Chapter 104: Focalors' Suspicion
In just half a month, Felina had transformed the desert nation into a thriving paradise.
Such power, such an achievement—this was nothing short of a divine miracle.
Before dealing with Apep, Felina had sought out Charlotte and taken her to the skies above the desert to capture panoramic photographs.
Now, with the desert turned into a lush oasis, Felina once again took Charlotte up to snap a new set of comparison photos.
Charlotte compiled these images into a report, meticulously detailing the transformation and praising Furina's accomplishments.
With such a monumental achievement, it wasn't just Fontaine's citizens who revered Felina—generations of desert dwellers would remember her and Furina's kindness for centuries to come.
As a result, once the desert was transformed into an oasis, an immense surge of faith poured in.
The accumulated faith in Felina's consciousness had now reached an amount equivalent to Furina's efforts over seven hundred years.
At the same time, Felina received a notification from the system:
[Ding! Due to the Host's successful transformation of the desert environment, gaining immense faith and bringing great benefits to Fontaine, you are awarded 700,000 Guardian Points.]
[Current Guardian Points have reached the milestone reward threshold. Congratulations, you have unlocked: Law of Water!]
[Law of Water: Grants absolute control over water elements.]
The simple description made Felina frown slightly.
After thoroughly inquiring with the system, she fully understood the capabilities of the Law of Water.
With mastery over the Law of Water, she could manipulate every characteristic of water and command all forms of it.
At a mere thought, she could summon an overwhelming surge of water elemental energy—or, conversely, create a space completely devoid of it, rendering her enemies incapable of using water-based abilities.
She could use the Law of Water to accomplish many feats effortlessly, such as suppressing the Primordial Sea, transforming all Fontaine citizens into true humans, and even creating life itself.
This power positioned her above all water, making her the true sovereign of the water domain—far beyond even Neuvillette, who wielded the full authority of the ancient dragons.
"Law of Water, huh..."
Sitting in her office, Felina looked down at her palm, lost in thought. After a brief silence, she smiled.
"With this ability, I can secure an even better future for Furina and this world."
Leaning back in her chair, Felina let out a long sigh.
It had been nearly a year since she arrived in this world.
First, she helped Furina weed out spies and hidden threats, then eradicated the Fatui within Fontaine, resolving internal crises.
After that, she focused on building Fontaine's military strength and traveled across Sumeru, Liyue, and Inazuma.
She led Fontaine into war against Snezhnaya, completely eliminating its threats. And now, the desert had finally been integrated into Fontaine's territory.
Throughout this year, she had been to countless places and engaged in countless political maneuvers.
Never once had she stopped moving, always planning, always calculating, always on the go—there was hardly a moment of rest.
But now, at last, the things that required her attention were gradually dwindling.
"Once I settle the matter with Focalors, I can finally take a proper break."
...
Underneath the Opera Epiclese.
Felina once again stood before the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale.
"You're no longer the Hydro Archon, so there's no need to hide anymore. Let's have a proper conversation now."
With those words, Felina lay down on the ground, her consciousness diving into the Oratrice, where she met the spiritual manifestation of Focalors.
Felina's astral form, identical in appearance to Furina, stood before Focalors with a composed and unwavering expression.
"As expected, you're the one who took the divine seat."
The moment Felina entered, Focalors immediately sensed the divine aura emanating from her soul.
She gazed at Felina with a complicated expression and asked, "Allow me to confirm—do you truly know my plan?"
Felina nodded slightly. "You intended to gather an immense amount of faith within the Oratrice and use it to destroy the divine seat, returning the full authority of the ancient dragon to Neuvillette. With it, he could fully transform the people of Fontaine into true humans."
Hearing this, Focalors' expression grew even more conflicted. She remained silent for a long time before finally voicing a question she had wanted to ask for a while.
"Who exactly are you, and where do you come from?"
Felina remained silent for a few seconds before glancing at Focalors. "Is that really what you want to ask?"
Focalors, realizing there was no point in hiding anymore, began pacing within the consciousness space and spoke frankly.
"You know, in a way, no one understands Furina better than I do."
"After all, she was created by me. She is my extension, my wish."
"As her creator, I know exactly how much talent I gave her."
"Intelligence and strategy can be honed over time, but Furina is, at her core, an ordinary human girl who cannot even use elemental power."
"The limits of a human body determine its ceiling—she cannot possess a Oceanid body, nor could she possibly have such high control over the abyssal element, let alone become a god."
"No matter how many personas are created, their knowledge and abilities are limited by the foundation of the original body. What the primary personality doesn't know, neither will the secondary one."
"If you were a personality born naturally from within her, you'd be subject to Furina's human limitations. But you not only know things Furina couldn't possibly know, you also wield powers she could never possess."
Focalors fixed her gaze on Felina and delivered her conclusion.
"Unless... you are not a consciousness naturally born within Furina, but an external one."
"I have every reason to suspect that Celestia became aware of my plan, so they sent you to Fontaine to impersonate Furina's second persona, using her identity to accumulate faith and steal the divine seat."
"All of this to stop me from destroying the divine seat and to ensure the prophecy comes true!"
Indeed, deceiving Furina might have been easy, but tricking Focalors was another matter entirely.
Focalors had invested hundreds of years into planning for Fontaine and its people.
Now that Felina had taken the divine seat and disrupted her plan, it was only natural for Focalors to seek answers.
Seeing how cautious Focalors was, Felina couldn't help but smile.
"You let me in here because you were planning to detonate all the faith within the Oratrice at the slightest sign of danger, right? If I died, the Hydro Archon's authority would return to Neuvillette."
As soon as Felina finished speaking, Focalors' consciousness blurred momentarily, and in the next instant, Felina was already standing right in front of her.
"What was that?!"
Panic flickered across Focalors' face; she hadn't even sensed how Felina had approached.
"A simple ability to halt time," Felina said with a smile. "Now do you understand? If I had any malicious intent, I could have destroyed your soul hundreds of times over. If I wanted to harm Fontaine, there were far more efficient ways to do so."
"I am also a god, so I fully understand your concerns and doubts."
"Now that your concerns are put to rest, shall we sit down and have a proper talk?"
Focalors' suspicions were justified.
Felina's way of proving herself, however, was straightforward and direct—she simply demonstrated her overwhelming power.
After all, if someone could effortlessly kill you but instead chose to befriend you and stand by your side, there was no need to worry that they were secretly plotting against you.
If she truly intended harm, she wouldn't need to go through so much trouble.
Although she couldn't fully understand Felina's origins, Focalors was at least convinced that Felina bore no ill intentions toward Fontaine.
Not only did Felina pose no threat, but she had also done a great deal of good for Fontaine and secured many benefits. For now, it seemed that Felina was trustworthy.
In the consciousness space, Felina and Focalors sat together on a grand stage.
"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you where I come from," Felina said calmly.
"But I believe we are the same kind of people."
"We both enjoy stories, watching operas."
"If we treat Fontaine's prophecy as a story, then its ending is Fontaine being swallowed by a great flood, and all its people dissolving into water."
"You hate stories that end in tragedy, so you intervened, planning for hundreds of years just to change the story's outcome."
"And I, too, have a story."
Felina then began telling Focalors a tale.
The protagonists of the story were none other than Focalors and Furina.
In the story, Furina played the role of a god for five hundred years to save Fontaine, nearly collapsing under the mental strain.
Meanwhile, Focalors sacrificed her life to save Fontaine.
When the prophecy ended and Fontaine was finally safe, Furina, who had toiled for centuries, was left with less than a hundred years of life and eventually passed away in solitude at home.
"I felt heartbroken for the Furina in that story, and I was angry that she would be put on trial."
"I was dissatisfied with how the story ended for both Furina and Focalors, so I chose to intervene and change their fate."
With that, Felina turned to Focalors, her eyes filled with gentleness.
"You and I both dislike stories that end in tragedy. As someone like you, I hope you understand why I did what I did."
"I see," Focalors murmured, nodding slowly. She finally understood the message Felina was trying to convey.
She didn't know that Felina's soul came from a higher-dimensional world, but based on Felina's words, she assumed Felina must have been some unique being who had found out about the future of Fontaine, herself, and Furina through some special means.
Out of kindness, Felina had chosen to become Furina's second persona in an effort to change the story's ending.
So, when Felina said they were alike, it wasn't a lie.
"Yes, we are the same kind of people," Focalors said, her expression softening. "Since we are the same, it seems that your plan to seize the divine seat was actually meant to sacrifice yourself in my place, isn't that right?"
Felina smiled and nodded. "Yes, this way, you and Fontaine could be saved, and Furina's fate could be rewritten."
"But that was never your responsibility!" Focalors interrupted anxiously.
"I'm glad you care about me so much, but don't worry," Felina reassured her with a wave of her hand. "Originally, I did plan to sacrifice myself, but now, it's no longer necessary."
"Look—what is this?"
Felina extended her hand, revealing something hidden within.
With a single thought, Felina's power stirred.
Focalors extended her perception. In her awareness, she could sense the water elemental energy around the opera house moving like a tide, swirling in reverence as if worshiping a deity. Then, with another shift in Felina's thoughts, the water retreated completely, leaving the opera house in an absolute void, devoid of even the faintest trace of water.
"This is..."
Focalors' face was filled with shock.
Felina smiled. "The Law of Water. My control over water now surpasses even that of a fully empowered Hydro Dragon Sovereign."
"In other words, I no longer need to sacrifice myself to turn all Fontainians into true humans."
"This..."
Focalors stared blankly at Felina. After a long silence, she finally muttered, "You're truly terrifying..."
With the tension lifted, the two of them casually sat down on the plush red carpet of the stage and began chatting.
Naturally, the conversation turned to Furina.
"How is Furina doing now?"
A gentle smile appeared on Felina's face at the mention of Furina.
"When I first arrived, she was incredibly anxious and tense, on the verge of a complete breakdown."
"But now, she's becoming more relaxed. She's sleeping well and enjoying each day."
"She no longer has to suppress herself or worry about the gazes of others. She can finally embrace her true self."
"You know what? She's become so adept at using my powers that, the other day, she single-handedly defeated the Dendro Dragon Sovereign without me having to intervene at all!"
"You should have seen her standing outside the dragon's lair, shouting and taunting it. Her rebellious and playful attitude made me both proud and happy."
As Felina shared her stories about Furina, her words flowed endlessly, revealing just how much she cared for her.
Listening to Felina, Focalors' smile grew wider and warmer.
"I see... Knowing she's happy makes me happy too. Thank you for everything you've done for her."
Focalors' smile faltered slightly, and a hint of guilt appeared on her face.
"If circumstances had allowed, I would have wanted her to be freer as well."
"For centuries, I often thought about being by her side, holding her, and offering her comfort—but I couldn't."
"I used to imagine that if I were still alive, I could have been there for her as an older sister."
"But now, it seems you are far more suited for that role. Even if I could return, I could never compare to the place you hold in her heart."
"But..."
Focalors leaned back, supporting herself with her hands as she gazed at Felina, her eyes curving like crescent moons.
"Thank you for coming, Felina."
"This gratitude is on behalf of Fontaine, Furina, and myself."
They sat together in the consciousness space, talking for a long time.
"Alright," Felina finally said, "now that you're no longer a god, there's no reason for you to stay here any longer."
"Let's go. It's time for you to meet Furina and Neuvillette."
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