Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Since being too expressive might leave a strange impression on the people he was summoning, Vahn waited until he returned to the Throne of Heroes before releasing an exasperated sigh. From Bedivere’s own accounts of events, it turned out that the man had basically starved himself after the presumed death of Artoria, fully intent on following his Liege in death. While this was a credit to his loyalty, it was inarguably a bit ’extreme’...

Deciding there no was no sense in worry about such things at the present moment, Vahn made his way over the Throne’s terminal before quickly keying in the next name: Altera, the True Name of the one known as Attila the Hun. It was a given that personalities like Ozymandias, Iskandar, and Nero would be a little difficult to deal with so, for the moment, Vahn wasn’t in any hurry to summon them. As for Lancelot, well, he had just summoned Bedivere and it might trigger the emotional Knight if he met one of the instruments that led to Artoria’s demise so soon after calming down.

With these things in mind, Vahn only hesitated for a brief moment before summoning Altera as a Saber Class Heroic Spirit. In the next moment, he found himself standing in the Welsh Dragon’s Chamber as a thin, almost emaciated, woman manifested in front of him. She was around 160cm in height and, rather than olive-brown skin, it had a distinctly ashen quality to it as a Heroic Spirit. At the same time, her garb was even more revealing than what had been revealed by Alaya; consisting of paper-thin black and white fabric that would hardly qualify as a swimsuit, much less battle attire...

What stood out the most with Altera, other than the strange tri-colored sword in her left hand, was the fact that she wore what appeared to be a bridal veil. It was similar in coloration to her grey-white hair and, much like her body, had a runic tribal pattern present on the surface. If he peered between the forelocks of her hair, which had been cut somewhat haphazardly, a peculiar tri-colored gem was barely visible; seated above cold and detached red eyes...

As she hadn’t been given the [Transmigrator] perk, Altera’s memories and knowledge were entirely comprised of the information provided to her by the Summoning System and her various Legends. Thus, unlike Bedivere, who had been an emotional wreck upon being summoned, Altera was scarily calm as she stared directly back at him, saying, "You are my Master...I am Altera. For what purpose have you called upon me? What enemy must I destroy?"

Hearing Altera’s questions, Vahn was getting some distinctly Okita-like vibes as, from what he could tell, she had little to no emotions. Even the aura surrounding her was an inert dull grey, bordering on white; much like her hair. She seemed to only care about the purpose she had been called for but, at the very least, Vahn could see ’something’ else contained within her wine-red eyes. There was a small amount of curiosity visible within; a desire to know and experience new things.

Seeing this, Vahn had a slight smile on his face as, in response to her questions, he answered, "I am, indeed, your Master. My official title is Sage Emperor, Vahn Aldrnari Mason. You may refer to me as Vahn or, if it suits your inclination, Master. As for your purpose...you will be tasked to protect one of the Empire’s Supercolonies during its construction. Before that, and following the construction, you may live however you please. If there is anything you desire in exchange for your service, please, let me know. So long as it is within my power, I will do my best to grant what it is you desire."

While Vahn had been speaking, Altera had continued to stare blankly back at him, her eyes never even twitching to indicate she might blink at some point. When he was finally done, what followed was a simple nod of acknowledgment and a request Vahn hadn’t quite expected. In fact, the smile on his face became strained as, without any hesitation whatsoever, Altera stated, "I desire the complete destruction of all civilization."

Though Vahn liked to think he could grant most wishes, if given enough time, Altera’s request was, obviously, a little difficult to fulfill. It was actually pretty easy to grant, in the grand scheme of things, but that was pretty much the opposite of his intentions. He didn’t want to lie to her, however, so he calmly explained, "While it is possible for me to destroy civilization, I believe your desire is not well thought out. I’m certain you have your reasons; in fact, I have also seen how terrible civilization can be when left to fester and stagnate. What we’re trying to accomplish is the correction of the past’s mistakes. For now, please bear witness to the future we wish to create and, if you cannot come up with a different wish, I will do my best to facilitate your desires..."

Without a single facial tick, or any other signs of complex emotion, Altera simply nodded her head in response before muttering, "Good civilization...a difficult task. If that is what you desire, I will do my best to fulfill my role. My expertise is war and conquest. Use me as you will, Master, so that I may see the future you envision for myself."

This time, Vahn answered with a nod of his own before gesturing to where Artoria, Gray, Da Vinci, Merlin, and Bedivere were standing, explaining, "These are our companions, our trusted allies. The beautiful woman with golden hair is my wife and Empress, Artoria Aldrnari Pendragon. Other than myself, her orders are something you should regard as the highest priority. Your actual duties will be explained in greater detail later. For now, listen to what she has to say and, once we return to the surface, I encourage you to get some sleep."

Hearing her Master’s orders, Altera gave a curt nod before raising her tri-colored sword of light and, somewhat surprisingly, stabbing it into her chest. This caused a brilliant flash throughout the Welsh Dragon’s Chamber before fading away to reveal that, with the disappearance of her sword, a band of green, red, and blue metal had appeared between her pert breasts. Then, in a strangely mechanical yet graceful manner, Altera walked over to where the rest were standing, her veil trailing behind her in a peculiar manner as there was no wind present to disturb it.

It was fortunate that Altera had been selected to protect the South American Supercolony as, along with its North American counterpart, they would be the last two to be constructed. This would give her a few years, projection-time, to socialize with the others. Hopefully, she would become a stabler existence by then but, even if that couldn’t be achieved, it wouldn’t be difficult to find a replacement in that amount of time. Rather, with her personality, Vahn had a strong suspicion that Altera would soon become a member of his entourage if he didn’t find something for her to commit to...

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Vahn activated the Summoning System for the fourth time, a dull pain beginning to make its presence known within his mind. Altera’s summoning had a bigger impact than normal but, with only this much, Vahn could still summon the remaining three people without too much trouble. At the very least, he would need to summon Iskandar and Ozymandias as they were both necessary for the implementation of the next phase of his plans.

With this in mind, Vahn bit the bullet and decided to go ahead and summon Ozymandias, his former enemy. Though the somewhat arrogant and haughty ’God-King’ would be difficult to deal with, there were a number of ways in which he could be controlled, even without the use of Command Spells. To this end, Vahn summoned the proud Pharoah, watching silently as the man who shared a number of similarities with himself manifested into existence...

Wearing an attire consisting of a sleeveless black undergarment, resplendent golden armor, and a pair of ornate gauntlets set with various Egyptian icons. He radiated the presence of a King and, after opening his sun-like eyes, the entire Welsh Dragon’s Chamber seemed to illuminate slightly. Seeing this, Vahn let his own aura flow out, almost by instinct, causing the two auras to clash as he stared back at the so-called God-King, ultimately forcing back the latter’s aura.

Feeling himself being suppressed, Ozymandias was more than a little surprised but, rather than show any fear, he smiled in amusement as he said, "To think, a worthy King actually exists in this era. Pray tell, are you the child of one of my descendants? Based on appearances alone, it is apparent that you have benefitted from my genetics."

Hearing Ozymandias’ remark, Vahn nearly laughed out loud but, deciding it was better to get to the point, he explained, "I am the Sage Emperor, Vahn Aldrnari Mason. I have called upon you, legendary King of Kings, to serve the Empire and protect one of its territories. In exchange, I will return to you a body of flesh and blood, your Queen, and your homeland. What say you, Ozymandias?"

Though it was obvious from the subtle shift in his aura that Ozymandias was greatly affected by the offer, he actually showed no discernible change in demeanor. This was something relatively common amongst capable rulers but, with his senses, Vahn could see through the facade with ease. To further tempt Ozymandias into willing servitude, he made an impromptu change to his plans, offering, "As an expression of sincerity, I can summon your bride here and now; not as a Heroic Spirit, but the very same woman you parted with millennia ago."

Ozymandias’ expression still didn’t reveal his actions emotions but, with a somewhat serious glint to his eyes, he answered, "If what you say is true, I will recognize you as my true Master. Return my wife to me, unchanged, and my power, everything that I am, will be yours to command."

With Ozymandias providing the answer he wanted to hear, Vahn gave a curt nod before looking back at Artoria to find her repeating the gesture. This exchange wasn’t missed by the sun-eyed man but, before he even had time to think about it, the magical formation at his feet began to produce what appeared to be liquid formed from pure ether. Then, coalescing in just a few short seconds, a very familiar figure appeared, exactly as he remembered her...

Vahn was curious about the famous Nefertari, rumored to be one of the most beautiful women throughout history. What he saw was a young woman with olive-brown skin, completely without blemishes. She had a distinctly innocent and maidenly appearance, radiating an aura of gentleness and compassion that was accentuated by her delicate features and petite frame. In fact, she was only 148cm in height and, based on her aura itself, Vahn estimated her age to be around thirteen years of age, despite it also feeling older at the same time...

As someone who had a few decided young-looking women himself, Vahn wasn’t going to question the preferences of Ozymandias. He knew the two had married when he was only fifteen years of age and, while he appeared to be in his late-twenties now, his true age could be measured in the triple digits. As for Nefertari herself, Vahn felt there was something ’off’ about her but, without touching her directly or applying his Blessing to her body, it would be impossible to know for certain.

Vahn knew what he was sensing had to be related to one of Nefertari’s Innates but, not wanting to offend Ozymandias, he chose to let the matter lay. Putting his hands on another man’s wife wasn’t something he was willing to do and, while Nefertari certainly seemed odd, there wasn’t even a single strand of negative energy anywhere in her aura...rather, it was like a much weaker version of Spenta’s and Aura’s...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: ’Crybaby Bedivere’,’Gacha is bad civilization...’,’How to train your God-King’)