endless path, infinite cosmos

chapter 168

Vahn opened his eyes and started up at the ceiling of his room for a few seconds as he considered what had happened. As he stared in a daze, he started counting the seconds one by one and imagined each second passing as a day where Eva had to remain alone inside the empty black and white space. Imagining what it would be like to live such an existence, Vahn couldn't help but feel somewhat terrified of the thought

Though he understood that the Eva inside the orb wasn't real, Vahn couldn't help but pity the memory fragment of the young girl. For now, the only thing he could for her is to show her a bit of affection and help ease her loneliness. Vahn swore to one day meet the real Eva and keep his promise to the tragic girl within the orb...

He continued to lay in his bed thinking about possible solutions to help the memory fragment as well as the original Eva. Since Vahn had the opportunity to enter a 'record' at any point in it's 'fate', he also had the option to enter Eva's record at the point before she became a vampire. Vahn even considered making the so-called 'Mage of the Beginning' pay dearly for their actions. If he couldn't do that, Vahn wanted to at least find a way to allow both Eva's to experience what it was like to grow up and live a normal life. Even though it wouldn't be easy, Vahn believed he could help heal her heart from the several hundred years of loneliness she had experienced.

Though he didn't have his domain spread at this time, Vahn was able to sense the illusory auras of several people that had shown up inside the house. Ever since reaching Soul Tier 3, Vahn's natural perception and awareness of the auras of others had increased by a large amount. Combined with his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn felt like there were few things that could avoid his detection if he was paying attention. Even his mini-map showed the presence of everyone within his perception, and it was only enhanced when he expanded his domain.

Moving away from his bed in a somewhat lazy manner, Vahn did some light stretches to give the approaching auras a bit of time to arrive. The moment the large yellow aura, which Vahn could easily identify as Anubis, entered the house, she paused for a moment before making her way towards his room with a smaller aura next to her. Based on the color, Vahn assumed it was probably Nanu and the two were coming to receive him for dinner.

Without knocking, the two presences stood outside his door and waited patiently. Vahn couldn't help but smile at their actions as he made his way toward the door and opened it. As expected, the large aura belonged to Anubis, but instead of Nanu, the smaller presence actually belonged to someone Vahn had been unable to meet for some time. Unexpectedly, Tina, Milan's daughter, was standing next to Anubis and looking toward Vahn with a somewhat teary expression.

Before Vahn could greet the two, Tina moved forward and hugged his waist as she began bawling with her face pressed against his stomach. Vahn was very surprised by her actions, but he understood she had likely felt aggrieved by his failure to visit her after he awoke from his coma. Though he had intended to do so, and even tried earlier, he hadn't been in a situation where it was convenient to stop by. Now that she was crying and hugging his waist with what little strength her small arms could muster, Vahn couldn't help but feel a pain of sadness in his heart.

Anubis just stood in the corridor and looked toward Tina with a gentle look in her eyes as Vahn tried consoling the small cat girl. She had received her fair share of lectures from Hephaestus and Eina, and now that she knew about Vahn's past, she considered him similar to how she treated the orphaned children in the past. Though she recognized Vahn as her Master and even wanted him to spoil her, she would exercise patience and let him make his own decisions for the time being.

Vahn finally managed to pry away Tina's arms and held the small girl by her shoulders as he stared into her golden tear-filled eyes as a bit of mucus was building up in her nose and beginning to droop down. Though he felt pained in his heart, Vahn spoke in a soft voice with a gentle smile on his face, "Sorry, Tina, I should have stopped by sooner." He then hugged the girl gently and allowed her to continue crying on his shoulder until she had calmed down several minutes later.