Amidst the boundless chaos, a gentle and loving voice brought a glimmer of warmth and light to Tike.
"Hurry... hurry and come to my side... my child..."
"I will be waiting here for your arrival... no matter how long it takes, I will wait for you..."
"You are the beloved child under the moonlight... you are all my hope... the continuation of my life..."
"You must grow into the strongest dragon and make the whole world marvel at you."
"What kind of name would you like? Let me think... how about 'Parquino'? Parquino, my little Parquino..."
The voice seemed to possess magic, causing specks of starlight to gradually emerge in the originally empty, dark space.
Tike's slumbering consciousness slowly awakened. His tightly closed eyes slowly opened a crack, then slowly, with a trace of confusion, opened completely.
There wasn't a sliver of light here; everything around was hazy and dark. Tike could only feel that he was being tightly wrapped by something soft and warm.
And from these things emanated an extremely unique scent that felt incredibly intimate and familiar to him.
"Mom...?"
Tike called out softly and tentatively with his voice that still carried a hint of childishness.
Following his call, in the space ahead of him that was originally shrouded in darkness, a giant eye emitting a faint pink glow slowly emerged, quietly gazing at him.
If it were anyone else facing this sudden giant eye, they would probably have been scared out of their wits. But Tike didn't feel the slightest fear. Instead, he felt waves of reassurance and warmth.
Because from this giant eye, he read an abundance of love.
"You've finally woken up, little Parquino."
As this gentle voice rang out, the surrounding space gradually brightened, revealing the scenery around them and finally allowing Tike to see the appearance of the eye's owner clearly.
It was a head resembling a fox. Emanating from her was precisely that motherly scent that felt so incredibly intimate to Tike.
Tike's feeling was a little strange.
His mother wasn't a monster like Deliora, nor was she human, but a fox-like... dragon?
She was actually quite good-looking, arguably extremely beautiful.
Even without smelling the fragrance that represented "beauty," Tike could conclude this clearly just from what his eyes saw.
His mother was a peerless beauty of a fox dragon.
(So I'm a dragon too? Being a dragon or a human doesn't really matter, but...)
Tike clenched his fist slightly, thinking about finding a suitable angle to punch her, when he saw the beautiful fox dragon's body emit a dreamlike light. Then, right in front of him, she transformed into a blonde beauty wearing absolutely nothing.
Now in human form, she maintained the posture of holding Tike tightly, seemingly not caring at all about her current state.
"..."
Tike rested his head on the shoulder of this woman who was supposed to be his mother, smelling the faint milky scent on her, and fell into deep thought for five seconds.
He wasn't surprised at all that she could turn into a human.
But why wasn't she wearing clothes?
Even he himself didn't have any underwear on right now.
Could it be that she also graduated from Ur's Maker Magic class?
But he didn't want to pick up such a perverted habit!
Having Gray be called a pervert was enough!
At worst, count Lyon in too!
He didn't want to become like that!
"Mom, can we put some clothes on first?"
Tike finally couldn't help but speak up.
The woman smiled, then nodded gently.
"Dragons don't have the habit of wearing clothes, but since I've taken human form, this appearance is indeed inappropriate. However, before that, let's take a bath."
As soon as she finished speaking, the scenery around the two of them shifted rapidly.
By the time Tike came to his senses, they had arrived at an open-air bath shrouded in mist.
Crystal-clear bubbles constantly rose from the pool beside them, bursting on the water surface with "pop-pop" sounds.
"This is a natural hot spring, the best for bathing."
Saying this, the woman put Tike down and clapped her hands. Following her action, the sound of light footsteps came from not far away.
Soon, the carved wooden door nearby was slowly slid open, and a dozen young maids dressed in uniform Japanese-style yukata walked out.
These maids approached, respectfully knelt on the ground in a dogeza posture, and called out in unison, "Welcome back, Lady Selene."
Selene nodded slightly, then ordered, "Come and bathe me and my son."
"As you command."
Watching the group of maids about to surround him, Tike felt his scalp tingle and quickly refused, "Don't touch me!"
He wasn't used to being surrounded by a group of strange adults; it reminded him of some very unpleasant memories.
Seeing Tike resist so much, Selene waved her slender hand lightly, signaling the maids to withdraw for now.
In the blink of an eye, only the mother and son were left in the huge bathhouse.
"Then how about I wash you, is that okay?"
"If it's Mom..." Tike hesitated briefly before softly agreeing, "Okay."
"Come, sit down."
Selene took Tike's hand, led him to sit by the pool, then cupped a handful of clear spring water, gently poured it over the child's hair, and ran her fingers softly through it.
After washing his hair, Selene scrubbed Tike's back. Her warm palm, separated by a silk cloth, gently rubbed against Tike's still-tender skin, bringing waves of tingling sensations.
After cleaning up, the two entered the huge bath together.
Mother and son sat side by side in the pool. Tike submerged his whole body in the warm spring water, leaving only his small head exposed. He closed his eyes comfortably, feeling the warm water wrapping around every inch of his skin.
After soaking for a while, Tike peeked open his eyes, stealing a glance at Selene beside him out of the corner of his eye.
He saw that she was staring at him unblinkingly, her eyes filled with undiluted tenderness and love .
"Mom, you..."
Tike opened his mouth several times, seeming to want to say something, but didn't know how to start.
Sensing her son's inner turmoil, Selene spoke up proactively, "Do you want to know how we got separated in the first place?"
Tike lowered his head, his gaze falling on his clenched fist, pretending to be nonchalant. "Not that I really want to know, but if you want to tell me, go ahead."
"It's all because of that wretched old man named Elefseria." When mentioning this name, a glint of cold light flashed in Selene's eyes. "It was that old undying bastard who took advantage of my inattention and stole you when you were still an egg."