Chapter Text
"Miss, the purpose of this interrogation is to determine your involvement in the villains' attack on U.S.J, which took place this Wednesday, April 10th, at 10:30 A.M. Where professional hero Midnight found you hidden in some bushes, only for you to attack her moments later. Not only her, but also the rest of the school staff," the detective, Tsukauchi if I remember his name correctly, speaks to her while she's handcuffed with some "Quirk-suppressing handcuffs" or whatever that is.
"Eh?" I respond confused -I should have accepted Clorinde's invitation- I think to myself.
<Teyvat - Moments Before>
"Why... do we... have... to... go... so... far...?" At this point my feet are already sore from the long walk of... almost 100 km? I don't know, I lost count after passing 20. Besides, I can't summon Gentilhomme Usher or any other from Salon Solitaire because Aether scolds me.
"Come on, Furina, it's just a routine walk," Aether replied for the fifth... no, sixth time in 5 minutes.
"Come on, Furina! It's just a little walk," Paimon, Aether's food - I mean, companion, also scolded.
"First of all, you can fly! Second, Aether is carrying you!" I shout with what little voice I have left. I really should start exercising.
Aether stopped abruptly. I looked at him expectantly, seriously feeling like one more second and I'll collapse.
The blonde turned around smiling as he pointed to the surroundings, "We're here!" he shouted.
I looked around without finding anything remarkable... until I looked down.
"These are ruins."
"Yep."
"In a cave."
"Obviously."
Yes... no, I've walked enough for one day, it's time for a well-deserved break to eat desserts.
But my plans went down the drain, wink wink, when Aether was about to dive into the cave.
"Wait! How are you going to go with an empty stomach!?" A plan came to my mind, a plan that will make us stop for one factor, Paimon.
"That's right! How are we going without eating delicious food!" Paimon started to move impatiently while pulling the blonde's hair.
Aether sighed and instantly made a campfire to prepare a meal.
Obviously, I'm glad because the cave we're going to is near the Fontaine Research Institute of Kinetic Energy Engineering, or well, what's left of it, and they had to come all the way walking, ALL the way.
I sit in a bubble that I summon before selecting the dessert I'm going to eat.
—20 minutes later—
We finished eating, and resting, so we're ready for the adventure.
I go ahead of the blonde and the fairy.
"What are you waiting for? Let's go!" I shout with renewed energy, I really needed the rest.
Besides, what's the worst that could happen?
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Absolutely everything, as soon as we took a step inside the ruins, the ground collapsed and we were divided.
Followed by a riddle related to Barbatos whose answer was drunk, for some reason. Traps, enemies, a statue of Neuvillette and of her, something about an Ordo, more walking. Until in the last room, we finally met again, Aether with a passive expression analyzing the situation, and me with an angry face and a Salon Solotaire in my pocket about to throw it.
You know what? I should have accepted Clorinde's invitation to a tea party.
Before either of us could say anything, the room lit up and the last thing I see is Aether running towards me.
"Furina!"
-The trial of the Hydro Archon, Foçalors, will now begin!-
<U.S.J. - Moments Before>
I feel a breeze hitting my face as I hear the gentle waves of the sea hitting the shore.
-Oh... so it was a dream- I think to myself as I turn on my hard bed and hear screams in the distance. .... .... .... ....
Wait, hard bed?... Screams????
I quickly open my eyes and stand up, although that led to me feeling dizzy, so I had to stop for a moment and let my mind clear.
The first thing I notice, among many things, is the large iron dome covering the entire place where I am. Tall buildings, different from any in Fontaine. The artificial lake and a destroyed boat in the center, or well, its remains. The vegetation covering the place. But everything feels so wrong, very wrong.
I can't feel the elemental energy in the lake water, which should be the most notable for my Hydro Vision, or well, I can't feel any elemental energy.
{Boom!}
A loud noise was heard nearby. Too close, too close for my liking. Nervous and at all times alert to use my vision, I approach one of the corners of the building.
I see a destroyed plaza with a black creature, wait is that its brain?, fighting a blonde man. Beyond that is a young man with blue hair and hands on his face next to a creature made of what looks like purple smoke.
A few meters from the fight, several teenagers with "flashy" clothes and attributes, so to speak, are watching the fight.
But to the anger of the guy with the hands, the tall blonde sends the black creature flying, literally, into the sky. Breaking the iron dome.
The young man seems very angry murmuring things in a... Inazuman? Honestly, the language sounds Inazuman, but not the current one or the one from 400 years ago. It's a strange one with strange words.
The purple creature advances towards the blonde. And the latter stands still as he waits for the attack.
...
No, he's not waiting for the attack, his body is exhausted and his breathing is irregular. He can't move.
Those details that might be imperceptible to the normal eye don't go unnoticed by my eyes that have seen through many acts in my 500 years of life.
Besides, from what little I could see of the fight, the blonde is faster than them.
But against all odds, a green-haired teenager appeared and "blocked" the purple creature.
...
...
...
Wait... a teenager?! What's going on?!
But the surprises don't stop! Of course not! Because suddenly the hand, of the arm, of the blue-haired guy is pierced by a bullet! Not just one! Multiple shots are heard all over the place, and the guy gets like 10 bullets!
Great! Just great!
My eyes move to where the bullets are coming from. And... um... how do I explain this... where the bullets are coming from, the entrance to the place I suppose, there are several "adults" with very, VERY flashy clothes.
I'm not going to criticize each individual's fashion choice, everyone has the freedom to choose what they like best. But, I don't think it's appropriate to wear a garment that accentuates the body so much and... wait, is that a muzzle?
The teenagers in the place seem to rejoice at the arrival of these adults.
I, on the other hand, am doubtful, this place clearly differs from any kind of architecture that I know, a "known" but different language. The people's attitude doesn't seem so bad, except for a blonde teenager, but still... if that blue-haired guy was showered with a hail of bullets, what will happen to me?
The uncertainty grows through my body as my grip on my Hydro vision intensifies. Honestly, I don't want to discover its limits. As powerful as their vision might be, at least stronger than the average vision. I know that in the world there are limits to everything.
Determined, partly, I prepare to hide and wait for those people to leave.
I look around, always attentive that no one gets too close to my back, and I see some bushes that should be more than enough to hide me.
As silently as possible, I hide among the bushes, swallowing a complaint about my clothes and wait.
<25 minutes later>
The commotion after I hid, which consisted of a conversation about: heroes, villains, Æll Miğhþ? Or something like that, to be honest, the language was more different than I originally thought, with strange pronouns, adverbs, and adjectives.
Despite my 400 years of study of the language, yes, it's not easy being the archon - ruler of a nation that receives people from all over Teyvat. So eventually I had to learn every dialect of the continent, at least the main ones, because oh Celestia no, I'm not going to learn more than 20 languages like at the Sumero Academy. Poor souls.
Well, a little peek shouldn't hurt.
I peek extremely carefully, trying not to move the bush too much and not to drop my hat... I look and...
"Hello, little one," a woman with very flashy clothes greets her, causing me to fall and slide out of the bush.
The woman, whose appearance was a tall and well-groomed figure, large assets, great dark purple hair, a mask over her eyes, and clothes that very, VERY much accentuate her figure.
I estimate she's between 25 to 30 years old.
The woman smiled at her. But not in a cute way.
"Oh oh oh, what's a young girl doing here?" Her eyes now have hearts instead of the normal iris, a blush is visible on her cheeks, and her voice changes to a more seductive tone.
My alarms in my head suddenly went off and my body moved on instinct.
"A predator!" As I stand up and try to flee, I feel like my body suddenly becomes exhausted.
Each step is more exhausting than the last...
My vision starts to blur...
Why is everything spinning?...
I...
At the last moment, the little I feel is as if someone is holding me and what seems like a big explosion sounds... very close? I'm not sure...
-So tired- I close my eyes.
-You have never been as superficial as you have you have presented yourself to be-