"Brother, if I hadn't acted this time, you still would have stopped the flood, wouldn't you?"
Morax stood beside Elliot, gazing out at the people below as he spoke slowly.
"You would have acted," Elliot replied.
Hearing that firm response, Morax froze for a moment, then a faint smile spread across his face.
"You saw through me from the start, didn't you?"
"Perhaps." Elliot gave only a vague answer.
The longer Morax spent with him, the more he came to realize just how strong Elliot was. It wasn't only his power, but strength in every sense of the word. Compared to him, Morax felt like a child who knew nothing.
He finally understood why Elliot had proposed such terms for their wager. On the surface, it seemed simple—tempting, even—but in truth, he had never stood a chance of winning. From the very moment the wager was set, Morax's defeat had been inevitable.
Five years.
He had once thought five years far too short—that it would be impossible to overturn millennia of his views on humanity in such a time. But he had been wrong. Utterly, hopelessly wrong.
It hadn't even taken five years. How long it truly took for his view of humanity to change, even Morax couldn't say.
When that young boy had stepped forward, offering himself as a sacrifice to save Qing'er, Morax had already wanted to strike down that god. He didn't even know why—why he felt that impulse, why anger stirred in him because of a single human life.
But Elliot had stopped him, pulling him back before he acted.
Fortunately, that god had done nothing in the end. Otherwise, Morax might have exposed his identity on the spot, just to kill him.
"Brother, you've been through many partings, haven't you? The kind where there's no choice but to say farewell." Morax tilted his head slightly toward Elliot.
Behind his mask, Elliot looked briefly startled. "Why do you say that?"
"Just now, when that grandmother told me to leave, I felt the pain of parting. It was a pain far greater than anything physical.
And you—your body barely registers physical pain. So..."
"......"
At Morax's words, Elliot fell silent for a moment.
"Nothing lasts forever. Parting is a constant in life. You'll get used to it."
But though he said so, Morax still heard the resignation in his voice. That helpless kind of resignation.
If Elliot had his way, he would have rather Morax never met humanity, never knew them at all. If Morax could have remained as he was at the beginning—untouched, living only as himself in Teyvat—that would have been best.
After all, compared to gods, humans were unbearably fragile, their lives fleeting.
The more you came to know them, the more you understood them, the more painful the final partings would become.
But such a thing was impossible. For Liyue's guardian, Elliot trusted no one else but him.
He had seen it with his own eyes—the flourishing Liyue of the future, that immensely powerful Liyue. He had no faith in others, nor the time to place such faith. The only way forward was to follow the road the future had already laid out.
Hearing Elliot's words, Morax too fell silent.
Yes, no feast could last forever. The elders they had just saved would still meet the end of their lives before long. Human lifespans were simply too short.
"Have you decided?" Elliot asked at last.
"Decided what?"
"Have you resolved to become Liyue's guardian deity?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Because you'll witness your people leaving you, one after another. Qing'er, Xiaorou, Old Man Lian, the grandmother, the village chief—they will all pass away before your eyes. Even with divine power beyond measure, you cannot stop the cycle of life. So think carefully—are you truly prepared to become Liyue's guardian?"
"......"
"Yes..." Morax was silent for a long moment, his gaze drifting down toward the people below.
"I will witness their passing. It hasn't happened yet, but I know it will hurt."
"But that's alright. At least they will live out their days safely. As long as I live, they will never have to live in fear again.
I will watch them depart, and I will also see their children grow into adulthood. I believe that as long as their children can grow up healthy and happy, they will rest easy even after death.
No matter what you think, I've already made up my mind. I will protect them. To say it and then to do it—that's what you always say, isn't it?"
At those words, Elliot laughed—a bright, genuine laugh. Morax truly was a kind-hearted soul.
"That resolve alone is enough."
...
The two of them descended the mountain together. The women and children who had fled earlier now returned to the village.
Morax and Elliot went straight to the sea, catching an abundance of seafood, which they roasted over a massive bonfire.
The entire village broke into joyous celebration.
The feeling of having survived such a calamity filled them with gratitude.
Though their homes had been destroyed, not a single life had been lost. Everyone remained safe and well.
And so, from that night onward, the village was given a new name.
Liyue.
At the same time, the villagers bestowed new titles upon Elliot and Morax.
The Geo Emperor, and the Dark Night Sovereign.
These were the titles the villagers conceived for them, drawn from the names Geo Archon and Dark Archon.