The faith-power of Teyvat—commonly called mortal-domain power—was the true source behind many Arbiters' strength.
The power Fanes used came from this same current. In truth, the believers' faith was often the real muscle behind someone's arrival.
Lumine had once called upon Inazuma's citizens' wishes to fell a godlike thunder beast.
Focalors had gathered five hundred years' worth of Fontaine's faith and shattered a god-seat that even a deity could not break.
That alone showed how valuable mortal-domain power was.
And yet, this invisible energy mattered only if someone chose to make it matter.
Left unused it harmed nothing; amassed and used, it still harmed no one. So why not gather it and let Su Xuan feed on it?
It took time to collect, yes—but Teyvat's available bounties were limited.
Even the smallest morsel was still meat. And crucially, this method could be sustained indefinitely.
"You want me to become Mondstadt's second-generation Anemo Archon?" Sikok fretted.
She was at a loss. She had no idea how to be a god in the public eye—how to mingle, how to be visible, how to cultivate the kind of belief that would sustain an archon. Being a figurehead felt like an empty title if the people didn't even know you existed.
Su Xuan explained, unfazed. "You'll be a name on a pedestal to receive faith. Anyone could do it, so long as the people are aware the figure is real."
"To collect belief well, the archon must be someone the people haven't already seen—someone new, whose divinity reads as genuine."
Jean? Not suitable—everyone in Mondstadt already knew she wasn't a god.
Barbatos? He loafed between tasks; he'd never let the people truly rally around him.
If Su Xuan nominated someone, and that person was endorsed as Mondstadt's steward, Mondstadt would, in effect, wear Su Xuan's name. With Su Xuan backing them, even the Sky Isles would think twice before pointing fingers.
"He won't amass much faith if you make Barbatos do it," Su Xuan said. "Better to pick someone fresh."
"It's perfect you," he finished. "No one in this world's ordinary folk have heard of you—you'll make an ideal successor."
Sikok hesitated, then bowed her head. "If you need me, I'll not refuse."
"But I can't promise I'll meet your standards in harvesting faith. I've never been a god. I don't know how."
Su Xuan didn't flinch. He had no reason to accept refusal. He only worried that she might fail and draw his displeasure.
After all, every true ruling deity had once led people—Morax, Barbatos, even the old gods. Sikok had nothing of that; she'd come to Teyvat with empty hands and empty recognition.
"You needn't worry," he said. "Before you do anything, I'll take you to meet Focalors. She'll teach you."
"Focalors?" Sikok crossed her arms, doubtful. "I know of her. Fontaine's mixed energy system draws on citizen faith. Focalors is behind that—famous among the people, but… she feels odd. Not like a god so much as a superstar."
"If you want to be a star, I suppose you should learn the lute," Sikok added deadpan.
Su Xuan almost laughed at her straight face, then explained, "Once you meet Focalors, she'll show you how to collect faith. It isn't what you imagine."
"Follow me. When the time comes, I'll bring your parents back to you."
How obedient were Su Xuan's diary-holders? In his circle, an order alone was enough. They didn't need bribery, because they were clever and capable of handling things themselves—Xiao's family hidden in the desolate slopes by Hu Tao's planning; the adopted charges living safely under protection; Ayaka's family arranged elsewhere for their privacy. Ten or twenty people relocated across nations was nothing to him. He didn't fear public opinion about death and revival. He simply wanted his women to be content.
Sikok drew a deep breath and steadied herself. "I hadn't thought of any of this, but… thank you."
"Heh." Su Xuan smiled. "Xiangling and Ayaka never asked outright either. They simply knew I wouldn't treat them poorly."
Sikok nodded again. She could feel the security he brought—being near him made worry dissipate. That was why she had followed Lumine to Su Xuan without hesitation: she wanted to be close to this cosmic existence.
"Wait for me a moment," she said. "I'll handle a few things, then return."
Strength and the return of kin were not the urgent priorities. What mattered now was weaving bonds with him while he still had a few idle days before leaving for Fontaine.
She turned to go—and Su Xuan grabbed her from behind.
"Not yet. There are other roads to walk before that."
Sikok blinked. "Other roads?"
Lumine finished communicating Su Xuan's wishes to Aether on the first day. To give Su Xuan space with Sikok, she and Paimon took a few days to return to Sumeru and taste the food. Only when their window reached its end did they return to Yashiori to report in.
Su Xuan hadn't been idle. To deepen Sikok's bonds with the other ladies, he led a series of intimate salons, from which Sikok slowly learned how to interact. When Lumine returned, she was not pleased: nearly twenty days had passed with Su Xuan absent in Abyss-related affairs, and Lumine felt he should have spent that time strengthening their mutual understanding. The three of them—Lumine, Paimon, and Su Xuan—spent the night talking, only to set off the next noon for Fontaine.
They rode the lift down to the Harbor and boarded the patrol tram toward Fontaine's grand capital. Along the way, Paimon and Lumine listened, enthralled, to the guide's account of Fontaine's culture.
"You may think Fontaine is stern because of its Trials, but it is also a city of art and cuisine," the guide said.
"Cuisine?!" Paimon perked up instantly. "A city that calls itself a food capital? That must mean tons of dishes to try!" She practically hovered with excitement.
Su Xuan merely smiled. "Be careful. Fontaine's laws are many. One misstep and you could be sent to Melodpeterbourg."
"Melodpeter-what?" Paimon and Lumine both stared.
Sikok, tagging along, explained, "It's Fontaine's prison."
Paimon and Lumine: "!?"
"Are the laws harsh?" Lumine asked softly.
"Some are," Su Xuan said, pointing at Paimon. "For example, flying things are banned during the first three days of every month."
Paimon froze. "Me? A flying thing? Huh?" She hovered indignantly.
A moment of silence followed.
"Well, if those three days aren't the ones this month—then it's fine," Su Xuan continued.
Paimon and Lumine had no retort.
"I don't know why that law exists," Lumine said, eyes gleaming, but Su Xuan shrugged.
"Compared to the Free Nation, the Contract Nation, the Eternal Nation, and the Wise Nation, Fontaine has its own title: The Nation of Justice."
"That fits Fontaine's image."
From the guide's earlier cultural talk, Lumine and Paimon grasped it: Fontaine's public trials and laws create a strong justice-first identity.
"In a country centered on trial and statute, justice is inevitable," Paimon clicked her tiny fingers.
Lumine nodded. "It does mean you'll go to prison if you slip up."
"Still, different nations aren't that far apart," Su Xuan mused, prompting a diary entry to appear before Lumine and Paimon.
[Speaking of Fontaine—the Nation of Justice.]
[They have all manner of strange laws, and daily public trials are held at the Opiclae Theater.]
[After debate, a Praetor issues a ruling to determine guilt.]
[Maybe that's why Fontaine is called the Nation of Justice.]
[But what is justice?]
[Take the curious species found only in Fontaine—Melusine.]
In Fontaine's grand Palais Mermonia, Furina rolled out of bed in a hurry. "He's already boarded the tram?"
"Oh no—I haven't planned a welcome for him yet and he's nearly in the city!" she fretted.
[A century ago, the Melusine were born from the flesh of Erinas—an Abyssal construct. Erinas was like a gentle father, teaching them how to survive.]
[When Erinas' life ended, the Melusine-way lost its guiding light.]
[They sought shelter from Fontaine's Chief Arbiter, Neuvillette, pleading to be taken in.]
[Neuvillette saw something—no, the Melusine have a special sight that finds clues others cannot, so Neuvillette employed them.]
Furina: "Hm?"
[The Melusine valued the chance and worked diligently. But xenophobia brewed. The citizens resented them.]
[They framed a Melusine named Carolee, who then committed suicide to prove her innocence.]
[Fontaine's laws failed to protect her.]
Paimon and Lumine: "!?"
[The patrol captain, Watlin, avenged her in his own way—]
[then stood before the court and accepted judgment, using his guilt to elevate Neuvillette's status.]
[This shows no nation—even a 'just' one—holds absolute justice.]
[If absolute justice existed, Carolee would not have become the scapegoat.]
[Still, Fontaine's crimes can be worse than other nations: child-selling noble houses, disguised foster-parents trafficking children for profit, girls treated as commodities—these horrors exist.]
The stylish ladies around them went quiet. Did their nations harbor such darkness? Of course. Powerplays between elites existed everywhere. But trade in children and murder for profit felt alien in their circles—save for a few troubling exceptions.
[By the way… how did the Water God Focalors, Lady Furina de Fontaine, become Arbiter?]
[She turned the Nation of Justice into a mess.]
[I must interrogate her.]
Su Xuan's lips curved into a mischievous smile as he closed his diary.
Furina's reaction in the palace was immediate: "!?"
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