chapter 202

[Third Person's PoV] 

"Pwuppy!" Celeste called out to the little puppy that was sitting in the air, its tongue hanging out. Celeste opened and closed her small fist, motioning for the puppy to come towards her.

The puppy seemed almost eager to oblige as it stood up and ran through the air towards Celeste. It sat on Cid's head and began licking Celeste's face, causing her to squeal happily and hug the puppy, wrapping her arms around its neck and bringing him close.

*"Daddy, can we keep him?"* Celeste asked in a pleading voice, afraid Cid might say no.

"This is quite literally your ability, so I can't say much about it. Sure, you can keep him. He's yours."

*"Yay! You heard that, Sirius! I can keep you!"* Celeste exclaimed mentally.

Cid was about to correct her, reminding her that Sirius couldn't hear her since they were communicating mentally. But then Sirius barked, as if responding to her words, licking Celeste excitedly, sharing her enthusiasm.

"Did you really name him Sirius?" Cid asked with amusement.

Celeste, who was treating Sirius like a teddy bear, swaying side to side, nodded. *"Like the name of the first star you showed me that he was made of—Sirius. It fits him perfectly."*

"I see..." Cid muttered. His dragon eyes activated, and Celeste was gently lifted off his neck and pulled right in front of him while still hugging Sirius tightly.

Cid focused his senses on Sirius' existence, studying him closely. Sirius, sensing Cid's intrusion, growled menacingly, his eyes glowing with protective intent.

However, one cold look from Cid's eyes was all it took for Sirius to cower and start whimpering.

*"No, Sirius, Daddy is a good person. No growling at Daddy,"* Celeste said, her brow scrunching up slightly as she scolded Sirius.

Sirius looked down sadly, but Celeste showered him with kisses, mimicking what Cid often did to her. *"It's alright, I forgive you."*

Cid couldn't maintain a cold expression as he looked at them and smiled softly. But soon, he became pensive, rubbing his chin deep in thought.

'That wolf... he has the ability and authority over blood magic. But due to Celeste's age, they're locked and rather minuscule. As she grows, so will their power. Does that mean each constellation has an attribute and magic assigned to them? For example, Aquarius might have authority over water magic? There is much she'll have to master. Will I have to send her to another universe for her future training?'

Many thoughts and ideas about Celeste's future began forming. But upon seeing Celeste smiling brightly, resting her head on Sirius and closing her eyes, Cid simply shook his head.

He smiled warmly, placing a hand on her head and brushing her hair down before kissing the top of her head.

With one eye closed, he looked at Celeste and smiled. "Why don't you go and show Mommy your new pet? I bet she'd love it."

Celeste pouted, narrowing her eyes at Cid. *"Are you saying you don't want me around?"*

"That is exactly what I'm saying. Look at you, already so smart!"

Celeste smiled proudly at the compliment, nodding. *"Why, thank you—WAIT A MINUTE!"*

Cid chuckled at her offended expression. Celeste stuck her tongue out at him. *"I don't want to be around you either, then."*

Cid playfully stuck his tongue out too, making Celeste giggle. *"Bye, love you, Daddy,"* Celeste said before disappearing in front of him.

Cid closed his eyes and sensed Celeste safely inside his shadow. Once assured, he transformed into a wisp of black smoke and disappeared.

He reappeared in his room at the camp. Tilting his head, he shook it slightly. "Saejima has now been effectively murdered..."

He pondered this for a moment before shrugging. "That's not really my problem."

Cid lay down on his bed, closing his eyes to check Lambda's progress. He saw that Lambda had made it to South Korea, searching for survivors and any camps.

"Speaking of Korea..." Cid muttered, staring at the ceiling in deep thought.

Memories of his life as Sung Jin-Woo began resurfacing—memories he had been suppressing because of their inconvenience.

Cid's lips pursed, shifting from side to side. "Jin-Ah..." Cid muttered, his voice slightly shaky, before he felt something wet on his face.

Confused, he wiped his face, only to realize it was a tear.

From his shadow, Beru immediately popped out with a bloodthirsty expression. "I'll kill anyone who made our lord cry!" Beru screeched angrily.

Igris and Bellion appeared and smacked Beru roughly on the head.

"What? Why are you hitting me? We should be going after whoever made our Monarch shed tears!" Beru protested, looking at them with an unjust expression.

Igris glared at Beru. "Our lord was having a moment, which you decided to interrupt."

Bellion looked toward Cid and bowed. "Forgive us, my lord. You can go back to having your moment…"

"I was only worried for our lord…" Beru mumbled, holding his head with puppy-dog eyes.

"So are we, but you need to learn how to read the room…" Igris said, shaking his head.

Cid rolled his eyes. "I appreciate your concern, but I'm alright, guys…" Cid said, a bit touched by how worried they looked while glancing at them.

"Do you perhaps want to talk about it, my lord?" Bellion asked curiously.

"I was just missing my sister…"

"Shall we go and retrieve her from the Shadow Realm, my lord?" Beru asked, wondering if that would make him feel better.

Cid chuckled, shaking his head. "I wasn't talking about that sister… I had another sister… Her name was Jin-Ah…"

"Ah…" Both Beru and Igris had a look of realization as they remembered her.

"I assume she was from one of your other incarnations?" Bellion asked curiously, as all three of them sat down on the ground, listening attentively.

Cid sat on the bed, leaning his head back against the wall. "Yup, from a world I failed to save as Sung Jin-Woo. That world was destroyed by the Monarchs along with everything else, including my sister…"

"Perhaps if you were reincarnated, so was she? Maybe she could be safe in another unsuspecting universe…" Igris suggested, hoping to make Cid feel a bit better.

"I can only hope…"

"Why doesn't my lord go and check?" Bellion suggested as well.

"And how would I do that?" Cid wondered, looking at Bellion curiously.

"The elements known as Aether don't only function for Time, Space, Creation, and Destruction… but also Fate. If she's your sister, using Aether, you should be able to view the fate of those connected to you," Bellion explained, making Cid's eyes widen.

"Bellion, I could kiss you right about now!" Cid said with a smirk.

"Lucky…"

They all turned toward Beru, who was slightly pouting to himself.

Cid snapped his fingers, stopping time. "This may take a while, so I better make sure I have all the time in the world…" Cid muttered.

"Time and Space are one thing, but Fate is an entirely different matter," Cid said to himself as he began studying the other aspects of Aether.

"For Jin-Ah…" he whispered, closing his eyes.

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A/N: Honestly seeing people ask for a Celeste after story I'm kinda thinking about it. Like a story where she ends up in Fairy Tail or something like that...