[Vol.4] Quest 356- The Whole Night SkyA while later after Cirrus had left.
"Hm…" Callisto opens her eyes.
"ALCIDES!!! ALCIDES!! CO BACK!!!!!"
"!?" Her eyes were shot wide open. "Dad!!" Callisto sat straight up.
She looked to see Circe next to White Night.
"Aunty Circe!! Where is Dad!!"
Circe turned to see Callisto, worried.
"Callisto! Hold on a second, I am—"
"Hey, you!" shouted Nox, still stuck as White Night. "Co here!! If you wanna go get you old man!!"
"Nox!!" Circe looked back to Nox. "You can’t—"
"Do you want your old man to die!!"
"!?" Callisto quickly got up. "What do you an!? Aunty Circe!! I saw Dad with that fire on him!"
Callisto looked at Circe with great concern.
"…I…" Circe made a painful expression. "Please stay here. You are—"
"He is going to go die off alone sowhere with Vesta!! Co here so we can get his dumbass!!"
She looked at Circe, and she quickly ran towards White Night.
"Callisto, no!!" Circe got up to block Callisto. "Your father told
to take care of you. Do not leave or pick up Nox!!"
"And Cirrus told
to watch over his girl, so move, Circe!!" Nox shouted.
"Move aunty!! I wanna go to my dad!!" She pushed her aside and grabbed Nox. "!?"
Flash!!
A bright light covers them both.
"I, Candidus Nox, Aspect of the White Night, offer an accord with you, daughter of my master, my contractor! I shall look after you in place of your father!! Do you accept this condition!!"
"I-I accept!!"
"Then the pact is forged!!"
"!?"
Callisto could feel a part of her click with Nox as if she were the last piece of the puzzle she never knew needed to be filled.
"Now, let
take over for now."
"W-what are—!?"
She is pulled away as another person takes control of her body. Callisto’s hair turned pure white, with topaz eyes to match Nyx’s.
"Leave it to !! I’ll teach you how to move while I absorb the mana from the air! (No god shall touch the night; I dance upon the stars.) [White Night]!!" A pure light covered her, allowing her to travel quickly. "Now to get my wings!! Hmm!!" Nox tried to turn into a bird, but nothing happened. "What!? Why can’t I turn into an owl?"
"Maybe because you’re in Callisto’s body and also because your contract isn’t finalized!!" Circe shouted, getting up and dusting off the dirt. "Callisto, if you can hear , if you push
again, I swear to Hecate that you will be in serious trouble!"
"Dammit!! Fuck it!!" She returned to the spear, and Callisto’s features returned to normal. "Alright. Let’s see if this—Flash!!" She turned into an owl.
‘There!! Finally!!’ She then grew bigger.
"Ugh!!" Callisto said, feeling a sense of motion sickness.
‘Co on, get the fuck on!’ Nox shouted as a large owl. ‘I’ll go ahead and start refilling your mana!’
Nox glowed, and magic from the air began to be absorbed.
"Ooh! You can do that!!" Callisto said, impressed, as she also glowed faintly white. "Also, don’t do that again!!" And angry. "Sorry, Aunty Circe, for pushing you!" she said earnestly.
‘Be impressed and angry later. Get on, we’re leaving now.’
"Callisto, please! Stay here!! I know you love your father, but he doesn’t want you to see this!!" Circe tried to plead with Callisto.
"I want to see him!! I want to be there for him!! Nox!!" Callisto jumped on Nox’s back, and they flew off as a white light covered them.
Circe watched as they left, soaring through the sky.
"…Hecton, Fafnir. Are you guys doing okay?" She turned to see them coming out of the shadows, beaten and battered, with various cuts and injuries everywhere.
"We will… Be okay." Hecton spoke softly.
"Master has… gone on his last journey," Fafnir said with teary eyes.
"Will you two be okay? You know when he…"
"Our existence is similar to that of you, Lady Circe," Hecton said. "Our essence is in his children; so long as they are alive, we can live on."
"How interesting. Let
heal you two up a bit."
"Why did you not use your barrier?" Fafnir asked. "To stop them, I an."
"Maybe I wanted them to leave." She said it with a wry smile as tears fell from her face. "Maybe… I wanted Cirrus to not leave without family around. Maybe I was hoping... hoping he can escape death."
Nox flew as fast as she could and with as much mana as Callisto had left to spare.
"Can’t you go faster!!" Callisto shouted.
‘It’s not my fault you have such little mana reserves!! Besides, I am absorbing mana from the air, so it’s kind of hard to do two things that require attention!’
"I’m a level 3!!"
‘Hah! You're what? 10? Your father was a level 6 when he was that age!!’
"What!? He was not level 6! And I am 11 years old!!"
‘So? You’re a literal demigod! Artemis is your fucking mom! What’s your excuse?’
"I—Shut up! Dad and Mom—Oh, mom is... not Fom." She ca to grips with her heritage. "My mom... is Mooma. Artemis, she is... my mom, my actual… ah." She understood why Artemis doted on her so much. "It all makes sense!!"
‘Hm… I guess you didn’t know. Well, I don’t want you to get your mind down. So sit tight.’
"Hey..." Callisto spoke softly. "Why did you yell out, Alcides? Is that what you called my Dad? Like a nickna?"
'Sure. Sothing like that. Only those close to him call him that. A closeness you who have not known it are not allowed to call him that.'
"I am his favorite! I'm sure if I—"
'No!!' Nox's shout rang in Callisto's head. 'That is a special na for him. Even if you are his kid, he did not let you know. Only , Circe, Hecton, Fafnir, Ai, Artemis, and... hm? Say, Who are your other sibling's mothers? Or are they adopted?'
"Well, Auberon's mom is nad Malion, and Alise's mom's na is—"
'Ryuu Lion?'
"Yeah! How did you know?"
'... No fucking shot!! Her!? That goddamn justice-brained elf!? E-even Malion!? I an, I could see why with her curves, but Ryuu!? Her!? I... I will have to ask your father why he took her as his wife.'
"?" Callisto didn't know what to ask or say. "Uh, was Liom not on good terms with Dad?"
'Uhh... not exactly. They were more like good friends. They were never so affectionate with one another. When he t her, he was rather getting close to Ai. In fact, during that ti, Ryuu was more focused on justice and keeping the city safe. Boy, did she crack. Twice, in fact!'
"Oh..." Callisto's mind went to the Kaios Desert. "What do you an by cracked?"
'... It is not my pain to tell. Know that it was painful for her.'
Callisto thought to herself.
'Maybe Dad saw a kindred soul in her? One who shared a similar pain?'
When they arrived at the coastline, they could see that the sea had turned pure black. The sea now had a gold lining to it, Cirrus’ ichor.
‘I’ll go south, and you go north! Think of
to speak to
telepathically. Got it!’
"Got it!" Callisto shouted, jumping down. "(Bless , mother.)! " The aura Callisto was putting off changes into sothing completely different. "[Artemis Agnós]!!!"
Pika! Pika!
Pika! Pika!
Pika! Pika!
The aura condensed into the Artemis Familia’s emblem; it glowed in a soft white glow that was just like the moon. The light of the emblem bathed Callisto, forming a pure white armor similar to her father’s Cretan armor but with light-plated armor that has fur underneath, a crescent moon on the center of the breastplate, and a bear’s helt adorned on her head. Her cape reached down to her knees with a stainless sheen of white. Underneath it, the night sky.
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