"So long… so lonely… how much longer…"
A choked sob echoed in the air, making Fairy Ely look at Jiang Qiao curiously. "Reliable Me, what are you saying?"
"It's not me."
"Eh—but that voice…" Fairy Ely wanted to say that the voice clearly came from [Furina]. If it wasn't "Jiang Furina," then who could it be? But the next moment, she felt it wasn't logical.
After all, how could Jiang Qiao make such a fragile sound?
Wait, could it be…
Fairy Ely's gaze slowly shifted to Furina Qiao—Furina.
"..."
"I-it's not me! You heard wrong!" Furina's face stiffened, and she tried to clear her name, looking unnatural. This made Lumine slightly puzzled—no one thought it was her (for sure).
"What's going on?" Furina asked Jiang Qiao, anxious and uneasy.
How could she not recognize the source of those words? It was clearly her own emotions, expressed during her solitary, late-night cries.
Yes, it was just an emotion.
For secrecy, even when alone, Furina didn't dare to speak her mind, only lamenting internally.
But now, she actually heard this voice at the Lucine Fountain…
Furina instinctively thought it was Jiang Qiao's "prank," even though theoretically, even he shouldn't know about this. But even after their short acquaintance, she could tell that he wouldn't do such a thing.
And if that was the case, this leak of emotion made Furina feel apprehensive.
She wondered—Could it be that, without realizing it, she had already revealed the "truth"?
Why…
Even when crying alone, she didn't dare to express this truth.
Even when it swirled in her mind, she would keep it hidden.
But even so, she still couldn't keep it a secret?
Furina trembled, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably—although expressing such emotions with [Jiang Qiao]'s body might seem strange, his body did have certain advantages.
Just like a brand new machine would become worn and tattered after being used by countless people, Furina's control over her own body was already strained. She couldn't even tell when she was crying.
And in this new body, although it was still difficult to suppress her emotions on a mental level, it wasn't as painful as in her own body.
The next moment, a gentle touch—
Furina looked up. [Furina] was looking at her with a gentle smile, her gloved hand caressing her cheek, bringing a strange warmth.
Although incredibly familiar with her own body, when experiencing it from a different perspective, as another person, Furina still felt a sense of novelty.
Of course—what mattered more was…
Her accelerating heartbeat.
The unspoken meaning in those heterochromatic eyes seemed to be comforting her, telling her something.
He soothed her like this.
Denying her apprehension.
Thump, thump~ A feeling she had never experienced before, an indescribable sense of comfort, made Furina's eyes sting.
Subconsciously, she thought—Wow, Lady Furina is so handsome!
… Wait, aren't I the real Furina?
Furina suddenly realized this.
"As I said, the Lucine Fountain is where Fontaine's waters converge. All water flows eventually lead here."
"Tears are naturally no exception."
"Tears of joy, tears of sorrow, only the most extreme, the purest emotions can trigger its overflow—this also means that it becomes a vessel for those emotions."
"Carrying various emotions, all waters converge here." Slender fingers touched her chest. Although this body wasn't exactly something to boast about, perhaps it was precisely because of this, without certain obstructions, that the beating of the heart was easier to feel.
… Tears?
Furina, not a fool, finally understood the reason, and she couldn't help but laugh wryly.
After all, she hadn't expected that the most fatal flaw in the "truth" she had been upholding was actually her own tears.
This was truly… a difficult truth to accept.
The truth she had been upholding had almost been compromised because of this. If she had known this earlier, she would definitely…
… have endured.
… Could she really have endured?
Furina wasn't confident.
Crying was her only way to vent. If even this was taken away, could she really have held on?
"The Lucine Fountain gathers the emotions of all waters, but connecting with it isn't easy." The blue and white-haired girl slowly squatted down and scooped up a handful of water from the Lucine Fountain. The moisture seeped through her silk gloves, escaping through the seams.
"Only those with elemental affinity can connect with it."
This was why Furina, despite approaching the Lucine Fountain countless times in the past five hundred years, had never noticed anything—having lost her Gnosis and her divine heart, this body was completely mortal.
In a sense, [Furina], besides the curse left by Focalors, was even inferior to ordinary Fontaine citizens.
At least those Fontaine citizens, essentially "Oceanids in human form," had a higher affinity with the Hydro element.
Even so, most Fontaine citizens couldn't perceive the emotions hidden within the Lucine Fountain.
"So… why are we here?" Lumine, having adapted to her "new vocal cords," still found everything on this continent fascinating, especially this magical Lucine Fountain.
Unfortunately, because she hadn't resonated with a Statue of The Seven, as a completely "original" player, Lumine, without elemental power, couldn't connect with the fountain at all.
"To find a witness."
"…A witness?"
"Does the mastermind behind the serial disappearances have a witness? And why are we looking here?" Fairy Ely, possessing Elysian Realm Elysia's memories, found this strange. The serial disappearances cases were typically characterized by a lack of clues, leaving behind almost no trace, except for the victims… no, even the victims barely left any traces.
Even if this was where all waters converged, and they could hear words unheard by ordinary people, how could they find what they needed among them?
"Just ask the victims." [Furina] said casually—but her words made Lumine and Furina's eyes widen, their necks shrinking.
"Hey… don't scare me!" Furina exclaimed, "Where are the victims… No, how can the victims speak?!"
Although the concept of ghosts existed in Teyvat, it was mainly concentrated in Liyue and Inazuma. As for Fontaine—with their Archon like this, could one expect them to have any reverence for ghosts?
That being said, Furina was still slightly afraid of ghosts.
… Well, it sounded quite absurd—the Hydro Archon being afraid of ghosts!
But it couldn't be helped. After all, she had no combat power.
It was natural to be afraid of ghosts, which were dangerous and could even be deadly.
The blue and white-haired girl just smiled, not explaining anything, and uttered two words:
"Vacher."
"Vacher? Who's Vacher?" Furina was puzzled, but Lumine seemed to sense something, becoming vigilant and looking around.
The next moment—
The water surged.
"Whoa! Where is this?!" Furina looked around in panic and instinctively moved closer to [Furina]'s body—Lumine, glancing around, sensed something amiss, and with a strange sense of protectiveness, shielded [Furina] behind her.
"Vacher… Vacher… Vacher…"
"An Oceanid?!" The large [Furina Qiao] hiding behind the small [Furina] looked quite comical, but she quickly identified the source of the anomaly, staring at the Oceanid muttering a name in surprise.
As the Hydro Archon, Furina was naturally familiar with Oceanids, the previous Hydro Archon's dependents. She had even tried to enlist their help—but sadly, the Oceanids didn't really acknowledge her as the new Hydro Archon.
Most of Fontaine's Oceanids had left, and the remaining ones were just turbid water spirits that couldn't even communicate.
She hadn't expected to find one in the Lucine Fountain.
Well, this one didn't seem very intelligent.
Furina carefully observed the Oceanid and, seeing her dazed state, made her judgment.
"…Vacher? Ah, is it my Vacher?" The Oceanid's soft voice called out as she gradually regained her senses, but then she stared at the blue and white-haired girl and exclaimed in surprise, "…Lady Furina?!"
Although her situation was different from other Fontaine Oceanids, as a collective of waters, even with their memories fragmented and their past shattered, they couldn't forget the Hydro Archon.
After all, Focalors was the sovereign of all waters.
"What should I call you now? …How about Venier?" [Furina] looked calmly at the special Oceanid, her gentle tone holding a hint of inquiry.
"…You know my name?" The Oceanid was surprised.
"Of course, how could the Hydro Archon forget the names of her people?" The girl said naturally, as if it were a matter of course. "I know everything about you—as the 'Sovereign of All Waters, All Opulence, All People, and All Laws,' this is only natural, isn't it?"
The blue and white-haired girl raised her arm, her words incredibly sincere—no one would doubt their truthfulness.
Lumine, standing behind her, stared with sparkling eyes.
So cool!
—As expected of someone she admired! (Proud)
Of course,
Furina, the real deal, felt as if ants were crawling all over her.
Why are you so skilled?!
And even more agonizing was, as the real Hydro Archon… well, the real acting Hydro Archon, watching a fake acting Hydro Archon… watching [Furina] brazenly using the Hydro Archon's authority,
Furina's feelings were incredibly complex—I'm just a weakling!
"Is that true, Lady Furina?"
"Of course, a Fontaine citizen wouldn't lie to another Fontaine citizen." [Furina] said without batting an eye—he knew the general storyline, but as for the specifics… well, that wasn't a problem for Jiang Qiao.
If he wanted to understand someone, he just needed to access their memories.
If necessary, Jiang Qiao could even tell what color underwear this Oceanid was wearing just by looking at her.
"Phew… as expected of you… but please don't use that name anymore."
"As you can see, I am a collective of everyone, and that name…"
"Do you know Vacher?"
"We're here for that very reason." Facing the Oceanid's question, the blue and white-haired girl said calmly, "Crimes will not always escape Fontaine's law, and Fontaine's justice will not allow the culprit to claim more victims."
"…If only you had come earlier."
"Why didn't you come earlier?"
After a brief silence, the Oceanid's ethereal voice held a hint of regret and resentment.
—Our god, if you had noticed earlier, wouldn't there have been fewer victims?
Undoubtedly, Furina, with her keen perception, understood the reason for this emotion.
She lowered her head, feeling guilty and remorseful.
But the next moment, [Furina] took her hand.
"This is indeed my negligence."
"I won't shirk my responsibility." The girl said, her heterochromatic eyes as calm as a harbor, unwavering.
"There's no need for that, no need."
"Our god, we don't intend to blame you for anything." The Oceanid's voice was incredibly gentle.
Although their methods against Vacher had been ruthless, their true nature wasn't inherently evil—after all, Oceanids were symbols of purity. It was Vacher's wickedness that had caused countless resentment and anger to converge.
But towards Furina, although they resented the Hydro Archon for noticing too late, they wouldn't blame her too much.
Especially—Furina's tears had also merged with the waters.
Although the Oceanids weren't aware of this, they could vaguely sense her hardship.
"I know."
In the name of the God of Justice, he promised,
"I will put an end to Vacher's crimes."