As one of the Gods holding the Little Garden together, Indra could not separate himself from the Principal Axes of Space, Time, and Reality like Vahn. Because of this, any sufficiently powerful being could spy on what he was doing, even when the flow of time had stagnated to the point of appearing frozen.
“Vahn Aldrnari Mason. We have heard your proposition and accept it at the behest of our Venerable Father, Vishnu.”
Immediately following the authoritative voice, a woman with features remarkably similar to Shiroyasha appeared, complete with silvery-white hair and pointed ears. She also had horns growing from her head, but, unlike Shiroyasha, hers more closely resembled the antlers of an Eastern Dragon.
Making the woman’s identity known, Indra adopted a wry smile as he said, “It’s been a while, Lord Kurma. I never expected someone of your caliber to appear outside the Inner Gates.”
Crossing her arms under her fairly modest breasts, hidden beneath a fur-lined, predominately golden coat, Kurma replied, “You’re one to talk, Lord Indra. I can’t even recall the last time you made an appearance at one of the Inner Community’s social gatherings.”
Borrowing a page out of Vahn’s book, Indra shrugged his shoulders, his expression bordering on a deadpan as he remarked, “The residents of the Inner Gates are too uptight. I came up with the idea of the Little Garden to make things interesting. I see no reason in gathering just to praise and celebrate people who refuse to change.”
Snorting through her nose, Kurma uttered, “How foolish…” before turning her attention to Vahn, amethyst eyes glistening as she questioned, “Can that fragment of yours truly serve as a Principal Axis?”
Nodding his head, Vahn replied, “Indeed. Ever since Shiroyasha warned me of the possibility that the rulers of the Little Garden could flee, I have been researching methods to create my own. Since then, I have created a number of self-contained realities with structures comparable to the Little Garden. The fragment I exhibited previously has been stress-tested with a metaversal structure comprising a googol of multiversal realities, several of which containing beings that could give your Venerable Father a run for his money.”
Though she was a little irked by Vahn’s comparison, Kurma didn’t doubt his words. There were already rumors circulating among the Inner Gated Communities about Vahn being the New Dawn. If that were even remotely true, it suggested he was on par with the ‘Big Three’ that presided over all of Creation. As powerful as her father was, he would toil in vain to defeat Indra, much less one of those three ‘monsters.’
Returning a nod of her own, Kurma decreed, “Then we shall accept your conditions. I can’t say with certainty when the Gift Game will occur, but we will do our best to organize it as soon as possible. Until then, we will place a hold on your status as a Last Embryo.”
While he didn’t exactly have an attachment to his status as a Last Embryo, a frown marred Vahn’s face as he stated, “That is somewhat inconvenient, given the present situation.”
Waving her hand in an informal, dismissive manner, Kurma replied, “Such matters are a trifle. We can place a gag on the information and make it so that the incident with Zeus, as far as the residents of the Outer Gates are concerned, never happened. It’s a bit unorthodox, but you have exhibited more than enough power to receive preferential treatment. The conditions specified by Laplace during your designation as a Last Embryo have made that very clear.”
As if the matter was already decided, Kurma pulled up what appeared to be a digital display before pressing a runic icon. At that exact moment, the venue prepared by Katana, Dagger, and their staff abruptly flickered out of existence like some sort of graphical glitch. All of the people that had been gathered to listen to Vahn’s statement were returned to their original positions as time within the Little Garden had effectively been ‘reset’ a full twenty-four hours.
Seemingly oblivious to Vahn’s chagrin, Kurma adopted a radiant smile as she playfully mused, “And that’s that. There will be some anomalies, such as Zeus disappearing, but this wouldn’t be the first time he unexpectedly vanished. Hera will likely kick up a storm, but the details of the Gift Game will be decided long before she completely loses her temper.”
Though he wasn’t nearly as annoyed as Vahn, Indra made his disproval known with an exasperated sigh, roughly massaging his forehead as he said, “This is the problem with people from the Inner Gates. They barely even consider those ‘outside’ as people…”
Furrowing her brows, Kurma crossed her arms in defiance as she asked, “Do you not approve of my actions, Lord Indra? Given what’s at stake, I would have assumed you would be lobbying to ensure the Sage Dragon Emperor receives special treatment. I doubt I need to explain to you the significance of acquiring a second Axis of Reality.”
Interrupting before Indra could reply, Vahn pointed out, “You do realize that if I’m allowed to enter the Inner Gates, there’s a good chance I will take over the entire Little Garden, right? I don’t ‘need’ special treatment, not from you or anyone else.”
Unbothered by Vahn’s words, Kurma just shrugged her shoulders and stated, “Even if we don’t give it to you, your very existence affords you certain privileges. If you’re that bothered by my actions, feel free to pop over to Mt. Olympus and give those spoiled brats another thrashing. It’s not like anyone could stop you. Rather, so long as Creation continues to endure, it doesn’t matter if you conquer the Little Garden or not. The form or reality is significantly less important than the fact it continues to exist.”
In an attempt to allay Vahn’s frustrations, Indra chimed in to explain, “I’m sure you’re aware, but this one’s true identity is the World Dragon, Kurma Vaishnava. Her Origin is that of the Turtle that supports the world itself, so she only cares that life endures, unconcerned with the form it takes.”
Nodding her head in affirmation, Kurma replied, “That’s correct. I am one of the beings that represent the foundation of reality. You’re free to hate or resent me, but I do what I must to ensure life endures into perpetuity.”
“You’re a brat, that’s what.”
Startled by the familiar yet unexpected voice, Kurma spun around to find the mature form of Shiroyasha standing behind her. She would usually be excited by the latter’s appearance, but the disproving expression on the infamous Demon Lord’s face caused numerous beads of sweat to form on the slightly shorter woman’s face.
Inching away ever so slightly, Kurma’s smile twitched at the edges as she stammered, “W-Well, if it isn’t my ane-san. How have you been these past three hundred years? I see your seal has been removed…?”
Balling her hand into a fist, Shiroyasha gave Kurma a weak-looking knock to the head. Instead of lightly flinching, however, Kurma was planted into the ground, steam rising from Shiroyasha’s fist as she revealed, “Actually, my seal is still firmly in place. My not-so-little lover here just happened to provide me with enough Spiritual Energy to offset what I lost.”
Turning her attention to Vahn and Indra, Shiroyasha’s cat-like eyes briefly met with the latter before focusing squarely on the former as she adopted an apologetic smile and revealed, “Sorry, I never expected that Kuu-chan would show up and cause problems. However, you’re also at fault for not telling me about that little Reality Axis you’re carrying around. You know I can’t keep track of what you do in your Actualized Worlds, right?”
Adopting an apologetic smile of his own, Vahn habitually replied, “You’re right. I should have informed you of my intentions. I just wasn’t sure how things would develop, so I kept it as one of my many trump cards.”
As she didn’t really blame Vahn for not telling her ‘everything,’ Shiroyasha just nodded her head and replied, “Well, everything worked out in the end. I’ll coordinate with the Inner Gates to ensure they don’t try anything sneaky during the Garden-wide Gift Game. For now, why don’t you return to your family and continue celebrating? Kuu-chan may have turned back the Little Garden’s clock twenty-four hours, but she had enough sense to leave the Sage Dragon’s Hearth untouched.”
Shaking his head, Vahn looked down at the unconscious Avatara’s body and remarked, “More like she couldn’t influence it if she tried…”
Spreading her hands in a gesture of helplessness, Shiroyasha replied, “Either way, the end result is pretty much the same. I can also say with certainty that there’s no way to return things to the way they were, so there’s no sense in harping over events that have effectively been erased from history. Just do what you always do and relish the present.”
With Shiroyasha essentially using his own words against him, Vahn found himself unable to retort. He was the one consistently advising people to continue moving forward, so while his Draconic nature compelled him to ‘punish’ Kurma for her brazen disregard, he promptly suppressed the urge and replied, “Very well. It’s a little inconvenient, but anything worth doing once is worth doing twice. I’m sure Merry, at the very least, wouldn’t mind repeating the day a few times…”
Finished with what he had to say, Vahn was about to dematerialize when Shiroyasha abruptly pointed out, “You know, there are at least nine others who could have delivered this message to you. Kuu-chan being the one to descend carries with it a number of implications…”
Though he understood what Shiroyasha was trying to say, Vahn shook his head and answered, “I may have considered it if this was her true self. I’m not so desperate that I need to vent on a casually crafted Avatara…”
Looking down at Kurma, Vahn took note of the fact that her intent was still lingering despite her apparent unconsciousness. She was listening closely to everything they were discussing, so he made it clear he had no interest in simply sating her curiosity.
Understanding Vahn’s nature, Shiroyasha didn’t attempt to press the matter further. She was somewhat indebted to Kurma, but not to the point she would go out of her way to arrange things. If Kurma really wanted to see what all the fuss surrounding Vahn was, she would need to muster up the courage to approach him directly. Borrowing her appearance gave her an advantage over others, but it didn’t matter unless she could exhibit at least a hint of ‘sincerity.’
With nothing else to discuss, Vahn disappeared from the frozen reality, leaving behind Indra, Shiroyasha, and the abruptly conscious Kurma. The latter rose with a somewhat pouty expression on her face, but Shiroyasha had no compassion for her self-proclaimed imouto, stating, “Just consider yourself lucky he didn’t give you a spanking…”
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As his other selves set about repeating several of his actions from the previous day, Vahn ‘prime’ sought shelter and comfort in the nursery of the Sage Dragon’s Hearth. He was somewhat relieved by the notion that people wouldn’t randomly bombard him if he decided to walk around the Little Garden, but he was simultaneously overwhelmed by the reality he would soon be squaring off against powerhouses in the Inner Gates.
Though he was long past the point of worrying about how he measured up against the entities ruling the Little Garden, Vahn felt a strange mixture of anxiety and excitement knowing it wouldn’t be much longer before he reached the pinnacle of the current Record. He was so close to reuniting with his original ‘family’ that, even surrounded by his children, he felt an overwhelming, indescribable sense of longing…
“It won’t be much longer now…just stay focused…there’s nothing that can get in our way…only ourselves…”
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(A/N: Alternate Titles: ‘What’s with this sassy lost child…?’,’Happy birthday to the ground…!’,’Ain’t no stoppin’ us now~!’)
