Fontaine — The Opera Epiclese.
After leaving the Fortress of Meropide, Nolan and Clorinde returned to the Opera Epiclese.
Through the Waypoint, he learned that Lumine and Paimon were in the underground prop room, helping prepare equipment for a magic show.
Reuniting with them, Nolan and Clorinde greeted Lyney and Lynette before finding an excuse to slip away. In truth, they quietly made their way to the chamber of the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale.
Inside, a woman identical in appearance to Furina — Focalors — was sitting in a chair, resting.
When Nolan appeared without warning, she frowned in irritation. "You— don't you know how to knock before entering?"
"This way, no one outside sees you," Nolan replied with a smile, walking toward her.
"You could've used a less startling method," Focalors sighed, rubbing her temples. "Alright then, what is it? Don't tell me you've already made progress on the prophecy crisis?"
Though she said it half-jokingly, inwardly she didn't believe it.
After all, she had searched for centuries and found no alternative. If there truly had been another way, she would never have chosen her current plan. For him to find results in just a few days? Impossible.
Seeing her skeptical gaze, Nolan cleared his throat and said,
"People can't all be judged the same, you know. My strength is just slightly above yours, so maybe my perspective's a little broader. It's not impossible that I found something you couldn't."
"…So you're just better at fighting, what's there to be smug about?" Focalors puffed out her pale cheeks, visibly annoyed.
"Come with me. Maybe when you see this, you'll be a little more at ease."
Nolan waved his hand to the side. A small patch of starry sky appeared in midair, within which a massive one-horned whale over a hundred meters long drifted in silence.
"This is…?" Focalors raised an eyebrow, puzzled.
"The All-Devouring Narwhal — likely the very source of the prophecy's crisis. Come, take a look for yourself."
He gestured invitingly and stepped into the Void Starsea space.
Focalors hesitated only a moment before following him in.
The transition was smooth — like stepping through a door into another room. There was no vertigo, no distortion; her bare white feet touched the shimmering starlit floor without a sound.
Before her lay the enormous one-horned whale, as if it had stranded itself in a cosmic sea while at play. Its head bore several deep blade wounds, and despite its immense form, it looked rather pitiful.
"I found this in the Primordial Sea," Nolan explained. "It can absorb the sea's energy infinitely, growing without limit. If left alone, as its size increases, the sea level would rise accordingly — eventually flooding all of Fontaine.
"But don't worry, I've already subdued it. See? Being good at fighting is useful sometimes."
He chuckled softly at her.
"I see." Focalors nodded, finally understanding. "The prophecy will come true — that's the nature of fate. Even if you remove one direct cause of the rising seas, another will follow.
"But by delaying it, we buy precious time to prepare."
Her tone softened as she exhaled, and for the first time, she looked visibly relieved.
[Focalors Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 480 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.5 (100/500)]
"When I learned that the Chief Justice, Neuvillette, was in truth the Hydro Dragon Sovereign, I understood what your true plan was," Nolan said calmly.
"You—" Focalors' eyes widened in shock. But sensing that this space was completely isolated from the outside world, untouchable by the gaze of Celestia or the Heavenly Principles, she gradually relaxed.
"So what if you've guessed it?" she said quietly. "Are you planning to stop me?"
"How could I?" Nolan shook his head. "To save Fontaine, you've endured a five-hundred-year journey of solitude and sacrifice. I can't even imagine the resolve it took to make that choice — and to never waver once in all that time.
"If I tried to stop you, wouldn't that be trampling over your will? I'm not that tactless."
Focalors blinked, caught off guard by the sincerity in his words. Though what he said was true, hearing it voiced so plainly made her cheeks flush slightly. She turned her gaze aside and coughed lightly.
"Ahem… it's not as noble as you make it sound. I'm no saint. In such circumstances, I simply made the decision most people would have made."
[Focalors Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 320 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.5 (420/500)]
Even so, being understood by another after centuries of isolation filled her heart with quiet warmth.
Seeing another affection prompt appear, Nolan couldn't help feeling pleased. He continued,
"In truth, I've already made contact with other civilizations beyond this world — and from what I've learned, there are possible ways to resolve Fontaine's condition.
"The whale that caused the sea-level rise is already under my control, so the prophecy crisis won't happen anytime soon. During that time, I'm confident I can find a real solution to Fontaine's problem.
"So, I think you can stop for now — hold off on your plan a little longer."
He wasn't exaggerating. Herta had already agreed to introduce him to Ruan Mei — the Genius Society's foremost expert in life sciences.
Even if that genius said she couldn't help, it didn't matter.
At Nolan's current rate of growth, a year or two would be enough for his strength to surpass everything on Teyvat.
By then, if he could beat even the Heavenly Principles into submission, who would dare speak of "prophecy" or "sin" again?
And if luck favored him, perhaps he'd even find a few good places across the stars to grind for Adventure EXP.
In that case, not in a year or two — maybe just a few days — he could make Mona's favorite boast come true: "The stars are within my grasp."
At that point, he could even give the people of Fontaine an entirely new planet to live on.
Why would anyone still need to fear the Primordial Sea?
In short, as long as the prophecy crisis didn't strike within the next year or two— it might as well already be solved.
Even if he were to be conservative, by the time Nolan still hadn't fully resolved the prophecy crisis, he would at least be capable of extending the time before it arrived again.
If Focalors were to rush things and lose her life needlessly within a year or two, that would be far too great a waste.
"I don't need you to remind me, you impudent man!" Focalors shot him an exasperated glare. "I've spent centuries gathering the energy required to sever the seat of divinity—it's more than sufficient.
"The prophecy's crisis hasn't arrived yet, so of course I won't act prematurely! If it somehow never comes to pass, I'd just look like a complete fool!"
Of course, there was another reason for her caution: she wanted to observe whether Neuvillette had developed any affection for humankind.
After all, as a Dragon Sovereign born of pure elemental water, it was only natural that he would lack any innate sense of kinship with humans.
If after hundreds of years among them he still hadn't formed any genuine sentiment toward humanity, then she would never return the Sovereign Authority to him.
Otherwise, if she restored his power only for him to simply leave Fontaine behind, Focalors would go down in history as the most foolish Archon in Teyvat.
"That's good," Nolan said with a light grin before smoothly continuing, "Since you already have more than enough energy, why not divert the surplus to collaborate with me on developing the Akasha Interconnected Network?
"Through it, you could collect faith in 'justice' from all across Teyvat, not just from within the Opera Epiclese. That would be far more efficient.
"In fact, think about it — just this small theater has allowed you to gather enough power in a few centuries to strike down a divine throne, even while some of that energy maintains Fontaine's systems.
"So imagine this: if you could collect faith from the entire continent, the converted energy might even be enough to cleave Celestia itself.
"With that kind of power, you could threaten the Heavenly Principles directly — force them to absolve Fontaine's so-called sins."
Having mingled with civilizations across the stars, Nolan's perspective was naturally broader than most; he was used to thinking on a cosmic scale.
From that angle, the prophecy crisis suddenly didn't seem like such an insurmountable problem.
"…Hmph! You and your outrageous ideas," Focalors huffed.
Yet despite herself, a thought slipped into her mind — perhaps it wasn't entirely impossible.
She quickly shook her head, trying to banish the notion.
Defying the Heavenly Principles outright would be far too dangerous; one mistake, and Fontaine could be wiped from the face of the earth. She couldn't take that risk.
Still… Nolan's point wasn't without merit.
The energy to sever the divine seat was already sufficient — any more would merely speed the process a little, not change the outcome. So rather than hoarding it, why not put it toward something constructive?
Let him develop this so-called "Akasha Interconnected Network." Consider it his reward for subduing the All-Devouring Narwhal — and if it benefited Fontaine, all the better.
With that thought, Focalors nodded.
"…Fine. I'll agree to it."
"Great! Thank you!" Nolan exclaimed, and before he could stop himself, he pulled Focalors into a sudden embrace.
A soft pressure brushed her shoulders — she froze for a heartbeat before shoving him away, her pale cheeks turning crimson.
"You—you did that on purpose!" she said in a mix of embarrassment and anger.
[Focalors Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 380 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.6 (300/600)]
"Heh, it was just instinct," Nolan said with a light laugh, hands raised in mock surrender.
He didn't say what he was really thinking — you didn't exactly seem unhappy about it either — and instead steered the conversation forward.
"The specifics are simple. You just need to provide the energy. As for how it'll be used, I'll ask Sumeru's Little Archon, Nahida, to coordinate the technical aspects with you."
Focalors nodded, then hesitated and shook her head.
"It's still not time for me to show myself. You should speak with Furina instead and have her cooperate with your plan."
Raising her hand, she summoned a cluster of pure white light that condensed into a small jade figurine — a miniature likeness of herself only a few centimeters tall.
"This contains a fragment of my authority. Furina is another facet of my own personality, and her body is mine as well. With this, she can channel the surplus energy transformed by the Oratrice Mecanique."
She paused, then added softly, "Of course, only the excess energy. That should suffice, right?"
"That works," Nolan nodded.
He understood her reluctance to appear publicly — likely out of concern that Celestia would detect her presence and uncover her true plan. Having Furina act openly while she remained hidden in the shadows was indeed the safer approach.
That was fine by him — as long as he could access the energy, everything else could be handled. If problems arose, he could always ask Focalors for a little "after-sales support."
"Then give this to Furina for me," Focalors said, handing him the delicate white jade effigy.
Nolan accepted it carefully, planning to deliver it to Furina later when he escorted Clorinde back to the Palais Mermonia.
After that, he gave Focalors another quick tour of the slumbering All-Devouring Narwhal lying within the Void Starsea. When they were done, the two of them exited the space.
Back in the chamber of the Oratrice, their discussion complete, Nolan took his leave and went to rejoin Lumine and the others.
They were still busy preparing props for the upcoming performance at the Opera Epiclese.
Soon after, he teleported with Clorinde back to the vicinity of the Palais Mermonia, where they quickly found Furina once again.
The Hydro Archon's face lit up at their return.
"Well? Did you find anything at the Fortress of Meropide?"
Clorinde reported everything in detail — their descent, the discovery of the whale, and the encounter beneath the sea.
"What?! A whale like that actually exists?!" Furina's eyes went wide in disbelief.
"See for yourself."
Nolan opened the Void Starsea once more, bringing Furina inside to witness the All-Devouring Narwhal with her own eyes. He explained how its defeat had delayed the prophecy crisis.
"Haha… not bad! You all actually did something impressive for once!"
Though she tried to sound composed, Furina's voice trembled slightly with excitement. She hadn't expected such swift progress.
[Furina Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 360 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.5 (320/500)]
Seeing the notification flash before him, Nolan used the opportunity to take out the white jade figurine Focalors had entrusted to him. He handed it to Furina and explained its origin.
When she learned it came from Focalors herself, Furina fell into rare silence. Slowly, her eyes began to redden.
Still, she fought back the tears and whispered softly,
"That sly woman… ever since she pushed me onto the stage, she's been hiding behind the curtains, making me believe in her… and now the next time I hear from her, it's another request for help… Ugh, she's so sly!"
Watching her struggle between frustration and sorrow, Nolan quietly stepped aside, giving her space. He went over to the resting All-Devouring Narwhal, gently treating its injuries.
It had, after all, taken four direct sword strikes — it deserved a little care now that it was under his control.
As he worked, the faint sound of soft sobbing echoed through the starlit space — the weeping of a lonely girl who could finally let her heart show.
(End of Chapter)
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