Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Chapter 2003: A Certain Scientific Side Story (Part 1)

With Mikoto having made her decision, Vahn descended into the infinite expanse of space representing his Internalized Realm. There, floating among countless star-like motes of light, one stood out among the rest due to the sheer power of the entities contained within.

While the individuals within were ultimately limited by his Soul Tier, Vahn's ongoing struggle against the Ethereal Queen had taught him to never look down upon a Tier 5. Many represented abstract concepts that couldn't be overcome with raw power, so, while his power represented the absolute limit any being within an Actualized World could achieve, it didn't mean he couldn't be defeated.

Fortunately, even if a being were to, somehow, erase his existence, there was nothing they could do to prevent him from entering anew. He was the lynchpin supporting the continued existence of each Actualized World, so, unless they somehow transcended their very existence, there was no way for them to inflict lasting injuries on his mind, body, or spirit.

Confident in his tenacity, if nothing else, Vahn allowed his consciousness to descend towards the Actualized World of the Toaruverse. This caused the mote of light to expand rapidly, its form shifting from a single point to a nebulous globule representing a functionally infinite metaverse.

Descending even deeper, guided by his intent, it wasn't long before Vahn found himself in one of the many 'gaps' that existed between reality and non-existence. Here, everything within the Actualized World could be manifested with a simple thought, as, more often than not, such gaps contained what could be called the source code of reality. Thus, so long as you knew how to interface with it, you could even manifest, replicate, or outright erase entire multiverses from existence.

Though his understanding of the 'gap' was far from complete, Vahn could still use it to search for and create virtually anything. As a result, it wasn't long before he found himself standing across from a visibly confused and secretly terrified Goddess. This was entirely within his expectations, but, seeing the inordinately beautiful goddess sitting behind a relatively plain-looking wooden desk, he couldn't help asking, "Are you the Goddess that presides over reincarnation?"

Rather than immediately answering his question, the silver-haired beauty pressed a tiny red button located beneath her desk before asking, "Who are you?" in a nervous tone. Immediately after that, a woman with dark-red hair, crimson eyes, and horns reminiscent of a demon burst into the room, shouting, "What the fuck do you want, you old-"

Noticing Vahn's presence before she could finish her exclamation, the demonic woman's face became a caricature of surprise as she quickly assumed what appeared to be a beginner's karate stance. This caused Vahn's brows to raise, not because her stance was lacking, but because it caused her short secretarial skirt to hike up her thighs, effectively flashing her panties.

Recalling the tremendous amount of fanservice present within the source material, Vahn elected not to draw attention to the demoness' wardrobe malfunction. Instead, he returned his attention to the beautiful goddess at his front, passively admiring her golden hair, galaxy-like eyes, and elf-like ears as he stated, "I'm not here to cause any trouble. Rather, I've come to ask for a favor."

With the ability to see through and discern the truth of all things, an innate ability possessed by virtually every God of Reincarnation, much of the Goddess' anxieties vanished as she answered, "Before that, can you please explain how you entered this place? Even Progenitor Gods cannot enter my domain without an invitation. You also seem to lack a fate, or, at the very least, one I cannot discern..."

Though he had never been fond of interrogations, Vahn decided to cut the goddess a bit of slack, answering, "There is no place within creation that I cannot tread. As for the matter of my fate...hmmm...I suppose the easiest way to explain it is that I represent the starting point of fate? As ridiculous as that sounds, it's not far from the truth in this particular instance..."

Detecting no falsehoods in Vahn's words, cold sweat began to manifest across the Goddess' body as she asked, "If you are who you claim to be, what possible reason could you have for coming here? You can't possibly be intending to reincarnate into one of the Lower Worlds...right?"

Waving in a gesture of dismissal, Vahn both assured and frightened the goddess by casually replying, "As I stated previously, there is no place in the entire Order of Creation I cannot tread. My reason for coming here is so that you can transmigrate someone else at my behest. I could always take care of it personally, but I'd rather avoid stepping on too many toes. In exchange...let's say I'll award you a single request. So long as it within my power as the God of Infinite Possibilities to provide, there are no limits to what you can demand."

Though she had yet to detect even a trace of falsehood in the unknown entity's words, the goddess was beginning to consider the possibility that her powers didn't work on him. The problem with this assertation was that it didn't make sense. He clearly possessed the ability to, at the very least, enter her office, so, while it was difficult to believe his other claims, it was hard to refute them outright.

Taking into consideration the fact her boss hadn't shown up to intervene, the goddess decided to ere on the side of caution, slowly nodding as she said, "Very well. While I can't make any guarantees, I will do my very best to assist you..."

Tilting his head in confusion, Vahn resisted the urge to summon the Law of Identity to his side and instead remarked, "You're speaking as if you're uncertain about something. Tell me, what is the issue?"

Offering a wry smile in response, the goddess went on to explain, "Every life that transitions from one cycle to another must pay a toll. For mortals, this is generally the karma they have accumulated throughout their life. If the person you have in mind cannot afford the cost, it is beyond my power to force a transmigration. Under normal circumstances, Gods can sponsor mortals they have taken an interest in, but, as you have no standing within the godly community, there is very little I can do..."

Realizing the problem, Vahn briefly considered paying a personal visit to the Gods in charge of the Toaruverse before immediately dismissing the idea and pausing the world around him. Then, taking full advantage of the [Causality Manipulation] provided by his [Actualization] Innate, he made a few minor tweaks to the flow of fate before allowing things to resume and saying, "It shouldn't be an issue."

Unaware of what Vahn had just done, a conflicted look developed across the face of the inordinately beautiful goddess as she helplessly replied, "I pray that is the case..."

(A/N: This will come down after about an hour. I'll be posting short chapters to continue the story over the next few days since a lot of people have been asking for it. Make sure you're checking out my pat.reon for updates :P)