At the Palais Mermonia in Fontaine.
Neuvillette stood upright, his gaze fixed forward.
He was confused—deeply so.
He could not understand why Aerin had said that Fontaine was "troublesome."
Fontaine was the Nation of Law.
Its legal codes were layered upon layers, article after article.
Every citizen was required to study Fontaine's laws.
Once a violation occurred, the offender would be sent to the Court for judgment.
And in the end, the Oratrice Mécanique d'Analyse Cardinale would deliver what was deemed the fairest verdict.
"So what exactly about Fontaine gives him a headache…?"
Neuvillette muttered to himself, unease growing in his heart.
He understood better than anyone—
A being like Aerin was not someone they could even look up to.
And although Aerin had been "cleaning up" Teyvat—
Mondstadt's weak wills,
Liyue's excessive reliance on human governance,
Inazuma's corrupt Commissions,
Even Sumeru's Dottore and Scaramouche—
None of those people had ever truly offended him.
They were simply… unsatisfactory.
As Neuvillette's thoughts spiraled, an image surfaced in his mind—
Furina's dramatic, loud, over-the-top figure.
His expression darkened instantly.
"…That woman feels dangerous."
In Sumeru.
Rukkhadevata stood with her hands clasped naturally at her sides, curiosity flickering in her eyes.
She, too, wondered why Aerin had singled out Fontaine.
As she reviewed old World Tree records, a trace of awkwardness crossed her face.
But she remained silent.
Speaking out of turn was not the behavior of a subordinate.
Aerin noticed—and smiled faintly.
"I think you already understand what I mean."
Rukkhadevata inhaled sharply.
Maintaining a gentle smile, she replied carefully,
"I wouldn't dare to speculate recklessly about Master's thoughts."
"It's fine," Aerin said.
"I'd like to hear your view."
Left with no choice, Rukkhadevata nodded and spoke cautiously.
"The Fontaine history I can access… comes only from what the World Tree recorded."
"These events trace back to Fontaine's first Archon—Egeria."
She did not know the details of the Year of Hidden Fire.
But she was very familiar with the era of the Archon War.
"Back then, an individual who refused to submit to King Deshret fled to the Fontaine region."
"He conquered the surrounding islands and founded the Remurian Empire."
"However, Remuria's prophet foresaw the empire's inevitable destruction."
"In an attempt to avert the prophecy, King Remus sought out Egeria."
"From her, he obtained a cup of special water."
"With it, he created Ichor—a substance insoluble in water."
"Ichor could contain memory… and consciousness."
"In other words," Rukkhadevata said carefully,
"the substance born from Egeria's water could hold awareness itself."
She glanced at Aerin nervously.
After all, that water ultimately granted Remus the ability to confine living consciousness.
Aerin remained expressionless.
Relieved, she continued.
"They used Ichor as blood, magical stone as flesh, and sealed both the consciousness of Oceanids and Fontaine's ancient people into artificial golems."
"They attempted to create citizens whose bodies were stone."
"In doing so, Remuria sought eternal, powerful life—"
"—to defy the prophecy."
"But the process of fusing consciousness into golems was unbearable."
"The resulting 'people' descended into madness."
"With internal collapse and the rebellion of the Vishaps they had once oppressed, Remuria fell."
Rukkhadevata spoke calmly.
But Fontaine's people listening felt frozen in place.
Remuria foresaw destruction, tried to escape it—
And in doing so, caused it.
The prophecy completed itself.
[Navia]: "That's terrifying… I've never even heard of Remuria."
[Charlotte]: "That was during the Archon War. It's ancient history."
[Amber]: "Sealing human consciousness into golems… that's horrifying."
[Hu Tao]: "Wait—what exactly are Oceanids? Why do their minds work like humans'?"
[Paimon]: "I don't get it at all…"
[Lyney]: "Then why does Fontaine still have a prophecy about being drowned?"
[Lumine]: "You still have that kind of prophecy? Didn't Remuria already go through it?"
[Lynette]: "Yes… our prophecy says Fontaine will be submerged, and its people will dissolve into the sea."
[Yae Miko]: "…Dissolve?"
Teyvat's people were powerful—but drowning was one thing.
Dissolving was another.
[Navia]: "So Remuria tried to turn people into golems because they faced the same prophecy?"
[Clorinde]: "That… does make sense."
[Lisa]: "Could it be that because Remuria's people didn't dissolve, the prophecy was deferred—onto modern Fontaine?"
[Mona]: "That's unlikely. Prophecies don't change targets."
[Mona]: "Even if the civilizations overlap geographically, Remuria and Fontaine are not the same nation."
[Childe]: "Isn't Fontaine's Hydro Archon in the chat? She might know something."
Furina stared at Childe's icon and nearly snapped.
Of all times…
"If I actually knew all this," she thought bitterly,
"would I be this terrified right now?!"
She ignored the chat entirely.
All she could think about was how to beg Aerin to spare her for impersonating a god.
"After Remuria's fall," Rukkhadevata continued,
"the Archon War ended."
"Egeria, as the Heart of the Primordial Sea, was granted a fragment of Heavenly Authority."
"She became Fontaine's first Archon."
She hesitated.
Aerin spoke lightly.
"Go on."
"…When Egeria guarded the Primordial Sea," Rukkhadevata said,
"the remains of dragonkind defeated by Celestia fell into its waters."
"She felt their grief and resentment."
"Her tears merged with the sea's power—giving birth to Oceanids."
"As her familiars, they longed to live as humans."
"Out of compassion, Egeria used the Primordial Sea again…"
"She transformed them into human form."
"She… created humans."
Egeria was different from other Archons.
She had been created by the Shade of Life and long tasked with suppressing the Primordial Sea.
She possessed limited authority over life.
But creation of life was forbidden.
Worse still—
She had created humans.
Celestia's most cherished beings.
The heavens were furious.
Rukkhadevata knew all this from the World Tree.
What she didn't understand was why Celestia hadn't dropped a Divine Nail—
Why instead it cast a prophecy.
"Compared to golems," she said softly,
"humans born from Oceanids were… more human."
"Except they cannot reproduce normally."
"Perhaps Celestia showed mercy."
"Those who survive, survive."
"Those who don't… don't."
Aerin shrugged lightly, speaking as if joking.
"If they leave Fontaine, the prophecy means nothing."
"And for Fontainians—without sincere emotion, wishes at the Lucine Fountain cannot result in childbirth."
Oceanids reproduce through emotional resonance.
When transformed into humans, that rule remained.
Without absolute sincerity, no child would be born.
Because no Oceanid would choose to become that couple's child.
The joke wasn't funny.
Not to Fontaine.
Aerin wasn't wrong.
If Fontainians left the coast—Liyue, Mondstadt, Natlan, Snezhnaya—
The sea couldn't chase them.
But his words pointed to one terrifying truth.
Fontaine's people were not truly human.
They were Oceanids made flesh.
The city fell into silence.
Forced laughter followed.
"He's joking… right?"
"Of course we're human…"
"We give birth like anyone else!"
But the voices grew weaker.
Because they remembered—
The Lucine Fountain.
The wishes.
The condition.
Pregnancy did not occur through human means.
It occurred through Oceanid acceptance.
Energy, not conception.
"This… can't be true…"
At the Palais Mermonia.
Furina and Clorinde stood frozen.
Outside, panic echoed endlessly.
Only Sigewinne lowered her head.
As a Melusine, she understood.
The longing to be human.
And the despair of being told you never were.
Neuvillette stood abruptly.
"…The people of Fontaine aren't human?"
Even as the Hydro Dragon Sovereign, he had grown to love humanity.
And now—
"This mess," Aerin said calmly,
"was left behind by Egeria."
"She's been dead for five hundred years."
"Dragging out a corpse feels pointless."
"And besides—"
"In this nation, the god is fake."
"And the humans are fake."
"And none of them even knew."
Rukkhadevata finally understood.
Condemn them?
Pointless.
Ignore it?
Impossible.
She smiled quickly.
"Then perhaps… you should visit Fontaine yourself, Master."
"Experience it firsthand."
Aerin nodded, smiling.
"A good idea."
"I'll go see Fontaine for myself."
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