Chapter 1916 Karmic Undercurrents

(A/N: Important announcement at the end of the chapter~.)

Peeking a few years into the future, specifically around the time that a second story was intended to take place, Vahn was unsurprised to find that his Template had elected to take matters into his own hands. More specifically, he had used his status as one of the most powerful and influential voices within the Pangalactic Federation to make amendments to the Underdeveloped Planet Preservation Pact. This allowed him to establish an organization that specialized in the research and observation of so-called Underdeveloped Civilizations, and, whenever anomalies were discovered, his team was uniquely equipped to deal with threats to the universe.

Though there was a significant amount of backlash in the early years, Vahn's Template, also known as Vahn, was eventually declared Hegemon of the Pangalactic Federation after establishing contact with one of the universe's oldest and most technologically overdeveloped civilizations, the Nedians. With their cooperation, he was able to, quite literally, prevent the destruction of the entire universe, and, as a result of his Guardianship over their final heiress, an adorable blue-haired girl named Rena Lanford, he was entrusted with nearly 700,000,000 years of data related to universe's development and every technological advancement the Nedians had ever made.

Seeing how successful his alternate self had become, Vahn couldn't help feeling just a little envious. It wasn't that he was wanting for things like power and beautiful women at his side. It was more so that he was envious of the 'stability' of their existence. His own life seemed exceedingly random at times, and, though he had a general understanding of the direction he was moving in, the goal he was reaching for was something beyond comprehension. Inversely, the Template he had created as his proxy in the Tri-Ace Anthology had a perfect understanding of the direction his life was heading, and, through a concerted effort, he was able to overthrow a plot more than four-billion-years in the making before ushering in an era of peace and stability that spanned nearly 1300 years.

While 1300 years might not seem like a long time, it was an astronomical amount considering he was the Hegemon of a Federation that spanned several galaxies and more than 60,000 'civilized' worlds. The longest era of peace prior to his reign was only eight years, as, whenever people made distinctions between 'civilized' and 'uncivilized', finding corruption was easier than finding grains of sand on a beach. It didn't help that there was no unified system of governance among the planets comprising the Pangalactic Federation, as, whenever someone tried to install such a government, they were bastardized as an autocrat or a tyrant by the powers pulling the strings from behind the scenes.

In the end, it took demonic creatures invading from another dimension to shatter the peace that had been wrought through Fellpool Vahn's efforts. This, in turn, led to the discovery that the entire universe had simply been a simulation created by higher-dimensional beings as a way for them to pass the time. This revelation led to widespread chaos throughout the Universe before Vahn and his allies, once again, fought to restore peace and establish peaceful coexistence between the 'Eternal Sphere', the name of their universal simulation, and the Fourth-Dimensional beings responsible for its creation.

Though he could have continued to rule as Hegemon, Fellpool Vahn took advantage of the fact that he had reached the end of his reality's established timeline to finally retire. In his place, he allowed the reality-spanning E.S.O.A.A, the system designed to monitor the Eternal Sphere, to manage, not just the Pangalactic Federation, but all civilizations within its sphere of influence. This led to quite a number of issues throughout the universe, but, with the threat of literal deletion hanging over their heads, most groups remained relatively reasonable in their opposition to Universal Governance. As for Vahn and his extended family, they became the bridge between the Eternal Sphere and Fourth-Dimensional Space, guaranteeing the preservation of the former while working with the people of the latter to uncover the truth of their own origin...

---

After what felt like an eternity, largely due to the fact he inherited the memories and experiences of his Templates, Vahn departed from his Internalized Realm to find himself relaxing comfortably in his own bed. This filled him with a momentary sense of incongruity, but, the moment he met the gazes of the noticeably fatigued Theo, Mira, and Lisanna, a natural smile spread across his face.

Returning a smile of her own, Mira decided to ask what the other two were thinking, her voice filled with undertones of concern as she inquired, "How long were you gone?"

Though it wouldn't be inaccurate to say he was gone for a much longer period of time, Vahn placed a kiss atop Mira's head before answering, "Eight months..." in a whispering tone.

Meeting Vahn's gaze, Mira got the distinct impression he was hiding something, so, without beating around the bush, she asked, "How many?"

Confused by the contextless question, Vahn tilted his head to the side, the gears of his mind turning until Sis took pity on him and explained, (*She is asking about the number of women you picked up despite stating you were simply going to observe.*)

Since his Template had been created around the time of the first divergence of fate, Vahn wouldn't be lying if he said he hadn't picked up any new women during his time away. Unfortunately, as his Template had only developed a true Ego towards the end of the journey, it wasn't wrong to say he was the one in control. Thus, rather than avoid any responsibility in the matter, he answered, "Just one..." since, prior to his Template gaining independence, they had shared a number of experiences with the remarkably affectionate Pericci.

Hearing Vahn's response, Mira, Theo, and Lisanna all showed genuine surprise on their faces as the eldest of the two Strauss sisters asked, "Only one? That is a surprising amount of restraint coming from you...can you show us what she looks like?"

Though his smile became somewhat wry due to her rather biting remark, Vahn extended his palm to create a three-dimensional projection of Pericci prior to their separation. The moment the three girls saw her, a glimmer of enlightenment could be seen in their eyes as Lisanna casually remarked, "She looks a lot like Fenrir...albeit a lot more 'bubbly'..."

Nodding their heads in agreement, Mira and Theo continued to observe the scale-model of Pericci, the latter tilting her head to examine the projection's backside, musing, "Oh my..." with an amused glimmer in her eyes.

Shaking his head, Vahn's expression relaxed as he dissipated the projection and briefly recounted the events that had transpired within the Actualized World. This explanation was aided by the use of Memory Projection Spheres, and, though it took several hours, he could easily control the flow of time within the room to afford them ample opportunity to witness his exploits. This led to a number of questions regarding the relationship between his Template and several other female members of the verse, but, as he was no longer in control at that point, he couldn't be held accountable for his Fellpool counterpart's actions...

---

With most of his frustrations thoroughly vented, Vahn departed the Little Garden alongside Theo, Musashi, Scathach, and, of course, Index. His return brought back a few unpleasant memories, but, having gained an additional 1300 years of experience over the course of an eight-month period, he was no longer as affected by the tragedy that had resulted from Chung's depravity and boredom.

After taking a few minutes to collect himself and organize his thoughts, Vahn decided it would be prudent of him to return to the Quarantine Area and liberate those within. He could always restore their data at a later date, but, rather than risk something happening in the future, it was best to take action in the present. He knew from the Law of Identity's acquisition of Data Eduan's memories that the latter possessed the means to effectively format the entire Hidden Floor, so, before karma and fate could reveal their hands, Vahn wanted to eliminate as many concerning variables as possible.

To aid in this endeavor, Vahn had compiled the data pertaining to the Hidden Floor's residents into a Memory Fragment that was then uploaded to the Intelligence Nexus that had been jointly created by Urahara and Android 21 in accordance with Da Vinci's original design specifications for the Ark, Mother, and Shadow Systems. This allowed them to mass-produce Gigai, artificial bodies that were functionally identical to normal humans, that perfectly emulated the physical appearance and base specifications of everyone who had been adversely modified by Chung.

Though it would normally take several hours to create a single Gigai, Vahn's ability to freely control the flow of time within the Little Garden reduced the time taken to a completely negligible amount. This was one of the most heinous exploits made possible through the combination of his status as a Tier 5 and the master of the Little Garden. Using it, he could even cultivate various medicinal plants and other cultivation resources that would typically take tens-of-thousands of years to mature. This, in turn, afforded him the opportunity to generate functionally unlimited OP, as, with the exception of goods purchased directly from the system shop, anything grown naturally could be traded in at roughly 1/10th its original value.

While it wasn't the most cost-efficient way to generate Origin Points, primarily because he would never task anyone with watching over plants for tens of thousands of years at a time, the gardens of the Seventh Layer had become the primary source of Vahn's OP income. The only caveats were that many 'heavenly treasures', plants included, became sapient after a certain amount of time had passed. They also had a propensity for killing and consuming nearby treasures, so, without anyone to keep order, a number of magical beasts, some of which were farmed for OP, had taken residence within the Seventh Layer. This made it a pretty popular place for live combat training, as, thanks to the influence of the Law of Progress, the creatures within grew powerful at an exponential rate...

---

Though he was quite accustomed to waiting, Yu Hansung was beginning to feel a little impatient after coming to learn that an Irregular different from the one he had anticipated had arrived on the Hidden Floor. To make matters even worse, the Irregular had freely trespassed the Quarantine Area to seek him out; and, according to the residents of the Seed, he had even greater authority over the Hidden Floor's systems than the Big Breeders selected to manage it.

Lamenting the lack of coffee within the Quarantine Area, Yu Hansung exhaled a troubled sigh as he vexatiously watched the bridge connecting the Seed to the larger structure of the Fruit of Good and Evil. He wanted to witness how the man named Vahn entered the area for himself, as, according to the reports of Batis and other trustworthy sources, the former had allegedly appeared out of thin air before disappearing in much the same manner. If this was true, it meant they could finally leave the Quarantine Area, as, according to the same sources, there had been several other people traveling alongside the presumed Irregular.

As if machinated by fate, a strange ripple appeared the moment this thought crossed Yu Hansung's mind. From within, a handsome man with windswept brown hair, energetic green eyes, and tanned skin emerged alongside two uncannily similar individuals. At a glance, the trio could be mistaken for triplets, but, with a few small variations in their facial structure, hairstyles, and choice of clothing, it was hard to be certain. The only thing Yu Hansung knew with absolute certainty was that they had the exact same eye pigment, and, as far as he could tell, power levels that were completely off the charts...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'TFW your Template is more successful than yourself...','Mira low-key taking pot-shots at Vahn's ego xD...','Karma is a bitch (O w O)...')

(A/N: It is no secret on the Discord server, but I've been severely ill for the past month or so. This has given me a lot of time to think about what I'm doing with both my life and the novel. As I have stated in the past, EPIC was always intended to be practice. To that end, I intend to continue writing until the story reaches a natural conclusion and all its central mechanics have been expanded upon. At the same time, however, I need to begin seriously considering my personal wellness and financial situation. I have neither a car nor health insurance, so, even when I could barely move around, I had little choice but to tough it out. Fortunately, writing doesn't require me to physically exert myself or leave my apartment. Had I been working full or part-time, I imagine I would have been in a similar situation as many of my fellow Americans. To that end, I am truly grateful for the support everyone has given me thus far. Unfortunately, this is also where a problem presents itself. Everyone is facing trying times these days, and, were it not for the benevolence of a few kind souls, I would probably be completely broke right now. Fortunately, someone was kind enough to contribute a $640 Path-level donation on my *******, but, as a result, several others also reduced their pledges. Now, I'm roughly $300-400 dollars beneath the level that was previously supporting me. If things continue at this rate, I might be forced to do other work just to be able to get by. This, however, would put EPIC at risk, so, despite some serious concerns from my parents and friends, I've decided to just say 'fuck it' and go all-in on writing. To that effect, I will be doing my best to release three chapters Sat-Thur. At the same time, I intend to start writing on an offshoot called 'EPIC Side Stories' that will only be made available on my *******. I don't have the heart to hold actual EPIC chapters hostage, so, in the hopes of improving my situation, I will be holding polls to allow the community to decide what the side stories pertain to. Examples include things like: the events that had taken place in the Tri-Ace Anthology, NSFW scenes between various characters, and anything else EPIC-related. If you are interested in being a part of the community and quite literally helping me survive, I will be making all side-stories available for a single dollar. For those who think this is unfair, know that I intend to make all side-stories public once EPIC has finished. I am forced into this situation by circumstance, and I hope this decision hasn't offended anyone. You all are what make EPIC possible, and, were it not for the support of many amazing individuals, I might not even be here right now. Thank you for your patience and understanding during these trying times...and, while it is hard to sound sincere in text, know that I am sorry things have come to this. You all deserve better than this...we all deserve better than this...)

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