Chapter 2131: Paradigm Shift

With a disgruntled yet adorable expression on her face, Katana cradled the cup of coffee Vahn had given her while the latter sat across from her with an amused smile on his face.

Vahn would be lying if he said he didn't admire the woman's gumption. However, even if he wanted to give Katana the benefit of the doubt, her nature made it impossible to trust her. If she was given the chance, she would reveal all of his secrets, so, in a way, she was no different from Pweamma. He could tolerate her presence and even enjoy their time together, but, in the end, she was only aiming at him for selfish reasons.

Not that this was inherently bad.

"Listen, you're a beautiful woman. It's just, it takes a lot more than beauty and persistence to sway my favor. The thing I find most attractive is sincerity. I'm not saying you're insincere, but there is a difference between sincerity towards oneself and others. Besides, there is something you need to know about me..."

Squinting her silvery-grey eyes, Katana looked like she was a few seconds away from emptying her coffee onto Vahn's face as she flatly replied, "Enlighten me..."

Maintaining his amused smile, Vahn manipulated Katana's camera to start recording. This caused the look on the journalist's face to turn grim. While it might sound like an exaggeration to others, she valued her equipment more than her life. Without it, performing her job was impossible, and, even if she sold her body for the next ten years, it wouldn't be enough to repay her debts, much less replace her equipment.

"Relax...I'm not going to break it..."

Snorting through her nose, Katana crossed her arms under her now-concealed breasts. Vahn had given her a t-shirt, a strange pair of form-fitting spats, and black pantyhose. When she asked why he didn't give her a skirt or a pair of pants to go along with them, he just smiled, winked, and said, "Who knows~?" before having her sit across from him on an admittedly comfortable sofa.

After recording a good minute or so of the two of them just sitting there, Vahn manipulated the camera to settle in front of Katana before saying, "Play it back. Seeing it for yourself will help you to understand what I'm about to explain."

Furrowing her brows, Katana picked up her camera, and, after confirming it wasn't broken or faulty, played back the recording Vahn had made. When she saw herself sitting alone with a bored look on her face, a sense of incongruency, unlike anything she had ever experienced, washed over her.

If the recording had simply shown her seated across from Vahn with a pout, Katana would have just assumed he used some kind of trick to make himself imperceptible to cameras. Instead, she saw the version of herself in the recording lazing about with her feet kicked up on the table, almost as if she were back in her private room and bored out of her mind.

"I...is this me...?"

Though she was about to accuse Vahn of modifying the footage, the thing Katana found most disconcerting was the fact she had memories of lounging about, alone, in the waiting room. This caused a cold sweat to break out across Katana's body, as, despite knowing she had encountered Vahn numerous times in the past, she couldn't actually recall the exact sequence of events. Like, she knew what he had done, but, the more she tried to remember the exact details, the more she found herself questioning if he had ever been there in the first place...

"Drink your hot cocoa. It will help..."

Blinking in confusion, Katana asked, "Cocoa...?" before staring down at her mug to find the contents were now a much creamier shade of brown than she 'remembered'. She could have sworn she was drinking coffee, but, now that she thought about it more clearly, why would Vahn hand her a cup of coffee to help calm her nerves?

Noticing the fear and confusion expanding in Katana's eyes, Vahn's expression relaxed as he softly muttered, "You're not losing your mind. I just interfered with the flow of fate a bit to make it so that the contents of your cup were never coffee. As for the anomalies in the recording...well, the simplest explanation is that I'm a singularity. I only exist at points in time where my consciousness is present. There are no past or future versions of me, and, even if you were to record my story in painstaking detail, the only beings that can be derived from my Fragments of Origin are those I have created. In other words, I am not the proverbial goose you thought I was. I am simultaneously much more and absolutely nothing at all."

"..."

Staring at Vahn as if he had lost his mind, Katana found herself at a loss for words. A minute or so later, an incredulous and slightly nervous chuckle emanated from her throat as she asked, "Are you serious? The way you talk makes it sound like you already possess a Fragment of Origin. Besides, if what you said is true, why are there recordings of you in the Central Network's Archives?"

Since there wasn't really anything she could do with the information, Vahn manifested one of his Fragments of Origin before sliding it over and explaining, "There are a number of reasons for that. First and foremost, the events I have written into history cannot be altered through normal means. Even if you were to go back and find old recordings of my exploits, you would see the effect I have on my surroundings. I take advantage of this by creating a projection of what others believe to be my true form. As for why...well, that's a story for another time..."

"..."

In her attempts to rationalize everything Vahn was saying, Katana fell into a long and contemplative silence. It was a lot to take in, but, realizing she couldn't even recall the specifics of their preliminary interview, a depressive atmosphere slowly descended upon the dichromatic journalist.

Much to Katana's chagrin, Vahn found her current state rather amusing. As a result, a light chuckle emanated from his throat. This caused the false redhead to glare at him, asking, "What the fuck are you laughing at...?" in a slightly threatening tone.

Without losing his smile, Vahn just shook his head before explaining, "I just find it a little ironic. The abilities of a Poet basically allow them to influence fate and influence a person's very existence. You are, quite literally, trying to obtain the power to influence reality itself. Don't tell me you genuinely believe it's okay for a Poet to have greater control over a person's existence than the person they're writing about..."

Surprised by Vahn's accusatory tone, Katana's mouth opened and closed a few times as she tried to come up with an excuse to justify the existence of Poets. The truth was, she had never actually put all that much thought into it. She was just infatuated by the prospect of documenting a person's journey and presenting it in a format that people would enjoy. Sure, she might embellish a few facts for entertainment purposes but that was par for the course in her industry. Who would want to read a story without action and drama? Wasn't it better for things to be exciting...?

Amused by Katana's floundering, another light chuckle emanated from Vahn's throat as he adopted a smile and said, "Relax. I never said becoming a Poet was a bad thing. In fact, so long as you agree to never spread falsehoods regarding my family or loved ones, I am willing to support you. It's just, instead of writing my story, you'll be writing the stories of those around me."

With the most sincere look of incredulity Vahn had seen in quite some time, Katana stared at him with her mouth open to the point he could have tossed a lozenge into the back of her throat. She stayed like this for the better part of twenty seconds before blinking several times and asking, "Are you serious...?" in an audibly trepidatious tone.

Rather than immediately answering Katana's question, Vahn allowed his mind to wander to the version of himself that was currently making love to her in a timeline that would cease to exist the moment he vanished from it. He would be lying if he said he didn't find her captivating, so, while she clawing his back in a divergent timeline, the corners of his smile turned up as he softly mused, "I am..."

Though she wanted to ask why he was willing to support her, Katana didn't want to risk changing Vahn's mind. Instead, she pulled out her pen and writing pad, silvery eyes glistening as she began to ask as many questions as she could think of. She wanted to know who he wanted her to keep tabs on, and, more importantly, whether or not he was willing to sponsor her with the necessary equipment...

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While his other self was taking care of business in the past, the 'divergent' version of Vahn had a far more lascivious smile on his face as he stared down at the half-conscious beauty writhing beneath him. The spats he had given her were torn at the crotch, and, after a fair amount of foreplay, he had convinced her to let him bestow her with a fluffy black tail and dog ears.

"Tell me...is this the sort of scoop you had in mind when you tracked me down~?"

Feeling Vahn's fingers invade her insides, a sonorous moan escaped Katana's throat as she tightly gripped the sheets beneath her. He was using his fingers to scrape out some of the semen that had filled her insides to the point of making her stomach swell. This would have been impossible with a normal woman, but, after seeing the metal piercings on her nipples, navel, and clit, Vahn correctly intuited that Katana was into some pretty intense plays.

Unfortunately, nothing Katana had experienced could prepare her for a night with Vahn. This was the reason his original had refused her rather obvious advances. Most of the women he slept with simply couldn't live without him, so, as appreciative as he was of Katana's beauty, Vahn didn't want to derail her future by making her dependent on his affection. There was also the fact that she used her looks to loosen the lips of prospective targets, but, as someone who slept with a multitude of women, he couldn't really blame her for weaponizing her sexuality. Instead, he focused on drawing it out to its limits...

"You know...you would make an excellent bunny girl..."

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After a brief recess following the morning's events, it was finally time for Sarina to participate in the Horse Race.

Though it was one of the tamer events, the crowd still got a kick out of seeing a swarm of attractive women riding around a track and navigating obstacles atop winged steeds. The people controlling the perspective really knew what they were doing, so, every time one of the contestants performed a hairpin turn or navigated an obstacle that resulted in their stallion slamming its hooves into the ground, the scene would slow down so that everyone could see how the rider's breasts morphed and jiggled in ultra-high definition.

If he were being perfectly honest, Vahn found the setup to be a little shameless, but, considering many of the riders had elected to wear bikini tops, they clearly understood what they were doing when they signed up for the Horse Race. Thus, instead of complaining, he enjoyed the show along with everyone else. The only difference was that he kept most of his attention focused on Sarina so he could console her when she saw that the replay focused on every other contestant...

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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Vahn is fucking this girl's mind and body at the same time xD...','This is some advanced stuff...','RIP Sarina...')

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