Danmachi: Westward Cloud [Complete]

[Vol.4] Quest 382- Magnum Opus

After a week or so, Ai had collected herself enough for the last trial.

“When did you change it?" Ai said in front of the black door, which is now behind a sealed door at the end of a wide and long hallway. “And do I really have to wear such fancy clothes?” She asked in a clean, elegant, and very maneuverable attire that is the finest clothing that a noble of Yamato would kill to wear or give to the Empress.

“I am a god, Ai. I just… fenagled some stuff around. Probably will move it again for a better spot.” He tilts his head left and right, thinking about where it would be better. "So the last trial is through here.” Elysium holds her hand. “I will lead the way. Oh, as for the clothes, well, they need to be special.”

Ai tightens her grip as Elysium walks headfirst into the door.

“Ooh…” Ai looked around as if it weren’t the desolate emptiness anymore.

It was filled with a sea of stars rushing past them.

“Like it?”

"Yeah, but only a little. I am still shaking that feeling off.”

“Hm. Well, we are here.”

They walk out into a very, very special area, as it is the deepest part of Elysium’s domain.

The room was lavish in beauty and refinement. In the center of the room was a pond of the same darkness that dressed Fafnir, Charon, and the Door to Isolation.

Inside the pond is a large blank tablet with a red gem embedded in it.

“What is this place? And what’s with this creepy pond?”

“This is the deepest level of my domain. It’s the most sacred and holy of places. I named this area Stygian. The final trial is the Trial of the Soul; here you will enter the void, and when you emerge, you will be a god. That’s why I sent Ceasar to you to get your measurements to make your outfit.”

“You could have done it for me."

“I could, but it needed to be something that you yourself liked and were comfortable with.”

“Fair enough. So how long would it take me to finish?”

“It will depend on what authorities you will be given. The more you are qualified, the more you will get, and the longer the process is.”

"Ah, I see... and that thing in the middle of the pond?” She points at the tablet.

“That in particular was helped made from a gift Fels’ gave to me before you, Art, Ryuu, or Malion even arrived at my domain.”

“Gift? What could they have given you?”

“…A very special item that they are happy to give away. Anyway, I call this the Philosopher’s Tablet. It will tell you of your authorities when you return. I made it using some… It’s a very long process that needed some very special items from a few gods in heaven and some stuff here on Elysia.”

“Then it must have been very special.” She looks at Elysium, taking a step from the pond. “Shall we start the trial?” She gave a bittersweet smile.

Elysium walks up to her and hugs her tightly once more.

“I’ll be here waiting for you, my love.” He kisses her forehead, and she hugs him tightly. “I updated the ball of memories. So when you get back, your memories will be refreshed.”

“Thank you, and I will return to your side, my love.”

Elysium kneels, and she kisses his forehead.

“Go into the pond, submerge yourself and close your eyes.”

She turned around and slowly walked into the ink-like darkness.

"Cirrus, can you do me a favor?’ She said stopping to look at him.

“What is it?”

“Can you make sure when this is done you don’t let the world feel my divinity?”

"Sure, but—Oh, you wanna surprise Art huh?”

“Fufu. You got it.” She looked back and resumed her walk into the pond.

The darkness then started to turn white as she went deeper and deeper until she was fully submerged.

The darkness then turned to pure white.

Submerged in the water, Ai closes her eyes, and her consciousness slowly fades off.

The white water then began to slowly turn a golden yellow.

“So it begins,” Elysium said as he crossed his legs. “Hm!!!”

Elysium makes sure that Ai's ascendance is kept hidden.

“I am glad Nyx taught me how to hide stuff.”

Silence.

Ai opens her eyes to find herself in the void.

Another mortal. It seems Elysium is finally starting to fill his ranks. His Night Authority makes it hard to know what he is up to.

An unidentifiable voice rang all around her.

“W-who are you!” Ai shouted.

I am The Void, the Source of All, Separator of All.

“Oh… Cool. So I thought I was going to be here alone.”

You are.

“So why are—"

I am isolating a part of myself so I can more easily ignore you and the rest.

“You can do that!?”

I can do whatever I wish to do. Hmm. Well, you seem capable enough to have this authority.

"Wait, are you giving me a authority!?”

Yes, just so I can get rid of any unexpected future annoyances. If the gods of Elysia are like Elysium, then I do not wish to hear the birth cry that destabilizes realms.

“Well wait! Why can’t we be friends and get to know one another?"

I already know everything about you, Ai Zephyr. Born on the 5th of October as Shirakusa Ai to Shirakusa Akeru and Aomi. The youngest of four and one of Susanoo-no-Mikoto’s children. You have earned the name Hero of the Sword for slaying the Leviathan and your deeds in Orario and Yamato, which will come to the surface once Virgo spreads your beloved's tale. I determine that you are qualified for 11 authorities. I shall also grant you another authority, so no more gods are born here. I now remember why I decided to throw them out once the egg formed. Two is more than enough.

“W-wait!! How long will that take? Elysium said—"

4,004,002,000 billion years. That is your time here. Goodbye.

Silence, she was left alone.

“Hey!! Come on, say something!!”

“___”

Nothing.

“Shit… 4 billion years.”

So began her time in the void.

Much like Cirrus, she underwent the same process.

“Swish! swoosh! Swish!”

She practiced her swordsmanship down to madness.

“[Murakumogiri]!!!”

She practiced her chants down into mantras as well as the names of her loved ones.

Over and over and over again, she learned, scraped, relearned, and scraped again.

Much like Cirrus before her, she lost her mind eventually.

“Ahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Piece by piece—

“Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!”

—Each time she broke and fixed herself back up, her mortality was replaced with godhood.

“!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Eventually, she lost her ability to speak a coherent language. Not that she even speaks anymore.

“____” After opening her eyes after deep meditation. “____” She holds out her hands and gently moves across the void.

Slash!!

!!!!!

A part of the void opened up before immediately closing up again.

She had reached the zenith of swordsmanship—no. It is far beyond even that to be called swordsmanship. It reached the very conceptual materialization of a "cut.".

She kept repeating the process over and over until, finally, the Void spoke up.

Authorities are now fully given. I hope to never see another mortal from your world again. Now Leave.

Back in the pond.

Elysium could see Ai’s body and clothes breaking apart and cracking as her status opened and began to rise before breaking completely before her mortality was shed away and liquefied back around her new body as her new appearance.

Had Elysium not taken measures, Artemis would have felt Ai’s connection had been cut off. For now, Artemis still thinks Ai still has a status.

As Ai opened her eyes, all she saw was red, and she let out a cry of rebirth, muffled under the water.

“■■■■!!! ■■■■!!! ■■■■!!! ■■■■!!! ■■■■!!! ■■■■!!! ■■■■!!! ■■■■!!! ■■■■!!!”

Had Elysium not also prepared for any possibility, the cry of a new god would have rendered the world deaf.

“Hm.” Elysium bares through it; his ears bleed from the cry. “That hurts.”

She rose from the water and breathed in the fresh air.

“Huff!! Huff!! Huff!!” She looked around to find Elysium waiting for her. "*̷͔͌̀͂^̶̟͇̿̓͝#̷͓̘͌̂&̷͖̝͚͖͗̈́͠@̵̧̡̱̱̄̈̈́͋?̶̨̹̱͚̿̀͐”̴̫͓͛͑" She said, questioning her own faint and distorted memory.

The act of rebirth is an intense and surreal experience.

He stands up and walks to her through the deep red water. He pulls out an orb and holds it out.

“Don’t worry.”

She looks at the orb and then at him.

Elysium slowly puts it in her head.

“!!!” It glows, and with a feeling of a cool breeze on a sunny day, her memories are refreshed. "Ah, I feel so much better.” Her mind was able to quickly begin to ground her and organize her mental state. She looked at the red water with some concern. "Um, is the water supposed to be red?”

“Yes. It’s supposed to help the body adjust to your soul.”

“But you didn’t go through it?”

“My soul was already partially god; my body was also tempered by Elpis, so... yeah.”

“Ah.” She then begins to check her own body out. She began to pat around. “What’s this?" After checking herself out, she found a few differences.

One, she now has eight more tails; two, her hair has a deep blackness similar to that of Susanoo; and three, she has red rings around her canthi that make it seem she is wearing makeup. Her clothes were also changed, having the black and red color pallet of a shinto shrine maiden with a long black cape with a fur trim that blends into her hair.

“Hm, hm. I can see you took after Susanoo; you have his dark hair and red eyes.”

“I do! I couldn’t see that part with this red water! Hey, why aren’t your eyes indigo or blue like Ouranos or Astraea?"

“Because my foundation was pretty much equal to those two.”

“Hmmm….” She turns around to see the large tablet filled with hieroglyphs. “… Is it weird I could read hieroglyphs?”

“Not at all; after ascending, languages are easier to read, speak, and write. I had a few souls who spoke Amazonian. But let’s see which authorities you have." Elysium walks by her side. “Let’s see… You have the authorities  Warfare, Loyalty, Hunting, Bifurcation, Storms, Love, Teaching, Protection, The Sword, Renard’s, and…The Void?”

“They did say they would give me something.” She looked up at Elysium. “They said, and if I remember right, they said they didn’t want any more mortals in the void, and that two were enough.”

“Hmm… Well, it seems that any other wishes to become a god will be put on hold until you can understand your new abilities.” Elysium looks into her now ruby-like red eyes. “So do you know your name?”

“Oh hold on it… Ah! That is right, my name is now Naraka-no-Tsurugi! Goddess of the Sword!"

“Sword of Hell? Huh? We match!”

“Yup! You can call me Nara for short!!” She points at him. “So Elysium! Will you marry me now?”

“Heh… Hehahaha!!!” He began to walk out of the pond. “You became a god, and the first thought is to marry me! Hahaha!!”

“So do I take that as yes or..." She said following him.

“It’s a yes.” Elysium stopped and looked back at her. He held his hand out. “So where’s my ring, Nara? You asked, so you must have a ring to put on me.”

Nara knelt and held out her hand. A small gap in space opened, and a pair of green and purple rings fell out onto her hands.

“I kept your ring close in hand after your mortal passing. I planned on giving it to our son when he marries but things have changed. It might need a slight adjustment, but I think they will do.”

She slid the ring into his ring finger.

“Hmm…” Elysium kneeled next. “Then let me change it a bit to match our new lives.” He took the ring from her hand and slid the ring into her ring finger. The purple slowly changed to red.

Nara smiles warmly as she wraps her hands around his.

“Then let us walk this life together again.”

“Until the end of time, my love is enteral.”

The two gods gently place their heads against one another.

“And my heart will always be yours.”

“I am you.”

“And you are me. We share and walk the same path.”

The words they speak are the same ones they said to one another long ago when they were eighteen.

“I will make sure tears of sorrow never stain you.”

“I will ensure that your days are filled with joy and happiness.”

“No matter how much the world changes, let the only constant be us together.”

“Elysium, do you take me as your bride?”

“I do. Naraka-no-Tsurugi, will you let me be your husband?”

“I do.”

“Then until the end.”

Both of them lean into each other and kiss one another, holding each other in one another’s arms once more in matrimony.

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