Odile
"How the fuck did anyone even find this place?" Thierry's voice echoed down the empty hallway, but neither of them knew the answer.
The base had been carefully chosen for its naturally hidden area and for being outright impossible to find unless you knew where to go.
"And they tore through all of our men in a few hours?" He said, stepping over a severed arm.
"Another thing I noticed," Gaspard said without looking back. "The front door wasn't forced open. Somebody opened it from the inside."
Great, now they had to deal with a rat.
They were greeted by a more jarring sight the further they went in. A few dead rogues lay on the ground, and strangely enough, the entire area was soaked in water.
"Remember what they told us. This guy has a few tricks."
She had. The ones that had run were outright terrified of a man who could submerge into the shadows and come up out of your own. That's why she kept a small flame lit on the palm of her hand, bright enough to erase most of the shadows around them.
"And the other one?" Odile asked.
"A marksman who looked a lot like Lady Furina. Got one hell of an aim too."
Thierry laughed. "Since when does an Archon need a gun?"
But Gaspard didn't share his amusement. "She doesn't. If a god really was down here, we'd already be dead."
None of them argued with that. It was probably just some rando in a costume. It wouldn't be the strangest thing she saw in Fontaine.
While they were a little worried about the man who almost single-handedly took down their base, he had to be worn out by now. With the three of them fighting together, Odile was confident of their victory.
As they walked further, they saw that most of the lights in this section had been destroyed on purpose.
"Is it just me, or is it getting colder?" Thierry rubbed at his arms.
"You're the one with a Cryo Vision," Gaspard said.
"Fuck off. I'm serious."
Something moved up ahead.
"Heads up!"
All three of them stopped. Gaspard shouldered his rifle, and Thierry drew his hatchets, frost crawling over the edges.
Odile pushed more fire into her palm until the light reached the end of the hallway, only to see—
A small, fluffy rabbit.
"…The fuck?" Thierry said.
It sat down in the middle of the floor, watching them with a blank look.
'Why would there be a rabbit in—WHAT THE FUCK?!'
The single rabbit suddenly multiplied in the blink of an eye, filling the hallway with hundreds of fluffy forms that charged in their direction.
"RUN!"
But before they could, a bright green light flashed through the hallway.
BOOM.
The rabbits exploded into a burst of Anemo that hit her in the back and sent them all flying down the hallway.
The gust caught the flame in her hand and swirled it around all three, singeing them before the fire went out.
"AUGH!" Odile hit the floor and rolled until a wall stopped her.
The hallway went pitch black.
"ODILE! LIGHT!"
'Shit! Shit! Shit!' She scrambled to create a large enough flame, but she was still dazed from the large explosion.
CLANG.
Thierry's hatchets sparked against something slashing down at him. In that split second of light, Odile saw claws.
"Finally!" She got a big enough flame going and threw orbs of Pyro around, lighting up the hallway.
"The fuck is that?!"
A wolf stood over Thierry. Its claws pressed down on his crossed hatchets.
'A few tricks, my ass!'
Thierry shoved the claws away and slammed a hatchet into the floor. Ice exploded upward and locked half the wolf's body in place.
It tore free a second later, the beast not looking slightly fazed by the attack.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
Gaspard put three Electro-infused rounds into its chest, making the creature shout in pain and bleed red.
But it was still fighting.
"This thing is tough!"
Odile readied her daggers and locked onto the beast's legs.
But the wolf melted into the floor before she could.
"Watch your backs!"
A howl echoed from further down the hallway. Then another came from behind them, taunting them.
"This fucker is playing with us!" Thierry shouted in rage.
Odile kept a calm mind, trying to locate where the beast could be—!
"Yo."
The voice came from right behind Gaspard.
He spun on reflex and fired.
BANG.
For half a second, her flame caught the face of a young man grinning.
And his head submerged into the shadows beneath them.
"We got our guy!"
/ — /
Ren
'Holy shit, that was close,' Ren thought inside the shadows.
He felt Electro charge up in the man's gun and sank on instinct. Even then, the shot took a few strands of his hair.
'Dealing with bullets up close is always a pain in the ass.'
He expanded his senses to the people above, aware of their frantic movements as they tried to find him.
From the looks of it, the one who shot him had the usual gun and sword combo, while the girl had daggers, and the other guy had hatchets.
The worst part was that they all had Visions.
'Fantastic…' Individually, these guys weren't as strong as Solenne, but not too far from her level either. The Electro one was the closest. Taking on three of them at the same time would be annoying.
Especially with only one element.
'Damn you, Rose!'
But he'd work with what he got.
The first step: separating his prey and taking out the weakest first.
He emerged at the end of the hallway and made a hand sign.
'Rabbit Escape.'
Hundreds of rabbits swarmed the three rogues again, forcing them to defend. But this time only a select few exploded, sending out winds to Thierry and Gaspard to push them away, leaving Odile behind.
But Ren wouldn't leave the other two unattended.
'Totality, get them.'
At the same time as he charged at Odile, Totality emerged from the shadows afar and engaged the two rogues in a fight.
CLANG.
"You're pretty fast! Haha!" Ren laughed as his sword clashed with Odile's daggers. She didn't say anything back, just glared at him.
"Geez, not much of a talker, are you—Woah!"
Her daggers lit up in flames, forcing him to jump back. But she wasn't one to waste the opening and charged at him.
Sparks flew as his blade met hers, and Ren found it surprisingly difficult to block all her attacks.
Her shorter blades meant she had to get in close, so she made up for it with sheer speed, using the enclosed space to jump from wall to wall.
Ren tracked her with his eyes, using his senses in tandem to predict where she would go until—
'Behind!'
Odile was right in the middle of rushing at him, her blades pointed at his neck.
Seeing him notice her, she was about to prepare for another block and try for another opening.
But he wouldn't give her that chance.
Just as her foot landed on the ground, Toad's tongue emerged from the shadow, wrapping around her ankle.
"Huh?!" The sudden stop of momentum threw her off balance, and Ren was already in front of her before she could adjust.
He made Toad pull her entire body down, sending her face straight into his knee. His kick threw her to the wall, and he slashed at her the instant after.
She moved her head away in time, lighting her daggers with Pyro and sending a burst of fire into his face.
But he was prepared for that.
'Extension Technique: Rabbit Escape!'
Using Anemo to overpower her Pyro, he sent her own flames into her face, making her scream in pain as she was burned.
Sure enough, she stopped releasing her fire, leaving her open to his attack. She dodged his slash, but not fast enough and was cut on the shoulder.
She retaliated by throwing one of her daggers at him. He was about to just strike it away with his sword, only for the dagger to glow right in front of him.
'Shit.'
BOOM.
The explosion sent him crashing into a wall, but he didn't stay put for long as Odile pointed a gun at him.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
He dodged the bullets while cursing out loud. He still wasn't on the level to dodge bullets easily, but predicting where she was going to shoot from her aim was much easier than looking at the bullets directly.
Still, her little explosion pissed him off.
'Rabbit Escape.'
Around a dozen rabbits emerged from beneath her and exploded before she could react, sending her into the ceiling.
Ren jumped just as she was about to fall and drove his sword straight through her stomach before she could dodge.
She coughed blood onto his face, looking at him with fear in her eyes.
All the while, he had the biggest grin on his face.
"Odile!"
A shout came from his side, and Ren pulled his sword out to dodge before a wave of ice could hit him.
'They're here?' Ren couldn't help but think. 'Did they—No, I can still sense Totality… I see. This guy must have trapped it in ice.'
He dismissed the fusion quickly before summoning it back next to him. The rogues had done a number on it, blood pouring out of bullet wounds and gashes all over its body.
"Dammit, he can just bring that thing back?" Gaspard snarled.
Thierry helped Odile back to her feet. Even with a hole in her stomach, she forced herself to keep fighting.
Ren looked at Totality with worry. He could sense that the fusion could still fight for a while, but losing another fusion wasn't something he wanted to risk, so he dismissed it into his shadows.
"The wolf's gone!" Gaspard grinned. "He's getting tired! PUSH HIM!"
'Not even close.'
He used Anemo to dodge another wave of ice and then submerged into the shadows, emerging behind the three and releasing another wave of Rabbit Escape.
This time, he went with the swarm, hiding in the countless rabbits and emerging in front of Thierry.
His ice was dangerous in an enclosed space, so he needed to take him out quickly.
Using one hand, he created a partial summon of Divine Dog. The fluid body was made of shadows and tore at Thierry's body.
"What the fuck is this?!"
Ren wasted no time and rushed in, slicing the man's left arm clean off. The man shouted in pain, and Ren was about to go in to finish the job when he sensed a spike of elemental energy behind him.
He snapped his head around to see Gaspard's gun pointed at him, but instead of just Electro, it was also imbued with Pyro from Odile.
The two of them sent him a shit-eating grin before the entire hallway erupted.
BOOM.
Ren was able to make a barrier with Anemo just before the explosion hit. But it still sent him flying back.
Forcing himself to find his balance, he saw Thierry right in front of him and parried a slash from his hatchet. Even with one arm, the man was still so persistent.
'I need to get distance. I can't deal with the three of them like this—' His leg was covered in ice. 'Shit.'
He turned his body just in time to block another strike from Thierry, the man grinning at him.
Then a loud click echoed through the hallway.
Ren's blood went cold as he saw Gaspard fire another bullet straight at him.
BANG.
'I need to push this fucker away before—!'
"UGH!"
SHING.
A blur moved past him, slamming into Thierry and pushing him aside before slashing the bullet that was about to take Ren's dome off.
He turned to thank his saviour, thinking Furina had called backup, only for his face to sour immediately.
His saviour had a wide grin at his look. "Surprised to see me, brat?"
It was Solenne.
"What the fuck are you doing here?!"
/ — /
"Later! Use an element!" Solenne swung her Hydro-infused sword in a wide arc at the rogues, sending a wave of water that crashed down the hallway.
"Fine!" Ren tore his leg out of the ice and threw his hand forward.
'Extension Technique: Rabbit Escape!'
A large burst of Anemo slammed into the back of her wave and tore it into a massive Hydro Swirl that roared toward the rogues.
But Thierry was ready for it.
He slammed his one remaining hatchet into the floor, and frost raced up into the Swirl. In the blink of an eye, the entire attack froze solid.
A thick wall of ice now stood between them and the rogues. What was left of her wave sloshed back around their ankles.
"NICE TRY, FUCKER!" Thierry's voice came muffled from the other side.
"What an annoying voice." Solenne cursed and raised her sword again. "That won't hold for long. When I give the signal, break it, and we go straight for the…"
She stopped.
The tip of Ren's sword was resting against her neck.
"…Really?"
"Why are you helping me?"
"You're welcome, by the way."
"And why aren't you in jail?" Ren didn't move his sword an inch. "Last time I saw you, you were in the hands of the Fatui."
"I saved you just a few seconds ago, and this is how you say thanks? If I wanted you dead, I would have left you be."
"For all I know, that's part of your plan."
"Part of—" Her grip tightened around her sword. "USE THAT HEAD OF YOURS, YOU IDIOT!"
"You have a lot of attitude for someone with a blade on their neck." He was more than happy to finish the job he couldn't back at the mansion.
But Solenne just let out a long sigh.
"I was undercover, you idiot."
Ren froze.
…
He looked at her to see if she was messing with him.
She stared back with a flat expression.
She was dead serious.
A pit of dread formed in his stomach, and his face went white. 'If she was undercover, then how many of the people I killed were…'
He looked back up at her, knowing there was a possibility that she was lying.
But considering she really did help him—not that he needed it—made him doubt that she was.
Did he really, could he have killed someone innocent—
"Relax," she said, noticing the look on his face. "I was the only one undercover. You didn't kill anyone who didn't deserve it."
Ren let out a breath, but still held his glare.
"…I still don't trust you."
Solenne rolled her eyes.
He pulled his sword away and stepped into place right next to her. With a quick swipe, he flicked the blood off his blade and onto the floor.
"Ready?"
"Keep up, brat."
Ren bit back an insult and raised his free hand. Anemo gathered in his palm, and he compressed it tighter and tighter until it was a spinning ball no bigger than his fist.
Then he let it fly.
CRACK.
The ball drilled straight through the wall of ice and blew it apart from the inside.
On the other side, the three rogues stood waiting with all their firearms drawn.
Solenne didn't waste a second. The water on the floor rose up on either side of her and took her shape.
'Ugh, those things again.'
BANG. BANG. BANG.
Ren weaved through the volley of bullets, using Anemo to change the trajectory of some and boost himself forward.
Solenne and her clones ran through just as easily, and the four of them closed the distance in seconds.
The clones split off without a word. One went for Thierry, the other for Odile.
That left Gaspard.
He slung his rifle over his shoulder and drew his sword in one motion.
CLANG.
His blade caught Ren's, and he twisted his body to block Solenne's strike from the other side.
"Two on one?" Gaspard grinned through the clash. "That's fucking cheating."
"It was three on one a minute ago!"
"Yeah, and I was winning!"
He shoved them both back, and his eyes landed on Solenne. They went wide for a split second.
"Solenne Roussel?! I thought you retired!"
"She is," Ren said. "She's very washed."
A vein appeared on Solenne's forehead.
Gaspard said nothing else, and the moment Ren pulled back for another swing, his gun was pointed at his chest.
BANG.
Ren read the aim and turned his body just in time, but the bullet grazed his shirt.
The rogue enveloped his body in Electro and blitzed in a bolt right behind him, his sword already swinging at Ren's torso—only for the sword to sink into Ren's shadow.
"WHAT?!" In his shock, Gaspard's grip on his sword wavered, and the weapon sank into Ren's Shadow Storage.
'I finally pulled that off!' Ren thought with glee. He'd always thought he could make more use of his shadows in battle, but there hadn't been many chances to try until now.
Gaspard immediately coated himself with Electro again, jumping away a good distance.
'Toad!'
The shikigami's tongue shot out from the rogue's shadow, trapping the man in place.
Solenne was already behind him.
He tried to move his gun to shoot, but she slashed the firearm in two.
With the man now disarmed, Solenne twisted her sword into the man's arms to finish the fight.
CLANG.
Only for an Electro sword to block her blade.
Her eyes widened at the weapon, and from his other hand came another Electro blade swinging down at her.
'Toad!'
A long tongue shot out of Toad's mouth and wrapped around her waist, yanking her off her feet right next to Ren.
Solenne lay flat on her back, covered in slime from the waist up. She slowly sat up and stared at the strands dripping off her arms.
"What the hell is this?!"
"Toad's tongue."
"A TONGUE?!"
"You're welcome." Ren grinned down at her. "Now we're even."
She looked up at him with murder in her eyes. "I'm going to kill you."
"Uh-huh, sure, buddy."
"You two done flirting over there?" Gaspard shouted.
Down the hallway, Odile had one of the clones pinned against the wall. Even with a hole in her stomach, she wasn't slowing down. Her dagger lit up, and she drove it into the clone's chest.
HISS.
Pyro met Hydro and burst into a thick cloud of steam, and the clone was no more.
Further down, Thierry buried his hatchet in the other clone's shoulder. Cryo spread out from the blade until the whole thing froze solid.
"Stay down, you fucking puddle!"
Solenne didn't even look. She clenched her fist, and the ice shattered as the clone formed back together and punched him in the face. The same thing happened with Odile's clone.
"That's cheating!"
Solenne got back on her feet and wiped the slime off her face with her sleeve. It only spread it around.
"Let's finish this."
She shot forward, and Ren went with her.
'Rabbit Escape!'
A few Anemo-infused rabbits jumped at Gaspard, and when the man cut the shikigami, it created a small Electro Swirl explosion that made him stagger back.
CLANG. CLANG.
He blocked both Ren's and Solenne's strikes with one blade, but she suddenly kicked her foot on the ground, making a small blade pop from her heel.
Gaspard couldn't dodge as she twisted her body and opened a cut across his entire torso. The pain made the man lose his grip, and Ren used the opening to cut off his arm and kick him into the wall.
He crumpled down to the floor, and Ren rushed forward, swinging his blade down at Gaspard's neck.
CLANG.
Solenne's sword parried his slash.
"I need him alive," she said, staring straight at him.
"Oh, come on!"
"I need them breathing. The Gardes and the Champion Duelists will want every name in their heads." She kicked Gaspard in the chest, making sure the man was out cold. "Don't do anything funny, or else…"
Ren narrowed his eyes. "Or else what?"
"I'll tell Lady Furina."
…
…
"Fuck you."
"Hmmph." Solenne looked satisfied at his reaction.
They looked down the hallway just as her clones finished the job, the two rogues unconscious on the floor.
She dismissed her clones, which collapsed back into puddles, and walked over to the other two, dragging Gaspard's unconscious body behind her.
Ren checked on Thierry first. The man's stump was covered in a thick layer of ice. At some point during the fight, he must have frozen it shut himself.
Odile wasn't so lucky. Blood was still pouring out of the hole Ren had put through her stomach, and Gaspard's stump was bleeding out as well.
Solenne knelt next to her and tore a long strip off the woman's coat. She wrapped it tight around Odile's stomach, and the rogue groaned but kept breathing.
"You know she's not making it to any trial, right?"
"By the Archons, why are you so murder-hungry?" she sighed. "She will if you stop talking and get me some rope."
She took a length from him and started on Odile while he used more rope to tie off Gaspard's stump and got to work binding him.
The two of them worked in silence for a while, the only sound being shifting ropes as they tied the rogues tightly.
"You got stronger," Solenne said after a while.
"…You too."
"Hmmph." She yanked a knot tight. "Don't get cocky about the mansion. If the Fatui hadn't butted in, I would've turned that fight around."
"I'm not so sure about that. You looked pretty desperate back then."
"Keep talking, and I'll show you desperate." Her eye twitched, and she pulled the knot so hard that Odile groaned in her sleep.
Shrugging, he moved on to Thierry to tie the man as well. After a while, he felt Solenne staring at him for a second too long.
"…Where did you learn to tie like that?"
"One of my employees taught me."
She stared at him, then took a slow step away.
"What's with that look?!"
/ — /
"Sheesh, you took all of them down yourself?" Solenne said, looking at the dozens of unconscious rogues tied up in the room.
Odile, Thierry, and Gaspard were tied like the rest. Tucked neatly on the side, but still in sight.
Ren and Solenne sat on the last few chairs at the bar, drinking what was left.
"Not really." Ren took another sip, cringing a little at the sour taste of whatever this drink was. "Lady Furina helped me a bit. She has a really good aim."
"Really?" She looked surprised.
'Furina must not have shown her skills much.'
Before they could get talking, he sensed something approaching them. Three energy signatures right at the entrance.
Two of them he recognised instantly. It was Max Elephant and Furina riding on its back. But the third one was someone he didn't know.
"Backup's here."
'But why is it just one person?'
Solenne stood up. "About time."
They left the room to head to the entrance, but not before Ren put Totality on guard for the unconscious rogues.
By the time they reached the metal door, Furina was already there to greet them.
"Assistant! You're alive!" she shouted, sliding down Max Elephant.
Ren grinned. "I'm afraid you took too long, My Lady. The party is already over."
"I told you not to call me that." She looked him up and down. "Why are you covered in blood?!"
"Most of it isn't mine."
"How reassuring…" She huffed. "And the rogues?"
"All three are alive."
Furina beamed. "Look at you, assistant! Showing restraint!"
Ren made sure he didn't look at Solenne.
With everything now calm, he could finally dismiss Max Elephant. Immediately, he felt the strain of CE stop and let out a satisfied sigh.
'Not bad… I still have almost half of my reserves after the entire night.' He was about to say something to Furina when a new person walked up to him.
"So you are the one Solenne told me about."
Ren's head snapped toward the retired duelist, who wore a shit-eating grin.
Furina, completely oblivious to the interaction, introduced the newcomer. "Assistant, allow me to introduce Clorinde. The current strongest Champion Duelist in all of Fontaine!"
"Eh?"
/ — /
"So let me get this straight." Ren set his glass down on the bar. "Solenne was undercover as the bodyguard of one of the most influential nobles at that auction, to scout who was there, and she was going to hand it all to the Gardes and the Champion Duelists?"
Furina and Clorinde both nodded.
Ren winced.
Solenne smirked. "Where was this look when you were mowing people down left and right?"
"They had it coming," Ren muttered, avoiding Furina's eyes.
"Mowing people down?" Furina looked between the two of them. "Solenne, what exactly did my assistant do at this mansion?"
Solenne opened her mouth, but Clorinde answered first.
"The reports said that he showed up as a third party during the Fatui's raid and killed most of the traffickers there. From Solenne's report, it was quite a bloody sight."
"M-Most of them?!" Furina whipped around to face him. "Why am I not surprised?"
Of course, he didn't regret a single thing he did back then, so he felt more flustered than guilty right now. He really considered sinking into his shadow and staying there.
But then a thought appeared in his mind.
The current strongest Champion Duelist in all of Fontaine was standing right in front of them, and she knew exactly what he did in the mansion.
And from what Clorinde said, his actions were on record in a report somewhere.
"So, uh… Quick question." He cleared his throat. "You're not going to arrest me, are you?"
"I'd pay to see that," Solenne said.
He shot her a glare.
"No." This time Clorinde answered. "What happened in the mansion was outside Fontaine's borders, in a region where no nation has clear jurisdiction. And frankly, you did us a service."
A slight smirk found its way to her face, which she tried to hide by tugging down her hat. "Had we needed to arrest every last one of them, the paperwork would have been horrible."
"Clorinde!" Furina gasped. "How could you say such a thing?!"
She didn't sound upset in the slightest. It seemed like even Furina was tired of corrupt nobles.
Ren couldn't help but stare at Clorinde for a little bit. The entire reason he came to Fontaine was right in front of him.
Maybe there was a chance he could ask for a spar, just one-on-one. But now didn't seem like the appropriate time.
He really hoped she'd agree if he asked. Because if not, he still needed to find a partner for the training.
"More Champion Duelists are on their way to help haul them out." Clorinde glanced at the rows of tied-up rogues. "We only need to wait a little longer."
'So that's why it was just her.'
Then she turned to Furina. "Lady Furina, about that elephant you rode into the city."
Furina froze in place. "Aha… W-What about it?"
"It caused quite a stir. It's not every night an elephant walks through the streets with the Hydro Archon on its back." Clorinde tilted her head. "What made it even more surprising was that this was the first time I'd seen you use your abilities."
Furina puffed up her chest, a confident smile spreading across her face as she prepared to lie.
But Ren beat her to it.
"It's actually one of my shikigami," he said, taking the duelist's attention. "Lady Furina just enhanced its Hydro so she could get backup faster."
"…I see."
/ — /
Focalors
Focalors laughed.
It was a laugh completely unbecoming of an Archon. It was loud and unrestrained, echoing down the empty streets of the bland city until she had to press a hand to her stomach.
Five hundred years, and she could not remember the last time she had laughed like this.
Slowly, she calmed down and let her composure settle back in place.
"Thank you, Ren Roman. You've given me exactly what I need…"
While it was quite infuriating to see a mortal press Furina like that, she could let it go just this once for what that encounter showed her.
The moment Furina agreed to that contract known as a Binding Vow, Focalors could feel it too.
It truly was a contract enforced by the world itself. Not by the Heavenly Principles or anyone up in Celestia, but by the world in its entirety.
With this, she could make a small adjustment to her plans. So that not only Fontaine would survive, but perhaps she could—
"Do not do anything idiotic, Focalors."
'Right on cue.'
Ryomen Sukuna stood behind her, all four arms crossed over his chest and all four eyes narrowed at her.
The malice rolling off him was even heavier than the last time she came, when he heard her proposal and refused it without a second thought.
He was very, very displeased.
"You know nothing about Binding Vows."
"Which is precisely why I asked for your assistance." She tilted her head. "But since you refuse to give it, I have no choice but to take matters into my own hands with these Binding Vows."
"You should know that without Cursed Energy, one cannot create a Binding Vow." He scoffed. "And don't think you could take the remnants around this place either. You are nothing more than a guest here."
"Is that so?"
In that instant, water burst up through the concrete and flooded the entire area. Sukuna didn't so much as flinch at the display, more confused at what the Archon was doing.
It only took a few seconds before the grey sky above them washed away, and they were no longer in the bland city, but standing in a perfect mirror of the Opera Epiclese.
Rows of empty seats stretched out from the stage where she stood, all of them facing her. But where the ceiling should have been, there was only open sky.
And in it floated a giant blue blade.
She brought him here for one important reason: to ensure that he was stuck in a place where she was the one in control.
Sukuna looked around slowly. Then, for the first time since they had met, he smiled.
"Conniving deity." His four eyes settled back on her. "You've been planning this since our first encounter."
Focalors chuckled. "Right on the mark."
His smile faded just as quickly as it came. "It changes nothing. I will not help you."
"What you are attempting is far too risky. And more than that, it is simply impossible." He uncrossed his arms. "Beings born of Teyvat cannot create Cursed Energy of their own. Some may wield it through unconventional means, but their bodies are incapable of producing it naturally, no matter what you try."
"Believe me, I figured that out quite quickly."
That made him pause.
"And that isn't what I intend to do." She looked toward the empty seats. "Do you know where we are?"
He didn't answer.
"We are inside the Oratrice. I did not tell you everything before, but in summary, it is a machine I built to gather energy from the people of Fontaine."
Sukuna's gaze rose to the blade.
It hung directly above her, its point aimed straight down at the stage.
For a long moment, he said nothing.
"A machine that has gathered power for five hundred years." His eyes moved from the blade down to her. "And a blade hanging over the head of the one who built it."
…
"You built this to kill a god. Yourself."
Focalors merely smiled. She was about to continue her explanation, but Sukuna cut her off.
"But killing a god alone would not take five hundred years of gathering." He sounded almost amused. "You mean to take the throne of the Hydro Archon down with you, and return the authority of Hydro to its rightful owner."
She couldn't hide the surprise she felt.
'How does he know about the throne of Hydro?' While she did explain some things about the Oratrice the first time they talked, she did not say anything about its true purpose.
And how did he know about Neuvillette?!
Sukuna looked back up at the blade, and this time there was genuine interest in all four of his eyes.
Focalors shook off her surprise. She needed to focus on the important things right now.
"As you said, Cursed Energy is not something the people of Teyvat can produce," she went on. "But from what I have seen, it is a filtered form of Abyssal energy. One I theorise the people of your world evolved alongside, until it became part of your world's very system."
She stepped forward.
"But with the Oratrice, I believe I can make something new, using Cursed Energy as a base."
"You think you can make a new type of energy using Cursed Energy?"
"I've done something similar before, so it shouldn't be too difficult." Creating Indemnitium had been a hassle, but this time she had experience. "But for this in particular, I will need your help. Before you refuse, allow me to make it worth your while."
"In exchange for your help, I will use the Oratrice's inner systems to absorb some of the curses surrounding Ren Roman's soul."
Even though she had temporarily overlapped the Oratrice's inner domain with the inside of Ren's soul, she could still feel the same foul presence pressing in from every side.
And it wasn't lost on her that the added energy would only further help her own goals. But she suspected the man already knew that.
"They grow with every passing day. This would act as a buffer against his slow corruption."
This time, Sukuna did not answer right away, actually considering her proposal.
Focalors pressed on.
"It is obvious to see how it has affected him. He has grown more in tune with the negative energy in his body, and with the curses his world placed on him." She said. "He has become more impulsive. More erratic."
Now for the finishing blow. "My proposal can delay that. Perhaps long enough that he won't have to worry about those curses breaking his barrier for some time. By then, he may even have some control over it."
Sukuna was quiet. Then he let out a small laugh, one that made her skin prickle.
"You are clever, Focalors. But you got one thing wrong." His eyes looked up, past the Opera to the curses gnawing at Ren's barrier. "This boy is not like this because of the curses around him."
"From the moment he was born, he was destined to walk the path of a curse. His circumstances only sealed his fate."
'Destined… Fate?' It was an interesting choice of words to refer to a descender, especially an anomaly like Ren.
But she didn't ask further. It was irrelevant at the moment.
"Your proposal benefits you far more than it does me." Sukuna looked up at the blade one last time. "But I cannot deny that it is too good to pass up."
"Tell me, Focalors." A playful edge entered his voice. "Can a deity truly be this manipulative?"
"Well…" She couldn't keep the unashamed smile off her face. "I am the Hydro Archon, after all."
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Author Notes: I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! On an unrelated note, I made a Ko-fi if anyone's interested in supporting me. I'm a little embarrassed about it, but food is expensive, and my currency is terrible…
Please don't feel obligated at all. It's just there for anyone who wants to, and reading and commenting already means a lot.
The link should be in the story desc.
Thanks again for reading!