"Lady Egeria..."
Focalors's haunting voice echoed beside Egeria's consciousness. The latter awkwardly finished her last 'sip,' then sneakily took another—
Truthfully, she hadn't wanted to do this. But seeing how much fun Focalors seemed to be having 'sipping,' how could Egeria, an old homebody Archon, possibly restrain her curiosity? Besides, she was also one of those who had been 'eaten.' Although her position within wasn't quite the same as Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's, her proximity to this human named Jiang Qiao was undeniable!
This 'spiritual merging' was both comfortable and helped mend her fragmented consciousness—how could anyone resist?
Moreover, Egeria, much like Focalors, possessed a boundless curiosity about the unknown. By 'sipping' Jiang Qiao, she could browse different perspectives and experiences, something this rather lonely first Hydro Archon found hard to refuse.
As for 'affection levels'—well, after exchanging so much, it was unavoidable, wasn't it...? Egeria truly didn't want to compete with her junior for a man. She was ancient, after all; competing with her own kin for someone was far too embarrassing.
But just like the human process of moving from acquaintance to love, engaging in this 'spiritual merging' inevitably caused mutual affection levels to rise... She even found a joy similar to what she once knew—the love of a god for humanity.
For gods, loving humanity was a way to fulfill their spiritual needs. Having lost this joy for five hundred years, then rediscovering a similar 'love' after so long—it was simply impossible to hold back!
Still, she owed her junior some explanation. Regarding her despicable home-wrecking behavior, Miss Egeria racked her brain, trying to concoct an excuse for her 'vile' actions:
"It's a misunderstanding...!"
"...A misunderstanding?!" Miss Focalors practically sputtered with indignant laughter—You old hag, caught red-handed moving in on my territory right in front of me, and you still have excuses? Fine, let's hear how you plan to talk your way out of this.
"I'm doing this for your sake, Focalors."
"Look, one more person means more strength." Egeria's expression was gentle, her words filled with 'sincerity.'
"We are family!"
Look how mixed this bad man Jiang Qiao's colors are! White, black, orange, green, and of course—the biggest problem is that huge patch of pink. Among these numerous colors, the blue representing Focalors, despite her diligent 'labor,' was still far outmatched by the glaring 'pink.'
As fellow Fontainians, fellow Hydro Archons of Fontaine—faced with this hoard of 'enemies,' wouldn't it be wonderful for us, mistress and servant, to join forces?
There's strength in numbers!
Gazing at that sincere expression, Focalors pondered, half-convinced—She might have a point. Though still furious, having Egeria's help would indeed make things easier.
Thus, after a moment of internal conflict, Miss Focalors and Egeria formed the 'Fontaine Girlfriend Alliance Association,' deciding to present a united front against external threats first.
"..."
Sensing the hostile gazes united against a common enemy, and the way they started intensely 'sipping' Jiang Qiao, seemingly intending to corner her, Miss Rukkhadevata felt a sense of foreboding.
Oh no, these two little vixens from Fontaine are about to gang up on me!
"Egeria, we are dear friends!" Sensing the crisis, Rukkhadevata quickly played the sentiment card, trying to leverage their past friendship to gain some ground. But Egeria merely offered an 'apologetic' look.
Gomen ne, Rukkhade-chan—blame yourself for not being from Fontaine.
Compared to the 'chaos' within [Furina]'s consciousness, the outside world wasn't exactly peaceful either. For instance, Miss Furina was now undoubtedly fixated on Jiang Qiao.
"You... perhaps owe me an explanation about these clothes?" Furina scrutinized the all-too-familiar divine attire now adorning her own body, along with those strange, faintly shimmering dragon scales, feeling both curious and displeased.
How come this body was just plain old me when I was in control, but it gets all these fancy additions in your hands?! A faint sense of shame, of 'losing as Furina,' welled up within her. Filled with questions, Miss Furina, who had been an observer for five hundred years, began her 'interrogation' of the blue-and-white-haired girl before her.
"You mean this?" [Focalors] glanced down. "Focalors's divine attire. Nothing strange about it, right? As for these scales..." Raising a hand to gently touch the crystal-clear, glaze-like scale near her eye, [Focalors] stated calmly, "This is what I went to Sumeru to retrieve—the power belonging to the first Hydro Archon, Egeria."
"What... What is all this?!" Furina felt dizzy listening to these explanations. Focalors's divine attire? Egeria's power? Wait, how come you, the fake stand-in Hydro Archon, seem more real than the real deal?! Doesn't that just make me, also a stand-in Hydro Archon, look incredibly pathetic?!
...No, that wasn't the main point. Egeria's power was one thing; this bad guy went to Sumeru—though Furina couldn't fathom how he knew about it or could retrieve Egeria's power from Sumeru—but... Focalors's divine attire.
Staring at the clothes, Furina's sharp intellect, finally taking precedence, instantly made a connection—it was that Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale that had been broken earlier! Thinking back on what Jiang Qiao had said about Fontaine's fate and prophecy... could it be!?
A bold conjecture spurred Furina into extremely bold action—she lunged directly at [Focalors] and 'bit' down.
The next moment—her consciousness spun, blurred intensely, then gradually sharpened.
From a spiritual perspective, Miss Furina instantly saw Egeria and Focalors—well, duh, it was hard not to see them, the two were practically clinging to her! And Greater Lord Rukkhadevata...
At this moment, Furina was completely stunned. What the heck, why is it so crowded inside my body?!
Meanwhile, Focalors, having received a 'bite' from Furina, looked awkward and secretly 'spat'—They were essentially the same person; biting her was utterly pointless!
"...Why are you back?" the somewhat embarrassed Miss Focalors greeted Furina, her tone subtle... with occasional hints of faint 'disdain.'
Furina, however, remained frozen for a long while—then, memories surged through her consciousness like a tidal wave. Although she didn't know why, her body felt slightly uncoordinated, her consciousness lagging behind her physical form, reactions a half-step slow, through these memories, Fufu quickly grasped everything.
And then... her anger meter skyrocketed!
FOCALORS!!! JIANG QIAO!!!
Recalling the memories from Sumeru in her mind, then thinking about herself diligently tightening screws in the Fortress of Meropide, Furina successfully entered Angry Fufu mode.
"...Focalors!" Furina, emanating a low pressure, glared fiercely at Focalors. Right now, her mood could only be described with one word—'Livid'!
Firstly, the obvious—this woman's plan involved 'suicide.' This was naturally hard for Furina to accept—though she might have resigned herself to it for Fontaine's sake. But that was before—now that Fontaine's prophecy was broken, the slightly petty Miss Fufu didn't mind settling scores later.
And secondly—she came out, yet didn't even bother to see me, immediately going on a romantic two-person trip to Fontaine with that bad guy Jiang Qiao... Although subsequent events aborted the 'sweet trip,' compared to her own fate of tightening screws in Meropide, the difference in treatment was astronomical.
"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" Furina demanded.
"Ahem, you misunderstand." The guilty Focalors looked at the 'angry' Fufu and began the Hydro Archon lineage's time-honored tradition of 'making excuses.' "I didn't see you because the prophecy hadn't been resolved yet! I did it for Fontaine!"
"As for going to Sumeru with Jiang Qiao... well, I'm more familiar with Lady Egeria, you see. With me as a guide, it would certainly be more convenient." Focalors subtly nudged Egeria with her consciousness—the latter lowered her gaze, pretending to be a block of wood.
Damn it! You old hag! And I just forgave you! The alliance is broken!
Seething inwardly, Focalors nevertheless braced herself and continued her defense: "Ahem, there's no need for you to mind. Think about it, we're actually the same person. Whether I go or you go, isn't it all the same? Do Furina and Focalors really need to distinguish between yours and mine?"
"Look, haven't all my experiences become a part of you?" Memories ultimately required a vessel. Even though Focalors had actively split her humanity and divinity, creating two seemingly different individuals, their essence was the same. This body was Furina's, and also Focalors's body.
Divinity and humanity converged, slowly merging, blurring the lines between them. Influenced partly by this, Miss Furina's anger meter plummeted sharply after receiving the 'sweet treat (Jiang Qiao essence)' Focalors offered up.
Noticing this, Focalors felt quite smug—Hmph, even if we're the same person, my cunning is still far superior to this fool Furina, who's only been split off for five hundred years.
Of course, Furina's rather bold action was undoubtedly witnessed by the onlookers, Lumine and Paimon.
"Wow, that's so bold!" Paimon exclaimed in amazement.
Lumine blushed slightly, looking shocked—but strangely, for some reason, she felt a pang of 'annoyance.'
"Don't be so impulsive! You can't restrain the Skyfrost Nail," Jiang Qiao said, sounding slightly exasperated. Having returned to his own body, he used his complete 'Imaginary Manipulation' ability to suppress the Skyfrost Nail.
He didn't particularly mind Furina taking back her body this way—she was the rightful owner, after all—but this 'surprise attack' had caused his control over the Skyfrost Nail to momentarily falter.
Although it seemed like just a 'tool' for mending the world's cracks and suppressing the Abyss's power, simply thinking of the Skyfrost Nail as merely a 'repair tool' was clearly a superficial view. As Khaenri'ah's research indicated, the Skyfrost Nails contained the power of the Heavenly Principles—a power transcending Teyvat's native elemental forces, on par with the Abyss.
The so-called suppression of the Abyss worked precisely by using the power of this Skyfrost Nail, equivalent in rank, to inhibit it, continuously drawing upon ley line energy for supply. It could be used to suppress the Abyss, and naturally, it could be used to suppress other things.
For Jiang Qiao, although the Path powers and Honkai Energy he wielded were no weaker in rank than Phanes's human realm power, his original body wasn't the type with massive reserves ['mana pool']. As for drawing power through alternative means, while it could indeed grant immense strength... he could clearly feel that this world could no longer sustain external power of that magnitude.
Perhaps the numerous great wars had left Teyvat itself fragmented. Forcing the use of power at that level would likely shatter the 'eggshell' the Heavenly Principles painstakingly maintained. This was the reason Jiang Qiao hadn't deliberately gone after the figure in the sky.
If the 'eggshell' shattered, he certainly wouldn't fear it—it would merely be like a bird returning to the sky, a fish to the sea. But the influx of external power into this world would be devastating to the native inhabitants.
"Uh... I'm sorry..." Furina, who had been ready to demand accountability, wilted immediately upon realizing the severity of the situation after his remark.
"No need to worry too much. Even if it had landed, I could have 'pulled it out'," Jiang Qiao reassured her. Once a Skyfrost Nail embeds itself, it connects to the ley lines, drawing upon the power of the entire region, which is certainly troublesome—but for Jiang Qiao, it was merely a matter requiring a bit more effort.
Jiang Qiao patted Furina, who looked like a frost-bitten eggplant, and a slight smile touched his lips. "Instead of this issue, I think you should be more concerned about other problems."
"...Ah? What problems?" Furina asked, confused.
He pointed in a certain direction—her body having changed, possessing draconic vision, Fufu instantly spotted the 'camera lens' in the bushes on the shore.
Hidden in the bushes, a pink-haired girl wearing a navy cap and glasses blinked, then—clutching her camera, she bolted!
"Is... Is that a reporter from The Steambird?!" Furina stammered, recognizing the figure, her cheeks flushing crimson.
Her earlier actions, besides confirming her suspicions, were mainly because she thought only the 'hapless duo' (Lumine & Paimon) and Fairy Ely were present, emboldening her. The former could just be ignored, and as for the latter—did she understand what asserting sovereignty meant?
Towards the annoying fairy, the vengeful Miss Fufu had launched a direct confrontation, flaunting it right in front of everyone!
But... a reporter from The Steambird...
At this moment, Miss Furina could already foresee tomorrow's Steambird headline.
—SHOCKING! Fontaine Superstar Lady Furina's Secret Love Affair Exposed!
Looking at the petrified Fufu, Jiang Qiao spread his hands innocently. "This really isn't my fault, you know~"