Chapter 225: Acquittal, Life or Death Hangs by a Thread...
I can't bear to part with it.
I can't bear to part with the flowers, the grass, the sky, the rainforest, and the streams.
Reluctant to part with the young god, reluctant to part with the cold-faced friend, the blond architect laughs in the sunlight, with foxes and wolves always by his side.
Reluctantly, reluctantly, reluctantly to leave the grave with the cat statue, beneath which the contented old dog sleeps. Maine still wants to see the roses on it.
The cat-like creature wasn't exactly a living yokai, and its hybrid offspring should have gone with it, but due to an accident, they remained in the world.
Once you stay, you never want to leave again.
“It’s all your fault, Fukaros…” Mainkun sobbed, gasping for breath as if his lungs were leaking air. “I used to be able to die, I dared to die, it’s all your fault, it’s all your fault for talking nonsense… Now I don’t even want to die!”
He cried so hard that Fukaros couldn't help but laugh.
"If you want to live, then I am at ease."
"...Hmm?"
Fukaros stroked the cat's drooping head, his face still showing the same affection as it had years ago.
“Good cat, what’s the point of just responding to other people’s wishes? All those demands are not as valuable as your simple ‘I want’.”
Now, Fukalos is absolutely certain that Mainkun's rebirth is inevitable.
Ah, new life, a paradoxical new life, which last appeared in the hands of the primordial water goddess Egolia, and now I am about to commit the same crime!
What will this bring to me and my country? Another destruction, or...?
What interrupted her thoughts was the alchemist's words; Abedo's face turned serious.
“Ms. Fukalos, you misled him and concealed a fatal point.”
"Why do you say that? Some Mondstadt people are quite strange."
"You made many suggestions for Mainkuhn's plan, such as having him distribute the energy converted from seawater to the damaged ley lines in various countries."
"Yes, he also indirectly helped the Lord of the World Tree, the Great Compassion Tree King, because of this."
"This is indeed a remarkable achievement, but..."
The alchemist turned to look at the image.
In their past memories, the false god and the fake cat spent a peaceful time together. Tears and fear were the norm. They were so depressed that they got used to it, but they also tried to protect each other under the ruthless pressure of the executive officer.
"..."
Aberdo witnessed firsthand the young Mainkuhn's step toward salvation, the cat proudly carrying the water level report before the gods, and the indescribable joy and sense of accomplishment he shared only with Funina.
Saviors, huh?
"However, no matter how you try to cover it up for Mainkuhn, the established facts cannot be changed."
The composed Abedo has few things that can move his 500-year-old artificial heart, but his abundant knowledge sometimes brings not peace, but a deeper despair.
“Now that the prophecy of Heaven has appeared in the world, its contents will surely come to pass,” he declared loudly, his voice like a still, deep current.
“The water god will weep alone on his throne, and Fontaine will be submerged by the sea.”
"And Mainkuhn's efforts were all in vain."
...
"What?!"
Many people had never heard of a prophecy that could not be changed before, and doubts immediately erupted from the audience:
"Hey Mondstadt guy, this isn't right! Didn't you see the sea level in Fontaine? It can hold even the biggest flood!"
Abeldo didn't understand the sea level of Fontaine, but he was a disciple of the witch and had some knowledge of prophecy.
"It's no use. And what makes you so sure that the flood won't be endless? The Primordial Ocean has sustained all life in the entire Teyvat."
"you--"
The memory is playing out at the very end, it's the final farewell between Funina and Mainkuen.
"Mmm." The silver-gray Maine was unaware that its identity had been completely exposed and was still enjoying the caress of the god without knowing it.
Mainkuhn.
He still believed he had a place in the Momang Palace until Funina gently called out his name.
Before we say goodbye, can I see your face?
...
"Meow!!!"
"...Aaaaaaaahhhhhh!!"
Everything's connected! Even the reason why Mainkuhn never turns into a cat again is connected! He's terrified! So terrified that he's never dared to go back to Momang Palace again, and he won't see his brother, teachers, or friends anymore!
Frynn, Frynn was the only one who knew what Mainkun was doing, and the only one who supported Mainkun. Was his way of supporting him to scare away his only friend in five hundred years? Ahhh, no way!
And it was all useless, all useless! The prophetic crisis remained, and Leosley clenched his fists, unable to accept this fact.
“…Mainkuhn must not know about this, he will go crazy.”
The Duke is right...no! That's not the point. The point is—I don't want to dissolve in water! Help!!
"There's no way to be sure if the prophecy is true, is there?"
The Fontaineian's lips twitched, unwilling to accept reality. "Perhaps Lady Egolia misheard. Why would Heaven want to wipe us out for no reason? We're not some kind of murderer!"
"No... everything makes sense."
The only response they received was a calm but slightly weary female voice. Arecino stood at the entrance to the audience, her clothes still damp from the fire, with Clévius behind her, moving heavy objects with the children.
"Pepe? I remember you haven't said anything lately? You've been quite quiet?"
"Don't call me... The silence is because I left halfway through and only just returned. You should work on your reconnaissance skills."
Arecino forcibly ignored her childhood nickname and focused all her attention on the barefoot god.
“Ms. Fucarus, the House of Hearths has been investigating Fontaine’s prophecy for over a decade, and recently they finally found a clue in the ruins of the deep sea. And you, the moment we arrived at the opera house, dragged the clue directly into the spiritual world with us… Can I take this as permission?”
"Pepe, your clothes are wet, but the children's aren't. Did you go on this adventure alone?"
"..."
Arecino took this as permission and waved to Linnick Levy to help carry the clues upstairs.
Those were four stone tablets. It took Arecino a lot of time to find them all on the seabed, and she almost missed the final judgment.
"What clue? From the House of Hearths?"
The audience was bustling with activity. "What clue could be more important than the destruction of Fontaine right now? Can't you wait a bit before you say it?"
"Quiet."
Arecino never imagined that one day she would be a witness for that god of justice.
Gods, powerless gods, weak gods, and... great gods.
She gave Fucarus a deep look, and also at Frynn, who bore her identical face. Finally, she pointed to the first stone slab and addressed the crowd:
“Agolia defied the laws of nature and created the Fontanites from the seawater of her womb; new life is an unforgivable original sin.”
...
Fukalos's clone seemed to be in a good mood, humming a song softly.
“…Ugh.”
The cat is not doing well; he misses Funina a lot, and after watching the video, he misses her even more.
"Is that all?"
He flicked his short tail, looking dejected. "You probably still have something to tell me, like the specific plan to save Fontaine..."
“Okay, but before that, I need you to tell me first.” Fukaros reached out and touched the cat’s back, feeling for its heart through its ribs.
"What if your plan to save the world is destined to fail..."
Her heart skipped a beat, and a blush even rose on her pale neck.
"...And my plan to save the world is destined to succeed. What do you think, little kitten?"
As soon as the word "success" landed, Fukaros felt his heart calm down considerably.
"Don't breathe too heavily when you speak."
The cat, still shaken, grumbled for a while before finally managing to reply:
"I feel great."
"fine?"
"Yes, it's fine."
Mainkuhn repeated it again in a light, airy tone.
"I just want my brother and the others to live. It doesn't matter who made them live."
"...All your efforts over the years are going to be wasted?"
Fucarus patiently guided her, "Your struggles, your pain, your leaving home, the goals you had to achieve even in agony, the many bad things you had to do..."
The more she read, the lower Mainkun's ears drooped. Just when Fukaros thought the cat was about to burst into tears, she heard Mainkun's small plea.
"Don't tell them, and don't let Al-Hysen tell them either."
"Let them think I'm just a simple bad person... Getting angry is more satisfying than being sad, really, I know... Hmm?"
Before he could finish speaking, Fukalos hugged his head tightly and rubbed it.
"Good cat!"
The silver-gray fur was crumpled into a mess, just like Fukaros's incoherent words at this moment.
"How could I treat you like that? There must be an equivalent return on the other end of the effort, otherwise it's not fair, it's just abuse!"
"?"
Mainkuhn didn't understand and offered a confused explanation:
"It wouldn't be considered abuse, in fact, I've been surprisingly happy all these years..."
"Then, my clumsy and stubborn savior."
Fukalos suddenly hugged the cat and then suddenly let go. She carefully placed Maine back on the cushion and then twirled her feet into a light dance step.
"How about we take the joy we've shared along the way, plus the life of a friend, as your reward for your hard work?"
"...?"
"I save the world, and you save the gods."
The girl's skirt fluttered gently past Mainkuen's eyebrows, then retreated in an instant, moving away. This was followed by violent spatial fluctuations, the scene shattering layer by layer, then instantly piecing itself back together.
"!!!"
Mainkun immediately pressed his ears down, because he seemed to be hallucinating. In the newly appeared scene, there was a girl who looked exactly like Fukalos, giving some instructions to Navelette.
"Water dragon, water dragon..."
"Mainkuhn!"
Meanwhile, Fukaros, who was closer to her, smiled gently.
"...Meow?!"
"I've always had regrets."
Fukalos looked at the terrified, bristling young man before him, reminiscing about his lonely and confused youth and his childhood that he could never see.
“When you were young and helpless, when you cried out for help from the evil spirits, I never answered your prayers, not even once.”
"Are you still willing to let me protect you, Fontaine's child?"
……What?
Without Mainkuhn's reply, the enormous, azure sword hung high in the sky, and the two girls' figures merged into one, standing beneath the sword's tip.
"I, in the name of Fucarus, declare—"
This may be her final sentence, or it may be her first sentence.
"Mainkuhn! Son of love and hate, painstaking savior, I declare you—not guilty!"
In an instant, the giant sword crashed down, and Mainkun stood up with a shriek, but the sound of shattering bricks drowned out his scream.
Bricks shattered? Where would bricks come from in the spiritual world? Mainkun struggled forward, only to step through the illusory cushion and fall into the shimmering alchemical array.
"Mainkuhn!!"
An alchemist with a star in his throat yelled at him, while a barrier of rock wind thunder grass withstood the layers of energy impact.
"Lie there and don't move! It'll be over soon!!"
The ceremony for Mainkuhn's rebirth and the death sentence for Fukalos began at the same time.
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