After what felt like an exceptionally long day, the members of the Hunting Party were the last to return to the Inn. Shortly after that, everyone gathered together within Vahn’s room to eat dinner together, a mandate he had passed down as the God of the Familia.
Vahn believed people became closer during meals, especially when good food was involved, so he insisted that everyone share at least one meal together. This would help strengthen their sense of unity as members of the same Familia, and, most importantly, it would prevent anyone from feeling excluded. After all, when you combined delicious food with potent liquor and healthy competition, it was only a matter of time before the walls around the heart were breached.
The only troublesome part about having everyone eat within his room, excluding the cleanup, was that Vahn became a lot more approachable after a few drinks. The presence of Phae actually served to deter the men from approaching him more than the women, so, by the end of the evening, Vahn had Anak napping in Phae’s lap to his right while Hwa Ryun continued pouring drinks to his left. As for Endorsi, she became emboldened by the presence of alcohol, so, for the last hour or so, she had been lingering around Gandr like a vengeful spirit waiting to possess an unsuspecting victim.
Though Vahn found Gandr’s suffering rather amusing from an outside perspective, the fact he also experienced the suffering directly left him feeling slightly exasperated. It didn’t help that she was a confident and beautiful woman who was more than three-hundred-years-old. This, combined with the fact he could read her body language and intentions like an open book, gave Gandr a not-so-subtle urge to simply ‘educate’ the inexperienced woman every time she attempted to seduce him.
Shaking his head, Vahn gathered everyone’s attention by nodding towards Phae, prompting her to loudly clap her hands and say, “Everyone! My Lord wishes to say a few words! Please listen closely!”
With Anak and Laure also peeling open their eyes to listen to what he had to say, Vahn adopted a firm yet guiding tone as he said, “It is nearing 10 PM. Everyone will be expected to gather by 5 AM for training so I would encourage you to get plenty of rest. This training will be mandatory until you reach the 20th Floor, so make sure you are mentally and physically prepared. If you fail to make the necessary preparations, you are guaranteed to experience some suffering…”
Though there were mixed reactions to his words, the one thing everyone present understood was that they were getting kicked out of Vahn’s room. Fortunately, the other two rooms were flanking Vahn’s, so, even if they were a little intoxicated or tired, they could make it back without issue. The only person who was unable to return on their own was Anak, but, thanks to Phae carrying her, she made it back to her room without issue.
With even Hwa Ryun leaving thanks to Phae’s insistence, Vahn was finally able to kick off his shoes and relax. There were still conversations taking place in both rooms, primarily related to tomorrow’s training, but those had very little to do with him. This was a strange thought to have, considering he was both Phae and Gandr, but Vahn didn’t pay it any mind as he slowly slipped off into the endless abyss of unconsciousness for the first time in a very long time…
—
Opening his eyes, Vahn found himself in a familiar setting, one that had long since lost any meaning to him. Instead of being the one strapped to a table, however, he found himself staring down at his own emaciated body, feelings of guilt welling within his chest as the voice of a woman coldly stated over the intercom, “Dr. Andrews. You are authorized to proceed with the extraction of the subject’s forelimbs. Remember, the fate of your wife and your daughter are on the line here…if you want their disease to be cured, you will complete the operation without incident. Your Hippocratic Oath has no value within this place.”
Though the surgery had yet to begin, Dr. Andrews relied on the attending Nurses to wipe the sweat from his brow as he shakily replied, “I understand, Dr. Keenly. I knew what I was getting myself into when I signed up for this procedure. So long as my wife and daughter are cured, I am willing to do whatever it takes…”
Despite the boldness of his words, Dr. Andrews couldn’t help feeling a little sick to his stomach as he stared down at the emaciated boy on the operating table. He had never seen someone so pitiful, yet, instead of helping the boy, he was about to take away even more from him. This caused him to doubt every decision he had ever made in his life, the single exception being his decision to use the boy’s blood to cure his wife and daughter. They were the two most important things in the world to him, so, even if he had to sell his soul to the Devil himself, he would do everything within his power to make them well again.
Resolving himself to retire the moment his wife and daughter were treated, Dr. Andrews picked up the bone saw glistening on the table to his right. Then, for the first time since his arrival, he locked eyes with the boy, a shiver running through his body when he saw the fear and desperation within the youth’s glowing green eyes. This made him feel borderline suicidal, but, having already made his decision, Dr. Andrews swallowed hard, saw in hand as he lightly muttered, “God forgive me…”
—
Replacing the unbelievable nausea feeling of nausea that had permeated his entire existence, Vahn soon found himself laying in an extremely comfortable hospital bed. This caused him quite a bit of confusion since he had never seen such a room in his entire life. It was almost like a hospital room had been combined with a suite, and, though his entire body ached, there was a powerful cocktail of drugs flowing into his body through an intravenous drip.
Before Vahn could make sense of his situation, a woman wearing a wig walked into the room, her face gaunt and visible tears within her sunken eyes. She looked like someone in the later stages of cancer treatment, yet, in spite of the suffering she was clearly going through, a fierce determination was visible in her loving gaze. This caused Vahn’s nose to feel sour, and, before he realized it, tears were welling within his eyes as he called out in the voice of a young girl, “Mommy…”
Though ‘her’ body ached beyond belief, Vahn, or, more specifically, Chelsea Thomas, forced herself to reach out towards her mother. In response, the woman, Ariel Thomas, promptly moved from the entrance of the room to her daughter’s beside. There, the two held hands as Ariel sat down, forcing a smile onto her face as she said, “Don’t worry, sweetie. The Doctors in this hospital are the best in the world. They have a treatment that is guaranteed to cure our illness. You just need to hold on a little longer…you’re my little warrior, aren’t you…?”
Ignoring the pain the action caused, Chelsea nodded her head in response to her mother’s words, answering in a sobbing tone, “We promised…to fight…together…”
Nodding her head, Ariel brought her daughter’s hand to her mouth, kissing the emaciated fingers as tears began trickling from her eyes. This caused Chelsea to feel like her heart was breaking, but, at the same time, a desire to survive welled up inside of her. She didn’t want to make her mommy and daddy sad, so, no matter how much pain she had to experience, she would continue to fight until she could fight no longer…
—
Feeling a sensation similar to whiplash, Vahn suddenly found himself on-stage at a large convention center. His hands were tightly holding onto the sides of an elegant wooden podium adorned with a variety of different microphones. Opposite from him, separated by what appeared to be a panel of bullet-proof glass, thousands of people had gathered together to hear him speak on foreign policy and the rising tensions in the Middle East…
—
With the caffeine provided by half-a-dozen energy drinks fueling him, Vahn found himself furiously clicking his right mouse button as his left hand danced across various hotkeys on his led-lit gaming keyboard. Though he was wearing soundproof headphones, he could still feel the vibrations of the crowd as they demanded victory from him. Fortunately, after his most recent stay in the ICU, he was back and better than ever, more than prepared to defend his title as the greatest Starcraft 2 player in the entire world…
—
After experiencing precisely 1,317,042 different viewpoints, Vahn found himself suspended within a seemingly infinite expanse. He wasn’t alone, however, as the silhouettes of countless people could be seen staring back at him from within the darkness, their eyes reflecting the only source of light in the entire area, his body.
At first, Vahn felt naked and vulnerable under the unwavering eyes of so many people. He felt like a tiny rabbit that had been surrounded by a pack of wolves, each appearing hungrier than the next. It was an extremely unnerving feeling, one that caused him to instinctually suppress his light until the only thing visible within the void was his emaciated body.
Fortunately, almost immediately after he had curled up into a fetal position, Vahn found himself staring at a pair of feet that were only a few centimeters from his face. This horrified him at first, but, as he looked up to see who the dainty white feel belonged to, he saw someone he had never expected to see…the face of a young woman with green eyes…
Without him willing it, the light emanating from Vahn’s body expanded exponentially, exposing all of the people who stood in his surroundings. If he were to look closely, he would see that most of them were smiling back at him, expression of pure gratitude visible on their faces. Unfortunately, he was completely unaware of this as the only thing on his mind was the woman smiling down at him with love and compassion exuding from her entire being…
—
Waking with a start, Vahn sat up to find himself in the middle of a heavily destroyed landscape, a thick layer of sweat covering most of his body. He instantly recognized this as a place that existed within his Realm, but, rather than focusing on this aspect, he shifted his attention toward the figure who had been allowing him to use her lap as a pillow.
Seemingly amused by his stupefaction, the woman, a buxom Cat Person with short, two-tone, black hair and peculiar yellow-green eyes issued a light chuckle. Then, before he could make any sense of the current situation, she grabbed his head rather forcibly, somehow overpowering him despite the fact he had infinite strength within his Realm. As a result, Vahn found his face buried in the woman’s chest, a calming aura and an extremely nostalgic scent pervading his entire existence as she stroked the back of his head and explained in a familiar tone, “You really know how to make a girl worry…if I didn’t pull you back into your Realm, you might have destroyed the entire Inn…”
Though he had been mortified by the fact that he was powerless within his own Realm, Vahn’s body immediately relaxed when he realized the woman’s identity. At the same time, his hands naturally made their way around her willowy yet impeccably soft waist, embracing her by pure instinct. This elicited another light chuckle from the woman, who, instead of pushing him away, exuded a wispy rainbow hue from her palm as she continued to stroke his head. Then, as he quickly descended into another deep state of unconsciousness, Vahn heard the woman whisper, “Sleep…let your Big Sister watch over you for a little while longer…in this place, we have all the time we need…”
Punctuating her words, the woman, Sis, planted a delicate kiss on the top of Vahn’s head before falling to the side while still embracing him. Almost immediately thereafter, Vahn’s body defaulted to his fourteen-year-old form, the version of himself that had appeared at the very beginning of his journey through the Records. Then, over the duration of several months, he gradually transitioned through each of the forms he had assumed during his journey, reliving everything as Sis continued to firmly embrace him…
(A/N: Alternate Titles: ‘Endorsi skirting around landmines xD…’,’Wat…?’,'(OwO)…!!!’)
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