Remnants of a Bygone Era

While Latias and Latios were enjoying their foray into numerous enemy bases, Vahn, riding on the back of Fenrir and guided by Ryun, made his way to the location of a set of ruins. The Test he had been assigned by the Guardian was to lay a certain spirit to rest, so, while the twins had their fun, he decided to spend some time with the wolf-like duo.

Fenrir had always enjoyed having him ride on her back, and, though he could have navigated to the forgotten city on his own, Ryun was always happiest when she was able to act as his Guide. This was a good opportunity to 'reward' both of the excessively loyal women, so, while Ryun dutifully led the way, he enjoyed the pleasant feeling and aroma emanating from Fenrir's inordinately fluffy fur.

Unfortunately, all things, both good and bad, invariably came to an end, and, after nestling into the scruff of Fenrir's neck for the better part of three hours, Vahn was left with no choice but to emerge once they had reached their destination. Then, after nuzzling against the two giant wolves' snouts, patting both aplenty, he had them return to their human forms so they could investigate the ruins that had nearly disappeared due to the forest's encroachment.

As could be expected from a site dating back to the Age of Genesis, there were a number of hidden chambers and rare artifacts hidden within the interior of the ruins. There was even an ancient form of a Lighthouse, one specifically designed for battle. Rather than resemble a cube, it was structured similarly to a small yet extremely durable suspend ship. It was effectively a floating fortress, but, for the sake of stealth and collecting information, it was designed to carry a single team of six people.

After briefly analyzing the structure of the ancient Lighthouse, Vahn ultimately chose to leave it in its resting place. He wasn't particularly fond of looting ancient battlefields and burial grounds, so, with knowledge of its structure safely stowed away within his mind, he had Ryun serve as a Guide until they arrived at a set of massive stone doors.

Unlike the rest of the ruins, which were completely bereft of a single sign of life, this particular set of doors was inscribed with ancient runes that continued to shimmer even after more than 20,000 years had come to pass. Unfortunately, they weren't the only things that had persisted since ancient times.

As could be expected from an ancient fortress city occupied by restless spirits, there were a number of ghost-like Shinheuh present that fed off the negative energies produced by the former. To make matters even worse, there were also a number of autonomous golems produced by the Workshop, some of which could even rival a Ranker.

With the glyph-covered doors protecting the 'heart' of the ancient fortress city, the concentration of negative energy in the surroundings was potent enough to stain the Shinsu with a murky black coloration. This caused a palpable stench of death to linger in the air, but, with a wave of his hand, Vahn was able to gather most of the negative energy into a pitch-black ball as he stared up at the massive skeletal spider looming over them from above.

Without needing to be told, Fenrir immediately pounced toward the monstrosity without a single sign of hesitation. This caused the creature to release a piercing screech, it's frequency very close to 240 decibels. This was tantamount to a massive explosion of sound, but, compared to the Power of Law contained within Fenrir's [Freezing Roar], it was completely negligible. The only thing the spider accomplished was passing the blue-haired Vanargandr off as there were few things she hated more than loud noises.

Despite having the strength to easily kill the average Ranker, it took less than a minute for Fenrir to tear the monstrous spider into a number of tiny pieces. This caused a powerful miasma to permeate through the area, but, as a being innately connected to both darkness and yin, it had absolutely no effect on the rather violent Vanargandr. If anything, it actually made her a little stronger as she had always had a much easier time absorbing and converting negative energies than those with positive alignments. This was the opposite of Ryun, who, despite being a Vanargandr, possessed an affinity with Fire and Light rather than Ice and Darkness.

With the skeletal spider taken care of, Vahn rewarded Fenrir by fluffing up her ears and hair for a few minutes before shifting his attention back to the heavily reinforced double doors. The glyphs, combined with the materials used in its construction, made the door virtually indestructible. They also prevented any kind of spatial movement, so, unless you possessed the ability to break through by force, it was nearly impossible to enter the chamber beyond.

Fortunately, while others might struggle with such a thing, Vahn had numerous solutions to deal with the current situation. He could force his way through by simply cutting through the door, but, feeling this would be going a little overboard, he ultimately chose to probe around the area using his intent until he discovered a minute crack in the seemingly impenetrable defenses. This allowed him to send his intent directly into the interior, and, though it was still isolated from the outside, he was able to ignore the conventional restrictions of spatial movement so long as his domain existed in both locations.

After effectively quantum shifting into the interior chamber, Vahn couldn't help but release a tired sigh as he saw the bleached bones of thousands of people gathered within. This chamber had once served as an evacuation shelter during times of conflict. This was the main reason the enemy forces hadn't wasted their efforts in trying to breach the chamber. Instead, they destroyed the mechanism that allowed the door to open, mercilessly trapping those within.

Shaking his head, Vahn summoned Fenrir and Ryun to his side using his Unit Management before making his way towards the deepest chamber. There, they found a single solitary corpse at the very center of the chamber. Unlike the others, however, their bones had not become bleached with the passage of time. Instead, they resembled smooth white jade, glistening slightly under the pale blue light that permeated the entire chamber. Even her dress had been preserved, the fabric appearing almost brand new despite the passage of more than twenty-thousand years.

Breaking the silence, it was Ryun who first remarked, "She must have been quite the exceptional person during her lifetime...do you intend to resurrect her?"

Rather than Vahn or Fenrir, it was a gentle voice from the surroundings that asked, "You possess the ability to revive the dead? If so, please have mercy on the people in this chamber. Nobody deserves to suffer this kind of fate..."

Immediately following the ghostly utterance, the figure of a young girl with pale skin, flowing white hair, and exquisite facial features appeared above the jade-like corpse. This, combined with the fact that her garb resembled the royal vestments worn by women in the late Tang Dynasty, gave off the impression of a youthful, pristine, and pure princess. She even had a scarlet red dot in the center of her forehead, reminiscent of a Hua Dian symbol that was popular in ancient China.

Though he couldn't help but wonder what kind of fate he possessed to constantly encounter both lolis and elements stemmed from Chinese mythos, Vahn's expression remained calm as he offered a polite smile and remarked, "I never expected that the Spirit within this chamber would belong to an Empress..."

Not expecting anyone to recognize her after such a lengthy period of time, the ghostlike Empress showed an expression mixed with fear and confusion as she manifested a pure white silken cloth to serve as her weapon. Before she could attack, however, Vahn created a spherical prison with Enkidu as he calmly explained, "I am not your enemy. I was sent here at the behest of the Floor Guardian to exorcise your spirit and lay you to rest. As mentioned by my companion, however, I also possess the ability to create a new vessel for your spirit to inhabit. Unfortunately, due to the lengthy passage of time, the same cannot be said for the unfortunate souls who have come to reside here. Your efforts to expel the negative energies from this chamber prevented them from becoming evil spirits, but, at the same time, you were discarding important parts of what made them individuals. Though I could create new bodies for them, they would be little more than emotionless dolls without a true ego or a purpose...."

Hearing Vahn's explanation, the petite Empress, named Xiao Xinyue, adopted an extremely sullen expression as she muttered, "I see..." in a disheartened tone.

Restraining a sigh, Vahn adopted a gentle expression, dissipating Enkidu as he softly advised, "Soon enough, the era built upon the destruction of your Empire will come to an end. If you wish to see it, I can provide you with the opportunity. In the end, however, it will not replace that which was lost. If you were to ask my opinion, I would suggest moving on peacefully to the next life. You might find it difficult to believe, but I can assure you that this is not the end of your path."

Offering a sad smile in response, Xiao Xinyue meekly replied, "I have no desire for revenge...though there was a time when I wanted nothing more than vengeance, it was not just the negativity of the people here that I expelled. I will accept your offer, not out of a desire for revenge, but to preserve the legacy of my people...I can imagine no greater tragedy than the memory of my people and our endeavors being forgotten to time..."

Though he knew she was lying about not wanting revenge, Vahn offered an understanding nod in recognition of the young Empress's noble aspirations. Her vengeance was closely related to his own objectives so it wouldn't really make much of a difference in the grand scheme of things. As for her secret desire to restore her Empire to its former glory, such ambitions were bound to fade once she had a better grasp of the situation and learned the truth regarding the Tower's existence.

With this thought in mind, Vahn drafted a powerful contract that guaranteed Xinyue's autonomy but bound her as his vassal. This made her a little uncomfortable, but, after learning of his status as both a God and an Emperor, she ultimately accepted the terms outlined in the contract. She wasn't exactly in a position to negotiate, so, with lofty ambitions for the future, she had little choice but to accept a position beneath him. After all, it was difficult to purport herself as an Empress when the Empire she was meant to preside over hadn't existed for more than twenty-thousand years...

---

After entrusting the Strauss Siblings with the task of helping Xinyue get settled within the Little Garden, Vahn returned to his bunker to find Latias sleeping atop a massive pile of cores. He had failed to specify how many she should collect, so, with a limited understanding of self-restraint, she invariably collected more than a hundred of the softball-sized cores. This caused Vahn to adopt a wry smile, but, rather than admonish her for going too far, he made sure to reward both her and Latios for their efforts. As for the Regulars who had suffered at her tiny paws...well, they were just unlucky to have ventured into the 29th Floor at this time...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Vahn lives a very enviable existence...','Before it became known as the Age of Genesis, the residents of the Tower had another name to describe the era of Jahad's ascent...','Latias is a good girl (OwO)...!')

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