Preparations : Peculiarity

In preparation for the upcoming duel, Artoria began spending much of her free time training. She went on a small tirade of sorts, challenging everyone in the castle to battle, Vahn included. Though she was no worried about losing to Lorelei, her dignity as a ruler would not allow her to treat such an important matter carelessly. Until she claimed victory, she would continue making preparations with the intent of removing any possibility for failure, despite the machinations of the Barthomeloi family.

Vahn had underestimated Artoria's fervor but, what had shocked him most of all, was that she could even adapt to his [Laplace's Key] after 'forcing' him to use it against her several times. Though this often ended with her in a rather sorry state, making Vahn feel guilty, he continued battling against Artoria without holding anything back. She might be his Empress and lover but, much like Tsubaki, her pride as a warrior was something she would not renege on.

Now, once again, Vahn experienced his body's movements from the perspective of an observer as he kept a considerable distance from Artoria, teleporting around the battlefield as he peppered her with hypersonic projectiles. Since she had been able to annihilate nearly two-thirds of his body after he got close, his [Laplace's Key] seemed to have determined it wasn't wise to fight in her range. Though she was able to send massive beams out massive beams of light, cleaving through the landscape at almost unavoidable speeds, this didn't matter much when he could teleport around freely.

Artoria's effective range, when she was serious, could easily cover several tens of kilometers, making each of her attacks city-destroying in magnitude. If she charged her Noble Phantasm to its fullest, it was completely beyond his ability to block, even with several layers of [Reflexio] and the defense provided by his Xuanwu form. Since the attack moved nearly at light speed, he had to evade before she had completed her attack motion, an action that was much easier to complete at a distance.

What made Artoria a difficult opponent wasn't really her destructive capabilities, though they were certainly a large factor. No, the most troublesome thing about her was the fact that she seemed to have limitless stamina and, unless she used her [Excalibur] several times in sequence, her mana was seemingly just as limitless. Though he had already known this beforehand, as Artoria's dragon heart was essentially a mana generating factory, being on the receiving end of her barrage when she got serious was a pain. Since he knew this was still her 'restricted' capabilities, Vahn felt like this petite little wife of his was even more of a monster than himself...

Still, despite her best efforts, Artoria, and pretty much everyone else for that matter, was shocked to learn that her [Avalon] was virtually useless against him. Though the vast majority of the damage was still mitigated, turning even mountain-leveling attacks into ones that wouldn't even disturb a hill, it was an inviolable truth that his attacks still affected her. This was the result of his Source Energy not caring about the inviolable boundary produced by [Avalon]'s activation, allowing him to hit her body, despite it being located in a completely isolated texture on the Reverse Side of the World.

It was because of this capability that Artoria would drag him off to spar whenever he was free. It was to the point that, much like Gareth, she would even be waiting for him after he left his Training Orb or completed another task. Though she made it up to him later, in various ways, Vahn was reminded of how Ais and Tiona would behave at times, especially when they were on the verge of some kind of breakthrough. It was honestly fun to battle against her as it allowed him to measure his growth against opponents other than his demonic Shishou.

These battles also had a rather unexpected consequence, even though Vahn could have prophesied such a thing would happen. This took the form of Kenshin seeking him out and challenging him to a battle where he didn't hold anything back. Since he had never used [Laplace's Key] in their previous fights, as it almost polluted the integrity of battling against allies, Vahn was somewhat reluctant to agree. Despite this, he didn't show it on his face and, after a decidedly short battle, Kenshin was left in a rather sorry state.

From the outset of the battle, his [Laplace's Key] made the decision to create a hybridization of his Zhuque and Qinglong forms. This was a counter against the Anti-Divine properties of Kenshin's that also made it nearly impossible for her to close the distance between them. He was also able to make 'gates' in the surrounding space, allowing the heat from his Zhuque flames to essentially assault and cook her from all sides. Though she was surprisingly able to defend against this for a while, and even got a few attacks in on him by using the very gates he used against her, Kenshin's greatest weakness was her comparably low stamina.

By the end of their engagement, most of Kenshin's clothes had been burned to ash, leaving only her [Aegis X] to protect her dignity. Strangely, the first damage hadn't extended to her hair, despite the fact much of her body was covered in burns of various degrees. When he was healing her after the fact, Kenshin had a smile on her face as she commended his power. Rather than accept her words at face value, however, Vahn shook his head and promised he would defeat her without using a Skill that essentially turned him into a machine. He wanted to overcome her in an honorable battle, not a one-sided fight where he just used the most 'efficient' means to secure victory...

After this encounter, Kenshin had become decidedly more affectionate toward him and, though not nearly as often as his battles with Artoria, she began to proactive challenge him. These turned into battles of pure martial skill, often with several hundred Homunculi surrounding them. Since she had the [Master of Arms: SS], there was still a vast gulf between their capabilities but, after hardening his convictions, Vahn was determined to close the distance in months, rather than years.

---

Despite his schedule being dominated by battle, Vahn still made time to play with Mordred, Sakura, and the other children. Though it was a little strange to have nearly-matured girls like Mash excited to play games like hide-and-seek, tag, and other relatively childish games, Vahn never questioned it. He knew what the Designer Babies had gone through and, though children like Alex and Juliet did their own thing, it was refreshing to see Zoë, Astrid, and Mash breaking out of their shell. If anything, it was weirder that Gareth happily joined them but, considering her puppy-like behavior, he wasn't really surprised.

Fortunately, though they did not actively engage with the other children that much, Alex and Juliet both had their own interests and focus. Alex had started to emulate Siegfried quite a bit and, though he would get embarrassed easily when Mash and Zoë teased him, he was no longer the vengeful young boy that had arrived several months prior. As for Juliet, she had become very fond of one of her caretakers, to the point she called the motherly Homunculus just that, Mother. Now, Vahn could sometimes find them just spending time together, much like Iris and Illya, as Juliet focused on her education and, for reasons he was not privy to, focused on trying to become an attending Maid in the castle.

Since it was something she had decided on, Vahn wasn't going to go back on his words and deny the choice she had made about her own future. There was also the fact she looked simply adorable while following her Mother around in a child-sized Maid outfit. She was also taking her studies very seriously so, while her ambitions might be low, it was clear that she was making progress. A lot of this could be attested to Merlin's intervention but, as it was infinitely better than watching her live a life plagued by trauma, Vahn had become more tolerant of his errant Magus of the Court.

Vahn had come to learn even more about Merlin after discussing the matter of his association with Solon and Zelretch. Though he was somewhat remised to reveal the details, mentioning he would just ask Vivian was an easy way to get him to be truthful. He tried to actively avoid doing anything that would greatly upset her, something Vahn had come to exploit quite a bit. Since it made Merlin seem more 'human', it was rather refreshing to know he had an easily exploitable weakness.

From Merlin, Vahn learned that Solon's current form is not their original self. Though he had already suspected this, for a variety of different reasons, it was always best to know for certain. This was only the beginning of Solon's peculiarity, however, as Merlin described them as something that should not exist, much like Astolfo's Hippogryph and himself. Solon was the product of a child being thrown into the 'Well of Fate', associated with the World Tree, Yggdrasil.

Solon was born during the era when most of the Gods had begun their retreat to the Reverse Side of the World During this time, Yggdrasil, a very powerful Greater Divine Spirit, actually sacrificed itself to become the foundation for one of the many regions located on the Reverse Side. Before that, it had split its own Divinity into several shards, one of which had been granted to Solon to preserve their life. This, however, did not save Solon from the Well of Fate as, during the Great Transmigration, the Guardian of the Well, Urd, had left the well unattended.

For several years, Solon experienced a nightmare beyond their infant mind's comprehension. They were forced to drown within the Well of Fate, experiencing memories that were not their own as they cycled through varying levels of unconsciousness. It wasn't until the Well of Fate itself dried up, no longer able to sustain itself after the World Tree had died, that they were finally freed. After that, they wandered for years without any direction nor sense of self as their mind tried to reconcile all of the different sets of memories that had invaded their psyche.

It was not known what Solon had done for all the years they wandered, as it was nearly impossible to decipher their fate, but they were eventually picked up by Zelretch. This made it even harder to know exactly what had happened but, from what Merlin could ascertain, Solon had been left in the care of the Wandering Sea at some point. As a source of Mystery related to the Age of Gods, their existence was extremely important to the nascent Mage's Association. Here, they spent nearly seven-hundred years of their life before eventually leaving for unknown reasons around 40AD.

From that moment onward, Solon had taken up residence in a small fishing village simply known as Landon which, decades later, became known as the city of Londinium. Here, they began building up the organization known as the Clock Tower though, back then, it was known as the Temple of the Sun due to the massive sundial used to keep time. It wasn't until much later, after the construction of the Palace of Westminister and Big Ben that the Clock Tower became known as such.

There were many unknowns regarding Solon, due to their nature of isolating themselves, but Merlin had come to know the peculiar Magus shortly after his own birth. They had something of a 'tense' relationship and, in the beginning, Solon had even tried to capture and imprison him after realizing he was an existence akin to a Beast of Gaia.

By all rights, Merlin should have been one of mankind's greatest enemies but, due to the love he experienced prior to birth, he had always been quite fond of humanity. Rather than sow discord and cause chaos, he observed the flow of fate passively, only interfering when he was meant to. Despite this, Solon did not trust him and, if not for the intervention of Zelretch, a large-scale conflict could have broken out. As for why Solon hated him back in the day, it was due to the fact that Merlin knew of their past and, despite the bravado of the errant hermit, he also knew that a battle would never happen due to his prophetic abilities.

Because Merlin knew nothing would happen, he acted very lackadaisically around Solon and, more than he should have, teased them incessantly. Merlin was actually one of the reasons why Solon now covered themselves in powerful artifacts as, for a period of time, Merlin would even show up in their dreams. Back then, he showed a lot less restraint with his abilities as, prior to Artoria's birth, he didn't have much else to do other than observe humanity and mess around.

When Vahn learned that Merlin had 'tormented' Solon for the better part of six years, he actually felt a little sorry for the green-haired Magus. If not for the fact they were borderline intolerable, due to a severe lack of social skills, Vahn would have been tempted to apologize for how he had acted in the past. Still, it was interesting to know more about the mysterious Director of the Mage's Association so Vahn had enjoyed the conversation, laughing more than he should have when Melin showed him the scene of Solon being chased through an endless field of flowers by a giant purple caterpillar.

Unfortunately, while Merlin had quite a bit of information pertaining to Solon, he knew very little about Zelretch, despite the nature of his existence as the Second Mage. Since Zelretch had no fate whatsoever, it was impossible to see into his past, present, and future. He could even exist outside the flow of time completely, observing the events of history play out from an outsider's point of view, much like Akasha and her superiors.

Though Zelretch could be killed, Merlin had noted the man's presence in several of his visions of the future, including distant events several tens of thousands of years down the line. It was impossible to know if these were 'their' Zelretch, as different versions of could also travel into parallel worlds, but that had been changed after Vahn's arrival. Now, the only Zelretch associated with their timeline was the one Vahn had met at the Mage's Association. Though it was possible for him to transition into a parallel timeline, all fates currently led to a convergence point, the emergence of Angra Mainyu.

Now, instead of being able to freely move throughout history, Zelretch was stuck on the path that Vahn had set the world upon. Though he would have some freedom after Angra Mainyu was taken care of, there would undoubtedly be other convergence points as a result of Vahn's actions. After all, the past was 'fixed' due to his presence within the timeline, meaning other realties and potentialities simply ceased to exist. It was a peculiar, borderline terrifying thought, but that was just the nature of reality in a multiversal world structure that functioned akin to a simulation.

Vahn's existence introduced 'certainty' into the world but, rather than restrict its growth, he actually allowed for new potentialities and for the existence of various, previously impossible, possibilities. It was even possible for the Record itself to grow beyond Tier 5 due to his presence, even if this would take potentially billions, or even trillions, of years. Unless he was the one to proactive elevate it, the current Tier 5 existences would have a very difficult time reaching the next Tier. After all, they had existed for such a phenomenally long period of time that, despite the potential for infinite growth, they were essentially stuck in an unbreakable cycle due to the restrictions of the Laws.

At this point, Vahn was already thinking about linking the Nasuverse in the future, as this had now become a second home to him. It might be irresponsible of him but, as his Tier increased, Vahn had the distinct impression there were innumerable solutions to the current problems that plagued him. After all, if he had the power to create his own Records, there wasn't much he couldn't do at that point. Extracting a few people from an existing Record, while allowing it to stay isolated, shouldn't be beyond his capabilities.

This was a matter for the far future, however, so Vahn tried not to mull over it too often as it might take him millions of years to reach that point. Instead, he chose to focus on the present as much as possible, even if it sometimes led to him asking peculiar questions, such as the gender of Solon. He hadn't been able to determine this even after battling directly against the peculiar Magus and, since Merlin had tormented them for the better part of six years, he expected the flowery Magus to know the answer.

What Vahn hadn't expected was for Merlin to outright state that Solon didn't have a gender. Though there could be other reasons, he speculated that Solon's confusion regarding the nature of their own existence made it impossible for them to reconcile their own gender. It was impossible to be certain, but Solon likely had the memories of millions of people, both male and female, locked away within their mind. He even speculated that the reason Solon isolated themselves was due to their confusion as, despite what gender they chose to adopt, it would cause them to live a life plagued by perpetual incongruity.

Though Merlin had tried to help them in the past, which was why he had 'tormented' Solon for so long, this only resulted in some bad blood between them due to their prideful nature. More than that, however, it was very likely that Solon was afraid to discover that their current self was just one of their personas while, in the deepest recesses of their mind, their true self had been locked away.

Despite all of this, Merlin did actually know Solon's original gender, much like Zelretch, but neither had ever touched on the subject. After all, the infante Solon hadn't formed a sense of self and, after becoming a Divine Spirit and absorbing the memories of countless individuals, they were a far cry from their original human existence.

Unfortunately, when Vahn's curiosity got the better of him, compelling him to ask what Solon's original gender was, Merlin refused to answer. Instead, he adopted a very punchable smile on his face as he answered, "If it is that important to you, why not decide what gender you want Solon to be? Though others might not be able to pull it off, someone with your level of...experience, might be able to convince them to lean either way~? They certainly match your 'requirements' when it comes to selecting partners, ohohohoho~"

Following his teasing remark, Merlin tried to vanish away, his laughter still echoing throughout his Magus Tower. In response, Vahn rose to his feet, a calm visage on his face as he plainly stated, "I'm telling." This immediately caused Merlin's laughter to stop but, before he could make a plea bargain, Vahn had already teleported away, presumably to inform Vivian and Artoria about Merlin's behavior. Though he didn't actually intend to tell, as that would violate his original agreement with Merlin, this left the flowery Magus in an anxious state for several minutes...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Artoria be like, "We gon fite! Excalibuuuuuuur~!"','RIP Solon','Everyone has a weakness xD...')

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