"Then I can rest easy." Egeria seemed to let out a sigh of relief before continuing, "The Heavenly Principles have already issued an oracle. I need to lead the Lochknights to stop the Abyssal calamity. Can you separate yourself from me?"
"I tried before," Lora said, "but I failed."
"Then try again," Egeria said softly. "This time, I'll help you."
After hearing those words, Lora began trying once more to separate herself from Egeria's body.
A faint shimmer drifted out from Egeria, gradually forming the outline of a person before her eyes. Before long, Lora fully appeared in front of her.
Seeing Lora truly standing there, Egeria smiled.
"You really are another me."
The same clothes.
The same appearance.
The same smile.
"You're not originally from this world, are you?" Egeria looked at Lora. She could tell.
Lora gave a slight nod.
"And you're not from my era either."
Lora nodded again.
The two smiled at each other.
Egeria said, "Tomorrow, I'll depart for Khaenri'ah to stop the calamity. After I leave, deliver this to Focalors for me."
She took out the Hydro Gnosis and placed it in Lora's hand.
Looking at the Gnosis in her palm, Lora suddenly said, "I won't remain in Fontaine forever. Maybe... I'll suddenly disappear. Or maybe I'll be trapped somewhere. Either way, for the next five hundred years, Fontaine won't have me."
She finally understood.
This was the Teyvat she had transmigrated into after being hit by that truck.
This was five hundred years in the past.
And throughout the next five centuries, there was no trace of her in Fontaine's history. That meant, at some point, something would happen that caused her to disappear from Fontaine.
The reason she did not exist within those thousands of years of memories was most likely because of this disaster. Egeria's consciousness had spent over five hundred years constantly resisting Abyssal corrosion within the Harvisptokhm, gradually wearing itself away in the process.
"It's fine. Didn't you say Fontaine has a future? That's enough." Egeria smiled. She could no longer afford to concern herself with what came after. All she could do now was protect Fontaine from the disaster before it.
Lora looked at her and quietly replied, "I will."
The next day, Egeria departed from the Court of Fontaine with the Lochknights. At the same time, Fontaine's fleet also set sail to stop Elynas.
Lora found Focalors, who was currently working within the Court of Fontaine.
When Focalors suddenly saw her appear, she froze.
"Lady Egeria? Why did you suddenly come back?"
Lora looked at Focalors and gently rubbed her head.
Focalors was utterly confused by the gesture, unable to understand what was happening, while Lora had no intention of explaining further.
She took out the Hydro Gnosis and placed it into Focalors's hands.
"Take this. You are the new Hydro Archon."
Focalors's expression froze in shock.
She stared at Lora in disbelief.
"Why...? Lady Egeria, I don't understand..."
Lora gently smoothed Focalors's long hair and said softly, "Because I believe in you. This calamity is different from all the ones before it. Perhaps... I may never return. From now on, Fontaine will depend on you, Focalors."
"You're so powerful. How could anything happen to you...?" Focalors frowned tightly.
"Calm down."
Lora motioned for her not to panic.
Focalors looked at her and continued, "Lady Egeria, Rhodeia and the others are stronger than me. Why choose me instead of them?"
"Because you're the most suitable, Focalors. You are my hope, and one day, you will become Fontaine's hope as well."
After saying that, Lora firmly placed the Hydro Gnosis into Focalors's hands.
Looking at the Gnosis in her palms, Focalors immediately said, "Then I'm coming with you! So many Oceanids have already gone. I want to go too!"
"No. I'm giving this to you precisely because I want you to stay here and guard Fontaine's final line of defense."
Lora shook her head, refusing Focalors's request.
Then, in a solemn voice, she declared:
"Focalors… From this moment onward, you are Fontaine's new Hydro Archon. While I'm gone, take care of your younger siblings."
"Younger siblings...?" Focalors looked lost.
Lora told Focalors Fontaine's greatest secret, as well as her own, and entrusted the prophecy to her.
"I'm sorry for making you shoulder such a heavy burden at a time like this, child..."
Looking at Focalors, and imagining the suffering she would endure over the next five hundred years, Lora found her emotions becoming difficult to control.
But she did not cry.
She could not cry.
...
After saying farewell to Focalors, Lora arrived above Fontaine's sea.
Watching Elynas slowly approach the Court of Fontaine, step by step, she took a deep breath. Then she transformed into a streak of light and charged straight toward it.
Fontaine's fleet had already been nearly wiped out.
The surviving soldiers looked up and saw that streak of light cut across the sky. Under their gazes, it slammed into Elynas and forcibly drove its enormous body backward.
As the light grew increasingly blinding, a vast azure radiance enveloped both Lora and Elynas.
This was the domain she had created.
The remaining members of Fontaine's fleet could no longer see what was happening inside.
Lora stared at Elynas before her.
"Stop, Elynas! Your actions have already caused tremendous destruction to Fontaine!"
Elynas was a creature born from Abyssal power. Its understanding of the world was fundamentally different from that of Teyvat's living beings.
It looked at Lora in confusion, conveying its thoughts.
"I was only playing with them... Why?"
"No... You are different from us." Lora shook her head. "You thought you were playing, but in reality, you were harming the lives of this world all along."
She looked at Elynas and explained the difference between Teyvat and the Abyss.
After hearing her words, Elynas fell silent.
A long while later, it finally spoke again.
"Elynas never wanted to destroy this world. Elynas... only wanted to play with them... But... I'm sorry..."
"It's not your fault."
Lora shook her head.
She understood that destruction had never been Elynas's intention. It was simply that Elynas's understanding of "play" was fundamentally different from that of Teyvat's living beings.