There was no need to worry about Fontaine grinding to a halt or suffering unbearable losses if all Fontainians were pulled into that space.
No matter how long the Fontainians spent in that space, only a moment would pass in the real world.
Moreover, even if an unbearable disaster were to occur, Jiang Mumu would sort it out for them.
As for the consequences of revealing this matter... whether it would interfere with the Prophecy... whether it would be impossible to deceive the Heavenly Principles...
Once the procedural sequence was complete, the Heavenly Principles wouldn't intervene.
The Heavenly Principles had essentially gone offline. Teyvat, the grand System, was now operating according to its own programming. Once the Prophecy's sequence reached its conclusion, that would be that. Would the Heavenly Principles really bother to come back and audit the accounts?
Fidelle already had a plan for executing the sequence.
Even if everything else failed, there was always Jiang Mumu...
Joke's on them! If Jiang Mumu could turn Teyvat into such a mess, could a mere Prophecy really pose a greater threat than the Abyss?
In short, there would be no significant consequences. They could go wild and make a mess to their heart's content.
-
At the execution site,
"You..."
Neuvillette stared in astonishment at the person before him, who looked exactly like Furina.
"Pfft... hahahahaha..."
Focalors clutched her stomach, laughing heartily for several moments before finally saying, "...My apologies. I simply couldn't help but laugh at your shocked expression. It slipped out without me realizing."
Neuvillette: "You're not Furina... Who exactly are you?"
Focalors: "Hmm, your shock proves I've successfully deceived you all. Isn't it obvious? I am the Hydro Archon Focalors, after all."
-
The Fontainians watching the scene unfold held their breath. The person standing face-to-face with Neuvillette... could it actually be Focalors, the God of Fontaine?!
Then Lady Furina... wait, Lady Furina isn't a god! This is the true deity!
Yet, staring at Focalors, who was identical to Furina, they couldn't convince themselves that the two had no connection.
Not only did they look exactly alike, but their voices were identical, down to the subtle, unique inflections in their speech!
What exactly is going on here?
In the space where Wriothesley found himself, he had been investigating since his arrival, ultimately determining that only his consciousness had been transported.
Wriothesley was unaware of the events unfolding at the Opera House. Before arriving here, he had been fine-tuning the massive ship beneath the Fortress of Meropide.
Now, captivated by the spectacle before him, he turned his full attention forward.
-
At the execution site:
"Hydro Archon Focalors... why did you deceive us?" Neuvillette asked, voicing the question lingering in the minds of everyone watching. Wriothesley and Clorinde silently gave him mental approval.
"Oh, of course. My true intention wasn't to deceive you all. The one I truly needed to deceive... was the Heavenly Principles themselves."
Neuvillette: "Deceive the Heavenly Principles..."
Focalors: "That prophecy, you know? The one that's been causing so much trouble, right? Everyone dissolving, Fontaine being submerged... When my predecessor as Hydro Archon, Egeria, entrusted this Prophecy to me, even I thought... This is hopeless, isn't it?"
"She knew perfectly well that the prophesied events were inevitable. As one of the Seven Archons of Teyvat, she also understood that the Heavenly Principles... are an enemy you cannot oppose."
Focalors approached Neuvillette, continuing, "This was an utterly unsolvable problem, wouldn't you agree?"
Neuvillette remained silent, offering no response.
Focalors: "I secluded myself deep beneath the sea, pondering in silence for ages, until even the clams around me began to bubble. Only then did I arrive at the singular answer."
"Only by deceiving the Heavenly Principles could I save everyone when the Prophecy came to pass. Hmph, I truly am a genius! That's probably why Egeria chose me as her successor."
"So, in one fell swoop, she entrusted me with the task of saving this nation, the duties of the Hydro Archon, and even the original sin of 'creating humanity.'"
"Sigh... there's nothing to be done about it. After all, I was one of her many Oceanids."
Neuvillette: "In other words, you were once an Oceanid transformed into a human by Egeria's hand?"
Focalors: "Indeed. Becoming human has always been my dream, even now. To me, humanity's very existence is a magnificent opera."
"After becoming a god, I separated my Divinity from my body and spirit, leaving only a self as pure and newly created as a newborn human."
"The being before you now is that Divinity. As for my human self, I named her Furina."
"She experiences joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure. Arrogant when she should be, cowardly when she should be... Her virtues are uniquely human, and her flaws are equally human."
"Yet, in my eyes, Furina is the perfect 'human.' Because she is exactly like real humans, she is the idealized 'self' I always aspired to be."
"Then, I cursed her. All to execute the plan to 'deceive the Heavenly Principles.'"
"Do you remember the final scene on the plates? The Hydro Archon, utterly alone, weeping upon her Divine Throne."
"To make the Prophecy appear to come true, I invited Furina, an actress, to play the Hydro Archon as foretold. Under my Curse, as long as my Divinity persisted, Furina would never die, yet she would never experience human happiness either."
"She would be forced to use this Opera House as her stage, becoming its true leading lady, forever acting out the role of a God to make the Prophecy seem fulfilled."
Focalors turned to face Neuvillette. "Now you understand why your Tribunal is called the Opera Epiclese, don't you?"
Neuvillette's emotions surged at Focalors' words:
"...But Furina is still ultimately human. Even with her extended lifespan, her mental fortitude remains at a human level."
"For her... what excruciating torment this must be."
"Indeed," Focalors replied. "Though Furina is the human aspect of myself, if I ever have the chance, I will make sure to apologize to me properly."
"For her, these five hundred years... have been an incomparably long, utterly lonely, and excruciatingly painful... opera."
Esmonna was a clerk at the Palais Mermonia, where she frequently saw Furina. She was also one of Furina's most devoted fans.
In this space, her appearance was drastically different from her usual self. Her glasses had slid down to the tip of her nose, forgotten to be adjusted, and her mouth hung open wide enough to fit a Bulle Fruit.
"The Prophecy... is part of the Plan?!"
Her worldview shattered.
"Lady Furina... Lady Furina has endured this for five hundred years? Playing the role of a god in solitude and despair, unable to confide in anyone?"
She recalled the occasional glimpses of fatigue and bottomless sadness in Furina's eyes at the Palais Mermonia. She had once mistaken them for the inscrutable depths of a divine being, only now realizing they were the crushing burdens of a mortal soul.
"We... we worked right beside her... yet we never truly 'saw' her..."