Chapter 227 - End of main text...

Mainkuhn! Mainkuhn!

When creation was already established, the earth began to call out the child's name without ceasing.

Mainkuhn! Mainkuhn!

It flows along a network of veins, passing by countless anchor points of tears and love, carrying countless emotions straight to the center of the formation, to the newborn baby with a mouth full of sugar.

Mainkuhn!

As soon as Fang Yi saw the gray-haired youth, Da Di couldn't help but reach out and embrace him.

My child, your mother is not a mother, and your father is not a father.

Golden light pats the cat, and an excessive amount of blessings are bestowed upon it.

Unexpected miracles, do not weep for the plight of those who have no one to rely on.

For it was not milk that nourished you, but the world and all life in it. Be proud, unique one—son of Teyvat!

"Maine! Maine!"

When Mainkun regained consciousness, he saw his sworn brother's anxious eyes before him.

Are you alright?

His facial muscles were taut, giving him a very serious look, but the hands he held were gentle, and his chest was warm.

Wait... pick him up? That can't be right!

Mainkun suddenly looked down and saw his body, which had shrunk considerably, and his furry paws.

...They really are claws, about 80% similar to those of small animals, but they have nothing to do with human hands.

"Pretty, pretty cute?" Seeing Little Mei staring intently at his hands, Violet instantly sensed something was wrong and awkwardly tried to coax her:

"It's also very soft, even softer than a human hand..."

"Woo-hoo—"

"It's over," Mainkuhn sobbed, unable to accept it.

[Oh no! I'm becoming less and less like a brother!!]

But before he could even cry twice, he suddenly realized something was wrong.

The air lacked the familiar, faint bitterness, the stench of hatred that had accompanied him since childhood, the wellspring of his power.

…No, it's not that it didn't exist, but rather that a stronger odor had masked it.

The scent was something Mainkun had never heard of before today, but as he extended his thin tongue, he immediately recognized it: it was sweet, it was sugar, it was honey, it was…

"……like."

He arrived at the answer in disbelief.

"What's wrong, Mainkun?"

Leosley looked worriedly at his suddenly silent sworn brother and pinched his furry paw to examine it.

Where does it hurt?

"..."

Little May didn't speak, she just buried her face in Leosley's chest.

Sniff, sniff.

My brother is sweet!

The cat's eyes widened instantly, and he heard Villette's relieved sigh again.

"She doesn't seem to be in any discomfort, so why has she become...so small?"

"Is he too young?" Zhongli asked, somewhat puzzled. "I feel that's more in line with his age."

"But Mainkuhn is already in his twenties."

"Yes, even someone in their twenties is still a child."

...

"Your Honor, no offense intended, but have you not had much contact with common long-lived beings like demons and immortals?"

Mainkuhn didn't understand why Leosley's body suddenly started to tremble, and even Villette's pupils began to tremble. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and discovered more, more wondrous things.

Though darkness lay before him, his mind could see the gentle breeze rustling across the wilderness of Mondstadt, where young lovers whispered sweet nothings to each other on a cliff adorned with white blossoms, vowing to be together forever.

This wish is a long-term process and cannot be fulfilled instantly.

He was in Fontainebleau, but he could hear the doctor in the Bubu Lu in Liyue coughing softly. He was weak, but he stubbornly touched the white snake and made a wish for a world free of disease over and over again.

This aspiration is grand and cannot be fulfilled by the prayers of one person alone.

Mainkun then unleashed his divine sense, and everything, big or small, took shape in his mind, wherever the earth's veins passed and wherever desires arose.

Until a tired yet determined voice reached Mainkun's cat ears.

'I can't hold on much longer... Am I going to die here...? My comrade...'

'No, we must hold on! Hold on until help arrives! We can't let this giant whale wreak havoc on humanity!'

"!!"

The overwhelming desire and unwavering will caused Mainkun to immediately open his eyes and exclaim in surprise:

Ajax!

"You know the Eleventh Seat?"

Arecino frowned. "No, his path has never overlapped with yours."

"I don't know. I've never met him, but just now I instantly learned about his life and name, and even how many people are in his family!"

Mainkuhn frantically clutched his head with his paws, bewildered but knowing what to do first, he broke free from Leosley's embrace.

"We have to go help him!"

Abedo stopped him and handed him a strangely shaped magical artifact. "I don't object, but you'd better take this with you before you set off."

"What?"

Mainkuen looked up and saw a transparent crystal ball with two yin-yang fish, one black and one white, floating around it.

“I don’t use weapons, I use my claws… well, my claws are a bit strange now.”

"That's right, these are your claws, though they're from before."

Abedo expressionlessly shoved the magical artifact into his hand, his voice somewhat ethereal as he explained.

"I discovered it just now when I was destroying your severed arm. From what I observed, those two yin-yang fish may have been transformed from your radius and ulna, and your palm is a crystal ball..."

"…ah???"

"Don't look at me so surprised. I can't explain this in detail either. I can only speculate that it's related to the nature of cats." Abedo paused helplessly.

"Consider it a new life gift from the earth to you; you deserve it."

...

Mainkuhn felt as if he had been elevated to an extremely strange state of being.

He didn't know how to describe the feeling.

"This is the giant whale? The culprit that has left Frinina lonely for five hundred years..."

"So much suffering has arisen from it, Rose Society, advance! For the great gentleman and our beloved god!"

"Tide, I have..."

All he knew was that the heated team battle was only halfway through, and he was joining the indignant crowd in beating up the giant whale when the magical artifact in his hand was suddenly filled with golden light. With the cat's attack, a beam of energy shot out and pierced through the giant whale's head.

"what happened?"

After a moment of silence, Leosley, who had been following Mainkun, immediately crouched down in the whale blood, looking at his little sworn brother with barely concealed nervousness.

"Have you once again uncontrollably responded to everyone's wishes?"

No...no.

Big White Fluff's tail stood up excitedly, then wagged somewhat frantically:

"Everyone hates this giant whale, and I hate it too, so let it die."

Did you let it die on its own?

On this sensitive issue of life, Mainkuhn lowered his ear and admitted:

"Yes, I took its life willingly."

"That's good."

Unexpectedly, his brother simply patted him on the shoulder in relief, got up, and began discussing himself with Navelette and the others.

"Any clues, friends?"

“His soul is whole, and I am certain that the desires of others can no longer sway him.”

"So, he can now fulfill other people's wishes on his own, but the price is his willpower?"

"Further confirmation is needed..."

Countless concerned gazes were cast upon his short stature, and the faint sweetness of the feeling never dissipated. Mainkuen was truly unaccustomed to this scene.

He thought he deserved punishment, but instead received the exact opposite.

"I……"

But before the cat could offer its opinion, a sudden female voice shattered the warm atmosphere.

"I just went into seclusion to cultivate for a while."

Skirk's gaze swept over Tartaglia and landed on the Star-Devouring Whale.

"How could you kill my master's pet?"

"Your master's pet?"

Before she could complain or protest, Fukalos's eyes narrowed and he revealed a dangerous smile.

"Oh, then I'll trouble you to pay the fine and come live in Mero Petersburg for a few hundred years. Don't worry, the compensation isn't much; it's just all the hydrological maintenance and building repairs over the past five hundred years..."

"Compensation for emotional distress suffered by Funina and the people of Fontaine."

Claude picked up the pistol.

"It wouldn't be too much to pay with one's own life; many people died or were injured during the first flood season."

Arecino, holding a scythe, coldly echoed.

"..."

Silky has never been afraid of challenges and killing; there are few people in this world who can hurt her.

but.

Skirk glanced at the wind god, rock god, thunder god, grass god... the former water god and water dragon king behind the group of humans, and a cat child whose identity was unclear. In the end, she chose to be cautious in her words and actions.

“My master is Surtroch, the most vicious knight.”

"What are you doing?"

Paimon stood with his hands on his hips and criticized aggressively.

"Are you trying to scare us by bringing up our parents? How childish!"

"No."

Silky grabbed the young master and turned towards the spatial rift.

"What I mean is that every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt has its debtor. When you take revenge on him, don't hold back."

"Huh? You call yourself a proper apprentice??"

The strange woman ran away with her apprentice, and everyone hurriedly returned to Fontaine.

The sea had already flooded the town, but few people were terrified.

Most of the people of Fontaine are good swimmers, and even the few who can't swim board the small boats beforehand, led by Melousin.

The water submerged the heads of humans, like a belated baptism of new life.

"Mo... Zhongli, I'm so confused."

After the tide of life receded, Mainkuen quietly sought out the god he trusted most, patting his thigh with a kitten's paw for help.

"What's wrong, Xiao En?"

The strange, white-and-golden creature lowered its head, looking utterly dejected.

“I know I’m not human, not immortal, and not demon, but now, it seems I’m not even a half-demon anymore… Zhongli, you’re smart and experienced, what do you think I am?”

"Hahaha…"

Morax is no stranger to the struggles young people face regarding their identity and belonging.

I think so.

The reliable elder bent down, pretending to be serious as he stroked his chin and looked at him, until Mainkuen became nervous and his temper flared up before he finally smiled slightly.

"You're a little god."

"!"

Mainkuhn's eyes lit up at first, then he muttered something under his breath.

"...You're just fooling me again."

"I swear to God, I never lie."

Zhongli explained leisurely.

"Kindness, compassion, helpfulness, and the magical ability to help others—what aspect of this doesn't match your image of a deity?"

"Can--"

The word "god" is still too high, too distant, and too sacred for Mainkuhn at the moment; he dares not accept it.

"Well then, here's an answer you'll definitely like."

Leosley suddenly reached out, gently pinched the kitten's armpit, and lifted it into the air to shake it, just like he had shaken little Seno back then.

"My dear, my dear, my little Mayne—"

"He is the best child in the world."

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Author's Note: This concludes the main text. The next chapter will begin with epilogue and daily life.

Of course, there will be no updates tomorrow, so I need to take a day off to relax. [Let me see...]