"Now that we've come this far... you know I can no longer deliver a guilty verdict, don't you?"
The blue Claymore hovering above Focalors' head began to spin, energy surging from within. The motion drew the attention of everyone present.
"Oh dear, it seems the time for my execution is drawing near. As a sinner, I should prepare for my final bow."
"Though I speak lightly, facing death still stirs a flicker of fear. Perhaps this is the rare common ground between gods and humans."
Focalors took a few barefoot steps forward, smiling faintly.
"Farewell, Neuvillette. I hope you've enjoyed your five-hundred-year role in this drama."
Her smile seemed to convey to Neuvillette: My path has reached its end.
Neuvillette looked up, opening his mouth to speak, but found himself at a loss for words.
As the gentle strains of the Fontaine Dance flowed through the theater, Focalors gracefully extended her hand, her slender fingers curving slightly.
Her body spun with the lightness of wind, her skirt billowing out like a deep blue water lily suddenly blooming under the moonlight. With each turn, her garments scattered shimmering motes of light, as if her divinity were silently dispersing, returning to nothingness.
Focalors' dance was breathtaking. The moment she extended her hand, the stage darkened, leaving only a single spotlight focused on her. As the spotlight focused on her, Focalors transformed into Furina.
Furina's dance was equally exquisite, as if Focalors had simply changed her costume.
The two figures slowly transitioned between two starkly contrasting scenes: Focalors bathed in the stage's radiant glow, and Furina alone in the spotlight's stark glare. This was their final dance, offered to Neuvillette and all the people of Fontaine.
-
Lumine sat in the audience, craning her neck to watch Focalors and Furina's performance on stage.
Her small mouth hung slightly open, her eyes wide with shock—a mixture of awe at Focalors' meticulously crafted plan and admiration for Furina's unwavering five-hundred-year vigil.
-
The Fontainians and Melusine alike were speechless, or rather, at that moment, no one would dare interrupt Focalors and "Furina" as they performed their Final Dance on stage.
They watched in silence, tears streaming down their faces, their hearts shaken by an unprecedented tremor.
The truth, it turned out, was far more cruel than they could ever have imagined, so unbearable that they refused to believe it.
-
Onstage, the final dance steps were nearing their climax. The figure onstage transformed into Focalors, her arms slightly outstretched and her head turned to the right.
The massive blue claymore suspended above Focalors' head gleamed with its characteristic razor-sharp edge. To the shock of everyone watching, it plummeted downward with a thunderous crash.
Amidst the chaos, no one noticed the blue claymore trembling slightly, its descent deviating from its intended path.
Neuvillette instinctively took a step forward, reaching out his hand, but how could he possibly stop the descending blade?
Boom!
Darkness engulfed the crowd's vision. Under the spotlight, only Furina's hat lay on the ground, a silent testament to Focalors' fate.
The moment Furina's hat fell marked the instant all Fontainians' consciousness was ejected from the shared space.
Those who had been weeping and collapsing in that shared space were suddenly thrust back into reality, to the moment before their minds had been pulled into the shared space.
"No!!"
"Lady Focalors, Lady Furina... waahhh..."
Charlotte reappeared in Fountain Plaza, her face streaked with tears. "I... what is this?"
She quickly scanned her surroundings, realizing everyone was in the same state as her.
Everyone... had entered that shared space, witnessed everything!
Rumble—
Within seconds, dark clouds swarmed across Fontaine's sky, thunder echoing as if night had fallen in an instant.
Swoosh—
The heaviest downpour in Fontaine's history descended without warning, accompanied by rolling thunder. Some of the more timid Fontainians were paralyzed with fear.
-
Standing in the rain, the Knave tilted her head back, gazing at the sky. Rainwater streamed down, and she closed her eyes, letting the droplets lash her face.
"Chief Justice Neuvillette... the Hydro Dragon Sovereign of Fontaine, must have reclaimed his Authority of the Ancient Dragons by now..."
A Fatui soldier rushed up to her.
"Lady Knave, just now—"
"Bury it all deep within you. I won't allow anyone to speak of this!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
The Knave didn't know why they could see it, but it was precisely because of this uncertainty that she insisted on taking these measures, even if they proved futile.
If her own people could witness it, then the Fontainians likely could too.
As for certain individuals in Fontaine, the Knave harbored no illusions about their adherence to rules.
Focalors had woven this five-hundred-year Lie to deceive the Heavenly Principles. If this incident were to completely unravel her plans...
-
Fortress of Meropide.
"Duke!"
Wriothesley, his eyes bloodshot, barked coldly, "Use the broadcast system to notify everyone: strict prohibition on discussing what they just witnessed! Move!"
He clenched his right fist and slammed it violently against the steel pillar beside him.
"Everyone, pick up the pace! The Primordial Sea is coming!"
-
Inside the Opera House.
A line of text suddenly appeared before Furina's eyes:
You've endured so much, Furina. Please live a happy life as a human, just as I envisioned.
After reading these words, the tears that had been welling in her eyes surged forth once more, overwhelming her completely.
She knew then that The Me in the Mirror was dead.
-
At the Execution Site, Neuvillette, now wielding the Authority of the Ancient Dragons, burst forth from the Opera House's highest point and soared into the sky.
His heavy, labored breathing mirrored the torrential rainstorm raging around him, a tempestuous reflection of his inner turmoil.
The two blue ornaments atop his head now glowed with an ethereal azure light.
"I, Chief Justice Neuvillette, hereby declare..."
Neuvillette extended his left hand, and a vast, blue energy coalesced within his palm. "I will absolve all Fontainians of their sins."
A colossal column of blue water surged skyward, then fragmented into countless droplets. These droplets mingled with the ordinary rain before cascading back to earth.
High above Fontaine, only Neuvillette's solitary figure remained...
-
The Execution Site hadn't yet dissipated.
Focalors' consciousness returned.
"Hmm?"
When the execution came, she felt no discomfort, as if she had merely fainted. When she opened her eyes again, she found herself in this place.
Puzzled, Focalors wondered: Am I dead or not?
Even a God couldn't know what awaited after death. But the vast, white expanse around her... it hardly matched her imagined afterlife.
A heavy, ragged breathing suddenly reached Focalors' ears, and she snapped her head up.
Before the Trial's execution, no one had noticed—not even Focalors or Neuvillette—a hidden corner.
Here, Fidelle's soul was radiating its sacred light with all its might, in a way so subtle that perhaps only the Abyss could sense it, like igniting herself before the Abyss.