Chapter 187.
Futsu Mitama and his entourage filed into the courtyard, completely oblivious to the tense atmosphere.
He noticed immediately that Yae Miko's usual teasing grin had a sharp, dissatisfied edge to it. She was shooting venomous glares at Mona and Kamisato Ayaka.
Mona, for her part, had pressed her lips into a tight, uncompromising line, stubbornly refusing to speak. Ayaka looked equally anxious, her hands clasped tightly, visibly torn between desperately wanting to hear Mona's divination and being utterly terrified of asking now that Futsu Mitama was actually standing in front of her.
"What's wrong?" Futsu Mitama asked, bewildered by the awkward silence. "Did I interrupt something?"
"Not at all. You arrived precisely when you were needed."
Miko smiled, stepping forward with her trademark, predatory grace. Her eyes locked onto Futsu Mitama.
"We were just negotiating with Miss Mona. She claimed she needed your specific assistance before she could proceed. It is quite fortunate you returned when you did. Otherwise, Sister Ganyu and I would have been left waiting indefinitely."
Miko smiled sweetly and smoothly looped her arm through Ganyu's, leaning into the half-qilin with an overly flirtatious charm.
"Isn't that right, Sister?"
"Huh?"
Ganyu blinked, entirely caught off guard by Miko's sudden, dramatic shift in tone, but she nodded nonetheless. If Futsu Mitama hadn't returned, Mona genuinely wouldn't have dared to read their fates.
"..."
Watching Miko play the innocent maiden, Futsu Mitama's expression deadpanned. He knew her tactics flawlessly. She was laying it on thick to cover up whatever mischief she had been instigating moments before he arrived.
He also knew better than to ask. The more curiosity he showed, the tighter Miko would weave her web of lies. Conversely, if he aggressively ignored her, she would eventually get bored and spill the truth just to get a reaction.
"Divination? For Ganyu and Miko?"
Paimon asked, floating over with wide eyes.
"Mm."
Ganyu nodded softly.
Lumine stepped into the courtyard, her golden eyes sweeping over Ganyu and Miko before finally settling on Kamisato Ayaka.
Ayaka returned the gaze with equal curiosity. They were familiar with one another from countless conversations in the Chat Group, but this was the first time they were breathing the same air in reality.
"Hiii! Futsu Mitama!" Yoimiya cheered, violently waving both arms. "I brought you the absolute premium, century-old ancestral fireworks from the Naganohara family!"
If the timing hadn't been so socially awkward with the divination talk, she would have sprinted across the courtyard and shoved the explosive payload directly into his chest.
Meanwhile, Kuki Shinobu and Sangonomiya Kokomi walked over to Kujou Sara and Gorou.
"Sangonomiya-sama!"
Gorou gasped, looking at Kokomi with profound, desperate relief. He looked like a loyal hound who had been left out in the rain for a week.
His grievance was completely justified. He had suffered unspeakable psychological torment in Inazuma City, and he hadn't seen his Divine Priestess in over half a year. Kokomi had occasionally sent him letters—delivered through the terrifying claws of that malicious fox—but words on a page couldn't soothe his soul. Gorou needed to look his Priestess in the eye and complain about the horrors of the Yae Publishing House.
Kokomi offered Gorou a gentle, incredibly warm smile, though a distinct trace of guilt colored her cheeks.
She had been ruthlessly playing in Liyue for months, dumping the crushing bureaucratic weight of Watatsumi Island entirely onto her general's shoulders.
She felt terrible about it—but the freedom of slacking off was simply too intoxicating to give up. Furthermore, through the Chat Group, she was updated on Watatsumi's status in real-time, and she frequently bribed Miko to secretly run interference if things got complicated. As long as the island wasn't literally sinking into the sea, Kokomi had absolutely zero intention of returning to her desk.
But seeing Gorou look so tragically aggrieved, her heart softened.
"Gorou, speak slowly. Take your time. I am right here." she said gently.
"Yes, Sangonomiya-sama!"
Gorou nodded fiercely, instantly launching into a breathless, highly emotional recounting of the past six months.
"Shinobu."
Kujou Sara nodded, offering a respectful, familiar greeting. The two were old acquaintances; rigid military formalities were unnecessary between them.
"Sara. It has been a long time." Shinobu nodded back. "How are you adjusting to Liyue?"
"It is incredible." Sara replied, genuine awe softening her strict features. "If I had never stepped foot outside Inazuma, I would never have comprehended the sheer differences of Liyue's prosperity."
As the adopted sword of the Kujou Clan and the General of the Shogun's army, Sara had lived her entire life chained to her duty. She existed solely to enforce the Shogun's will within their island borders. If Guuji Yae hadn't forcefully orchestrated this diplomatic exchange to force her to see the world, Sara would have likely lived and died in Inazuma without ever glancing across the ocean.
"It is vital to expand your horizons."
Shinobu agreed. While she loved Inazuma, the nation's bloody, isolationist history had fundamentally stunted its societal evolution.
Liyue, by contrast, had matured into a flawless economic engine. But Shinobu knew exactly why Miko had brought Sara here. It wasn't just tourism. It was an accelerated class in governance and law.
Shinobu herself had been glued to her senior sister, Yanfei, for days, aggressively absorbing the intricacies of Liyue's absolute legal code. Shinobu's skills as a lawyer had evolved rapidly. In the past, Shinobu's legal strategy was purely defensive—ensuring her client (usually the Arataki Gang) avoided prison.
Now?
Yanfei had taught her that if your client is genuinely innocent, anyone attempting to frame them inevitably possesses dark secrets of their own. The most efficient legal strategy was to simply drag the accusers into court and have them thrown in prison instead.
Armed with this terrifying new legal doctrine, Shinobu knew that Sara would also absorb invaluable lessons from Liyue's bureaucracy.
While the Inazumans exchanged notes, Futsu Mitama walked over to Mona. Without a word, he placed a hand on her shoulder, activating the Dendro Archon's authority and quietly reconnecting their spiritual link, granting her the divine buffer she required.
"So, who is going first?"
Futsu Mitama asked, looking between Ganyu and Miko.
"Sister Ganyu, would you like to take the lead?"
Miko offered politely. This Fox wasn't in any rush. The specific question she wanted to ask the astrologer was highly... volatile. Waiting a few minutes would be wise. Furthermore, she fully anticipated needing to dodge an attack immediately after asking it, so buying time to position herself was tactical.
"I will go first, then."
Ganyu said softly. She wasn't going to be modest. The crushing weight of her existential crisis had been suffocating her.
She had initially wanted to seek Rex Lapis's guidance, but with the Rite of Descension consuming his schedule, the ever-dutiful secretary refused to burden her god. Now, with Mona's legendary abilities available, Ganyu saw a lifeline.
Ganyu stepped forward, looking into Mona's eyes with profound, heartbreaking earnestness.
"I wish to know... my future. I need to know where I am supposed to go."
She didn't mention her work. Her work was vanishing. It was the terrifying void left behind that paralyzed her.
In this aggressive new era of humanity, what was the purpose of a half-adeptus?
Ganyu harbored a dark, terrifying thought she hadn't confessed to anyone: The era of humanity belonged strictly to humans. The ancient burdens of the adeptus were being transferred to mortal shoulders, allowing humanity to forge its own strength.
So... where did that leave someone whose blood was split down the middle? Should she completely surrender her adeptal heritage and live as a mortal bureaucrat? Or should she abandon human society entirely and retreat to the mountains to bear the fading responsibilities of the adeptus?
When she was drowning in paperwork, she didn't have the luxury of entertaining these thoughts. But the Qixing had stripped her of her duties, forcing her to rest. And in that quiet, suffocating rest, the crisis had bloomed.
She had wandered Liyue Harbor recently, looking at the city she had spent millennia protecting. She had watched it rise from ash and mud into a glittering jewel of prosperity. Yet, when she looked at the laughing mortals on the streets, she felt a terrifying, icy realization: Their joy has nothing to do with me anymore.
In the past, the happiness of the mortals fueled her.
Now, she felt like a ghost haunting a city that had outgrown her. The terrifying question whispered in the back of her mind: Should I even remain in Liyue Harbor?
"?!"
Hearing Ganyu's request, Futsu Mitama inhaled sharply.
This is incredibly serious, he thought.
In the original timeline, Ganyu's crisis of faith had been significant, but it hadn't run this deep. His intervention had drastically accelerated Liyue's timeline, inadvertently pushing Ganyu much closer to the edge.
Mona, however, remained the picture of professional composure. She nodded solemnly, summoning a massive, pristine water mirror.
"Are you certain this is the only question you wish to ask? Your divination carries immense metaphysical weight, Miss Ganyu. If there is anything else you wish to know, speak now. If not, I will commence."
Even shielded by Futsu Mitama's divine aura, Mona was sweating. Reading the fate of a half-adeptus who had survived the Archon War was like staring directly into the sun.
Ganyu shook her head slowly. "Just this."
"Very well."
Mona exhaled a sharp breath. The Hydro energy around her violently spiked, the air growing dense with elemental pressure.
"Fate! Manifest here!"
Mona threw every ounce of her magical power into the scrying mirror.
OM—!!
The exact millisecond Mona pierced the veil of Ganyu's fate, a terrifying, suffocating pressure descended upon the courtyard. Several ancient, lethal gazes snapped toward them from the distant peaks of Jueyun Karst.
The adeptus were masters of the mystic arts. The moment someone attempted to aggressively divine the fate of one of their own, their alarm bells rang.
Through the ethereal plane, the adeptus aggressively cast their own scrying arts backward, seeking to identify the arrogant mortal attempting to read Ganyu.
However, the moment their mystic gazes landed on the intertwined spiritual signatures of Mona and the aura of Futsu Mitama, the adeptus immediately aborted their scrying and severed the connection.
If Mona had been alone, the adeptus would have violently shattered her mind to protect Ganyu's privacy. But with Futsu Mitama standing guard? That was an entirely different political reality.
Just as the adeptus withdrew, a new, infinitely more terrifying aura blanketed the courtyard. High above in the void, a pair of ancient, golden eyes burning with absolute Geo authority opened.
I knew it!
Mona screamed internally. Peering into Ganyu's soul had inevitably summoned the gaze of Rex Lapis.
But just like the adeptus, the golden eyes registered Futsu Mitama's presence, lingered for a fraction of a second, and quietly closed, allowing the divination to proceed unhindered.
Freed from divine interference, the water mirror stabilized. But the sheer physical toll of reading a three-thousand-year-old fate was agonizing. The color completely drained from Mona's face, her skin turning a sickly, translucent white.
"Hah! Hah!"
Less than ten seconds later, the mirror shattered into vapor. Mona collapsed forward, gasping desperately for oxygen.
Ganyu stepped forward, her eyes wide with terror, too afraid to ask for the result when the astrologer looked like she was dying.
Futsu Mitama instantly channeled a surge of pure Dendro life energy into Mona's body, stabilizing her erratic heartbeat.
Mona's astrology was peerless, but physics still applied. Divining the fate of an ancient, mythological entity required an astronomical expenditure of vital energy.
As the color slowly returned to her cheeks, Mona quietly wiped the cold sweat from her forehead.
I am never, ever doing a reading of this magnitude for free again, she vowed silently. The overhead cost is completely unsustainable.
Once her breathing steadied, Mona looked up into Ganyu's anxious eyes.
"You are rapidly approaching a massive, existential crossroads." Mona said, her voice raspy but absolute. "You will be forced to make a profound choice regarding your identity."
Mona managed a weak, genuine smile.
"But the process, and the outcome of both choices, are overwhelmingly positive. There is no downward trajectory. Both paths lead to light. It is incredibly rare. In my entire career, this is the first time I have ever read a crossroads where both diverging fates yield exclusively positive feedback."
Mona wasn't lying to comfort her. Fate was a volatile curve of tragedies and triumphs. Yet Ganyu's chart was an anomaly—no matter which identity she chose to embrace, the universe would reward her.
Hearing the absolute certainty in the astrologer's voice, the crushing, invisible weight that had been suffocating Ganyu for weeks finally cracked. A small, breathtakingly beautiful smile bloomed on her face.
"Congratulations, Sister Ganyu."
Miko smiled warmly, genuinely happy for her friend.
Then, the Guuji turned her gaze back to the exhausted astrologer.
"Well then. I believe it is my turn, isn't it?"
"Mm."
Mona nodded weakly. She desperately wanted to demand payment, but given Futsu Mitama's life-saving intervention and Miko's status as his peer, she resigned herself to one final, pro-bono reading.
"My question is quite simple~" Miko purred, her voice dripping with lethal, sugary mischief. "When will Futsu Mitama finally have a child?"
"Eh?"
Mona froze, her brain completely short-circuiting.
Beside them, Aila and Black Aila's eyes instantly ignited with terrifying intensity.
The entire courtyard—Kokomi, Shinobu, Ganyu, Ayaka, Lumine, Paimon, Sara, Gorou, and Yoimiya—violently snapped their heads toward Mona, their eyes wide with absolute, burning curiosity.
"..."
Futsu Mitama expressionlessly severed the mental link to Mona.
Without a single word, he reached into the void, drew the crackling, purple blade of Seven Thunder of Retribution: Narukami, and swung a lethal, horizontal arc aimed directly at Yae Miko's neck.
"Eek! He's murdering the fox!"
Knowing exactly what was coming, Miko let out a theatrical shriek, instantly dissolving into a bolt of purple lightning and teleporting out of the courtyard a fraction of a second before the blade cleaved the space where her head had been.
Futsu Mitama vanished in a flash of thunder, giving chase.
As the two lightning users abandoned the courtyard, a collective, devastated sigh echoed through the group.
They were all agonizingly close to hearing the answer.
Taking advantage of the chaotic distraction, Mona quietly slid over to Kamisato Ayaka. She patted the frozen noblewoman gently on the shoulder and leaned in close.
"The future of your love life is completely shrouded in fog." Mona whispered softly into Ayaka's ear. "The stars cannot dictate it. Which means... if you want him, you have to be bold enough to take him yourself."