacted as other cities, the complete collapse of the global economy and the massive shift from modernization all but guaranteed the Empire would be the only 'real' faction in the future.

Unfortunately, it was exceptionally difficult to become a citizen of the Empire unless you had a clean record or extenuating circumstances that forced you to act against your will. Those over the age of fourteen, who had a past marred with terrible offenses against humans, spirits, or even Homunculi, had little hope of becoming official citizens of the Empire, at least without a considerable amount of effort. Their only option forward was to be placed into a probationary stage where they had to show very clear improvements in both character and mentality. It was only after passing a psychological evaluation, one that probed deep into their psyche, could they finally be liberated from the sins of their past.

There had been a number of people who tried to get around this requirement by becoming friendly with the allies of the Empire but, despite their best efforts, they had been unsuccessful. This made it clear to everyone, including the few Noble families that had survived the 'purge', that the Empire was not simply throwing around pretenses. The current era wasn't simply the shifting of power between one overlord to another but, on a much grander scale, it was the enforcement of an ideology where malicious intentions and opportunistic mentalities wouldn't get you far.

The only way to align yourself with the Empire and prosper was to make a sincere effort to be better, both morally and objectively. You had to adhere to both the spirit and the letter of the Common Law as, any grievous violations all but guaranteed death. The Empire seemingly had no mercy for people who attempted to game the system and get away with violating the law using wealth, status, and the privilege people had been born into. If you thought you could get away with something because of some misguided sense of superiority, only one outcome awaited you.

This realization hit a number of people rather hard as, with the collapse markets, the severance of communications technologies, the grounding of planes, and the crippling of supply lines, even the wealthiest of families had no choice but to line up outside food distribution centers. Their pride was dragged through the dirt and, with the power possessed by the Empire, the best they could do was advise their progeny to perform well in school. The only hope a family had of surviving into the new era was by throwing their lot in with the Empire so, while many families had to swallow a very bitter pill, they did so in order to preserve their legacies...

---

Unconcerned with the thought process of struggling Magus families, Olga was sitting listlessly in her Director's chair, wondering when Vahn would pay her a visit. Around her, monitoring the information obtained by CHALDEAS, five identical girls could be seen. They each had peculiar pink hair, pale-blue eyes, and petite figures that made them appear to be in their mid-teens.

Though it was a rather peculiar sight to behold, what really made the girls stand out were their large cat-like ears, glistening with a metallic sheen, their perpetually smiling expressions, and the tattoos on their upper left arm, each showing a different number. At the same time, if you were to observe them very closely, you would be able to see a stream of data flickering across their eyes and, if you had superhuman hearing, a virtually inaudible whirring could be heard emanating from within their tiny frames.

While appearing human at a glance, these girls were actually automatons created by Merem after the latter continued pestering Vahn, asking if there was anything he could do to help. Since Merem could create completely unique forms of life at will, Vahn had conferred with Da Vinci and the others before tasking Merem with the creation of personnel that would be able to help maintain CHALDEAS without suffering from the same pitfalls as normal humans. As a result, they ended up with a rather adorable humanoid doll based on one of Touko's designs since Merem, by his own admission, lacked creativity.

For the same reason, Merem ended up producing a total of thirty of the same model, naming the entire series of doll-like girls 'Operator Daemons'. This wasn't an incorrect designation either as, in spite of their appearance, each of the girls was, indeed, a Daemon. Instead of being an existence that fulfilled something like sexual desire, however, they had the sole focus of operating the systems of Chaldeas, ensuring everything was working optimally. This was the thing that made them happy so, while it was more than a little awkward, especially for the first few weeks, the tireless work ethic of the Operator Daemons had made a positive impression on everyone.

Now, Olga often found herself with very little to do as, from the moment the Operators took over, they had performed their assigned tasks without a single error. They weren't emotionless machines that were incapable of adapting to changing circumstances so, even if there was a small hiccup, they would quickly resolve the issue by working together seamlessly. This resulted in Olga spending most of her time just observing CHALDEAS in silence, still fulfilling her duties, albeit in a much less hands-on way than before...

Just as Olga's boredom began to get the better of her, she noticed the beautiful sapphire-blue glow of CHALDEAS change slightly, immediately followed by one of the Operators stating, "Director, there seems to be a temporal anomaly in sector C-17. SHEBA is no longer able to detect 73% of the Sector using the Near-Future Observation Lens. Shall we send a team to investigate?"

Though it wasn't uncommon for anomalies to appear, Olga couldn't help but get a little excited as it was always far more interesting to investigate a problem than just sit around. Thus, hearing Nana's report, named as such due to the 07 on her arm, Olga rose from her chair with a start, a smile on her face as she exclaimed, "Send observation probes to the site and inform Delta Team to be on standby for immediate deployment! Come on, Vahn is relying on us to do our jobs properly. We can't let any surprises interfere with the Empire's plans~!!"

Since she rarely had anything to do, Olga was always eager whenever something happened. After all, if she did well, Vahn would pamper and praise her even more than usual. She still had a weakness to being praised so, if the opportunity presented itself, she would give 110% to the completion of any task. As for the Operators, they replied with a simple, "Acknowledged." while simultaneously carrying out her orders without even a momentary delay...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Can't wait to see a bunny battle cruiser xD...','Adapt or fall into obscurity','The birth of Realians...?')

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