Novel Full Chapter 2016: Inception
Chapter 2016: Inception
As much as he enjoyed seeing Jaina defeating Yuri in every single game they played together, Vahn decided it would be prudent of him to focus a little more on his training. The limitations he had set regarding the Little Garden gave him considerably less time to focus on things like honing his skills, so, for the first time in a long while, he had to balance his life like a 'normal' person.
A usual day for Vahn involved waking up long before dawn, cooking breakfast for the girls, taking a nice long bath, checking in on everyone in the Tower, tending to Pram, performing maintenance on his Zanpakuto, preparing lunch, checking in on everyone a second time, watching anime, preparing dinner, having sex, checking in on everyone a third time, and, last but not least, spending time with the members of the Eurasia Family within his Dreamscape.
Though he could always 'find' extra time when he really needed it, Vahn's schedule was jam-packed from non-existent sunrise to sunset. He also couldn't skip things like watching anime, as, at least for the time being, it was one of the only ways he got to relax and simply cut loose with his women. He didn't want their relationship to revolve around sex, so, while there were a number of exceptions, he typically kept 'sexy times' for after dark.
As could be expected when every waking moment of your day was dictated by a routine, the last few months had, at least from Vahn's perspective, passed in a blink. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but, every now and again, he would imagine the voices of his former mentors scolding him for letting his skills rust. While this was far from the actual truth, large in part due to his [Universal Mind] and [Actualization] Innates, the central themes of Vahn's life had always been working hard, playing hard, and grasping power with his own hands.
With [Universal Mind] compounding in accordance with its rank, Vahn would be able to produce upwards of 3,265,920 Templates once it reached SSS. To this end, it wasn't an exaggeration to say that he could simply allow his Templates to run wild, and, as a result, he would be accumulating the knowledge and experiences of hundreds, thousands, or even millions of Tier 5 beings. In a way, this made training seem pointless, but, were it not for the support of Sis, Vahn had little doubt he would have been overwhelmed by the sheer volume of useless and conflicting information transmitted by his Templates.
To this end, the vast majority of Vahn's 'training' revolved around meditation, or, more specifically, attempting to comprehend the Mantra of Eternity. He no longer had any doubts that The Path had given him the Mantra and Eva's Orb to aid him along the path he had chosen. The former's purpose was still an enigma, but, were it not for Eva, there was a very real chance that his past would still be haunting him to this day.
Mastering the Magia Erebea had forced Vahn to confront his past directly, and, in the end, he was able to accept and move on from the events that had shaped his childhood. From that moment on, he no longer experienced the night terrors that Sis kept at bay. Instead, he found a kindred spirit in Eva, and, in the end, he even managed to return the favor by liberating her from the cycle of hatred and negativity forced upon her by The Mage of the Beginning.
Since the Mantra of Eternity had been bestowed upon him around the time when he was seriously considering linking multiple Records, Vahn believed mastering it was the key to achieving that goal. It had the ability to increase his spiritual energy without limit, and, ever since he had obtained it, the mantra had been one of the pillars supporting his rapid development. It had reinforced the concept introduced by his [Will of the Emperor], chiefly that there were no limits, only inexperience, a lack of will, and a lack of comprehension...
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Opening his eyes, Vahn exhaled a stagnant breath that caused the emerald-green moss that had spontaneously sprouted around him to ripple as if it were a living creature. At the same time, the Shinheuh who had been watching him from a distance promptly retreated, the glaze covering their eyes rapidly faded away as the inordinately peaceful energy radiating from his body was expunged from their systems.
Shifting his attention away from the fleeing monstrosities, Vahn extended his index finger so that a crystalline dragonfly could land. This was one of the many mysterious creatures that appeared when he contemplated the Mantra of Eternity, and, now that he had awoken, it was only a matter of time before it dissolved away into nothingness, undetectable by even Da Vinci's most advanced scientific instruments.
As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn watched silently as the tips of the dragonfly's wings rapidly dissolved. The emerald-green moss coating the large stone he was seated upon also began to lose its color, but, unlike the dragonfly, it managed to persevere as relatively normal moss even after the energy exuding from his body faded away. The same could be said for every other type of flora that was affected by his power, but, considering his inordinate affinity with plants, Vahn wasn't especially surprised.
Suppressing a sigh, Vahn rose to his feet, and, after dusting himself off, he checked the time to see that seven hours had passed since he told the girls he was going to train. This meant he had missed lunch, and, while it wasn't an issue for any of them to miss meals, he knew Yuri and Enne would be a little disappointed he hadn't shown up to taste the results of their effort. They had been working hard to master the basics of cooking, so, in a way, he had let them down by not being there when they needed him.
Shaking that thought from his mind, a wry smile developed across Vahn's face as he found himself considering whether or not he should pause time, retire to an Actualized World, or make use of the Little Garden in secret. This was a testament to just how reliant he was on the boons his Innates had provided him, as, despite having one of the most fulfilling lives imaginable, he was always searching for something 'more'. It was almost like an instinct, and, no matter how much he tried to focus on a single matter, his mind had a way of placing just as much emphasis on other, oftentimes unrelated, things...
Though he had once considered this a side-effect of his [Universal Mind] Innate, Vahn knew he had been this way ever since he first stepped out of the Western Forest hundreds of years prior. He just hadn't realized it at the time, as, back then, even the existence of trees, grass, and curiously shaped stones were new and exciting to him. He was someone without any real experience, so, every time he encountered something new, regardless of how mundane others might consider it to be, he felt compelled to know more.
At this point, nearly four-hundred-years had passed since his time in the forest, yet, in spite of this, Vahn's curiosity and intrigue towards the world around him had never waned. Rather, they seemed to grow stronger with the passage of time, and, were it not for his rather expansive harem and the family he had waiting for him back 'home', he could easily imagine himself spending thousands of years just experimenting with his [Actualization] Innate. The amount of control he had over each of the Actualized Worlds was, simply put, intoxicating. There was little he couldn't do, and, if he really wanted, he could make an amalgamation of multiple worlds just to see how the inhabitants, chiefly the Gods, would react to various situations...
Staring at his palms, Vahn imagined each speck of moss, remnants of when he had brushed himself off, to be entire multiverses. Were he inside his Internalize Realm, these would have been motes of light, but, regardless of the form they took, it didn't change the fact that he held incomprehensible power over beings who, for the most part, didn't even know he existed. This was a terrifying notion, and, were it not for The Path affording him insights into the very structure of creation, he might not even be aware of how his life was being manipulated by beings beyond comprehension...
Noticing his fingers trembling ever-so-slightly, the pupils of Vahn's aquamarine eyes narrowed to the size of pinholes, as, for a very brief moment, the idea that he was currently being manipulated crossed his mind. He knew Tier 7 basically encompassed everything in reality and fiction, yet, at the very beginning of his journey, he had actually met a being that eclipsed all of that...
Thinking of Klyscha, Vahn attempted to recall their encounter, yet, despite possessing the ability to recollect everything he had ever experienced, he couldn't remember what she looked like. The only thing he could remember was that he had met her, and, despite not being able to even imagine her voice, her words resonated in his ears as if he were hearing them for the first time...
With a sound similar to lightning reaching his ears, Vahn's eyes immediately came back into focus as he noticed the boulder he was standing on now had a massive crack from top to bottom. Then, as if responding to the notion that he hadn't intended to break anything, both sides rejoined as if they had never been separated in the first place. This caused a cold sensation to spread through his body, and, for the first time in a long while, his [Will of the Emperor] was operating in overdrive just to keep him calm.
Though he didn't actually need to breathe, Vahn willed himself to take several deep breaths as the realization that Sis hadn't been speaking dawned upon him. This was something that had only ever occurred under very specific circumstances, so, rather than allowing himself to panic, Vahn began to consider alternatives to the existential realization he had 'chanced' upon.
Since his [Will of the Emperor] had only recently activated, Vahn quickly dismissed the possibility that he might be suppressing her. In fact, ever since she had obtained an Ego of her own, he wasn't even sure he 'could' suppress her. Thus, with that possibility eliminated, the only viable explanations were that he was either dreaming or trapped within an illusion. Of these options, the former made a lot more sense, as, unless he had somehow ensnared himself, the [Eyes of Truth] made him immune to most illusions that didn't affect reality itself.
While it was possible that someone like Madara might be able to prank him using something like the Infinite Tsukuyomi, Vahn didn't want to imagine she would go to such lengths just to mess with him. It wasn't like there was any bad blood between them, so, unless she had been put up to it by someone else...
As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn remembered who, exactly, Madara had been traveling with. This caused his left brow to twitch, and, though he wasn't 'too' angry, Vahn couldn't prevent a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes from developing across his face. After all, the first thing he had done after 'waking up' had been to check the time using the system interface. This would be impossible if he were in a dream, as, not only did the system interface not appear, the only Innate he could make use of while unconscious was his [Will of the Emperor]. In other words, someone with 'very' intimate knowledge of his memories, likely containing a version of their own, was either dictating everything he was currently experiencing, or, less likely, he had synchronized with one of his Templates during his meditation and was currently accessing their version of his memories...
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Vahn is a busy man...','I would argue that an insatiable curiosity is necessary for any being that could feasibly exist beyond eternity...','This is either an omega-tier bruh moment or a very peculiar turn of events...')