Chapter Summaries

Neuvillette and Lumine gathered allies near Poisson to plan how to capture Furina and put the Hydro Archon on trial. Navia began the meeting, then turned the explanation of the proposed trap over to Clorinde.

• Neuvillette said the group had to act to stop the prophecy and obtain the clues Furina held, and Lumine offered to recruit help.
• Several days later, Lumine, Paimon, Neuvillette, Navia, Lynette, Freminet, Lyney, and Clorinde met on a boat near Poisson.
• Navia opened the meeting and explained that they needed a trap capable of capturing the Hydro Archon before they could put her on trial.
• Navia credited Clorinde with the trap idea and asked her to explain it, while Clorinde teased Navia and drew Neuvillette into the exchange.
• Neuvillette confirmed that Clorinde was Fontaine's strongest Champion Duelist, a fighter defendants could challenge to escape trial.

Clorinde and the others discussed how to build a trap that could capture Furina without harming her, then separated to prepare. Paimon and Lumine later met the mysterious Witch N, who confirmed Fontaine’s prophecy would come true but hinted that events might unfold outside the gods’ sight.

• Clorinde explained the Marechaussee Hunters’ trapping principles, and the group shared ideas such as bait, fishing, and mechanical animals.
• Neuvillette asked that their trap catch Furina without hurting her, and Clorinde agreed they would not include an execution mechanism.
• After the meeting, Paimon told Lumine she trusted her completely as they discussed their exhausting preparations.
• Witch N appeared to join Paimon and Lumine for tea and revealed she had come to guide them while volunteering for a commission from a friend’s apprentice.
• Lumine asked whether Fontaine’s prophecy would come true, and Witch N said it would, but suggested the gods might not see everything happening in their blind spots.
• Witch N urged Lumine to do what she ought to do, then ended the tea party and vanished.

Mona visited Lumine and Paimon, discussed Witch N’s cryptic warning about a god’s blind spots, and encouraged them to keep believing that fate could change. Lumine resolved to keep helping people despite the prophecy, while Mona’s words lifted their spirits.

• Lumine and Paimon woke to find Mona visiting them after she attended a symposium at The Steambird and spoke with Charlotte about preparing for Fontaine’s prophecy.
• Lumine told Mona that a mysterious visitor had delivered a message from Witch N, who suggested that even a god’s vision had blind spots.
• Mona explained that Witch N was a member of the Hexenzirkel and guessed that the visitor’s cryptic hint meant there was still a chance to change what would happen.
• Mona said that astrology could reveal an unchanging fate, but she still believed in miracles and urged Lumine and Paimon not to lose confidence.
• Lumine said she could not stand by while others struggled and would keep helping until the very last moment; Mona praised her and left.

Lumine and Paimon read Charlotte’s article about their adventures, then visit a Fontaine restaurant where they meet Sedene. Sedene gives them cake and encourages them to enjoy the present despite the prophecy, leaving them to cheer up over dessert.

• Paimon and Lumine found Charlotte’s newspaper article about them and praised her photographs and writing.
• Paimon and Lumine went to a restaurant hoping to buy its limited daily cake, where they met Sedene.
• Sedene explained that she visits the restaurant daily for coffee and cake, and said she would still enjoy today’s cake even if the prophecy came true tomorrow.
• Sedene learned that Lumine and Paimon seemed sad, gave them two slices of cake, and said Sigewinne had taught her that delicious food could help humans smile.
• Sedene left to attend to other business after telling Lumine and Paimon to stay cheerful.

Lumine and Paimon visited Charlotte, who offered them a share of her earnings and arranged an exclusive interview. Asked what she would do if Fontaine were about to sink, Charlotte said she would keep working on the interview because she loved being a reporter.

• Lumine and Paimon finished their desserts and went to see Charlotte at the newspaper office.
• Lumine asked Charlotte for a cut of the money she made from writing about them, and Charlotte said she had set aside their share and arranged a feast.
• Charlotte invited Lumine and Paimon to an exclusive interview about their travels and insights, and they agreed to meet later.
• Paimon asked Charlotte what she would do if Fontaine were to sink the next day, and Charlotte said she would stay at the newspaper office and finish their interview.
• Charlotte said she would publish the report and send copies to every nation, then left to get back to work.

Lumine decided she would keep traveling and seeing the world even if Teyvat were about to end. After a peaceful stretch in Fontaine, Isadora told her and Paimon that people had confronted Furina at the opera house, prompting the Marechaussee Phantom to classify the incident as a riot.

• Paimon asked Lumine what they would choose to do if all of Teyvat were going to be destroyed the next day.
• Lumine said she would keep traveling because the world was still beautiful and she did not want to waste a single moment.
• Charlotte interviewed Lumine and Paimon at the Spina di Rosula base, where they also met Navia and took a photo together.
• A few peaceful days passed, and Paimon complained about having nothing to do and about the damp, sea-smelling Fortress of Meropide.
• Isadora found Lumine and Paimon and reported that people had shouted at Furina during an opera-house intermission, accusing her of ignoring the prophecy.

Isadora told Paimon and Lumine that Furina had disappeared after an angry crowd blamed her during the opera house incident. Paimon deduced that Furina had gone to Poisson, and she and Lumine hurried there to find her.

• Isadora explained that Furina had left the opera house after the crowd turned against her, and the Marechaussee Phantom had lost track of her.
• Isadora said Neuvillette had sent her to inform Paimon and Lumine, and the two offered to help search for Furina.
• After Isadora left, Paimon and Lumine realized they should head to Poisson.
• Paimon reasoned that Furina would go to Poisson because she felt guilty and sad about what had happened there, and Lumine praised her deduction.
• Paimon and Lumine set out for Poisson, saying they had little time.

Lumine and Paimon found Furina grieving alone beside a river in Poisson, but she tried to hide her pain behind her usual theatrical act. When a crowd tracked her down, Furina ran, and Lumine and Paimon chased after her.

• Lumine and Paimon found Furina by the river, where she tearfully blamed herself and admitted she could not stop holding on.
• Lumine and Paimon approached Furina, who wiped her face and pretended she had been moved by an opera.
• Lumine told Furina to stop pretending if she was truly hurting, and Furina was shaken by her words.
• A crowd arrived, claiming to have found the Hydro Archon, and Furina fled from them.
• Lumine and Paimon ran after Furina so they would not lose her.

Lumine and Paimon led Furina to a hidden room, where a staged disaster shook her composure and prompted her to reveal her centuries-long efforts to stop Fontaine’s prophecy. Furina admitted she had considered giving up but reaffirmed her duty to preserve hope for her people until the final moment.

• Furina evaded the crowd with Lumine and Paimon, then trusted Paimon’s directions to a hiding place despite not recognizing it.
• Lumine, Paimon, and Furina entered a room that shook, and Lumine and Paimon told Furina another disaster might have struck Poisson.
• Furina revealed that she had spent centuries gathering information and trying to stop Fontaine’s sea level from rising, but believed the prophecy could not be defeated.
• Lumine questioned whether Furina had truly given up, and Furina admitted she had often thought about accepting fate and being free.
• Furina decided she had no right to accept fate on behalf of her people and vowed to preserve every last hope until the final moment.

Furina nearly told Lumine her secret, but a sudden reveal in the opera house interrupted her. As Lyney began the trial, Furina refused to submit and faced Clorinde as her Champion Duelist.

• Lumine urged Furina to share what she had been carrying, and Furina considered whether the Traveler might be outside the script.
• Just as Furina began to speak, the room collapsed and revealed them in the crowded opera house.
• Lyney announced that the trial of a god was beginning, and Furina resumed her haughty performance.
• Neuvillette told Furina that refusing the trial meant she would have to defeat a Champion Duelist to defend her honor.
• Clorinde entered the stage and pointed her sword at Furina, who acknowledged that she was prepared to duel a god.

Furina surprised the Opera Epiclese by raising both hands and surrendering instead of fighting Clorinde. She admitted her responsibility for Poisson, vowed to face the trial and explain true justice, then won the audience’s support with a rousing speech.

• Furina raised both hands, and Clorinde sheathed her sword when she realized Furina was surrendering.
• Furina told the audience she would face the trial, apologized for her part in what happened in Poisson, and admitted she had often run away from problems.
• Furina promised to explain what true justice meant and privately resolved to protect everyone.
• Furina dramatically announced that the trial of the god Focalors was about to begin, prompting the audience to cheer and applaud.
• Paimon noted that Furina had turned the crowd’s reaction around with her speech.

Lumine stood as Furina’s accuser, and the trial began after Furina questioned how the group had forced her to attend. As the preparations were revealed, Furina learned Lumine had tried to question her one last time, and she resolved to see the trial through.

• Lumine stepped forward as Furina’s accuser, and Neuvillette formally began the trial.
• Furina asked how the group had ensured she could not refuse, and Navia revealed that her subordinates had provoked the crowd and anticipated Furina fleeing to Poisson.
• Lyney explained that he and Lynette had transported Furina in a large magic box from Poisson to Erinnyes Island, with support from Arlecchino.
• Paimon explained that the shaking during the journey came from moving the magic box, and Furina quietly felt relieved that it had not been an earthquake or caused more casualties.
• Furina identified the roles of Neuvillette, Clorinde, Lumine, and Paimon, but Lumine clarified that her final task had been to question Furina before the trial.
• Furina accepted that she had missed her last chance to reveal anything and declared that she would see the trial through to the end.

As Furina’s trial began, Lumine and Paimon received Charlotte’s records of their experiences in Fontaine and prepared to use them as evidence. Lumine then accused Furina of not being a god, leaving the courtroom in an uproar.

• Esmonde delivered Charlotte’s approved report to Paimon and Lumine, and they realized it could help them present their experiences as evidence.
• Paimon and Lumine reviewed Charlotte’s detailed account of events in Fontaine, including the incidents at Poisson and the claims made by The Knave.
• Furina interrupted Neuvillette’s explanation of the proceedings and asked Lumine to state the charges against her.
• Lumine said she was not accusing Furina of misconduct and declared that Furina was not a god.
• The courtroom erupted in disbelief and commotion over Lumine’s accusation.

Lumine accused Furina of impersonating the Hydro Archon, and Furina defended her divinity before the Fontaine audience. Lumine argued that Furina was a cursed human, shifting the trial in her favor as Furina struggled to respond.

• Neuvillette accepted the charge against Furina, who denied it and declared herself a true god.
• Furina appealed to the audience’s belief and the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale to pressure Lumine to withdraw the charge.
• Lumine argued that common knowledge was not evidence and suggested Furina’s long life came from a curse.
• Neuvillette recognized that Furina’s aura might be a curse rather than a trait shared by gods.
• The audience began reconsidering Furina’s identity, and the Oratrice tipped toward Lumine as Furina grew flustered.

In the trial, Furina claimed the Oratrice and Fontaine’s Indemnitium proved she was a god, but Neuvillette and the Traveler challenged her to answer under the court’s rules. When Lumine asked Furina to demonstrate her Hydro powers, Furina claimed she had converted all her divine power into Indemnitium, leaving the audience increasingly doubtful.

• Furina argued that the Oratrice and Indemnitium were miracles demonstrating her authority as a god.
• Paimon questioned Furina about Childe’s guilty verdict, and Neuvillette warned her that she had to follow the trial’s rules and answer the opposing side.
• Paimon pointed out that Furina did not understand the Oratrice, while Furina insisted the machine operated independently of her.
• Lumine asked Furina to demonstrate her ability to control Hydro, and Neuvillette offered to protect the audience.
• Furina refused at first, then claimed she had sacrificed her power by converting it into Indemnitium, but the audience began to doubt her.

Furina’s defense faltered as Lumine and Navia challenged her to prove she was not human by testing her with Primordial Sea Water. Furina approached the basin but remained silent, leaving the trial at a decisive moment.

• Furina appealed to the audience to believe she was still their Hydro Archon, but they continued to doubt her.
• Lumine proposed proving Furina was human by using Primordial Sea Water, which dissolved people from Fontaine.
• Navia offered seawater from Poisson and challenged Furina to touch it to prove she was a god.
• The audience backed Navia’s proposal, and Furina walked down from the defendant’s stand toward the basin.
• Neuvillette reminded Furina that she could refuse the experiment, while Furina lowered her head and said nothing.

Furina put her hand into the Primordial Sea Water and appeared unharmed, then claimed the test proved she was the Hydro Archon. Sigewinne examined her and concluded that Furina had been affected just like an ordinary person, leaving the trial’s result hanging on that revelation.

• Furina plunged her gloved hand into the Primordial Sea Water despite Neuvillette’s warning.
• Furina remained standing and excitedly declared that the seawater had no effect on her, proving she was the real Hydro Archon.
• Neuvillette called Sigewinne onto the stage to examine Furina’s hand.
• Sigewinne examined Furina and concluded that her skin and rapid breathing showed she had been affected like an ordinary person exposed to the seawater.

Furina learned that the basin contained diluted Primordial Sea Water and that Sigewinne’s examination showed she was an ordinary human. As the audience and the Traveler turned away from her, Furina accepted that she had reached the end of the trial and awaited the verdict.

• Navia explained that the Primordial Sea Water had been diluted and that Sigewinne had examined Furina to avoid risking her life.
• Furina realized that the test had not proved she was a god and feared that her centuries of effort to save Fontaine would be lost.
• Furina insisted that the test did not count and pleaded with the audience to believe she was a god.
• The audience, the Traveler, Paimon, and Neuvillette all avoided responding to Furina.
• Furina lowered her head and admitted that there was no point arguing further because the evidence was already laid out.

Furina was found guilty in Neuvillette’s trial and broke down after believing she had failed to save Fontaine. The Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale then declared that the Hydro Archon was guilty and sentenced to death, leaving the people shocked.

• Neuvillette declared Furina guilty of impersonating a god and deceiving Fontaine’s people.
• Furina imagined the Traveler and Paimon abandoning her, then collapsed in tears as she feared Fontaine’s hope of survival had been shattered.
• Neuvillette submitted the case to the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale, which produced its judgment.
• Neuvillette read the verdict: the Hydro Archon was guilty and sentenced to death.
• The people in the discussion expressed disbelief at the death sentence, while Tartaglia worried that he might face the same punishment.

Freminet brought the recovered stone tablet to the opera house during Furina’s trial, and Lumine recognized it as showing the former Hydro Archon turning Oceanids into humans. Neuvillette believed this revealed the Hydro Archon’s sin, then asked Lumine to connect the tablet’s images with the events since her arrival in Fontaine.

• Neuvillette said the Oratrice had sentenced the Hydro Archon to death, even though Furina should not receive such a punishment, leaving the audience confused about the verdict.
• Freminet arrived with a stone tablet he had recovered from the seabed for [Father], and Lyney confirmed that the task had come from [The Knave].
• Lumine identified the tablet’s image as the former Hydro Archon using her divine power to turn Oceanids into humans.
• Neuvillette concluded that this act was the sin named by the Oratrice and asked Lumine and Paimon to recall how the four tablets related to events in Fontaine.