Furina felt that the stimulation she received today far exceeded when her small cake was thrown away.
“Furina: But… why?”
“Focalors: Because I want to atone. As long as the position of Hydro Archon is gone, the prophecy will collapse on its own. Moreover, I also have something to return to a certain dragon.”
“Furina: But if that’s the case… wouldn’t you…”
Furina didn't want to lose anything more, and quickly said, “What if there are other ways? Think more.”
“Focalors: Haha, I know you’re worried about me, so a very powerful person is already here to help. Tomorrow morning, I’ll go with you to find Neuvillette, and she will also be there.”
Furina was most familiar with lies, but this time it didn't seem fake; she believed it. Afterwards, Focalors sent Furina back to her room.
【Furina, I hope you have a good dream tonight.】
…
The next morning, Lumine and her companions planned to go find Neuvillette to apply for a visit to the Fortress of Meropide. This reason was thought up by the God of the Brain—Paimon.
“Qixuan: Visiting a prison, that’s a first.”
“Paimon: But the situation is urgent.”
“Lumine: Is it that urgent?”
At this moment, Clorinde walked over from a distance.
“Paimon: Hmm? You are… that very powerful Duelist Representative?!”
“Lumine: Is something wrong?”
“Clorinde: Lady Furina wishes to invite you all to Lord Neuvillette’s office for a discussion.”
“Paimon: Could it be because we lost the duel, she’s mad at us and wants to lock us up?!”
“Lumine: Paimon…”
Lumine was speechless.
“Qixuan: Alright, alright. Since Lady Hydro Archon has invited us, we have no choice but to go. It just so happens that we also have something to discuss with Mr. Neuvillette.”
“Clorinde: Alright, please follow me.”
…
Everyone walked into the Palais Mermonia but found no staff members. Clorinde left after bringing them in.
“Paimon: How come there are no staff members today?”
“Lumine: Is today a holiday?”
At this moment, Furina walked out from a nearby door and said to Lumine and the others, “You’re here? Then come in quickly, everyone is here.”
“Lumine: What… people?”
“Paimon: What is Furina talking about?”
“Qixuan: Let’s go in.”
Lumine’s sixth sense told her that after going in, she could quickly clear Fontaine. So, she walked in, dragging a reluctant Paimon.
…
“Neuvillette: Lady Furina, is something the matter? Oh, you are here too.”
“Paimon: Is today a holiday? How come I don’t see any staff members?”
“Neuvillette: Besides the guards at the entrance, everyone else has gone to Fontaine’s experimental site to observe experiments, as a new round of data needs to be recorded and calculated.”
“Furina: In that case, it’s just us left, right?”
“Neuvillette: That’s right, Lady Furina. You can speak about anything you need to.”
From Neuvillette’s perspective, Furina’s actions today were too unusual. She had been in and out of his office several times that morning, even asking if all the people in the Palais Mermonia could be asked to leave because she had urgent matters.
“Furina: Um… let her speak instead. You, you come out quickly.”
“Paimon: Huh? Who?”
“Lumine: Is there someone else?”
Qixuan had a look of watching a show.
After Furina finished speaking, the gem on her chest emitted a burst of light, almost blinding Paimon. Then, everyone froze. A person exactly like Furina stood beside her, easily recognizable only because of their different attire.
“Focalors: Hi, everyone, Miss Qixuan, long time no see. Oh, and my Hydro Dragon, Neuvillette, long time no see, you’ve managed Fontaine quite well.”
“Qixuan: I didn’t expect you to be hidden within Furina. I thought I’d have to bring a mirror.”
“Paimon: Wait… wait, let me process this. She… is the Hydro Archon Focalors?”
“Focalors: It’s me, no doubt.”
“Paimon: Then… who is Furina?! And how do you two know each other?!”
“Lumine: You’ve asked everything I wanted to ask.”
After Neuvillette confirmed it was truly Focalors, he wanted to ask where she had been all these years without any news. He had long suspected in his heart that Furina was not the true Hydro Archon. At first, he thought it was because his ancient dragon clearance was incomplete, and Furina had hidden herself well.
“Focalors: Alright, alright, I will answer all your questions. After that, I believe Miss Qixuan can fulfill her promise.”
“Paimon: What else did Qixuan-jie promise Focalors?”
“Qixuan: Of course, it’s to solve Fontaine’s prophecy, which is the Primordial Sea.”
“Lumine: I have a feeling.”
“Neuvillette: Then, Lady Focalors, please explain it thoroughly.”
After Focalors’s lengthy explanation, everyone finally understood the reason for the matter and its seriousness.
“Neuvillette: How cunning… didn’t you think about yourself?”
Neuvillette’s voice carried a hint of questioning, but it wasn’t overly harsh; rather, it had a touch of heartache.
“Focalors: Hehe, sacrifice one of me, and all of Fontaine will be happy. And what’s yours will return to your hands. I believe you will make the right choice, just like… when I brought you here.”
Neuvillette fell silent, tears seemingly tracing his eyes.
The weather outside became gloomy, and it began to rain.
“Paimon: The Hydro Archon clearly loves her people so much… the Heavenly Principles are truly an unfeeling lot.”
“Lumine: Paimon… this isn’t about being unfeeling. Never mind, Qixuan-jie, what do we do next?”
Fortunately, Lumine’s adaptability was quite strong. Perhaps it was from being imprisoned in Sumeru for too long; she didn’t want to go through that again in Fontaine.
“Neuvillette: Can I help with anything? Just ask.”
“Qixuan: Simple. Focalors just needs to return the ancient dragon clearance directly to Neuvillette. Don’t worry about those in the sky; they’re probably still sleeping. Then, Neuvillette will absolve all of Fontaine’s sins. Lumine, Paimon, and I will go catch the whale. You all stay outside, as catching it might cause a big commotion and affect the Primordial Sea, so we’ll need you to watch over it.”
“Focalors: Still… sleeping, haha… perhaps only Miss Qixuan would dare to say that.”
“Qixuan: If you’re worried, should I go to Natlan and call the Ruler of Death to be a witness?”
Far away in Natlan, Ronova sneezed. No? I am the shadow of the Heavenly Principles, how could I sneeze?
“Lumine: Nahida gave a Popular Science over…”
“Paimon: Suddenly I feel so small.”
“Lumine: Is that why you pull my hair every time we fight?”
“Hmm? Answer me!”
“Paimon: Ehe…”
Focalors was stunned. How do you know this person too?
“Focalors: No, no, this is good.”
“Qixuan: That’s good then, let’s begin.”
Light emanated from Focalors’s body, and then all that light surged towards Neuvillette. After absorbing it, Neuvillette’s entire… oh no, the entire dragon’s aura became incredibly oppressive.
“Neuvillette: I now… lack nothing.”
“Furina: Is this the complete Neuvillette? So amazing.”
Then, the entire Palais Mermonia shook. Everyone was unclear what had happened, but Qixuan, using her clearance, saw that the whale was still eating; that was just a burp.
“Qixuan: Without further ado, let’s go. As for matters on the surface, we’ll leave them to you.”
“Neuvillette: Thank you very much. Fontaine will consider you the most distinguished guests.”
“Focalors: Good luck.”
Qixuan and Lumine set off, while Focalors and her group had to figure out how to find a reason to explain this matter to the people of Fontaine. Focalors suggested a nationwide announcement would suffice. Oh, and by the way, clear out some of the rats within Fontaine.
On the other side, after Qixuan received the token from Neuvillette, she instantly teleported Lumine and Paimon directly to Wriothesley’s office. This startled the Warden, who was enjoying tea, but he could sense they had no ill intent. Lumine then briefly explained what had happened, and after seeing the token, Wriothesley immediately took them to the place where the Primordial Sea was sealed.
“Paimon: How… do we get in?”
“Qixuan: I’ll trouble you to guard outside. We’ll be quick.”
“Wriothesley: Alright, then you little…”
Before Wriothesley could finish speaking, Qixuan waved her hand, and a spatial ripple appeared in front of them. Then, Qixuan led Lumine and Paimon inside.
“Wriothesley: Sigh, honestly…”
At this moment, the Head Nurse, Sigewinne, arrived, carrying some specially brewed tea.
“Sigewinne: I heard you were here. Has something happened?”
“Wriothesley: Something quite big. What… what’s that in your hand?”
“Sigewinne: I made it! It’s much improved this time. Come, have a taste.”
“Wriothesley: Haha, I just remembered I still have official duties to attend to. Nurse, why don’t you deliver these to the injured in my stead?”
Wriothesley finished speaking and then made his escape.
“Sigewinne: …………”
Inside the Primordial Sea.
“Paimon: Wow, is this the inside of the Primordial Sea? It’s huge.”
Paimon exclaimed, looking at the starry sky above and the rippling water below.
“Lumine: What’s… that ahead?”
Space shattered in front of everyone, revealing specks of starlight, and then a… gigantic whale emerged. It opened its massive mouth, sucking in the surrounding seawater.
“Qixuan: Time to get to work.”
What to use to fight the whale? Since it can dart around randomly, its movements must be restricted. Qixuan set up spatial points all around using the Spear of the Void, sealing the space here.
Then, Qixuan took out the Heavenly Fire and began to violently hack at it, but it was indeed very thick-skinned.
The All-Devouring Narwhal was enraged at being interrupted during its meal. Then, it sensed an energy even stronger than its own.
“Whale: No good, can’t win, run!”
The All-Devouring Narwhal, realizing it couldn’t win, quickly tried to jump through space to escape.
“Lumine: Oh no, Qixuan-jie, it’s trying to run.”
“Qixuan: Hehe, run? Can it escape?”
The All-Devouring Narwhal, trying to escape, found that it couldn’t penetrate any of the surrounding space. It was over, Mom, I’m done for.
Qixuan went up and gave it a brutal beating, making it spit out all the water it had drunk these past few days.
“Whale: Sis, sis, stop hitting me! I’ll never steal food again.”
What came out of its mouth were just whimpering sounds.
“Qixuan: Heh, it knows how to submit now? (Since it’s the Extremely Evil Knight’s pet, hehe, I’ll take it.)”
“Lumine: …So violent.”
“Paimon: Same…”
Then, Qixuan condensed imaginary energy with one hand, directly shrinking the All-Devouring Narwhal to palm-size and storing it in imaginary space.
“Qixuan: Let’s go, let’s see how they handled things.”
“Paimon: Can we have a big meal?”
“Lumine: Didn’t you eat enough this morning?!”
Lumine began to pinch and rub Paimon’s face.
At this moment, an abyssal space appeared in the distance, and a Damselette walked out from within.
…
“Focalors: How are things?”
“Neuvillette: Hmm… I can feel that the Primordial Sea has stabilized. They must have succeeded.”
“Focalors: That’s great! Furina should have finished gathering everyone by now. Let’s go over.”
At this moment, Fontaine’s plaza was packed with people. Many were discussing why Lady Hydro Archon had summoned them all to the plaza. Of course, the Fatui were also present, easy to spot, right next to them where there wasn’t a single Fontainian besides the Fatui.
“Lyney: Father, us?”
“Arlecchino: Just watch, let’s see what our Lady Hydro Archon intends to do.”
“Lyney: Yes.”
Backstage…
“Focalors: The show is about to begin. How are you, Furina? Nervous?”
“Furina: Not really…”
“Focalors: Relax, you’re the best.”
“Furina: I’ll do my best.”
The large doors opened, and Furina walked out. Just then, rain suddenly began to fall from the sky, but the raindrops did not wet anyone present, which surprised the citizens.
Furina walked onto the steps, and the rain suddenly enveloped her. Then, a burst of blue light shimmered, and Focalors, clad in divine attire, appeared. The crowd began to grow excited and cheer.
“Lady Hydro Archon! I am your dog!”
“Ah!!! Lady Hydro Archon, please have dinner with me!”
“Arlecchino: Was my previous suspicion wrong?”
“Lyney: Father, but this is the Hydro Archon.”
“Arlecchino: Still hidden so deeply, Focalors.”
At this moment, Neuvillette walked out from behind and said, “Silence. Lady Hydro Archon has something to say.”
The citizens immediately quieted down.
“Focalors: People of Fontaine, I wish to speak about something here, something concerning the prophecy, and also concerning the original 【sin】 of the Fontainians.”
“What? We are sinful? Is this true?”
“I knew that prophecy was true, and that rumor about Fontainians being sinful was also true.”
“You Sumeru person, what are you talking about here, spreading nonsense?”
The citizens discussed animatedly, saying all sorts of things.
“Focalors: I know all your worries, but there’s no need to fret. The 【prophecy】 has been resolved, but I think it’s necessary for you to know the reason behind it.”
Then, Focalors gave a simplified explanation of the 【prophecy】 and how it was resolved. Of course, she wouldn’t take all the credit; the legends of the golden-haired traveler, the little white elf, and the mysterious white-haired big sister were still being brewed.