Snezhnaya.
Ever since Tartaglia emerged from the Primordial Sea, he had remained in a prolonged coma. After the Primordial Sea water flooded Fontaine, he was sent back to Snezhnaya once the waters receded.
Having previously instructed his subordinates to avoid alerting his family, Tartaglia wasn't taken home directly upon his return. This spared his parents and Tonia from unnecessary worry.
However, there was no avoiding Angie. The unconscious Tartaglia was immediately transported to the Captain's quarters.
Inside the room, Angie sat vigil by the bedside, where Tartaglia lay motionless.
Four days had passed since he fell into his coma. Were it not for Angie's ability to constantly sense his vital signs, she might not have remained so calm.
Standing behind Angie were Ailina and Vanyeliya—a Mirror Maiden and an Anemo Operative.
Vanyeliya was the same Operative who had participated in the Kaiyang Martial Summit in Liyue and achieved a remarkable ranking. After Angie transferred her from Scaramouche's command, she had remained at her side.
Later, Angie discovered that this one was not only strong herself but also adept at executing missions, leading teams, and formulating plans. Angie began to consider grooming her into a capable subordinate.
"Lady Angie," Ailina reported, "Captain has issued orders for us to depart for Natlan in three days."
Angie nodded, acknowledging the order. Traveling to Natlan was something the Tsaritsa had promised her long ago, but she still needed to report to the Tsaritsa before departing.
Three days...
With ample time to prepare, Angie's team had already made thorough preparations.
Cough, cough...
Tartaglia coughed a few times from the bed.
"Brother?" Angie immediately rose and rushed to his side.
After several days of rest, Tartaglia's complexion had improved significantly, though he still looked somewhat frail, likely due to the excessive exertion he'd endured in Fontaine.
"How are you feeling? Are you in pain?"
"I... Where am I...? Little Sister! Am I back in Snezhnaya?"
Tartaglia propped himself up against the bed, and Angie quickly grabbed a nearby pillow to support him.
"You were brought back to Snezhnaya by others after you lost consciousness. You've been out for four days. What exactly happened? How did you end up in that Primordial Sea thing, fighting a narwhal?"
Tartaglia rubbed his temples. After being unconscious for four days, his head throbbed, and he was starving.
"Before I say anything, Little Sister, you'd better get me some food first. It's not very sisterly to make your brother talk on an empty stomach."
Angie opened the food box beside the bed and ladled out a bowl of hot porridge. She sat by the window, scooped up a spoonful, gently blew on it, and held it to Tartaglia's lips.
"Come on, ah~"
Tartaglia: "..."
"Ahem, Little Sister, I can manage on my own."
Despite his aching body, eating was still manageable.
Angie rolled her eyes at him, handed him the bowl, and only released it once she was sure he could hold it steady. "I had it ready all along. Did you really think your sister would let you starve?"
Tartaglia slurped down the porridge in one go, watching Angie's brow furrow in disapproval.
"Slow down, slow down! No one's going to steal it. Be careful not to choke from eating too fast."
Tartaglia: "How can you choke on porridge? Another bowl!"
Angie: "No, you need to rest first. You can eat again later."
Seeing his sister's stern gaze, Tartaglia relented.
Fine, later it is.
Angie: "Now you can tell me. What exactly happened?"
Tartaglia shifted again, settling into a more comfortable position before speaking:
"It's a long story. When I went to Fontaine, I originally intended to collect debts from my creditors. But I unexpectedly ran into the Traveler and Paimon there, and we..."
Angie interrupted: "I know all the big and small things that happened after you went to Fontaine. Tell me something I don't know, starting from your entry into the Fortress of Meropide."
Tartaglia paused, chuckled wryly, and rephrased:
"As you know, Neuvillette personally subdued me, and the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale judged me guilty—though I have absolutely no memory of committing any so-called 'Serial Disappearance Case.' I suspect there's more to this than meets the eye."
"The Fortress of Meropide isn't just an ordinary prison; it's an underwater fortress, autonomous and isolated from the outside world. Mora isn't used there; instead, they use a token called 'Credit Coupons,' which can be exchanged for everything except freedom and life. I was assigned a workstation, and like the other inmates, spent my days processing parts in exchange for Credit Coupons—but that's hardly my style."
"Every night, I would hear a faint whisper echoing from deep within the tower's pipes."
"The voice was both familiar and foreign, resonating with the same energy I'd felt when I plunged into the Abyss at fourteen. My dreams began to fill with bizarre visions: a colossal narwhal swimming through the deep sea, primordial seawater churning endlessly. That narwhal was the entity Master Skirk had once mentioned, the 'thing' that left its mark on me."
"Unable to resist its call, I slipped past the guards one night and ventured deep into the pipes."
"Following the source of the whisper, I pressed onward until I finally beheld it—colossal and ancient, thrashing in the primordial seawater. At that moment, the power within me surged out of control, as if resonating with the Primordial Sea itself. The narwhal hunted me relentlessly, overwhelming even my Foul Legacy Transformation. It was far too powerful; I fled desperately."
"Eventually, I burst through a spatial rift and joined Neuvillette and the Traveler in repelling the colossal beast. Then I passed out."
At this point, Tartaglia suddenly remembered something and asked, "I don't remember anything after passing out. How is Fontaine now? Has the Prophecy come to pass?"
Angie was still pondering everything Tartaglia had just said when he asked, "So, what exactly happened after I passed out?"
"According to the guy who brought you back," she replied, "after you fell unconscious, the Hydro Archon's Divine Throne collapsed. Neuvillette regained the Authority of the Ancient Dragons and absolved the Fontainians of their sins. That's why, even though the great flood submerged Fontaine, they weren't dissolved."
"The Hydro Archon's Divine Throne collapsed?" Tartaglia repeated, his voice sharp with concern. "Then what happened to Archon Furina?"
Angie shook her head. The Knave's subordinates were notoriously tight-lipped, but the spies she'd sent out should be returning soon.
A conflicted expression crossed Tartaglia's face. Neuvillette... regained the Authority of the Ancient Dragons. Hiss, how am I supposed to challenge him now?
"That All-Devouring Narwhal was corrupted by the Abyss," Angie continued, "becoming immensely powerful. The Abyss even sent a... sentient automaton. In the end, the Hydro Dragon Sovereign Neuvillette, the Anemo Archon Barbatos, the Dendro Archon Buer, the Little Dendro Archon Nahida, the Electro Archon Beelzebul, and the Traveler joined forces to repel it."