endless path infinite cosmos Pt. 2

chapter 209

After seeing Loki's heart's desire, Vahn sat in silence for more than an hour as he processed everything he had witnessed. Whenever he used a [Hearts Desire], it not only showed him the memories of the person but also allowed him to experience some of their thoughts and emotions as well. Even when he had used Hephaestus's in the past, he wasn't able to recover immediately since he had to process the 'loneliness' of millions of years of existence.

Though he had expected Loki to have suffered to an extent, Vahn was completely unprepared for his visions regarding her life. Hephaestus had disliked forging, but most of her trauma was related to her deformity and desire to find a worthy companion. Loki, however, seemed to suffer for simply existing since her Divinity required her to always scheme and cause chaos. She couldn't trust anyone, not even herself, and she genuinely hated existence itself. If not for her powerful fear of disappearing and desire to break free from the shackles of her own Divinity, Loki would have likely ceased to exist long ago.

Just as he had experienced with Hephaestus, Vahn couldn't even begin to comprehend how difficult it would have been to live such an existence. He had spent a mere fourteen years as a prisoner with no hope of escape, not even death. Loki, however, had spent millions of years as a prisoner and was forced to act in a way that increased her suffering. She couldn't make any real friends and was required to manipulate those that got close to her. Though it was a strange thing to empathize with, Vahn actually somewhat understood why Loki disliked Hestia.

Because Hestia's Divinities pertained to the Hearth, Architecture, and the Home, it was almost guaranteed that any suffering or loneliness she experienced would be mitigated. All she had to do was act as the role of an observer that offered advice and support while other people did the majority of the work. Vahn even began to realize why Hestia was treated like a Goddess of Laziness after making that realization. He imagined what it would be like from Loki's perspective when she realized he would be joining the Hestia Familia in the future...it made sense why she would be angry.

This didn't mean that Vahn would treat Hestia any differently, however, since her personality aligned with what Vahn considered to be ideal. He remembered that Hestia always worked hard and put her best efforts into supporting those she cared about, at least in the mortal world. Vahn wanted to bring the two of them closer in the future since, if he could get Hestia to empathize with Loki, she might actually experience what its like to have a genuine friend. Vahn also hoped that, by the time Loki had a child, he would have discovered a way to divert the focus of her Divinity and channel it into something tamer than Trickery, Mischief, and Chaos.

After calming his mind a bit, Vahn looked at the dark blue orb in his hand before promptly crushing it as well. The same feeling of time freezing occurred and, for the second time in a single day, Vahn entered into the visions of a [Hearts Desire], this time for Chloe.

---

When Vahn awoke in the visionary space, he realized it was similar to the time he had met with Nanu, except for the fact that he couldn't see Chloe anywhere in sight. He turned his head and inspected the shards and images floating through space and realized many of the scenes contained within were similar events to what Chloe had described earlier. He could see versions of her at varying ages and watched her go through the process of being molded into an assassin.

Though there were no sounds, Vahn did get to see an image of the goddess of Chloe's former Familia. She was a tall goddess with short red hair and completely black eyes that seemed to absorb light. Her attire consisted of leather clothing with various straps and pockets, and she had more than ten daggers just based on what Vahn could see. Though her eyes looked completely devoid of emotions, it was her smile that unsettled Vahn the most.