Chapter 96: Divine Furina
"Kenji, Big Sis Elysia, I’m back!"
Returning to her room, Furina flopped onto the sofa, shedding the dignified air of the Hydro Archon she was forced to play. She was like a girl from next door, a little silly, but very natural.
"Fufu, you’re no longer numb and in pain," Elysia said, her voice full of relief.
"Ahaha... I can do anything now."
Furina scratched her head. She admitted that she had become numb before. Playing a role for over five hundred years, constantly worried she would be seen through. But now, things were different. The power of an Emanator of Preservation was just too useful.
Elemental power? Utterly helpless against her. Just a few days ago, she had gone to "experiment" with a few little combos on a Bubbly Seahorse. For absolutely, definitely no other reason, of course.
"By the way, these past few days, I’ve sensed a familiar aura inside the Oratrice Mecanique d’Analyse Cardinale," Furina said.
For Focalors to hide from the perception of an Emanator of Preservation? You’ve got to be kidding. Because Furina wasn’t sure who was inside, she hadn’t done anything about it.
"Do you remember the ’me in the mirror’?" Kenji asked. He wasn’t surprised. It would have been strange if Furina hadn’t noticed.
"So it was her." Furina finally understood. "No wonder. But what is she doing hiding in there? There’s nothing inside. It must be so boring."
Furina couldn’t comprehend it. The Oratrice was completely empty, a prison worse than any real prison. Five hundred years! She had been acting out here for five hundred years and had nearly suffered a mental collapse. And the ’me in the mirror’ didn’t even have anyone to talk to for relief.
"Tonight, let’s go see her," Kenji suggested. "Let’s show some care for the lonely, old Fu."
"Fufu, have you had dinner yet?"
Furina paused, surprised by the sudden change in topic. "I came right back to find you after the trial ended."
"Then let’s eat together with the her inside the Oratrice."
The night was beautiful.
The three entered the Opera Epiclese. Tonight, there wasn’t a single person inside.
Standing before the Oratrice Mecanique d’Analyse Cardinale, Furina took a deep breath and called out, "Me in the mirror... no, Focalors, are you there?"
Kenji shook his head. "Fufu, you should say it : Open up, Emanator of Preservation, here to deliver some warmth!"
Elysia laughingly played along. "Open up, Flame-Chaser, here to deliver some warmth!"
A light flashed, and a sudden pulling force appeared. Kenji and the others offered no resistance.
On a vast, empty stage, a figure appeared, barefoot. She had a face identical to Furina’s; the only differences were her aura and her attire. A large, blue sword hung above her head, as if ready to fall at any moment.
The guillotine of Louis XVI (Focalors)? Kenji thought wryly.
This was Focalors, the divinity of the Hydro Archon.
Looking at Furina, the emotions in her eyes were complex, filled with guilt and self-blame. Over the years, she had watched all of Furina’s inner turmoil. She owed Furina far too much.
"Furina, it seems you know everything. Do you... hate me?" Focalors asked nervously.
Furina thought for a moment, then shook her head. "It wasn’t easy for you either. I also don’t want to see the people of Fontaine dissolve in the disaster of the prophecy."
"Is that so... I’m sorry. For making you bear so much."
Focalors gently hugged Furina. "I’m sorry," she said softly. This embrace had come five hundred years too late.
Furina’s nose stung, and tears she couldn’t control streamed down her cheeks. She just wanted to cry her heart out. In Focalors’s arms, it was okay to cry.
"How touching ♪," Elysia said, also moved by the scene, blinking her eyes.
"I have some space in my arms. Want to borrow it?" Kenji asked, opening his arms with a smile.
"Just this once, okay ♪?" Elysia hugged Kenji, using his clothes as a handkerchief and nuzzling into his chest. It was warm and comfortable. Kenji was someone who could understand her.
An unknown amount of time passed.
"Ahem..." Furina and Focalors coughed lightly. They’d had enough. Are you even human, showing this to a 500-year-old virgin?
Kenji’s inner thought: I’m a Milk Dragon... wait, wrong line. I’m Aurelion Sol.
Elysia’s inner thought: I’m a Herrscher ♪
Elysia instantly used her once-in-a-lifetime flash step, and this wasn’t the power of the Herrscher of the Void. Her face was bright red. Maybe she should use some physical magic to give Furina and Focalors amnesia.
"Ahem," Focalors said, quickly changing the subject as she sensed a dangerous aura. "It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Focalors. Thank you both for taking care of Furina."
"Focalors, I’m super strong now! I can do anything, so you don’t have to sacrifice yourself!" Furina declared, planting her hands on her hips proudly. The terrifying power of an Emanator of Preservation began to shake the space, and tiny cracks instantly appeared all around them.
"Stop! Retract your divine power!" Focalors yelped in alarm. "Are you trying to blow up the Oratrice? Furina, this isn’t funny!"
What kind of power did she obtain? Is it even greater than that of the Heavenly Principles?
Focalors, you know nothing of the power of an Emanator of Preservation. A single Path Resonance of "Preservation" could probably shatter Celestia.
"Furina, your power is great," Focalors conceded, "but can it solve the constitutional problem of the people of Fontaine?" The issue right now wasn’t fighting Celestia, but preventing the people of Fontaine from dissolving in the Primordial Seawater.
[Star Forger]: @Dian Mei Ruan Ruan Mei, how’s the research on the constitutional problem of the Fontaine people going?
[Dian Mei Ruan]: It’s not very difficult. I’ve already developed an oral solution. What is the population of Fontaine?
[Lady Justice]: The population of Fontaine is ***** people.
(The author doesn’t know either, ehe~)
[Dian Mei Ruan]: Understood. I will find a factory to handle the production for you.
[Star Forger]: You know, I feel like some of the truly evil people don’t deserve to use this stuff.
Let the truly evil people just get submerged in the seawater and dissolve into pure Oceanids. A nice little reshuffle. Let the great sea purify their filth.
[Lady Justice]: Isn’t that a bit much?
Furina knew there were bad people in Fontaine, but wasn’t that too cruel? Kenji, you seem a bit extreme.
[Ghost of the Uchiha]: What’s wrong with that? Anyone who obstructs peace should just be offed.
While it won’t eliminate the problem for good, it will bring peace for a time.
"The constitutional problem of the people of Fontaine can be solved, Focalors. You don’t have to off yourself," Kenji said.
"Is that... true?" Focalors was a little lost. I don’t have to die? Then what was my five hundred years for? What were Furina’s five hundred years for?
"Let’s eat, let’s eat! Don’t think about it so much for now," Kenji said, taking out a pile of zongzi. Today was the Dragon Boat Festival. In the world of Toriko, there was a place called the Zongzi Plains, which had all sorts of zongzi. But as for the specific fillings, you could only find out by opening the blind boxes.
"This looks a bit like Liyue cuisine," Focalors said, licking her lips. For the past five hundred years, Furina at least had small cakes to eat. But she had been stuck in here with nothing at all.
Peeling open a zongzi, Focalors fell silent. The glutinous rice was stained with red chili oil, and a sharp, spicy aroma filled the air. Is this right?
"It’s a Mapo Tofu Zongzi! You’ve got pretty good luck," Kenji said with a laugh.
"Sss... so spicy, so numbing... but so delicious," Focalors said after taking a tentative bite. Her eyes lit up. The taste wasn’t as strange as she imagined. At the center was tender tofu that was spicy, savory, and fragrant.
"Is there cream in a zongzi?" Furina opened one. It looked like a normal zongzi, but the filling was a sweet cream. It was delicious.
Kenji and Elysia also joined in on opening the zongzi blind boxes. You could find anything you could imagine, and there was no filling a zongzi couldn’t have.
"A mixed fruit zongzi! This must have ten different kinds of fruit."
"So sour! A lemon juice zongzi!"
"A crystal blueberry zongzi."
"A chocolate almond zongzi."
"A king crab zongzi!"
"This one’s intense! A wasabi and chili zongzi!"
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