Chapter 2235 Repudiation
Though she felt Vahn"s suffering couldn"t compare to her own, s.h.i.+on would be lying if she said the parts prior to his transmigration hadn"t shaken her to the core. Her childhood hadn"t exactly been pleasant. In fact, she had experienced suffering beyond the imagination of most people. The thing that distinguished her from Vahn, however, was the fact that she had a system, cheats, and a future to look forward to. Her first reincarnation had been a waking nightmare but that was primarily due to the fact she had carelessly wished for immortality without considering the consequences...
Had Vahn"s first incarnation lasted a bit longer, s.h.i.+on may have tried to sympathize with him. What changed her mind was Vahn"s life from the moment he reincarnated. There were moments when he experienced setbacks, but, once he had found his footing, Vahn hit the ground running. He became a true "leading man", someone whose momentum was so unstoppable that the only options he left his enemies were acquiescence or annihilation.
Seeing Vahn grow from a naive, terribly tragic young boy into a bonafide, seemingly unstoppable force of will, s.h.i.+on found herself feeling mixed emotions. She envied his confidence, but, far more than that, she envied his ability to gather people around him. Sure, he handled most issues on his own, but, no matter how great their burdens of others, Vahn seemed to be able to carry them with a smile.
The part of Vahn"s story that impacted s.h.i.+on the most were the parts related to his mastery over the Magia Erebea. While she had suppressed her trauma to the point it still haunted her even after tens of thousands of years, Vahn had faced his darkness head-on. Instead of simply overcoming it, however, he accepted it as an integral part of himself. He used his pain to propel himself forward, and, most notably, help others overcome theirs. He was like a beacon of hope that wandered the seas, actively searching for those in need of aid rather than waiting for them to find him...
By the time Vahn"s extended, movie-like presentation had ended, s.h.i.+on found herself no longer willing to "compare notes". Her suffering had been great, but, had she faced things head-on, she wouldn"t have nearly as many regrets. Instead, she spent much of her life on the run or avoiding her problems entirely. When she had finally gained the power to defeat all the G.o.ds in Celestia, she was incapable of feeling a sense of accomplishment. The only thing she felt was a painful, agonizingly lonely feeling of emptiness...
Placing her hand over her abdomen, the glimmer of resolution that had previously existed in the depths of s.h.i.+on"s brilliant blue eyes was nowhere to be seen as she said, "You win...even if I had all of eternity, I can"t see myself surpa.s.sing you. Once this Gift Game has reached its conclusion, I will disband my Community and disappear into the Abyss..."
Though he wasn"t even remotely surprised by s.h.i.+on"s words, Vahn couldn"t help scowling. He hated seeing people simply give up, and, knowing what fate awaited s.h.i.+on once she died, he vehemently refused to let her disappearing into "nothingness". Everyone deserved to be happy. They may not be able to obtain it in one life, but, given enough time and reincarnations, they would eventually find a place where their heart and soul could rest comfortably.
"I refuse."
Without going into detail, Vahn suddenly lunged forward to stab his right hand into the center of s.h.i.+on"s chest. Her eyes became as round as saucers, but, having already given up on life, she didn"t even try to resist. Instead, a look of resignation appeared on her face as she closed her eyes and let Vahn do as he pleased.
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While it may appear as though Vahn had pierced s.h.i.+on with a spear hand strike, the truth of the matter was that he had activated both [Hands of Nirvana] and [G.o.dhand] to their absolute limits. His hand had literally phased into her body, but, instead of targetting anything physical, Vahn was reaching much, much deeper.
Thanks to the numerous System Templates he had created, Vahn had become intimately familiar with the structure of a person"s Ego. He was also one of the only beings in all of Creation that had even a basic understanding of the true nature of the Soul. He knew that, even if s.h.i.+on did give her body, mind, and spirit to the Abyss, her Soul would eventually manifest another Ego at some point in time. It simply wouldn"t have anything to do with her. Not even in the most elementary sense.
As horrible as tragedies were, Vahn "had" to believe they served a purpose. They were one of the things that allowed a Soul and the Egos a.s.sociated with it to grow and develop across countless incarnations. "Resetting" the cycle was a purely destructive act that served absolutely no purpose. s.h.i.+on may have experienced some of the most terrible things imaginable, but, so long as she, or, more accurately, the people she became kept moving forward, such experiences would eventually become her strength.
Removing his hand from s.h.i.+on"s chest, a gem-like object that resembled a rainbow-tinted star encircled by a ring appeared in Vahn"s palm. The moment it appeared, the Cameras operated by the Central Network began to "glitch" for the first time since the conception of the Gift Game System. It was like the image that had appeared on screen was simply impossible for it to reconcile with any known thing in existence...
Seeing the strange object in Vahn"s hand, an overwhelming sense of panic exuded from the very depths of s.h.i.+on"s being. The resignation she had shown previously was now nowhere to be seen. In its place was an expression of terror and mild hysteria as she instinctually lurched forward, shouting, "Give that back...!"
Intercepting s.h.i.+on"s charge with his left hand, Vahn placed her into a state of unconsciousness that completely ignored any resistances she had against abnormal status effects. Her body became limp against his chest, but, as much as he wanted to focus on her, Vahn"s gaze was fixed on the object in his right hand. It had a relatively simple structure but was somehow one of the most mesmerizing things he had ever seen. He felt as though he could just stare at it for the rest of eternity and never grow tired of it.
(*Vahn...*)
Hearing Sis whisper his name, Vahn immediately came back to his senses. He placed the pulsating object in the most secure region of his personalized Little Garden before supporting s.h.i.+on"s waist with his left hand and patting her back with his right. When she woke up moments later, confusion marred her expression before she suddenly pushed him away, shouting, "Get your hands off of me!" in an uncharacteristically panicked tone.
Raising his hands as both a placating gesture and to show he had no intentions of laying a hand on her, Vahn looked past the vexed expression on s.h.i.+on"s face and focused on the connection that had formed between them. For a very brief moment, he found himself staring back at himself before his perspective promptly returned to normal.
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Feeling that somewhat was very, very wrong, s.h.i.+on placed her hand over her chest while her eyes focused on the Status screen that had appeared before them. There didn"t appear to be anything wrong with her but she couldn"t shake the impression that something, something fundamental to her very existence, had changed. It was almost like she had become a completely different person.
With far more emotion than she had shown throughout the entirety of their interactions thus far, s.h.i.+on glared at Vahn, asking, "What did you do to me?"
Though s.h.i.+on and the people who had witnessed the scene would vehemently disagree with him, Vahn wasn"t lying when he returned a smile and answered, "Other than put you to sleep and wake you back up? Absolutely nothing."
"Bulls.h.i.+t...!"
Grabbing the collars of Vahn"s tunic, s.h.i.+on s.h.i.+fted her weight so that she could leverage his before slamming him over her body in a textbook example of a shoulder throw. What distinguished it from a normal shoulder throw was the fact that it caused spiderweb cracks to spread outward as a plume of dust more than a kilometer in height dominated the image visible to spectators.
When the dust began to fade, the audience outside was able to see s.h.i.+on mounting Vahn, tears building in the corners of her eyes as she rained down meteoric punches on his calmly smiling face. She couldn"t recall what, exactly, he had taken, but s.h.i.+on felt as though Vahn had taken something unbelievably precious from her. Emotions that she hadn"t experienced in tens of thousands of years were surging forward like a tidal wave, and, no matter how much she tried to stymy her tears, they just kept pouring in an unceasing flow.
What s.h.i.+on, or, more specifically, the woman that looked like s.h.i.+on didn"t know was that Vahn had, in fact, replaced her. She had the exact same thoughts and memories as the original, but, in reality, the woman smas.h.i.+ng her fists into Vahn"s face was one of his Templates. If s.h.i.+on was incapable of bearing her trauma, Vahn figured he may as well bear it in her stead. As for the original s.h.i.+on, Vahn had effectively enticed her Soul to inhabit the artifact he had pulled from her chest. Once the game had concluded, he was planning to create an Actualized World that was an exact replica of the one s.h.i.+on had reincarnated into. This time, however, she would be able to live the life she had in mind prior to falling for the G.o.d of Chaos"s scheme.
In essence, Vahn had separated the parts of s.h.i.+on"s Ego that comprised the version of herself at the exact moment of her original death. As for the pain and suffering she had acc.u.mulated, it was now his to bear. The s.h.i.+on smas.h.i.+ng his face in may act and think like her original self, but, on the most fundamental level, she was an extension of Vahn. His willpower and resolution were now an integral part of her being, so, while it was unbelievably painful, the emotions she had suppressed for tens of thousands of years were rising to the surface. This time, however, she wouldn"t run away from them.
Though he wasn"t sure he had done the wrong thing, the simple truth of the matter was that Vahn was never sure if his actions were objectively correct. All he knew was that he wanted to help, and, no matter how much either s.h.i.+on hated him, he would willingly bear their rage, indignation, pain, and sadness. He would even bear their very existence if it meant they could move on and find the happiness they deserved...
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For the first time since the creation of the second Little Garden, the being that ruled over it as the absolute pinnacle of existence opened its eyes. It wasn"t the type of ent.i.ty that would traditionally pay attention to things transpiring in the "outside" world, but, the moment Vahn withdrew the gem-like object from s.h.i.+on"s chest, the undisputed Rank 1 in all of Creation couldn"t help taking notice, stating, "The Axis of Reality has s.h.i.+fted..." before once again falling silent...
Similar to the being occupying the Rank 1 Gate, the deities occupying the Rank 2 and 3 Gates both opened their eyes. The first was a statuesque being that simultaneously resembled an old man, a young woman, and a fierce beast. Everyone that gazed upon it would see something different, but, no matter who they were, all beings would recognize the ent.i.ty as Ahura Mazdā, the Princ.i.p.al G.o.d of Zoroastrianism. As for the second figure, representing absolutely no one and the most powerful Faction in the Divine Realm, their appearance resembled that of a young scholar with jade-like skin, fair features, and exceptionally long, raven-black hair that was supported by twining branches that grew directly from their body. They were much younger than the majority of deities that called the Divine Realm, yet, in a remarkably short period of time, they had managed to secure their position as one of the three most powerful beings in existence. As for their ident.i.ty, they were known across all Realms as the Buddha of Truth...
"Darkness falls/The Dawn Approaches..." x2
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(A/N: Alternate t.i.tles: "Vahn is no mere mountain. He is the foundation that supports all...","That escalated VERY quickly o_o...","The Big Three have awoken...")