Danmachi: Westward Cloud [Complete]

[Vol.3] Quest 294- Primordial Flame, Part 6- The Night That Guided The Cloud Of The Western Wind

Laying face up in a field of Night Phlox, Cirrus sleeps peacefully.

"Wake up… Wake up." said a cool, older female voice.

Cirrus slowly opens his eye to see the night sky, filled with star trails.

"Where…"

"You’re in heaven, **** ***."

Cirrus’s eye widens, and he sits up after being called his name before being reincarnated. He turns his head to see where he is, and all he finds is that he is in a field of Night Phlox.

Their sweet fragrance, carried by the cool night breeze, was a calming experience.

"Good, you're wide awake."

"Where and who are you?" Cirrus said, a bit concerned as he stood up.

"In front of you."

"Uhh." He looked around. "I don’t see shit besides the night sky?"

"Behind you."

"Are you just fucking with… me?" Cirrus turns to see an older, more mature Nox with long hair, like the very night sky he is under, and even blends well into it. Her height also reflected that she was as tall as Ouranos, if not an inch or two shorter.

Her eyes were like the most polished of topaz, with a skin that never even met the light of day, yet was just as healthy as one. Her garments were of royal purple to further emphasize her skin, hair, and eyes.

"Hello, Cirrus Zephyr. I apologize for calling you by your former name, but I didn’t wish to call you by your birth name. Well, second birth name."

"…" Cirrus looks at her with eyes still wide.

"Ah, hold on. Snap!" She snapped her fingers, and her appearance became closer to Nox's, with more simple black hair, yellow eyes, and a more mature look and hairstyle. Yet her clothes were still breathtaking, he could gaze at her clothes for hours and still be fascinated. She still also towered over Cirrus. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am—"

"Nyx… Goddess of the Night."

She made a sweet, accepting smile.

"Seems your memories are still there; I was worried that they might have been messy for a while."

"Why am I here? I didn’t die from making that… Oh." His face saddens me.

"No. You did not die from creating a Divine Weapon and you should not feel sad about Nox’s passing. She should arrive here soon."

"T-then Nox is here!! Can I see her!! Please!!"

"Sorry, but you won’t be able to stay here long enough for her to arrive."

"W-why!? She died before I arrived here!"

"Heaven is an odd place. It doesn’t work on the same flow of time as it does on Gekai, so… Yeah."

Cirrus looks down with a painful expression.

"So… Why am I here?"

"Well, to make this clear. You are not dead; you are simply in a state of mind close to Heaven… Which happens to be similar to dying, but! With you absorbing Elpis, or, well, half of it, that state of mind has made it easier to extend our conversation."

"Oh… Well, that’s nice, I guess. So, did you just bring me here to talk about something?"

"Yes. But first I must say, Cirrus, one reason I brought you here is to thank you."

"Thank me? For what?"

"For freeing my daughter, Nox."

"Lady Nyx were you…"

"I was. I was the one that plucked your soul from the cycle of Samsara and covered you in my veil to deceive the gods. Did you never question how you could lie to them?"

"I assume half-truths worked? But with you saying it and being the one responsible, it makes more sense, also Samsara? Isn’t that the Hindu or Buddhist afterlife? I’m foggy about it. I assume that for you, being a Greek goddess, it would be like the Underworld or something."

"Not quite. All things that die go to heaven; we scrubbed them clean, or at least as best we could. Some stains just won’t get out. Those stains range from fears to talents to personality traits, etc. You understand, right?"

"I do. But where specifically am I?"

"Of course, you’re in my domain! Look up and see."

Cirrus looks up to see the star-trail-filled sky.

"Whoa…" his eyes widen in amazement.

"The way I set my domain up is that those souls that are making the star trails are souls from the great cycle, just interpreted how I like it. While those stars that stand solidly in the middle of the sky require bleaching."

"And the ones falling are the ones who are returning to the cycle…. right?"

She nods her head.

"That is correct; every god and their subsequent domain has its own interpretation of the great cycle. It’s beautiful, isn’t it? A massive shower and dance of stars… Oh, you know Artemis' way of doing things involves her hunting animals that represent souls! Of course, they are not hurt or damaged in any way, you know, but once they are killed and butchered, they return to the cycle!"

"... Why am I not surprised. But why did you pick me? There must have been many more people out there to do what you wanted, right?"

"Cirrus, do you know what other attribute I am least known for?"

"Um… No?"

"Prophecy, now it’s not so powerful as one would think, as the future is ever-flowing and diverse, even here in heaven."

"So string theory is real?"

"Well, yes and no, to an extent. A world could only support so many timelines before it pruned them away like a bonsai tree. If it keeps growing out of place, the foundational root of it, all will need to maintain its form and start the pruning."

"That… Hmm, okay, I think I got it."

"Now, as you are an example, we get souls from your world—hundreds upon millions of souls—but they could not save my daughter. Many would be too passive and not even go to her tomb, staying in Orario till they died. Some would be too aggressive and find her tomb, but then she would be used as a weapon or a toy. You… You were the outlier; you were neither too aggressive nor passive; you had your morals, and when you went too far, you would regret it to the core of who you are. You tried to be the best you could in the era you were in, and that is what allowed you to save Nox."

A overwhelming amount of love, appreciation came off the goddess of night. Her words were as filled with love as mother would to their child. Yes, they were words Cirrus felt from Fels.

"You did not treat her like a tool but as your companion and then later on like a sister." Nyx got teary-eyed. "Oh, how I loved the scenes where you and her would sing and dance with the people!! The times you drank and laughed at the pubs!!" a big smile grew across her face as tears rolled down. "And even the time when you lie in each other’s embrace and pour your hearts out to one another... Those were my favorite moments. The bond you shared with her was the best I have seen for my child... Oh, and there was the scene where she punched Zeus; that was very cathartic!!" she chuckled a bit.

"… Is that really all you reincarnated me for? Just to... save Nox and have her punch, Zeus?" Cirrus knows in his heart what he said is not true. He wants her to prove him wrong, that she is that loving of of a person.

"No." She quickly responded. "There was one other reason. In the future, I saw that it was going to eventually hit a point of stagnation. The people and gods would remain static. With your existence, it caused some effects that would ease this problem."

"Is it that much of a problem?"

"Very much so, as the world would need to have to keep growing to face its most dangerous foes. Primordials."

"Uhh… What the fuck are those, or them?"

"You will know in time. But to explain it quickly, they are what you might call Outer Gods."

"… Oh." Cirrus felt his heart drop. "L-like Cthulhu, Outer Gods!?"

"Mmm… More or less. Gods like Cthulhu are in heaven—not this heaven per se, but they are part of the Inner Conceptual Rings of Heaven. Look, it's a whole thing to get into, and it’s not relevant to you. Just know that Primordial are things that will be a problem for your future self."

"… Cool," Cirrus said, very confused. "I have the Dungeon Spirits and now Outer Gods… Great."

"Do not worry; your children would handle both masterfully."

"Children? As in more than one!? D-does Ai have twins!?"

"I won’t spoil it for you too much, but you will have four children. Each of these children will take up your fights."

"Four…" Cirrus was getting dizzy. "I will have four fucking kids!?"

"Yes. Each one of them will help the world in their own way."

"S-so Ai is going to bear three more kids?"

"… I never said she would bear all of your children."

"Wait, what the fuck!? There is someone who passed those criteria!? Me and Artemis fluffed it up to be impossible!?"

Nyx smiled, seeing Cirrus’s expressive concern.

"I will not say more than this, but you wished for a large family. So you may never be alone again."

"!!" Cirrus shook a bit. "I… think I said that?"

"Do not worry. It will be fine! You will come to enjoy being one big, happy family!"

"… Can we move on to something else? I don’t want to talk about my future."

"Very well, but we are running out of time anyway." Nyx walked up to him and held his hand. "Cirrus. I know losing Nox broke your heart, but know that I am happy I could see my daughter again." She smiled so warmly and sweetly, just like Nox.

"You have her smile." Cirrus feels a bit comforted to see that. "Can I ask how long we will be apart?"

"That is also a little spoiler, but do not worry, she will find her way to you."

Cirrus got teary-eyed.

"Yeah… Thank you, Lady Nyx." Cirrus kneeled as elegantly as he could. "Thank you for this new life. Thank you for all that this life has offered. Thank you for creating Nox, she is the best friend, sister one could ever ask for."

Nyx kneels before him with her hand on his shoulder.

"Before you leave, I have two presents for you."

Cirrus looks up to meet her topaz eyes. They were filled with as much love as her words were.

"I think you gave me more than enough."

"How very considerate of you, but I very much insist that a mother wishes to spoil her child even if you and I are now loosely related." Nyx held his hand and put something in it. She then wiped the tears from his right eye. "Open them when you return to Gekai. When next we meet, your story will come to a conclusion, and you will be given a... predicament. Oh, before you go, know that when you meet a red-haired goddess with Zeus, fight westward!! Okay, goodbye, Cirrus!! Bye-bye!!" she waved him goodbye.

"Wait west, what—!?"

Right before he left, kaleidoscope strings—threads so thin and delicate they were beyond the comprehension of anyone, not even a god—lightly attached themselves to Cirrus before he disappeared from Nyx’s domain.

He returned to Gekai, leaving behind the same green cloud-shaped flower where he stood last.

Nyx took a deep breath and watched the stars trail through the sky for a while.

"Ananke. You are a fast worker." Nyx said softly to herself. She turned her head to see a white-haired spirit walk out. "You didn’t want to say goodbye?" Nyx said, glancing back. "If I wasn’t the one who reincarnated him, I doubt he would have believed my lie."

"No," Nox said, walking through the Night Phlox. "I will always stay by his side! Besides, you told me yourself, I’ll be back with him eventually, and I've already left him a message! Besides, I need some downtime after finally making him the world’s greatest hero!"

"Is it because it would be awkward if you two met after such a heartfelt goodbye?"

"It would be awkward! You know with the goodbye's and stuff, it would be like saying goodbye to a friend but then you two walk in the same direction kind of awkward! But!" Nox walked up to Nyx. "I wanted to spend some time in Heaven with my creator! My... mom!"

This brought a smile to Nyx's face.

"Yes, there is much to discuss my child."

"Can I ask how long I’m gonna be here? As much as I enjoy being on vacation, I do wanna go back to him and the little runts he sired. Also, can you tell me about his past life? He never brought it up? When I try to remember the things that flowed in my mind when our contract was established and fully finalized, some memories were still blurry or hazy?"

"That is because of my veil. It hides all that I wished to hide. Well, because of your magic, Hecton and Fafnir know. Also, no." She looked far off in the distance. "I think it would be better if you don’t know his future."

"Tch! We reunite after my creation, and you won’t even do me a solid." Nox said in a dismissive, sassy manner.

Nyx turned and looked at her daughter with a sharp glare.

"Do not give me sass, young lady. I was gonna treat you to some fine cake, but now I won’t!"

"What!? Come on!! You can’t do that to me!" She looked at Nyx with her most precious puppy dog eyes, which she had learned from Ai.

"I am not Cirrus, so do not expect me to fold when you give me those eyes I gifted you! Even if we match now!"

"Mmmm!!! If I had a room and a door, I’d be slamming it right now! At least tell me his past name! I wanna tease him when I get back!"

"… Pffft hahahaha!!!" Nyx laughed loudly. "I never thought I would ever have this conversation with you, Candidus."

"So… Can we eat the cake and the name?"

"No. That name is something he no longer recognizes as his own."

"Come on!"

"No."

"I wanna go back!! This place sucks worse than Aphro’s singing!!"

"Hey!! Do I need to wash your mouth with some ■■■■!!"

"… H-how the fuck did you do that with your mouth?!"