As they looked at the large words on the screen before them,
everyone came back to their senses from their shock.
For a moment, messages poured in one after another, making for a dizzying sight.
The word "sinner" could instantly catch people's attention wherever it appeared.
[Nahida: Hello, everyone!]
[Hu Tao: Hello!]
[Xingqiu: Hello!]
[Jean: Sinners... this shouldn't have anything to do with our Mondstadt, right?]
[Lisa: Of course not. Isn't public safety in Mondstadt good?]
[Kaeya: Exactly. With our Knights of Favonius around, how could there be any sinners?]
[Diluc: @Kaeya Feel your nose and see if it's grown any longer.]
[Sucrose: Teacher, do you know what it means?]
[Albedo: I'm not quite sure.]
[Arataki Itto: Hahahahaha! You don't even know that? Let yours truly tell you!]
[Arataki Itto: Sinners plus dance steps... this must be a new kind of punishment, making people who commit crimes dance. You learn something new every day! The Arataki Gang's gotta add this punishment too.]
[Mamoru: Boss, you're mighty!]
[Akira: Boss, you're badass!]
[Arataki Itto: Hahahahaha! Keep it low-key, low-key! Have you forgotten the Arataki Gang's code of conduct?]
[Kujou Sara: It's over. That Arataki idiot has embarrassed himself abroad.]
[Kuki Shinobu: ...]
[Yelan: I never imagined Inazuma had such a hidden genius. Truly astonishing!]
[Beidou: Looks like they closed their borders to keep talent like this from leaving!]
[Alhaitham: Everyone, does anyone know what this title means?]
[Dehya: Masquerade of the Guilty... Nilou, don't you dance? Do you know? @Nilou]
[Nilou: I don't.]
[Thoma: Speaking of which, our young lady can dance too. @Kamisato Ayaka]
[Kamisato Ayaka: I don't know either.]
[Ganyu: If it were Rex Lapis, he would certainly know.]
[Hu Tao: Our consultant Zhongli knows everything from astronomy up above to geography down below. Surely he'd know too!]
[Zhongli: ...]
[Xingqiu: Mr. Zhongli, do you know what Masquerade of the Guilty means?]
[Zhongli: Generally speaking, perhaps it has something to do with water.]
[Wriothesley: From what this friend is saying, he seems to mean it has something to do with our Fontaine.]
[Lyney: Does Lady Hydro Archon know?]
[Furina: You've asked exactly the right person! As the Hydro Archon, I can naturally answer your questions. Well? Are you happy? Delighted? Excited? Are you already filled with boundless admiration for me?]
[Wriothesley: As expected of Lady Hydro Archon. Truly impressive!]
[Navia: Then Lady Hydro Archon's answer is...]
[Furina: Hehe, listen closely. I, the Hydro Archon, will only say this once. The answer is, I don't know either.]
[Neuvillette: ...]
[Kujou Sara: Arataki Itto, you'd probably have a lot of fun playing with this Hydro Archon.]
[Furina: Oh, isn't that what makes it dramatic? But rest assured, everyone. Although I don't know who this sinner is, I guarantee that as long as she dares show herself within Fontaine's borders, as the Hydro Archon, I certainly won't let her get away.]
[Ganyu: As expected of the God of Justice, though her personality seems a little flighty.]
[Ningguang: A god's personality naturally differs from that of ordinary people. That's normal.]
[Sigewinne: That's right. Although our Lady Hydro Archon is flighty, she is certainly the most just.]
[Barbara: Lord Anemo Archon must be a very solemn god.]
[Venti: Ehe!]
[Cyno: Everyone, the video seems to have started playing!]
With that message from Cyno, the entire chat group instantly fell silent.
Paimon and the Traveler appeared on the screen.
Paimon finished stretching, then slapped her forehead,
and said happily to Lumine,
"I knew it! I kept feeling like we'd forgotten something. Today's the big day when we leave the Fortress of Meropide! We've gotta hurry and sort out the paperwork. We made an appointment!"
Lumine on the screen nodded happily too.
Then the scene shifted,
and the two stood before Moraine.
Moraine took out a pile of documents and handed them to the Traveler.
Moraine: "Sign here. Once you've signed, it takes effect immediately, and you two can leave the Fortress of Meropide through the regular channels."
At the Statue of the Seven in the City of Mondstadt.
Seeing themselves on the screen,
Paimon and Lumine were both baffled for a moment. How had they appeared on the screen?
[Wriothesley: The Fortress of Meropide? Isn't that in Fontaine?]
[Charlotte: What's that smell? What's that smell? It smells so good... oh, it's the smell of news!]
[Arataki Itto: Looks like this yellow-haired girl and this, this, uh, flying dwarf lavender melon beside her are the sinners.]
[Paimon: What did you say? My name's Paimon! I'm not a flying dwarf lavender melon, and we're in Mondstadt right now!]
[Jean: You're within our borders? Amber, go take a look. @Amber]
[Amber: Understood!]
[Neuvillette: I don't seem to have any recollection of these two.]
[Wriothesley: Indeed. I'm afraid there's been a misunderstanding. I manage the Fortress of Meropide. There's no way I'd have no recollection of them.]
[Navia: Didn't you see? They're leaving, which means it probably has nothing to do with them.]
[Furina: But the scene on the screen takes place in Fontaine. Darn it, I'd better not find out who that sinner is, or I'll be sure to give her a good punishment!]
[Lyney: All hail the Hydro Archon!]
[Freminet: All hail the Hydro Archon!]
[Lynette: All hail the Hydro Archon!]
[Sigewinne: All hail the Hydro Archon!]
Meanwhile, people from other nations also typed out a long string of "All hail the Hydro Archon!"
Inside the vast Palais Mermonia,
Furina looked at the chat history on the screen.
Watching the cries of "All hail the Hydro Archon!" scroll past one after another,
she pressed both hands over her heart.
"I'm doing pretty well, aren't I? At least before the prophecy comes to pass, everyone still loves the Hydro Archon!"
Seeing other people's approval eased Furina's heart considerably, and the pain that no one understood was soothed at that moment as well.
Looking at the screen before her,
a sliver of hope rose in Furina's heart. Perhaps it might be able to change the prophecy. But she soon shook her head again and told herself firmly,
No, Furina, you absolutely cannot pin your hopes on something so uncertain. The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment!
Haven't you learned enough lessons over these past few centuries?
There's only one path before you. It's only a matter of sacrificing yourself alone. Compared with everyone else in Fontaine, that's insignificant!
Besides, I'm not even a god. Trading one mortal's life for everyone else is worth it!