"Why would you say that to Cravie? Crucabena is her mother. It’s not like she’d want to kill her."
"It looked like Cravie didn’t particularly want to see that woman either. So I brought it up, but she shuddered and objected."
Of course she did. She probably gave the simple answer that there was no way she could kill that woman at her age.
"She said she’s still too young to kill Crucabena, right?"
"As expected of my brother, who knows everything. Amazing, amazing."
"Could you not clap while saying that with a blank expression?"
"And Brother, what did you talk about when you met that woman earlier? You put something really thick on the bookshelf."
"Oh, this book? Well, actually..."
...Explanation in progress...
"Don’t you think you could do it, Brother?"
"Why me? Based on what?"
"Because you know everything. Don’t you have all the questions that’ll be on the test memorized too?"
She was treating me like someone who had gone back in time with a sports almanac from Back to the Future and correctly predicted every game. How was I supposed to know questions from an exam that didn’t even appear in the game?
"Listen, little sister... I don’t know every little detail on a test, you know? If I knew even which day next month chocolate buns would come out, wouldn’t that be the realm of gods?"
"Is that so...? Still, I can do anything for you, Brother. What if I steal the exam papers beforehand?"
"You’d be sent straight to the Fortress of Meropide, and I’d never see you again."
"I don’t want that. If I can’t see you, Brother, I’d rather die."
I could feel Peruere’s personality changing. She wasn’t originally this kind of character, was she?
"For now, apologize to Cravie tomorrow and tell her you were joking. If a pointless rumor spreads, we’re the ones who’ll die."
"Hmm... then what if we train Cravie until she’s practically dead and make her king-power-super-strong?"
"King-power-super-strong...? Who taught you to say something like that?"
"Citra."
That Citra... Since she was a child, her choice of words was exactly what you would expect from one. They said kids were heavily influenced by the groups they hung around with, and apparently Peruere was even picking up her way of speaking.
"Sigh... It’s late, so let’s sleep together. Though I’m not sure this is right..."
"And Brother, what is that Vision? It’s pure white, unlike yours."
Peruere pointed at the Empty Vision curiously.
"Oh, this? I fished it up while ice fishing. Don’t worry about it."
"Liar..."
"...What?"
The moment Peruere called me a liar, I panicked. Had this girl become capable of seeing through lies now?
"Who gave it to you? If it had been in the water, the metal outer casing should have rusted or something, but there isn’t a trace of that... Did you get it from that woman?"
Hmm... How was I supposed to explain this? If I said Capitano gave it to me, she would press me about who that was. And it was true that I got it while ice fishing, wasn’t it? I needed to mix truth and lies appropriately.
"While I was ice fishing, I met someone from the Fatui. We talked for a while, and they said we might meet again someday. Then they gave me this along with that black sword over there."
"Hmm..."
Peruere’s eyes sharpened. She was not even seven yet, and she was already suspicious of her brother. I had told her to question everything, but I never thought that would come back around to me.
"It doesn’t seem like a lie... Then what are you going to do with it?"
"This? I’ve been hiding it from the others, but I took it out to see what it would look like as an accessory. I should keep it hidden, though. Crucabena will take it away if she finds out."
"Okay. I won’t tell the other children."
"It’s late, so let’s sleep."
Peruere and I lay down together beneath the moonlight. Ugh... this was making me way too conscious.
"Hey, Peruere? Try to sleep a little farther away—urk?!"
Peruere wrapped her arms around me from behind like I was a body pillow. What had gotten into her all of a sudden?
"Brother... I have nightmares..."
"Nightmares...?"
"I keep dreaming about a red moon, and a world that seems to be burning. I didn’t want to have that dream, so I stayed awake at night looking at the moon, but I think I’ll be all right now. Because you’ll protect me, Brother..."
"Peruere..."
After saying that, Peruere fell sound asleep. She must have been exhausted from not sleeping properly. Sigh, poor thing.
"I should get some sleep too... I just hope Peruere’s dreams don’t rub off on me."
Thinking that, I turned around, held Peruere in my arms, stroked her head, and drifted off to sleep.
"What the fuck is this?"
When I opened my eyes, I was deep in dark water. It felt much like the water Freminet sank into in Fontaine’s first animated cutscene. But since I could talk, was this a dream?
"An outsider entering a place like this... It must have been several hundred years."
A very familiar voice rang out. The central figure of Fontaine’s story, the god who went so far as to kill herself in order to achieve her wish of screwing over the Heavenly Principles.
"Focalors...?"
"Hmm? You know my name? Then I suppose introductions aren’t necessary."
Focalors wore white, in contrast to Furina in her black-and-blue attire. She was the one who made Furina act for five hundred years, the god who watched every situation from within the Oratrice Mecanique d’Analyse Cardinale. I knew much more about her, but right now, this situation was bothering me far more.
"Where is this? And why am I here?"
"You could think of it as the sea in the deepest depths of my inner self. As for why you are here... it’s because the Vision you possess has connected with your consciousness. Opportunities to behold the Hydro Archon are rare, so feel free to look your fill."
Her confidence was exactly like Furina’s act. But the Vision I had was Pyro.
"The Vision I have is Pyro, though. Why am I meeting you, the Hydro Archon?"
"Hmm? Wasn’t the Vision you possessed Hydro? Do you have another one?"
I had a Hydro Vision? What nonsense was that... Don’t tell me?
"I do have an Empty Vision, but I suppose its original element was Hydro?"
"Hmm... A human who handles both fire and water... Has there ever been a precedent for that?"
"A human who can wield all seven elements will appear soon, so there will be a precedent."
Focalors looked at me with an intrigued expression.
"You speak as though you know the future. In that case, this could be interesting. Would you like to make a contract with me?"
"A contract? What kind of contract do you want?"
"A simple exchange. If there is information I want, you tell me. If there is something you want to know, you ask me. Of course, you have the right to refuse."
A contract with the Hydro Archon... She did not seem like the type who would swindle me... But why did she look so delighted?
"You’re not just trying to make yourself someone to talk to, are you? You’ve been holed up here for five hundred years, so you must be bored."
"My, you’ve already seen through my true feelings. You’re quite perceptive, aren’t you?"
I had no way of knowing whether that attitude was a lie or the truth. Come to think of it, how would I know whether the information she gave me was true?
"Focalors. When you give me information, can you lie?"
"It makes me rather sad that you think so little of me, the God of Justice. Of course I will tell the truth. And you will tell the truth as well, won’t you?"
"So long as it ensures my plan continues, I will answer anything truthfully."
"You have quite the nerve. As a gift for accepting this contract, shall I awaken your Hydro Vision?"
No, wait a second. She was going to awaken my Hydro Vision right now?
"W-wait! If the Vision awakens in the room I’m in now, that woman will notice. I’ll tell you when the time is right, so awaken it then."
"That woman? Who is this woman?"
"There is a Fatui Harbinger named Crucabena. You could call her my archenemy."
"An archenemy... That is quite a vicious word to use, isn’t it? Since you asked a question, it is your turn now. What will you ask the great Focalors?"
I had been given a chance to question a god. As much as possible, I needed to ask something that suited my plan. Then my first question had to be this.
"Is my current body Fontainean?"
Focalors tilted her head, seemingly unable to understand the point of my question.
"What are you talking about? You were born in Fontaine, so naturally you are Fontainean."
Of course I was Fontainean, since I had been in Fontaine from the moment I opened my eyes. But that was not what I wanted to know.
"That is not what I mean. Focalors, I am asking whether I am a Fontainean ‘purely imbued with the spirit of water.’"
At that moment, surprise crossed Focalors’s face. She had become curious as to how this human knew that fact.
"Hmm? Interesting. Hardly anyone should know that fact. To give you the answer: yes. The spirit of water dwells within your body."
Hearing that, I thought of a possibility—a way to screw over Crucabena. Crucabena’s goal was to make me king. At last, I had found a way to utterly destroy that goal.
"I’m asking because your last question made me curious, but what was your intention in asking that?"
Focalors, puzzled, questioned me in return.
What else could it be? To achieve my goal. My greatest goal was to screw over Crucabena. And my second goal was to preserve the original causality of Genshin Impact without shattering it, and to maintain the world as I knew it until the Traveler arrived. To accomplish both...
"To kill myself."
"Oh...?"
A deep smile bloomed across Focalors’s face.
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