When Azhdaha's soul entered the puppet, this puppet gained an independent consciousness.
Under Makoto and Morax's gaze, the puppet slowly stood up.
Azhdaha was currently trying to adapt to his new body.
Although he had now become a puppet,
fortunately, the puppet was exquisitely crafted,
with no difference from a normal person in terms of facial features or limbs.
It was just like the puppet created by the Raiden Shogun,
the only difference between the two being that Azhdaha's body possessed a unique soul and independent consciousness.
For a moment, Azhdaha looked at his hands, revealing an expression of disbelief.
Earlier, he felt his consciousness gradually blurring, and his body becoming lighter and lighter,
followed by a powerful, irresistible wave of drowsiness.
Azhdaha knew that was a sign of him leaving the world,
and he accepted death with great equanimity.
However, this sensation of ascending did not last long, as Azhdaha felt his body rapidly sinking,
and then, he suddenly woke up.
When Azhdaha opened his eyes again, he found himself transformed into a puppet.
It was… quite incredible.
He had not expected to be resurrected again.
Does the continent of Teyvat truly possess such technology?
Azhdaha was unsure, as he had been dormant for a thousand years.
A thousand years could turn a youth into an adeptus, transform oceans into mulberry fields, and change too much.
Perhaps there truly was technology beyond his imagination.
Recalling his thoughts, Azhdaha looked up at Makoto with gratitude.
He knew deep down that it was Makoto who had given him a second life.
At the same time, Azhdaha noticed that all of his power had vanished.
He had lost the unparalleled might of a Dragon King, his indestructible armor, and the dragon's prestige that matched the lifespan of mountains and seas.
Now, he was just an ordinary Liyue person, as ordinary as could be.
After a brief moment of surprise, Azhdaha happily accepted his new identity.
Being an ordinary person is good.
He had toiled diligently for thousands of years; it was time for him to return to a peaceful life.
It would be even better if Morax could also retire.
At that time, the two of them could leisurely drink tea and walk birds, or go to a teahouse to listen to storytellers.
That would be a nice way of life.
He wondered what Morax's intentions were.
He would find an opportunity later to see what Morax's attitude was.
If he can retire, then he should retire.
Liyue today was no longer the Liyue of the past.
Even a God should no longer need to constantly watch over the nation he guards, right?
Isn't retiring and slacking off more appealing?
Meanwhile, Morax gazed at the now lively Azhdaha, and a ripple appeared in his golden eyes.
He had not expected the puppet that Makoto brought to be so miraculous,
able to contain Azhdaha's soul and allow him to gain new life in this manner.
This meant that this outsider named Makoto seemed even more mysterious.
Even the Lord of Geo felt a sense of unfathomable depth when facing Makoto.
Of course, besides surprise, Morax felt more joy in his heart.
Because he had witnessed one old friend after another depart, never to return.
He had very few friends left.
Now that Azhdaha had returned, it meant he would no longer have to experience the erosion of losing an old friend.
At the very least, having an old friend around would make resisting erosion a bit easier.
Morax looked at the puppet in front of him, then slowly said, "Azhdaha, how do you feel?"
Azhdaha raised his head and said with a light chuckle, "No need to worry, Morax."
"I am in very good condition now. If I had to say there was any problem, it would probably be that I am very hungry right now. It would be great if I could eat something."
"After all, the last time I ate was a thousand years ago."
Azhdaha also joked,
logically speaking, a puppet does not need to eat to maintain a normal life,
but Azhdaha always felt that life would lose a great deal of fun without eating,
after all, even Morax, as a God, also had a pursuit for delicious food.
Upon hearing this, Makoto couldn't help but sigh, thinking that he truly lived up to his nickname 'Fat Azhdaha',
even after being reborn, the first thing he wanted to do was eat.
In response, Makoto said with a smile, "Liyue now has many new dishes. Mr. Morax and I can take you to try them together."
Azhdaha hummed, catching a piece of information.
"Is Morax's human name Morax? Then I should also take a human name."
"Morax, does it mean 'eventually depart'?"
"Then I shall be called Zhongju, meaning even if we depart, we will eventually reunite one day."
Azhdaha looked up at Morax, smiling as he said, "Morax, what do you think of me being called Zhongju?"
Morax calmly replied, "It matters not. You decide."
Azhdaha's smile grew wider: "Then it's settled."
Watching these brothers reunite, Makoto couldn't help but smile.
He was genuinely happy for Morax.
In the original plot, Azhdaha bid farewell to Morax and fell into slumber again,
leaving Morax to silently endure the erosion alone, with an unspeakable loneliness.
At that time, when doing Morax's quest, Makoto truly felt a sense of regret.
But now it was good; it could be considered as making up for one of Morax's regrets.
Of course, besides Morax and Azhdaha,
Makoto still had one regretful place,
Morax and Guizhong.
In the background story, Guizhong was a mischievous, lively, and adorable God.
She had feelings for Morax, repeatedly showing her affection,
but it was unclear whether Morax's heart was as dull as a rock, making him slow to notice,
or if Morax simply had no intention of falling in love.
He never responded to Guizhong's implied words,
which often made Guizhong angry, frequently calling Morax a blockhead who didn't understand a girl's heart.
Despite her anger, Guizhong still adored Morax.
Even more so,
Guizhong even specially gifted Morax a weapon called the 'dustlock',
claiming that the lock contained all of Guizhong's wisdom, and urged Morax to try to unlock it.
A young girl's thoughts are always so direct, trying every means to attract Morax's attention.
It was just a pity,
before Morax could unlock the 'dustlock', Guizhong had already fallen,
the Archon War took her life.
Many players felt regret for Guizhong, lamenting that she couldn't be with Morax,
and even more players were curious about what exactly was contained within the 'dustlock'.
Makoto was also very curious.
He noticed that the dustlock in his backpack was resonating strongly with a wild glaze lily,
the dustlock glowed with dazzling light, emitting crisp 'ding-ding-ding' sounds.
Makoto tried to place the two together,
and saw the wild glaze lily float above the dustlock without external force,
its pure white petals rapidly peeled off and entered the dustlock.
In just a moment, the pattern on the dustlock vaguely gained the Pattern of the glaze lily.
But even so, the dustlock still remained locked,
after a 'ka-ka-ka' turning sound, it stopped.
Just one step, only the final step was needed to unlock the wisdom left by Guizhong,
but what exactly was that final step?
At this moment, Makoto noticed that the dustlock was resonating with Morax,
no, to be precise, it was resonating with the dustlock on Morax's person!
Makoto immediately realized that the dustlock in his hand and the dustlock that Morax possessed were one and the same!
The erosion of time can wear away everything, and this naturally included the dustlock.
And the lock that Makoto fished up was perhaps a part of what time had eroded.
Makoto immediately took out the dustlock from his backpack and walked step by step towards Morax.
And when Morax saw the dustlock in Makoto's hand, he was clearly stunned for a moment, somewhat surprised,
because he had an identical dustlock on him, the one Guizhong gifted him.
Morax didn't understand why Makoto would possess the same dustlock,
he didn't ask,
because the dustlock in Makoto's hand transformed into light and flowed into his own lock.
The three people present saw the dustlock quickly light up, as if it had gained life,
and then, they heard a 'ka' sound,
the dustlock unlocked with a click.
Subsequently, a female voice came from within the lock.
"Hmph, I didn't expect even this lock, meticulously designed by me, Guizhong, to not stump you,"
"I underestimated you, Morax."
"I now admit that you are more capable than me, but that won't change the fact that you are a blockhead!"
The female voice was playful and adorable,
it was the message left by the God of Dust, Guizhong.
-------------------------------
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