[Furina: So this is prophecy… no matter what people do, the scenes depicted will always become reality.]
[Ningguang: Indeed… it's terrifying if you think about it. A group trying desperately to break the prophecy ends up acting it out, pushing it toward fulfillment.]
[Mona: That is a prophecy—an already determined future. Even if the process differs, the ending is fixed.]
[Furina (collapses into her chair): So… the people of Fontaine are doomed after all?]
[The Knave: Lady Furina, I owe you an apology. I doubted you before… but you are truly a respectable woman.]
[Ningguang: And you, Miss Knave, are also elegant in your resolve. Even if the result is tragic, your intentions deserve respect.]
[Nahida: I think the real prophecy isn't the line circulating in Fontaine, but the four murals themselves.]
[Furina: Nahida—God of Wisdom—you must know how to save Fontaine! What's the difference between the spoken prophecy and the murals?]
[Nahida: There's a huge difference. The spoken prophecy claims: "All people of Fontaine will dissolve into the sea, leaving only the Water God to sit alone on the throne and weep." But the murals… show no such dissolution. The final mural only shows the Water God collapsed on the throne. And now—look—you, Furina, are sitting collapsed in the throne exactly as depicted. It's identical.]
[Nahida: I believe the murals are the original source of the prophecy. The spoken version came from someone trying to interpret these images. Whoever interpreted them likely assumed:
"If the Water God is crying alone, then everyone else must have dissolved."
But the video shows:
Fontaine's people are not dissolved. Furina has been judged, her identity exposed, and she has lost everyone's trust. She collapses in despair. That alone fulfills the mural. Which means all four prophetic scenes have now appeared—so the prophecy… is already complete.]
[Zhongli: As expected of the God of Wisdom. Your reasoning is sound and convincing.]
[Nahida: I believe Fontaine's people will be safe.]
[The Knave: Thank you for your blessing, God of Wisdom.]
[Furina: Thank you… truly.]
Video
Navia slowly stood.
"We planned this entire trial to prevent the prophecy from happening… yet every step we took only pushed it closer. We've become its instruments."
Paimon stared blankly at Lumine. "What do we even do now?"
Lumine shook her head. "I don't know. It feels like everything is trapped inside the prophecy's grasp."
Clorinde: "So prophecy cannot be escaped…? Is this what fate feels like?"
Paimon trembled. "If that's the case… then the fourth mural's scene is going to appear soon…"
Suddenly, the Opera Epiclese shook violently.
The ground split open—an abyssal rift formed—and a massive whale burst into the air.
Neuvillette summoned a powerful Hydro barrier, but the whale shattered it instantly.
It circled overhead, then charged toward the crowd.
Neuvillette's attacks failed to draw its attention.
Just as the whale was about to crash into the civilians—
Tartaglia, clad in his Foul Legacy armor, erupted from the water, using Abyssal power to block it.
Neuvillette and Childe fought side by side, forcing the beast back.
[Childe: Why am I in Fontaine?! Shouldn't I be in Liyue preparing to steal the Geo Archon's Gnosis?]
[Zhongli: Childe remains as straightforward as ever.]
[Childe: I mean—it's obvious, right? I'm the Tsaritsa's Harbinger. We all hunt Gnosis. Normal folks in Liyue don't know that—but Ningguang and Keqing must know!]
[Ningguang: Yes, I am aware.]
[Keqing: … Wait, what? I didn't know that!]
[Ningguang: Keqing handles Liyue's urban development and governance. She isn't very involved in Fatui affairs.]
[Childe: … Fair enough.]
The Star-Devouring Whale had been driven off—temporarily.
Neuvillette explained:
"That whale does not belong to Teyvat. It is a creature that wanders between worlds, forever weeping. It has been ravenously devouring the Primordial Sea's energy, growing larger and larger. That is why Fontaine's sea level has been rising."
"Once the Primordial Sea runs dry, it will turn to the people of Fontaine—because the sea flows through their veins. That's why it came to the Opera House:
The highest concentration of Fontainians."
[Navia: So if we defeat that whale, Fontaine's sea level returns to normal—and the prophecy dissolves, right?]
[Clorinde: Theoretically, yes.]
[The Knave: The House of the Hearth will join the battle as well.]
[Navia: Thank you—for fighting for Fontaine.]
[The Knave: Fontaine is my homeland too.]
[Childe: Hey now—thank me too! The me in the video clearly fought that whale forever! Even used Foul Legacy! That hurts like crazy!]
[Navia: Yes—thank you, Childe.]
[Charlotte: Thank you… truly.]
Navia grew anxious.
"But we only drove it away! Won't it just come back to the surface later and treat the people of Fontaine as food?"
Neuvillette nodded.
"Correct. It has wanted to come ashore for a long time. The only reason this is its first appearance… is likely thanks to that Fatui Harbinger."
He glanced at Childe's fatigued posture in the video.
"He must have been fighting it alone for a very long time."
Paimon: "Childe and that whale do have history… I didn't expect it to matter here."
"Since we know the whale is the cause of the prophecy, if we defeat it, won't that stop the prophecy?"
Neuvillette shook his head gravely.
"It's already too late. While we remained unaware, it consumed too much of the Primordial Sea. It is far too strong now. Even if it destroyed all of Teyvat, it might still survive—and move on to devour another world."
Navia clenched her fists.
"I refuse to accept that! We've done everything we can. And now, when the real culprit finally appears, you tell me it's an enemy we cannot defeat? That's too cruel!"
Lyney: "Such a grand show… shouldn't end with a finale like this."
Clorinde: "No matter what… I will fight it to the end."
Paimon: "So… the prophecy really will come true after all…?"