Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Chapter 602 - Innocence Lost

Vahn awoke very early in the morning with a start, completely unaware of what occurred to make his instincts trigger that ’danger’ was approaching. Closing his eyes, Vahn focused his mind and interfaced with the formation of the Manor, finding no ripples whatsoever as he asked, ("Sis, what happened?") Since she was ’always’ awake, Sis should have known what caused his body to react unless she had been focused on other tasks. As expected, an elegant and soft voice sounded out in his mind as Sis explained, (*Check the system log, Vahn, Fenrir’s Loyalty had been making massive jumps for the last few hours...*).

Following Sis’s advice, Vahn looked at the system log and felt a chill settle in his mind when he saw that Fenrir’s Loyalty had somehow increased more than a hundred thousand points over the last six hours, with a massive increase of 17,089 in one batch very recently. She was currently at 419,712 and Vahn felt a shudder pass through his body when he remembered Preasia’s Innate and the potential ’implications’ if she managed to pull Fenrir inside her dreamscape. Fenrir was always a free and unbounded spirit so she would definitely enjoy a place like the dreamscape, especially if Preasia allowed her free reign to do whatever she wanted. He wasn’t sure what Preasia was capable of when she was dreaming normally, but the massive increase in Fenrir’s Loyalty gave him some ideas.

Deciding it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, as Fenrir being more Loyal wasn’t actually ’bad’, Vahn released a heavy sigh before snuggling back up with Syr and trying to calm his mind. He had a lot of ’hope’ for Preasia’s Innate, as it might give him some insight into controlling his own dreams, so letting her learn how to control it while interacting with others wasn’t a bad thing. Fenrir might actually be able to relieve some of her stress and he imagined it would bring the two much closer together, potentially allowing Fenrir to actually open her heart to someone other than himself. Vahn just needed to make sure she didn’t develop any strange behaviors in the interim and things should be fine...

After taking a short nap, Vahn awoke and checked Eva’s orb, confirming that the ’barrier’ was preventing his entry. Stowing it away safely in his inventory, Vahn gave the fatigued Syr a morning kiss before stroking her head a bit and heading off to prepare for his morning training. Though she was ’tireless’ during s.e.x, Syr’s fatigue caught up to her after the fact and Vahn always found her sleeping face very cute. Though she was far tamer than in the past, they still had some of the more ’dangerous’ s.e.x Vahn ever experienced, as it almost felt like she would ’devour’ him if he lost focus. Even compared to Preasia, who Vahn thought was ’amazing’ at the time, Syr was in a league of her own and only the goddesses had any chance of matching her capabilities.

Vahn hadn’t even made it to the onsen before he could sense a fluctuation in his subconsciousness before a ’ping’ alerted him to a quickly approaching presence. With his head turned, Vahn saw an incredibly vivacious Fenrir ’bolting’ towards him before leaping into his embrace. Even though he wasn’t in his Vanargandr form, Fenrir nuzzled up against him and nearly knocked him over as a result of how fervent her actions were. Vahn just stroked her head and used his [Petting] on her as he awaited the arrival of the second presence that was trailing behind, admittedly much slower than Fenrir. After around a minute, Preasia came running into the corridor with labored breathing as she showed an apologetic expression and said, "Vahn, I’m sorry..."

Before he even had time to listen to her explanation, Fenrir’s large ears became alert and she shook her head quickly and said, "No, Preasia is a good girl, the best~! Ehehehe, Master, don’t bully Preasia~!" She hadn’t even finished her sentence before Fenrir began to nuzzle against him, almost like she was trying to bore through his clothing and fuse together with him. Vahn’s thoughts ran rampant in his mind as he tried to think of a way to deescalate the situation a bit and said, "Don’t worry about it, Preasia. Rare skills can be very hard to control when you first awaken them, so a few accidents should be expected...just continue to work hard and I’ll deal with Fenrir in my own way." Preasia still had an apologetic expression on her face but she also nodded her head with a resolute glimmer in her grey eyes.

Since Preasia didn’t want to use the larger onsen, Vahn accompanied her and Fenrir to one of the smaller private baths and was able to infer some of what they had ’dreamed’ about just based on latter’s actions. When he had undressed, Fenrir had an excited look in her eyes compared to the past and it felt like her eyes were glued to his lower body as she said, "Master should become like Fenrir...Fenrir will wash Master’s body...scrubby scrub...ehehehe" It might have been convincing if not for the fact that Fenrir was ’flexing’ her claws in an eager manner without making eye contact with him at all. Preasia had a deep blush on her face but managed to undress and get into the bath alongside Vahn and the rambunctious wolf girl. Vahn managed to get Fenrir to calm down surprisingly quickly simply by reminding her to be a ’good’ girl, even though it made her eyes glow marginally brighter.

Vahn learned from Preasia that she had ’accidentally’ pulled Fenrir into her dream, though felt like it was more likely that Fenrir had been the one to accidentally enter. Just like he had entered Preasia’s dreamscape by being in contact with her, it made sense that Fenrir was able to do the same, perhaps because of their similar energy signatures. He didn’t blame Preasia at all for what happened, something that greatly relieved her, and simply listened to her recounting of the various ’events’ that had transpired after the fact. Because of the peculiarities of the dreamscape, the passage of time was very strange and it was actually very difficult to recall all of the events since there would often be ’gaps’ in awareness while your mind was resting.

When Preasia first entered her dreamscape, everything was fine and she actually spent several hours simply playing around and creating statues, which she embarrassingly admitted were of Vahn. ’Shortly’ thereafter, Fenrir entered the dreamscape and Preasia originally thought she just imagined Fenrir on her own, as they were actually rather close. However, recalling what happened previously, Preasia did her best to try and communicate with Fenrir to discern if she was ’real’ or just a figment of her imagination. Since she couldn’t ’remove’ her, like she did with some of the Vahn’s she created, Preasia assumed it was the actual Fenrir even though they couldn’t talk. The reason for this was because Fenrir behaved like a kid in a candy store, that had just discovered a treasure trove of goodies ripe for the picking.

Preasia had several different Vahn’s accompanying her at the time, using them as references for the statues she was making, so Fenrir was very excited to see so many of her Masters. Even though she could tell it wasn’t really her Master, Fenrir felt a strange ’connection’ to them and, after focusing on them for a while, they began to change form until there was a veritable pack of Masters that were like her. When this happened, Preasia had been very shocked and found that her own willpower was somewhat lacking compared to Fenrir’s as the dreamscape quickly began to change in ’strange’ ways. She could still create new things, but Fenrir had already taken the momentum and ended up being spoiled rotten by a total of five Vahns that looked similar to her.

Though she tried to ’reason’ with Fenrir and get her under control, Fenrir was too happy to have so many Vahn’s around her and became very excited as things progressed further. She quickly discovered that her ’Master’ listened to whatever she wanted and, even though she knew it might be ’bad’, Fenrir wanted to do many things with her Master. Things started off relatively tame, with a vast forest coming into extistance where Fenrir hunted alongside the ’pack’ of Vahn’s with a fervent and almost ’crazed’ expression as they ripped through large numbers of monsters. When her Masters came and presented the spoils to her, Fenrir felt like Queen and wanted the Masters to serve her well since they were already listening to her orders.

Things quickly got out of control after that point because Fenrir had them try to massage her body but, finding that it wasn’t as good as the ’real’ thing, she instead had them do other stuff. Seizing the opportunity, Fenrir explored the bodies of her Masters and inspected them in great detail without minding Preasia’s attempts to stop her. Since she couldn’t do anything to the Preasia inside the dreamscape, Fenrir felt like she was special and just waved her over, eventually getting the bashful sheep to listen as they began exploring Vahn together. They continued this for what felt like days until Preasia eventually cracked under Fenrir’s curiosity and ’showed’ her some of the things they could do within the dreamscape.

Fenrir had been very surprised by what she had seen, causing the dreamscape to undergo massive changes before it became an infinite bed that stretched out into eternity. Since Preasia already had her own ’Master’, Fenrir created one for herself that was in the same Vanargandr form. At first, she just did things like play around with him but her curiosity eventually got the better of her and she ’tried’ other stuff. Fenrir had hesitantly tried to ’bite’ her Master, though only on his pinky, and was excited to learn that she ’couldn’t’ eat him within the dreamscape. Unlike Vahn’s [Will of the Emperor], which always seemed to be with him even with the system couldn’t be accessed, Fenrir’s Innates had no effect when she was inside Preasia’s dreamscape.

For the first time, Fenrir got to share an ’a.d.u.l.t’ kiss with her Master and things quickly escalated from there as she used her mouth and tongue in all kinds of different ways, urging Preasia to teach her. Preasia had already broken down after Fenrir had constantly been badgering her and, though it wasn’t as good as the real thing, it was still very exciting to having s.e.x with the dream version of Vahn. It couldn’t satisfy her, but there was an aching and pleasant feeling in her lower body even though she knew it would be bad to show Fenrir such things. As expected, Fenrir ’copied’ her actions perfectly and ended up becoming one with her Master, something that made her feel incredibly anxious and happy at the same time...

When Preasia had explained to this point, Fenrir was blowing bubbles at the side before saying, "Master, Fenrir will be a good girl...don’t be mad..." She could sense her Master’s distressed state and knew she had probably done something wrong which, after thinking about it in detail, made a lot of sense. Fenrir had ’defied’ his orders and taken advantage of her Master, even though it wasn’t really him and just a copy. She felt a strange sense of guilt when she heard Preasia talking about the events and almost wanted to ask her friend to be quiet since she didn’t want her Master to know how ’bad’ she had been.

Vahn simply sighed through his nose in response and stroked Fenrir’s hair, saying, "You’re a growing girl, Fenrir, so it’s understandable you have thoughts like that on occasion. As long as you don’t take it too far, the two of you can do whatever you want in the dreamscape...just make sure you don’t develop any strange habits, and also keep in mind that the dream isn’t the same as reality..." Fenrir was someone that would accompany him to future records, potentially standing at his side for thousands of years, if not forever. Vahn really couldn’t be mad at her since he knew she actually held herself back a great deal just because he asked her to. Even though he had far fewer inhibitions when he interacted with the girls, Vahn couldn’t fully open himself up to Fenrir because of how innocent she was...

Hearing Vahn’s words, Preasia released a sigh of relief because she could tell he wasn’t actually upset by what happened, even showing a bit of humor before his tired look appeared the end. Since she was always with Fenrir, Preasia knew that Vahn didn’t want her to grow up quickly. Though she had tried to keep this in mind at first, Fenrir’s constant pestering had long since worn down her ability to resist her requests and she had already ’taught’ Fenrir many things, even helping her practice for the future. Preasia understood the desire to be with Vahn so she couldn’t just ignore her ’best friend’ when they had the opportunity to experience such a unique situation together...

Vahn spent a bit of time [Petting] the two, helping to wash their bodies while telling them they needed to practice controlling the dreamscape instead of getting caught up in the momentum of things. Fenrir was just happy that her Master wasn’t mad at her and happily wiggled about while he was washing her, something she hadn’t really done in the past. Though they hadn’t actually done anything together, Fenrir was more ’aware’ of a.d.u.l.t relations now and her body was acting as one would be expected from a ’mature’ girl. Her breathing became somewhat heavier, but Fenrir ’behaved’ and just coped with the rising heat in her body since she knew it was ’bad’ to act out, at least for now.

Helping Fenrir get dressed allowed Vahn to experience exactly how much she had changed and he was very aware of the fragrant aroma wafting from her body when he helped pull her panties up. He had helped her get dressed hundreds of times by now, but this was the first time Fenrir had a slightly flushed expression and ’enjoyed’ the contact. Even small touches seemed to make her giddy and she acted like she was suddenly very ticklish, shying away from his hand one moment before clinging to him in the next. Though it was very ’adorable’, Vahn realized that the ’innocent’ Fenrir from the past no longer existed and he would have to take that into consideration in the future. Reaching out his hand, Vahn stroked her fluffy ears and said, "Don’t be in such a rush...remember, we’ll be together forever..."

The rest of the day, including the time he spent training in the morning and venturing into the Dungeon with Shizune, was a bit of a blur for Vahn because he had been lost in thought about Preasia’s dreamscape and Fenrir’s changes. He still interacted with everyone, including Chloe and Shizune, but they realized he wasn’t quite ’feeling’ the Dungeon and ended up returning pretty early. Vahn came back to awareness when they were eating lunch and decided to make it up to the two understanding girls by pampering them until the others started to return. Hestia was also in attendance and, since it had been very early in the day, he ended up giving them all hour-long massages or [Petting] session. It was much easier to deal with Shizune using [Petting], so Vahn just helped groom her fluffy tail and gave her some heavy head pats until she was satisfied.

Since they were eager to help Vahn work on their outfits, Tiona, Tione, Ais, Lefiya, and Haruhime all returned pretty early, only going down to the 22nd Floor for a while before returning. He had already cut out all the hide to make the first layer so Vahn sewed it together and began laying down the framework for the formation by sewing patterns into the hide. Once he was finished, Vahn had them try on the outfits, which looked like white swimsuits for Tiona and Tione, while Lefiya’s actually looked strangely ’dangerous’ even though it covered a lot of skin.

Lefiya was a very thin and petite girl so having what essentially looked like a white bodysuit with her flushed face gave Vahn a powerful urge to tease her, which he was able to resist. Lefiya, however, seemed to ’know’ what he was thinking and actually made a remark about how the Cadmus Hide felt against her chest, even though it caused her face to turn crimson when Tiona and Tione teased her. Her words had ’incited’ Tiona to grope Lefiya from behind, something the bashful Elf had no power to resist as she ’watched’ Vahn to see how he would respond. Vahn was confused by her actions but still took a deep breath through his nose and smiled, showing that he found her reaction to be refreshing and adorable, which was exactly what went through his mind...

For the next couple of days, Vahn’s schedule became somewhat thin and he eased off going into the Dungeon and instead taught Tina and Shizune at the Manor since their growth had actually been faster than he wanted. Since Shizune was close to awakening her Innate, Vahn thought he could inspire the girls by showing them some unique magics, playing games with them, and simply spending time together while talking about various tales. Many of the other girls came to attend, including Hestia, Syr, Preasia, and the ’host’ of pregnant women who found it interesting that Vahn was doing ’story time’ and playing with the youth troupe. They always had gentle smiles on their faces when watching him interact with the younger girls, at least when Tina’s [Luck] wasn’t acting up, and thought he was practicing to be a good Father.

In the early afternoon, Vahn spent time with the women that were at the Manor or talking with Riveria within the Garden. The closer their wedding came, the more nervous Riveria became and she was easily fl.u.s.tered by simple words by the time Friday afternoon had approached. She had already sent the missive to the Elven Kingdom, receiving a ton of responses from her father to rethink her decisions. Her last missive, other than refusing her father’s ’advice’, actually boldly claimed that she had fallen in love with Vahn and that they would be bringing their child to visit at the same time as they decided to share their findings with the Elven Kingdom. This was essentially her saying, "If you want the solution to the Elven fertility issue, you’ll have to take a step back and respect my wishes."

Vahn had no idea what she had told her father but he found Riveria’s reactions very refreshing because she actually let him get away with a lot more, even proactively holding his hand at times when they were alone. Since he didn’t want to ’spook’ her right before the wedding, Vahn didn’t really push her too much and just alluded to how ’fun’ their wedding night would be whenever Riveria was lost in thought. She would always turn deep red and Vahn would tease her even more, claiming she had a very ’active imagination’ as a result of her intelligence. He often tried to disguise his teasing behind compliments that pandered to Riveria’s ego, so she always had a complex expression on her face and ’tolerated’ his teasing, promising to get even with him once they were on more equal footing. She didn’t know when it would happen, potentially even decades in the future, but Riveria was determined to ’repay’ part of the debt she owed Vahn so they could truly be equals...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: ’It was at this moment, Preasia knew...’,’Fenrir’s Posse of Masters, Onwards to Victory~!’,’Riveria becomes a little bolder (UwU)~!’)

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