Momang Palace.
Fu Ning felt a little embarrassed outside, but once he returned to Momang Palace, his rebellious nature came out in full.
He pounced on Furina and wildly inhaled her scent.
Furina felt like she was about to be drained dry by Fu Ning.
After quite some time, and only under Furina's light resistance, Fu Ning reluctantly pulled away from her.
Afterward, he summoned a black hole-like storage space and took out the Liyue specialties he had prepared for her.
"Fu Fu! Look at this! And this!" Fu Ning exclaimed excitedly, placing all the gifts before her.
Furina accepted each item one by one, her eyes flashing with joy.
"And finally… this!" Fu Ning presented a shimmering core of water—a condensed essence of Osial, the defeated god of Liyue.
"You've probably heard, Fu Fu. I killed Osial, the vortex demon god of Liyue," Fu Ning said calmly.
"I extracted all his elemental power and condensed it into this Water Core!"
"Fu Fu, you're the God of Water. This is the perfect gift for you!"
Furina's delicate frame trembled. She couldn't believe it.
Fu Ning not only defeated a demon god for her—he was giving her its power.
But… but she wasn't a real god. She was human.
What should she do? Would she be exposed?
She didn't even know how to wield this kind of elemental power.
Could it be that Fu Ning knew the truth? That she was pretending?
Fear surged in Furina's heart.
"Hm… Oh, right!" Fu Ning suddenly smacked his forehead. "Your divine power has already converted into Law-Compensated Mixed Energy. That was my oversight—giving you raw divine energy like this isn't compatible with your current state."
"So let's fix that. Watch closely!"
"Energy talent—Sequence Ten!"
"Elemental Talent—Sequence Nine: Water!"
Fu Ning activated his ability. A mysterious power flowed through his hands as he began to deconstruct the Water Core.
Bit by bit, the power of Osial was converted into pure elemental energy.
Eventually, a portion of that water-element force coalesced into a small azure gem engraved with the Hydro symbol.
"Perfect!" Fu Ning beamed. "This is a Water Elemental Energy Core. It works like a Vision—though it has limited energy inside."
"But don't worry! If you ever run out, just come to me, and I'll recharge it for you!"
"Now you can use elemental power, Fu Fu!"
With a grin, he leaned in and clipped the core onto Furina's waist—taking a moment to savor the scent of her clothes and thighs.
Ah… intoxicating.
Furina flushed deeply but also felt warmth bloom inside her chest.
Fu Ning…
"Thank you, Fu Ning."
Fu Ning waved her thanks away. "Ah, come on, Fu Fu. Don't be so formal with me. Try it out now—get familiar with the power!"
Furina nodded. She focused on the energy core. It lit up with a rich blue glow, and a small orb of water materialized in front of her.
Her eyes lit up in awe—she could finally wield Hydro energy.
…
"Oh, right! One more thing." Fu Ning suddenly remembered. "Actually, Liyue's Geo Archon… isn't dead."
Furina tilted her head. "Huh? Not dead? Why?"
Fu Ning chuckled and pointed at himself. "Well, Fu Fu, I completed the mission you gave me perfectly. Shouldn't I get a little reward first?"
Furina blushed and flicked her hair. "Ugh… Fine. You're my follower, my confidant, and my protector. Your Archon will grant you this small request… as thanks!"
"Muah~"
…
Fu Ning pulled her down onto the sofa beside him and recounted all that had happened in Liyue.
Furina's eyes widened with awe. "The wisdom of the Geo Archon is… truly remarkable."
"By the way… that Traveler—will she be coming to Fontaine too?"
Fu Ning nodded.
"Haha… things will get interesting then. Mondstadt and Liyue both became blood-soaked battlegrounds after she arrived. Fontaine will surely be next, right?"
"I look forward to facing her in a duel. You'll help me, won't you, Fu Ning?" Furina batted her eyes and leaned against his shoulder.
"Of course, Fu Fu. You're the one I love most. Who else would I help—some outsider Traveler?"
Fu Ning smirked, reached out, removed her hat, and tugged gently on her ahoge.
"Oh, and this!" he added. "I recorded my battle with Osial using my talent."
"And yes, I included the part where I defeated him with a single strike. Want to see?"
"Sequence Nine—Knowledge Talent!"
A light-blue screen appeared before them, projecting the battle from Fu Ning's perspective.
From the clash between Qunyu Pavilion and Osial, to the final moment when Fu Ning landed the finishing blow—the entire fight played out like a vivid dream.
"Wow!" Furina gasped. "Fu Ning, you're amazing!"
"Ahem—what I meant was… as my guard and retainer, of course you'd be strong!"
Fu Ning chuckled. "Naturally. All my strength exists to protect you, Fu Fu."
"Oh right—there's the prophecy as well."
Fu Ning recited Zhongli's words to her word for word.
At the part where Zhongli said: "Before Egolia joined the war against Khaenri'ah, she had already passed her position to the second-generation Hydro Archon—your lover, Furina," Furina flushed crimson.
"Tsk… that Rock Grandpa is sharp," she muttered under her breath.
"I heard that, Fu Fu~" Fu Ning teased.
…
Furina sat quietly, pondering all that Fu Ning had told her.
Honestly, none of this brought her closer to solving the prophecy…
But as long as her reflection in the mirror could play the role of the Archon convincingly, perhaps they still had hope.
Even if she was running out of time… even if Fu Ning couldn't give her the final answer…
As long as he was here, nothing would go wrong on her end.
Everything… depended on the other Furina—the one in the mirror.
"It's time to sleep, Fu Fu," Fu Ning's voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Huh? It's that late already?" Furina glanced at the clock in disbelief.
"Time used to crawl, but today flew by… Why?"
Fu Ning grinned. "Because Fu Fu can't live without me now, right? Someday, you'll cry and throw a fit if I'm gone."
Furina blushed and gave him a few light slaps. "Who would cry and throw a fit? I'm the God of Water—I don't cry and throw fits!"
"Yes, yes, my dear Fu Fu. Now go to sleep—let's welcome a better tomorrow."
"Don't worry. I'm always here."
***
Fu Ning coaxed Furina to sleep, walked out of Mo Mang Palace, looked at the deserted dark night, let out a breath, put away his faint smile, and his expression became extremely serious.
"I can't be wrong…"
"I even used my strongest knowledge talent, Sequence Nine. There is absolutely no way that the strongest talent can be wrong."
"When I saw Barbatos before, I thought it was an illusion."
"But now that I've seen Morax again, I can be sure—he truly is the Rock Archon."
"Fufu… she…"
"She's not a god…"
"Not even a demon…"
"It seems… Fufu is human."
"Yes, absolutely—Fufu is human!"
"Fufu's aura is nothing like Morax's. It's completely human!"
"Is she pretending to be the Hydro Archon?"
"But that can't be right… How can a human live for 500 years? Fufu isn't a superhuman…"
"Oh, that aura. Although it's unfamiliar, I've seen it before…"
"It's a curse… a curse…"
"It's the breath of a curse…"
"Who dares to curse Fufu? Wait—calm down. This isn't just any curse. This is a curse that grants immortality… Like the highest-tier life talent, Sequence Eleven—it's more a blessing than a curse…"
Why…? Fu Ning thought quickly.
That's right!
Fu Ning took out the Memories of Furina from his arms.
"Fufu's memories are filled with loneliness…"
"So, since she was so lonely, she definitely didn't pretend to be the Hydro Archon voluntarily over these five hundred years. She must have had her own reasons!"
"Fufu… you were probably forced by someone to pretend to be the Hydro Archon!"
Fu Ning felt that he was starting to piece things together.
"Except Barbatos and Morax, the other five Archons are not the original Archons. However, Morax has never questioned the identity of any of them…"
"It can be confirmed that—except for Fufu—the Electro Archon, the Dendro Archon, the Pyro Archon, and the Cryo Archon are legitimate."
"So… could it be that Egeria isn't truly dead? Could she be the real Hydro Archon still hidden behind the scenes, and Furina—also known as Fufu—is just a stand-in who was pushed to the forefront…" Fu Ning made a reasonable guess.
"Egeria forced Fufu to become the Hydro Archon. She was plotting something behind the scenes…"
"No, no. Morax said that Egeria is dead. Egeria must truly be dead. There's no way she could fool both Morax and the Iudex."
"So, Fufu is indeed human—and is indeed pretending to be a god."
"Then who has the power to curse Fufu and force her into the role of the Hydro Archon?"
"What about Neuvillette?"
Fu Ning closed his eyes and thought quickly.
"That's even more unlikely. Neuvillette is the Dragon of Water, not the secret Hydro Archon…"
"Even if he did want to orchestrate something like this, he couldn't become the Chief Justice of Fontaine just to do it."
"Besides, if Fufu was being coerced by Neuvillette, she would've asked me for help. Neuvillette can't defeat me—everyone knows that."
"I can't guess… I just can't guess…"
Fu Ning began to recall Morax's words:
("Later… because Egeria stole the power of the primordial Sea of Origins and did something unknown, she incurred the wrath of the gods."
"The furious gods brought down divine punishment, and Egeria was imprisoned for centuries."
"From then on, the prophecy began to circulate in Fontaine."
…
"When the Khaenri'ah War broke out, Egeria… died in that war."
"Before she joined the war, she had already passed the role of Hydro Archon to the second generation, Furina."
"Legend has it that the people of Fontaine are born with sin, and based on Egeria and Furina's actions, I think the prophecy might be true."
"I believe the prophecy troubled Furina for a long time. She must be trying to find a solution."
"She even sent you to look for me.")
"Right! I was on the wrong track. The reason Fufu pretended to be the Hydro Archon probably has to do with the prophecy!"
"If that's the case, things start to make sense. The prophecy was handed down by the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles. Ordinary people don't even know who she is—how could they know the prophecy is real?"
"Then, if we can figure out who in this world knows the prophecy is real, we can narrow down who might be behind all this!"
"As far as I know, there's the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles, Morax, Egeria, Fufu, and me. As for Barbatos… I'm not sure."
"The Sustainer is out of reach, Morax is trustworthy, and I can rule myself out."
"Egeria has been dead for who knows how long. That rules her out."
"Then there must be some other being that even Morax doesn't know about…"
"I can't figure it out past that… I need to be cautious of this unknown figure…"
"And the prophecy… why will humans dissolve into the sea?"
"Is it because… there's something in the sea?"
"Morax said the people of Fontaine carry sin, but he didn't say the entire world is guilty. So Egeria must have done something specific to Fontaine's people!"
"That's why the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles was enraged. Sooner or later, the sea level will rise. There's something in the sea that can dissolve the people of Fontaine!"
"Wait… is it because the people of Fontaine have a life force stronger than ordinary humans?"
"Could it be… that Egeria infused them with water from the primordial Sea of Origins? I don't understand."
"Let's set that aside for now. I can't let Fufu notice I've caught on. The person behind her made her pretend to be the Hydro Archon, probably to resolve the prophecy."
"Fufu knows who that person is—and so did Egeria. Other than them, probably no one else knows!"
"But Egeria is long dead. I can't just ask Fufu directly."
"Egeria passed on the throne, the prophecy, and the sin to that person—and that person had Fufu step forward as the public Archon, while they worked in secret to resolve the prophecy."
"So Fufu wasn't forced. She volunteered."
"It must be… Egeria and Fufu agreed to this. Fufu would take the public role, while someone else worked behind the scenes to fix everything."
"Yes, that makes sense. Fufu volunteered to be the Hydro Archon, even though it brought her great pain. But in order to resolve the prophecy, she endured it all."
"Fufu trusts that person deeply—that's why she's willing to endure a hundred years of loneliness."
Fu Ning's thoughts gradually became clearer, and he had likely pieced together most of the truth.
Now, the most important thing was to find out who that mysterious person was…
But before that, the most important task was:
Protect Fufu.
"Keep this secret—don't let Neuvillette know."