Lyney
"I need you three to get close to him," Arlecchino said while writing something on a piece of paper on her desk. "Learn what he's doing and, overall, his activities in Fontaine."
Lyney exchanged a glance with Freminet, then with Lynette, who gave the smallest possible shrug in return.
"Gladly, Father. But you have yet to tell us who this mysterious person is."
Her eyes widened just slightly, and she sighed. "Sorry, work has been heavy as of late. The person you are to meet is Ren Roman."
Recognition flashed through the three siblings. Of all of the Fatui's branches and departments, practically all children of the House of the Hearth know that name the most.
"He's in Fontaine?" Lynette spoke up, her voice excited, though it was barely a difference compared to her usual monotone voice. Even Freminet looked silently excited.
Lyney didn't blame them. Even he couldn't suppress the awe and curiosity of the man who single-handedly demolished a human trafficking network that spanned three nations in a single day.
A man who racked up a kill count in the hundreds without breaking a sweat.
For all the fear that man brought upon many Fatui agents, stories of his commitment and gentleness towards the victims of trafficking were equally prominent.
Basically, he was someone the House respected. A lot.
He even had a fan club. Because of course, Fontaine.
His siblings and others in the House of the Hearth also talked about him constantly, calling him a hero of sorts.
While he doesn't glorify Ren as much as the rest, he was still in awe of the man. To see injustice and not turn a blind eye, to actually do something about it. Such people were few and far between, but they shone as bright as the sun.
'Ren Roman must be a noble warrior.'
"Reports informed me that he has somehow gotten involved with the ongoing Rogue Champion Duelist problem and had captured three on his own."
Lyney could swear his two siblings had stars in their eyes.
"Is this why you want us to get close to him?" Freminet asked.
"Not entirely." Arlecchino put a hand under her chin. "This assignment is a little different from the usual. There is no… pressing reason. I'm merely doing this out of curiosity."
"Curiosity?"
Arlecchino nodded. Noticing the siblings looks, she decided to elaborate. "I have reason to believe that Ren Roman will become someone of great significance. While I do not have any evidence to support why I believe that is so. My instincts tell me it's better to befriend him while we have the chance."
Her words were straightforward, but the siblings immediately caught on to what she was implying.
'So Father thinks we can convince him to join the House?' While an individual like him would do wonders for them, the reports show that it would be very unlikely. 'But Father's instincts are rarely wrong.'
That settled it. If Arlecchino thought something was worth her attention, it was worth theirs too, no further explanation required.
"I've done some additional digging on him," Arlecchino continued. "He is paranoid. Reasonably so, given that he arrived in Liyue inside a Treasure Hoarder's cage."
"If we approach him as the House of the Hearth, or as anything connected to the Fatui, he'll be constantly questioning our motives. It was quite apparent in the short time I had talking with him."
Lyney immediately understood the assignment, turning to Lynette, who gave him a nod. "So I approach him as usual, then?"
"Exactly. Approach him as Fontaine's Great Magician and get close to him. You are much better with people than I am, so I'm sure you already have a plan of how to lower his guard."
She stared at the three of them, specifically Lynette and Freminet. "Just act like yourselves, and things will go smoothly. I'm sure you two especially would love to meet him."
The siblings went slightly red, embarrassed.
Arlecchino grinned slightly at their faces.
Lyney couldn't help but laugh. It was true that, of the House members, those two had been some of the most vocal members of his fan club.
This was a good thing for him too. He had wanted to see what kind of person Ren was like, but never thought he would actually get the chance.
"Very well, Father. We won't disappoint."
Arlecchino nodded, and the siblings left the room.
/ — /
Lyney
"You know, I thought it would take longer to find him." Lyney couldn't help but talk out loud, his siblings also letting out agreeing hums.
They got the information about his current lodgings. It was in a pretty expensive hotel. But when they looked inside and around the area, he was nowhere to be seen.
It just so happened that a crowd had formed on Fontaine's busier roads, and they couldn't help their curiosity.
Lo and behold, they found who they were looking for.
At the center of attention was a figure anyone in Fontaine recognized, walking with full confidence and a smile. Her blue suit caught the eyes of many, and her own dazzling gaze enraptured their attention.
Furina.
And behind her was their target man. Ren Roman, his arms loaded with roughly a dozen bags of what smelled unmistakably like pastries, and a lot of other trinkets.
It might not be apparent to other onlookers, but the siblings noticed immediately.
Ren Roman looked, even with his impressive poker face, absolutely terrified.
"Come now, assistant! We cannot possibly work without desserts!" Furina declared like she wasn't already forcing someone to carry enough desserts to put someone in a food coma.
'Assistant?'
It wasn't just him who was surprised, even Lynette couldn't help her expression. It was rare to see her so animated, but this was understandable.
Why would Furina hire a random man, a person from another nation who had only arrived in Fontaine two days prior, as her assistant?
Lyney didn't like the implications. This could create problems if they tried to get closer to him.
"Is Lady Furina going shopping?" Freminet asked quietly.
"I don't think that's quite what's happening."
The crowd's reaction was split in two. Half of them were watching with the usual besotted awe reserved only for an Archon, and half were watching the man behind her with a mixture of confusion and apparent pity.
"Lady Furina called him an assistant… But I have a feeling he didn't sign up for it."
Lynette nodded. "He looks miserable."
They exchanged a look and started moving through the crowd to follow. They weren't the only ones. A cluster of journalists and several nosy citizens were "discreetly" trailing the pair as well, none of them doing a particularly convincing job of it.
Furina led the procession toward one of her own countless dessert hunts. She greeted fans along the way and took her sweet time, which only made Ren much more miserable.
Once they got to the dessert store, she patted Ren on the back.
"Wait out here, would you? I shan't be long~."
She disappeared inside without waiting for a response.
Lyney winced.
'That's brutal. Even for you, Lady Furina.'
Leaving him alone, surrounded by a swelling crowd of strangers and reporters…
It was brutal, some might say evil, and—
'It's exactly what Furina would do.'
"Excuse me, sir! Is it true you're Lady Furina's new assistant?"
The question kicked off an avalanche.
Others crowded around Ren, asking the man what his relation was to their beloved Archon. Some were just curious, but others had more nefarious purposes.
They could smell potential for a good story.
Ren, for his part, handled it quite gracefully.
"Yes. Lady Furina assigned me as her assistant. It was a little sudden, but I'm honored for the opportunity."
Lynette's brow rose. She had never heard such blatant lying before.
But it seemed no one else noticed.
"Wait, aren't you the one who captured the Rogue Duelists?!"
"He is!" someone else shouted.
Lyney pitied the man. The moment that piece of info flew out, the questions came even harder.
'Why is Furina taking so long?'
Suddenly, Ren's head snapped to the side.
Then he sighed in relief before bolting straight into a narrow alley beside the shop.
The crowd followed into the alley only to see nothing.
"Where'd he go?"
Lyney stopped at the entrance a bit further back than everyone else. Sure enough, no one was inside, and there was no indication anyone had been there.
"Even if he wanted to shake the crowd, he should have left some traces…"
Ren was much more impressive than he thought. Even with his experience and skills, he probably couldn't pull off such a clean escape.
"Did he use his bird?"
"Unlikely, we didn't see anything fly up, and I doubt his lightning bird would be silent," Freminet added.
Lynette's eyes drifted back towards the dessert shop. There was no one there anymore, everyone having their full attention on the alley where Ren disappeared.
"Something feels off. Let's check the shop."
Lyney and Freminet followed her to the shop, trying to be as discreet as possible.
"You think he went inside somehow?"
"Maybe. Furina did call him her assistant, so it shouldn't be a surprise if he went back to her side."
They made it back toward the dessert shop's entrance, pulling on the front door.
It was locked.
Lyney pulled the handle a little harder just to be sure. "You're right, something is going on here."
"Let's check the back door."
Circling the building, they found the service entrance around the back.
As they predicted, it was also locked.
Lyney and Lynette exchanged a look.
"Freminet."
Without a word, he walked in front of the lock and brought out a small tool from somewhere. He fiddled with it for a few seconds before it let out a loud click, and a tiny piece popped free into his palm.
He put the piece inside the keyhole, picking the lock.
With a click, the door swung open.
"Good job, Freminet."
"Hmm."
They slowly pushed the door open and quietly stepped inside. Careful not to make any sound, just in case.
The moment they walked out of the staff room, they were greeted by an unexpected sight.
An empty store.
It wasn't like a store preparing to open, where staff would be preparing for the day. There was just no one here. No sign of Furina or Ren.
A realisation passed through the three siblings, and Lyney let out a small laugh.
"I can't believe we fell for that."
/ — /
Ren
'Can't believe she used me as a scapegoat.' Ren sulked as he walked up the Palais Marmonia's steps. This was definitely punishment for pointing his blade at her, but at least she wasn't going to hurt him.
He walked into the Palais and walked around to a quieter area where he locked eyes with a Garde.
Pulling out a small card from his pocket, he showed it to her and said the codeword. "For her gaze is as vast as the ocean."
The Garde looked at him for a moment before she gave him a small nod. "This way."
She led him further into the Palais where no civilians were allowed and gestured towards a door. Opening it revealed a long hallway that twisted in weird ways that would disorient a normal person.
Without another word, the Garde left him to navigate it alone.
He walked inside for a while, noticing how the place was purposefully designed to look the same everywhere he looked.
It was a good thing for his sensing ability, so he knew which room to go to.
With a deep breath, he opened the door. "I'm back, Lady Furina."
"Ah! My assistant, you've finally arrived!" The Archon turned to him with a smile. "You played your part quite well. With your distraction, I could meet with my informants on short notice without any issue at all."
"...Thanks."
It had only been two days since she abducted—hired him as her assistant. And oh boy did she put him to work, she barely left his side the past two days.
She even sneaked into his hotel room at night to enlist his help with whatever she needed help with. Usually it was to investigate something or to fight something.
The jobs she gave had been pretty tame so far, but it was also quite troublesome.
It wasn't like he could just say no either. People could talk all they wanted about standing up for yourself. Let them try saying no to god.
Furina offered him a macaron, which he took while settling down into a chair to her side. The table was buried under papers and reports, several marked with a red marker, which he assumed was her own handwriting.
He still wasn't sure why she'd made him her assistant in the first place.
But he could admit one thing.
Watching an Archon go about their duties up close was a genuine marvel.
Her dedication to her title and role, and the way her people so clearly adored her in return. It was hard not to get carried away in awe himself.
No wonder Fontaine was as prosperous as it was. Having an Archon like her, who worked tirelessly for her nation, was a sight to behold.
He'd only seen one other Archon up close, and that was Rex Lapis during the Rite. And Liyue's prosperity spoke for itself as a testament to the Lord of Geo's commitment.
A part of him was a little embarrassed that he thought Teyvat's Archons would be like the Greek gods.
Two out of the seven being competent and good people?
'Are the rest of the Archons like this?'
"I see... So my intuition was right again," Furina said, drawing a circle on a location on her map.
Ren's curiosity got the better of him. "What'd you figure out?"
"Remember what I told you about the Rogue Duelists having a base somewhere?"
"Yeah. Because of how often they got reinforcements, and how the attack locations lined up too well to be a coincidence."
"Precisely!" She tapped the circled point. "This location near Poisson matches that theory. But there's nothing actually there. Which leaves two possibilities."
She pulled out a photograph of a cave that had buildings inside it, and what looked like a massive ship, lit up from within.
"First possibility: their base is somewhere inside Poisson itself. Easier to find, but it raises an uncomfortable question." Her expression turned bitter. "Whether the rogues are connected to Spina di Rosula."
Ren tilted his head, unfamiliar with the name. "Is that a criminal group?"
"Quite the opposite, actually." A nostalgic look crossed her face. "They help the people of Fontaine with matters the Gardes cannot attend to. But after an… incident not too long ago, I wouldn't be surprised if their philosophy has changed." She paused. "I sincerely hope it hasn't."
'Sounds like there's history there.' He thought, but didn't push further.
"Second possibility," Furina continued, "is that their base is underwater. Probably one of Fontaine's many underwater cave systems."
Ren sighed. "Of course it's a cave."
He grabbed another macaron. "So I'm guessing we check it out ourselves before sending Gardes in blind?"
She nodded, happy that Ren understood.
"And you're actually going to help this time if there's a fight, right?" As confident as he was in his own strength, having an Archon silently watching from the sidelines wasn't exactly comfortable.
The sheer weight of negative energy she gave off while just observing was distracting enough on its own, and his shikigami had started flinching whenever he summoned them near her.
A part of him was nervous to ask her, but he really couldn't focus with the thought of her analysing him from behind.
"O-Of course!" Furina straightened. "You have my word. Should a battle arise, I shall lend my assistance."
"Phew. Good." He smiled. "Honestly, I'm pretty excited to actually see what you can do, Lady Furina."
"Haha... Are you now?" She turned away from him slightly, and he didn't catch the way her expression stiffened.
"Definitely. Given how much negative energy you put out, you've gotta be at least a hundred times stronger than me. Probably way more, considering you're an Archon."
"You flatter me." She swallowed a cupcake whole, face oddly rigid. "In any case. We should prepare to leave for Poisson. Once the sun sets, if that works for you."
He wasn't sure why she asked, given that his position didn't really count for him to refuse. He was more like a hostage than an assistant. But it was a nice gesture. Sort of.
He nodded.
"Excellent!" She pushed her papers aside and settled back with another box of desserts. "Come. Plenty to go around while we wait."
"Of course, my Lady."
Furina choked on a cupcake. "D-Don't call me that!"
"O-Okay?! Sorry?!"
/ — /
Focalor
Five hundred years was a long time to watch the world through someone else's eyes.
Across that vast span of time, Focalor had seen everything Fontaine had to offer.
Joy, grief, war, celebration. How Fontaine gathered itself and grew from the chaos that was five hundred years ago.
However, she did not experience any of it directly. Instead, she watched the world move through Furina's eyes. The "human" part of herself.
She watched her laugh and weep, bleed and grow tired. Yet she never wavered and continued to play her role no matter what she felt inside.
All for the sake of Fontaine.
For these past five hundred years, Focalor never reached out to her other self, lest she make Furina dependent on her.
They each had their role to play, and neither could afford to fail.
So as much as it hurt her to watch Furina weep alone, she couldn't risk speaking with her.
Until three days ago.
'Something changed.'
During one of Furina's many escapades and attempts at a disguise, she found herself exposed of her disguise in one of her favorite sweet shops.
On a whim, she glanced toward a table that was piled high with food and the man responsible with a mix of respect and a little worry for his health.
But Focalor had seen something else.
No, that wasn't quite right.
She did not merely see with her eyes, but felt it with her soul, her very existence.
In front of her was no mere mortal. But a vessel. One that contained displaced power that shouldn't have been possible for any mortal to contain. At least not without severe consequences.
But yet this one did.
The gears started turning in her head. She may not know who that boy was, or what power he possessed, but she needed it.
She didn't know why, but she could feel a connection between him and Furina. Between him and herself.
It had always perturbed her that this was the best she could come up with. A task of deceiving the Heavenly Principles was no easy task, even for a god. But it was precisely because she was a god that she should have been able to do better.
But she couldn't. Trying to work around a prophecy required meticulous and precise work. And even that wouldn't be enough, as her greatest constraint was time she did not have.
However, this new variable changed things.
She noticed it immediately from a glance.
'That boy is a Descender.' But he was not like any normal descender. She could feel with certainty that he was one truly unbound by fate.
And then, for the first time in five hundred years, she spoke with Furina and gave her the command to keep the boy close.
She had planned to make her way inside the boy's soul to see what he possessed—
"But I certainly did not expect this."
Now she stood somewhere that was not like Teyvat at all.
Focalor stood in the middle of a city, with concrete buildings that rose up to the sky. The architecture was unlike anything she'd ever seen, and not in a good way.
She may not have Furina's eye for beauty, but even she could tell that everything looked so bland.
"What a foreign feeling." She turned around, greeting the presence she felt the moment she appeared. "And who might you be?"
Dark mist coiled around a form that was nearly three times her own height.
While the mist made it hard to see the figure's body, she could barely make out what looked to be four arms crossed over its chest.
Its face was just as unexpected.
Four eyes greeted her two, and one side of its face was disfigured. But it did not make it look like a monster.
No, she knew with certainty that the figure in front of her could be called a god in its own right.
Even for an Archon like her, she had to take a moment to steady herself from the sheer malice that emanated from the person.
But she knew that even with its hostile aura, it meant no harm, as long as she herself would bring no harm.
"This place is both similar and very different from Teyvat," she said. "Wouldn't you agree?"
"Leave." His tone held no malice, but the warning wasn't lost to her.
In this space that did not follow the rules of Teyvat, she was the one at a disadvantage.
"Now, now. Don't be like that." She stepped closer, meeting its gaze. "I think I understand your… unique predicament. And I believe I have a way to help you resolve it."
Something shifted behind those four eyes, a spark of interest.
Focalor saw her chance.
"Let me introduce myself." She extended her hand. "I am Focalor. The Hydro Archon."
There was silence for a few seconds, and Focalor couldn't help but think she might have gone too fast.
But then the figure uncrossed its four arms, the bottom pair settling at its sides as it reached out to meet her hand.
"My name bears no significance in this era," it said. "But in this form, it is only appropriate that I use it."
The mist began to recede the moment their hands met, peeling away like smoke that shrouded the figure.
A man with a mouth on his stomach, half of his face disfigured, and tattoos across his whole body finally showed himself.
"You may call me Ryomen Sukuna."
The moment he uttered his name, the space shook and gone was the previous city. In its place was a vast expanse of white, a void where he was in full control.
But Focalor could feel in the distance where the white turned to darkness. A foul and monstrous presence was trying to get in.
"Now. State your proposal, Focalor."