[December 25th DxD/August 18th DBT]
With Termina's end-of-year festivities in full swing, the version of Vahn in the setting of OL-2138 was lying motionlessly in his tent until he detected multiple life signs near the entrance of the illusory forest.
'Is it finally time...?' Vahn wondered to himself, rising to a seated position, stretching the tension out of his body, and restoring the flow of his blood. His heart had been beating less than once per minute while he was in his power and process-saving mode, so he needed a second or two to regain full mobility.
With that out of the way, Vahn teleported near the entrance of the illusory forest and emerged from its impenetrable fog to find the members of Blue Roses discussing how to make contact with him.
"Oh, Lord Vahn. You've come out to meet us personally? We're honored," Lakyus stated, placing her right hand over her left breast and adopting a cordial smile.
"Yo! Dragon man! You're still rocking that handsome face and tight little tush?" Gagaran greeted with a crass grin, raising her right hand casually. Fortunately for her, Vahn found this novel, an amused smile adorning his face as he responded, "If you're referring to my current appearance, then I suppose so."
"Ha! This one knows how to take a joke!" Gagaran guffawed, cupping the crimson plating of her abdomen with her gauntleted hand. Like everyone else present, she was fully equipped in her combat loadout, leading Vahn to assume they were either there to challenge him or about to embark on a dangerous mission.
Directing his gaze to Evileye, who was partially concealed behind the tall and broad-shouldered Gagaran's body, Vahn asked, "Have you come here to settle things between us?"
"Ideally, you would forget about that..." Evileye exhaled, making herself fully visible before offering a slight bow as she stated, "I spoke out of turn during our previous encounter. My ego had—"
"It's fine. If anything, I found your taunting amusing. I never took offense, so you've no reason to apologize," Vahn interjected, compelling Evileye to raise her head with a gesture of his right hand.
Feeling her body straighten, Evileye's pupils contracted behind her mask. She wasn't sure what Vahn had done, but it had completely bypassed her Magic Barrier and resistances.
"Lord Vahn is truly benevolent..." Lakyus stated, her smile and demeanor becoming less tense as she revealed, "As I'm sure you have other matters to attend to, I will get to the point of why we've disturbed you. Blue Roses would like to request or purchase Lord Vahn's services as a healer and the leader of the Adamantite-ranked Party, Retinue of the Dragon."
"Alright, then. If nothing else, I can hear the specifics of your request out at my temporary abode, the Seven Lotus Spring. Follow closely so you do not lose your way," Vahn stated, turning to lead the way. Tina and Tia had been standing behind him out of habit, but as he advanced, they naturally made way and bowed their heads in concert.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Gagaran asked, hefting her oversized war pick onto her shoulder before being the first to follow Vahn as her Party's Vanguard. The rest followed in a formation they called the Holy Maiden's Chariot, with Lakyus at its center. They didn't believe that Vahn was luring them into a trap. But as the most skilled team of Adventurers in Re-Estize, they were always vigilant when entering new locations...
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Following a short stroll through the forest, Vahn stopped at the entrance to his temporary home and introduced it, stating, "Welcome, Blue Roses, to the Seven Lotus Spring."
"Goodness...Tina told us what to expect, but Lord Vahn's home is far more picturesque than any description could do it justice..." Lakyus remarked in awe. She had found it odd that a suspected Dragon Lord would dwell in a tent, but now that she saw the flower-themed tents in person, she felt like she had stepped into a hidden abode of faeries...
"It didn't have this ambiance the last time I was here..." Tina noted, her pale red eyes sweeping the area with her usually sharp-eyed, impassive expression. The layout was the same as her memory, but there was now a sense of serene detachment that made the Seven Lotus Spring feel like a completely different world.
"What kind of fish are in that pond over there? They don't feel ordinary..." Tia remarked, distinguishable from her sister by her attire's blue accents and comparably mundane, three-layer steel bracers.
"They're a rare species known as Prism-Scaled Carp. Unlike their parent species, Coin Carp, whose scales are formed from gold, Prism-Scaled Carp are covered in precious gemstones..." Vahn explained, leading the way over to the pond's edge and tossing in a handful of many-colored fish pellets, similarly made of precious gems.
"Damn...this is flaunting wealth on another level..." Gagaran remarked, her jaw slack and her expression a mix of disbelief and nervousness. She had no idea of their actual value, but with precious gemstones selling for tens, or even hundreds of gold, she suspected the meter-long carp in the pond to be worth their weight in platinum.
Causing Lakyus's and Gagaran's skin to prickle, Tina flatly inquired, "Can I have one of these to take back with us?"
"T-Tina! What are you asking...!?" Lakyus exclaimed, her eyes widening to their limits as she looked to Vahn, nervous about his response.
Contrary to everyone but Tina's expectations, who knew first-hand how generous the enigmatic Dragon could be, Vahn answered, "You may. But you will need to catch it yourself. And I would prefer that you didn't make a mess or damage the embankment."
"No problem," Tina responded, undoing the clasps of her breastplate and removing every piece of gear she had on, sans the sheer fabric covering her breasts and her black, v-string bikini-like bottoms. Her sister followed suit, leaving Lakyus to clasp her forehead in exasperation, her complexion pale, but her cheeks rosy from mortification and embarrassment.
"Do the three of you want to try catching one as well? If you don't have any on hand, I can provide swimwear," Vahn offered, leaving Lakyus at an even greater loss. As a former Noble and Re-Estize's premier Adamantite-ranked Adventurer, she had accumulated for herself a reasonable amount of wealth. That said, it wasn't so great that she was set for life...
"They're fast..."
"And there's something off with this water..."
As Lakyus, Gagaran, and Evileye were considering Vahn's offer, Tina and Tia were struggling much more than they anticipated to catch one of the Prism-Scaled Carp. It wasn't just that the carp were fast. The water within the pond felt dense—much denser than normal water. It flowed the same, but it felt like moving through cold metal that was somehow kept liquid at outdoor temperature.
"What? Are the two of you seriously struggling this much to capture some fish...?" Gagaran questioned, stepping forward and taking a knee. She was curious about there being something off with the water, so she attempted to scoop a handful with her gauntleted hand.
"What the hell? Is this even water...? Gagaran asked, scooping up the pond water to find that it was made of countless, glass-like grains, far finer than even dessert sand. It slipped through the gaps between her fingers and pooled within her palm, but it felt like she was holding finely ground gold dust instead of water.
"It's definitely water, but it's been infused with a tremendous amount of spirit energy, drastically increasing its density," Vahn explained. "If not for that, the Prism-Scaled Carp would be too dense to swim."
"Spirit Energy? Isn't that how the Mystics of the far east refer to Divine Power...?" Lakyus questioned, her curiosity piqued.
"That isn't something I'm aware of. What I can say is that Spirit Energy is the natural form of Divine Power, similar to how Mana is the natural form of Magic Power," Vahn answered calmly. "To that end, you could say this spring is a font of Divine Power whose purpose is to sustain and nourish these fish."
"This is insane...could you be the Divine Dragon said to guard the Spring of Immortality...?" Evileye questioned, her hidden expression one of utter stupefaction. The Spring of Immortality was a fable among fables. Many believed it to exist in a land called Avalon, far across the ocean, where not even a Dragon's wings could take them. But among the many who had set out in search of it, none had returned.
"There's no way that's true..." Gagaran appended. Though as the words left her lips, she felt uncertainty creep up and wash over her like a wave from behind.
"Mmn...it's true that if a person were to bathe in this spring daily, they would remain healthy and never age..." Vahn admitted, leaving the group of golden-haired women speechless. He did not know the Dragon or the spring they were referring to, but he couldn't refute that his origins were divine and that what he had created served a similar function.
"To think the legendary Spring of Immortality would appear in the heart of Re-Estize without anyone's notice..." Lakyus muttered, her emerald-green eyes staring at the pond as if it were the most precious treasure under the heavens.
"Hey...is it really okay for us to take a dip in this...?" Garagan questioned nervously, her query directed at Vahn.
"Did I not invite you to do so? As long as you're careful not to damage the embankment, it costs me nothing to let you use it. Just keep in mind that this spring nourishes the land around it, so I won't allow you to take more than a small amount of its contents—assuming you have a vessel that can properly contain them," Vahn answered.
"Is a special vessel required...?" Lakyus questioned, unable to restrain her curiosity.
"Why not give it a try and see for yourself...?" Vahn proposed, feeling it would be faster for Lakyus to confirm things directly.
"Alright, then...with your permission..." Lakyus responded, emptying her leather canteen before approaching the spring's edge to fill it. There were no issues up until that point, but as she removed the exceptionally heavy canteen from the water, it began to bead and drip from the bottom as if it had a bunch of tiny leaks.
"Spiritually-attuned molecules tend to bleed through material objects. That includes people—but that's how it's able to nourish the body," Vahn explained.
"Is that why my body feels so heavy...?" Tina questioned, both she and Tia giving up on catching a Prism-Scaled Carp at the same time. They had tried to coordinate to trap one against the embankment, but it was able to slip past them faster than even their Ninja senses could track.
Nodding, Vahn explained, "Without an art to process the Spirit Energy, it tends to collect and then bleed out of the body when you move from an environment saturated with it to one without. But if an injured or recently deceased person were submerged in it, it would mend their wounds and restore them within a few minutes—likely stronger than they were before they were injured."
"How does it react to the Undead...?" Evileye questioned, her voice low as she was referring to herself.
"Because it's Spirit Energy and not Divine Power, it has no adverse effects on the Undead," Vahn answered. "Rather, if something like a Zombie were to bathe in it, it is more likely to rejuvenate than destroy them. That said, I can't guarantee that the resurrected would retain their memories. It would depend on how much time has passed since their death and whether their Ego—whether their Soul was preserved post-mortem."
"So not even the legendary Spring of Immortality is enough..." Evileye muttered to herself, her head hanging and her shoulders slumping as she appeared to fall into a state of introspection. Meanwhile, Gagaran had all but stripped naked, revealing the veritable palace of muscle that was her body. Were it not for her green, scale-covered, bra-like top, she would have been indistinguishable from someone like Miyu's grandfather from the rear, both in height and build...
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