Fidelle smiled at Furina and left.
Furina watched Fidelle's figure slowly recede until it vanished from sight.
She took a deep breath, clenched her fist, and silently cheered herself on.
"You can do this, Furina! This is your final performance. Don't mess it up now! Once it's all over, you'll be free—free to eat as many of Fidelle's cupcakes as you want!"
With renewed determination, Furina followed Fidelle's instructions and entered Poisson.
-
Within the System Space, Jiang Mumu had already set the Abyss forces for the Fontaine storyline. Fontaine's stage was vast, and if her plan proceeded as intended, the Abyss's enemies would include:
Neuvillette, who had reclaimed the Authority of the Ancient Dragons
The Anemo Archon Barbatos
The Geo Archon Morax
The Dendro Archon Buer
The Little Dendro Archon Nahida
The Electro Archon Beelzebul
The Shouki no Kami
The Hexenzirkel
Lumine...
And... Skirk?
Plus Ronova, one of the Four Shades who had departed last time, the Ruler of Death...
With such a lineup, anyone who faced them would suffer immense losses.
Creating Abyss villains with comparable combat power wasn't impossible, but it would be pointless and wasteful!
Jiang Mumu's sole purpose now was to gather Emotional Feedback Points, and it simply wasn't worth the effort.
Moreover, Fontaine was the Nation of Justice, and the God of Justice cherished all the absurdities of the Trial. Staging a grand final battle here would be unnecessary and inconsistent with the setting.
Natlan would be a more suitable stage for a grand showdown.
In Fontaine, Jiang Mumu planned to use cunning strategies, following Fidelle's plan to cleverly rescue the God.
Throughout history, the Abyss had been portrayed as evil, filthy, twisted, powerful, insidious, and sinister...
After Fontaine, they could add "deceitful" to that list.
Stretching languidly, Jiang Mumu projected her consciousness into her newly crafted villain: a blindfolded Intellitron with a starry sky pattern on its chest, and a hole in the middle.
(Spy-no...way...)
This time, Jiang Mumu decided to take matters into her own hands. Leaving her physical body asleep in bed, she transferred her consciousness into the Intellitron and ventured out for some fun.
Her reasons for this personal involvement were numerous, but the primary one was sheer boredom. Secondly, she wanted to avoid Rola and her two cohorts. She had finally climbed to Star Glory rank and couldn't afford to be dragged down by their shenanigans again!
-
Poisson.
Lumine, Paimon, and Chu Xi had been searching for Furina and Fidelle all day, never imagining they'd finally find them in Poisson.
When they spotted Furina, she was sitting on a crate, gazing forlornly at the nearby marsh, a necklace clutched in her hand.
"Furina, so you're here!"
Hearing the voice, Furina turned her head.
"You..."
Lumine glanced around, but Fidelle was nowhere to be seen. Growing anxious, she asked, "Furina, are you alright? We heard Fidelle returned. What happened? Where is she now?"
At the mention of Fidelle's name, Furina's gaze instinctively fell to the necklace in her hand.
Lumine noticed the necklace as well, sensing a faint, familiar aura emanating from it.
"This is..."
Furina tucked the necklace away and looked up at Lumine, her eyes still glistening as if she'd just been crying.
"You're looking for Fidelle, right? She's already returned."
Furina forced herself to suppress her inner sorrow, striving to speak in her usual tone.
Paimon: "Returned?"
Furina: "I originally thought she was fine too, but... but that wasn't the case... Fidelle has already been dissolved by the Primordial Sea. She can only stay outside the Primordial Sea for a short time. If she doesn't return promptly, she'll suffer greatly!"
"No wonder everyone who saw Fidelle at the time said she was surrounded by a faint blue glow," Paimon exclaimed. "So she returned in her Oceanid form! But... can Oceanids even change their shape?"
Lumine's thoughts aligned perfectly with Paimon's.
Because Furina held such a high place in Fidelle's heart, when Furina was in danger, Fidelle broke free from the collective consciousness and rushed to her aid!
This also explained why Fidelle, who rarely lost her temper, had become so enraged inside the Opera House.
As for the Oceanid's ability to change shape... since Fidelle was a Pure Soul, it wasn't surprising she could do so.
Furina watched Lumine convince herself, thinking, Fidelle was right. As long as I say this, the Traveler won't press me further about myself.
Lumine had indeed convinced herself, but one question still lingered.
She retrieved a small cake from her System Space—a special treat she had prepared in advance, personally made by Chef Escoffier of Hotel Debord.
When they had found the chef yesterday, she hadn't yet heard the news of Fidelle's return. Lumine had been the one to break the news.
Upon learning it was for Furina, the chef—who hadn't cooked in days—personally crafted the cake.
"Furina, now that we know Fidelle hasn't completely left, there's still a chance we'll see her again. Eat something, please. Don't be too sad."
Lumine handed Furina a fork. Furina sadly took the small cake and began eating.
Seeing Furina's emotions stabilize, Lumine seized the moment between bites to ask about Fidelle's past—specifically, when Furina first met Fidelle and about Fidelle's birthday.
Furina paused, her fork suspended in mid-air. "My first meeting with Fidelle? I remember I was inspecting the Special Task Force when I noticed a little one, not even ten years old, among them..."
She reminisced about that day, the small cake forgotten.
"I asked the Captain of the Special Task Force why such a young child was in the unit. The Captain explained that Fidelle had insisted on joining. Even back then, she could far exceed the Special Task Force's entry requirements and possessed an Electro Vision."
"From that first meeting, I grew fond of the little one. She felt so familiar. When she asked to become my personal guard, I agreed without hesitation..."
This was the scene Furina believed to be her first encounter with Fidelle. As for Lumine's question about Fidelle's birthday...
Furina: "I once asked Fidelle about her birthday, and she said she was an orphan and didn't know it."
Lumine: "But Fidelle said her birthday was March 2nd..."
Furina: "Back then, little Fidelle didn't really understand the concept of birthdays. I wanted her to have a proper celebration, so I let her choose her favorite day as her birthday. She chose March 2nd."
I see. Everything makes sense now.
Lumine felt a surge of frustration. She was furious with herself for not investigating further back then, for so easily dismissing Fidelle as a suspect!
Now that Fidelle had dissolved into the Primordial Sea, the only way to find her was to venture into the depths of the Primordial Sea itself.
Lumine gazed at Furina. She had come with a mission: the Opera House was ready, awaiting only Furina's arrival.
Just then, hurried footsteps echoed through the air.
A mob of "rioters" stormed into Poisson, demanding to question Furina. Seizing the opportunity, Lumine led Furina through a series of frantic dodges and weaves, finally retreating into a nearby room.
Chu Xi, who had witnessed the entire ordeal firsthand, relayed the events to Jiang Mumu. Jiang Mumu couldn't help but marvel.
Furina's acting is truly extraordinary. She replicated the original scene perfectly, without a single discernible difference.