Under the night sky of Mondstadt, starlight intertwined with the lingering smoke of gunpowder, adding a strange atmosphere to this city that had just experienced a great battle.
"Yes! There! Make the energy circuit clearer! Good, hold it!"
Albedo stood on the Wolf King's broad metal shoulder, like a conductor, intently guiding the work below.
The Wolf King, with its massive mechanical fingers, had highly compressed Geo element energy gathered at its fingertips. Like the most precise engraving tool, it slowly carved an extremely complex, faintly glowing, giant magic array on the ground.
Every stroke was precise, imbued with profound alchemical principles.
Soon, a magnificent magic array with a diameter of tens of meters was completed, its lines flowing and subtly resonating with the Ley Lines.
The Wolf King carefully used its mechanical arm to gently place the two mountain-like halves of the purified remains of the Dragon Durin into the center of the array.
Little Doolin floated in mid-air, looking at the massive body below, which was of the same origin as himself yet completely different. He subconsciously swallowed, his small dragon face showing a complex expression of both fear and determination.
He looked back at Albedo, then took a deep breath, flapped his wings vigorously, and flew resolutely to the center of the array, landing on the corpse of the Dragon Durin.
Seeing this, Albedo's eyes narrowed. He quickly formed several complex hand seals and chanted ancient alchemical incantations.
"In the name of the black earth, give form to the Calx... With the Ley Lines as a guide, reshape the cornerstone of life... resonate!"
He pressed his hands firmly onto the Wolf King's armor, pouring his vast alchemical power into the array beneath his feet!
"Buzz—!!!"
In an instant, the entire array erupted with a golden pillar of light that shot into the sky!
The light was so dazzling that it instantly illuminated the entire night sky of Mondstadt City, even making Windrise clearly visible in the distance!
Within Mondstadt City, whether it was the Knights cleaning up the battlefield or the still-shaken residents, everyone involuntarily looked up at this miraculous scene.
When the golden light, comparable to the dawn, slowly dissipated, the massive corpse of the Dragon Durin in the center of the array had vanished without a trace.
In its place was a figure that looked like a human youth.
He was curled up, with soft, dark blue short hair, fair skin, and delicate features with a hint of ethereal, non-human quality.
Most strikingly, on his slender back grew a pair of folded dragon wings covered in crystalline blue scales. He was completely naked, seemingly in a deep slumber.
"Now!"
the quartet, already prepared, reacted extremely quickly. Like a well-trained backstage crew, they swiftly unfurled a huge, thick curtain printed with an "THIS SIDE UP" arrow (?), instantly covering the youth's figure completely.
"Quick! Clothes!"
Lumine and Paimon immediately rushed behind the curtain, holding the clean clothes they had prepared.
A rustling sound of dressing came from inside, along with Paimon's soft instructions: "Here, here! The sleeve is inside out!"
After a while, the curtain was pulled open from the inside.
The Dragon-winged Youth, now fully dressed, walked out somewhat shyly, his face still showing the confusion and flush of just waking up.
Lumine and Paimon accompanied him on either side, as if protecting a newborn chick.
"Done! Mission accomplished!"
Jesse gave a big thumbs up to Albedo, who was still standing on the Wolf King's shoulder, and to the Wolf King in the air.
"It worked!"
Albedo's face showed a relieved and accomplished smile as he shouted back down.
"Understood."
The Wolf King's calm mechanical voice came through.
At the same time, it activated the fireworks launchers, originally set up for the Windblume Festival celebrations, which had been placed throughout Mondstadt City.
"Whoosh—bang! Whoosh whoosh—bang bang bang!"
In an instant, countless dazzling fireworks soared from every corner of Mondstadt City, exploding in the night sky into myriad colorful flowers, ribbons, and adorable animal shapes (Klee had strongly insisted on these).
The brilliant light illuminated the entire Mondstadt City as if it were daytime, sweeping away the gloom of the recent great battle and bringing this unforgettable Windblume Festival to a most splendid and wondrous close.
"Wow—! So beautiful! So pretty!"
Klee, sitting on King Hassan's broad (and cold) shoulder, which had appeared at some point, clapped her small hands excitedly, her big red eyes reflecting the sky full of colorful splendor, overjoyed.
King Hassan's skeletal mask moved slightly, seemingly watching Little Klee's happy expression.
He silently reached out and took a Dodoco plush toy, with fine stitching and a cute design, from the hand of one of the Hassan of the Hundred Faces (a certain individual specialized in handicrafts) who was holding various crafts and trembling slightly nearby—this was sewn by Hundred Faces herself after the battle, using collected scraps.
He handed the Dodoco to Klee.
"Is it for Klee?!"
Klee joyfully took the toy, hugged it tightly, her small face smiling like a sunflower.
"Thank you, Grandpa! Grandpa is the best!"
King Hassan said nothing, but the terrifying aura of death that usually surrounded him seemed to soften by a tiny bit.
Although he showed no expression, everyone present inexplicably felt that the Grand Assassin was in a very good mood at that moment.
Eula, with her arms crossed, looked at this extremely incongruous yet somehow harmonious scene, her ice-blue eyes full of confusion: "No... what is this? Grandparental affection? A granddaughter complex?"
The Hassan of the Hundred Faces (purple-haired older sister individual) standing beside her, who had just contributed the doll, nodded silently upon hearing this, her eyes under the mask filled with the helplessness of "seeing through everything" and the affirmation of "you are right."
Our First Generation is completely defenseless against cute children, especially the energetic, fish-bombing type... Who added this setting anyway?!
The night wind blew, bringing the freshness after the smoke had cleared, and also the joyful laughter of the celebration.
Mondstadt, once again, in chaos and miracle, protected its freedom and songs.
And some new bonds and stories also quietly sprouted under this starry sky.