Inside the Hall of Chaos, Furina's thoughts were spiraling into a whirlwind. Panic and disbelief swelled in her chest. Was this a nightmare?
Surely, she had to be dreaming.
After all, how else could she explain seeing two impossible figures from her past life: Hinata Hyuga, the princess of the Hyuga Clan from an anime she had only watched in her previous life Naruto and, even more startling, Romon, her own self from before reincarnation?
Wait…
Could it be that the pressure of impersonating the Hydro Archon had finally gotten to her? Was this all a delusion brought on by overwhelming stress?
As that thought crossed her mind, Furina pinched her smooth, pale thigh with serious force. Her skin was flawless, soft, without a single hair like sculpted porcelain.
Pain shot through her leg, sharp and real.
It hurt.
This wasn't a dream.
As the pain subsided, Furina did her best to straighten up, trying to blink away the tears that had welled in her eyes. With practiced grace the kind only Fontaine's most dazzling star and leading actress could manage she lifted her chin and stepped into her role, speaking in a lofty, authoritative tone:
"I am the queen of waters, of laws, of nations and their people. I am Focalors, the Hydro Archon of Fontaine. How dare you bring me here without permission? Be warned, I shall have you judged by the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale and sentenced to death!"
Both Hinata and Romon, who shared the Byakugan, could see it clearly: the moment Furina pinched her leg, her eyes had filled with moisture. She was putting on an act.
That one detail erased all doubt.
This was not the true Hydro Archon, Focalors.
This was Furina the human aspect created from Focalors' divinity. The one who symbolized her mortal heart, not her godhood.
Romon gave a casual shrug and said,
"Give it up, Furina. You're not Focalors not the one inside the mirror, not the voice of the Oratrice. You're human."
Furina's expression remained proud and composed, but inside she was in complete turmoil.
She screamed silently:
Damn it!
They'd figured it out that she wasn't truly the god of Fontaine. If that knowledge spread, if that Furina the one trapped inside the mirror couldn't uphold the lie, then Fontaine would be doomed. Its destruction, and the dissolution of its people into water, would be inevitable.
No. She couldn't let that happen.
She had to stay in control.
Click. Clack.
Furina took a deep breath, raised her hand dramatically to rest atop the small electric orb she carried, and struck a regal pose.
"I don't understand what you're talking about. I am the god of justice, the true Hydro Archon of Fontaine. I am no mere human."
Hinata gave her a thumbs-up with childlike admiration and said in a small, soft voice, "Wow. Even after being exposed, you're still pretending. That's impressive."
"I don't know what you mean. I am Focalors the real god," Furina repeated, her voice firm despite her unraveling composure.
Her scalp prickled. Her legs trembled. The tears in her eyes were dangerously close to spilling. But she kept acting, holding the mask of a divine queen.
Romon waved dismissively.
"Alright, alright. Save that speech for when you return to Teyvat. Maybe the people of Fontaine will still believe you're a god."
Furina froze.
"This isn't Teyvat?" she asked.
"No," said Romon and Hinata in unison.
"Then where... where is this place? And who are you two?"
The tension in her voice cracked for the first time.
"I'm Romon," he said.
"I'm Hinata Hyuga," the girl added gently.
Their answers hit Furina like a cold wave.
Romon. Hinata Hyuga.
There was something seriously wrong with these two.
One had stolen her old face and even her name from her past life. The other looked like she had walked straight out of an anime. Naruto, to be specific.
Suspicion flared again in Furina's eyes. She opened her mouth to question them further, but Romon cut in first:
"As for what this place is… sit with us. That empty chair is yours. Once you sit, you'll understand everything."
He paused, then added, gently:
"And don't worry, Furina. We're not here to hurt you. In fact, the three of us share a deep bond. You could say we're… meant to stay together. Forever."
Forever?
Three people, together for life?
That was intense. Maybe even creepy.
Furina's wariness deepened. She narrowed her eyes at Romon, wondering if this was all some strange trick a fantasy concocted by a man pretending to be her past self in order to get close to her.
But despite those doubts, she followed his advice.
She walked to the round table and sat down in the seat beside them.
The moment she did, clarity poured into her mind like a tidal wave.
She knew everything.
This wasn't Fontaine. This wasn't even Teyvat.
This was the Hall of Chaos.
And the round table before her? It was the Table of Fate, created to receive the scattered soul fragments of Romon whose original self had been destroyed in a truck accident. Every fragment had reincarnated into a different world, and each would eventually be drawn back here.
She, too, was one of them.
A reincarnated soul.
Furina slowly opened her eyes and looked at Romon and Hinata again. This time, her gaze was no longer filled with fear or suspicion.
She understood now.
After a moment of silence, she spoke thoughtfully.
"So… we're all Romon. This is that genre from our past life, isn't it? The ninety-nine simultaneous reincarnations?"
Romon nodded. "Looks like it."
Hinata smiled and agreed. "Probably."
Furina lit up, her curiosity overtaking her shock. "I remember in those novels, you could share power and knowledge by fist-bumping. Should we try that?"
"No need," Romon replied. "Just look into each other's eyes."
"Furina, relax. Look up," he added.
The three of them met each other's gaze.
And at that moment, their memories began to resonate.
Their thoughts began to align.
In that instant, Romon and Hinata saw into Furina's past.
She had entered the Hall of Chaos in the tenth year after her creation by Focalors the tenth year of her role as the Hydro Archon.
There were still 490 years until the day of the prophesied apocalypse the destruction of Fontaine.
Furina had planned to keep playing her role alone for nearly five more centuries, guiding the Oratrice to gather enough divine energy for Focalors to destroy her own god-throne and pass the Primordial Sea's ancient authority back to the Dragon King of Water Neuvillette.
If Neuvillette reclaimed divine authority, then the people of Fontaine who were originally made from water spirits would finally become true humans. When the Sea of Primordial Wombs swallowed Fontaine, they would not dissolve.
After absorbing these memories, Romon looked up at Furina, his expression full of clarity and admiration.
"So you were planning to do exactly what the original Furina would've done. But now that you've reincarnated and with 490 years left maybe you can find a new way to save Fontaine. To stop the people from dissolving."
"I want to," Furina said, her voice low but resolute. "But you must understand… the current me is just a normal human. I don't even have a Vision."
She spread her hands helplessly.
"What's worse the Focalors in the mirror doesn't have our past life's memories. She believes that only by returning the ancient power to Neuvillette can she save Fontaine. That's why I have no choice. I have to keep pretending just like the original Furina did."
"I have to play the role of a god. Even if it means acting alone for the next five hundred years."