bookbashuk Chapter 1426 "Dad" Power
Chapter 1426 "Dad" Power
Paimon watched as Shao Yun and Ying took turns digging up dirt on him, her face turning bright red. She stomped her feet repeatedly in mid-air, causing her floating body to sway, and loudly complained:
"Hey, hey, hey! Can you two be serious for once?! I'm part of the natural order! This is such explosive and important news! Can you stop harping on my cowardice?"
After venting his anger at Shao Yun and Ying, Paimon took a deep breath, suppressed his pent-up resentment, and turned his gaze back to Fanes on the throne, cautiously inquiring further about his own background.
Um... my other self, I want to ask, where did I come from? You say I'm a part of you, but I have my own thoughts, my own companions, I'm clearly an independent individual.
Seeing Paimon's bewildered yet earnest expression, Fanes didn't use obscure language, but rather explained slowly in a tone that Paimon could easily understand:
"That was after the Battle of Kanria. That war exhausted all my strength, and my bodily functions were severely damaged, making it impossible for me to maintain normal operation. In addition... cough cough..."
Fanes coughed weakly twice and continued, "Therefore, I had to sacrifice a part of my body and functions in order to preserve myself."
"From the moment you were born, you possessed independent wisdom and personality, and you are a truly independent being."
Ying stood aside, listening quietly to Phanes' explanation, carefully sorting out the relationship between Paimon and Phanes in her mind, and subconsciously the image of the Great Tree King and the Little Lucky Grass King appeared in her mind.
She quietly turned to the side and whispered to Shao Yun beside her in a voice only the two of them could hear:
“Honey, don’t you think the relationship between Paimon and Fanes is similar to that between the Great Tree King and the Little Lucky Grass King? They all suffered damage to their original bodies and split off into independent entities.”
Upon hearing this, Shao Yun quickly leaned close to Ying's ear and whispered back, "Now that you mention it, it does seem a bit like that. Perhaps Teyvat itself is a giant Sumeru."
As Faynes watched Paimon reveling in the shock of his origins being revealed, he briefly recounted the long-buried past and his own plans to the crowd.
"Cough cough..."
A violent cough broke the silence of the hall. Fanes raised his hand to support himself on the armrest of the throne, and only after he had calmed down did he continue speaking.
"Back then, after the Battle of the Burial Fire, the Nibelungen were defeated... That fierce battle exhausted all my strength, and I suffered extremely serious functional damage, from which I never recovered."
"I thought that if I rested well, I would recover..."
"But I never expected that my most trusted archangel would collude with the guy I forged into the heart of God, attempting to take the opportunity to overthrow my rule."
"Although I eventually succeeded in quelling the rebellion and suppressing them, this internal strife only made my already battered body even worse."
At this point, Fanes slowly raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the crowd and landing on Ying and Kong, and said in a weak voice:
"After the Battle of Kanria, I became increasingly aware that my time was running out."
"It was at that time that I saw you twins—you, or rather the Fourth Exiles, are the last saviors of Teyvat, the only hope to stop the world from destruction."
"That's why I sent Asmodai to stop you when you tried to leave Teyvat... I know it was cruel to you, but I had no other choice."
Kongyi gritted his teeth in anger whenever he thought about what happened back then, and cursed in a mocking tone:
"Thank you so much! Thank you for separating me and my sister, and for making me search for five hundred years! I will never forget this!"
Fanes looked at Kong's angry expression, offering neither explanation nor rebuttal.
It accepts all the blame, because it deserves it.
“I will not offer any explanation… I had a premonition that my body would gradually break down and eventually lead to my death.”
"Therefore, I must choose in advance a successor for this world who is steadfast and unyielding, someone who can shoulder the heavy responsibility of protecting Teyvat."
"However, given my own injuries, I am no longer able to personally guide my successor... cough cough..."
At this point, Fanes couldn't help but cough violently again.
Having finally stopped coughing, he slowly raised his eyes, his gaze gently falling on Paimon, and said softly:
"That's why I gave up a part of my power and consciousness to create you."
"I have brought you into the world of Teyvat, so that you may guide the 'Children of Man' to the throne of justice and continue to protect this world."
Upon hearing the words "son of man," Fanes' gaze swept past everyone else, fixing firmly on Ying, and he slowly recited:
"The Sustainer is dying, and the Creator has not yet arrived. But the world will not burn again, for you will ascend the throne of 'God'!"
At this moment, Paimon slowly raised his right hand, pressed it tightly against his chest, his small face tense, his brows furrowed, and he responded in a deep voice:
"So...am I really Tenryu? Am I really going to guide Hikari and become Tenryu?"
Seeing her earnest expression, Fanes nodded gently, without hiding anything.
"In a way, yes. You are my most complete fragment, carrying a part of my strength and will, guiding the successor. That is the meaning of your birth, but you are ultimately you."
At this moment, the originally solemn and dignified atmosphere was completely broken by Shao Yun's words.
Seeing that Fanes himself confirmed that Paimon was part of the natural order, he was suddenly seized by a playful impulse, completely disregarding the heavy past that Fanes had just recounted, and also not caring about Paimon's identity.
Instead, Shao Yun put his hands on his hips, swaggered up to Paimon, and said with a grin:
"Paimon, Paimon, I never would have guessed you were such a hidden mastermind! You're the real boss behind the scenes. Come on, call me Daddy so I can share in the glory."
Paimon was still immersed in the shock and confusion of being the Little Heavenly Principle, but Shao Yun's interference completely ruined the atmosphere!
She stomped her feet in anger in mid-air, her floating body swaying back and forth, protesting loudly:
"No, Shao Yun! Can you please stop messing things up? This is such a serious and shocking matter! You've completely ruined the atmosphere!"
Seeing this, Shao Yun became even more smug, still standing with his hands on his hips, laughing loudly with his head tilted back, taking advantage of Paimon even more.
"So what if you cause trouble? I've raised you for so long, what's wrong with you calling me 'Dad'?"
"Besides, didn't you call me 'father' when you were in Sumeru? You can't go back on your word! Call me that again now, and let me hear if you're more respectful than last time."
Paimon blushed from Shao Yun's words, his face turning red all the way to his ears, like a boiling kettle, his whole body radiating heat.
She couldn't hold back any longer and shouted, "You're focusing on the wrong thing!"
"And another thing, I won't call you Dad! If you want me to call you Dad, make sure your own daughter calls you Dad! I won't call you Dad! I absolutely won't!"
She shouted more and more urgently, but Shao Yun seized on this opportunity to say something.
Shao Yun deliberately revealed a satisfied, extremely irritating smile, and intentionally dragged out his words:
"Oh, oh, oh! My good daughter is so sensible! Those three 'Daddy' calls were so sweet and comforting! It seems that even little Tianli from our Paimon still recognizes me as her daddy!"
"I didn't! I never called you Dad!" Paimon was so angry he was about to cry. He lunged at Shao Yun to hit him, but Shao Yun easily dodged him.
Seeing that he couldn't out-argue Shao Yun and couldn't hit him, Paimon got so angry that his eyes turned red. He immediately changed direction and "whooshed" to Ying's side, hugged Ying's arm tightly, rubbed his head against her arm, and spoke in a soft, coquettish tone.
"Ying, Ying, look! Your husband is bullying me. He keeps forcing me to call him 'Dad.' You have to do something about him!"
At this moment, Ying had already forgotten about what Fanes had said about destiny and successors.
She lowered her head, feigning gentleness, and reached out to lightly touch Paimon's soft cheek, pinching it gently with her fingertips. Then she turned to Shao Yun and softly reminded him in a mocking tone:
"Okay, okay, honey~ Stop fooling around, look, you've made Paimon almost cry."
She paused, deliberately drawing out her words in a "fair and impartial" manner: "At a time like this, what's the time to be studying Paimon calling you 'Dad'?"
Upon hearing Ying's words, Paimon's face lit up with joy. He quickly looked up and smiled in agreement.
"That's right! Ying is the best to me! Shao Yun, even Ying says so, you're just trying to take advantage of me, you're so mean!"
As he spoke, he made a smug face at Shao Yun, looking like he had someone backing him up and he wasn't afraid.
But Paimon was clearly overthinking it. The next second, Ying's style changed drastically, replaced by a mischievous smile that looked like she was asking for a beating.
She gently pinched Paimon's little nose and said with a smile, "Little Paimon, what I want to say is, what we should be studying now is when you'll call me Mom!"
"Wh-what?!" Paimon was stunned for a moment, and after realizing what was happening, he completely lost his temper.
She abruptly released Ying's arm, bouncing around in mid-air, her little face flushed red with anger, like a little ball of fluff, and shouted loudly:
"Ah! You two have gone too far! You actually ganged up on me! I'm going to give you the worst nickname ever! I'll call you 'Crazy Old Man and Crazy Woman'! From now on, that's what I'll call you, Crazy Old Man and Crazy Woman!"