Danmachi: Westward Cloud [Complete]

[Vol.4] Quest 329- 4 Years Later

Kaios Desert, 27 years ago.

"So… Do you have a birthday, Nox?" Cirrus says to her while they're looking at the passing sea of sand.

‘Hmmm. Well, it’s been so long that I really don’t remember when I was born, or, well, created, I should say.’ Nox said in her owl form, sitting on his lap and watching as well.

"That’s a bit sad. I’m sure everyone has something they consider their day, you know?"

‘For mortals like you and every other race, I’m sure it’s nice, but for Spirits like me, we really don’t age. The concept of a birthday grows meaningless as time goes on. But now that you brought this up, I remember the day I was born.’

"And when was it?"

‘May 29th, the day we met, and you released me.’ She turns to him. ‘Thank you again for saving me.’ She hugs him with her wings.

"…I um I’m not a, um, o-okay." He said it awkwardly as he hugged her as well.

Cirrus closes his eyes, and the two listen to the ship as it sails through the desert sand.

Present.

When Cirrus opens his eyes from his dream, he finds himself in bed.

"…Ah…a dream." A couple of tears ran down his face.

‘When are you going to come back, Nox?’

He sits up and wipes away the tears. He looks at the clock to see that it’s 9:48. He also looks at the calendar, which says May 15th.

‘Ah, that’s why you came to me, Nox, it’s my—'

Slam!!

His children slammed the door open.

"Happy birthday, Dad!" shouted Callisto, who is now 11.

"Happy birthday, Dad!" shouted Auberon, 8 years old.

Coming from behind them was a 3-year-old little girl with golden blonde hair, emerald eyes, and pointy ears.

"H-happy birthday, Dad!" She said, coming up to him and climbing up onto the bed.

Callisto and Auberon jump onto the bed while Cirrus picks up his half-elf daughter.

"Thank you for the warm welcome. Where are your moms?" He looked at his youngest daughter. "Alise?"

Cirrus puts Alise on his lap.

"Mom is helping on patrol," Alise said.

"My mom is helping with the cooking!" said Calli.

"Mine is out getting things for the party." Said Auberon.

"Hey, don’t tell Dad!" Alise scolded the two.

Alise wishes to keep the surprise party a secret.

"Dad already knows. They do this every year," Callisto said.

"Hmm…" Alise looked at her elder sister with a mean glare.

"It’s fine, Alise." Cirrus pats her head. "I am a good enough actor. But seeing as they already got a start on their days, huh? Well, I can’t fall behind."

"Where are you going to go, Dad?" asked Auberon.

"Hmm… I’ll probably take a quick shower and go see Aunty Lenoa and some others."

"Can I come, Dad?" said Alise.

"Of course you can, Little Mountain Goat." Cirrus pinches Alise’s cheek a bit.

She got that nickname when she got out of her crib several times, along with climbing up on her parent's clothes. Like the rest of Cirrus’ kids, she, too, was noticeably stronger and smarter than kids her age.

"Hehe!" Alice giggles a bit.

"No fair, I wanted to come too!" said Callisto jealously. "Pinch my cheeks too! They're chubby too!"

"Last time I said you had chubby cheeks, you punched my arm," Auberon said.

"That was then, and this is now!" She responded.

"Uh-huh." Auberon rolled his eyes.

"Enough with the arguing," Cirrus said. "If you want to, Calli, Auby, do you wanna come?"

"Hm!" He nods his head.

"Alright, I’ll be down in a minute." Cirrus puts down Alise. "I’ll be done before you three know it." He lightly smiles.

"Don’t take too long, Dad!" Callisto said, leaving.

"I’ll make sure she doesn’t try anything!" Auberon said, following his sister.

"I’ll also help!" Alise said, holding Auberon’s hand.

The three leave the room.

"Hah…" Cirrus lets out a sigh. "Thank god they are smart. But my god, am I not looking forward to their puberty." A feeling of dread clutches his chest. "Ugh, dark days are ahead of me."

Cirrus heads into the bathroom and takes a shower. He quickly cleans himself and gets out. As he wipes the condensation from the mirror, he looks at himself.

‘Ah…I’m 35… how…weird. I never expected to live to be this old. In my last life, I died in what? my…hm? When was it? It seems time has affected me. The only thing that came to mind was my mid-to-late 20s, and now I am actually in my mid-30s and have four kids.'

A smile grows across his face.

"Ha…haha…hahahahahahaha!!!!" He smiles from ear to ear. "Time sure has come and passed!" He walks out dressed in a blue long-sleeved shirt and a black, light coat with black pants and brown Adamantite-toe boots.

Going down the elevator, the sight of what he accomplished still amazed Cirrus. He could see members of his Familia going up and down, waving at him.

He arrives at the bottom, where his kids are waiting for him. He felt joy rise in him when he saw them wave at him.

'Time sure has passed, huh?’

While walking to the west section of the city, many could see the city’s strongest adventurer walking with his kids. It was a sight for many to watch his kids run around with his youngest on his shoulders, standing as if she had conquered a mountain.

Chime-chime!

Cirrus opened the door to Lenoa’s shop.

"Aunty Len! Aunty Circe!! We're here!" Callisto said, running in.

"Don’t run around! Remember the last time Aunty Len got angry because you broke a potion!" Shouted Auberon.

Cirrus walks in with Alise in hand to find Lenoa reading as usual, but he now realizes how old she has gotten. A feeling of dread ran through his heart.

"Hi, Aunty!" Alise greeted her, waving.

"Hey, Lenoa." He said, walking up to her.

"Hm? Oh, Cirrus, sorry, my ears aren’t what they used to be."

"Where are the hearing aids I made you?"

"Hm? Oh, wait." She reaches for a cupboard, gets them out, and puts them on. "Ah, now I can hear! Sorry, I have them in the cupboard since I wanted some peace and quiet."

"Oh? Is Circe making noise?"

"No, it’s general construction. It seems that with more people, the influx of people are settling in the ruins of the west section."

"Is that so? I guess the times really change, huh?"

"They sure have... Anyway, come here so I can hug you, Cirrus."

"Can I get one too?" Alise said, smiling ear to ear.

"Of course, anything for my cute granddaughter."

She holds out her arms, and Cirrus comes in and hugs her. Alise, while still in her father’s arms, hugs Lenoa.

"Thanks, Lenoa."

"Kihihihi! How old are you now, boy?"

"35."

"Thirty-five! Kihihihi!!! You’re so old!"

"You're one to talk."

"Kihihihi! I’ll always be younger than you!"

Cirrus walks to the back room to find Callisto and Auberon looking on as Circe is making some magic tools.

"Mmmm…." Her focus was intense as she slowly welded the metal.

"It seems we got her at the wrong time." Cirrus finds a seat and sits down.

"Dad, can we buy some potato snacks?" said Auberon.

"Yeah, here." He hands him some money.

"Let's hurry. Maybe when we get back, Aunty Circe will be finished." Said Callisto.

The two then run off.

"Dad, I’m sleepy," Alise said, rubbing her eyes.

"That’s fine. Go on."

Alise gets comfortable in his arms and falls asleep.

After a couple of minutes, Circe let out a breath of relief.

"Phew!! Finally!"

"Done?’

"Wah!" she jumps up, scared. "Cirrus! When did you get here!?"

"A while ago, you even put Alise to sleep."

"My bad, but I’ve been working on duplicating that phone Ai brought back from another world."

"Slow progress?"

"Slow is putting it mildly. The technology is far, far more advanced than one would realize to get around not using magic stones."

"Don’t worry; in time, it’ll all come together."

"Speaking of time." She walks over and hugs him. "Happy birthday, Cirrus! You're another year older!"

"I would feel insulted if I didn’t look like I was in my early 20s."

"That’s Falna for you!"

"Well, I need to get going. I simply wanted to see you all."

"Oh? You have more people to meet?"

"Just Eupheme, Fels, and Ouranos."

"Hmm… Are you going to bring your kid?"

"Well, the other two ran off to get some potato snacks, so they're not coming back. Calli is probably looking for a stand that sells potato snacks with meat in them. Auby is probably trying to get her to pick so they can come back."

"Fufu. She is an avid lover of meat. Well, I can take care of Alise if you want."

"That’s fine. I’m sure Fels would like to see her again."

"You sure? Fels is still a bit hesitant to show themselves to the kids."

"They didn’t want them to figure out they're just a skeleton till they're older."

"I guess that’s their choice in the matter, but they could at least visit every now and again outside of their infancy."

"You know they have work, seeing as the Xeno is in a good place to be more flexible. Fels has been going and inspecting all the Guilds on the continent."

"Well, I have been working on that magic tool you made them, and it’s coming along very well. Just needs some more touches."

"That’s good, but in any case, I’ll get going." He stands back up. "Oh, and if Calli and Auby come by, tell them I’ll be sure to make it to the party."

Cirrus heads out through the back and opens up the secret passage with Alise still sleeping in his arms.

Room of Prayer.

"So Fels." Ouranos spoke. "Are they active?"

Fels lowered their head, clenching their fists.

"Yes. Had word not reached us from the others Guild's this could have gotten underneath your gaze."

"Then..." he leans back on his solemn throne of stone. "The Black Beasts are back."

"And so does the Three Great Quests truly return to three." Fels said with regret in their voice. "How terrible."

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