2 AM.
Mawei collapsed into the armchair before the living room fireplace, his flintlock pistol resting horizontally across his knees. He stared blankly at the red and black embers fading in the hearth.
Behind him, a little girl in a white, oversized dress ran around in circles, buzzing with excitement like a newborn fawn curious about everything in the world.
The dress was borrowed from Mrs. Cecil next door. It was old and worn, but clean—certainly better than running around draped in a bedsheet.
Through a series of questions, Mawei had learned her name was Yunia. She was three years old.
And she was... a God.
Mawei, of course, hadn't believed it at first. Not until he discovered that the wooden statue he had carved with his own hands—the one he had locked in his drawer—had vanished into thin air.
The doors and windows were locked tight with no sign of forced entry. The girl had appeared out of nowhere, catching him completely off guard.
A statue turning into a living person?
Damn it...
Can such things actually happen in reality?
Thud!
His shoulder suddenly dipped under a weight. Mawei turned his head to find the little girl clinging to his arm, looking up at him with wide eyes. "Papa, Yunia is hungry!"
With no other choice, Mawei led her to the kitchen on the first floor. He reheated the leftover tomato and beef brisket stew intended for breakfast, sliced two pieces of wheat bread, and set the plate before her.
She didn't know how to use a fork or knife. After a serious deliberation over the cutlery, she grabbed a spoon, scooped up a chunk of tender beef, and shoved it into her mouth.
She chewed enthusiastically, watching Mawei across the table, eating and giggling at the same time.
Fat Orange and Little Black sat on either side of her plate like two guardian statues.
"You..."
After a long internal struggle, Mawei finally asked, "You say you are a God?"
"Mhm!" Yunia nodded vigorously.
"Then you must possess incredible power?"
"Mhm!"
"Can you demonstrate it? Just to prove you really have supernatural abilities... but please, nothing too destructive." Mawei chose his words carefully. He wasn't sure if she really was a deity, but if she was, he didn't want her blowing up the kitchen.
Yunia blinked, struggling to process his request. Then, she raised her small hand and gently patted the foreheads of Fat Orange and Little Black.
In that instant, Mawei saw a faint red light glow in her palm. It flashed once, then sank into the cats' foreheads and vanished.
"Done, Papa."
"What did you do to them?"
Nervous, Mawei picked up Little Black, turning the cat over to check for any injuries. Little Black, as usual, rubbed its head affectionately against Mawei's chest and let out a soft meow.
"Moron, it's about time you gave me some dried fish, meow~"
Mawei froze. His hand stopped mid-pet.
Did he... no... did Little Black...
Did the cat just speak?
"Meow~" Little Black rubbed harder against him. "Moron, hurry up and give me the fish! I want to play with the yarn ball, meow~"
Mawei's face turned pitch black. He heard it clearly this time.
Moron?
So in Little Black's eyes... I'm just a moron?
After all the love I gave you!
Little Black wasn't stupid. Seeing Mawei's expression darken and his eyes fill with murderous intent, the cat froze. It asked tentatively:
"Master?"
"..."
Mawei didn't say a word.
"Holy crap, that scared me, meow!" Little Black let out a human-like sigh of relief and jumped down to Fat Orange. "I thought the moron could understand me for a second there!"
Fat Orange glanced at Little Black, then looked at Mawei and said calmly, "I didn't teach him that."
"Big Brother?"
Little Black was stunned. "What do you mean, Big Brother? The mor... the Master can't understand us, meow!"
Mawei remained silent, just smiling coldly.
"Master, say something, meow!"
Little Black panicked. It rushed back to Mawei, rolling over to expose its belly in a desperate attempt to act cute. "How could Little Black ever call Master a moron? I was just joking with you, Master! Meow!"
"So you admit you cursed at me?"
"No! Absolutely not! Meow!"
Little Black's heart skipped a beat. It was now certain Mawei could understand every word. It trembled with terror. "Little Black loves Master the most! In Little Black's heart, no one is more important than Master! Meow!"
Fat Orange looked at the groveling cat coldly. After a moment, he turned and walked out of the kitchen with an elegant gait.
"Big Brother! Big Brother, don't misunderstand! Meow!"
"Yunia, are you full?" Mawei suddenly asked.
"I'm full, Papa!" Yunia put down her spoon, behaving obediently.
"If you're full, let's go to sleep. It's late."
"Mhm!"
Mawei picked up the kerosene lamp, took Yunia's hand, and followed Fat Orange out of the kitchen.
Before leaving...
He casually closed the door behind him.
"Master! Big Brother! Don't leave me here! Little Black is afraid of the dark! Meow!!!"
The next morning, the sun rose.
Mawei sat wrapped in a felt blanket by the fireplace. He had been sitting there all night.
He had been thinking about Yunia.
Facts had proven that Yunia indeed possessed supernatural power. Although the source of this power was unknown, Mawei was certain of one thing...
Yunia's appearance was likely connected to last night's earthquake.
Suddenly having a God who called him "Papa" didn't bring Mawei joy; instead, it brought deep anxiety.
Is she the only God?
If Yunia appeared because Mawei founded the Church of Truth and gathered a few hundred believers, then what about the other churches? Had their Gods descended too?
Ultimately, the Church of Truth was just a small, local sect with limited influence. It was nothing compared to the massive, ancient churches.
Mawei was ambitious, but he understood the danger of possessing a treasure one couldn't protect.
If the Gods hadn't returned, the Church of Truth might have continued to exist peacefully, perhaps growing into a major church over decades or centuries.
But if the Gods had returned...
The balance would be shattered.
Churches with real Gods behind them would see their ambitions and desires expand infinitely. It wasn't hard to imagine the bloody storm that was about to sweep through the world.
In such a storm, Mawei had no confidence in winning. And if he lost...
He would die.
And not just him. The believers of the Church of Truth, Yunia, Fat Orange, Little Black—none would survive. When the nest is overturned, no egg remains unbroken.
This was an opportunity, yes. But behind the opportunity lay endless peril.
After much thought, Mawei mapped out two paths for his future:
Abandon Yunia, close the church, take his remaining money, buy some land in the countryside, and live the life of a country gentleman, safe and secure.
Adopt Yunia, join this era of upheaval, give it everything he had, and fight. Either achieve greatness or become dry bones in a grave.
The chances of success for the latter were microscopic.
Moreover, after questioning her last night, Mawei discovered that aside from her supernatural powers, Yunia was a complete child. Her understanding of the world was practically zero. She was as blank as a sheet of paper.
Mawei, who had zero experience raising children, felt a massive headache coming on.
Squeak...
"Papa..."
Wearing white cotton pajamas, Yunia pushed open the living room door. She rubbed her sleepy eyes and pouted. "Toilet..."
"Didn't I tell you where the toilet is last night?"
"I forgot..."
Sighing internally, Mawei stood up and led Yunia to the washroom at the end of the hall. "Go on. Don't forget to wash your hands. There's a small stool under the sink; stand on it to reach the tap. Use the Windsor Kingdom Cuisine Manual on the toilet lid for wiping."
As a modern soul, Mawei couldn't adapt to the chamber pots and outhouses of this era. So, he had spent a fortune installing a ceramic flush toilet. It was no exaggeration to say...
The most valuable thing in his house was the toilet.
At least in terms of bathroom breaks, he lived like a king.
Even if the toilet paper was a bit... culinary.
After finishing, Yunia washed her hands carefully, seemingly wide awake now. She ran out of the bathroom shouting "Papa!", charged into the living room, and threw herself into the arms of the brooding Mawei.
"Papa, Yunia wants to go out and play!"
Play?
Mawei looked her up and down, then nodded.
"Okay. Go brush your teeth and wash your face. After breakfast, we'll go to the orphanage."