endless path infinite cosmos Pt. 2

chapter 201

After the trio arrived in the dining room, both Naaza and Lili had headed towards the kitchen while having Vahn wait for breakfast. Even though he offered to help, they insisted that he relax and leave the cooking to them since it was a rare opportunity. Vahn accepted their offer before sitting at the low table and laying back on the floor while looking up at the ceiling. He wasn't particularly focused on anything, just relaxing in a daze while allowing his thoughts to wander.

Closing his eyes, Vahn tried listening for the various sounds of life going on around him and used his ability to perceive auras to see if he could feel the presence of others around. He saw Lili and Naaza with yellow-ish auras while Lili's had a touch of pink compared to Naaza's sky blue. In the distance, through the walls, Vahn could detect the auras of the other children and realized they had already awoken. Though they weren't training in the normal area, Vahn noticed that the boys seemed to be doing various kinds of exercises while the girls were sitting around in a circle, probably conversing.

Vahn allowed his domain to expand slowly from his body, almost as if it was gently radiating instead of the instantaneous speed he usually used it at. He tried to visualize the world around him and it seemed to take on a muted, somewhat hazy view as his senses continued to spread further and further until his domain had reached beyond the structure of the house. Though it wasn't clear, Vahn could detect the forms of everything within his domain to a might higher extent than just relying on his normal perception.

Because of his mental and spiritual growth, his domain had reached the point of 314m when it was fully spread, and Vahn could now see the outskirts of Tsubaki's Manor in his mind while catching the briefest hint of pedestrians that crossed through the outer perimeter of his domain completely unaware they had fallen into his area of influence. Vahn remembered the men that had been tormenting Milan and how he had used [Enkidu] to kill them all in an instant. Though he felt nothing but rage at the time, now he felt disappointed by his own actions. Not for having killed them, but for doing so in such an impersonal way. It was very likely they hadn't even been aware of what had happened by the time they had died since he targeted their heads.

Vahn felt like, if the men had lived to be judged, Milan might have recovered faster. She may have even wanted to take revenge on them herself, but Vahn had denied her the opportunity since he was only focused on saving her. Even though he knew she probably didn't mind, and he also didn't have many misgivings about what happened, Vahn still couldn't help but think back on the moment now that everything had calmed down.

Realizing his thoughts had begun to wander in a strange direction, Vahn released a sigh before covering his eyes with his forearm to block the luminescent light from the magic stone in the ceiling. He realized he still needed to mature and apply the teachings of those that had been helping him deal with his problems in the past. Getting caught up thinking about negative things was almost instinctual for him since it had been something he did often ever since his previous life. Vahn decided to focus on more positive things instead of worrying about stuff he couldn't change.

Strangely enough, the first thought that came to his mind when he wanted to think about something positive, Vahn imagined snuggling up next to a fat-bellied Hephaestus. A smile immediately touched his lips as he began to imagine what it would be like to have children with some of the women he had grown close to. Since Hephaestus and Eina were his 'wives', they would obviously have his children someday. Imagining Eina, who he liked to tease, nursing his child made Vahn almost burst out laughing. He had pictured himself nibbling on her ear as her face turned red while she tried breastfeeding their son.

Vahn began to run through images of the other girls in his mind and pictured Tiona training their feisty little Amazon daughter in martial arts. For Ais, she seemed to be the gentle and reserved type that would read to their children in a garden, similar to how her mother had done for her. Since Anubis and Loki also wanted children, Vahn imagined Anubis playing with a small dark-haired chienthrope boy and Vahn realized for the first time that some of his children wouldn't be 'human' in appearance. As for Loki and his child...Vahn had trouble picturing the mischevious goddess pregnant at all, much less with their son or daughter in her arms. Picturing her looking 'affectionately' through her slit-like eyes at their child made Vahn feel a bit unnerved.