Cirrus left the Room of Prayer and made his way toward Babel.

‘That was informative, but I need to know exactly what happened to me. Freya can see my soul. I would have asked Circe, but she’s still sleeping along with Hecton and Fafnir.’

"Vesta, I like you to remain hidden. This goddess we are about to meet is the polar opposite of Hestia."

"Oh?" she said, appearing on his shoulder. "How so? Is she productive and hardworking?"

"Well, she runs one of the strongest Familia’s in the world, but she is a goddess of love."

"…Oh." Her eyes widen. "I shall remain hidden, but why do you wish to meet such a goddess?"

"She can see the soul, and I want a finer understanding of it. Ouranos said my soul has taken in his and Lady Astraea's Arcanum and now I am their spiritual child... I want to know how my soul resembles theirs, as an actual child would from their parents' genetics."

"… I don’t know how much the spirit Circe knows about you or even Nox, but when we forged the contract, I fully knew your history, even the fact that you were reincarnated. Given that veil, I assume Nyx must have invested in you to commit the crime of Artificial Moksha."

"Hm, that is something. How bad is the crime?"

"You are to be slain 10 times. To a god who is immortal and will be reborn, that is equivalent to... well, a lot of zeros. We gave Artemis and Skadi, heaven's best hunters, the task a few times."

"I see… as for your previous question, Nox and Circe don’t know my full history. They both, however, know how to speak English perfectly and even read it, even some other languages I knew. Passable Spanish and little Japanese."

"I see… so even a Samsara Contract wasn’t enough to get past Nyx’s veil. What of Hecton and Fafnir? Do they know?"

"They do. When I went to talk with Fafnir after having Nox use her full magic on her, I saw Fafnir watching memories of my past life. Albeit some of it had been curated by Hecton and even then, some memories were inaccessible."

"That we do," Hecton said.

"I’m watching some right now. We also know how to read, speak, and write English." Fafnir said as she and Hecton popped out their mouth before returning to the shadows.

"Very interesting… Then I shall keep it secured. A secret between those loyal to you. But may I ask why you never spoke of this to Nox or Circe? They would be able to keep it to themselves."

"Well, at first, when I learned that gods actually exist and walk among mortals, I worried about what would happen to me if they found out I was much older than I looked. Then there was the day I killed my first person… You know that in the world I came from, the people are... soft, desensitized to violence and horrors."

"Hm. Yes, the humans in your world have advanced far enough to have escaped the food chain, and, with no monsters or even magic, the development of culture and technology boomed enough to forgo your primitive ways. You could buy a chicken thigh culled across the country in a factory where they are stuffed with so many GMOs that they have overgrown into monstrosities against nature to keep up with human consumption."

"Yes, what you said. The average person could see death on TV, the news, and the internet… and just grow bored of it. When killing another person face-to-face as their life slowly bleeds from their face, it hits differently, you know. I was scared and on edge. My heart was racing so much that I feared it would beat out of my chest. My only thought was to run. To not get caught committing murder. I didn’t know how justice would be enforced."

"And so you ran. You ran and ran with all of your vigor back to the surface and into a secret tunnel."

"Yes." Cirrus stops walking and looks to his left. "Just a few feet from where I stand, the man from the modern world arrived at death's door in a pool of his vomit, with blood staining his broken spear, hands, and face. After that day, the man from the modern day was broken, yet he still clung to his old morality before stupidly thinking he could commit to war. How naïve of him to think he would be far above the toll it takes on the person of one from such a soft world." Cirrus resumed his walk towards Babel. "But it was thanks to that dose of reality that he finally died along with any grand aspirations making Cirrus Zephyr, son of the foolish sage Fels, grandson of the witch Lenoa, the child of Ouranos, to be finally born 8 years after being birthed."

"That is a bit of a cynical way of viewing your formative years. Even if you were reincarnated, you still had the mind of a child. That would have certainly played a larger role effecting you than you would think."

"... Maybe so, but." Cirrus stops walking again. "I—He should have known better. How prideful could one be to think they were above trauma?"

"Well, given your history, you lived through the early stages of America's entropy. I mean, NFTs were a pretty big sign of late-stage capitalism. Why wouldn't you think you could bear through war trauma? I mean, you have seen so much violence, sex, and death that you actually grew numb to it. Your country is so steadfast in its gun culture that school shootings are normalized!?"

"What are you getting at? That I shouldn't blame my modern self for thinking he was better than everyone else just because he had the internet?"

"What I am getting at is that it's not your fault you used to think that way. Killing in person is drastically different from killing with a gun or from a comfy seat piloting a drone. It was normal for you to have acted that way. How else were you supposed to have acted? Numb like a psychopath who can just kill and be fine with it? No. You are just a normal man. You never gotten into a fight until that day and you have never taken a life bigger than an insect. Think of the bandit you killed when you arrived in the Kaios Desert and those of the Chernobog Familia? Why were they different?"

"The bandits had no better option than into banditry because of their environment, while the Chernobog Familia did it out of malicious intent."

"See. Even then, you had empathy for them and their struggle. You had empathy for the people of Solingen."

"..." Cirrus didn't really know what else to say. He remained quiet, digesting Vesta's words. "Then what of my actions during my war campaign again, the Virita Familia?"

Vesta pondered on it but nothing came.

"... I have no answer."

"Hm." Cirrus smiles at her answer. "Good answer. If you were to have justified by actions, I would have thought less of you."

"Cirrus."

 "Thanks for the impromptu therapy session, but I am good. I long dealt with and accepted my demons. Had you tried to justify my actions our time together would not be very pleasant."

"Yes... You certainly have faced your demons."

Cirrus resumed walking to Babel again. Vesta didn't go further than what they said.

 

When they arrived at the top floor of Babel, Freya’s room, the guards informed him that she was out, so he went to the top of Babel to wait.

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

"Can you hear me?"

‘I can, telepathy is useful.’ Vesta said.

"Then why do you always pop up to speak?"

'I wanted to see the world through my own eyes, so I took advantage of every opportunity.'

"A nice reason. Have you enjoyed our time so far?"

‘It’s very nice. But my range is 10 meters from you or White Night.’

He continued to sit on the top with his eyes closed, enjoying the nice wind and sun.

 

A while later.

"Lady Freya can see you now." said a Freya Familia member.

"Thank you."

He goes downstairs and enters her room. He finds her sitting on her red throne. Her gaze turns to him as he enters the room.

"Why did you wish to meet me?" she asked with a sly smile on her face.

"You understand why I came," Cirrus said, walking near the window and looking down onto the city. "I’m sure you saw my soul from afar before I returned to the city."

"Fufu, such sharp instincts." She gets up and walks to him. She places her hand on his back. "Your soul is certainly far, far different from before you left."

"And now?"

"It is like a deep blue fire that emits the boundless night sky filled with stars... similar to the divinity of Ouranos and Astraea if they were mixed together. It is rather lovely, almost divine even." She gave him an almost seductive look with her purple eyes. "Especially that silver eye."

"Is that so... Hmm, well, thank you for your time." He turns to her and bows. "I must be going; I hope you find a way to be with Bell."

She smiles.

"Thank you, and by the way, you and Ai’s child have a bright shine like you and her. You should be proud when that child is born. They will be very talented."

"That’s nice to hear."

Cirrus leaves Babel and heads to the Secret Laboratory for a project he has been putting off for a while.

Watching from above, Freya stares at Cirrus’s soul.

"… How cruel. The strings of fate have finally laid their hands on a mortal." Freya said with a gloomy expression on her face. "Thus is the price of becoming a bit like the gods."

 

Down in the Secret Laboratory.

"Sorry I was gone for a while," Cirrus said.

"It’s fine," said Dionysus. "I doubt having to purify the Primordial Flame was so easy. I also had some assistants here to help."

Cirrus looks as coming from the back room to see Filvis and Lefiya walking out.

"We have brought the material," said Filvis.

"Yes, and it wasn’t easy." Said Lefiya. "H-her parents thought w-we were…" Her face was blushing.

"… To be honest, I thought you played on my side of the game if you know what I mean." Cirrus said.

"W-what is that supposed to mean!!" Lefiya shouted.

Cirrus looked at Dionysus, and they both exchanged looks.

"Well, shall we get to work?"

"Hm, let's."

"Wait! What do you mean!!"

Filvis simply kept working as her face blushed.

 

 Moonlight Tower evening.

‘Hmm, Filvis wasn’t able to get her father’s DNA, but... maybe Dionysus can be a donor? Might as well and see so we can hit two birds with one stone.'

Cirrus thinks to himself as he walks into his room, where Artemis is sitting on the bed with Ai. They both had a look on them that was surprised and worried.

"What’s wrong?" he asked.

"… Cirrus um..." Ai said, turning to him. "Artemis is um…"

"I’m…" She looked at him with surprise and wonder, along with some anxiety. "With child."

"………"

‘………’

His brain went full silent. He had no idea what she meant when she said, "With child..."

Even Artemis' already showing signs was unexpected from how early it was. Could it be her biology as a god? Elpis? Numerous things needed answers that could not be asked or studied.

"I um… Oh fuck, I’m getting dizzy." He leaned against the wall as he grabbed his head.

"I was the same when I started showing the symptoms," Artemis said, walking up to him. "I even went to Miach and had him swear to never tell. I would have gone to Circe but she is still sleeping."

"What did he say?"

"He confirmed my suspicions... While we had our little fun last night, I woke up and threw up. I noticed my hunger grew, and I just had this nauseating feeling all day before I went to Miach to see what was wrong with me."

"… B-but how?? Gods can’t have chil… dren… The Divine Flame." Cirrus remembers his status. "Orion Elpis."

Having been exposed to the divine flame had some effects to Cirrus which were only fully realized due to Elpis.

"I had thought it was odd how your eye turned silver and why you have Orion and Elpis as a skill," She walked up to him. "But after what you said... it seems Elpis gave you something unbelievable." She then hugged Cirrus. "And I am happy that this unbelievable thing was a child." She presses her face against his chest, hugging him tightly as tears of joy stream down her cheeks.

Cirrus could feel the shivers of joy and fear she had. He hugged her back, calming her and himself.

"… We can’t stay here." He spoke calmly. "This... is something that would truly shake the foundations of the world."

A god having a child, a genuine child of their own blood was something that would shake the world to the core. Not only that but Cirrus himself would gain even more trouble from it.

"Then where are we going to go?" Ai asked.

"… How about the north? I know a nice little village. Calm and quiet... peaceful."

"What about the Familia?" asked Artemis.

"They can stay here; we can talk with Ganesha and Shakti."

"I need to talk with Rethusa and the others." Artemis looked up at Cirrus.

"Hm… Ai, can you go meet with Shakti and Ganesha and tell them we will be away until our child is born? We leave Artemis out of it. I need to inform Ouranos of her and her pregnancy."

"I understand, but… do we have to go so early?"

"... We can stay here for at least two months before the signs of pregnancy appear. We have until then. Until we leave, we have to keep this hidden from the public."

"Hm." They both nodded.

"But first." He walks over and flops on the bed. "I need some sleep. The news really took a lot out of me. I think I lost strength in my legs from how nervous I am."

"Yes," Artemis said, sitting next to Cirrus. "There have been too many things happening."

"Say if you're now pregnant. Wouldn’t that mean Cirrus will have to wait on us?" Ai said, looking at Cirrus.

"…Fu—"

 

The next day.

"So that is what happens," Cirrus said to Ouranos.

"… This… this truly will shake the world," Fels said.

"I understand," said Ouranos. "This is… unprecedented… where do you plan to go?"

"A village up north… It's very quiet and in the countryside, so I doubt anyone would find us unless something major happened. We don’t plan on going anywhere soon, but I will be going there to build a home that we will stay until the children are born."

"Very well. The Guild will report that you return to Yamato for business. Should anything happen, we will call you."

"Thank you, Lord Ouranos." Cirrus bows and takes his leave.

Cirrus quickly arrives in the northwest section of the city and enters Hephaestus’s workshop.

"So you’re here!" Hephaestus said, with a smile on her face.

"I said I would, and it’s nice to see you again, Tsubaki, Eupheme." He nods.

"Cirrus," Eupheme said, walking up to him. "I have heard your eye turned silver, but I thought Lady Hephaestus was joking." She placed a hand near her eye.

"I am fine, truly. Now for the weapon in question." Cirrus handed Eupheme, Gram, sheathed.

"Oh, it’s pretty heavy."

"Be careful with it; that’s a damned cursed blade."

"Hey Uncrowned, why don’t you fix it?" Tsubaki asked. "You’re a talented blacksmith?"

"I am afraid cursed weaponry isn’t my strongest suit. I need more knowledge and experience in it to try and fix an heirloom, so why not let Hephaestus herself fix it up?"

"So you're too afraid to fix it, huh? Well, so long as you’re paying for it."

"I am, oh, and one last thing. (Vesta)." He holds out his hand, and from his magic circle, a flame comes out, taking the shape of a familiar weapon. Cirrus grabs it, and the flame bursts out into embers, revealing a black blade.

Tsubaki and Eupheme's eyes widen as they examine the blade. They can see the craftsmanship of the blade and its design. But they found something more… special about it.

"Tsubaki, Eupheme, this is his magnum opus, the Divine Weapon, White Night."

Hephaestus’s words entered their ears, and they filled their hearts with joy.

"I should warn you that she is very picky about who can hold or touch her," Cirrus said, as he found a sword stand and put White Night there. "I need to get going. See ya." Cirrus takes his leave.

"… L-lady Hephaestus, did he really—"

"He did." She cut off Tsubaki. "But I’m sure the price for it was something he wouldn’t pay again for it."

Eupheme didn’t hear Hephaestus as she stared at the blade. She got a strange feeling from it that she couldn't place.

"Come on, let’s get to work! Eupheme, come on."

"R-right! coming. " She goes to work, but she glances at the weapon one last time before returning to the forge.

 

Three days after Cirrus left Gram for repair.

"…"

"…"

Eupheme stares at the divine blade.

"Why do you feel so familiar?" she asked while on break.

"You human." Said Vesta in a disembodied voice.

"!!" Eupheme stood up, surprised.

"Don’t be surprised. I am the blade talking to you. I remained silent because I figured you blacksmiths would ask me several bothersome questions."

"…How do I know I’m not delusional from working for 3 days?"

"You can’t, but can you tell me how you're related to Cirrus? Answer me, and I may indulge you with a question."

"I am his smith; I’ve been his smith since he was 7."

"Hm… he holds you close to his heart, like that of close friends."

"Seems right. Now, can you tell me… what is that familiar feeling I get when I look at you?"

"White Night was made from a selfless sacrifice. Your goddess mentioned he paid a price he never wished to pay again, and that one could be said to be his other half, Nox."

"W-what?" Eupheme’s face was shocked.

"It would seem you were also close to her, it seems... worry not; she is contracted to Cirrus, and she will return to his side even—"

"How is he holding up!?" she said, grabbing the weapon.

Her face was teary-eyed. It shocked Vesta to see this smith, who was usually so expressionless, so close to tears.

"He has gone through his grief and accepted it, but I suggest you worry more about his heirloom. It is of high value to him."

"… Fine." She removed her hands and wiped the tears. "I'll make it so damn good it won’t lose to your edge!"

"Heh~ I wish to see you try."

Eupheme returns to the forge with fire in her eyes.

‘I will make sure you won't lose another thing, Cirrus!’

‘She is a kind girl… A friend who would shed tears for you is one I will allow to hold you once more... Nox.’ Thought Vesta. 'Hmm... Given the time frame Nox could... Well if I was Nyx what better child then a Demigod.'