But then again, what's this talk of betrayal? Aren't they both Fischl?
Oz isn't betraying Fischl no matter who he follows. He just goes with the winner, right?
[Oz said: "No, Milady, I am here to prove something to everyone."]
["Oz will follow the Prinzessin of Condemnation, Fischl. When I stand on this side, you haven't lost your identity, have you?"]
The "silver-tongued" Oz convinced Little Amy, making her fall into thought.
In the story, Oz, seeing Little Amy deep in contemplation, quickly added: Now let me test you. "What do you think 'Fischl' truly is?"
Immernacht Fischl believed Fischl was "a timid, cowardly failure."
But Little Amy felt that Fischl was herself. Yes, even the timid, cowardly failure in her counterpart's words was still her.
She was Fischl, and she had completed an important life lesson—accepting herself.
Whether great and brave or cowardly and timid, it was all her.
Fischl: So, I was scolding myself?
Oz: Correct! Now speak!
[Oz: "Fischl may be the Prinzessin of Condemnation, but not always. She may be brave and proud, yet also timid and cowardly."]
In the illustration, the two Fischls faced each other, the camera showing their backs.
Behind their beautiful, pristine figures were decorative wings: Little Amy had angel wings, while Fischl had demon wings.
["Fischl is you. Both noble and ordinary, a top-tier adventurer who struggles to make many friends, the Prinzessin of an unimaginable kingdom."]
["Fischl is both timid and powerful, afraid of others' gossip yet yearning for their reverence."]
More importantly, Fischl wasn't a failure. She was someone who could critique herself, be knocked down, but would rise again—a striver!
Little Amy was Fischl! She wasn't just playing Fischl; she would become Fischl, her ideal self.
Ravens love shiny things, so Oz wanted to make Fischl a shining existence, not just in his eyes.
These words brought Little Amy to tears. Only she understood her own pain.
The flaws she hadn't noticed, the shortcomings she thought she had, were seen as shining virtues in another's eyes.
Yes, she had escaped, but she had never given up. Even now, she hadn't abandoned these fantasies.
Even when her parents stopped supporting her, even when everyone thought she was strange.
Despite countless odd stares, Little Amy never gave up.
She picked up "pebbles" to build a "castle," used "dolls" to play "subjects," and created a narrow, forbidden paradise!
Fischl's childhood dream hadn't shattered. She built it with her own hands and protected it with her own hands.
She would tell everyone: She was the Prinzessin of Condemnation! The Prinzessin of the Immernachtreich—Fischl!
If she kept escaping after reading such a story, she wouldn't be Fischl!
Negative emotions wouldn't vanish, but now was the time to face them!
Mona had been secretly watching her, and seeing her emotions stabilize, she finally relaxed.
It wasn't just Fischl who cried; many readers shed tears too.
This story wasn't intensely dramatic, but for some reason, Oz's words deeply moved everyone.
Was it the feeling of being trusted and understood? Or because everyone had gone through similar times? Perhaps "everyone is Fischl."
Unlike Fischl, though, most people gave up, compromised.
They struggled, escaped, couldn't accept their own ordinariness or failures.
Until, after who knows how long, they learned to accept themselves and grew up.
Now, Oz's words seemed to take everyone back to that time, seeing their past selves, tears flowing unconsciously.
Could Fischl reconcile with herself? Everyone hoped so, because they hadn't managed to.
Most people hadn't truly reconciled with their younger selves—they'd just escaped, avoided, and before they knew it, their childhood selves had vanished.
So now, everyone really hoped Fischl could do it, fulfilling a dream of sorts. Would she succeed?
Dream-weaver Nahida blinked, feeling she was going through this phase herself. She hadn't fully accepted herself.
In Nahida's heart, she felt inferior to Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, seeing herself as a "failure."
It wasn't about comparison but fear of failing Rukkhadevata and her people.
This was why she couldn't leave her cage—there was a "cage" in her heart too.
The Grand Sage had been gaslighting Nahida since her birth, constantly calling her a failure, an unqualified god.
As a newborn, how could she know what made a qualified god? The Akasha didn't know either, and gradually, she was gaslit.
The Traveler's arrival saved Nahida—not by freeing her from her cage but by giving her courage in her heart!
Just as Oz affirmed Fischl, the Traveler affirmed Nahida.
For someone lacking confidence, a single affirmation is precious. They'll strive to not let you down.
They don't aim to prove their greatness; they want to prove your judgment was right.
So, for Nahida, the Traveler was her "first sage."
Not because they "freed" her, but because they "saved" her.
"Lucian… I'll do as you said," Nahida murmured to herself. "It's time I 'accepted myself' too."
Denying oneself, escaping reality—Focalors had done these things too. She was strong, enduring five hundred years of self-criticism without breaking.
Or perhaps, she had broken long ago.
But she couldn't collapse. The belief in her heart still held her up.
Reading this story, she saw herself before meeting Lucian, curled up in bed, crying.
That was the only place she could cry freely, but the next day, she had to smile and carry on.
At that tea party, Lucian, like Oz, affirmed her, helping her gradually accept everything.
Because her life now had someone to confide in, someone who understood. She no longer had to digest all her emotions alone until she felt nothing.
So now, Focalors deeply empathized with the Fischl in the story.
Escaping, denying, grievances with no one to share—those vanished after she found friends.
Fischl was the same. With friends by her side, she dared to face those negative emotions.
In earlier stories, Venti and Nahida were moved. This time, it was Focalors's turn.
Who knows if other Archons would be touched later?
===✧✦✧===
Character Voice · Focalors: About Acting
"People hide their flaws with acting to be liked—I used to think that.
But not anymore. Lucian and everyone still wanted to be my friends after seeing the real me. You will too, right?"