[Day 65]
While things returned to relative normalcy within the Abyssal Maw, Vahn found himself within a hemispherical stone chamber, seated cross-legged atop a thin cushion with Laevateinn, who insisted on him calling her Laev-tan, resting across his lap.
[Clear your mind. You've had things easy until now by being able to Equip weapons, but to bond with and draw out the power of a spiritual weapon, you must attune to its unique frequency and attain resonance] repeated Laev-tan, standing before Vahn in the form of a short and slender girl with short, somewhat spiky brown hair, bright blue eyes, curved black horns, a long and thin tail, and skinny legs that burned bright orange near their tips and were suffused with fissuring cracks like the surface of a cold volcanic lake. She also had long, pointy ears, a black, sports-bra-like top, buruma-like bottoms, forearm covers, and thigh-high stockings worn over a black, semi-transparent bodysuit. Less notably, only Vahn could see her.
Though he was tempted to retort that it was difficult to clear his mind with her speaking to him, Vahn's A-Rank Meditation allowed him to heed Laev-tan's guidance without mental fluctuations. The problem was, while he could attune with Laev-tan, evidenced by her ability to manifest before him, every attempt to form a link with her spiritual core ended in the same manner...
BOOM
Seeing Vahn abruptly explode, orange and black-tinged flames filling the stone chamber, charring its near-indestructible walls, Laev-tan, standing with her hands on her slender hips, closed her eyes and sighed.
[Let's end things here...] suggested Laev-tan, waiting for Vahn to reform at the meditation chamber's center before remarking, [Our resonance will increase naturally with you carrying me around, but I suspect we won't be able to achieve Spiritual Resonance until you've increased the Tier of your Soul from one to three—possibly even four.]
"Everything always comes back to that..." sighed Vahn, rising to his feet and extending his left hand, causing the roughly 130cm-tall Laev-tan to narrow her eyes and smile as he caressed her head. She wasn't resisting his efforts in the slightest, but as he was, he simply lacked the capacity to contain her immense power.
[Actually, I've been meaning to ask about that...] started Laev-tan, staring up at Vahn with an innocent expression as she asked [How are you still at the first Soul Tier? You're much stronger than most mortals could hope to be, and you're regarded as a God across many worlds. You should at least be a Hero or Lord by now.]
"I've thought about the answer to that very question...." confirmed Vahn, exhaling faintly from his nose as he revealed, "And the conclusion I came to is that my power stagnated due to me running away. I've holed myself up in a place where my power and authority are practically absolute, and to be honest...I believe I made the correct decision..."
[Hmmm? But don't you want to be stronger...?] asked Laev-tan, tilting her head adorably to the side.
"The only reason I pursue strength is to protect the people I care about..." answered Vahn, the faint luminance of his aquamarine eyes dimming and his domain weakening as he appended, "But as long as those I care about remain in Invirtua and it remains detached from the outside, there are few threats I can't overcome even as I am..."
Frowning deeply, Laev-tan caught Vahn off guard by asserting, [Those are the words of a coward...and cowards are doomed to live a life full of regrets...]
"Yes...I'm aware of my shortcomings..." affirmed Vahn, closing his eyes and tilting his head back before opening, his gaze focused on the ceiling as he confided, "But I already live such a selfish existence...if I seriously dedicate myself to becoming stronger, it will give me less time to spend with my loved ones and forthcoming children. And if I can't freely spend time with those I care about, what's the point of everything I'm doing...?"
[Haaaaaaaa...how did I end up with a philosophizing brat for a Master...?] exhaled Laev-tan, cupping her forehead with her right hand and shaking her head. Vahn was a little taken aback by this, but considering the little Dragonette's status as a potentially world-ending spiritual weapon, it was understandable that she would be at least a little disappointed.
Staring up at Vahn with half-lidded eyes, Laev-tan asserted, [The moment you find yourself searching introspectively for answers to things that exist outside yourself or your control, you end up creating countless paths and walking none of them. Life is meant to be lived, not contemplated. Moving toward your goals and creating circumstances for those you care about to succeed are the only points to anything.]
"Fair enough..." conceded Vahn, adopting a smile. Laev-tan's words were compelling, but more than that, he saw no reason to argue since he was already aware that the thing holding him back was himself. He also had a few solutions in mind, but his priorities were his forthcoming children and expanding the influence of the Dragon's Pavilion...
[Mmn...well, I'm sure you'll figure something out...] appended Laev-tan, further narrowing her eyes, this time contentedly as Vahn caressed her head a second time before resuming his meditation...
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[Day 118]
With less than three days until the end of the current Tower cycle, Vahn was peering in on Subaru, Yuji, a short-haired, hammer-wielding brunette named Kugisaki Nobara, and Felt combating Cursed Spirits on the sixth of the nine-floor dungeon he had created for the former's training. Gojo was also with them, but since they would respawn on the surface even if they were killed, he only intervened if the Cursed Spirits attempted something especially malicious.
shlurp shlp shluuuuck
Feeling Yoruichi's rough tongue graze his frenulum, Vahn briefly clenched his teeth and turned his attention to the dark-skinned woman, her yellow, cat-like eyes turned up at him as she swallowed nearly the entirety of his cock. When they first met, she wouldn't be caught dead giving someone a deepthroat, but after sampling his special blend of baby batter, her views on the degrading act gradually changed.
"You really are like a cat..." remarked Vahn, caressing Yoruichi's head, her left, cat-like ear, and the side of her face as he teased, "You ignore me at your leisure, but hate being ignored when we're together..."
shhhlp
"You know you love it..." hummed Yoruichi, freeing Vahn's cock from her throat and resting her cheek against it, nuzzling and stroking it with her right hand as she asked, "More to the point, have you decided how you're going to deal with Aizen and the Soul Society? Letting Ichigo and Kukaku become Ascendees gives us some wiggle room, but if nothing is done, it's only a matter of time until a full-scale war breaks out..."
"We've come up with several ways to approach the matter, but when all is said and done, our course depends on you, Kukaku, and the willingness of various parties to reach a compromise..." answered Vahn, his aquamarine eyes flashing as Yoruichi rose and turned her back to him, granting him an unobstructed view of her remarkably toned ass cheeks, parted by a black and purple butterfly lace thong.
"Explain..." said Yoruichi, staring back at Vahn over her left shoulder, her black, feline tail swaying agitatedly from side to side as he moved aside her thong, enabling her to sit flush against him, her pussy enveloping his cock with the seamlessness of a glove.
Before responding to Yoruichi's demand, Vahn rested his chin on her right shoulder and reached his hands around to the front of her body, grasping and massaging her heavy and pillowy breasts as he explained, "Aizen isn't just powerful; his existence has become key to maintaining the balance of your world. Someone else could fill his position, but the best way to avoid war in the short-term is to give him a bigger stage to perform on..."
"You intend to negotiate with him...?" asked Yoruichi, taking a moment to close her eyes and bite her bottom lip before conceding, "I understand your reasoning—considering he's the prime candidate to replace the Soul King—but that man has harmed countless people. Even if we exclude the Visored, the children or descendants of those who perished in the Central 46 massacre will insist on his capture and execution..."
"They're going to insist on many things..." retorted Vahn, kissing Yoruichi's shoulder and working his way up her neck as he added, "But if they want to benefit from the Dragon's Pavilion and its resources, they won't have a choice but to compromise..."
"True..." affirmed Yoruichi, her voice deep, husky, and tinged with passion as she sighed, "But the quickest way to garner support for the restoration of the Shiba Clan and Kukaku's position as our world's representative is to deal with Aizen at her request..."
"That's why I mentioned our approach depends on you and her..." stated Vahn, causing Yoruichi to tremble from her core via the power of the Gura Gura no Mi. The vibrations caused her teeth to clatter, but not for long as she turned her head to face him, leading to several deep and impassioned kisses.
Separating from Yoruichi's lips after two full minutes, Vahn licked his own before proceeding to massage her throat and jawline with his left hand as he stated, "Once Kukaku officially becomes your world's representative, it will become intrinsically linked with the Dragon's Pavilion and the broader cosmology of Invirtua. Someone would need to be installed as the ruler of Hueco Mundo in his stead, but we already have an ideal candidate for the position—the former Governor General of the Fallen Angels, a man named Azazel..."
"The sly man with the black and gold hair..." moaned Yoruichi, having met and even exchanged intel with Azazel on several occasions that cycle. He and his subordinates had been on a tear since leaving the 0th Floor early and rapidly ascending to the tenth, so their paths inevitably crossed when she attempted to gain information on the Tower's rising stars.
"Yeah, he's undoubtedly a schemer..." affirmed Vahn, his voice low as he conceded, "But he's someone who honors deals and lends considerable weight to his promises. With him at the helm, Hueco Mundo could develop a unique culture and industry on par with the Soul Society in as little as a few decades..."
"Mmn...if you say so..." sighed Yoruichi, barely paying attention to Vahn's words. She had her own opinion on who was best suited to take charge of Hueco Mundo, specifically Ulquiorra or Harribel, but at the same time, she didn't care. She had always been more of a fighter than a thinker. As long as her world endured and the Shihoin Clan flourished, she would continue living as she pleased. All the complicated stuff could be left to Kisuke and those whose lives seemed to revolve around scheming...
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[December 31st TST/August 23rd DBT]
Though Bulma and Aileen had been granted access to the Tower and Corridor, Vahn still spent the day of his return with the former, sharing a meal with her parents and perusing her work. Her access to the science and technology of other worlds was pushing boundaries she didn't even know existed before, but it also impacted her ability to focus on a single avenue of research. She had also been apprised of the truth regarding her world's origins, but unlike Yoruichi, she didn't particularly care as it didn't affect her ability to create and innovate. However, she did find it strange that her on-screen counterpart had fallen for Vegeta, especially given his actions and behavior up until she invited him to come and live with her at Capsule Corp, including genocide, beating the child of her would-be best friend, and getting her boyfriend killed...
Unfortunately for Vegeta, her knowledge of his presumed arrival in ten years gave Bulma plenty of time and ideas about how to greet him when he arrived. She didn't want to leave the fates of her and her family in the hands of someone whose desire for an enjoyable battle regularly placed their entire universe in danger, so while Goku was invariably a part of her plans, Bulma had dozens of technology-based contingencies in mind and hundreds more in the planning stages...
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(A/N: Don't forget to stone me for additional chapters and faster releases...!)