Danmachi: Westward Cloud [Complete]

[Vol.4] Quest 353.5- The Light of Hope

Orario, in the locked room of the Moonlight Tower.

Partially on the bed, Callisto has been asleep for five days.

Zzz~

Zzz~

Zzz~

Not one person has been able to find her as the vast majority of the Familia has left, leaving only a few behind, then there are the Divine Window that distracted many with Cirrus' fight.

Zzz~

Zzz~

Zzz~

In her mind, there was a shift.

With her eyes still closed, she picks herself up.

"Ugh… Mmm!!" She stretches her limbs. "It’s been too long, Gekai." She opens them to show a shimmering topaz.

Nox looks at her body and finds it small.

"Hm..." She then tries to remember anything about the body, but she finds nothing. "Odd? I was in heaven, and then here?" She tilts her head left and right, thinking.

‘I need to find Cirrus.’ She then turns around to realize she is in her room, but far more dusty.

"I’m sure as hell ain’t gonna clean this shit up."

She walks to her door to find it locked.

"Tch great." She unlocks her door and pushes it open. "Clack!" The door was still closed. "Come on. Hm!!" She used a bit more force and— "Slam!!" The door is thrown off its hinges. "That new?" she then walks up the tower.

She could see many eyes on her, but she ignored them and went up to the Master bedroom and slammed the door open.

"Hey! Hey! I’m… Huh?" She looks to find two kids, both half-elves with Cirrus’s eyes.

They turn to see her with bright eyes.

"Calli!!!" They both quickly ran up to her and hugged her.

"Oof!" she said with them around her, hugging her tightly. "H-hey! Get off you kids! I don’t even know who you are!"

Their expression then soured.

"How can you say that, Calli!!" said Alise with tears in her eyes.

"Yeah! You’ve been missing for two days!! Everyone was looking for you!! You big jerk!!" Auberon shouted as well, with teary eyes.

‘Calli? Missing? Who are—'

"Look! Dad is fighting, and we were worried about you, Calli!!" shouted Alise, pointing to the Divine Mirror. "Sniff! Sniff! Why are you so mean now?"

Nox looks at the Divine Mirror to see Cirrus fighting the Black Dragon or a more hellish version of it.

"Da…d?" She quickly goes to the mirror in the room to look at herself, but she finds that her face has changed considerably. Her hair was a darker shade of white, but she had fox ears. The realization crashed down on her. "No…no! no!" She quickly checks her whole body, checking every inch of it, and in the process, she accidentally pulls the necklace Cirrus made onto the floor.

Clatter~

"Hey!! Don’t throw… y-your hair!!" shouted Alise.

"Huh!? What about my hair, ki...d." She looked in the mirror again to find her white hair had faded away, along with her fox ears, into a recognizable blue. "W-what the…" Nox could feel her blood run cold as her hair turned blue. It slowly dyed back into a vivid white. The veil Nyx gave her materialized as black stars bloomed into the veil.

Alise and Auberon could see an aura that looked and felt like Artemis and the aura that covered their father.

The dots finally lined up for Nox, even more harshly.

"…Oh fuck. Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!!!!!!!!!!" she screamed out with tears running down her face, kneeling to the ground.

‘His daughter!?!? Cirrus and Artemis’ daughter!?!?’ Feelings of joy and despair filled her. ‘Wait! This is her body!? W-where is she??’

She felt joy at being reborn as her master’s daughter but despair at having taken her place. She searched her mind to see if she was possibly tucked away somewhere, but she did not know where or how to search.

"C-Calli, are you okay?" Auberon said, walking over. "W-what happened?"

"Hey." Nox picked herself up and looked into Auberon’s eyes. "What are your and your sister’s names?"

"Huh? Why are you acting like—"

"Sweetie." Nox placed her hands on his shoulders. "Answer, please!" she said with a forced smile. "It’s very important."

"F-fine! My name is Auberon! And this is Alise!" He points to his little sister. "Seriously, what's up with you, Calli!"

"Calli… Is that my name? Just Calli?"

"Your full name is Callisto Zephyr." Said Alise. "Please, Calli, stop with this mean prank! Dad could die!"

Nox looks at the divine mirror to see Cirrus coughing. She looked through her mind, and the name Callisto Zephyr rang in her head. She felt a tug.

‘She is still in here!’ Nox was grateful she was still in her head.

While Nox was in control, Callisto’s personality was in a sedated state.

"…" Nox then walks outside and closes her eyes.

"Where are you going!!" Auberon shouted.

She could feel the faint remains of their contract, but each time she tried to establish it, something would block it.

Nox turns back to see the worried expressions on Cirrus’s kids.

"Don’t worry!" she said with a charming smile. "I’ll go bring back your old man!"

As she jumps off the edge, Astraea enters the room.

"Callisto!!" Alise shouted.

"Aunty! She jumped!!!" shouted Auberon.

"What!! Callisto!!!"

Astraea quickly ran over the edge and looked down to see a bright white light blind her before a white streak soared across the night sky.

"No, no, it can’t be!" Astraea quickly ran back out of the room and shouted. "Someone!!! Get me a line to Artemis now!!!!"

At Babel Tower, Freya watches as a soul holier than her love soars through the air once more.

"…How beautiful."

Nox was soaring, faster than she expected.

‘What level even is Callisto?’ Nox thought. ‘This body is very compatible with me!’

WHOOSH~!!!

WHOOSH~!!!

‘Her body is incredibly tough; her brain is high-spec! I am flying close to the speed of light, and there is no blur!’

Blessings from her father having absorbed Hecton and Fafnir, Callisto, and the rest of her siblings all inherited some of their essence, some more than the other.

It was in part due to Fafnir that Callisto’s body was more adaptable to high speeds. The result is Nox cutting through the air like a blade and moving faster than she ever has before.

But most importantly, it is due to two major factors. One, the blood that runs through Callisto’s veins is that of a god diluted by mortality. Two, Callisto’s soul has been near Nox’s for all her life; even before she took her first breath upon this world, Nox was with her. The bond Callisto and Nox share is one that even surpasses Cirrus’; they were born for one another.

‘Cirrus!! I have to admit, your kid’s body is strong!! I can go even faster!! This body is very—Wait—No. Do not think about the child. She will be fine! You need to get to Cirrus!! Yeah! I’m sure Vesta kept my body secure! I may not have arms or a body, but it will be better than to take Callisto’s for myself.’

"Hmm!!!"

She puts in more magic, and she shoots through the sky like a star, quickly covering distance while following the faint connection she had with Cirrus.

The final actor, the Deus Ex Machina has finally got moving.

But will it be enough?

While riding as quickly as they could, the party felt an odd presence. They look up to see a white shooting star streaking across the sky.

"What is that!?" shouted Tiona.

"This is such an odd feeling. It’s divine yet not?" said Riveria.

"It’s almost like—!!" Ai looks up to see a familiar white light.

Whooosh!!!

The winds from the speed at which Nox was going even reached the party heading towards Cirrus.

 "N-no! It can’t possibly be—" Artemis says, looking at Nox streak across the sky.

It flies close enough for many to catch a pure white owl flying extraordinarily fast. Many also noticed that the feeling it gave off was similar to that of Artemis.

"We need to keep moving!! Go! Go!!!!" she commanded, and everyone quickly followed along.