"Impersonating Focalors"

Furina felt a chill down her spine, and sensing that it seemed to originate from Neuvillette, her heart skipped a beat.

"...Oh no, oh no, could Neuvillette have recognized me?"

Despite her inner panic, [Jiang Qiao]'s expression remained calm. Furina cautiously probed, "Mr. Neuvillette, is something the matter?"

"..."

"Nothing." Neuvillette looked away, his expression unreadable.

"...Was it my imagination?" Furina wondered.

Thinking this, looking at [Furina] entering the opera house, she suddenly realized something—Wait, isn't she Furina, Focalors, the Hydro Archon, the God of Justice?

This guy… wasn't he using her name?!

Furina's cheeks puffed out in belated realization.

Unfortunately, the opera house doors had already closed.

Furina, annoyed, glared at the closed doors, thinking that she would definitely settle the score with Jiang Qiao later.

As for worrying… well, Jiang Qiao was alone inside the opera house, there shouldn't be anything to worry about, right?

And within the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale,

Focalors sat on the throne, fiddling with a chess piece-like object—her Gnosis.

The so-called Numina of Justice and Order was essentially "the power of belief" collected through the Gnosis. The Seven Archons, with this, could obtain great power by fulfilling their divine duties.

For her, it was merely a tool to collect the power of belief and convert it into Numina of Justice and Order.

However, this task wasn't exactly interesting. For five hundred years, she had been alone within the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale.

If it weren't for its location within the opera house, with Focalors' personality, similar to Furina's, she would have been bored to death.

But it didn't matter.

After all, compared to her boredom, Furina, outside, was the one who truly suffered.

For five hundred years, day after day, playing the role of a god with insufficient power, desperately trying to meet people's expectations.

Compared to her suffering, what was her own loneliness?

But it didn't matter.

Gently stroking the glowing blue Gnosis in her hand, Focalors looked up at the "Sword of Judgment" hanging above the hall. Compared to its initial dimness, after five hundred years of accumulation, it was now almost full.

Once the remaining portion was filled, she could complete the mission inherited from Egeria, saving Fontaine from its predetermined fate. And by then, her long life would also come to an end.

And the person she longed for could finally remove the shackles she shouldn't have borne and live as a human, as she wished.

"…?"

Focalors looked outside curiously.

It wasn't surprising that the Opera Epiclese was closed; it had plenty of free time. But she remembered that according to the opera house's schedule, this should be its busiest time.

"…Perhaps there's a special reason?" She convinced herself, although she felt a slight unease, Focalors didn't think too much of it.

She continued to refine Numina of Justice and Order.

She was just a little bit away from having enough for her "ticket." Besides collecting energy through the opera house trials, Focalors, as an Archon, naturally had the ability to convert elemental energy into Numina of Justice and Order. However, to avoid Celestia's attention, the efficiency was very low.

"?"

"Strange, why would Furina come to the opera house at this time?"

Resting her chin in her hand, Focalors looked at [Furina] entering and frowned slightly, puzzled.

This had never happened in the past five hundred years.

Could it be… that she left in a hurry and forgot something?

Focalors subconsciously scanned Furina's throne with her consciousness. It was empty.

Clearly, [Furina] hadn't left anything behind.

Then what was she doing here…? Focalors stared at [Furina]'s face, lost in thought.

But the next moment, she froze.

Because the girl she was so familiar with—or rather, her own "physical body"—was staring directly at her with those heterochromatic eyes.

It was as if she could see through the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale.

Focalors, startled by this thought, immediately dismissed it.

How could that be?

She, as the divine consciousness, had taken all her power from her body, leaving only the curse of longevity.

Even Neuvillette, Teyvat's Hydro Dragon, hadn't discovered the true nature of the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale or her existence. A mere mortal like Furina definitely couldn't detect her.

As she comforted herself, [Furina], who was just a "mortal" in Focalors's eyes, was slowly approaching the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale.

"…Could she have discovered something?"

Looking at the blue and white-haired girl standing before the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale, Focalors, no matter how much she tried to deceive herself, understood that [Furina]'s target was indeed the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale. Her侥幸 was shattered, and Focalors felt uneasy.

"…She's probably just suspicious, right?"

She tentatively raised her hand and waved. The next moment—[Furina] tilted her head with a smile, her lips moving.

Although she couldn't hear any sound, she could read the single word:

"Hi~"

And this undoubtedly made Focalors's heart sink!

She… she discovered me!

The next moment,

The blue and white-haired girl in the hat appeared in the courtyard within the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale.

"Long time no see, Focalors." As Focalors looked at her with surprise and shock, [Furina], identical to the girl outside, greeted the other owner of [Furina]'s body.

"You… you're Furina?!" Focalors, recovering from her shock, stood up from the throne and stared intently at her, trying to use her Archon status and power to see through [Furina]'s true nature—she suspected that this wasn't Furina, but something wearing Furina's skin.

However, the result disappointed Focalors.

No matter how she looked, how she scrutinized, [Furina] showed no signs of falsehood.

Although she exuded a different aura and confidence from Furina, her essence as [Furina] was still genuine.

At least, as the part separated from her, Focalors couldn't distinguish between real and fake… even more absurdly, this attempt made Focalors feel a sense of inferiority.

Because the current [Furina] not only possessed Furina's essence, but also Focalors' own, the divinity she had separated from her body.

"This is impossible…" Focalors questioned her existence.

The [Furina] before her was clearly the complete, unseparated Furina. Even if there were differences, it could only be said that she had gained something, not that she wasn't Furina.

But if she was the complete Furina, then what was she?

She was the divine consciousness separated from Furina!

Focalors' mind was in turmoil.

"Who are you?" She looked at [Furina], her mind racing, and chose to ask this instead.

As for denying that she was Furina… it seemed that the person in front of her had more right to question whether she was "impersonating Focalors."

"Hmm~ Guess."

"If you're the great Hydro Archon, Focalors, you should be able to recognize yourself, right?" The blue and white-haired girl rested her chin in her hand, teasing Focalors, making her blush.

Could she say that she really couldn't tell?

But that would be too embarrassing. She was Focalors, and yet she couldn't even tell if her own "vessel" was truly hers, even doubting whether she or [Furina] was the real Focalors.

"Haha~ Don't mind me, I just suddenly wanted to see what you look like~ Mmm, very cute."

"Alright, alright, I admit, I'm not Furina. I'm just an outsider temporarily borrowing this body…" Facing Focalors, [Furina] placed her hand on her slender waist and said with a smile.

But Focalors had a "you're kidding, right?" expression on her face.

The Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale was a special space that could only accommodate consciousness. In other words, [Furina]'s physical body was still outside, and the current [Furina] was her inner consciousness.

This kind of thing was theoretically impossible to fake, especially in front of Focalors, the "divine consciousness plugin" of [Furina].

And that demeanor just now…

Recalling the girl's playfulness, Focalors twitched her lips—That's me!

It was like looking in a mirror.

Facing Focalors's skeptical gaze, Jiang Qiao—[Furina]—didn't mind and said with a smile, "Mmm, using a term you're familiar with, I'm the 'Fifth Descender'."

"..." Focalors froze, staring at [Furina] for a moment, then a look of realization appeared on her face.

This wasn't surprising, this wasn't surprising at all.

Previously, she had been focused on [Furina]'s "essence," noticing that it was the same "color" as hers, but hadn't carefully observed its scale.

And now, looking closely, she instantly noticed the anomaly.

Although this guy's essence was identical to hers, its scale was impossible for [Furina] to possess.

Even the previous Hydro Archon, Egeria, couldn't possess such a scale.

Only a Descender whose fate was equal to or surpassed Teyvat's could.

And if it was a Descender, with Phanes, the First Throne, as a reference,

Even if they possessed power that made it impossible for her to distinguish between real and fake, it wasn't surprising.

"…Where's the real Furina?!" After figuring out the truth, although slightly annoyed at being tricked, Focalors was more concerned about another matter.

"Haha, don't worry~ Haven't you already met her?"

"Met… wait, could it be… that man beside you?" Focalors was confused, but the next moment, she instantly recalled [Furina Qiao], who had been beside [Furina]. Although she couldn't understand the background of that man who had inexplicably appeared beside Furina, his occasional familiar expressions and reactions were incredibly familiar to Focalors.

Previously, she had thought it was just a coincidence, but now it seemed that that man was the real Furina!

"…What's going on?!" Focalors frowned, both curious and worried.

After all, this development had undoubtedly deviated from her original plan.

Furina had inexplicably become a man, while the real [Furina] was occupied by an outsider, a Descender.

This displacement made her uncertain whether it would bring about a good or bad outcome.

"Well, explaining this would be quite troublesome."

"Want to try a more efficient method of 'communication'?"

"A more efficient method of communication…?" Focalors looked at Jiang Qiao's outstretched hand, puzzled.

"That's right, a more efficient method of communication."

"I know the sins Fontaine bears, and I also know why you've done what you've done." The blue and white-haired girl blinked her heterochromatic eyes, her energetic tone slightly erratic:

"To be frank, I can help you—"

"Although proceeding according to your plan does have a certain romantic appeal, is it truly the best outcome?"

"…You know?!"

"After all, I'm a Descender." Jiang Qiao responded naturally to Focalors's surprise—the term "Descender" was a convenient excuse for anything illogical.

"..."

"Trust me, everything will end with a much better outcome."

"Don't you want to witness Fontaine's future, Focalors?"

The girl gracefully approached the other girl who shared her appearance, her clear, stream-like voice filled with an irresistible temptation, echoing in Focalors's ears.

Focalors wavered.

Undoubtedly, this promise was incredibly tempting.

Although she had planned for that outcome in the original storyline, it was simply a last resort, the only method she could think of.

If possible, she also wanted to live!

As the current Hydro Archon, Focalors hadn't even experienced everything before being hastily entrusted with this heavy responsibility by the previous Hydro Archon, forced to gamble her life to find a way for Fontaine's people to escape their predetermined fate.

But she was also afraid of death.

Fortunately, there was Furina, her "vessel," who could carry on her wish.

But…

If possible, didn't Focalors want to witness the fulfillment of her wish herself?

Like the serpent tempting Eve with the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden,

The unknown, potentially fatal temptation made Focalors hesitate.

Her heart pounding, she gulped and asked the only question she was concerned about—

"Then, what's the price?"