Ren
"Any chance you could clean the bubble up? It's kind of hard to see outside." Furina said, putting her face up to the bubble's wall.
"Sorry, but this is the first time I'm doing something like this," Ren replied, frowning slightly at his rough handiwork. Keeping an extension active for so long and for something so delicate was a lot harder than he expected. "But don't worry, my senses can extend pretty far. I'm willing to bet the rogues left some traces of Elemental Energy around."
"Very well, I shall leave the tracking in your capable hands, assistant!" She smiled and leaned back to watch him work.
He closed his eyes to focus as the bubble moved through Fontaine's waters. As time went on, he got the general idea of what the "natural" feel of Elemental Energy was for Fontaine. All he had to do now was to find something unnatural.
And find something he did.
"I got something." Focusing his senses, he moved the bubble towards a line of leftover Elemental Energy, though this one felt like a mix of Electro and Pyro.
Following the trail led them deeper until no light was around anymore.
Ren jolted slightly when he felt Furina grab his arm tightly, but recovered quickly.
'She was probably just surprised at the sudden descent.' He made a note to give her a heads-up next time.
They moved through an underwater cavern until they spotted some light in one of the cave's corners.
Approaching it led them upward to an air bubble, and they broke the surface. He floated the bubble towards the ground before dissipating it, satisfied that he was able to keep it up for so long.
"I didn't sense any other energy nearby, so there shouldn't be anyone near the entrance—whoa."
Furina nodded dumbly. "Whoa indeed."
What caused their reaction was the state of the hideout in front of them.
It wasn't a run-down, dirty hideout made for criminals that would crumble from a gust of wind. In front of them lay a metal wall and door that looked far too pristine and expensive for a ragtag group of criminals.
There were actual lights that were illuminating the area, not torches or any simplistic light source.
'This isn't just a normal hideout…'
It seemed like Furina thought the same, as her face was scrunched up in thought.
"I don't like this." She walked up to the door, touching the smooth metal with her hand. "This is proper Fontainian engineering. Not something molded together by scraps. Someone built this using proper machinery and funds."
"So, the mole theory is looking more probable now, isn't it?"
Furina nodded sadly, but threw the look away the next second. "They must have been so confident as not to have guards stationed, so that means we have the element of surprise." She stepped back and motioned toward the door. "It's your cue, assistant."
He nodded and inspected the door closer. Aside from being made completely out of metal, it was a standard door with a keyhole. From a touch, he could tell that it was extremely strong, and while he could destroy it with some effort, it would alert anyone inside to their presence.
So it was a good thing that he sensed no one behind the door.
With a hand sign, he connected his awareness with the shadows inside the keyhole, maneuvering until he felt the other side.
'Rabbit Escape.'
A single rabbit popped out of the shadows and pulled the door on the other side. With a click, the door was unlocked, and a small rabbit pulled it open with a satisfied look.
"Yeah, you did a good job, bud." Ren made sure to dismiss the shikigami before Furina could get into another petting frenzy. Something she noticed instantly and pouted at him for, but they nonetheless made their way forward.
What followed was a long hallway that echoed their footsteps, so Ren made sure to use Anemo to muffle their sounds.
"Alright, assistant, I will take the lead here." Furina walked in front of him with a confident smile. "This isn't my first rodeo, but I will need you to keep a lookout for any enemies and take care of them swiftly."
Ren smiled, "Gladly—"
"But preferably no killing." She said without looking back.
"...Fine."
/ — /
"Geez, this place is a literal maze." Ren huffed.
They had been walking for a few minutes now, and the hallway at the entrance had branched off so many times that he lost count.
Seriously, this was too much for a hideout. Whoever made this, and whoever funded it must be someone really powerful.
Maybe even someone like the nobles back at the mansion.
Ren felt his heart rate increase for a moment at the thought, but pushed the feeling down. He didn't have all the information right now, and this could very well be just another run-of-the-mill scheme, as unlikely as that was.
They stopped at another split, and Furina took a moment to look around before making her decision.
"This way," Furina whispered, pointing toward the right corridor.
"How do you know this is the right way?" he couldn't help but ask. "All the hallways look the same to me. And we've just been walking away from the few energy signatures I sensed."
"That's because you're thinking of this hideout as a base to hide people, not supplies." Her voice took a playful tone as they walked.
"Huh?"
"You have a lot to learn, dear assistant." She crossed her arms. "A room that's worth guarding would usually have plenty of guards defending it. But that is for fortresses, not a maze like this one."
They turned to another hallway, one that had some of the lights shut off and fewer decorations than the rest.
"A place that is as confusing as this one wouldn't be for manpower, at least not this section. I do not doubt that there is an area for the rogues to group. But it would instead be to—"
"Hide anything important."
"Looks like you're getting the hang of it." Furina chuckled, "But don't let your guard down. I expect them to have at least a few guards out here just in case."
Sure enough, her words came to pass as Ren sensed two energy signatures not too far away.
He motioned to Furina to keep quiet, and they walked towards a section with a long hallway where two rogues were stationed.
From what little light there was, he could spot the glint of firearms on their holsters. They looked competent, but their energy wasn't that strong.
"You can't just attack them in the open. If you make too much sound, then the entire hideout will know we're here." Furina warned, scanning the area for anything they could do instead of a direct confrontation.
"I'm pretty confident that I could take care of those two. The only problem is where I should put them after, considering you don't want me to kill them outright."
She nodded furiously at his words, to which he could only sigh.
It looks like he'll have to get creative.
Scanning the area around them, he spotted two large barrels that would definitely fit one fully grown person each.
At the same time, Furina spotted the same thing.
"Permission to engage, Lady Furina?" Ren smirked, bowing his head slightly.
She chuckled, playing along and returning the bow. "You may."
Maybe she was rubbing off on him more than he thought.
With her "blessing," he sank into the shadows and surfaced just his head out of the shadows along the ceiling.
The two guards couldn't even react when two slimy tongues emerged and bound them in place, the ends going into their mouths to muffle their screams.
"MMMHPH?!"
"HMMHMMM—HRGHH!"
But their torment didn't last long, as Ren was quick to jump down and hit them on the back of the head.
He dismissed Toad's extension and grabbed more rope from his Shadow Storage. With skillful hands, he tied the two rogues in a way that didn't let them budge an inch. After putting a gag in their mouths for good measure, he threw them into the barrels to finish the job.
"Right, that's taken care of—why are you looking at me like that?"
Furina was looking at him with a mix of suspicion and disgust, her hands hugging her body.
"You are… very skilled in ropework."
"Hmm? Oh yeah, one of my employees taught me." He missed the way her face dropped at the info. "It took some time, but I finally got the hang of it."
"I-I see…" She suddenly looked much more distressed. "And d-did you have to put the tongues inside their mouths?"
Ren shrugged. "I needed some way to keep them quiet."
For some reason, she refused to meet his gaze. "And when you bound me when we first met, were you going to—"
"No!" Ren shouted but quickly stopped himself. "There was no need for that. I would never do something like that to you, Lady Furina."
'Especially since you might drown or boil me to death.'
…
"W-Well, good to know! But let's not waste any more time!" She clapped, walking past him towards the door.
Predictably, the door was locked. But she didn't look deterred. After shuffling inside her pocket for a while, she pulled out a small device.
With a flick of her hand, a long metal piece clicked out from it. She knelt at the lock and started working into the mechanism, her face scrunched up in focus.
"You know I could just use my shadow again—"
"Unfortunately, that won't work with this door." She said without looking back. The door let out a click as it was successfully picked, but at the same time it let out a machine-like hum.
"What's that sound?"
"As I thought, it's a dead-key design," she murmured. "It's essentially a mechanism to stop tampering and let out an alarm if the key is pulled out when the door is open. Good news is my tool was made perfectly for situations like this."
Inside was exactly as Furina predicted. It was a quartermaster's office with a convenient desk in the middle.
She went straight for it while Ren just stood by on guard. This wasn't really his expertise, and seeing the look on her face, he felt like he would just slow her down.
Somehow she was able to read through several folders' worth of documents in a few minutes. "They send out all their stolen items to someone possessing multiple Gardes logistics codes… And this patrol schedule matched actual Gardes rotations."
"And that means—"
"Someone's funding them. And whoever it is, they possess substantial power." She let out a tired sigh. "Probably a few nobles again. They always give me a headache."
"Right…" He tried not to show the disdain in his voice. "So we got what we need then?"
Furina nodded, smiling smugly at him. "I already memorised the details. Even if they somehow move the evidence, my mind is going nowhere."
It was obvious that she was fishing for compliments, and as much as Ren tried not to show any reaction, he couldn't help the smile on his face.
Click.
Their eyes snapped towards the door, where Furina's pick started to wobble. Before either could move, the pick snapped out of the keyhole, and the room went red.
"I thought you said it wouldn't snap!"
"It didn't! It slipped out!"
Ren gave her a look but just sighed. He could feel his heartbeat increase from the anticipation of battle.
"Fine, I'll fight them all off."
"Absolutely not! We are getting out of here—!"
BANG.
The door was kicked open with a bang, and two rogues rushed into the room, their guns ready and pointed at the two of them.
Furina jumped under the desk before they could fire a shot, and Ren dropped into the shadows.
He could sense the rogues panicking at his sudden disappearance, giving him an opening.
"Where did he—ACK!"
Ren emerged from the rogue's shadow and decked him in the stomach. The punch sent the poor soul into a wall, completely unconscious.
The other one tried to shoot him, but he grabbed their wrist and twisted it until it cracked, before lifting the man overhead and slamming him into the floor.
"...Was that really necessary?" Furina asked, peeking her head over the desk.
"Relax, they're not dead." The body twitched. "See?"
She gave him a blank stare.
He just sighed. "You wanted to run, so let's run."
Without wasting any more time, the two of them bolted out the room, back into the twisting and disorienting hallways.
"Do you remember the way out?!"
"Kind of?"
"I thought you had a good memory?!"
"I'M FEELING PRESSURED, OK?!" She shouted back, "Take a left!"
But the moment they turned, three rogues were on the far end to greet them. They immediately pointed their guns at them and shot.
"WATCH OUT—!"
'Extension Technique: Rabbit Escape.'
With a motion of his hand, a burst of Anemo sent the bullets flying into the wall. The action surprised the rogues for a split second, and Ren took that moment to rush at them.
"Get him!"
BANG. BANG. BANG.
They continued shooting at him, but Ren used Rabbit Escape's extension to make his movements erratic, while also submerging into the shadows to hide his presence.
From within the shadows, he sent out bursts of Anemo from the rogue's own shadows that threw them into the ceiling and made them drop their guns.
One was able to recover quickly, grabbing their weapon mid-air and landing back into a fighting position. But Ren had already jumped out from the shadows and sliced the man's throat with his sword.
Furina was momentarily stunned at the display, but snapped out of it quickly enough as the two continued to run.
More rogues were able to catch up, and it was getting harder to lose them. It wasn't that he was too slow, but Furina just couldn't keep up with him.
"Screw it!"
"What are you—h-hey!" She sputtered when Ren crouched down and lifted her in a princess carry. He was too focused on running to really see her face, but she was clutching onto him for dear life.
He was able to lose the rogues and burst through a doorway that opened into a wide-open room.
He didn't sense any rogue too close, so they had some time to settle down, gently placing her on the ground. She immediately refused to look him in the eye, which kinda irritated him because he had just carried her through firing bullets.
Shoving the thought away, he looked around the place they were in. The room had low tables and a long bar stacked with bottles of what looked to be alcohol, with spare ammunition around to boot.
'This must be the room where they relax.'
Ren turned to look at Furina, who was steadying her breathing after the long run.
"I can fight all of them myself if I have to." He gave her an irritated look, trying his best not to look too impolite. "But not while protecting you. So please, use your power, Lady Furina."
He had chalked it up to her personality, maybe even a trait of her status as an archon. But her constant inaction during their battle, along with literally being deadweight, was getting annoying.
"I-Uhh… Well—" She fumbled over her words, trying to form a sentence but failing to.
"Alright, that's enough." He walked right in front of her, glaring down. "Why won't you just use your power?! It should be easy enough for you as a god!"
"It's not that I—!"
"Or do you just like watching me run around like your little dog?!"
"Of course not!"
"Then WHY—?!"
"I CAN'T!"
Her shout made him shut up, surprised at her reaction. He expected many answers from her, but not that she couldn't.
It seemed like she also realised her blunder and was about to explain.
But footsteps quickly approached the room, becoming louder by the second.
"Forget it. Just hide somewhere if you're not going to fight, and don't get in my way." He scoffed and brought out his blade.
Furina bit her lip at his reaction, but otherwise said nothing. Instead, she vaulted over the bar and conveniently found a gun along with a few cases of elemental rounds.
A loud click echoed through the room as she loaded the chamber, getting ready for any rogue that walked through the door.
"Still not going to use your powers?" It might have been a dick move to say that, but he was really annoyed.
But she didn't call him out, instead just keeping her hold on the weapon steady.
"I'll watch your back."
/ — /
The first rogue that rushed in didn't even have time to raise his gun before Ren dragged him in with an Anemo vacuum and decapitated him in a single slash.
He grabbed the headless body and threw it at the other rogues charging at him with swords in hand. The body slammed into three at once, leaving them dazed before Ren summoned Divine Dogs to maul the two on the sides before punching the last one unconscious.
More and more rogues flooded into the room, and Ren couldn't help his smile.
"COME AT ME!"
At the same time, Furina wasn't one to slack.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
Headshot after headshot, the Hydro Archon did not miss her mark. Only stopping to hide from volleys of bullets, but not for long before she returned fire.
"Assistant! More are coming through the other door!"
Ren turned around to see about a dozen rogues barge into the room, too many to beat alone without taking some damage.
He made the hand sign.
'Rabbit Escape!'
Hundreds of Anemo rabbits burst forth and trampled over the rogues, none of them able to fight back as they were quickly overwhelmed.
Some were still able to get through, charging at Ren with their blades drawn.
With a shout, he rushed at them with his own blade, blocked one of their strikes, and imbued his sword with Anemo to drag him into it.
"FUCK!" He shouted when Ren's sword sank into his side, "What the hell are you?!"
"I have no fucking clue!" He didn't give the rogue any time to answer before dragging his sword upward, cleaving the side of his body clean off.
He sensed another attack coming behind him, but before he could counter—
BANG.
The rogue took a shot clean through the head.
Ren turned to see Furina looking at him, sending him a quick nod before getting back to business.
He had to give her some credit at least. Even if she wasn't using her powers, she was still racking up a decent body count.
The waves of Rogue Duelists seemed endless, and while Ren wasn't anywhere near being exhausted, he could see that Furina was starting to slow down.
An Archon, starting to tire before he was?
He let his suspicion aside for now, deciding to end the fight with one attack. But with Furina in the room, he couldn't just use one that blew up everyone in his way. No, he needed something more precise.
A memory of his home flashed through his mind. Of a younger version of him stealing his mother's phone to look up footage from Shinjuku. One from December 24, 2018.
Of a calamity wielding the body of a Ten Shadows user.
Releasing a burst of Anemo outward, he made some space between him and the rogues and began charging up.
He channeled Max Elephant's extension to create a ball of Hydro in front of him, forcing more and more energy into it, compressing it until it was no bigger than a ping-pong ball.
Finally, he clasped his hands, loading the ball inside.
"My Lady, get down!"
Furina didn't even hesitate and went low to the ground.
And so, Ren fired.
'Piercing Water!'
The compressed stream burst from his arm in a thin line, cutting straight through the walls of the hideout and cutting several rogues in half.
"What the—AAGHH!"
"WATCH OUT—UGH!"
He moved the attack through all the entrances to the room, turning everything in its path into dust. Scream after scream, wail after wail, it was all nothing but music in Ren's ears.
Until there was nothing but silence.
"Haaah… Haaah… Haaah…" Ren panted as he dismissed his attack. The feeling of euphoria was still fresh in his brain, like a hit of dopamine that would linger for days to come.
What was left in the wake of his attack couldn't be described as anything less than total carnage. Bodies cut in half, severed limbs scattered all over the floor.
A few groans and cries signaled that there were still survivors. But they weren't going to be a problem anymore.
"How was that, My Lady—"
"D-DON'T MOVE!"
Ren froze when he turned not to see Furina, but a rogue locking her arm around Furina's throat, a blade pressed flat against it.
They probably didn't notice or recognise Furina somehow, because no way would any criminal dare to brandish their weapon against a deity.
He was still going off a high, ready to attack the next instant.
But the look on Furina's face made him pause.
Her face held none of the bravado it used to, or even the panicked composure she showed through the entire fight.
On her face right now was a look of pure fear, her entire body trembling as the blade nicked her throat, making a trail of blood flow down her neck.
She couldn't even form a sentence. She was absolutely petrified.
Just like the victims from the mansion raid.
"PUT YOUR WEAPON DOWN AND STEP AWAY!" The rogue tightened her grip on the Archon. "OR ELSE!"
Ren dropped his sword and raised his hands in surrender, but the rogue missed the hand sign he made.
'Toad.'
A tongue shot up from the rogue's shadow, wrapping around the wrist holding the blade and pulling it away from Furina's throat.
Furina jumped away immediately, getting as far as she could from the woman.
Ren didn't waste another second, blitzing in front of them with an Anemo-covered fist and punching straight into their gut.
"BLERGH!" Blood exploded from her mouth as she was sent flying into the bar.
With that taken care of, he turned to Furina, who was crouched down and hugging herself. Trembling hard, her breathing erratic.
He walked up to her and crouched down, gently placing a hand on her shoulders.
"Furina."
No response.
"Furina!"
"H-Huh?" She finally snapped out of it, surprised to see Ren's face so close to her own. It was only then that she realised what she was doing.
"It's alright. You're safe." He kept his hands on her shoulders for a second longer before pulling back.
It looked like she considered putting on another brave front, but decided against it. Instead, turning away to not face him.
"Thank you… Assistant." She slowly got back up, trying her best not to show her fear.
He was about to say something when a loud groan echoed through the room, and a couple of rogues that were still alive were starting to stir.
"Let's tie them up before anything else." He said, pulling out some rope from his Shadow Storage. "I think we need to talk without any distractions."
Furina took the rope without a word, only stopping to give him a nod before getting to work.
/ — /
The room still reeked of blood, bodies, and broken glass scattered across the floor where the fight had left them.
Furina worked through the last of the rogues still breathing, cinching rope around their wrists tightly.
Ren watched her from across the room silently. His mind was finally out of adrenaline to think clearly, and he had never felt more… confused.
The target of his confusion noticed his stare and glanced up at him.
"What is it?"
"Nothing." He summoned Vader and Yoda, telling them to keep guard of the unconscious rogues in case any woke up and started trouble. "I don't think this is a fitting place for a chat. Let's go to another room."
She agreed with him and followed a few steps behind him. They settled on a room not that far away from the hall. It was a small storage room, but it was good enough for a private conversation.
But even so, neither of them spoke for the first few seconds, both unsure of how to start.
"You know…" Ren finally said, "I was wondering if the Hydro Archon actually needs saving from a guy with a kitchen knife."
Furina looked like she expected the question, but still her body tensed up.
She wanted to answer, but he wasn't done.
"Not only that, but you've been consistently avoiding conflict this entire mission. Running from bullets and even being scared of a knife." He met her gaze, but couldn't discern much of anything within those teardrop eyes of hers. "I've felt the Geo Archon's power up close, and I was nothing more than an ant. You shouldn't have any issue dealing with these rogues… I'm starting to wonder if you're even the Hydro Archon."
"Watch your words, assistant." She snapped, but her attempt at intimidation fell flat. "I have protected Fontaine for over five hundred years. I will not have my legitimacy be questioned by a foreigner."
"Oh, we're going with that now?" His tone bordered on yelling. "Then what? You were just playing a damsel in distress, making me run around like your fucking dog?!"
"What?! No, I—!"
"Was it funny watching me do your bidding? Did you just make me your assistant so you could play around with a foreigner?!" He was shouting now, no longer caring if she actually could smite him down.
"I would never—!"
"Then why?! Why did you make me your assistant, make me protect you, fight for you—!"
"BECAUSE I LOST MY POWERS!" She shouted back, unable to take his constant pressure. But her eyes widened the moment the words left her mouth.
"...What?"
The room went quiet.
Furina's hand came up to cover her own mouth, a second too late to take the words back.
Ren thought that she might have been playing a trick on him, another deflection or lie. But there was no hiding the sheer panic in her eyes.
'An Archon… Losing their power?'
Her panicked expression slowly faded into resignation. She walked past him to take a seat on an old crate, dangling her leg over the edge.
"I guess there's no more denying it now…" She exhaled, trying to steady herself before saying anything else. A moment later, she finally met his gaze, and for a moment, he was lost in her ocean-like eyes. "Fine. You wanted the truth? Well, the truth is I lost my powers."
…
Ren stayed silent, holding back from saying anything until she explained.
"Five hundred years ago, Fontaine was not as it is now. I could only describe it as pure chaos… I used my power back then to bring stability to the land and protect the people. But this wasn't what stripped me of my power."
She clenched a fist tightly over her chest, her lips quivering slightly. "Even if the land was safer, the people were not at ease. So I created the Oratrice to not only act as a neutral, protective entity for Fontaine, but to put my people's worries at ease."
…
…
Ren grimaced slightly. He really couldn't see any show of her body language to indicate she was lying. But then again, this was Furina he was talking about.
He had to admit, he started to feel a little bad.
But not bad enough.
"That still doesn't add up." He crossed his arms. "Losing your powers is one thing. But a visionless human got the better of you tonight. Being stripped of your godly powers should at least put you above normal mortals… What you showed back there, it wasn't how an archon would act."
Furina's jaw tightened, and she said nothing.
"Yeah." Ren sighed, some of the anger draining out of his voice. "Thought so."
…
"But… There is a way you could make me believe you." That got her attention. "Agree to make a Binding Vow with me."
"A what?"
"A Binding Vow is basically a contract enforced by the world itself. If you break it, you will face unimaginable consequences." He saw her freeze up slightly at his words, starting to look worried. But he still extended a hand to her. "I propose we make a vow of transparency, so I know you cannot lie, and that you're telling the truth."
"...And if I refuse?"
"Then it confirms that you're really not the Hydro Archon. Your call."
It took a couple of moments of silence. Furina contemplated his words, but her expression didn't show a hint of what she might be thinking.
Finally, she looked up at him. "Fine… But I have my own terms."
"Of course you'd add more conditions…"
"As long as we are in this room, I will answer any question you ask as long as the answer doesn't put Fontaine's safety, or its future, at risk."
Now that completely threw him off.
He mulled over her words for a few seconds, trying to find a loophole she was trying to exploit. But he found nothing.
'What kind of answer could endanger an entire nation?' Truthfully, he didn't know if he really wanted to know the answer.
"I agree to those terms." He let cursed energy gather in his hand, and Furina shook it without breaking eye contact. Whatever fear or doubt there had been a moment ago was gone.
What was left was a look of pure determination.
The vow was sealed, and once again, a ripple was sent through the fabric of Teyvat.
—
[With this Binding Vow]
[Furina cannot speak falsehood in answer to any question Ren Roman asks her.]
[This holds for as long as the two of them remain in this room.]
[In exchange, any question whose true answer would endanger Fontaine's safety or its future falls outside the Vow, and Furina may decline such a question without consequence.]
—