Chapter 1956: Release

Though he could not remember why he was chosen as Guardian of the Sealed Chamber, Tonki had made a vow to remain steadfast in his duty so long as Khane continued her daily visits. As a result, he had stood watch over the Sealed Chamber for nearly ten-thousand-years, never once quitting his post to so much as taking a break. This had confounded quite a number of people, but, so long as Khane continued to perform her duty, despite the resentment of everyone around her, his pride compelled him to do the same.

With a considerable amount of time on his hands, Tonki generally spent his days silently meditating in order to perfect his control and provide the nourishment his body required. This had allowed him to go without food or water for thousands of years, and, despite having no one to test his strength on, he was absolutely certain his power, control, and senses were far more refined than the average High Ranker. He had even completely mastered his Shinsu Quality, the Meteor Flame Lotus, one of the rarest abilities to manifest among descendants of the Land of Peach Blossoms.

Thanks to this mastery, combined with the fact only a single person had visited the Sealed Chamber in the last thirteen-hundred-years, Tonki was able to sense even the most insignificant changes in the surrounding Shinsu. He could even feel the body heat of people several hundred meters away from him, so, the moment Vahn teleported into the Sealed Chamber, the grey-skinned man's eyes snapped open as he shouted, "Who goes there!? This is a restricted area. If you happened upon this place by chance, leave now and I will not follow. Choose to remain and your life is forfeit...!"

Surprised by the man's instantaneous reaction, Vahn was momentarily at a loss as he inspected the 224cm tall figure with ashen skin, dark-grey hair, silver eyes, and pointed, elf-like, ears. He gave off the impression of a proud and valiant warrior, yet, perhaps as a result of his long seclusion, his aura was as tranquil as a lake on a moonless night. It was, honestly, rather remarkable, and, though his outfit looked a bit weird, consisting of muted grey robes with massive green ribbons on both sides of his waist, Vahn couldn't help feeling impressed.

Ignoring the man's warning, Vahn raised his hand to perform a greeting gesture as he adopted a carefree smile and said, "Hi there. My name is Vahn. You are?"

Rather than responding to Vahn's greeting, Tonki immediately surged forward, his massive frame contorting in a remarkable display of flexibility as the top of his foot swept towards the former's neck like the blade of a grim reaper. At the same time, even the most minute particles of Shinsu in the surroundings surged in response, but, rather than flowing tumultuously, they gathered to form a singular, destructive, current.

Had his opponent been anyone else, Tonki might have won the fight with a single, precise, kick. His power was comparable to a High Ranker between the Ranks of 100~200, and, most importantly, his control allowed him to penetrate the resistances of his opponent's with remarkable ease.

Unfortunately, the moment Tonki's foot made contact with Vahn's neck, it phased through him as if he simply didn't exist. Then, despite releasing the gathered Shinsu to produce a massive explosion, Vahn's hand managed to move unabated through the tumultuous flow, grasping his long ponytail in a vice-like grip.

Emerging from the destructive swirl of Shinsu without so much as a single out of place hair, Vahn couldn't help adopting a wry smile as he said, "Sorry about this..." before grabbing the man by his face and slamming him into the ground. This wouldn't normally be enough to damage, much less knock out a High Ranker, but, unlike most people, Tonki had a seal on his forehead that was directly connected to his cerebral cortex. In the distant past, this had allowed the Kings of the Land of Peach Blossoms to command absolute loyalty from their Royal Guards, but, in a situation like this, it was a major weakness since there were none in the Tower who could hope to compete with Vahn when it came to the application, alteration, and removal of seals...

With the unconscious man safely stowed away within the Little Garden, there was no longer anyone who could bar Vahn's passage. Thus, after passing through a massive set of enchanted stone doors, he found himself face-to-face with a vault door embedded in the center of a wall more than 500m from the floor. This wasn't a particularly great height, but, due to the presence of millions of seals lining the interior of the chamber, any spells or abilities that made use of Shinsu were completely prohibited within the eerily quiet, sound-absorbant, space.

Unaffected by such limitations, Vahn levitated to the circular vault door before taking a deep breath and exhaling a tired sigh that caused his body to contract rather drastically. At the same time, wild pink hair erupted from his head, cascading down his back as his body rapidly metamorphized into an exact replica of Khane's. Then, ignoring the usual feelings of guilt and discomfort that followed assuming someone's form without their permission, Vahn placed his palm against the center of the seal, saying, "Time to wake up..." in a husky and feminine tone.

Reacting to the energy flowing from his palm, the vault door released a hissing sound similar to pressure dispersing before simply falling away and smashing into the ground below. Immediately thereafter, countless wooden slates covered in seals came into view, each rotating and undulating at high speeds before opening in a manner reminiscent of an oculus.

With his perception allowing him to view everything in slow motion, Vahn was able to memorize and interpret their function with no real difficulty. He could also sense the space within the vault linking with that of the exterior space, much like a bridge being formed between two dimensional planes. As this occurred, the sealed slats quickly formed a tunnel connecting to an interior chamber. There, seated atop a floating white platform, a remarkably beautiful woman with flowing pink hair tied into a loose ponytail could be seen.

Though the woman's beauty was apparent with a glance, what truly made her remarkable, at least in Vahn's eyes, was the fact she had managed to reach a state where she had effectively fused with her unique, flowery, Shinsu. This caused the ends of her fringe bangs and ponytail to release a pale pink light, and, though her dress appeared to be comprised of normal fabrics, the edges appeared to be aflame with pale-pink Shinsu that periodically detached to form petals reminiscent of sakura flowers. She also had the characteristic pointed ears of her people, and, though they might seem innocuous in the eyes of others, Vahn could tell the blue markings beneath her eyes, reminiscent of blush marks, possessed the ability to interfere with the senses of anyone who looked upon them.

Shortly after that thought had crossed his mind, a wry smile developed across Vahn's face as the woman opened her eyes to reveal rose quartz-like eyes with pale-blue irises. Then, with a confused expression, she cocked her head to the side and asked, "Khane? Did something go wrong with the sealing process...?" while looking around the area.

Since the price for breaking the seal was Khane's memories, it was understandable that the woman, Dowon, would be a little confused. After all, she had received absolutely no new memories, so, from her perspective, no time had passed between the activation of the seal and its release.

Manifesting the Little Garden in his right hand, Vahn, still appearing as Khane, answered, "I'll explain everything once we move someplace safe."

Though she was still more than a little confused, Dowon ultimately replied with a curt nod before levitating from the platform she had been seated upon. This caused the 'flames' along the edge of her dress to become slightly more prominent, and, though she was initially barefoot, heels formed of vibrant-pink light immediately formed to cover her feet as she glided effortlessly and gracefully through the air.

With Dowon not suspecting any form of foul play, Vahn was able to pull her into the Little Garden without any issues. There, another version of himself had been waiting alongside the actual Khane, comforting her after a very long session of crying.

Surprised by the sudden change in scenery, the petal-like flames along the periphery of Dowon's dress momentarily increased in magnitude and intensity until she noticed her sister sitting beside a man she had never seen before. At the same time, Khane noticed her older sister floating just a few meters away, her expression revealing both shock and incredulity as she nervously asked, "Dowon? Is that really you...?"

Confused by Khane's words, Dowon cocked her head to the side as innumerable questions danced across her mind. Fortunately for both girls, Vahn was there to render assistance, so, after gently guiding the confused Khane to her feet, he brought the two of them nearer to each other before adopting an apologetic smile and explaining, "Sorry. I've never been the type to wait around. While we were talking, I decided to take matters into my own hands. You can both blame or hate me all you want later. For now, I believe there are more important matters to attend..."

With that said, Vahn gently pushed against the small of Khane's back, forcing her to step forward until she and Dowon were right in front of each other. This caused the latter to feel exceptionally awkward, as, prior to being sealed, she had done everything in her power to distance herself from others. This included Khane, so, seeing her sister's eyes glistening with pain and longing, a strange feeling of guilt began to swell within Dowon's chest as she instinctually took a step back...

Fortunately, before Dowon could complete the motion, an invisible force pushed against her from behind, reversing her intended direction. As a result, she found herself being tightly embraced by Khane, who, after confirming the tangibility of her sister, began bawling without inhibition. This left Dowon feeling more than a little fretful, her expression transitioning between confusion and guilt before ultimately settling into a slight pout upon noticing Vahn's cheeky smile...

---

After a very long discussion with her sister, Dowon managed to track Vahn to the base of one of the World Trees. This was something she found 'very' interesting, but, before asking about it, or any of the other pressing concerns on her mind, the first thing Dowon did was lower herself to the ground in an attempt to prostrate herself. Before she could, however, Vahn instantly appeared right in front of her, his index and middle fingers pressed to her forehead as he smiled and said, "I'll have none of that. I took action because I wanted to, not because I was anticipating a reward. Besides, if anyone is deserving of your gratitude, it's Khane. That girl endured on your behalf for nearly ten-thousand-years. Rather than offering me your power, I would be happier if you took care of your not-so-little sister..."

With Vahn having removed his fingers from her forehead, Dowon tentatively touched the region, a slight pout developing across her face as she pointedly replied, "That's a given. Now that I'm awake, I won't let anyone bully my sister. That includes you."

Raising his brow, Vahn was about to ask what she was talking about when Dowon raised her hand to produce a violent torrent of flowery Shinsu, threatening, "I don't care if you're an Irregular or a God. If you break my little sister's heart, I'll shove my fist so far up your ass that the last thing you'll experience before death is the taste of flowers."

Not expecting Dowon to have such a sharp tongue, Vahn momentarily found himself at a loss for words. Fortunately, it seemed like the woman was 'mostly' just playing around, a smile developing across her face as she added, "So long as you take my words to heart, there won't be any problems. I'm not sure how you managed it, but that girl seems pretty taken with you. I know I'm not really in a place to lecture others after making her suffer for so long, but be good to her, okay...?"

Though he would have liked to agree with Dowon's request, a wry smile immediately developed across Vahn's face as he awkwardly scratched the back of his head and said, "About that...there are a few things you should know...". Then, despite Dowon's expression darkening considerably, he did his best to explain the complicated relationship dynamic between himself and his rather expansive harem...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'RIP Tonki...','Vahn flexing his hax0r abilities...','Bruh...')

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