The Supreme Bishop of Fontaine

Osial? What about him?

Furina was puzzled but didn't voice her question.

Instead of speaking in riddles, Ye got straight to the point: "Lady Furina, do you know how the Archon War truly began?"

Furina turned slightly to look at him. "What are you trying to say?"

To compete for the seven Thrones of the Archons—though she could have answered with this common knowledge, Furina suspected Ye had a different explanation.

Compared to what she knew, Furina trusted Ye's words more. She also believed that if he truly was the Hydro Archon, he would know the real truth. So instead of answering directly, she deftly tossed the question back to him.

Ye didn't mind this. Following Furina's lead, he continued nonchalantly: "Setting aside other factors, on the surface, the Archon War was an action taken by the Heavenly Principles to establish a new order and regain control over this world."

"Originally, this world had only five gods, and the source of these five gods was a single deity—the Primordial One, Phanes."

"Phanes divided his own authority and created four more gods. These four, along with Phanes himself, became Teyvat's first five deities."

"Together, these five gods defeated the planet's original rulers—the Seven Sovereign Dragons—and thus ushered in a new era for Teyvat: the age of divine rule."

"For a long time, Teyvat only had these five gods. Archons, as they are known now, did not exist in the beginning."

"The birth of the Archons stemmed from another war."

"The Primordial One was severely wounded in that war, and the four gods also suffered losses. Just as Phanes had once willingly divided his authority to create the four gods, this time, due to the Heavenly Principles' grievous injuries and the four gods' diminished power, fragments of their authority scattered across Teyvat, merging completely into its laws."

"Many of Teyvat's spirits, guided by the primitive faith of humans, gained recognition from one of these fragments of authority, thus attaining divinity and ascending as new gods—this was the origin of the Archons."

"Though these Archons were individually weaker than the four originally created gods at the time of their birth, they were numerous and possessed immense potential for growth."

"One by one, the Archons began protecting the humans who worshipped them. Growing stronger through human faith, they gradually replaced the worship of the Heavenly Principles in the mortal world. Yet, due to the wounds from the previous war, the Heavenly Principles lacked the strength to suppress these Archons by force."

"And so, under these circumstances—the Archon War began."

Ye's voice was calm, and Furina listened intently.

"To establish a new order, the Heavenly Principles took the fragments of the Sovereign Dragons' ancient authority they had stolen and forged them into seven Thrones, dividing the world's power and forcing the Archons to fight for these seats. At the same time, they revealed a truth to the Archons, stripping them of any chance to retreat and leaving them no choice but to slaughter one another—this was the cause of the Archon War."

Here, Ye asked softly: "Lady Furina, do you know what that truth was?"

"Oh? What was it? Do you know, Ye?" Furina raised an eyebrow in response.

Ye nodded slightly. "The Salt God, Havria—a loser in the Archon War. She was neither powerful nor strong-willed, a gentle soul who never once sought to compete for the seven Thrones."

"Yet, curiously, despite having no intention to fight for the Thrones, despite retreating again and again with her people during the war, only seeking to escape—she never once considered another option."

Ye said lightly:

"Throughout the Archon War, no matter how much Havria fled or retreated, she never once entertained the thought, 'Why not just surrender to another God?'"

"Logically, this should have been the first option a weak God like her would consider."

"If she had no desire to fight for a Throne, why not simply pledge allegiance to a stronger God, one most likely to win the war?"

"Such a thought should have come easily, no?"

"But perhaps she did consider it, hesitate over it—yet in the end, until her death, Havria never truly chose that path."

"The reason was—"

Ye said plainly:

"The Heavenly Principles revealed a truth to the Gods: that Gods could devour each other's authorities."

"Under such circumstances, a God like Havria, who couldn't bring herself to trust others, was the norm. Alliances like those between Morax, Guizhong, and Marchosius were the exceptions."

"...So, what exactly are you trying to say?" After listening for so long and hearing only a story, Furina still didn't understand Ye's point, so she finally asked directly:

"What does any of this have to do with Osial? Do you know something I don't?"

"Precisely, Lady Furina."

Ye stopped walking, bought two Sunsettia skewers from a street vendor, handed one to Furina, and continued casually:

"From what I know, though Havria is dead, the two divine artifacts she left behind still contain fragments of her authority. These artifacts later fell into Morax's hands, but… he did not absorb this authority himself. Instead, to dispose of these troublesome relics, he fed them to Osial to devour."

Furina took the skewer and raised an eyebrow. "What's the issue with that? Morax has retired. Isn't it normal that he wouldn't want to repeat what he did during the Archon War?"

"Lady Furina, whether it's Barbatos or Morax, these two are the most formidable among The Seven. Aside from singing, drinking, and idling about, none of their actions are ever without purpose."

"The way you phrased that—'aside from singing, drinking, and idling about'—completely undermines the weight of your following words."

"The God of Freedom would never allow himself or Mondstadt to be bound by fate. The God of Contracts would never permit himself or Liyue's destiny to be dictated by the stars."

In response to Furina's jab, Ye only offered this meaningful conclusion:

"Compared to the Tsaritsa, whose motives I see all too clearly, those two—who remain elusive to me—are the ones truly worth paying attention to."

"The Tsaritsa has her reasons for daring to raise her banner against the Heavenly Principles, but… the ones who bite hardest never bark."