Momang Palace
Furina sat on the sofa, staring at the blackened "cake" that Fu Ning had placed before her, lost in deep thought.
Fu Ning stood solemnly beside her, a serious expression on his face.
"Fu Ning, what is this?" Furina took a deep breath, pointed at the charred object with a slightly trembling voice, and asked.
"Cake," Fu Ning replied righteously, adjusting the chef's hat on his head with conviction.
"…"
She picked up the fork Fu Ning had prepared and prodded the mysterious lump he called a "cake."
Hmm… It didn't resemble the cakes she was used to—light, airy, soft—but felt more like a stone.
Hard. Very hard.
It reminded her, for some reason, of Morax, the Geo Archon from Liyue.
"Look into my eyes. You're seriously telling me this is a cake?" Furina raised her gaze, her beautiful heterochromatic eyes full of disbelief.
Fu Ning met her stare without flinching. "Yes, Lady Furina. I am absolutely certain this is a cake, crafted with care by your most loyal follower—the Dark God Fu Ning."
"I believe you. So…" A sly glint sparkled in Furina's eyes. "To commend you, you may eat the cake yourself."
With that, she gently slid the plate across the table toward him.
Fu Ning's lips twitched.
That morning, something had clearly gotten into Furina.
She refused to eat any of the cakes Fu Ning had bought from the best patisseries in Fontaine and insisted on eating one he made personally.
Make a cake? What a joke. He couldn't even cook!
But Fu Ning obeyed nonetheless. As her follower and protector, he couldn't defy an order from the Hydro Archon.
And so, the stone-like monstrosity was born.
Fu Ning picked up the fork, dug out a small piece of the cake with great effort, and placed it calmly into his mouth.
It's just flour, eggs, water, and cream… he reassured himself. Nothing lethal.
He paused. Then, with great difficulty, swallowed.
His gaze drifted toward the ornate ceiling of Momang Palace. A single tear slid down his cheek.
His body trembled.
The pain…
It felt like he had no hope of ever crossing from the third stage of power to the fourth.
How could a mix of ordinary ingredients transform into such devastation in his hands?
If he truly had to finish the whole thing, he might not survive.
Fu Ning glanced behind Furina, pointing to an empty space. "Lady Furina, look! It's Neuvillette!"
"Huh?" Furina turned her head instinctively—but saw nothing.
In that instant, Fu Ning's eyes sharpened. He summoned the last of his strength and pushed his speed to the peak of the third stage.
With his left hand, he conjured the Black Hole Staff. With his right, he grabbed the accursed "cake" and flung it into the air.
The staff's tip struck the object mid-air, instantly absorbing and decomposing it into the void.
Fu Ning dismissed the weapon, clapped his hands lightly, and resumed a neutral stance as if nothing had happened.
"There's clearly no Neuvillette, Fu Ning. You dare to deceive your Archon—"
She paused. The "cake" had vanished.
"…"
She pointed at the now-empty plate. "Where's that… thing?"
"I ate it," Fu Ning said with a straight face.
"When?"
"Just as you turned around, Lady Furina."
Furina narrowed her eyes, a faint smile playing at her lips. She crossed her legs, propped her cheek against her left hand, and stared at him with sinister amusement. "Really, Fu Ning? Do you think I'm stupid?"
Fu Ning said solemnly, "Never, Lady Furina."
"Very well. But you gave me a cake that could kill. That's an attempt on a god's life."
"You also lied to me. That's deceiving a god!"
"Both are capital offenses!"
Without hesitation, Furina snatched the fork from the table and lunged at him.
"I'm so sorry, Lady Furina!"
Fu Ning's pupils shrank. He vanished instantly.
"AHHH! Fu Ning, you idiot! You coward! You liar! Come back here right now!" Furina screamed in rage.
And so, under Furina's relentless pressure, Fu Ning began learning how to cook—and bake pastries.
Though his combat talents were exceptional, his culinary talent was… mediocre at best.
Often his creations were mocked by Furina and destroyed by the Black Hole Staff.
If the staff had its own consciousness, it would likely regret being bonded to him.
Fu Ning's gentle demeanor didn't mean he lacked pride.
On the contrary, his vanity ran deep—he just kept it well-hidden.
Now that Furina had provoked it, what would happen?
Villette soon witnessed an unbelievable scene.
At night, while Furina slept peacefully, Fu Ning wasn't out inspecting Fontaine.
Instead, he buried himself in the kitchen, practicing baking pastries again and again.
In his spare time, he even humbly visited the most famous dessert shop in Fontaine to seek guidance.
Normally, no outsider could get lessons from this elite patisserie.
But who was Fu Ning?
Lord Fu Ning, personal guard and follower of the Hydro Archon.
A dark god and Fontaine's most powerful duelist, recognized even by Chief Justice Neuvillette.
His standing in Fontaine was second only to Furina and Neuvillette.
None of the three were human.
Refusing someone like Fu Ning was unthinkable.
The best baker in the shop was notoriously temperamental.
Every apprentice under him had cried at least once.
But…
"Master Fu Ning, this step—no, wait! Don't do that!—Master Fu Ning!"
The baker swore he had never seen anyone as hopeless in the kitchen.
Any other apprentice would've been expelled long ago.
But Fu Ning? He wouldn't dare offend him.
Still, one day…
The baker inhaled deeply. He couldn't hold back anymore. "Fu—"
"Wait." Fu Ning raised a hand, closed his eyes, and broke through.
At that moment, Fu Ning advanced from the third stage to the fourth.
A surge of energy swept the room, nearly flattening the baker.
The baker stepped back, pale.
"…What were you going to say?" Fu Ning asked calmly.
"…Nothing. Nothing at all."
"Oh. Carry on."
Fu Ning's natural skill was lacking, but his energy and determination were nearly boundless.
After a full year of grueling effort, he memorized every technique.
The desserts he produced were finally… no longer lethal.
But to Furina? Still far from edible.
Fu Ning sighed.
The road ahead is long and arduous.