She was adrift in the story too, finding only a strange device in the Fatui camp, but no Fatui in sight.
The drifting Mona wanted to use her hydro scrying to track down the Fatui. She was a genius, after all! Finding the whereabouts of mere Fatui should be child's play.
"I could even predict how many kids they'll have in the future!"
Yet, the ever-confident Mona divined nothing. Forget predicting children—she couldn't even tell if they'd find a partner.
Her scrying pool had turned murky again, that unknown force growing stronger, converging on a distant island.
The third island had changed. Whose dream could this be?
When the group arrived at the island, they were surprised to see Fischl, who had previously run off to act alone, standing right there.
Fischl: "Brothers, in the end, I made my decision. I gave up the five million night ravens of the Immernachtreich and chose to return to the five-person party."
[Fischl: "…Hmph, have you arrived, my foolish retainers?"]
Her opening line was as chuunibyou as ever, and the readers breathed a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness, she was still her over-the-top self. It seemed no mishap had occurred, and her inner demons hadn't affected her.
But Oz, standing beside Fischl, seemed unusually tense, even "talking back" in a rare moment.
[Fischl: "I can act alone, Oz. If you tire of the encroachments of the eternal night, retreat to the blazing light of day."]
[Oz: "Milady, such words are not befitting of you to say to me. I am your attendant, your eyes. I could never abandon you."]
The group frowned. Something was off. Though Fischl was still chuunibyou, she seemed genuinely different. Why would she say such things to Oz?
Fischl might be dramatic, but she'd never speak hurtful words.
It seemed this was indeed Fischl's dream. Otherwise, she wouldn't be so agitated. She still didn't want to face her own dream.
Fischl ran off, and Oz chased after her, but the group didn't immediately follow. They knew Fischl needed some time alone right now.
Fischl: "Brothers, in the end, I've made you all laugh at me. I've decided to leave the five-person party."
The others stayed put to rest, waiting for the secret domain to appear, curious to see what Fischl was so reluctant to confront.
They waited a full day. On the second day, the Traveler opened their eyes.
The island hadn't changed much. According to the previous pattern, there should be an "entrance" on the island by now, like the bonsai on Kazuha's island or the drum on Xinyan's island.
Of course, it was also possible that the island hadn't changed because Fischl wasn't ready yet, since this was her dream.
The group decided to search for Fischl first. They didn't find her, but they did come across a raven statue and a book.
The statue looked just like Oz, a "Oz statue" wearing a scarf.
When they picked up the book, they saw its title: Hymns of the Holy Land. Even Mona had never seen this book before.
The cover depicted a woman in deep purple clothing. Upon closer inspection, she seemed to be a white-haired Fischl.
Mona's knowledge and collection of books were vast, so a book even she hadn't seen was truly rare.
Perhaps Mona had forgotten the consequences of peering into the "dark history" of that old hag. She and the others began to examine Fischl's "dark history" together.
Upon opening the book, they realized it wasn't a diary but a "biography" written by Fischl, akin to a novel.
The readers were stunned. Were they about to read a novel within a novel?
That sentence alone was enough to make their heads spin!
Fischl's eyes rolled back, nearly fainting. "No! Don't let all of Teyvat see the novel I wrote!"
Fischl "glared" at Lucian. "You jerk! Writing your own novel is one thing, but why did you have to write about my novel in yours?!"
"I'm going to sue you! I'll sue you for copyright infringement!!!" Sob sob sob~
But the thought of using the book as evidence and letting everyone see it again made Fischl give up.
She didn't really want to sue Lucian anyway. "Let's settle this. Shh, can we settle?"
"Dear Lucian, please don't hurt me, sob sob."
Mona, on the other hand, was curious. She had once tried writing a novel herself, thinking it would enhance her astrological predictions like Lucian's.
When she showed it to Fischl, Fischl called it a mess. Unconvinced, Mona wanted to see just how good Fischl's writing was!
With a critical mindset, she continued reading, only to find that the contents of Fischl's novel weren't there—because the group had entered an illusion.
The illusion was a castle, and the novel Fischl wrote was nowhere to be seen.
Just as Fischl smiled, relieved that the settlement had worked, they turned the page. Beside an illustration of the castle, a narration appeared.
[Narration: "The people of today cannot recall, but scholars know that, during the chaotic period some six hundred years before the era of the saints, Her Highness the Prinzessin had already descended upon the world."]
The group in the story had just entered when the narration began, indicating this was the content of the biography, starting with the setting.
This illusion was the castle of Prinzessin Fischl, dubbed the Fischl Royal Castle.
Fischl: "It's… it's actually pretty nice…"
Little Amy looked at the castle in the illustration, her heart stirred. She suddenly yearned for such a dream.
This was her fantasy, her world… such a grand and beautiful world!
Hehe, as expected of me.
Now it was Fischl giggling uncontrollably, drawing frequent side-glances from Mona.
No wonder they were best friends—they were so similar in some ways.
Like enjoying praise, craving recognition, being easily embarrassed, and being very tsundere. Oh, but they'd never admit that last one.
At this moment, Fischl was much like her story counterpart. She, too, had inner demons. She didn't mind her chuunibyou side being exposed, but she didn't want to face this "falsehood."
Because this was a fantasy she had once abandoned in her "weakness." She didn't know how to pick it back up.
As the Prinzessin, she had abandoned her "Immernachtreich" and "subjects." Did she still have the right to reclaim it?
This was Fischl's fear, her inner demon. She was questioning her own acceptance of her "fantasy."
After all, it wasn't just others and her parents who had denied it—she had once denied it herself… until Oz appeared.
But now, seeing her dream… such a beautiful fantasy, what was she afraid of?
Afraid of her own fantasy? Afraid of the world she created?
No, it shouldn't be like this. I created such a beautiful world—shouldn't I be proud of it?
Having built a good relationship with Lucian and the others early on, Little Amy was now more accepted.
So, at this moment, she was gradually overcoming her inner demons, calming down to continue reading.
[Narration: "She pitied living beings, unwilling to see them suffer, and wove the first night from darkness and dreams to shelter all things."]