Yes, indeed - it turns out that I had been playing with the limited edition artwork all along! (Hahahaha!) In any case, as for Likulau being my bae and Lin Hu possibly being a god... well, one thing's certain: Definitely Not A Saint does not even remotely apply to him!

But I digress. Purification is purification after all. And so, with great determination in my heart (literally!), I finally managed to complete the game completely - every ending achieved! Now that was quite an experience...

And now, as a parting gift of sorts, here's a lovely piece of artwork featuring none other than Likulau and Liao themselves from Nekojishi:

But anyway... Suddenly (ha!), he was upon me again - or rather, I should say that he had somehow managed to sneak up behind me while I wasn't looking! As his piercing gaze locked onto mine, my heart skipped a beat as he spoke those very same words: 'I'll help you out!

And before I could even process what was happening next (because let's face it - when have things ever gone smoothly for poor ol' Liao?), Likulau continued with renewed enthusiasm and conviction. 'Liao becomes the best! Nobody can beat me, nobody beats Liao!' He paused briefly to catch his breath before grinning widely at me once more.

'And that's not all,' he added matter-of-factly as if this was some sort of foregone conclusion rather than something truly remarkable or anything remotely close. 'You see, my dear friend... seeing you happy is important for Liao too.'

And with those simple yet oh-so-moving words (sigh), it hit me like a tonne of bricks - all these years later, and I still couldn't compare myself to this god among men when it came down to sheer talent. But then again...

Looking back on that fateful day now, I suppose what really struck me most wasn't so much the effortless ease with which he executed those incredible moves (although let's be real - they were pretty darn impressive if I do say so myself!). No... nope.

What truly left an indelible mark upon my heart was simply watching him dance. Watching him move like a god on earth, his lithe form fluidly gliding across the stage as if he had been born to perform such wonders for all eternity...

And yet here I am now - still reeling from that experience long after the fact.

But enough about me (for once!). Back to Likulau. So yeah... my stamina was basically at rock bottom by this point, but it didn't matter because suddenly he was already nailing another impossible-looking move while simultaneously flashing those devastatingly handsome smiley faces at me like they were going out of fashion...

And honestly? I think that's probably where the comparisons between us two humble mortals finally came to an end. Because let's face facts: when you've got someone as naturally gifted and talented as Likulau on your side, it doesn't really matter how hard you try - there'll always be a chasm wide enough between you and him that even Liao himself couldn

Nekojishi limited edition artwork