Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
Sandrone, "The Marionette," stood at the entrance to the restroom. Beside her, Pulonia, now clad in a pink janitorial uniform, vigorously scrubbed the floor with a mop, producing loud squeak-squeak sounds.
Sandrone paid it no mind. For days, she had been completely engrossed in advanced research reports, unable to tear herself away. A new ambition had taken root in her mind: to pass the official researcher assessment on her own merits and then flaunt her achievement in front of Rene.
This obsession had made her overlook everything else. It was only a moment ago that she suddenly remembered: even if she couldn't become an official researcher, she could still be assigned to cleaning duties elsewhere.
The Fontaine Research Institute's system granted priority selection to the most talented individuals. The reason she'd been assigned to scrub toilets was simply because all the better positions had already been taken.
Who was she?
She was Sandrone, the genius who had stood alongside Rene centuries ago!
Yet now she was stuck scrubbing toilets in the Fontaine Research Institute. How was that reasonable?
It wasn't reasonable at all!
Even if the restrooms here were surprisingly clean and the staff well-mannered, the sheer humiliation of it would make her a laughingstock among her peers.
So, Sandrone decided to change her work assignment. She had already scouted ahead and learned that the office area offered the easiest cleaning duties.
Just as she was confidently preparing to find the Head of the Research Institute to request a transfer, a group of people approached the restroom, engrossed in a discussion about their research.
When Sandrone overheard the content of their conversation, she froze.
Why... couldn't she understand most of it?
Sandrone was stunned. At the Fontaine Research Institute, she had assumed her only worthy rivals were the Head and Rene. Now, she suddenly realized there were other hidden masters?
So the little Fontaine Research Institute is a den of hidden geniuses, Sandrone thought. Have I fallen behind the times?
No! I've always been at the forefront of progress. How could I possibly be outdated?
Their research must just be incredibly niche. That's why I couldn't follow it!
When it comes to raw talent, surely no one in this entire academy can compare to me!
Right, time to go challenge the others.
Sandrone quickly composed herself, shedding her earlier disdain. She turned and patted Pulonia's chest.
"Work hard and clean thoroughly," she ordered. "Otherwise, no recharge for you today."
With that, Sandrone strode off toward the Head's office.
After she left, Pulonia's eyes flickered rapidly with red light. It couldn't help but apply a little too much force, and the mop handle immediately snapped in two.
Silently, Pulonia tossed the broken pieces into the trash, grabbed a new mop, and resumed its work.
Meanwhile, upon hearing Sandrone's request, the Head of the Fontaine Research Institute nodded cheerfully.
"Of course, Miss Ann, no problem at all. Which area would you like to transfer to?"
"The office area."
After hearing Sandrone's reply, the Head quickly summoned the person in charge of that section.
"Someone wants to compete with me?"
"That's right. It's Miss Ann, who just arrived. She's extremely confident in her abilities."
Hearing this, the other person's expression turned strange. They then tried to reason with her.
"Miss Ann, I'll be taking the Formal Researcher Assessment soon. If I pass, this entire section will be vacated. Why don't you just bear with it for a little while? You'll be able to move to another area soon enough."
Sandrone completely dismissed their words.
Just an assessment? I've taken it once myself. It's impossible to pass. This person must be insecure and trying to stall for time with this excuse.
Heh, trying to fool me, Sandrone? Dream on!
"No, I want to compete with you right now."
"I can't wait that long."
"Or are you scared?"
Faced with Sandrone's provocation, the other person could only sigh and agree.
"Very well. Since Miss Ann insists, let's have a 'friendly exchange'."
"Are you both ready? If there are no objections, I'll announce the challenge."
As both nodded, the Head stroked his chin and slowly began.
"Alright, then. You both happen to specialize in the mechanical domain. A key focus of this field is maximizing energy efficiency."
"Your task is to freely design and create a medium for energy conduction. The winner will be the one whose creation exhibits the lowest energy loss."
"Workbenches and raw materials..."
As the Head finished laying out the challenge, both immediately immersed themselves in research and fabrication.
While pondering the Head's requirements, Sandrone's hands moved with lightning speed.
After devouring countless research reports at the Fontaine Research Institute over the past few days, Sandrone felt her mind was far clearer than ever before. Though she hadn't previously considered this specific problem, several methods for reducing energy loss instantly flooded her thoughts.
Sandrone was certain that applying these new techniques to Pulonia would not only dramatically increase their endurance but also significantly boost their destructive power.
Her mind raced with perfectly formed ideas, translating into swift, fluid movements of her hands. The silky-smooth sensation was exhilarating, and her confidence soared with every passing moment.
I've ascended! Sandrone thought.
She never imagined that a trip to Fontaine would elevate her research skills to such a degree. At this moment, she no longer even considered Rene a worthy rival.
That pathetic Rene... he's no match for the ascended me!
Now, all she had to do was utterly crush the person before her, then prepare for the official researcher assessment. Finally, she would appear before Rene as a certified researcher and mock him mercilessly!
At this thought, Sandrone's hands moved even faster.
Several hours passed. Sandrone stopped her work, wiping the sweat from her brow. A brilliant smile lit up her face, her eyes fixed on her latest masterpiece—a creation into which she had poured her heart and soul.
The new medium reduced energy loss by a full three percentage points!
This was an astonishing breakthrough. Sandrone had originally estimated it would take a century to achieve such a result, yet she had accomplished it today!
A confident smile spread across her face as she turned her gaze to her opponent, only to find, to her astonishment, that he had stopped working at some point and was now watching her with keen interest.
Just as she finished, he reached out, took her creation, and began examining it closely.
"Not bad, not bad at all," he remarked. "You've drastically reduced energy loss while maintaining the medium's quality. Miss Ann, you've truly impressed me."
Sandrone finally snapped back to her senses. While she found his praise gratifying, she wasn't about to tolerate his actions. Folding her arms across her chest, she fixed her gaze on him and spoke sharply.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Put my creation down. Immediately."
"Can't finish your own work? Or have you already admitted defeat?"
The opponent merely smiled and shook his head, saying nothing as he placed Sandrone's creation back on the table.
"Miss Ann," the Head interjected, "his creation is already complete."
"What?!"
The Head's words left Sandrone stunned. She had felt so smooth and efficient from start to finish—it was undoubtedly her fastest performance ever. How could he possibly have finished before her?!
Her composure wavered, but she quickly forced herself to calm down.
Don't panic, she thought. He's just faster. Speed isn't the only factor that determines the winner!
But just as she had reassured herself, the Head spoke again.
"Miss Ann, you have lost this competition."
This time, Sandrone's composure shattered completely. She shouted, "Why did I lose?!"
"You don't even know the specific data of my creation! What right do you have to say that?!"
The Head remained unfazed by her blunt accusation, simply smiling as he explained.
"Miss Ann, your method for reducing energy loss still follows a traditional approach, albeit one you've optimized significantly."
"He, on the other hand, has developed a Greenhouse Superconductor that reduces energy loss to a value infinitely approaching zero. At that point, there's no need for further comparison."
As he spoke, the Head produced a small, jet-black cube and handed it to Sandrone, gesturing for her to verify it herself.
Sandrone's body trembled slightly as she stared at the object. Her rational mind insisted it was impossible for anyone to reduce energy loss to near zero, yet as her gaze fell upon the testing equipment, she couldn't help but swallow hard.
After a long moment, Sandrone finally steeled herself. She placed the cube on the testing platform and, after a series of operations, obtained the final data.
Energy Loss: 0.00000037%
Sandrone's vision went black. Her legs gave out, and she collapsed onto the floor in a W-sit, her face a mask of utter disbelief.
She couldn't accept this reality. To be so easily defeated in her own field of expertise by some unknown nobody...
Suddenly, his earlier praise echoed in her mind, each word now feeling like a piercing taunt.
"Miss Ann, are you alright?"
His concerned voice snapped Sandrone back to her senses. Realizing her loss of composure, she immediately tried to scramble back to her feet.
But even this simple action proved incredibly difficult; her legs still felt like jelly.
Still, Sandrone stubbornly retorted, "Leave me alone!"
In her haste, she lost her balance again and—thump—plopped right back onto the floor in the same W-sit.
The room fell silent.
"Ahem... Miss Ann," he began, "after careful consideration, I've realized my creation has numerous flaws and is completely impractical for real-world application. So... let's just say you won this time."
Faced with his concerned gaze, Sandrone's defenses shattered once more.
What does he mean by that? Is he mocking me?!
Does he think I'm some sore loser?!
"Get away from me!"
Sandrone shot him a venomous glare.
"I don't need your pity!"
"A loss is a loss!"
"At worst, I'll just go back to cleaning toi—... I'll just challenge someone else!"
Sandrone rationalized it: it must have been bad luck. She'd just happened to pick a monster!
She refused to believe it. In the entire Fontaine Research Institute, could she really be the absolute worst?!
Late that night, Sandrone and Pulonia stood on the rooftop of the Fontaine Research Institute. The wind howled fiercely.
Sandrone stood at the edge, her gaze vacant.
She hadn't won a single challenge today. By now, she was starting to wonder if she was completely useless.
The Sandrone of the past had been so proud. She'd believed that aside from Rene, almost no one in Teyvat could surpass her talent. But today, she had encountered a whole group of freaks!
The immense psychological blow made Sandrone even consider bidding farewell to this world. The thought became especially unbearable when she remembered that Rene was the head of the Fontaine Research Institute. His talent couldn't possibly be inferior to these people's. This meant the gap between them had indeed widened into an insurmountable chasm over the centuries—and she was the one who had been left far, far behind.
Just moments ago, she had been plotting to crush Rene. Now, she had completely abandoned the idea. Fontaine was simply too terrifying. She wanted to go back to Snezhnaya!
At that moment, Pulonia, the automaton beside her, moved without any command, placing its broad hand on Sandrone's shoulder.
Sandrone felt the touch and was about to react when her body suddenly trembled violently. Then, the light vanished from her eyes.
"Sigh..."
Looking at the now-vacant Sandrone, the automaton let out a sigh.
The sigh sounded remarkably young, like that of a teenage boy.
"Rene, I still underestimated you."
The automaton spoke again, confirming that the earlier sigh had not been a hallucination.
It gazed at Sandrone, who now resembled a string puppet, and slowly shook its head.
"Although Little Ann inherited some of my memories and talent, she ultimately possesses the aptitude of an ordinary person."
"I thought that would be more than enough to surpass you, who are centuries behind the times. I never expected your talent to have grown even stronger."
"It seems I must act personally. Let us continue our duel from centuries ago and finally settle the score."
Pulonia... no. Alain had made his decision. He would temporarily put the consciousness controlling Sandrone's body to sleep, taking full command of the vessel himself.
Centuries ago, Alain had watched helplessly as Mary-Ann lost the last spark of life before his very eyes. The blow had shattered him.
The perpetrators were his own friends, Rene and Jacob—a truth he could never accept.
But what tormented him most was his failure to protect Mary-Ann.
After the dust settled, Alain fled Fontaine, abandoning the nation that had cost him everything. He sealed his heart away, burying himself in endless research.
Later, the Tsaritsa found him and invited him to join the Fatui.
With the Fatui's vast resources, Alain could finally dedicate himself entirely to his research.
Now, only one thought consumed him: to resurrect Mary-Ann and atone for his failure.
But reviving a person was no simple task. Even after centuries of effort, all Alain had managed was to sculpt a blank consciousness into the image of Mary-Ann he held in his memory, using fragments of others' recollections.
Though he knew this consciousness was merely a spiritual anchor—not the real Mary-Ann—it still offered some relief from the crushing weight of his guilt.
Too ashamed to face Mary-Ann again, Alain erased her memories of him and merged parts of his own with hers, forging a new set of memories.
Finally, Alain gave this new consciousness a name: Sandrone.
To atone for his mistake, Alain abandoned his physical body and transferred his consciousness into this Pulonia, silently watching over Sandrone from the shadows.
He had intended to accompany her this way for her entire life, but today, he could no longer stand by.
Alain could feel Sandrone's emotions plummeting to an appalling low, to the point where she even considered leaving this world.
Because her memories were forcibly implanted, Sandrone's soul was fragile. Under such strain, her consciousness showed signs of dissipating.
So he intervened, placing Sandrone's consciousness into a deep slumber to recuperate. For now, he would control her body.
At the same time, Alain grew curious. What could have happened to Sandrone to inflict such a devastating blow?
From her earlier muttering, it seemed she had lost a sparring match.
Alain was puzzled as to why this would affect Sandrone so deeply. But since she had been wronged, he certainly wouldn't stand idly by. He would avenge her.
"Sandrone's" eyes regained their luster, but unlike before, they were now as calm as stagnant water. Her body began to move again, returning unhurriedly into the Academy.
Alain decided to first review the research reports collected by the Fontaine Research Institute. Only after he had a general understanding of its current research level would he consider how to avenge Sandrone.
Soon, Alain found the room where the research reports were stored and began to read.
Three minutes later, his expression grew grim, and a fine sheen of sweat beaded on his forehead.
Ten minutes later, he was panting heavily, sweat pouring down like rain.
Thirty minutes later, his eyes cleared.
Two hours later, Alain, controlling Sandrone's body, sat on the edge of the rooftop, staring blankly at the distant nightscape.
The wind on the rooftop had grown stronger, howling in his ears.
What he had just read was utterly absurd. Alain deeply suspected he was looking at documents from a thousand years in the future—content he couldn't comprehend at all.
What in the world is going on in Fontaine?!