A Chemist's Interstellar Saga

Chapter 95: Blessing of the Moon Goddess
Chapter 95: Blessing of the Moon Goddess

As soon as she opened her eyes, she found herself being held by a very large, very fierce-looking tiger.

Her just-awakened brain hadn’t started working properly, and she thought she was about to be eaten. Her eyes welled up with tears, and she started crying out, ”Awoo awooo! (Help! There’s a big tiger!)”

Realizing that something was off with her voice, Arix tried to say ”Good morning,” but what came out was a babyish ”awoo.”

Arix raised her furry paw and finally noticed something—she seemed to have turned into a little tiger.

This realization made Arix cry even harder, her big blue eyes welling up with huge tears. ’Will I never turn back into a human? Will I never see Grandpa, Dad, Mom, Drexel, and Sims again?’

The more she thought about it, the sadder she got, and she almost cried herself into a stupor.

Mama Tiger’s heart broke watching the little cub cry. She hurriedly put Arix back into the nest and awkwardly tried to comfort her by licking her furry cheek.

After licking away Arix’s tears, Mama Tiger nudged her little face with her big tiger head.

Though Mama Tiger’s attempts at comfort were clumsy, Arix still felt warmed.

She slowly stopped crying, though she still looked quite downcast.

Mama Tiger, seeing Arix listless, thought she might be hungry. She divided the big rabbit into five portions, giving the best rabbit leg to Arix.

Then, she called the other four cubs. As soon as they saw the food, they immediately started eating, not noticing anything unusual about having an extra sibling.

Mama Tiger watched her cubs eat with happiness, but when she saw Arix not eating, she softly growled, ”Awoo, awoo? ( why aren’t you eating?)”

Arix could understand Mama Tiger, so when she heard the question, she looked up at her, then glanced at the food in front of her.

Although her stomach was growling with hunger, the sight of the bloody rabbit leg made her lose all appetite.

”I don’t want to eat...” Arix whimpered weakly.

Mama Tiger looked at Arix with a mix of indulgence and helplessness. She nudged the rabbit leg closer to Arix with her nose and said, ”You can’t be picky eaters, or they won’t grow strong.”

Arix felt a bit conflicted under Mama Tiger’s doting gaze, but then she noticed some kale nearby. Her eyes lit up. She got up from the nest and hopped over to the greens, starting to nibble on them.

Mama Tiger’s jaw dropped again.

In her entire life, this was the first time she had seen a tiger cub eat vegetables. Watching Arix eat so happily, Mama Tiger was at a loss for words.

After thinking for a moment, Mama Tiger ran out of the cave. She returned shortly, carrying several large apples. She dropped them next to Arix, who looked up in surprise.

The apple caught the eyes of the four cubs nearby. They sniffed them curiously.

Not detecting food they wanted, lay back down and resumed sleeping.

”Come and eat this,” Mama Tiger softly growled, directing her words to Arix.

Arix, nibbling on some greens, heard Mama Tiger and turned. She instantly spotted the large apple.

”Wow, big apples!” she exclaimed with a delighted growl.

She dashed to the apple, hugged it, and began to gnaw happily. The sweet taste was a delightful change from the bitter greens.

Satisfied and full, Arix soon felt drowsy. Her little head began to nod off.

Mama Tiger, seeing this, gently picked Arix up and placed her back in the nest, nestling her among the other cubs.

Surrounded by a soft, cozy environment, Arix, now asleep, stretched lazily. She nestled her head against the other cubs and drifted into a deep, comfortable sleep.

”Wow, Arix looks just like us now. I almost didn’t recognize her.”

”Yeah, she really does. It’s like we have an extra little sibling.”

”That’s how she’s supposed to look. Nothing strange about it.”

In her dreams, Arix heard familiar voices nearby. Groggily, she opened her eyes and didn’t see Mama Tiger. Instead, she found Cupid and the others sitting in a row, watching her.

Arix paused, then with a delighted growl, she leaped toward the three little ones.

”Seeing you all makes me feel so much better. I thought I had traveled through time again,” Arix said, her growls full of relief.

”Don’t worry. Here, let me give you a pat,” Cupid said, raising a tiny paw to pat Arix.

Vita, smiling gently, watched the two adorable cubs and joined in, patting them both.

Sophia, in the middle, got squeezed and rolled her eyes, but she stayed silent. After all, sharing life and death experiences together made even the proudest more tolerant.

After some playful moments, Arix finally calmed down. She looked at the three little ones and asked, ”By the way, how did I turn into a little tiger? Sophia, do you know?”

”The little tiger has always been your animal form. It was just sealed away before. The other ’Arix’ helped you unlock your gene lock, which is like unsealing it,” Sophia replied casually.

”Can I turn back into a human?” Arix asked nervously.

Sophia nodded first, then shook her head, making Arix feel all jittery inside. Even her four little paws started to tremble.

’If I can’t turn back into a human, what will happen to me? I’m such a cute little tiger, what if some male tiger takes me away to be a captive mate when I grow up? What then? No way! I can’t accept the idea of a human-animal romance!’

The more Arix let her imagination run wild, the more she felt like a tiny cabbage in a field, small and vulnerable, always worrying about being devoured by a wild boar.

Seeing Arix’s expressions switch between indignation and terror, Sophia quickly caught on. She interrupted, ”Of course, you can turn back into a human, but there’s a condition. You need the Moon Goddess’s blessing. Right now, you’re like a therian cub, and in the Empire, a therian cub who hasn’t received the Moon Goddess’s blessing can’t shift to human form.”

”Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go find the Moon Goddess!” Arix’s eyes lit up with determination.

”It’s not that simple. To receive the Moon Goddess’s blessing, you need to participate in the Empire’s Pontifex’s annual blessing ceremony. As a lone cub, you can’t join the ceremony unless you find a therian willing to adopt you and take you there,” Sophia explained, looking a bit troubled.

It seemed impossible for them to find someone in this remote wilderness. And, convincing them to help Arix would be another challenge.

What Sophia was thinking about, Arix was considering too.

Sitting on the ground, she propped her chin up with her paw and pondered. Maybe she could learn from the stray cats from her previous life and try to play cute and helpless to get adopted.

Or she could pretend to be an abandoned cub and lie at someone’s doorstep, looking pitiful and innocent to solicit adoption.

As a last resort, she could join the Empire’s orphanage and receive the blessing with other orphaned therian cubs.

Thinking these ideas were good, Arix decided to set off. Her parents and brothers were probably still worried about her, so the sooner she set off, the sooner she could contact them.

However, just as she was about to leave, an image of Mama Tiger flashed through her mind. Arix hesitated and stopped, turning to Cupid and the others. ”Let’s wait a bit. After saying goodbye to Mama Tiger, we’ll set off.”

Cupid and the others agreed without much fuss and nodded. Seeing the tiger cubs awake, they went over to play with them. Despite being cubs themselves, they tried to pet the other cubs.

Arix sat at the cave entrance, smiling as she watched the seven cubs playfully tussling with each other. But as they waited, instead of Mama Tiger, two poachers arrived.

”Yep, this is the cave. I saw that Celesterror Tiger coming in and out of here every day. There must be cubs inside. If we catch them and sell them, we’ll make a fortune,” a sleazy-looking middle-aged man said.

”Good, then what are we waiting for then? The tiger just left not long ago. Let’s hurry and grab the cubs inside,” another voice, greedy and impatient, urged.

Arix’s heart raced. She knew they had to act quickly. She signaled to Cupid and the others to stay quiet and move back into the shadows of the cave. They needed to protect the cubs and themselves until Mama Tiger returned.

”Stay close,” Arix whispered, her voice steady despite the fear bubbling inside her. ”We’ll figure out a plan.”

Cupid, Vita, and Sophia nodded, their faces serious. They huddled together, ready to defend their new family against the threat that loomed just outside the cave.

Arix’s eyes turned icy at the poachers’ words. When she looked toward the cave entrance, even her little tiger fangs were bared.

”Arix, what’s wrong?” Cupid and the others noticed her unusual state and asked worriedly.

”Poachers! They’re here to catch the tiger cubs,” Arix said, her voice laced with fierce determination.

Not only did she despise poachers, but Mama Tiger had shown her kindness. There was no way she would let anyone harm these tiger cubs!