In the Player World, in streamer Chen Xiyao's live stream:
"This quest... it's been a real emotional rollercoaster," Chen Xiyao said, her eyes red-rimmed from repeatedly replenishing her Hydro Element.
Suddenly, she clapped a hand over her mouth. "Wait... this flashback! Fidelle stayed up all night trying to perfect that bitter melon recipe—48 times!—just to get Furina to take one more bite? This isn't just a master-servant relationship. This is a secret love she's pouring her heart into!"
[ She truly loves Furina so much! ]
[ Fidelle's gaze toward Furina is practically dripping with affection! ]
[ The Furina-only stans are in meltdown! "Where's the promised career arc? The writers are forcing us to ship this!" ]
[ The roses belong to Navia, the scales to Neuvillette, and the tears to the Fontainians, but the light can only belong to Fidelle! ]
"I'm losing it, Chat! The way Fidelle silently hands over the warm milk tea is so reassuring. And she even drew little flowers! Though they're kinda ugly..."
"I unilaterally declare this the strongest bond in the current version! The Abyss wants to snatch Fidelle's soul? They'll have to go through my 40-meter blade first—I'm the ship leader here!"
The comments flooded in, ranging from:
[ How to Turn an End-of-the-World Prophecy Film into a Redemptive Love Story ]
[ Mihoyo: Blades sharpened. Please weld your souls together before we cut you down. ]
[ I swear, the person above me is not human! ]
[ For Furina, Fidelle truly is the first ray of light she's seen in centuries. Fidelle possesses a Pure Soul, and I... I can't even imagine how utterly shattered Furina would be if Fidelle died before her eyes in the end. ]
[ That strange-looking fellow, that giant whale clearly affiliated with the Abyss Faction... ]
[ Hexenzirkel: Fear not, children! We will intervene! ]
[ I can't say for sure about other things, but Alice is absolutely fuming right now. Anyone can see how deep Klee's bond with Rola runs, and Alice is the ultimate doting mother. Let's just say... those who know, know. ]
-
As the final scene played out, the players were completely numb.
[ She... she didn't say it... she still didn't say it in the end! ! ! ]
[ They were so close... the Traveler was her last hope... yet she still treated it as a test, an ultimate trial to prove the perfection of her performance! ]
[ She flawlessly played the role of 'Archon Furina' once again! ]
[ She's still acting! ]
[ 182,378 scenes... my defenses have been shattered! ]
[ That number feels too heavy... it's unimaginable for a rookie college student like me. ]
The camera zoomed in, freezing on Furina's flawless yet heart-wrenchingly hollow "divine" smile. The music shifted to a somber and tragic final movement.
[ Salute! ]
[ Greatness needs no further words! ]
-
[ Teyvat, the Execution Site. ]
Neuvillette: So, even Furina never knew the truth? You never revealed your complete plan to her?
Focalors: That's right. To deceive the Heavenly Principles, one must first deceive oneself. She was truly remarkable. For five hundred years, any lapse in her will would have doomed Fontaine to its worst possible fate.
"Yes, believing in humanity was indeed the right choice."
Neuvillette: Up to this point, I can understand how you deceived the Heavenly Principles. But this only seems to be half the truth.
"The crucial question remains: how exactly did you intend to save the Fontainians from the prophecy?"
Focalors: Excellent. The logic of Fontaine's Chief Justice is as sharp as ever. You must have long suspected that the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale wasn't as simple as it appeared, correct?
Focalors explained to Neuvillette, Lumine, and all of Fontaine.
Long before everything began, she had merged the Gnosis with the Oratrice. She revealed that the Oratrice was not merely a machine for dispensing justice, but rather a machine designed to kill the God of Justice.
Neuvillette: ...What?!
Focalors: Oh, no, to be precise, it's a machine that would destroy the God of Justice along with her Divine Throne.
Everyone who witnessed this scene felt their hearts skip a beat.
Was the Oratrice a machine designed to kill gods?
The Knave's hand clenched tightly, her eyes briefly closing as her thoughts drifted back to the tea party she'd shared with Furina.
Back then, Furina had refused to answer her questions. The true purpose of the Indemnitium accumulated by the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale over five centuries now lay revealed:
To kill the Hydro Archon Focalors... and utterly destroy her Divine Throne.
But... why?
-
The Execution Site.
Focalors tilted her head slightly. "Heh, I'm not the kind of person who would watch Furina suffer while indulging in my own comfort."
"Over the past five hundred years, my work has been to continuously accumulate Indemnitium within the Oratrice. In fact, some have already noticed that only a small portion of the Indemnitium generated by the Oratrice is used to power the city of Fontaine."
"The vast majority of it has been stockpiled... for today's execution."
Focalors spoke casually, unaware of the shock her words sent through the crowd.
-
Wriothesley twirled the handcuff on his finger.
"To wager the Divine Throne and one's own life... admirable, but... before escaping from the Fortress of Meropide, every prisoner prepares a backup plan... What was hers?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Wriothesley answered himself: "This was a colossal gamble, Focalors. She never left herself any room for retreat. A god, a human... it truly defies belief!"
-
Clorinde stood ramrod straight, her body never wavering.
"Furina, in her mortal form, took the bullet of Fate, while Focalors... used the Divine Throne as a gun barrel, loading herself into the chamber."
In light of this, their Judgment of God seemed utterly absurd!
Furina and Focalors had taught her a profound lesson:
As a warrior who swore by the principles of "just duels," she had learned that sometimes, the most righteous "justice" must wield lies as its blade.
-
Neuvillette: "Today's trial and execution were indeed part of your plan..."
Focalors: "Over five centuries, I've accumulated enough energy to sustain the Fontaine citizens for a thousand or even ten thousand years, all stored within the Oratrice. But only this magnitude of energy could shake the rules established by Celestia and disrupt the established order of the Seven Archons of Teyvat—enough to destroy the Hydro Archon's Divine Throne."
As for why the Hydro Archon's Divine Throne needed to be destroyed, it was to return the Hydro Archon's Authority to the Hydro Elemental Dragon of this planet—Neuvillette himself.
"Back then... when I was invited to Fontaine to become the Chief Justice, that was your doing as well, wasn't it?"
Neuvillette's voice shifted slightly.
"I finally understand the true purpose of this position. Originally, I had no interest in humanity's existence, but these past five centuries of living among humans have gradually allowed me to understand them and attempt to empathize with their feelings..."
"You're truly cunning, Focalors."