"He went out beyond the world to release the Star-Swallowing Whale." Focalors' voice was barely a whisper.
That the Keeper of Fate had brought Su Xuan the seven God-seats and the inner workings of the False Heaven's Fate System made the Keeper's stance clear. Still—that presence was the foremost authority beneath Heaven, the one above the Seven Regentes. Standing before such an envoy, Focalors had no footing at all.
Neuvillette kept vigil, every sense taut. The Keeper of Fate was not a mere official: the Keeper's closest retinue had once stood with the Primordial against the seven first-generation elemental Dragon Kings. Those dragon kings, in their fully-realized forms, had been titans even then. Neuvillette knew all too well that, alone and unrecovered, he was no match for the Keeper's might.
The Keeper's aim for this visit seemed straightforward: meet Su Xuan. Neuvillette pretended indifference and said nothing.
"He's back now. He's here in Fontaine." The Keeper's tone was cool; her golden eyes never left Focalors.
Since Su Xuan had pinned the Thunder-Candle in Inazuma, the Keeper had been watching him from the heights. What surprised her was how absurdly powerful this newcomer from outside the universe was—so much so that Suolterochi's cosmic swagger mattered little in comparison. A new arrival like this would shift the world's balance. The Keeper's long observations suggested Su Xuan did not care to manage nations—and yet, somehow, the actual rulers of the nations were tied to him. In blunt terms: Su Xuan claimed indifference, but Teyvat had already become his.
"Enough talk. Take me to him." The Keeper's words were almost an order to Focalors.
Focalors sighed, helpless, and followed her. Once the red tear in space closed behind them, Neuvillette let out a long breath. "What kind of man is he, that even those who usurp Heaven bend toward him?" he murmured. Whatever Su Xuan truly was, he was more terrifying than Focalors had described. Neuvillette resolved to keep doing his job: find the prophecy tablet and question the nobles tied to Masselle. And perhaps give Furina a heads-up—if nobles were to be tried, Furina would no doubt put on a show. After all, she now had backup.
——
The Palais's corridor thrummed with people. Arlecchino, steward of the Hearth-House, had found Su Xuan a quiet suite within her influence. Moments later a space tore open there and two figures stepped through, one behind the other.
"Keeper, this is Su Xuan's lodgings," Focalors said politely.
The Keeper inclined her head. "I feel a strange power from within. If I'm right, it's a psychokinetic barrier of the sort Su Xuan used while staying in Liyue." That was the root of the Keeper's curiosity: her celestial sight could study almost anything, but it could not pierce a psychokinetic field. Even the Archon of the Sky—holder of spatial authority—couldn't casually jump through that kind of barrier. Only by experience did the Keeper realize how extraordinary Su Xuan's private defenses were.
The great door, which had been sealed, slid open. A luminous seal shimmered across the threshold.
"See?" the Keeper said with an almost satisfied expression. Focalors forced a smile; what could she say? The Keeper was simply right.
The Keeper's eyes flicked to the shimmer that now adorned their own arms. "When he lived in Liyue, visitors had to display this same glow to enter his mansion. Even now, as he maintains transit through Liyue for nations, the rule remains. Yet the Diary-copy holders of those countries can cast psychokinesis themselves." The Keeper spread her arms and watched the light ripple across her skin. "He allowed us entry. Let's go, Focalors."
Focalors followed without argument. The suite was empty save for a single peculiar teapot on the table.
The Keeper's golden gaze sharpened. "A Liyue Serenitea Pot. He's in the Realm."
She examined the space — the Pot held no defensive runs. "He likely found the room less comfortable than his Pot, and simply went inside." Focalors's eyes widened. The Keeper's knowledge of Su Xuan ran far deeper than she expected; the Keeper's long watchfulness had mapped him like a worm in another's belly.
Before they could decide whether to enter the Pot, both bodies were suddenly pulled as if by a strong tide. They blinked once and found themselves inside the pot's Realm — a bright, roomy onsen resort. Steaming pools lined the hall. And by the doorway, wrapped in a white robe, Furina (Focalors' outward persona) was pressed cheek-first to the frame like a guilty child trying to eavesdrop.
"What on—" the Keeper's gaze drooped; she looked mildly at a loss.
Focalors sighed inwardly. Of course Furina would be doing something foolish. She approached the door and whispered the situation. Furina explained, breathlessly: Su Xuan had proposed a game. If Furina, Navia, and Clorinde all lost, Su Xuan would revert the Fontaine people back to mimetic water-folk.
Clorinde — Fontaine's dueling proxy — was the first to enter. Soon Furina heard Clorinde's howls from within and frantic pleas to Su Xuan. Navia went in next and the same noises echoed; but at some last moment Navia suddenly burst into rapturous praise and declared she would forever be Su Xuan's energy receptor. Then — silence.
Furina crouched like a child, half horrified, half thrilled. "What do I do? I'm next!" she fretted, pacing like an ant on a hot pan.
At that description, both Focalors and the Keeper froze. The battle inside was not a spectacle of blows; it was something far more intimate and dangerous. Yet within a single, naive outline from Furina they immediately saw how fierce the challenge had been.
Focalors could not help but laugh. "Furina, he's teasing you. He saved Fontaine; he won't turn them back. But he really does like your temperament — so he likes to pull your leg."
Furina's shoulders slumped in relief. "So it was all play?" she stammered, feeling foolish and yet oddly triumphant. She was nearly scolded by embarrassment, then curious: "How did you get inside? And—who are you, exactly?" Her eyes landed on the Keeper; the gold stare made her tremble.
"I am the one you shouted would judge even the High Heavens in front of the Tribunal." The Keeper's tone was flat.
Furina's face went blank. "W-what? You're from the Sky-Isles? The—Heavens?" She stammered.
"Keeper of Fate," the woman corrected. Furina's response was to bolt — straight toward Su Xuan's Pot-room — shrieking, "Su Xuan! Big trouble — the Fate-keeper has come!" Focalors and the Keeper sighed in tandem.
The Keeper pinched the bridge of her nose. "Is this truly your humanity, Focalors?" she muttered.
Focalors rolled her eyes. "Of course — it's precisely because she's human that she feels fear."
Furina reached the door only to have it swing open. Su Xuan stepped out, still in his robe. Furina immediately dove behind him and pointed at the Keeper with accusing eyes. "Su Xuan — the Keeper's come. She's kidnapped Focalors! Save me!"
The Keeper blinked. Su Xuan just regarded her quietly. Furina's small hands gripped the hem of his robe; for a moment, clutching him calmed her down. She stole a glance into the room — and froze, mouth forming a perfect "O."
Two great toads? One lying flat, the other perched… No, not toads: Clorinde and Navia — in disheveled, compromising states. Furina could not tear her gaze away. Before she could process more, shimmering light drew her attention: a floating diary-copy hovered near them, displaying an image: [The Keeper of Fate.jpg].
[That truly gave me a fright just now.] the diary's caption read. [Furina was screaming this afternoon at the Opéra Épiclèse: "I'll judge even the High Heavens!" Then she was shrieking for help. I came out and found—the Keeper of Fate had come knocking.]
A burst of laughter echoed among the onlookers. The faux-goddess who had shouted to judge Heaven had indeed called the highest official down. The idea was deliciously absurd.
The Keeper studied the diary floating before her, reading Furina's little drama. She peered at Su Xuan, then to the camp of maidens huddled around. The Keeper shifted into caution. Before she could speak, Su Xuan interrupted with a lazy smile.
"I didn't expect Furina to call you down." He tilted his head. "I don't care why you've come, but your arrival interrupted the final duel between her and me. Since that's the case—let you stand in for her."
The Keeper blinked in disbelief. She had interrupted the duel? After Su Xuan had given her the privilege to breach the psychokinetic barrier and allowed her into the Serenitea Pot, she was accused of intrusion? The contradiction made the Keeper speechless.
And the Keeper, grand as she was, could not fathom being used as a stand-in for a child's pantomime. Yet there was Su Xuan, smiling as if nothing were amiss — as if reason needed to bend to him.
"Really?" the Keeper said finally, very still.
Su Xuan's smile didn't change. "Yes. You came and you'll fill in. Play my game."
The Keeper's composure flickered just once — an almost amused annoyance — before she accepted the strange, small theater the man insisted upon.
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