Danmachi: Westward Cloud [Complete]

[Vol.4] Quest 370- A Step Towards Paradise

Going into the next domain.

“…Huh? This is pretty nice,” Cirrus said, looking at a massive, massive garden.

There was everything under the sun in this garden, even flora he had never even seen.

“This is Demeter’s domain. Do you like it?” Vesta said.

“I mean… Yeah!! It’s very beautiful, and... Hm? Is it me, or does it look like Hera’s garden?”

“I am sure there are similarities. Hera’s domain is that way.” Vesta points west. "Where are we heading next?”

“To Hestia’s domain?”

“Yup! It’s within reach.”

“I doubt it will be anything but within our reach.

They ran through the massive expanse of the garden and arrived at the border.

“Nine… Nineteen fucking days of running.” Cirrus said, a bit exhausted.

“Don’t worry, you can sleep to your heart's content.”

“Is Hestia’s domain just a big bed or something?”

“See for yourself.”

They stepped forth, and before them was a massive open home.

"What the fuck.” Cirrus said, looking around.

The home was made of white marble, and it was massive, so tall that Cirrus had to recline his neck a full 90 degrees to look at the top.

The temperature of the domain was perfect for a good nap. The breeze was nice and fresh.

They enter the home that looks more like a temple than anything. Cirrus found this place even more perfect to sleep in, as there were good places to sleep, either in the shade or under the sun.

As they walk through Hestia’s home, Vesta leads Cirrus to the center.

Bwoosh~

Bwoosh~

In the middle was the Flame of Heaven, beautiful in its appearance, giving off iridescent lights that surpass those of any kaleidoscope.

"Oh, so this is what it looked like, huh? Kinda nice when it’s not killing me.”

"Magnificent, isn’t it?” Vesta said, looking at it. “It would seem it returned to its home before Prometheus stole it and threw it to Gekai.”

“Yeah… So um…” Cirrus looked around. “I don’t see that person Epimetheus told us about. Who do you think it is?”

“My guess, Nyx. She has been a figure that made appearances in your life.”

“Yeah, it’s probably her.”

“Hmm… Can you not feel anything?”

“No. There are no other sounds besides us and this fire from what I could gather. Should we look around and see if we can find her?”

“We should, but this place is massive. Finding her will be no easy task. Nyx can very well hide from anyone and anything if she wants to.”

“Hm… so she could be behind us, and we wouldn’t know it?”

“Exactly. Her Divine Weapon, Night Veil, allows her to hide anyone and anything.”

“Hm. That’s pretty cool. So, shall we start after we sleep?”

“Might as well. So many days of travel have drained me mentally.”

“I’m surprised the concept of time even applies to heaven."

“More like a consciousness kind of system. You know how you would work in the morning and then look up at the clock or outside to see it has already become night, right?”

“Oh, so it works off our individual concept of time, huh?”

“Exactly, so pick a spot and sleep. It has been a while since we slept on a good bed—”

Present.

“Okay! Okay! Did you sleep with Vesta, Cirrus!!” said Ai. “You were dead, so you probably—Thud!! Gak!!”

Elysium hit her with a chop of his hand.

“So where was I? Oh yeah—”

The next day in the story.

“Hmm… I don’t wanna get up,” Cirrus said, sitting on what he could only say was the best bed in all of existence.

“Hmm… I can see why she was a lazy goddess. I do not wish to get up,” Vesta said.

“…Say. Why is it still dark?”

“Did you enjoy your slumber?”

A familiar voice rang in his ears.

“Yeah, it was a good nap—!?”

“!!” Vesta and Cirrus’s eyes widen.

They turn to look and see Nyx sleeping right next to them.

"Um, why are you in the bed?” Cirrus asked.

“Oh? Can I not enjoy a good sleep as well?” Nyx replied.

"I mean, you can, but why are you so close to my face?”

“I wanted to see how Nox would see you in those early days. It's a rather nice way to wake up. I love how the veil I gifted to you so long ago has become part of you, just as the night is for me. But it's time to get up. Shine!” Her eyes shone, and the bed they were on disappeared.

Thud!!

“Oof!!” Both Vesta and Cirrus hit the floor.

“Follow me, Cirrus.” She said, walking away.

“Wait!” Cirrus hurriedly gets back onto his feet. “Why!? I thought I could just—”

“Your fate does not end here, Cirrus. You may have burned your strings, but there are consequences for everything.”

“Oh? So what? I’m gonna get judged for breaking something I never wanted." Cirrus looked up at Nyx.

“Nyx!” Vesta shouted. “Whatever he did! Burning away his strings of fate should be forgiven! Ananke forced them upon him! You know this! He even brought back the Heavenly Flame!”

“I know Vesta. I may have taken leadership over Heaven, but Ananke and Chronos are still the Guardians of Heaven. Ananke’s strings are part of her authority over fate. Cirrus not only destroyed it but even gained control over Elpis. He is Heaven’s most dangerous individual who must be dealt with.”

“Or what? I’d be killed or something?” Cirrus said.

“Who knows? In the worst case, you are judged and slain by the gods of heaven. In the best case, you are chained with infinite seals on your strengths and placed under strict surveillance.”

“The best case?”

“Trust me,” Nyx smirked like Nox. “I know what I am doing. I have planned this since I graced your soul.”

Cirrus has seen that smirk on Nox plenty of times. Of course, he would have faith in her creator, her mother.

“Very well.”

“Cirrus!!” Vesta shouted. “There is no fucking way this will end up good for you! You know how gods are! They care more about the shit and giggles! Tyrants in their ways!”

“I have faith in her Vesta.” Cirrus walked towards Nyx. “More faith in her than I would ever have in Ananke. Nyx gave me the opportunity to have met you and lived a life that many would envy.”

“Grr!! Why are you accepting your fate now!? You go back and forth on this!”

“I’m human. I am prone to change.”

"You know that is a bullshit answer!"

“Maybe, but regardless, I can’t run from the gods in heaven. I might as well deal with it now.”

“Haa~” Vesta let out a deep sigh. “You are correct.”

“Vesta,” Nyx spoke up. “You can remain here if you wish. Until the day Hestia returns to Heaven, you are free.”

“I will remain by Cirrus’ side. Until the very end, I will be by his side.”

Nyx couldn’t help but smile.

“You certainly do have Hestia’s kindness. Very well.” She raised her hand, and a slit opened in space. “Follow me.”

“Uh, how long will it take?” Cirrus asked.

“It will last 36 days, 21 hours, 2 minutes, and 2 seconds. Trust me!”

“Oddly specific?”

“Oh, you meant the trial, oh that eh.” She shrugs her shoulders. “Don’t worry about it!”

“Wait now, I have more questions!”

They both go and follow her to the slit in space.

When they came out of the slit, they found themselves in a barren, plain domain. The only form of substance was a massive ancient shrine made of stone that had weathered several years of decay. Yet it still stood as nobly as it could.

“What is this place?” Cirrus asked.

“This is the Nascent of Gods. Where all—”

Present.

“Wait!!! Wait!!! Wait!!! Wait!!! Wait!!! Wait!!! Wait!!!” Artemis and Astraea shouted.

“She did not take you to the most sacred of sacred lands in all of heaven!" Artemis shouted.

“Yes!! Every god first came from that shrine in the very center of heaven!" Astraea said. “Every god to have ever come into bring sprung from that holy land!”

“Well, she did. I mean, look at me." Elysium said as his crown of antlers appeared.

“Hmm… Sorry, go on.” Artemis said.

“Okay, so as I was saying.” Elysium swipes his hands, and his antlers disappear. "Also should just put it out there my title and the Nascent of Gods have no relations."

Back to the story.

“—gods first take their first steps into creation. I came into existence here, Artemis, Ouranos, Erebus, Hermes, Loki, Odin, Freya, Poseidon, Zeus, and Hera.”

“Ah… Okay, so does it have other names from the other regions?”

They all walked up to the shrine.

“Yes. We from the Olympus Region call it Khaos. Those of the Asgard Region called it Ginnungagap, the Egyptian Regions called it Nunet and the Mesopotamians called it Tiamat. You can kind of see where I am going, right?”

“Yeah, it’s the creator of all.”

“Yes. Its base name is simply The Void or The Abyss; it doesn’t really matter what you call it. Here is where you will be judged.”

“They're not gonna throw him in The Void, are they?” Vesta asked.

“It’s a possibility.” Nyx nods her head. “The Void doesn’t really like people, so... who knows? You may receive a quiet, solipsistic death.”

“How nice,” Cirrus said, taking a deep breath.

“Do not worry, Cirrus.” Nyx came up to him and parted his hair. A small burst of cosmos covered Cirrus' head before quickly disappearing “There is still one more chapter you need to fill in your story. So its protagonist can’t just die yet.”

“Unless it’s a tragedy. And what did you just do?" He said, brushing her hand away.

“Don’t jinx it, I just gave your mind some protection, that's all." Nyx turned, facing forward. She raised her hand, and an orb that held a night sky formed. She then flicked her wrist, and the orb disappeared.

'There, the final key is back safely in Artemis' domain.'

They make it to the top to see several other gods waiting there. Cirrus could see a few familiar ones. He saw Vritra, Erebus, Chernobog, and just all the Evilus gods, along with some other deities.

“So.”

“Hm?” Cirrus looked down to see a very small goddess who was slightly smaller than Kali.

She had hair as straight and dark as ink that easily blended into her clothes and sharp, blood-red eyes like a snake. Her attire was a black sailor uniform with a dark red ribbon on her flat chest. Her long, dark skirt was slightly ornate.

All in all, Cirrus found her cute, but her eyes told him to be wary of her.

“You are Cirrus Zephyr, huh?” She said it in a soft, childish tone.

“I am. Who are you?”

“I am E—”

“She is Eris,” said Vesta. “An annoying little ink stain that ruins everything.”

“Fuck you, you dull-eyed bimbo! If it wasn’t for your lazy fucking ass, the flame would never have been stolen! Oh, wait, you didn’t notice because you were stuffing your tits with bacon-wrapped donuts!"

“!!”

Cirrus could see a vein pop on Vesta’s usual expressionless face.

Nyx kept walking ahead, leaving Cirrus and Vesta with Eris.

'I'm sure Eris would like a friend,’ Nyx thought.

“Oh? Did I cut a ner—Bwoosh!!! Boom!!! Gak!?”

Vesta shot a fireball at Eris, exploding her a bit away.

“I am going to burn you alive.” Vesta’s eyes narrow in on Eris as she slowly gets back up. “First of all, that was HESTIA. Second, you ■■■■ I am not as merciful as her!”

She insulted Eris in a language that could not be replicated with human tongues or vocal cords.

“Ugh… You… big-titted donut guzzler. I’ll… “ Eris slowly gets back up. “Ruin donuts for you!”

“Cirrus crushes her like a bug or a shit-stain criminal’s jaw on the curb. I want her, bro—”

“Okay, that's enough,” Cirrus said, lowering Vesta’s arms. “I’m already standing for trial. I don’t want to deal with assault or murder charges.” He walked over to Eris and held out his hand. “(Theïká Panoplía).”

His armor appeared, and it wrapped around Eris, healing all of her injuries.

“Ooh!” Eris said, amazed. “Aren’t you a nice man?” She makes a wolfish grin. “I will do you a favor.”

“I’ll help you up.”

Eris takes his hand and gets back on her feet.

“Heh~ you had more than that deer armor, Shalzard Demon?”

Cirrus turned to see Vritra walking up to him.

“I do.” The armor fades off Eris. “Do you wish to wear it?”

“Oh no! I only wear what suits me best."

“Shame, I had a serpent one, but it got phased out.”

“Such a shame.” He walked up to Cirrus, getting more hands-on and up close. “Maybe I should carve you up and wear you? Save us all from this rhetorical sentencing.”

“Maybe for you, I would add in a murder charge. Thud!” Cirrus smacked his head against Vritra’s. “What do you say? You wanna taste a little bit of Elpis?”

Vritra grinned with a snake-like quality.

“Heh~ I’ll be sure to leave a—GAH!?” Vritra crumbles down to his knees.

“Vritra~,♪” Eris said as her hair wrapped around Vritra like an anaconda, binding and restricting the god. “I have you by the fucking balls, so listen to my voice.” Eris’ eyes were like Hera’s, with a gaze likened to that of a serpent. “Touch him, and I will ensure you will never have a nice day again; your friends will distance themselves from you; your region of Heaven will not acknowledge you; and I will make your life double or even triple whatever fate Cirrus is given.” She leaned in close to Vritra’s ears. “I promise you that, as the Goddess of Chaos, no harm shall be done to this child. Got. It.”

Eris was as cutthroat as she was cute.

“F-Fine! You damn Yandere Doll!"

Eris let him go, and he quickly jumped back.

“Damn. Here I was looking forward to a murder.” Said Chernobog. “Oy, Vritra, I’ll help ya kill him and the cursed doll.” Chernobog glared at Cirrus. “I’d stick with ya if that little plague does anything.”

“Wonderful.” Cirrus placed his hand on Sword of Thunder and the Fire Magic Sword he took from Argonaut. “I was hoping I could make some wine.”

“You will need to boil him first,” Vesta said. “You don’t know how dirty he can be.”

“Tch! I’ll be sure to pay you back for stuffing me in a barrel and leaving me to Poseidon and Njord!” Chernobog held his hand out, and a sledgehammer formed.

Tensions rose, and many gods stepped back to enjoy the show.

“Wow~♪” Eris smiled at Cirrus. “You certainly are one to have around.”

Then, of course, he had to ruin the fun.

“Alright! Alright!” Erebus stepped in. “Everyone, calm down now!”

“Erebus…” Chernobog stares at the god.

“The trial is soon to begin. Cirrus.” He looked at him. “Get going. One of them may have both the literal and metaphorical patience to wait an eternity; the other isn’t.”

Cirrus felt a pull on his sleeve.

He looked to see Eris having been the one who pulled.

“Follow me,” Eris said. “I’ll help you out, so follow me closely. Erebus ruined the fun again.”

"Hey, come on! I’m fun!” he shouted.

“No, you're not!" Several of the gods shouted.

Eris walked towards the stairs of the shrine.

“Come along,” Eris said.

“How kind of you.” Cirrus glanced at Chernobog and Vritra as he followed Eris.

“Why would you do that?” Vesta asked, following.

“What can I say? I like the kid. It has been eons since a god died. Now with him, we were so close to killing two!” She turned back and walked backward; she was smiling ear to ear. “Plus, you are the famed Orion! The man, the mortal, the legend who gained the heart of Heaven's most prestigious virgin maiden! That in and of itself is enough to warrant my interest and even possibly affection if you wish to make—”

Present.

“Astraea reminds me to put an arrow in between her eyes if we ever return to Heaven,” Artemis said, peeved.

“I’ll be sure to do just that!” Astraea simply smiled. “Sorry, keep going, sweetie,” Astraea said, looking at Elysium with a smile only a mother would give.

'Eris does have a way to get anyone’s skin, huh?’

“Right so—"

Back to the story.

Elysium skipped over the things Eris suggested.

“—Some spicey drama! Maybe a catfight or two?”

"Naw, I’m good. Nice offer, though, but I fear you may be too intense for me.”

“Fufu.” Eris smiled even more. “Aren’t you the bold one to play along with me?”

“Does no one do that?”

“No,” Vesta answered. “She is as manipulative as she is annoying. The last time she caused such a long-spanning web of drama, it led to a near-civil war in Heaven. Like if Ragnarök and the Apocalypse had a fucked-up love child and then multiplied that by like 50 and that child just redlined straight ketamine, that is what you would get.”

“Ehe♪” She made a cute expression.

“Guess you live up to your name, huh?” Cirrus said, getting a tangible grasp of how scary Eris is.

“I mean, sure, but there are others who are far more dangerous—"

"Name one more dangerous and cunning than you," Vesta interjected.

"Sun—"

"Sun Wukong hasn't been a pain in the ass since he mellowed out after he was thrown into Solipsism a few times before he matured."

"Uh... what's that?" Cirrus asked.

"It's the worst thing that a god could be punished with. Everyone would rather be killed and reborn rather than that hell."

"Eh." Eris shrugged her shoulders. "You get used to it. Oh! What of the Outer Gods?"

"The only one who does anything is that weirdo Nyarlathotep. Everyone just chills and stuff," Vesta answered. "Eris, you are the only one who still causes so much trouble."

"Nu-uh! Loki did some fucked shit as well!"

"You did worse! They even had to work to tone down and minimize the Golden Apple Incident! A god of another region had to come in and help stop Olympus from a civil war!"

"Hmph." Eris scoffed. "I prefer to call it the War of Fear, Pride, and Simps, but that's just me."

'Jesus Christ, they had their own Trojan War!?'

"See Cirrus!" Vesta said. "She should not be trusted for as long as you can throw her against a wall!"

"I mean..." Cirrus asked Eris. "Why did you do that?"

"Forgot about it. Oh, and by the way, all the gods know you knocked Artemis up.”

“!!” Cirrus froze in place. “W-what?”

“Oh yeah, we were all watching you when the big reveal happened. Nyx hid it well for as long as she did, but she couldn’t hide it with every god wishing to see how you would fare against the Black Dragon.”

Cirrus glanced around to find many goddesses, quickly glancing away.

"Even dead, I fear for my life.”