"You're using a Gnosis to replace my heart?!"
Egeria was dumbfounded upon hearing this idea.
"How can that be?"
"Can't a Gnosis do it?" [Furina] asked in return.
This left Egeria speechless.
It wasn't impossible.
Currently, they just needed a continuous, powerful energy source to power the Vourukasha Oasis and the Great Irminsul Tree's seal.
Even the "Heart of Egeria," imitating the Hydro Dragon's heart, could do it. How could a Gnosis not be able to?
As a crucial component in maintaining the order of The Seven, each Gnosis, created from the remains of the Third Descender, possessed immense power.
Wielding this power alone was enough to reach the level of an Archon.
Using a Gnosis, Celestia's belief-collecting device, to replace the Heart of the Primordial Sea wasn't impossible, it was just… a waste.
A mere Tunigi Hollow didn't require such a valuable item.
"But Celestia…"
Egeria was still apprehensive.
She didn't really care about the Gnosis itself.
What truly terrified her was Celestia, floating in the sky.
If Celestia discovered that a Gnosis was being used to plug the Tunigi Hollow, this "sewer entrance"…
"Don't worry, those guys in Celestia are still asleep."
"And besides, now… I'm the Hydro Archon." The girl chuckled and made the decision, leaving Egeria's attempts at persuasion futile.
She could only pray silently…
"I hope nothing bad happens."
Under Egeria and Fairy Ely's watchful gazes, the Gnosis, floating above [Furina]'s pale hand, slowly rose and emitted a dazzling, azure blue light.
A terrifying power emanated from it.
They could also feel a resistance, as if trying to prevent the power from leaking.
"Hmph." The blue and white-haired girl clenched her fist, her increasing output overpowering the weak resistance.
As this power source was pushed into the Great Irminsul Tree,
Another dormant power awakened.
"It's… Pari."
Egeria, sensing the familiar aura, looked up at the vibrant, azure light with nostalgia.
—According to the established procedure, they would normally need to conduct a ritual before they could reawaken the Simurgh's power through the Pari's descendants, activating the Pari and suppressing the restless Tunigi Hollow.
But that was for "primitive people" who only used Dull Blades and unidentified flying objects that did nothing but eat.
And the one currently present was a top-tier Archon.
Occasionally engaging in physical combat was good exercise, but for an Archon, the most effective method was undoubtedly their authority and power.
"Emerge." After inserting a power source even stronger than Egeria's heart, Jiang Qiao softly commanded, extracting the "heart" that had merged with the earth, merged with the Irminsul Tree.
Of course, although called a heart, it was just a drop of water.
It was the source of the Primordial Sea, a part of the original Primordial Sea.
The removal of the Primordial Sea's source made Egeria's already illusory form even fainter.
She looked at this drop of water with nostalgia.
Then she looked at [Furina]:
"If possible, I hope you can save Lesser Lord Kusanali. Although we've never met, after Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's passing, the existence of a new Dendro Archon is very important to Sumeru's people. And Sumeru's existence is also significant to Fontaine."
"Of course, this is probably just my own selfish desire. After all, I owe Greater Lord Rukkhadevata a great debt."
Egeria's tone was filled with complex emotions.
Preserving the consciousness of a deceased Archon was practically impossible for a normal Archon. Only Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, closely connected to the Irminsul trees, could achieve such a feat.
But even so, she was certain that Greater Lord Rukkhadevata had paid a heavy price to preserve her remaining consciousness.
She probably couldn't repay this debt, but fortunately…
Focalors had come.
Egeria didn't say anything like "please save Fontaine."
After all, for a dying god, such words would sound like a curse.
As for entrusting her remaining power to [Furina], for her, this was simply an attempt.
For a dead person like her, what was the point of keeping this power? It was better to entrust it to her trusted dependent and give it a try.
Even if Fontaine was ultimately destroyed, Egeria wouldn't blame anyone.
After all, everything had started because of her. How could she place expectations on others and then blame them?
… She truly was an incompetent god.
"I entrust everything to you, Focalors."
The soft, familiar words made Focalors lower her head sadly.
But…
[Furina]—Jiang Qiao looked at Egeria strangely.
"Can you truly entrust everything to me?"
This question stunned Egeria, who was slowly dissipating.
She could only instinctively say, "Of course."
She had already given away her essence, the source of the Primordial Sea, what else could she offer?
Unexpectedly, after she said this, a smile appeared on the girl's lips.
She took a step forward and, to the surprise of both Egeria and Focalors, took Egeria's dissipating hand.
And then—kissed it.
"Mmm…?!" Both Egeria and Focalors, who was currently feeling sentimental, widened their eyes. The former's eyes were filled with shock and confusion.
Wait, she was just a consciousness!
In human terms, she was a ghost—no, in a way, even worse than a ghost.
And yet… why could she be kissed?!
… No, no, no, the bigger question was, why was she being kissed?!
Egeria's already fragmented mind turned into mush.
Although she was an ancient god of unknown age, respected by many and having witnessed all sorts of things in the world, as a symbol of pure water, Egeria was undoubtedly an incredibly pure being.
Being treated like this by her dependent… Egeria's heart was in turmoil. She instinctively tried to pull back and escape this awkward situation.
However, [Furina]'s grip tightened.
That nimble exploration was like… taking something from her.
This annoyed Egeria, who had originally intended to tolerate it since she was about to disappear completely.
I'm trying to be patient, and you're taking advantage of me?!
Couldn't he just let her disappear peacefully?!
He liked playing around, right? She would just accelerate her disappearance, accelerate…
"Mmm—!" Egeria's eyes widened.
A strange sensation made her roll her eyes.
… Such a strange feeling, she was being… absorbed!
A suction force like ███ pulled Egeria's remaining consciousness into a massive whirlpool, unable to resist.
A moment later, only [Furina] and Fairy Ely remained within the Great Irminsul Tree, and the former had completely disappeared.
[Furina], her slender finger gently tracing her lips, licked them, looking incredibly seductive.
"Thank you for the treat~"
"Huh? What did you do, Bad Me?!" Fairy Ely, coming to her senses, puffed out her cheeks and glared at [Furina], looking as if she was ready to start a trial.
Doing such outrageous things to another girl right in front of her, the supervisor! This was too much! This fairy couldn't tolerate this!
"Hmm? I was just absorbing her fragmented consciousness."
The blue and white-haired girl smiled naturally, her hands protectively covering her lower abdomen.
"Did you want me to watch Egeria disappear?"
"Mmm…" Fairy Ely was speechless.
Although she didn't know much about Egeria, after their brief interaction, she understood what kind of person she was.
As a derivative of Elysia, she naturally didn't want to see someone like Egeria, a beacon of humanity, disappear just like that.
But… something felt wrong, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
Fairy Ely, with Elysian Realm Elysia's memories but her mind still stuck in childhood, bit her finger, incredibly puzzled.
"Or is the fairy from the Land of Fairy Tales envious?"
"If that's the case, I don't mind giving you a ███ too." The girl smiled at Fairy Ely, tracing her lips with her finger.
"No way!" Fairy Ely rolled her eyes and flew to the other side.
The original was one thing, but [Furina]… she didn't want to be tainted by the scent of another woman.
However, seeing his concealed smirk, Fairy Ely instantly realized that he was teasing her.
Waving her wand threateningly, she said angrily, "Hmph, the fairy from the Land of Fairy Tales has taken note of this! Don't think you can get away with it!"
"Alright, alright~"
As Jiang Qiao chuckled in response and left the Great Irminsul Tree, heading towards Sumeru's rainforest,
Within [Furina]'s body,
Egeria's slightly dizzy consciousness gradually cleared, and then—she saw Focalors.
The latter had an embarrassed expression on her face.
"Lady… Egeria, hello?"
Her cheeks flushed, Focalors, immersed in the sadness of Egeria's imminent departure, hadn't anticipated Jiang Qiao's bold actions. Now, looking at her former master, she felt both joy and embarrassment.
"Focalors, you…" Egeria, holding her forehead, was slightly annoyed, but then she seemed to sense something and froze.
Undoubtedly—although Egeria's remaining consciousness, absorbed by Jiang Qiao, hadn't participated in this "███," after entering, she could clearly sense Jiang Qiao's unusual presence, and Focalors's state.
"Human… man…" She stammered, looking at Focalors, her face turning crimson. "Focalors, what's going on?!"
"Lady Egeria, listen to my cun… no, listen to my explanation!" Focalors quickly corrected herself, but Egeria, covering her chest, her face flushed, had already retreated.
Of course, in Jiang Qiao's opinion, this action was rather pointless.
Although they seemed separate within the consciousness space, both Focalors, close to Jiang Qiao, and Egeria, who had been "devoured," were now… negatively distanced from him.
Although the latter had entered later, because Egeria's consciousness was fragmented, to preserve it, Jiang Qiao had used a clever method, merging her with himself, using Focalors and this body to nurture Egeria's consciousness.
"Alright, let's use a more efficient method of communication." Jiang Qiao, sensing the fluctuations of the other two consciousnesses within his body, said.
An indescribable warm current flowed into Egeria's consciousness, changing her from initial surprise and confusion to astonishment… surprise… and finally, understanding.
Compared to words, Jiang Qiao always preferred this kind of mental and data-based communication.
After all, compared to words, this method was more direct, clearer, and easier to understand.
Especially for a god like Egeria.
And in a way, the original Oceanids of Fontaine had communicated in a similar manner.
They didn't need words; simply interacting with each other allowed them to understand everything. This was why the Oceanids in ancient Teyvat could connect the various bodies of water.
As the master of all waters, Egeria understood this even better.
Her expression became complex, a mixture of joy, shyness, anger, and disbelief.
The various emotions were as distinct as slices of a pie chart.
And her gaze towards Focalors, originally filled with shame and anger, turned into relief and self-blame.
"You've done… very well… Focalors…"
Clearly, she had seen Focalors's fate, and Fontaine's fate.
Egeria was happy about this, but also apologetic—after all, although Focalors had indeed saved Fontaine, the price was her own life, and even her separated human side had suffered inhuman torment.
"It couldn't be helped, I'm your dependent, after all." Focalors shrugged helplessly. "Since you chose me, I couldn't let you down, could I?"
"Besides, just like she said—on one hand is Fontaine, on the other is myself. There's no need to hesitate with such a choice."
Egeria smiled.
Then—she looked at Jiang Qiao.
Her feelings towards this human were also complex.
Gratitude, of course, she was grateful. After all, Focalors's fate had changed because of him, and he had even put his all into saving Fontaine, the nation she loved, without asking for anything in return.
This might be simply because of her as an individual, not even because of her as Egeria. But Egeria still remembered it.
As for preserving her consciousness, Egeria couldn't say anything.
After all, he was saving her.
"Thank you…"
"But…" She could only express her gratitude with simple words, but besides thanking him, Egeria couldn't help but complain softly, "Next time, if you do this again, can you tell me first?"
A surprise attack like that… it was really unexpected!
"Hmm? Didn't you already agree?"
"I… I did agree, but…"
"Then it's fine, isn't it? After all~ you entrusted everything to me."
"I was just taking what was mine~"
"Besides, this body belongs to your dependent…"
It was [Furina] who kissed you—it has nothing to do with me, Jiang Qiao!
In reality, what had just happened was quite "illusory."
Because [Furina] was a real, physical body.
And Egeria was just a fragmented consciousness—from this perspective, he was just "devouring" Egeria.
You think I was kissing Egeria?
No! I was just absorbing the source of the Primordial Sea!
It's just that while absorbing it, I also drank the soup!
Jiang Qiao had something to say about this—wasting wasn't a good habit.
Since there was still some soup left, why couldn't he drink it along with the main dish?
Focalors's eyes widened at Jiang Qiao's shameless excuse.
So you use my body to do bad things, and I'm the one who takes the blame?!
You… Forget it, for Lady Egeria's sake, I'll endure it!
Egeria, on the other hand, was conflicted.
The logic seemed sound, but something felt wrong…