Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Chapter 2194: Identity, Divergence, and Incredulity

Emerging in the center of a misty mountainous valley that glistened with a peculiar green hue due to the abundance of spiritual energy exuded by the surrounding flora, an amused smile developed across the face of a remarkably beautiful vulpine woman with pale, sakura-pink hair.

Standing next to the woman, appearing near-identical except for their hairstyles and choice of garb, another vulpine woman remarked, "Where are we? The dense spiritual energy is interfering with my ability to sense beyond a few hundred kilometers." â??â??

Turning towards her descendant turned ancestor, the smile on the vulpine woman's face became notably mischievous as she said, "We're actually quite fortunate. This mist serves to obscure the light of the Sun. As a result, even my senses are blocked. If this truly is the planet of our would-be Origin, she shouldn't be able to sense us. If I didn't know better, I would think our husband had a hand in this."

Though she knew Vahn wouldn't interfere in such a 'small' matter, the sakura-haired woman felt their teleportation destination was more than mere coincidence. Fate seemed to be guiding them to meet with their Divine Realm counterpart, so, while a part of her feared the encounter, a much larger part of the woman's being was looking forward to securing her status and identity as "True Amaterasu".

Hearing even a casual mention of Vahn, a radiant smile developed across the face of the secondary vulpine woman. She, Tamamo, took comfort in the notion that Vahn was watching over and out for them. It gave her an overwhelming sense of assurance, as, even if things went south, Tamamo knew Vahn would never allow them to suffer. If she called out for him, she believed, deep in her heart, he would come running.

With her three tails flickering behind her, Tamamo looked like she was about to say something when one of the other two figures present, a rather heroic-looking woman with dichromatic black and white hair suggested, "We should set camp and gather information. Even if this is the planet of Kotoamatsukami, exposing ourselves and charging blindly into the enemy is not wise."

Reacting to the dichromatic woman's words, a teasing smile developed across the face of the woman standing next to her, a buxom, pink-haired beauty wearing a red and blue bikini adorned with stars. She also didn't think charging into the enemy was a particularly wise decision, but, hearing it from the dichromatic beauty, she couldn't help remarking, "Seriously? I didn't expect the brave and noble Kenshin to fear charging through enemy lines. Even in our world, isn't that what you were best known for?"

Sighing in response to her companion's words, the dichromatic woman, Kenshin, gripped her spear and katana tightly as she explained, "Such things are irrelevant in the present. Even my connection to Bishamonten doesn't exist so I'm using this as an opportunity to reinvent myself. I was previously able to become a Goddess of War through my own efforts. Now that we stand upon the precipice of the Aldrnari Empire's rise, I care not for the name Uesugi Kenshin. I am my Lord's spear…my only concern at this point is creating a world where children need not fear being shoehorned into a path chosen by someone else…"

Recalling her own son, Kenshiro, a motherly smile developed across Kenshin's face. The former's desire to reach the pinnacle of swordsmanship without killing had left a deep impression on her. There was nothing she could do about the millions she had already cut down, but, for the sake of her son, Kenshin had resolved herself never to kill again. The fates of her opponents now rested in the hands of her Lord, Master, and Husband.

Rolling her eyes, the buxom, pink-haired woman, Musashi, made a show of popping her neck before saying, "You do you, Spear-chan. As for me? I'm going to scout the area and see if I can't find the woman holding on to my name and title. Don't worry. So long as I remain in the State of Nothingness, I doubt even that golden-haired vixen can detect me. If I'm not back before sunset, feel free to assume I'm dead."

Waving her hand in a casual gesture of farewell, Musashi's body appeared to blend into the surrounding space before even the most minute traces of her existence vanished. This was a little contrary considering she had dressed up specifically to draw attention to herself, but, for the sake of her sister-wives and companions, Musashi didn't mind lying low for a while.

Sensing every trace of Musashi vanish into thin air, a subdued sigh escaped from Kenshin's throat as she placed her hand between her fairly developed breasts. She was also wearing a swimsuit, but, rather than baring it all like a certain crimson-eyed Demon King, she elected to wear a comparably modest leather top to cover her breasts and a bright yellow sarong around her waist.

Feeling the steady rhythm of her heart, Kenshin was able to gradually calm herself. She had become a lot more emotional since the birth of Kenshiro, so, every now and again, she would feel a creeping anxiety that could only be suppressed by the memory or presence of Vahn. More specifically, she would reminisce on the moment when Vahn held her in front of the mirror. This would invariably cause a flame of passion to spread through her body, but, at the same time, it was the memory that made her feel most 'grounded'. The only thing that even came close was the moment she first laid eyes on Kenshiro…

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While the members chosen to deal with Kotoamatsukami had decided on a more subtle approach, two of the groups associated with the Sage Dragon's Hearth had chosen decidedly different routes.

Prior to the start of the Gift Game, Caulifla had been determined to track down Wu so that she could finally teach the petite monkey girl a lesson. Her official mission was to confront the forces of Trayastrimsa, the Community led by Indra, but, as fate would have it, she and Kale ended up being transported to the planet protected by Onigashima.

Though their arrival was mere minutes after the start of the Gift Game, the planet belonging to Onigashima had already metamorphosed into a world of perpetual night. The rivers and oceans appeared to be filled to the brim with blood, and, rather than normal flora and fauna, the planet was populated by man-eating plants, carnivorous trees, sinewy black vines, and an incalculable number of blood-sucking creatures.

While others might have been daunted by the sight, Caulifla's golden hair and the bright red marks around her eyes weren't an aesthetic choice. The thing that allowed her to make the Super Saiyan Transformation her base state was her mastery over Super Saiyan Sage Mode. She had managed to refine it to the point it influenced even her base state. This was something even Broly and Yuri were incapable of emulating, so, in the weeks leading up to the Gift Game, Caulifla had refined the state even further by spending an uncharacteristic amount of time meditating.

One of the benefits of Sage Mode, even in its lesser state, was that it allowed the user to sense even minute fluctuations in the foreign and natural energies. This, combined with the fact she had been training with the Angels in order to master Ultra Instinct, made Caulifla very hard to surprise. There were very few attacks she couldn't evade outright, and, thanks to the golden energy exuding from her pores, she was practically immune to any attack that wasn't at least half as strong as her current power level.

With Kale even stronger than she was, the two Saiyanesses were able to easily counter the surprise attack waiting for them on the planet of Onigashima. Several carnivorous plants and trees had tried to attack them, but, with a single bellow from Kale, even the ground for several hundreds of meters was turned to dust. After that, the two Saiyanesses took to the sky before raining down a barrage of gold and green energy that left the side of the planet they were on looking like the scarred surface of a moon…

While that was going on, an eerily similar scene was occurring on the planet protected by the Roc Demon King Community, one of the four surviving Communities affiliated with the Seven Demon Kings Alliance.

Though they were more commonly known as the Seven Great Sages, the executive members of the Seven Demon Kings Alliance were, much like Shiroyasha in her prime/youth, were forcibly lumped together with Demons due to their destructive natures. The Roc Demon King, in particular, was one of the more destructive entities in the entire organization, as, leading to her inception, her father, a tyrannical Garuda, had forced himself upon the Divine Phoenix. Her mother had never resented her for this, but, as a result of the hatred directed towards her from the rest of the Heavenly Domain, Karyou, the Great Sage who Leaves Heaven in Dissary, could only manipulate her flames with the intent to destroy.

As fate would have it, Karyou's planet ended up being the collective destination of four different Communities. Since she was something of a loner, the petite and remarkably youthful-looking Roc Demon King had no choice but to focus purely on 'defending' her planet. As a result, the moment she sensed an intruder, she ended up setting the entire surface ablaze before appearing in the form of a massive golden bird exuding markedly less resplendent golden flames.

With a wingspan more than three hundred meters in length, Karyou was a sight to behold, both in reality and through a display. Her body, even whilst transformed, was covered in resplendent and highly ornamented golden accessories that resembled the plumage of the Divine Phoenix. The only thing that seemed 'off' about her were the flames exuding from her body, as, rather than the pure gold associated with the Divine Phoenix, the core of her murky golden flames was tainted with an eerie black light.

Though many within the crowd didn't understand the reason for the 'dirty' black hue, it didn't take long for rumors to spread amongst the spectators. As a result, Karyou could feel her very existence being tainted, resentment building within her as she assailed the people invading her planet with a seemingly endless tide of corrosive golden flames.

("Just you wait, Wu. Once this matter has been settled, I swear I won't rest until I pull on your tail at least once…")

As the person who had forced her to participate, Karyou couldn't help harboring a small amount of resentment towards Wu, her surrogate sister, rival, and best friend. She had been doing her best to lay low these past three hundred years as she was sick and tired of being hated and resented for an event she had absolutely no control over. Unfortunately, no matter how much time passed, people never hesitated to reinvigorate the negative rumors associated with her birth…

Unfortunately, just as Karyou attempted to unleash her anger and resentment on one of the groups that had invaded her planet, a stupefied expression developed across her avian face as one of the invaders opened her mouth to an unreasonable extent before simply sucking in all the flames like a black hole. Immediately thereafter, one of the invader's companions charged forward like a meteor, her previously petite frame growing to the size of a small mountain as she crashed into Karyou with her forehead, shouting, "Usagi Charge…!"

Though she managed to recover almost instantaneously, the look on Karyou's face became even more incredulous as she found herself facing a three-hundred-meter tall woman wearing a white leotard and rabbit ears. Gigantification wasn't particularly rare as far as Gifts were concerned. What caught Karyou by surprise was the woman's ability to physically strike her. She was supposed to be immune to physical attacks in her transformed state. In spite of this, the feral-looking woman was able to strike her directly while ignoring the flames licking her legs and feet…

Just as Karyou was about to ask the woman's identity, black lines appeared on her forehead as the ravenous rabbit girl held up her scary-looking claws and said, "You're pretty tough for a fire chicken. Come at me, plip."

"…"

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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'FYI, Tamamo's Luck Parameter is among the highest in Vahn's harem…','The legend of the Saiyan Sage begins…','Oof. Now I kind of feel bad for Karyou-chan…')

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