Danmachi: Westward Cloud [Complete]

[Vol.3] Quest 299.6- Last Leg In The Journey

Deep in the Dungeon.

"So how are the others?" said Neze.

"Their progress is speeding up," said Revis. "What do you think? Great Sprite of Time, Miku."

Sitting down with her feet crossed, Miku is a beautiful woman who has faded-out white hair and orange eyes with lustrous black skin, even under the dim glow of the crystals.

"Soon," said a soft, lovely voice. "The time of their birth has accelerated greatly due to the spreading of the Primordial Flame, which was corrupted by humanity."

"How long is the timeframe?" asked Neze.

"… 20 years."

"T-twenty-years!!!" Neze and Revis shouted.

"That can’t possibly be correct!!" Revis shouted out of character.

"That is what I foresaw, the spreading of evil which will revive the Black Beasts, which dominate the land and sea. All the while reawakening the slumbering ruler of the sky, the Black Dragon. All in 12 years."

They remained quiet upon her words.

"… And what of Cirrus?" asked Neze.

"I do not know. Reading the future is not exact. The flow of time is always flowing and changing."

"Then how did you know when the Grand Spirits will come and when those monsters will walk the surface again?" Said, Revis.

"Much like the cycle of day and night, the sun will always rise and fall with the moon and the Black Beast’s return... it is inevitable, a constant no matter what path one will take."

"… Tch… I’m going to hunt."

"I will go as well."

They both leave Miku behind as she closes her eyes.

"… Cirrus… It would seem you will father the hero who will slay... ’Her’. Fufu I can’t wait to see you, the Dungeon-Conquering Hero. It is a shame I won’t get to see you, Cirrus Zephyr, the Hero of Elpis, the Demigod Progenitor." A smile streaks across her face as she falls into meditation.

Far away in the Frontier.

"Huff! huff! I can feel it!! Strong poison!!" Wu dressed in stolen clothing and bags of food, water, and magic stones. Her appearance is more like that of a vagabond who hadn’t had a shower in years.

She trudged along the wilderness until eventually making it out to an open cliffside overlooking a land filled with ash trees and a massive one in the distance. Underneath the tree, there is a castle built of stone and wood and a town surrounded by stone walls.

"There," she says, closing her eyes, and she could detect a faint odor of poison in the air. "This one… this one would surely outclass the ashes of the Behemoth and the Spring of Life."

Clack!

Wu turned behind her to see an arrow shaft melting away from her poisoned skin. She looks to find a hunter.

"My lucky day!"

In the Heaven’s Nyx’s eyes are filled with stars, countless and boundless.

"So, did you see what is to come next?" said Erebus, standing behind her.

Her eyes slowly lost their striations, and only her topaz eyes remained.

"His journey is finally on its last leg," Nyx said.

"Heh~ Truly! What are we talking about here? A year or two? Maybe even a few—"

"It will be a while. He still needs to sire the Phantasmal Hero and the Dungeon-Conquering Hero. Only then could he fill the last chapter of his story."

"So… what? Five or so years?"

"Somewhere around 12 to 13 years. You interrupted me while I was in my trance. Maybe I should have waited a bit more before I reincarnated Nox, so she can thrash you around some more." She said it with a sharp glare in her eyes.

"I can see the family resemblance. Both of you are rough. But just over a decade, huh? You sure he won’t have a few more kids?"

"I am sure. His time rising his first two will be a valuable lesson for him. Then there are the strings of fate now, having a firmer grasp on him."

"Can I get a little prophecy? Like who these kids will turn out to be?"

"My, you are even worse than I imagined, Erebus. You wish for spoilers?"

"By this point, yeah, I kinda do."

"… Very well. Listen closely: The Moonlight shall illuminate many worlds and indoctrinate those from foreign lands. A Mystery will discover the truth beyond comprehension and leave a nightmare with madness in their eye. A Mountain Goat shall end the gods secret and honor the promise between the fairy touched by wind and the emperor graced by night. Unlike the rest of their younger siblings, the Noble Sword is not bound by fate, for the Noble Sword’s path is infinite, paved by the love and wisdom of their parents."

"I got, like, some of that. Obviously, the Noble Sword is Cirrus’s firstborn, the Moonlight is Artemis' kid, and then the Mountain Goat has to be Ryuu and Cirrus' kid, right? I doubt, from what I saw, that he would hook up with that Nephilim."

"And for the Mystery?"

"Ahhh… fuck. I don’t know. Can I ask if the order is by birth?"

"Something along those lines."

"Hmm. Thinking about it, doesn’t the oldest get a bit screwed over? I mean of the three siblings after them, one would be two-thirds god and one-third human, and the other two siblings would be quarter god because of Cirrus’s soul."

"It is fate that placed three of the four siblings on this path. Albeit the younger siblings are the reason the Noble Sword is—will get involved."

"Tch… fate. That ruins everything; it ruins the fun, it ruins the result, and it ruins the greatest thing about the mortals." Erebus spoke with a face full of disdain. "And what of Nox? She was here for what? A few days or so before you reincarnated her?"

"She is going to be by Cirrus’s side. You know we must honor our children’s pledges."

"Of course, but to think you would put her in with—"

"Erebus, do you have a problem with my choice?"

"Of course not! But… The child will be even stronger than Cirrus before his taking in half of Elpis."

"That is the point, Erebus. Her child will be the eye of many, and Artemis cannot keep her child safe forever, nor could she stop her child’s curiosity about the unknown. And from these dives into unknown worlds from beyond the stars, they could build the strength to be the vanguard for humanity along with the Mystery."

"Haa… If only Khaos would let us do it."

"We have spoken with Khaos, and they agreed the Primordials will have their own children, the same as those on Gekai."

"Shouldn’t we be calling it by its name now? After all, it’s going to have a name soon."

Nyx smiles ear to ear.

"Yes. We should finally call it..." Nyx kneeled and plucked the cloud-shaped green flower. "Elysia, the world where Elysium lives."

Adulthood End, Volume 3 Complete.

Final volume, Elysium.