The Hydro Archon Is Actually Human!

Hu Tao laughed as she watched the comments, patting Zhongli on the shoulder. "Hahaha! Guest Official, look at the Anemo Archon in the video—he actually said you'd fake your death? Haha, that's hilarious! If you were really planning to fake your death, wouldn't you have to arrange your own funeral?"

"The funeral's host planning their own funeral and even attending their own banquet—I couldn't even dream up something like that."

Zhongli looked at Hu Tao, who was laughing her head off beside him, and didn't know what to say. Could he really tell her that he was indeed planning to die once and then hold his own funeral?

It had been fine at first—he'd thought retiring soon was no big deal—but now that she put it that way, even he found it a bit strange.

Ningguang and the others watched Hu Tao's antics with their hearts racing. That was the Lord! Liyue's Geo Archon, the mightiest warrior god, Morax. Who knew what they'd felt when they first saw Hu Tao smack Zhongli on the head with her polearm?

Now they didn't even dare to sit down. If they'd seen the majestic Lord during the Rite of Descension, that would've been one thing—they'd know He was there to guide them. But now they'd witnessed the Lord in an embarrassing moment! Even though they knew He wouldn't do anything to them, they still felt a pang of guilt.

Ningguang, seeing the room suddenly fall silent, mustered her courage and hesitantly spoke up. "Lord, you're not really planning to..."

"That's right, I do intend to retire." Zhongli guessed what they wanted to ask. Since the Livestream Room would expose him sooner or later anyway, he decided not to hide it.

"What! Guest Official, you're really retiring?" Hu Tao, who had been laughing so hard her stomach hurt, froze at Zhongli's answer and exclaimed, "No way! Someone actually wants to hold their own funeral!"

Ganyu also asked Zhongli worriedly, "Lord, you're not really going to retire, are you?"

Seeing their reactions, Zhongli patiently explained his reasons for wanting to retire.

Ganyu: "So that's how it is!"

Ningguang: "An era of human governance? It seems Keqing should be quite happy about that."

Zhongli left one thing unsaid: before Liyue could transition from divine rule to human rule, there would be one final test. If he passed, he'd retire smoothly. But if he failed...

The video continued.

Furina heard Zhongli's retirement method and thought to herself in surprise: Huh? So that's an option?

Venti, having finished teasing Zhongli, noticed Furina seemed a bit tempted and quickly advised her.

"Hey! You can't learn from that. You're still human after all. What if something goes wrong and you actually die?"

[Navia: What! Lady Furina is actually human!]

[Charlotte: This is huge news!]

[Clorinde: How is that possible! Lady Furina has been the Hydro Archon for 500 years!]

[Navia: Right! If Lady Furina were human, how could she live 500 years!]

[The Doctor: If it's just about living 500 years, aren't there plenty of ways in our world? Right, Rosalyn. @La Signora]

[La Signora: Don't say that name!]

[Jean: Is Rosalyn La Signora's real name?]

[Lisa: Rosalyn? That name sounds familiar...]

[Lisa: Wait, I remember! According to records, 500 years ago there was a 'Witch of Flames' in Mondstadt, and her name was Rosalyn.]

[Amber: Does that mean... La Signora is...]

[Venti: That's right, La Signora is the Witch of Flames from 500 years ago.]

[Neuvillette: So that means Lady Furina might indeed not be a god, but a human.]

[Clorinde: How could that be...]

[Lyney: Come to think of it, in all these years, I've never seen Lady Furina display any divine miracles.]

[Wriothesley: True. In the 500 years since Lady Furina became the Hydro Archon, the only ability she's ever shown is the Oracle Mechanism.]

[Clorinde: There's no point in us debating this. Why don't we just ask Lady Furina directly! @Furina.]

[Charlotte: Right! @Lady Furina, are you really not a god?]

[Furina: This...]

At that moment, Furina watched the barrage of comments, sweating profusely, her eyes filled with despair.

"It's over, it's over! I've been exposed!"

Tears of Hydro Element gradually welled up in Furina's eyes.

"Damn it! I've held on for 500 years... I'm sorry, Mirror Me, I might have already..."

"No, I can't!" Though Furina felt it was beyond saving, the thought that her exposure would ruin Mirror Me's plan and doom Fontaine made her force herself to stay strong.

"For Fontaine, I absolutely cannot be exposed! And right now, they're only suspicious—they have no solid proof. As long as that's the case, there must be a way to fix this..."

But before Furina could come up with a plan, someone in the group had already helped her out.

[Kachina: Is there something wrong with a god being human?]

[Marani: Exactly! Isn't it normal for a god to be a human?]

[Kamisato Ayato: Two friends, judging by your names, you must be from Natlan. From what you're saying, does that mean in your nation, gods are humans?]

[Marani: That's right! Our Pyro Archon was originally a human.]

[Keqing: How is that possible! Letting a human become a god?]

Keqing wanted Liyue to become a nation governed by humans, but she had never imagined humans becoming gods.

[Kachina: Huh? So it's not like that in other countries?]

[Jean: Our Anemo Archon has only ever been Lord Barbatos since Mondstadt was founded.]

[Ningguang: The same goes for Liyue.]

[Marvika: Haha! Every nation has its own system.]

[Marvika: In Natlan, as long as you win the "Holy Night Pilgrimage of Fire" and the "War of the Night Watchers," you qualify to become the new Pyro Archon.]

[Marvika: Of course, the prerequisite is that only "Natlanese" are eligible to participate.]

[Keqing: That's quite surprising...]

[Navia: So... it's not that strange that the Hydro Archon isn't a demon god.]

[Venti: It's more than that!]

[Venti: As far as I know, most second-generation gods aren't born as demon gods.]

[Nilou: But isn't our Lesser Lord Kusanali a demon god?]

[System: No, your Dendro Archon is actually formed from the purest branch that the previous Dendro Archon broke off from the World Tree.]

[Nahida: So that's how it is!]

[Venti: Ehe! It goes even further! Actually, I wasn't originally a demon god either.]

[Venti: I was just a wind spirit at first, and I only became the Anemo Archon by luck, after obtaining the power of a demon god.]