Furina stood on the mountaintop and waved to Zhongyue until she disappeared from sight.
Once only she and the sound of the wind remained, Furina took a deep breath and murmured, "I don't know whether you're still in this world. But I really want to see you again. You said that no matter where I was in Fontaine, you would hear my voice."
At that point, she looked down toward the foot of the mountain.
The sheer drop made even her feel dizzy.
"So..."
Furina stepped forward and shouted, "Lora!"
Her body fell from the mountaintop, the overwhelming sensation of weightlessness tearing at her nerves.
Fear filled her mind, and she squeezed her eyes shut.
Then, suddenly, the roaring wind vanished.
The feeling of falling disappeared as well.
It was as if she had fallen into a warm, gentle embrace.
Realizing this, Furina opened her eyes.
When she saw the person holding her, tears immediately streamed down her face. She reached out, wrapped her arms around Lora's neck, and pressed her head against her chest.
"You didn't lie to me... You really heard me! Lora..."
Furina clung to her and cried from sheer relief.
Lora looked at her helplessly.
"You silly child. Who risks their own life like that? What would you have done if I really hadn't come? Falling from that height, even if you survived, you'd at least break a leg. Aren't you afraid of pain?"
"I trust you," Furina said simply.
Hearing that, Lora no longer knew what to say.
She carried Furina down from the sky and landed gently on the ground before setting her down.
Furina's feet touched the ground, but her arms were still wrapped tightly around Lora.
"You can let go now," Lora said helplessly. "We're on the ground."
"Lora, let me hold you a little longer," Furina whispered, leaning against her.
Lora sighed. "You should call me Mom..."
Furina froze at that, then quickly stepped back, her face slightly red.
"Um... can I not? It feels really awkward..."
"Then call me Lady Egeria, like Focalors and the others do?" Lora said.
Furina looked at her and thought for a while. Then she suddenly leaned closer.
"I want something special. I won't call you Lady Egeria. I'll call you... Maman?"
Lora laughed at Furina still trying to negotiate with her and nodded.
"As long as you're happy."
Furina hugged her again. She let out a long breath and said, "This is wonderful... You really came back."
"I was already planning to return to Fontaine in the next few days, and then you suddenly jumped off a mountain. You really know how to make people worry."
Lora tapped Furina lightly on the head as she scolded her.
Even while being scolded, Furina kept smiling.
"Let's go. Back to the Court of Fontaine."
Lora took Furina with her and headed back.
Furina followed behind, watching her back. After a moment, she suddenly asked, "Um... Maman? Were you really on that island in the sky?"
"Mm. I was up there," Lora nodded.
"When you disappeared in front of us before, we really thought you had died!" Furina said.
Lora sighed. "That's a long story. Once we get back, I'll explain everything to everyone at once."
After the two entered the Court of Fontaine, they passed Zhongyue's candied hawthorn shop.
Zhongyue was still standing at the entrance, watching the renovations.
As Lora and Furina passed behind her, Lora greeted her.
"Long time no see, Zhongyue."
The two had no intention of stopping. They simply greeted her and continued toward the Palais Mermonia.
Zhongyue instinctively replied, "Long time no see, Lora."
After saying it, she finally realized something was wrong.
She turned around in shock, looked at their backs, rubbed her eyes, and quickly chased after them.
"Hey, hey! Wait!"
Zhongyue called out to them, staring in surprise.
"I'm not seeing things, right?"
"The eyes Chaya gave you aren't broken yet. Of course you're not seeing things," Lora said with a smile.
Zhongyue looked at Furina in shock.
"What exactly happened? Didn't I just take you to the mountaintop? How did you come back with Lora? Or did you use the Hydro Archon's divine power to make another Lora?"
"Are you an idiot?" Lora said helplessly after hearing that wild idea. "Who do you think I am? I'm Lora. Aside from the Heavenly Principles, who else could create another me?"
"That's true..." Zhongyue reacted, then asked, "Then what exactly happened?"
"Let's go back to the Palais Mermonia first. I don't want to explain this several times."
Lora gestured for Zhongyue to follow them.
The group headed toward the Palais Mermonia. Passersby on both sides showed surprised expressions when they saw them. Those who had seen Lora at the Opera Epiclese were even more shocked.
They quickly explained Lora's identity to the people nearby who did not know the situation.
When everyone learned that the woman walking beside Furina was Egeria, the Hydro Archon who had created them, none of them could stay calm.
Their real mother!
That really was their mother!
Wasn't Lady Egeria supposed to be dead?
How was she alive?
After returning to the Palais Mermonia, the people in the office were still racking their brains over how to investigate Celestia.
Then Lora pushed the door open and walked in.
"Yo-ho! Long time no see, everyone."
For a moment, it was as if time had frozen.
Everyone in the office stood rooted in place, each with a different expression, but none of them moved. They simply stared at Lora as she walked in, making her wonder if she had somehow pressed pause on time.
"Why did everyone stop moving? Am I that scary?" Lora muttered.
"Yes!" Venti nodded immediately.
Nahida asked, "Lora, how did you come down from Celestia?"
"No, that's not the question," Focalors said, shaking her head. "The question should be, why was Lady Egeria in Celestia?"
"No, no, no!" Venti shook his head. "What exactly is going on? Furina left for a little while and came back with Lora? What happened? Did you fight your way up to Celestia?"