They will eventually meet again.
In the distance, Nansong stood at the edge of the collapsing glacier, the teardrop gem in her hand slightly warm. She vaguely heard Ma Tuan's voice, as if coming from far away:
"Nan Song...next time we meet, I'll take you to see the real moon jellyfish."
She gripped the gem tightly and whispered, "...Okay."
In the vast and boundless spiritual picture, Ma Tuan's consciousness slowly sank into the depths of Kexi Sea Otter's mind.
His thoughts are as deep as the ocean, yet filled with a strange tenderness.
[Welcome back, cub.] The low, strange voice sounded again, with a joy that was hard to conceal, [I missed you so much.]
Ma Tuan was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help laughing: "...Sesame balls."
The god's thoughts fluctuated for a moment, and he seemed to be both helpless and indulgent about this title.
Countless fragments of memory flowed through his consciousness, finally freezing at the moment when Ma Tuan separated from his body - at that time, he was still asleep, but instinctively wanted to catch the escaping divinity.
[You placed one of my bodies into your mental image and nurtured it.] His voice was filled with a strange smile. [What a bold cub.]
Ma Tuan shrugged: "What else? Let you continue to sleep in the temple forever?"
The God only chuckled, a ripple of joy spreading through his mind. But then, his tone darkened again:
My memory was once very confused... In the long sleep, I didn't even know who I was. I only knew that I had to find you.
Ma Tuan listened quietly.
“When I didn’t know anything,” He continued, a rare hint of confusion in his voice, “I just wanted to stay by your side. Originally, you were a part of me… but now, you are an independent individual.”
His tentacles slowly wrapped around Ma Tuan's consciousness in the mental picture, like a hug and also like some kind of silent possession.
"I can't keep you inside me forever," He whispered, "even if I wanted to."
Ma Tuan could sense His contradiction – as an ancient god, His instinct wanted to reintegrate the separated parts, but His mind also knew clearly that Ma Tuan was no longer a simple "fragment of divinity", but a complete soul.
“Although we are one,” He finally said with a sigh, “this doesn’t seem fair to you, cub.”
Ma Tuan couldn't help but laugh: "I didn't expect that such an ancient god would consider things like 'fairness'?"
His tentacles tightened threateningly, but Ma Tuan wasn't afraid at all. Instead, he reached out and patted him (in his mind): "Okay, don't worry about it. We can try another way—"
He winked and smiled slyly. "How about we go on adventures together in the future? You, me, Nansong, Broll, and Bai Di."
The god was silent for a moment, then uttered a strange sound, something between a grunt and a chuckle: [...Audacious young cub.]
But Ma Tuan could feel a hint of anticipation rising in his mind.
[However,] He suddenly tightened his tentacles again, his tone dangerous, [If you dare to casually insert strange things into your mental image again—]
"I know, I know!" Ma Tuan interrupted him with a laugh, "I'll definitely ask you first next time!"
In the vast ocean of thought, the ancient god and his "cub" have reached a delicate balance.
And somewhere far away in the present world, the teardrop gem in Nansong's hand suddenly flashed, like some kind of silent promise.
The tentacles of the gods spread silently in the spiritual picture, each one entangled with unspeakable obsessions.
Those translucent ends gently wrapped around the consciousness of the dough, which was like a hug after a long separation, but also like an airtight prison.
You should have been completely mine.
His voice suddenly became low, carrying with it a sense of oppression like the deep sea.
Ma Tuan could feel countless tiny suction cups clinging to the surface of his consciousness, greedily absorbing his breath.
The tentacles wrapped around him tighter and tighter, almost kneading him into the deepest part of the god's body.
At a certain moment, Ma Tuan even had the illusion that he was being digested and absorbed - just like a drop of water will eventually return to the sea.
"Hey..." Ma Tuan struggled and protested, "It's too tight..."
The tentacles loosened slightly, but were replaced by more tiny branches, wrapping around him layer by layer like a spider web. Dark waves surged in the god's consciousness:
[That jellyfish-shaped human always touches you.]
The Woodsman's chains once clasped your wrists.
[And the one that always smells like tea...]
With every word, the tentacles tightened a little. Ma Tuan was amused and surprised to find that this ancient being was nitpicking and bringing up old scores.
"Those are all my friends..."
"Friend." The god repeated the word, his tone strange, as if holding something sour. Suddenly, a tentacle lifted Ma Tuan's chin (although consciousness bodies don't have actual chins), "Cub, do you know I can completely imprison your consciousness here forever?"
Ma Tuan stared into the void—where the outline of an amber compound eye gradually emerged: "But you won't."
The tentacles suddenly froze.
"Because you just said—" Ma Tuan laughed and poked the nearest tentacle, "That's not fair to me."
God was silent for a long time. When He spoke again, His voice was filled with a rare sense of frustration: […But you are mine.]
These words revealed his most primal obsession. Those tentacles began to wander restlessly again, a few even stealthily digging into the depths of Ma Tuan's memory, secretly marking every moment he spent with Nansong and the others.
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