[January 4th DxD/August 27th DBT]
"Mmmnnngh..."
Stirring awake after the most restful sleep she had experienced in more than two hundred years, Evileye rose to a seated position and performed a cute, closed-eyed stretch with her arms raised high—ostensibly having forgotten where she had fallen asleep.
"That's a big stretch..." Vahn hummed in his characteristically deep tone, causing Evileye's carmine eyes to widen, her pupils contracting to the size of pinholes as she froze mid-stretch.
Lowering her arms and slumping forward with her hands crossed over her chest, Evileye remained silent for several seconds before glancing back at Vahn with a half-lidded glower and red cheeks.
"You...you didn't do anything weird to me while I slept, did you...?" Evileye questioned.
"Some might consider it strange that I didn't. You're very cute when you let your guard down," Vahn countered playfully.
"Just kill me now..." Evileye groaned, hunching forward and burying her face in her hands. Meanwhile, Vahn rose smoothly and made his way over to an ornately carved wooden table, topped with the means to prepare an assortment of teas and coffees.
"Is there a particular variety of tea or coffee you prefer? For sweeteners, we have honey, black, brown, and white sugar," Vahn explained, his calm, dulcet tone compelling Evileye to raise her face from her hands and stare at him. She hadn't been able to taste tea or coffee for many, many years, so she genuinely didn't know how to answer Vahn's question.
Interrupting Evileye's thoughts, Vahn proffered, "It's good that you're still able to feel embarrassed. It's common for people who live for hundreds of years to become detached from their emotions. The fact that you've been able to preserve yours, despite all that you've experienced, is a testament to your strong will and character..."
"..."
Though her first instinct was to refute Vahn's words and denigrate herself, Evileye remained silent. She generally abhorred flattery, but when it came from Vahn, his words seemed to settle within her, infusing warmth into her usually corpse-cold body.
'Wait...it's not just his words...' Evileye noted, flexing her fingers open and closed. Ordinarily, her fingers and toes felt tingly and rigid, a byproduct of her poor circulation. At that moment, they felt nimble, loose, and warm—a sensation that was shared by the rest of her body.
ba-dum...ba-dum...ba-dum...ba-dum...
'My heart...it's beating normally...' Evileye realized, her pupils dilating as she touched her right hand to her chest. It shouldn't have been possible, given her status as an Undead, but the persistent, rhythmic beating of her heart—it was almost as if she were alive. As if a cold, heavy blanket had been removed from her very soul...
Sensing the change in Evileye's emotions, Vahn glanced back at her, his Domain infused with a warmth comparable to the sun after an especially long winter. It wasn't obvious at first, but as the protective layers around Evileye's heart opened like the petals of a flower awaiting spring, it filled her like a hearth warming a cold room.
"The resonance of life is a powerful thing..." Vahn hummed, his voice low, suffused with a reverberation that seemed to harmonize with the tingling warmth that pervaded Evileye's body as he stated, "No matter how barren or stagnant a piece of land or a person's heart might appear, it needs only a bit of time and nourishment to flourish anew..."
"I knew I felt that something was off...you definitely did something to me while I was asleep..." Evileye asserted, her brows creased, but her cheeks flushed as she demanded, "Spill it..." in a pouty tone.
Exhaling faintly from his nose, Vahn, while carrying two steaming cups of tea over to Evileye, revealed, "I sealed the discordant spirit energy within your body using something called an Eight Trigrams Seal. You can still tap into it, but it will no longer negatively affect you..."
Noticing that she felt the most warmth from her stomach, Evileye stood and pulled up the front of her dress, exposing her abdomen. There was nothing there at first, but as she focused on the area around her navel, a swirling pattern encircled by eight prongs of unrecognizable black script appeared.
"You're free to resent me, but I'm not the kind of person who can turn a blind eye to suffering. I had the power to help you, so I did. You owe me nothing," Vahn stated, presenting Evileye one of the teacups and smiling as he asserted, "The burden you carry is heavy enough without the added pressure of inadvertently using the souls of other people as fuel..."
Alternating her gaze between Vahn's face and the cup of fragrant tea he was offering her, Evileye wasn't sure how to feel. She should have been angry that he had done something to her without her permission, but the warmth she was feeling was impossible to ignore. She couldn't recall the last time she simply felt comfortable in her own body. Ordinarily, it felt like she was a prisoner—or at least a passenger—in her own flesh...
"Should I return this? It has peppermint..." Vahn noted, raising the cup he was offering Evileye.
"We're not done discussing this..." Evileye muttered, accepting the cup of tea before looking up at Vahn with a pouty, forced glower. The warmth of the cup sent a tingling wave through her hand, arms, chest, and along her spine, giving her goosebumps. And when she closed her eyes to savor its aroma, several additional waves surged through her, forcing her to exhale a contented sigh.
"Did I give the impression I was planning to run away?" Vahn countered, returning to his seat and sampling his own tea. The mint he had used was infused with the energy of the Blue Moon. In the world it originated, it had the power to boost a person's Magic stat. Outside the setting, it increased a person's mental acuity and temporarily boosted the efficacy of Magic by 2% for sixty minutes, stacking up to five times.
"..."
Glancing back at Vahn, Evileye looked like she had something to retort. Instead, she took a tip of the tea he had provided, a skin-prickling tremor suffusing her body as the warm, sweet, and minty liquid flowed down her throat and settled in her stomach. Her throat felt cold when she breathed in, but her mind felt steady, the faint trembling in her stomach ceasing as her nerves settled into a serene calm.
"Does this mean I'll age normally from now on...?" Evileye questioned flatly, half-turning to stare down at Vahn while holding her cup up to her mouth with both hands. Notably, though she had yet to notice it herself, her once carmine eyes were now as pearlescent as opal—a pale, silvery white that reflected all the colors of the rainbow.
"I can't say for certain. But your physiology is similar to an otherworldly species called Bount. In their case, so long as they have spirit energy to sustain themselves, they can theoretically live forever..." Vahn answered, his brows rising as Evileye positioned herself in front of him, the lower half of her face veiled by her hands and teacup.
"Is there something else...?" Vahn asked, taking a soft, slurping sip from his own teacup.
"I'm trying to figure you out..." Evileye revealed, taking a notably louder sip of her tea before asserting, "This past week, practically every other sentence that came out of your mouth was about balance. Tell me...what imbalance are you correcting by showering me and the other members of Blue Roses with gifts?"
'She's perceptive...' Vahn noted, his expression giving nothing away as he smoothly responded, "By your account, you've spent the past 250 years bearing a burden that would have crushed just about any other. If that isn't deserving of a reward and a bit of compassion, I can't imagine what is..."
"Sure. But I never asked for your compassion..." Evileye countered, her prismatic eyes lowering from Vahn's face to the gap in his back yukata as she reasoned, "And don't rewards usually take the form of something their recipient requested?"
"Do you have a request in mind...?" Vahn asked, the corners of his smile curling cooly. Several possibilities entered his mind, but with his promise to Lupusregina still in effect, he would have to refuse if Evileye insisted he take responsibility for his kindness.
"If you're really a God, I want you to grant your Divine Protection to the members of Blue Roses. If you can't do it without being near them, then let me act as your proxy..." Evileye requested, her expression serious as she tossed aside her emptied cup and abruptly knelt, her head bowed as she entreated, "Make me your Priestess..."
'It's not impossible...' Vahn noted internally, outwardly exhaling a long, thoughtful "Hmmn...". He lacked the Authority to confer a proper Divine Protection, but he had items and equipment in his possession that made the World Items owned by Ainz seem like trinkets. Among them, the first that jumped out at him was the Bible that Michael had gifted him. But that might be too strong...
'Ah, there's always that...' Vahn mused, his smile broadening as he rose to his feet and stated, "I have no need for a Priestess or a proxy, but I can grant you the opportunity you seek. Whether or not you're able to borrow my power properly will depend on you..."
Punctuating his words, Vahn produced a furled battle standard from his Inventory. The pole it was affixed to was more like a spear, ebon-black, gold-accented, and tipped with a golden spearhead. As for the standard, it had a lustrous black hue, golden trim, and the seven-winged crest that served as his personal seal.
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[Dragon God's Promise of Victory(Failure)]
Rank: A
P.Atk: 444
M.Atk: 4444
Enchantment(s): [Dragon God's Divine Protection(-)], [Here, There Be Dragons(A)], [Indestructible(A)], [Faith Manifestation(B)], [Reverse the Tide(C)]
A holy battle standard representing Vahn Mason, the Dragon God of Intertwining Fates and Infinite Possibilities, designed by Brynhildr and given power by channeling the prayers of 1,111 Angels, 1,111 Devils, 1,111 Youkai, and 1,111 humans over six days. Though it was assembled from exceptional materials, several small imperfections prevent its true power from being brought out.
Restriction(s): Can only be wielded by those to whom the standard has been passed willingly. Furthermore, if the faith of the wielder is too low, its full power cannot be brought out.
Current Owner: Vahn Mason
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"Tell me...to whom am I entrusting my standard...?" Vahn questioned, prompting Evileye to raise her head. He had already learned her name through his own methods, but since she had yet to provide it of her own accord, he still referred to her as Evileye.
"Keno Fasris Invern...former Princess of Inveria and the one who bears the legacy of the Great Vampire Lord, Landfall..." Evileye responded, an audible gulp emanating from her throat. From the moment Vahn pulled out his curiously black standard, she felt as though the force of gravity on her body had increased ten times over.
"Rise, Keno Fasris Invern...and from the moment you accept this banner, never again lower yourself without cause..." Vahn commanded, waiting for Keno to rise before presenting the standard to her with both hands. Only when she had both of her own on it did he nod approvingly and release it, explaining, "Now, similar to the function of Divine Power, you can use this standard to manifest my power as your own. How does it feel?"
"It feels...overwhelming..." Keno muttered, her voice trembling faintly as she tightened her hold on the standard, afraid to drop and possibly sully it. She had held and wielded numerous powerful weapons and artifacts in her time, but the [Dragon God's Promise of Victory] was in a league of its own. The moment she grasped it, she gained an intuitive understanding of how it was used. And unless the impression she got was wrong, its power was so great that she could conquer the world—with the only person able to stop her being Vahn himself...
...
..
.