The deepest floor of the Opéra Épiclèse—
A hidden place sealed off from all of Fontaine:
The central core of the Oratrice Mécanique d'Analyse Cardinale.
Inside the strange dimensional space,
Furina's true self—Focalors—
stood silently on the center stage,
her blue-and-white dress fluttering faintly in the still air,
her gaze fixed on the ethereal blue blade suspended above her head.
Suddenly—
A sharp glint flashed across its surface.
The blade visibly shrank, as if a bite had been taken from it.
"...This is…!?"
Focalors froze for a moment—
then her expression softened back into calm acceptance.
The faith-energy was shrinking.
Meaning someone was siphoning power directly from the Oratrice's core.
And she didn't need to guess who.
In a few breaths, the once-massive blade had shrunk to one-third its former size.
Focalors exhaled softly, half amused.
"He even left one-third of it behind…
Probably worried that draining everything at once would stop the Oratrice and plunge all of Fontaine into a blackout?"
—
Oratrice Core — Same Moment
The crimson, tree-branch-like structures slowly retracted from the pulsating energy cluster, sliding back into the rift of torn space.
Su Xuan closed his hand into a fist.
"…Yeah. I can feel the increase."
It wasn't much for someone like him.
A noticeable bump, but nothing that changed anything.
No surprise—
Focalors spent 500 years gathering this energy, using the same amount to power Fontaine's Compensation Energy Grid for half a millennium.
Even the remainder was only enough to shatter a God Seat.
Useful, yes—
but for him? Barely a garnish.
Still, waste not, want not.
The world blurred—
And Su Xuan materialized on the stage inside the mirror-realm.
Focalors's eyes lit up.
She hurried toward him barefoot, lowering her head in a polite bow.
"My apologies…
In my current state, I could not personally welcome you when you arrived in Fontaine."
Su Xuan looked her up and down.
Furina was bright and chaotic;
Focalors was calm, mature, eternally rational—
the perfect "Archon" on paper, yet condemned to never experience true humanity.
No wonder she envied her "other self."
"Leave the faith power gathered from now on," Su Xuan said, glancing briefly at the blade above.
"Once it accumulates enough, I'll return and collect it."
"I've already spoken with Furina. After today's trial, Fontaine's energy system will switch to Primal Wild Energy.
No more need to turn faith into fuel."
Focalors nodded gently.
If Su Xuan had absorbed her accumulated faith and halted her plan,
yet still came to Fontaine himself,
then he must have already given Furina another way to break the prophecy.
There was no need to ask.
She trusted him.
He had never broken a promise.
Seeing how cooperative she was, Su Xuan smiled.
"I've already created your new body, using Furina's genetic data as the base.
Once your consciousness returns to it, you'll be able to walk the world like a normal person."
"So," he extended a hand, "why don't you come with me and enjoy Furina's little trial?"
Focalors hesitated.
Of course she knew the real culprit.
As the hidden Archon, she saw everything that happened in Fontaine.
But Archons do not act as mortals do.
She could only observe—never personally intervene.
"For those innocent girls who died… I truly feel remorse."
Focalors lowered her head.
"If you deem me guilty, I will accept any punishment."
Su Xuan nearly laughed out loud.
"I'm no messenger of justice.
Fontaine's matters should be judged by Fontaine's people.
I won't interfere."
"As for you and Furina… that's between the three of us.
Don't worry.
Your punishment comes tonight."
Focalors blinked.
"…P-punishment?"
She felt like she understood…
and also didn't understand at all.
But if someone like him meant them harm,
he would never have bothered helping her come back to life.
So—
she chose not to dwell on it.
Though another doubt gnawed at her.
"All of this… was truly arranged by Celestia?"
"Without question," Su Xuan replied calmly.
"Mortal fate isn't something you can change.
You believed yourself clever—hiding here for 500 years, collecting faith in secret—
yet you couldn't stop the Whale's awakening."
Focalors stiffened.
"…Stop the Wh—?"
"Yes," Su Xuan said.
"Childe awakening the Whale was his destiny."
He raised a brow.
"But the irony?
When the chain of crimes happened, Childe wasn't even born."
Focalors stared, stunned.
"But the Oratrice judged him 'guilty' anyway, threw him into Meropide Prison, and he escaped into the Primordial Sea—
right into the Whale's jaws."
"That alone tells you how little control you truly had."
Focalors understood instantly.
She had never controlled the Oratrice.
It was Celestia's tool, not hers.
Su Xuan smiled softly.
"So stop worrying.
Just live the life you want—
now that fate no longer applies to you."
Opéra Épiclèse — The Courtroom
The hall was overflowing.
Even the aisles were packed with people sitting on steps.
Because today—
The culprit of the long-unsolved Serial Girl Disappearance Case
was finally going to trial.
"I heard the Hydro Archon solved the case herself!"
"No way—the Archon cracked it? After twenty years!?"
"As expected of Lady Focalors!"
High above, in the VIP gallery, Furina basked in the praises,
one hand on her hip, chin tilted,
her whole aura screaming:
"Fear me, mortals. I am glorious today."
Following Su Xuan really IS the best decision of her life.
Five hundred years of fake-Archon acting…
Five hundred years of walking on thin ice…
All of it had finally ended today.
And the glory?
Su Xuan gifted it all to her.
For a moment, Furina truly felt like—
She was the real Hydro Archon.
Paimon and Lumine glanced at her posture.
"…Lumine, is Furina out-foxing us at being a fox?"
"She is getting good at swaggering," Lumine admitted.
"…This is normal," Clorinde murmured quietly.
"She's always been like this."
Lumine: "…"
Paimon: "…"
Arrogant.
Absolutely arrogant.
But also strangely fitting.
Even Neuvillette, seated across the hall, frowned softly.
Hard to believe this unreliable woman
had solved a case that eluded Fontaine for nearly two decades.
He glanced at Lumine, Paimon… and the three Fatui Harbingers in the stands.
His heartbeat tightened.
Where was that man?
The true danger was the "Stellaris Legion Commander" from Snezhnaya,
the man whose strength shook even him:
Su Xuan.
As he scanned nervously, Furina's voice boomed:
"Regarding the culprit behind the Serial Girl Disappearances—
the mastermind is none other than—
Marcel, President of the Cabriere Company!"
Gasps filled the room.
Marcel felt his mind go blank.
Furina continued, chin lifted high:
"Clorinde.
Present the experimental reports we have gathered to the Chief Justice."
Clorinde stepped forward, handing the files to Neuvillette.
Marcel paled.
Impossible.
His lab was hidden deep underwater—
no one could have found it.
But Neuvillette's brow only furrowed more deeply as he read.
Yet he still spoke cautiously:
"These documents describe a man named Vasher and a woman named Vinet—adventurers who vowed to name their future child 'Marcel.'
However…
without evidence linking the defendant to Vasher, these writings alone cannot convict him."
He looked at Furina with genuine concern.
"Lady Furina.
Are you absolutely certain you wish to accuse Marcel?
If your claim proves false, you may face charges of false testimony."
He prayed she would show restraint.
But Furina smirked.
Confident.
Smug.
Overflowing with borrowed authority.
"I am completely certain, Neuvillette.
Because he is Vasher."
Her eyes locked onto Marcel, who trembled violently.
"And Vinet told me the truth herself."
Marcel's pupils shrank.
Furina's inner voice:
Hmph!
This is the power of following Su Xuan!
Today you won't even get the chance to defend yourself!
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