"Focalors…?" Furina stared at the name that had appeared on the contract.
"But… but I…"
She lowered her head, looking at her own hands. She hadn't picked up a pen, hadn't even decided what to write in the blank space of the contract, yet detailed terms had already appeared across the parchment…
Even a signature.
Hydron Archon - Focalors.
Was it… the same Water God she was thinking of?
Her mind flashed back to that day when she had first opened her eyes and saw the reflection in the mirror. The memory was as vivid today as it had been then, untouched by time.
Holding the contract, Furina felt lost. Her eyes reddened, tears clinging to her lashes before sliding down along faint wet tracks.
'God… does this mean you permit me to share my secret with Richard?'
'Does this mean my mission… can finally be shared with someone else?'
'Can I… really say it out loud?'
Richard's gaze fixed on the divine name shining in gold on the contract. As Furina's tears had etched the pact, he had sensed a faint energy ripple from the nearby Oratrice.
Following the wave, his elemental perception vaguely "saw" a slender, light-blue figure. No doubt, it was Focalors. Or rather, another Furina.
"That was the real Hydro Archon just now, wasn't it?" Richard asked.
"N-no…" Furina instinctively tried to deny it, but quickly realized she didn't need to hide anymore. At least, not from him.
"Hand me the contract," Richard extended his hand.
Furina obediently passed it over. But just as she remembered she hadn't signed, she tried to pull it back, only for Richard to seize it, swiftly leaving his bold signature on the page.
The letters seemed to come alive. They flew off the parchment, split into three, and shot toward Richard, Furina, and the Oratrice.
Meanwhile, the contract paper itself quietly dissolved into stardust, vanishing from the world.
What remained was proof: a pale blue mark had appeared on the back of Richard's right hand. Long and rhombus-shaped, intricately patterned, and beautiful.
Yet something was… odd. The top point of the diamond was inverted downward. Looked at closely, it resembled a heart more than a diamond.
The softened lines, the rounded corners, everything about it made it seem far less serious.
Richard clenched his fist, tightening the skin on the back of his hand. The more he stretched it, the more the mark resembled a heart!
This contract seal looked… suspiciously unserious.
Across from him, Furina also felt warmth on the back of her left hand. Removing her glove, she found the same mark there.
But she hadn't signed the contract either.
Could it be… that the contract written with her tears had counted her in regardless?
"Furina," Richard asked, "after all these years, have you never wondered why you were chosen to play the role of Hydro Archon? There were countless options, yet in the end, it was decided, you. At the time, you had only just come into being. So why was it certain you could fulfill this role?"
"Yeah… why indeed?"
"Don't you see? Furina, you are the Hydro Archon."
She froze at his words.
Only if she were truly the Archon could it have been guaranteed she'd play the role perfectly. After all, what better performance could there be than simply being yourself?
The contract imprinted in Richard's mind, too, flooding him with knowledge. He understood now why Venti had said Furina was the Hydro Archon.
Two sides of one being. Her divinity split away from her body and soul, leaving behind Furina the person, while Focalors, the god, went to carry out a greater mission.
What that mission was, Richard didn't know; Focalors hadn't revealed it. Even Furina herself was in the dark.
"I'm the Hydro Archon?" Furina blinked, half-convinced he was joking. They'd signed the contract, and surely he knew she wasn't the Archon… right?
The true one was someone else. She was only an actress, entrusted with the part.
"There's no doubt. You are the Hydro Archon. It's just that your power doesn't rest with you, it's with the other you," Richard said.
"The other… me?" She was dizzy. 'But I'm right here… how could there be another me?'
"The one who signed the contract with me was you. Hydro Archon Focalors, mortal name: Furina de Fontaine. You are the 'human' side. The one who entrusted you with the Archon's role… was your 'divine' side."
"You should understand now, shouldn't you?"
Furina murmured, "It was me… who entrusted myself?"
Richard nodded. "Yes. You entrusted yourself."
"Wait, wait. I need to sort this out…" Furina pressed her hand to her forehead. The torrent of information was overwhelming.
Wasn't he the one trying to uncover her secret? How did it feel like Richard knew more about her than she did herself?
If she really was the Hydro Archon, or an incomplete one, then where was the missing part of her? What was her other self doing right now?
She remembered: when she first took on the role of Hydro Archon, the figure in the mirror had said she would find a way to save Fontaine.
So… was the other "her" still fighting for that?
"I know you're wondering what she's doing now," Richard said.
"You… know?" Furina's ahoge sprang upright. Her wide eyes locked on him, unblinking.
"I don't."
Her ahoge drooped instantly, and she puffed her cheeks at him. Then why bring it up?!
"But even if I don't know, I can still make deductions," Richard added.
"Deductions?" Furina leaned forward, expectant.
"First, she must be working on something extremely important."
"Mmhm! And then?"
"Second, it's something she can't let anyone know. Not even you, her other self."
"Ohhh… so…"
"So the intel is too limited. That's all I can deduce for now. To learn more, I'll need your help in gathering more clues." Richard smiled. "We're in the same boat now, aren't we, Furina?"
Her heart skipped. His gentle smile sent heat rushing to her cheeks, leaving her breath uneven, hands fidgeting without a place to rest.
"I-I'm not in the same boat with you! You already know everything I know, I don't have any secrets left to hide…"
She turned aside, her eyes catching the actors on stage, hand in hand, bowing in thanks to the audience. Her gaze shimmered with unspoken thoughts.
Richard stepped to her side. "So? Doesn't it feel lighter now, speaking your secret aloud?"
"Mm…" This time, Furina didn't deny it. Indeed, with Richard knowing her deepest secret, she felt a relief she'd never known before. Like a mountain she'd borne for centuries had finally been lifted.
Though her mission remained, though she still had to play the Hydro Archon tomorrow, it felt as if the world itself had shifted, just a little brighter.
"Um…" Furina hesitated, voice small. "Thank you."
"You're welcome, Furina."
Her face grew hotter, her heart tightening all over again at his answer.
Suddenly, she clapped her hands loudly and called toward the stage, "Well done! I, Furina, recognize the excellence of your performance!"
In Fontaine, the Hydro Archon's acknowledgment was considered the highest honor in the arts. So prestigious that an award, the Furina Prize, was named after her.
But the actors didn't react. They hadn't heard a word.
"Furina, this is a business box," Richard explained helplessly. "We can hear the stage, but they can't hear us, or see us, from out there."
Her already pink cheeks deepened to crimson.
"…But since you enjoyed the show, why not tell them in person?" Richard offered her an escape.
"I-I'll go right now!" Furina bolted from the box, legs moving so quickly that Richard barely had time to follow.
Backstage, she met with the director and actors, praising their performance but also critiquing them sharply from her professional eye.
The biggest flaw, she said, was the story, too cliché, lacking freshness. Music mattered, yes, but story was also essential. They needed to revise it thoroughly.
The director looked awkwardly at Richard, knowing the copyright belonged to him.
"Do as Furina suggests," Richard said. "I'll release the rights. Any troupe can perform it, adapt it too, within reason. Someone will contact you about details later."
"Thank you, Monsieur Richard!" the director, a veteran in the industry, beamed. To him, this was like setting his beloved creation free.
Furina wasn't surprised Richard owned the story, it was so clearly a custom-made script. But unlike shallow product-placement plays, his version was crafted with care, and the budget was obvious.
"Since the rights are open, I'll look forward to better versions in the future," Furina said. "But if they're poorly done, I will take back my praise."
"Understood, Lady Furina! Next time, I swear the show will surpass this one, or I'll quit the theater altogether!" the director thumped his chest.
"That's… not necessary," Furina muttered. True artistry couldn't be forced. Inspiration mattered more than passion alone.
Later, as they left, Furina touched the mark glowing faintly on her left hand. "This seal… do you think the other me also has it?"
Richard recalled how the contract had split into three, landing on himself, Furina, and the Oratrice.
"In theory, yes," he said. "Though where exactly it appeared… we'll only know when we meet her."
Inside the Oratrice, vast amounts of accumulated energy pulsed. Enough to power Fontaine for a thousand years.
At the deepest point, where the energy was densest, a feminine figure curled up tightly.
She touched her lower abdomen, just below her navel, with a troubled expression.
"…Why… is it here…?"
....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
[email protected]/DaoistJinzu