Her name was Furina.
She did not know where she had come from.
One day, she saw a mirror within her consciousness.
In the mirror stood a girl dressed in white who looked exactly like her.
Her reflection told her about the prophecy.
Shocked, she asked her reflection whether there was any way to resolve it.
Her reflection answered, "There is, Furina, but it will require you to endure some suffering."
Her reflection asked her to play the part of a god.
"You absolutely must not be found out. If you are, there will be no hope left for Fontaine. Everyone will dissolve."
She was a kindhearted girl. If one side of the scales held her personal suffering and the other held the lives of everyone in Fontaine, it was obvious which weighed more.
And so, without hesitation, she agreed to play the Hydro Archon.
At the time, she did not know what that suffering would entail, how great it would be, or how long it would last.
She knew only that she was the key to saving the people of Fontaine, so she agreed without giving it much thought.
At first, playing the part was fairly easy. Gradually, however, she came to understand what "suffering" meant.
Although Focalors had cursed her so that she would never grow old, she had neither divine power nor a divine core. She was merely a mortal who could not even wield elemental energy.
An ordinary girl with no power whatsoever had to do everything she could to play an entire nation's god, without ever letting anyone discover the truth.
Business at the Palais Mermonia, performances, trials, audiences with the people...
Even when she walked down the street, every step had to be perfectly graceful.
When she ate, every movement of her knife and