The next day.

“It seems our battle remains…”

Cirrus is kneeling before his Familia’s grave.

“This time… I’ll be sure to follow the 15th law of power and crush them till not even their ashes remain… Oh and here are some more drinks!” Cirrus opens a bottle and as he was going to pour it on their graves, he heard some noises coming his way.

“!!”

He quickly jumped into the nearby woods and don his Hippolyta armor and waited to see who come. He could see who was coming to the grave.

‘Honestly, it’s almost like fate is trying to bring us together.’

Coming up were Ryuu and Bell. Bell currently seems to be fearful.

“Even if you had not gone missing in the dungeon, I still planned to come to this place,” Ryuu said, carrying some flowers.

“Ryuu… What is this?”

“The graves of my allies. I occasionally receive time off from Mama Mia to bring my fallen sisters-in-arms flowers. Once someone knows who I am, it is only a matter of time before they learn the truth. I would regret not telling you myself. Cranel… it is selfish of me, but can you hear my story…”

‘… I don’t need to continue to listen.’

Cirrus left to be out of earshot range and simply waited till either Bell left or they left together to come out.

Cirrus could see Ryuu’s face as she was telling her story. The sheer anger painted on her was almost palpable and then… a solemnness fell on her face.

Bell said something and he could see her face, slightly surprised.

They talk a bit more to see removed her hood is. She made a small smile.

Bell blushed from the small smile on Ryuu.

‘Heh~ Ryuu has softened up a bit.’

 

Cirrus waited a bit longer, and Bell left with some directions back to the camp.

Ryuu remained at the grave.

“Didn’t think I would see you here so soon, Ryuu.”

She turned her head to see Cirrus.

“Cirrus, when did you get here?”

“What? The floor or here at the grave?”

“The floor.”

“A while back, I was just working on some stuff and decided to pay my respects again.” He said, pulling out a bottle of alcohol and knelt before the grave. “You know this was Lyra’s favorite drink, Silver Whiskey.”

“Hm, after Orario got better when this came back, she quickly bought it and hoarded it.”

“Yeah… That seems like something she would do if you couldn’t taste your favorite drink…” Cirrus takes a swig. “You want a taste?”

“… Sure.” Ryuu took the bottle and looked at the mouth of the bottle where Cirrus put his lips on. Ryuu felt her heart beat a bit faster, but it wasn’t something a little calming couldn’t handle. She closes her eyes and takes a swig. “Mmm… I can see why she liked it so much…” she hands it back to Cirrus.

“Yeah…” he then puts the bottle upside down into the grave. “I hope she enjoys this taste, sadly she has to share it with the others.”

The two remained in silence for a while, simply watching as the bottle slowly drains.

“… I found Astraea.”

“… How is she?” Ryuu said, looking at the bottle.

“Good… You know she has a new child, a young kid by the name of Cecil, only 7 years old with a bright smile. She and Astraea seem comfortable… The village they live in is rather peaceful.”

“That’s good.” She said with a slight, warm smile and eyes. “Did you give her the presents you had brought?”

“I did. I’m sure it was surprising to see another Familia member only for them to leave them presents from a foreign land.”

“Fufu… that’s good. I wish I could see her face.”

Another silence falls between them.

“… Cirrus, are you going to convert?”

Ryuu looked at him.

“… I am. I wanted to talk to Astraea before I do anything.”

“Then… you too are leaving…”

“Ryuu, do you know who I was with before I converted to the Astraea Familia? Or why I converted?”

“Was it not because Hermes needed to remain neutral to get information and because you brought too many eyes to his Familia?”

“Partially, but ultimately it was because Astraea was a goddess. My god found the utmost trust in keeping a secret. You see my god, who I still see as a second father to me, is Ouranos.”

Her eyes widen in surprise. Ouranos had long not given his Falna to anyone. The closest thing he had was his Guild Employee, but even then he only ever interacted with the Guild Head. To learn of a child who had his blessing is in of itself something special.

“O-Ouranos was your god?”

“Hm, when I was 7, he gave me his Falna for the purpose of being his sword. Well, it wasn’t until I had killed my first person and after… That I actually started to be used as a sword… Eventually when I reach a certain level Ouranos couldn’t keep being my god as he needed to keep the seal on The Dungeon, so he asked Astraea to be my god. It was… Awkward at first. I merely went to her to update my status only and go back on patrol by myself. But each time she updated my status, she talked to me a bit more each time, and soon enough we had conversations on topics she read into.”

“… Is that why she would always read various books?”

“Partially, it was also so she can have a better understanding of how people are. Her views needed to expand further than simply white and black… sadly, the only children who could see shades of gray now are her two children who went down the path of blood.”

Ryuu’s face scrunches up in regret.

“… Do you think she dislikes us?”

“No… how could a mother hate her own children? She knows we did our best but… in the end, we are simply people, we make mistakes here and there and even gods as well. The best you can do is learn from them and improve yourself to never make them again.”

“But… my mistake was caused by my overwhelming, suffocating anger towards Evilus. I even went after the smallest of connections and rip them from the roots.”

“We all do things when put into a situation. Having learned of their deaths… Well, I couldn’t blame you. I am sure everyone understood why you were doing it.”

“Then the path I took… was it right?”

“That’s not something I can answer. Only you know what is right and wrong. Not me, not the gods, not even Astraea. So long as you know.” He looked Ryuu in her eyes. “But between you and me, I personally found your actions in line with justice.”

“Even if I killed and tortured several people to give me information on Evilus and those connected to it?”

“… Ryuu really? You know what I did in Israfan, right?”

“Yes… You mentioned you dealt with the Vritra Familia and the whole dynamic of the desert countries shifted as a result.”

“Ehh… It was already shifted the moment the Vritra Familia came under the Israfan royals. I simply put it back to how it was… several hundreds of bodies later.”

“Did you see your actions just?”

“At the time, yes. I believe what I was doing was necessary and needed to weaken them as much as possible and kill their level 6 captain. Going the honorable route would not have been enough to kill Goh.”

“… Did you regret your actions?”

“…”

Ryuu could see a deep contemplation on Cirrus. The sides of his mouth dropped a bit.

“I do. I regret them deeply. But I kept moving forward, and I found people that loved me, and it made the world a bit more brighter.” He looked at Ryuu. “Did you find someone who makes your world brighter?”

Ryuu looked him in his eyes and reached out and held his hand.

“Yes.” She made a warm smile that surprised Cirrus. “You, Syr, and Astraea. You three were… The reasons I kept going.”

“… Do you wanna stay here a bit longer? I have more drinks?”

“Yes.” She put her hands back. “They are quiet drinkers."

"That they are.”

The two would sit and speak to the grave of their fallen Familia. Sharing a drink or two before returning.