Chapter Text
"I'm tired neuvillette, I want to rest"
Those were the last word furina spoke before she departed the palais mermonia, dragging along a small suitcase filled with whatever precious possessions that brought her joy.
Wandering down the streets of Fontaine furina takes in the sights, of the waterlogged houses and the people celebrating their continued existence, dancing and singing on the streets despite being soaked to the bone.
'It was over wasn't it? The prophecy was over, the people didn't dissolve and I finally gained my freedom, so it's over right?'
'Right?'
'So where was it? The feeling of euphoria the rush of relief, something, anything to tell her that's it's over, that she can finally let go, that she need not hold on for any longer, why did it feel like merely an intermission than a finale that there's some more acts to play out and she was still needed?
Furina vaguely recalled neuvillette trying to tell her something but she was to exhausted both mentally and physically to pay attention expecting it to be one final reprimand for him to toll out before her sentence gets carried out.
Before she could ponder any further trying to recall what neuvillette said a black and red portal formed beneath her swallowing her up before vanishing.
Tumbling out of the portal and onto what looks to be a marble floor furina disoriented looks up to see a white haired woman floating in front of her her face contorted into an expression of pure rage.
"Hydro archon focalors" she spat out "or what's left of her, you have committed a grave and unpardonable sin!"
Her voice sounded was like that of a legions echosing around her and pounding onto her head.
"You have destroyed the throne of hydro, one of seven seats of power granted by celestia to worthy champions and in doing so restored the fallen hydro sovereign and destabilized the heavenly principles!"
Furina laid on the floor, fear and confusion overwhelming her mind 'destruction of the hydro throne The heavenly principles? What's left of the hydro archon? Didn't the trial prove that she was never the hydro archon?'
Bit by bit the pieces of information came together forming a complete picture in her mind where before she could only catch glimpse and hints of her mirror selfs plans now she finally understood the madness that her other self had committed to save Fontaine. Than came a dreadful realization.
'Mirror me, no focalors. She never planned for what comes after! She never took into account the possibility that celestia would realize the deception and would want revenge!
"Had it not been for our witness we would have never discovered just how deep this deception goes, you have done well in your act I will give you that."
'Witness? Celestia has a witness?' the possibility of a spy was accounted for after all, it was the reason why focalors needed furina to play her part after all, to fool the heavenly principles. But for the spy to still find out, was furina's act not good enough? Did they see through it from the beginning?
No they would have reported back centuries ago so it had to have been after the prophecy who was it? Who was the witness?'
Various suspects cycled though her mind trying to find the answer to who the spy could have been. It definitely wasn't neuvillette, was it chlorinde? She stood by her side for many years and was the closest aside from neuvillette, was it navia? Wriothesley? The magician twins? The staff members of the palais? Before zeroing in on a single moment.
"Just share it with me, I'm what you'd call a witness"
'witness'
.....
"The traveler?"
The white haired woman upon hearing furina's question simply smiles confirming her suspensions. "the traveler, he was your witness. You were observing teyvat through him!"
The revelation that all along the hero of five nations had been nothing more than a pawn for Celestia felt like a bucket of ice cold water had been poured over her, back in poisson when she had hidden in that cabin with the traveler and his companion moments before being put on trial she had been so close to giving in and telling him everything. Had she fallen apart back than, Celestia would have found out early and the plan would fall apart at it's most crucial moment.
"The hubris of the decenders believing himself to be detached from fate, that no one held his strings and that he can bear witness to teyvats deepest darkest secrets without a second thought that someone might be watching over him, I defeated him and his sister with ease, only a fool would believe that I would release him without so mush as a leash. Him fishing out that red herring of a fairy was just what humans would call the icing on the proverbial cake"
She flicks her wrist and for a brief moment two thin strings flashed into existence from the tips of her fingers leading down to the world below them before just as quickly the threads vanished as if that it had never existed.
"But that is enough of that, your sentence must be carried out"
Upon hearing that furina fuel by fear tried to flee, to get away and warn Neuvillette of this revelation despite having no idea where to go or even how to get back to Fontaine.
She only ever made it two steps before in a flash the white haired celestial materialize in front of her grabbing her by the neck and holding her up so that her feet could not touch the ground. "You will not escape your sentence final shard of focalors!" The celestial roars out with renewed fury " you shall be an example for the remaining six!"
Another portal forms behind the celestial, despite not being able to see through the portal every cell on furina's body screamed out that whatever was on the other side is a fate worst than death. "No! Noooo! Please! NO! Let me GO!!!" Furina cried out, punching the arm that held her and trying to kick the celestial but non of her strikes connected having been blocked by some invisible barrier. her executioner remained unfazed.
"I, the sustainer of heavenly principles by the powers and authority I hold sentence you to exile and annihilation!!!"
With her sentence spoken the sustainer threw furina screaming through the portal before closing it behind her.
"The sentence has been carried out. Furina de Fontaine the remnant of the last hydro archon was no more."
Despite this the sustainer felt dissatisfied. The hydro authority remains with the hydro sovereign and she currently did not have the means nor the resources to take it back without consequences and with the people of Fontaine becoming true humans under the protection of the hydro sovereign meant destroying Fontaine will only end with a Pyrrhic victory at best so they shall be left alone for now
So she settles for the next best thing, punishing that remnant of focalors who had been cast aside from both the hydro sovereign and her own people. And casting her into the shadows of annihilation.
Floating in the void of space furina screams but there is no sound, she flails her limbs about but there's nothing to grasp, eventually furina stopped struggling and floated aimlessly.
There were no stars or celestial bodies where she found herself in, as if the very concept of light and life itself had vanished, retreating In fear of the space she had been exiled to. She was alone
With nothing else to do furina thinks back on her life, the moment she was born, her act, her choices the people she knew the people she thought she could trust.
The one person she thought she could trust.
"Neuvillette"
'How could he be so cruel? Did the years we spent together mean nothing at all?'
Perhaps deep down furina knew that Neuvillette most likely hated her, how could he not? After all from his point of view was she not a usurper? One who mearly inherited her position and authority, flaunting his birthright in front of him by dragging him into Fontaine's problems. And to add insult to injury gave him a position second only to her as if to say that no matter how high he climbs, he will always be beneath her. Is it truly a wonder that he would betray her at when most convenient? Even if it was orchestrated by her mirror self Focalors.
Perhaps she should have stayed, clinging to him, begging him to let her stay by his side a little longer, than perhaps she wouldn't be in this situation. But than again she would have to let go eventually and would end up in this exact situation.
'Neuvillette, sedene, chlo-....chl.....who?'
A sense of dread and panic washed over furina. 'Had I forgotten someone? after all i couldn't have run a country with just myself and neuvillette there has to have been someone else i had trusted.a bodyguard at least'
Furina tried to think back to the faces she knows she sees every day but could recall little more than a hazy purple outline, a sword and electro vision. 'There was someone else! A woman a champion......a champion something!! Someone I trusted with my safety!'
Trying to recall that person's face furina became aware of multiple holes in her memories, faded blurs where sweet memories once resided. it was as if something was eating away at what little she had left.
Now aware of her fading memories Furina could now feel her humanity slowly chipping away as she looks down to see cracks forming across her body, revealing her inhuman origins hidden beneath a thin veil of human skin.
'No. No! Nononononono this can't be happening! I can't lose any more I won't have anything left!!'
Clutching her head in agony furina screams into the void once more, chanting what she could still recall over and over as if it were a prayer, a sutra to drive off the evil eating away at her.
" I'm furina! Furina! Neuvillette's the ludex! my companion for five centuries he's the hydro sovereign who cries a lot! sedenes a melusine who works behind the desk, she is cute, she lovely. Fontaine's my nation! My home! The land of hydro I like the limited edition 16 slices a day cake sold there!"
Despite her efforts more and more of her memories gradually faded until a single name and face are all she could recall apart from her own
"Neuvillette! Neuvillette!! Neuvillette!!! Neuvillette!!! NEUVILLETTE!!!!"
Until that too faded away.
"Neuvillette! Neuvil....neuv......neu..........."
"please.....don't leave me too"
As the last memories faded, furina was left in the inky black void, slowly devoured by the shadow of nihility.
Elsewhere in time and space the sound of a train blazing a trail through the stars was heard as a being both powerful and kind gazes in her direction, taking notice of her existence. In an instance it could see her whole life laid out before him and how she was meant for a different destiny yet was robbed of it before she even had a chance to experience it.
He could not save what was lost and in her time he already ceased to exist. however his path still exists in that era and there are those who still carry on his legacy, so perhaps he could slip enough of his influence through his path into the future to save what's left of that small yet beautiful soul from the grasps of IX's shadow
And allow her to blaze a path of her own.
A golden light appears as a brilliant golden and red ticket materialized in front of furina floating in front of her face as if calling out to her.
With the last of her will furina reached out to grab it, the moment her fingers wrapped around the ticket furina was enveloped in a golden light as she was whisked away from her exile, towards a path among the stars.
The last thing furina recalls before losing consciousness was the feeling of falling onto solid ground followed by the shrieks of what looked to be a pink haired girl.