Fontaine — The Opera Epiclese.
Clorinde gave a small nod and led Nolan toward the Fortress of Meropide. The place was located behind the Opera Epiclese, and to reach it they needed to take an elevator down.
The guards stationed at the entrance noticed Clorinde approaching. After asking a few simple questions, they let her through without further delay.
The two entered the elevator, the revolving door closing automatically behind them. The lift began its slow descent, and a faint sense of weightlessness rose through their bodies.
After several minutes, it came to a halt. The door opened, revealing a vast space illuminated by a soft amber light.
Many people were working busily nearby.
Naturally, in a prison, the ones doing all the work could only be the inmates. If Nolan guessed correctly, these busy workers were convicts engaged in labor reform.
Despite being underwater and thus without sunlight, the environment here actually looked rather pleasant.
"Keep going straight. That cylindrical building in the middle is the Duke's office," Clorinde explained as she walked. "Before we head to the place where the Primordial Sea is sealed, we'll need to report to the warden of the Fortress of Meropide."
"Managing all the criminals of Fontaine must be an exhausting job," Nolan said, glancing around. Even within his line of sight, dozens of people were moving about.
"The Fortress of Meropide differs from other nations' prisons," Clorinde replied calmly. "It runs on a special 'credit token' system — a bit like Mora.
"All prisoners, whether they wish to eat or sleep, must use tokens. With enough of them, they can raise their living standards to nearly match life above the surface.
"So the inmates work diligently every day to earn these tokens. The goods they produce are sold by the Duke for Mora.
"Being able to exchange a currency that's worthless aboveground for actual Mora… perhaps the Duke finds the whole thing quite entertaining."
"Ha, to think that just providing food and lodging could get all of Fontaine's criminals to work for you — maintaining order while earning a profit. I'm starting to envy that job," Nolan said with a chuckle, finally understanding how the system worked.
The two reached the central office of the Fortress of Meropide. After learning they had come to see the "Duke," the guards opened the heavy door for them.
Inside was a spiral staircase built along the wall. The warden's office was located on the second floor.
As they ascended, they saw a black-haired man reclining with his legs propped on a desk, reading a newspaper. When he noticed them, he sighed softly.
"Clorinde, I could hear you from a mile away telling the Traveler how I'm running a business down here," he said lazily. "Every Mora earned from the prisoners' products goes right back into managing and maintaining this place, I'll have you know.
"So? What brings you all the way to the depths of the sea?"
Apparently, this man's perception was quite impressive — Clorinde and Nolan had spoken far from here, through layers of thick walls, yet he'd still heard them.
"Wriothesley, I was merely stating the truth," Clorinde said evenly, arms crossed under her chest. "Lady Furina wishes for the Traveler to investigate the situation beneath the floodgate — without breaking the seal."
"Oh? So our dear Hydro Archon has finally decided to take things seriously?" Wriothesley raised a brow, genuinely surprised.
He had only learned that the floodgate beneath the Fortress sealed away the Primordial Sea long after assuming his post here. Once he realized it, he understood the prophecy's crisis likely stemmed from this very place.
Thus, he had long been preparing in secret — constructing a massive airship as a contingency plan.
Most of the prisoners' labor and the Mora earned from it had gone toward building and researching that vessel.
Surely the Hydro Archon was aware that the Primordial Sea was sealed here, yet Furina had never once come to inspect or maintain the seal herself.
Whether it was confidence or neglect, he couldn't tell — she simply didn't seem to care. So it surprised him that she had finally sent someone now.
"Lady Furina is indeed deeply concerned about the prophecy's crisis," Clorinde said, glancing at him before continuing, "This gentleman is a powerful Traveler, capable of investigating the Primordial Sea safely. Please guide us there."
Though Clorinde usually saw Furina as someone who merely attended performances and basked in applause, she also knew that divine power was beyond mortal understanding.
Perhaps, in unseen ways, Lady Furina truly was working to counter the coming calamity.
"Yes, yes," Wriothesley replied perfunctorily, standing up and stretching. "In that case, let's not waste time. A couple of days ago, during my routine inspection, I heard faint noises coming from the floodgate — scared the daylights out of me.
"I keep worrying that one night I'll wake up drowning in seawater."
The tall, broad-shouldered man glanced at Nolan. As the warden of Meropide, though he lived far beneath the waves, he knew everything that happened above — and of course, he recognized this renowned adventurer of Teyvat.
"Then please follow me, Traveler," he said courteously.
"Of course, and thank you for your help, Mr. Wriothesley," Nolan replied with a polite smile.
The three left the office together, took another elevator to a lower level, and soon arrived at the floodgate that sealed the Primordial Sea.
It was an enormous metallic gate lying flat against the ground — and beyond it, without a doubt, was the legendary sea itself.
At the center of the gate was a pressure gauge, its needle pointing within the green safety zone — meaning the current pressure was still within acceptable limits for the barrier.
If one looked closely, they would notice that the needle on the pressure gauge had already begun to drift toward the red danger zone — nearly touching it.
At first glance, it still seemed stable, but cracks were beginning to show. One small mishap, and the entire gate could burst like a collapsed dam.
"Heh… looks like things are getting troublesome," Wriothesley said with a helpless smile. "It's even closer to the red zone than when I last came to check."
Clorinde's calm expression darkened slightly. Nolan thought for a moment and said,
"Just in case… if something goes wrong during my investigation of the Primordial Sea — something that causes the gate's pressure to spike — it could lead to serious damage. I'll reinforce the seal with a formation first."
As he spoke, eight golden banners appeared around him — the Fleeting Clouds Banner Formation. Four of them flew out and planted themselves at the four cardinal directions around the gate, forming the Quadrant Harmony Array.
This was a sealing formation Nolan had learned from Ganyu's affinity skill — a massive array typically used to mitigate earthquakes.
Now, it would serve perfectly to reinforce the floodgate sealing the Primordial Sea.
After setting up the outer Quadrant Harmony Array, Nolan directed the remaining four banners to fall within the completed formation.
Offset at specific points, the inner set of banners formed a second Quadrant Harmony Array. The two arrays intertwined and merged, evolving into the Interlocking Harmony Array.
The sealing power surged — strong enough that even a massive earthquake would likely fail to shake it.
Sure enough, the moment the formation was completed, the needle on the pressure gauge dropped straight to zero. That meant there was no longer any pressure on the gate at all.
"Whoa, whoa—seriously? Zero pressure? Isn't that a bit overkill?" Wriothesley exclaimed, staring at the gauge in disbelief.
Clorinde's violet eyes flickered with astonishment. On the other side of that gate was the vast sea itself — and yet this ancient immortal formation had neutralized it completely.
[Clorinde Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 360 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.5 (40/500)]
"The formation reinforced the gate while also isolating it from direct contact with the Primordial Sea," Nolan explained with a faint smile. "As long as the array remains intact, the gate won't bear any pressure."
"Well, that's one less thing to worry about. Maybe now I can sleep without dreaming of drowning," Wriothesley said with relief.
"If the Primordial Sea only had this one breach, I'd be confident it'd never escape again," Nolan joked lightly.
Of course, a sea that vast couldn't possibly have just one weak point. If it were truly that simple to seal, Focalors wouldn't have treated the prophecy's crisis with such gravity.
"So, how do you plan to conduct your investigation?" Clorinde asked, her expression as calm as ever.
"I'll just teleport there directly," Nolan replied, glancing at them both. "How about it? Would you like to come along? I can make sure the seawater won't touch you."
"Oh? In that case, count me in," Wriothesley said, a little surprised but quickly intrigued. There was no way he'd turn down the chance to confront the legendary Primordial Sea.
"And you, Clorinde?" Nolan turned to the tall, composed woman beside him.
"No problem," she replied without hesitation.
With Clorinde's affection already at Level 5, she trusted him enough to follow his lead.
Nolan then activated Noelle's max-level affinity skill — Wholehearted Guardian Shield.
Two translucent shields expanded, encasing Clorinde and Wriothesley completely, ensuring not a single drop of water could seep in. He summoned one for himself as well.
Once everything was ready, Nolan quietly opened the Void Starsea, enveloping the group in its shimmering energy. A moment later, all three vanished from sight.
When they reappeared, they had passed through the floodgate and arrived in the dark, silent depths below.
At first glance, it looked like any ordinary seabed. But on closer inspection, the waters of the Primordial Sea shimmered faintly pink — distinctly different from normal seawater.
"So this is the Primordial Water… fascinating," Wriothesley murmured, pressing a hand to the inner surface of his shield as if he were touching the sea itself.
Clorinde, standing beside him within her own barrier, looked around curiously. This was likely a place no citizen of Fontaine had ever reached. Who knew what might exist here?
Despite its depth, the Primordial Sea was not completely dark — it glowed with a strange, dim light.
Above them was the metallic floodgate of Meropide, meaning that this ancient ocean lay beneath Fontaine's own seafloor.
The water here felt slightly warmer than ordinary seawater, and there was no sign of life.
That was only natural — how could ordinary marine creatures enter such a place?
There was little oxygen and unusual temperature; nothing normal could survive here.
If anything did exist, it would certainly be unnatural.
"Let's look around. We might find something," Nolan said through telepathic transmission.
Even as he spoke, he expanded his spiritual sense outward. With his range, he could scan the entire Primordial Sea in no time.
"Let's check the seabed," Wriothesley suggested. "If anything strange is happening, the source is likely there."
"Hmm, makes sense." Nolan nodded. He guided their shields downward using his psychic power while extending his scan toward the depths.
One kilometer… two… three… The Primordial Sea was far deeper than expected. By the time his spiritual sense touched the seabed, it was nearly five to six kilometers deep — deeper than most oceans of Teyvat.
Truly fitting for the place said to have first nurtured life.
Descending normally would take half an hour, so Nolan simply used the Void Starsea again, teleporting them instantly to the bottom.
In a blink, they arrived near the seabed — barren, rocky, and devoid of any plants or coral.
"Nothing unusual nearby," Clorinde observed. "The Primordial Sea is vast. Even if there's something wrong, finding it won't be easy."
"Not necessarily. I've already found something," Nolan replied, eyes sharpening. His spiritual scan had now encompassed the entire Primordial Sea — and while most of it stretched beneath the ocean floor, part of it extended beneath the land as well.
And there — two to three hundred kilometers to their left — he detected the sea's only living being.
A massive one.
"Come on, I'll take you to see it."
As soon as he finished speaking, Nolan expanded the Void Starsea once more, cloaking the three of them in invisibility before teleporting again.
The next instant, they reappeared — no longer at the seabed, but near the center of the Primordial Sea.
Above them drifted an enormous whale, its body shimmering like a fragment of the cosmos, a single horn crowning its head. Every swing of its tail sent powerful waves rolling through the sea.
From time to time, it opened its vast maw and swallowed huge gulps of the pink water, churning the surrounding currents into violent turbulence.
The sight was both majestic and terrifying.
(End of Chapter)
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