Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

After their vow had been 'completed', Maemiru eventually ended up splitting back into Maemi and Emiru, fortunately allowing Vahn ample time to 'remove' himself beforehand. Now that they had lost their v.i.r.g.i.nities, the girls wanted to properly service Vahn because they had felt a little guilty for their earlier behavior. Neither girl seemed to be embarrassed by how they behaved, they just wanted Vahn to feel good since he had treated them so gently. They coordinated their efforts and both took a turn to have slow and relaxed s.e.x with him while the other hugged his body from behind as they sandwiched his body, affectionately caressing his muscles and licking around his head and neck.

Vahn felt very pampered by the two girls and greatly enjoyed their time together, showing them his gratitude after the fact with a bit of 'heavy petting'. They didn't 'purr' in the same way as the various Cat People within the Manor, but they emitted a strange nasally 'grunting' sound, especially when he stroked around their abdomens and the sides of their head. It was a little bit of an awkward noise, but Vahn felt that it just added to their charm, especially because they would be very embarrassed after uttering the sound. The most interesting thing was how they could coil their tails around him with a surprising amount of strength, which was strangely comforting with how soft their tails were.

By the end of the evening, Vahn ended up with a sister on each arm as they worked together to lick around the sides of his head, a grooming behavior common in those descended from felines. They also had dry tongues and it was very comfortable as long as they didn't focus on one area for too long. Since they could perfectly mirror each other, Vahn just had to relax his body and he got to experience their unique method of spoiling him. Though they sniffed around his body in a somewhat embarrassing manner, Vahn had long grown accustomed to such behaviors and just loosely held their waists while they explored his body with an insatiable curiosity...

After the twins had fallen asleep, Vahn reflected over the events of the evening and check his system once again to confirm what he had seen earlier. When Maemiru split back into the two girls, her name completely vanished from his Unit Management tab while Maemi's and Emiru's names reappeared in his Affection list. Their Love for him had increased a fair amount, but it wasn't the drastic 'loyalty' they showed when they were fused together. As it was the product of an Innate, Vahn didn't really understand how things worked but it seemed as though The Path treated Maemiru as a unique entity while the twins were individually considered as 'normal'. This meant that he couldn't give them 'orders' while they were split, not that it really made that big of a difference since they would generally do what he asked of them.

Vahn sometimes found himself wondering about his Unit Management function and his ability to make other entities into his subordinates. It was inarguably a very powerful function of The Path and, if he used it to his advantage, Vahn could imagine slowly taking over an entire record if he subordinated enough creatures, especially if they were entities he could name through the Akashic Tome. Because it worked by 'compelling' them based on their own thoughts and instincts, it was almost like a subtle form of mental manipulation, bordering on full-blown mind control if their Loyalty was high enough. Though he had never acted on it, Vahn couldn't deny he was tempted at times to see how 'effective' it could be.

One of the things he had considered was trying to give Fenrir an order to 'become a great scholar' to see if it would change her mentality over time. He also considered 'impossible' orders to see if he could help promote the growth of Innates and even awaken new skills. Vahn suspected if he gave Lefiya an order to 'try and awaken the [Featherfoot] skill', she would be able to get insight into it much faster because of the change in her mentality. To a greater extent, Vahn had wanted to try and 'order' Fafnir to learn how to transform into a human by learning from Terra, ordering her to do her best to teach him the method. Though they would certainly try to do these things even if he asked them normally, Vahn felt like they would be able to achieve it much faster if their loyalty is high since it seemed to change their thoughts to reflect his intentions...

Another thing Vahn had discovered was the 'passive' effect of having someone as his subordinate, which he had been researching through his interactions with all of his subordinates. Even without sending them orders, those with high Loyalty were able to understand his thoughts and were 'attuned' to his emotional state. Much like how Hephaestus could sense the changes in his heart, they were able to sense when he was happy, sad, or angry, often sharing these emotions themselves. Terra didn't get angry easily, but she had shown clear perturbation during the confrontations against Alosrin and Ash. For those like Fenrir and Anubis, they were even susceptible to his senses, often hearing phantom sounds, instinctively looking towards the things he had detected, and even feeling 'sensations' if he thought about touching them.

Vahn had discovered this when he was playing around with Fenrir and he had been able to 'pet' her without actually touching her body. Her Loyalty was a monstrous 143,293 at this point and Vahn could increase it simply by 'focusing' on her with enough intent. Even if he was far away from her, Vahn could imagine them being together with his imaginary self petting her and Fenrir would feel it. He sometimes did this whenever he saw she was 'bored' and she would begin to laze around happily as she daydreamed along with his mental image. Though he hadn't tried it with the other girls yet, Vahn was sometimes tempted to tease Anubis, Terra, and even Lefiya to see how they would react...

As this thought passed through his mind, Vahn could 'sense' Anubis stir awake even though they were separated by several kilometers. He smiled and 'apologized' for waking her and could sense 'warmth' emitted from her before she returned to her slumber. This once again showed just how attuned they were to each other, though it still paled in comparison to his current bond with Hestia. She had a similar 'adaptation period' as Hephaestus since every time he was with another girl or got riled up, she had felt the sensations with her own body. Though she already spent a lot of time in her room, she had almost locked herself up inside of it for the better part of three weeks so as to avoid suddenly being brought to climax in the middle of a conversation. Even if he was with another girl, Hestia could feel his actions almost as if he were touching her body and she had been both 'enjoying' and 'lamenting' their bond for a while.

When she came to his mind, Vahn could 'see' Hestia laying in her bed with a red face as she looked upward and gave him a gentle smile. Vahn imagined caressing her face and saw Hestia scrunch up happily as if he was actually stroking her. Her 540 Million Love wasn't for show and Vahn almost felt inseparable from her regardless of what else he was focused on. She didn't take advantage of their bond at all, fortunately, and had become much more content and docile after it was established. She had previously been somewhat clingy and liked to behave in a spoiled manner but now Hestia was almost 'always' being spoiled by him whenever he was with another girl. He could also sense her presence when he was hard at work sometimes and it allowed him to work harder and maintain focus feeling her gentle and encouraging aura around him.

As he had started to feel very tired at this point, Vahn allowed his mind to wander and slowly fell into the embrace of darkness. He only dreamed when it was 'important', so Vahn typically had peaceful nights and would quickly awaken to find himself at the dawn of a new day, completely refreshed from the previous day's exertions. This time, however, just as he was able to fade into the darkness, Vahn 'accidentally' humored the thought of getting closer to all of his subordinates, causing the image of a bashful Elf to appear within his mind just as darkness fell upon him...

---

Lefiya's eyes snapped open and she looked toward the ceiling, almost as if she could see through the barrier between her room and Vahn's. She resided in the room right below his alongside Tiona, Tione, and Ais, so Lefiya was always in close proximity to Vahn. Though she wasn't remotely close to the same level as girls like Anubis, Fenrir, and even Terra, Lefiya could still feel her connection to Vahn after learning how to focus on it. After having him give her several different kinds of orders, Lefiya had grown accustomed to recognizing his 'presence' within her heart and mind, something that got progressively stronger the more she 'desired' to know his thoughts.

Though she would normally be enjoying the warmth of Tiona and Ais right now, Lefiya continued to stare up at the roof in confusion because she didn't understand what the signal she had received meant. It was very 'abstract', almost like Vahn hadn't intentionally given her an order and simply allowed it to slip subconsciously. She might have put it to the back of her mind in normal circ.u.mstances, but Lefiya felt like it was strangely 'important' to determine what he wanted. If it was something he desired in his subconscious mind, Lefiya felt like it could bring them even closer together if she could figure it out and make his desire a reality...

After laying in silence for nearly half an hour, Lefiya felt a bit at a loss because she couldn't think of anything even if she tried focusing on their bond with all her might. The only thing she managed was to sense 'sadness' and 'melancholy' from Vahn, which made her heart twinge in pain as her mind retreated from their bond. She felt he must be having a very sad dream and it made her feel sad even whenever she tried to comprehend what he was going through. Tonight was the night he had been with Emiru and Maemi, so Lefiya expected he would be happy instead of feeling sadness, melancholy, and even fear. It was like he was having a nightmare and it made her have a strange urge to go up to his room and try to comfort him.

Since she knew the twins were with him, Lefiya remained in her bed but continued to stare up at the ceiling for a very long time thereafter, trying to 'will' Vahn to feel happy through their shared connection. As she was unable to understand what he had wanted from her, Lefiya resolved herself to try and understand Vahn better in the future. If she got closer to him, Lefiya believed she could support him when he was sad and help drive away the negative emotions that burdened his heart. Vahn often talked about their 'shared' happiness, so Lefiya wanted to do her best to share some of the happiness she felt being with the people she cared about. If Vahn could feel the same feelings she felt, Lefiya believed he wouldn't be so sad and only have good dreams...

---

Vahn awoke early the next morning and felt very refreshed, enjoying the lukewarm body heat of the two girls that were snuggled up in his embrace. They had very cute sleeping expressions and Vahn felt a little guilty about having to awaken them for an early bath so they wouldn't be late for morning training. It was also necessary for them to take a contraceptive within the next few hours or their chances of being pregnant would go up a great deal. He didn't mind if they actually got pregnant, as it seemed to be the 'trend' right now, but Vahn knew they wanted to increase their strength in preparation for the future. After Maemiru made her oath last night, Vahn suspected the twins' desire to get stronger would be even stronger now.

After enjoying their warmth for a while longer Vahn gently shook the girls' shoulders to stir them awake, feeling his brain buzz a bit when they both slowly opened their eyes and mirrored each other's yawn before stretching their bodies in an alluring display of flexibility. When they had finished stretching, Maemi and Emiru turned to him before closing the distance and kissing both of his cheeks, saying, "Good morning, Master~." in a very sensual tone of voice. Vahn smiled and stroked the two girls' hair, saying in a gentle tone, "I feel like you have become even more beautiful now...thank you, Maemi, Emiru, for allowing me to experience something so 'fulfilling..."

Maemi and Emiru turned to look at each other for a few seconds before issuing a peal of playful laughter from their lips as they stroked their stomachs and said, "We should be thanking Master for 'filling' us up so completely...maufuu~" Toward the end of their words, the twins leaned forward and hugged him once again and rubbed their faces against his in a very affectionate manner until Vahn eventually ushered them towards the bath. However, things took a strange turn when Vahn entered the landing on the second floor and saw Lefiya dragging a very sleepy looking Ais, both still in their pajamas. When she turned and saw Vahn standing with Maemi and Emiru, Lefiya's eyes opened slightly before she said, "Good morning, Vahn..."

Though she had already noticed him, Ais smiled after hearing Lefiya's words and repeated, "Good morning...Vahn..." in a soft and sleepy tone. Vahn was surprised to see the two girls up at this time since they would typically be heading outside in around an hour. Feeling a strange incongruity at the situation, Vahn looked toward Lefiya and asked, "Lefiya, why are you up so early?" With a strangely resolute look in her eyes, Lefiya pursed her lips slightly before saying, "We don't get to spend that much time together, so I wanted to try and..." She had started off strong, but Lefiya started to blush fiercely at her own words since Maemi and Emiru were present.

Vahn squinted his eyes slightly and noticed that Lefiya's aura was gravitating towards him much more than normal, though still decidedly less than the sleepy Ais standing right next to her. Just as he was about to ask why she was acting like this, Lefiya beat him to the punch and explained, "When you were asleep last night, I felt that you were having a bad dream and wanted to try and make you happy...I'm sorry if I inconvenienced you, Vahn." With her words finished, Lefiya bowed apologetically and Vahn immediately felt very guilty for calling her motives into question. He wasn't sure what she meant by him having a bad dream, as he couldn't remember anything at all, but it was very obvious she was concerned about him.

So as not to belittle her concerns, Vahn smiled as he walked forward and placed his palm atop Lefiya's head, saying in a gentle tone, "Thank you for caring about me so much, Lefiya...I am very grateful such a cute Elf is worrying about my well being." Though she was still blushing, Lefiya's complexion actually normalized a fair amount as she squinted her eyes slightly and enjoyed the feeling of the warm energy flowing through her head. Ais watched this occurring from the side and had a look like a starved child that just saw sweets on display in a candy shop. Vahn resisted the urge to laugh and simply stroked both girls' heads for a short while before all five of them went to the bath together...

Though it wasn't the first time she had made the offer, Vahn was a little surprised with how 'insistent' Lefiya was when she wanted to wash his back. Maemi and Emiru were still in a very affectionate mood and had taken up the task of washing his body before Lefiya very uncharacteristically offered her assistance. Since Ais was present, Vahn immediately noticed that this was very 'abnormal' because Lefiya was typically more aware of her presence than his own. Checking his system, Vahn's eyes widened a great deal when he noticed Lefiya's Loyalty had somehow increased from 439 to 1,223 over the course of a short few hours.

Lefiya's initial Loyalty value had been somewhat high at 91, but it typically only increased a few points per day, never nearly 800 in a single evening. Vahn wondered what had changed for such a drastic increase to have occurred, asking, ("Sis, what kind of dream did I have last night?") Though he was a bit distracted by Lefiya's awkward hand movements, Vahn ignored it for the time being and decided to ask his always reliable Big Sis for guidance on the matter. Almost immediately after he asked, she responded by explaining, (*I can't know for certain, but it should have been a nightmare related to your previous life. Your [Will of the Emperor] protects your mind from things that could destabilize your mentality and it inhibits the part of your brain that allows you to have bad dreams...*) Sis wasn't entirely sure how it worked herself, as Innates were beyond her own understanding and she could only infer what was happening by analyzing the chemical signals from Vahn's brain.

Vahn's mind blanked for a short while, causing Sis to answer the question he wanted to ask, (*Yes, you've been having nightmares almost every night since you arrived in this world. It usually doesn't last very long, but you have intermittent impulses of negativity when you are asleep...*) With Sis's explanation, Vahn understood why Lefiya might have had such a massive increase if she had somehow managed to tap into his negative emotions. She was probably very worried about him and this made Vahn feel both warm and extremely apologetic at the same time. However, long before he even finished thinking about if he should apologize or not, Vahn felt a very soft sensation press against his back as Lefiya hugged him with her n.a.k.e.d body and said, "Master, don't be sad..." in a very quiet and soothing voice.

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Sage Mode After S.e.x','The Power of Lefiya's Delusions','Night Terrors and a Maiden's Embrace...')

(A/N: For those that are a bit confused, please remember that Lefiya has always been a girl that has very powerful delusions. She essentially got the signal from Vahn and allowed her own thoughts to run rampant until she had 'convinced' herself to act in accordance with his subconscious desire. It wasn't that Vahn had inadvertently brainwashed her, he just 'triggered' her own over-active imagination to run rampant until it was blown greatly out of proportion.)

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