Traveling through the Southeast of the continent reminded Cirrus of Telskyura with the mountainous area.

"How far off are we?"

"Not too far. I am glad you have magic that allows for flight."

"Well, yours isn’t bad either; it's movement magic that changes with the time of day."

"It can only do so much, regardless. We covered a lot of ground. We should get there within the day."

"Hm."

While traveling, Cirrus got word from Circe of new he was hoping for.

‘Cirrus!! Nox!! Ai is pregnant!!’

"!" Cirrus stops for a moment.

"What is wrong?" Malion asked.

"Um… I need to use the restroom. Mind if you wait for a bit?"

"Hm. Go on."

Cirrus walked away from her, and he clenched his fists tightly as a big smile formed and tears came down.

‘That is great news Circe!! I’ll be back as fast as I can.’

‘You better!’

‘How about that! I’m going to be an aunt!’  Nox exclaimed happily.

 

They traveled for about three days at top speed. It is ridiculous how much ground they covered.

"Here we are."

They made it to a tunnel with two guards in red armor.

"Halt! What is your business?"

"We are with Lady Aphrodite."

"My apologies."

They stepped aside.

"Ahh, her charm, always so useful."

They enter and walk for 3 minutes until they reach a forest.

"Welcome to Olympia."

Cirrus looks around and takes in the air.

"… Huh? It smells like fresh ash?"

"Come, I will show you where Hera picked to set up the base."

They traversed the monster's free land through a dense forest. They arrived at a river, and they followed it to the ocean and along the coast.

"So is it around here or...?"

"It is on that island, but given your magic, it would be easier if you could take me there."

"Um sure, but why couldn’t you use your magic?"

"Too flashy, there's a foe we don't want to know where we are."

"A foe? Aren’t you level 8? Who can give you trouble outside of Orario?"

"You will know soon enough, but for now, can you take me over? And can you go as near to the water as you can?"

"Sure."

Cirrus equips his armor and flies Malion over.

 

When they landed on the island, Aphrodite’s Familia greeted them.

"Sir Zephyr!" said Becklin, a handsome man with gray hair.

"You have arrived!" said Sandro, another handsome man with long blonde hair in a braid.

"Sandro! Becklin!" They come and hug each other. "How have you been!"

"We have been worse, but now with you and Lady Malion, we feel a lot better!" said Sandro.

"Hm? Where is Lady Nox?" said Becklin.

Nox lands on Cirrus' shoulder, and a bright light shines off her before she transforms into her human form.

"You have a human form!!" Malion shouted as her eyes gained stars.

"Of course I do. I am a spirit! Plus, I didn’t want you to do anything to me with those crazy eyes." Cirrus helps her down to the ground. "Now where are Aphro and the mean grandma?"

"How rude," Hera said, walking out. "But what do I expect from Nyx’s daughter. Ai nor Artemis would ever treat me with such crassness."

"Yeah, yeah, where is Aphro?"

"She is stealing people from Olympia with her charm, as well as building a second base on the mainland."

"Seems her time in Yamato didn’t go to waste," Cirrus said, walking up to Hera.

"I am proud you turned that useless goddess into something useful! As expected of my grandson." She pinched Cirrus' cheek.

‘Heh… She’s like a different person when she’s around him. Reminds me of a bit of Meteria when she wanted some sweets.’ Malion thought.

"Well, I guess for now I’ll take a room. Traveling to such a place is a bit exhausting," Cirrus said.

"I will show you to your room," Becklin said.

"Thanks, I’ll see you all when I’m all settled. Nox."

Nox followed along after Cirrus. Malion tried to follow, but Hera placed her hand on hers.

"Not now, Malion. Let him rest alright."

She could see the look in Hera’s eyes. She has seen them hundreds of times and knows what they mean.

"Fine."

 

Becklin leads Cirrus and Nox to their room.

"If you need anything, feel free to ask!" He then took his leave.

"Hmm… Aphro does have excellent taste. It reminds me of the luxury vacation homes of Hóngsè." Nox said, looking around the room.

Cirrus sets his belongings down and pulls out a chair and a book.

"How much have you written?" Nox glanced at Cirrus’s back.

"A lot… I’ve been writing for days and... Fuck me, I have so much."

"You have your hands in a lot of things... but I’m telling you, it’s bad luck to write your painfully long will."

"It’s better to have something as morbid as this than nothing… You know, the last resort for us is to purify it and send it back to heaven through... You know the dead way."

"Yeah, that last part…" Nox stops and looks out the window at the ocean. "… Hm well, I’ll leave all my stuff to Circe, after all, with your plan succeeding, she will be the only one not in danger."

"… I hope she doesn’t figure out the gravity of what we are doing."

"Who knows. If she’s working on something, then luck is on our side… Well, there is no, use in worrying about it when we are in the land that will more or less be our graves."

"I always knew we would die together."

"Of course, your and my fates are tied. I will follow you even through death to be by your side." She said this as she approached Cirrus and wrapped her arms around him while he was writing.

"Let's hope that fate isn’t so near."

 

Outside.

"What did you think of him?" Hera asked Malion as they both gazed out to sea.

"He is very much more likable than his mother, quiet but with a sharp enough tongue when the moment arises."

"And Nox?"

"You know how I feel about this beautiful creature in both her avian and human forms. She has a deep-seated loyalty to Cirrus."

"That is to be expected. You are better off getting along with Cirrus than with her."

"Hm." Malion nods. "Cirrus, let me sleep with Nox while she is in her avian form."

"And?"

"And… I slept well. Better than in the previous 15 years combined."

"I am glad I sent you onto his path."

"… Did you wish for me to be with Nox?"

"No. She cares not for others in that capacity, she is dogmatically loyal to Cirrus; hell, I am sure the emotion known as love is saved solely for Cirrus alone. He can kill a god and burn a country to the ground, and she wouldn’t bat an eye and still follow him."

"That loyal?"

"Of course, she is one of the first of her kind, meant to live and die with their master. Why do you think the concept of a soul mate became a thing?"

"That’s where it came from? Masters reuniting with their former Spirits?"

"That’s correct, so she will always come to him in some form or another."

"Hmm... and what of his wives? Does Nox treat them as she does him?"

A smirk appeared on her face as she took a sip of her wine.

"From what I have seen, she treats them as an extension of her master’s will."

"I see… Maybe I should try to have him take my hand in marriage. We get along well enough."

"Unfortunately for that, you will need to win over his other two wives."

"Ai and Lady Artemis... I have met them."

"And?"

"It was a natural exchange of words; I believe I made an impression that wasn’t bad nor too great."

"Hmm…. Well, if you wish to win them, you will need to do what it takes to keep him alive."

"Easy enough."

"No, it won’t be. What he is here for is meant for us gods to handle, the difficulty could only be compared to one of the three Great Quests. You faced that hero; you should know the weight of this."

"You are correct. Still, we should have told him the dangers that Epimetheus is."

"We both agreed to keep it from him. The less he knows, the more likely he will come."

Malion looked down with a displeased look.

"After this is over, I will apologize to him dearly for not telling him."

"Don’t worry too much. In combat, Cirrus is far better than what our and Zeus’s Familia are capable of."

"And what of Epimetheus? He wields the divine weapon and has immortality and massive attacking power granted to him for his connection with the Primordial Flame?"

"A good trial for Cirrus. I’m sure he needed something to help reach Level 9," Hera said with a grin.

"Here, I thought you changed, but you are still a cunning old witch."

"Call me what you like, but I want only the best for Neheple’s son. I do not care if it hurts him. I know he can take the pain and become something greater."

"The same thing you did to Nephele?"

"…"

The High Dark Elf and Goddess looked at one another with dull gold and ruby eyes.

Malion could see a firm conviction in her goddess’s eyes.

"Hm. The best thing that happened to him was not having you in his early years."

"I wholeheartedly agree. If I had been there, you would have met him earlier and addressed him as captain. Go talk to Sandro. He's the pretty blonde one. He knows where your room is."