Neuvillette nodded. "Sorry for the trouble, Miss Sigewinne. Furina may return to her seat as well."
Standing at the accusation stand, Furina said anxiously, "What's going on? What did Sigewinne mean just now? I'm still standing here perfectly fine. Doesn't that prove it?"
Navia explained, "At first, we did plan to use the Primordial Sea Water from Poisson directly, because we guessed you would definitely find an excuse to escape the test."
"But to be safe, we still replaced the Primordial Sea Water in the basin with a diluted concentration that wouldn't dissolve anyone. After all... after all, if something unexpected happened... after everything these past few days, none of us wanted to see anyone dissolved by Primordial Sea Water again."
Paimon said, "So you used diluted Primordial Sea Water for the test, along with an examination by Sigewinne..."
"Thank goodness you did. Otherwise... otherwise, wouldn't Furina have been..."
[Navia: That's what I thought. Actually bringing a basin of Primordial Sea Water like the stuff in Poisson wouldn't be something I'd do...]
[Charlotte: Yes. Even if you really intended to do that, Monsieur Neuvillette would definitely have stopped you.]
[Arataki Itto: Looks like I was pretty close to the answer! This diluted Primordial Sea Water is pretty much the same as expired stuff, right?]
[Barbara: So, looking at it this way, there's no twist. Furina is still an ordinary human.]
[Amber: But Furina had no idea the Primordial Sea Water in there was diluted. She thought it was highly concentrated the whole time...]
[Ganyu: Furina really was prepared to lose her life.]
[Hu Tao: That's way too reckless. No matter what, you should still cherish your own life, shouldn't you?]
[Tartaglia: Furina's spirit is something worth learning from. Even knowing the battle ahead could cost you your life, you still press forward for that tiny sliver of hope of victory.]
[Dehya: The same goes for mercenaries.]
[Jean: Just what is keeping her going? Is the thing she's hiding really that important?]
Furina stared at her hands in disbelief, murmuring to herself, "So... so that's how it was..."
She couldn't believe it. Clearly...
Watching this, Lumine was also deeply puzzled and bewildered.
What was going on? Even if she wasn't a god, Furina couldn't possibly not know the consequences of coming into direct contact with Primordial Sea Water at the concentration found in Poisson...
This wasn't something her usual self would ever do. Was her identity as a god really that important to her...?
She was even willing to throw away her life. With her personality, she should have given up long ago...
A feeling of unwillingness crept into Furina's heart. Was that plan really going to fail? I'd already held on for so long.
But once my identity as a god is exposed, everything will be gone. All my efforts over these centuries will be gone.
The people of Fontaine will have no way out. The prophecy will never be broken.
She glanced at her hands again. Just seconds ago, she had still been immersed in the joy of having preserved her identity as a god. It was as though she had climbed back out of the mire she had sunk into before and seen the sunlight of hope.
But with Sigewinne's examination, she, who had only just surfaced and managed a brief breath, was pushed back under again. Pain, unwillingness, regret, helplessness-all kinds of emotions submerged her like a tide.
She could no longer breathe...
Furina felt she was about to fall apart, but just as she had said, the right to give up was not in her hands.
She mustered every last bit of strength and made one final attempt, her words coming rapidly. "No, that's not it. Listen to me, listen to me! Stop looking at me like that! That test just now doesn't count. It doesn't count!"
"Besides, you can't prove that Primordial Sea Water has no effect on gods either, can you?"
"And, and if I really were human, how could I possibly have put my hand into Primordial Sea Water...?"
Her voice was nearly hoarse, yet the people remained utterly cold. In fact, the sight of her breaking down only further confirmed what the people of Fontaine were thinking.
Furina looked toward the audience seats, hoping someone would speak up for her, only for disappointment to find her once again. The entire venue was silent. The audience simply kept shaking their heads and avoiding her gaze. Their feelings were complicated now as well.
Tears filled Furina's eyes. She spoke again, her voice humble and pleading as she choked out, "...Listen to me, listen to me. Please, believe me. I really am a god..."
The sight of Furina breaking down also left those watching the livestream with a feeling they could not describe.
[Dvalin: I have reason to suspect that Barbatos is a human in disguise too. After all, I've never seen him do any actual work.]
[Arataki Itto: Come on, at least give her a response! What's with refusing to even look at her? I'm furious!]
[Klee: Since the people of Fontaine are all ignoring Furina, then... then, if you get a chance later, come to Mondstadt! Klee will take you fish blasting.]
[Jean: (Covered her forehead and sighed helplessly) Klee, if Furina can come to Mondstadt, I'd welcome her and be very happy. But I do not welcome that last part, and I'm not happy about it either.]
[Barbara: Just watching makes you feel despair. With so many people all standing against her, she really is far too helpless.]
[Ganyu: Is she still not giving up? With what is almost conclusive proof before her, is she still trying to make the people believe she's the Hydro Archon?]
[Yae Miko: What exactly will happen after she loses her identity as the Hydro Archon, to frighten her so much that she's even willing to throw her life away?]
[Paimon: Furina...]
[Ningguang: Better a short pain than a long one. They should announce the verdict quickly and end this sooner. Continuing to drag it out like this will only torment Furina.]
On the screen.
Furina remained where she stood. After seeing that the audience was ignoring her, she turned her gaze to the Traveler and Paimon. Seeing them turn their heads away and ignore her too, she looked toward Neuvillette, who simply closed his eyes.
Furina slowly lowered her head. Having watched so many trials, she knew she had reached the end of the road. What awaited her next was the final verdict.
"Sigh..."
"There's no point in arguing any further... after all, there's already so much evidence laid out here!"