Navia, watching from below, knew her cue arrived at last.
"Lady Ei!" she called out. "Spina di Rosula will naturally do its utmost for the future of Fontaine; it is only right."
"But before that, we must clarify one concern. Is Lady Furina's divine power being used entirely to sustain the land of Fontaine?"
In a general sense, one would call a person like her a shill.
"Yes, the vast majority of Furina's divine power sustains the land," Xia Yu answered. "The remaining power is negligible."
"If so, what happens if Lady Furina faces an assassination attempt?" Navia asked, following the script. "Truthfully, shouldn't this be top secret? No one was ever foolish enough to assassinate one of the Seven before, but now that this news is out, what if someone takes the risk?"
"Consider that we just arrested so many influential people. Their power might not vanish instantly, plus there may be foreign interests watching greedily..."
She spoke with deep worry. "I propose increasing the guards for the Hydro Archon. They must be absolutely reliable Fontainians, no fewer than ten. Every suspicious person must be cleared before she travels. We can no longer be as casual as before!"
The people of Fontaine seemed to wake from a dream, murmuring in agreement.
As the only foreigner present, Arlecchino felt increasingly uncomfortable.
"Regarding security, we already considered it," Xia Yu nodded. "First, we know Fontaine's situation. Too much peace made Fontainians forget that the world is neither beautiful nor safe. A necessary sense of crisis must exist."
"Even if most of her power maintains the land, an Archon is still a god. Not just anyone is qualified to challenge her; ordinary people pose no threat."
"Those who could threaten us are basically Teyvat's top powerhouses, usually found within national governments." At this, she looked toward Arlecchino.
The Fontainians in the opera house followed her gaze. Arlecchino suddenly found herself the center of attention. Despite her iron will, even she felt a flicker of...
"Snezhnaya is always a friendly nation to Fontaine," she stated once more. "As fellow members of the Seven, we should stand together. Please do not escalate the extreme behavior of individuals to a national level. Snezhnaya respects the laws of Fontaine."
"The Harbinger jokes," Xia Yu smiled. "I hold no prejudice against Snezhnaya, but let us speak plainly."
"The Hydro Archon never seeks conflict internationally; merely maintaining our presence leaves us exhausted. But if some lowlife thinks Fontaine is weak—or worse, targets Furina... that is another matter."
Xia Yu's gaze turned cold. "I declare to everyone: if the Hydro Archon suffers a life-threatening attack, we will abandon the maintenance of Fontaine's land without hesitation to save ourselves!"
"Yes. Upon that decision, Fontaine will be swallowed by the Primordial Seawater. The people of Fontaine will become history, five hundred years of perseverance will crumble, and the prophecy will manifest. Only the Hydro Archon will remain in the vastness of Fontaine, weeping alone upon her throne."
"But after we weep, we will dry our tears and take up arms," she shouted. "With the power that blocked the planet's blood for five hundred years, plus the Indemnitium accumulated over the centuries, we will trigger a tsunami to settle scores with every perpetrator and the nation behind them!"
"Blood debts are paid only in blood! I hope the attacking nation prays they can withstand a tsunami the height of the entire Fontaine plateau crashing down like a mountain."
"If not, then we all die together. If Fontaine falls, no other nation shall prosper! At worst, we completely abandon the seal and let the Primordial Seawater erupt to drown the entire world."
"Do not think gentle waters are easily bullied. If Fontaine is destroyed, the Hydro Archon will have no heart for right or wrong. We will become mad gods, tyrants, dragging the whole world into the grave with the people of Fontaine!"
"At that point, we are nothing more than dead. Yes, Furina is the second-generation Hydro Archon and perhaps not that powerful, but before a world-ending flood, even if she cannot kill the other Archons, she can ensure not even one-tenth of their subjects survive!"
★ ★ ★
This was pure bluffing. But bluffing isn't illegal. If you have the nerve, bet the lives of your entire citizenry to see if I'm lying!
Who in their right mind pokes a powder keg?
Would Mondstadt? With Venti, that loafer?
The Geo Archon of Liyue might worry, but he wouldn't intervene directly. Sumeru next door was a mess, and he never lifted a finger, even when the Irminsul was at stake.
As for Sumeru... they'd need courage first. High-ranking officials knew the Dendro Archon was imprisoned; without a god, they wouldn't dare provoke anyone.
Natlan... Mavuika had enough fires to put out at home. In the eyes of the Heavenly Principles, the "remnants" of the Dragon Sovereigns were no better than the "fake humans" Egeria created. Mavuika had no time for this.
As for the seemingly dominant Snezhnaya, she was the last person who wanted a disaster. She was secretly gathering power to rebel; if the Hydro Archon blew up Teyvat and woke the Primordial One, her plans would be ruined.
Looking around, only one capable force remained: the Abyss.
But for the Abyss, what was the goal? To rebel against the Heavenly Principles. Facing a Fontaine sitting on a bomb planted by the Heavenly Principles themselves, what would they choose?
Light the fuse? Destroy Fontaine, cripple the nations, and wake Phanes?
Wake up. The Abyss has few people; they can threaten nations, but once Phanes sees the mess they made, do you think they can withstand the Primordial One?
Though rumors said the Heavenly Principles were dying, who dared to bet? Not just the Tsaritsa, but the Abyss also needed to develop in the shadows. If they truly had the strength, they would have attacked long ago.
Thus, for the Abyss, Fontaine must not explode. In fact, because the Heavenly Principles personally sabotaged Fontaine, the nation was a potential ally to be won over.
In their eyes, if the prophecy wasn't solved, Fontaine was destined to sink. It was only a matter of time. If the Hydro Archon truly became desperate, the Abyss could offer an olive branch. One of the twins wouldn't fail to see that.
The lack of previous action was simply because no one knew Fontaine was so precarious. Seeing the peace, they thought it was safe.
Furthermore, Xia Yu had a final insurance policy: the prophecy of the Heavenly Principles.
Regardless, that prophecy was fixed in time, unavoidable. This meant that until that specific moment, the protagonist of the prophecy—the Hydro Archon—would not die.
And currently, the only Hydro Archon everyone recognized was Furina.
The prophecy would correct any variables preventing its fulfillment. You could add people, but you couldn't remove people—especially the protagonist.
To forcefully break the prophecy, you'd have to be stronger than the one who cast it. If you were stronger than Phanes, why bother assassinating the Hydro Archon? You'd just march onto Celestia and take the throne.
Besides, do you believe everything an Archon says? What if she's just fishing? Looking at history, Furina used all sorts of methods when purging the old aristocracy.
At the very least, Xia Yu could just keep Furina in the Palais Mermonia for a year. With Neuvillette there, they would reach the prophecy's climax in a year, and a certain blonde traveler would likely be in Mondstadt or Liyue by then.
With these layers of protection, plus her own presence, they would surely last until the prophecy arrived. At that point, Focalors would have to play her part.
Xia Yu couldn't interfere with that.
★ ★ ★
After her speech, the Fontainians in the theater were moved to tears. For them, the Hydro Archon abandoned all pretense of dignity, even resorting to such threats...
'Lady Furina, we adore you!'
The burning intensity of their gazes made Xia Yu want to hide.
Meanwhile, Arlecchino, the lone foreigner, was breaking into a cold sweat.
Truthfully, she returned prepared to test the Hydro Archon with force if necessary... Thank goodness she didn't. If she had accidentally ignited this powder keg, Fontaine would be gone, and a furious Hydro Archon would have brought a boundless tsunami to Snezhnaya...
Setting aside who was stronger between the two second-generation gods, a war between the Seven... the Heavenly Principles truly might wake.
Xia Yu played them perfectly. None of the powers in Teyvat wanted the Heavenly Principles to stir; even the Four Shades had their own agendas.
In Sumeru, Dottore was arrogant enough, yet the moment the Lesser Lord Kusanali threatened to wake the Heavenly Principles by destroying a Gnosis, he backed down.
No one dared to let things escalate. Even the Abyss restricted their chaos to small-scale disturbances. But if the Fontaine bomb went off, the Hydro Archon truly dared to drag all of Teyvat to the grave.
That look of absolute loyalty didn't fade until the trial ended.
Furina, who had kept a stiff face throughout, hopped over to Xia Yu the moment the crowds thinned, grabbing her arm. "Wow, you looked so majestic just now!"
She mimicked Xia Yu's expression and shouted, "Blood debts are paid only in blood! I hope the attacking nation prays they can withstand a tsunami the height of the entire Fontaine plateau!"
"And that part—if Fontaine is destroyed, the Hydro Archon will have no heart for right or wrong. We will become mad gods, tyrants!"
"So cool! When can I be that powerful... but is being so arrogant really okay? Will other countries have a problem with us?"
Furina, who had been a hardworking ox for five hundred years, spoke with envy.
Xia Yu smiled and began to comfort her, explaining her reasoning regarding the Seven Nations.
★ ★ ★
Inside the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale, Focalors felt like she was about to grind her teeth to dust.
'Does Fontaine have to be destroyed? I'm asking!' While those words were indeed domineering, Fontaine needed to keep a low profile! Why attract so much attention?
This was the information gap. Xia Yu knew the Heavenly Principles slept and the Four Shades were distracted. Even the Shade of Death, the only one currently active, wasn't that invested—judging by her work in Natlan, she mostly turned a blind eye.
It felt as though she wouldn't bother unless it were a direct order. In the original timeline, when the Fontaine plan succeeded, none of them spoke up.
As long as you followed the prophecy, they didn't care if you found a loophole.
But Focalors didn't know this. She spent these years in fear, terrified the Four Shades would show up before her plan could be executed.
Focalors and Furina—one inside, one outside—carried this pressure for five centuries.
However, hearing this, Focalors became even more confused about Xia Yu's identity.
To dare such a thing meant this person knew many secrets—secrets even she, the Hydro Archon, didn't know. How many such people existed in Teyvat?
For a fleeting moment, an absurd thought crossed her mind: 'Could this be the Heavenly Principles in disguise, out for an incognito stroll?'
'Surely... impossible?'
★ ★ ★
After the trial, Neuvillette consciously stood behind Furina as her bodyguard.
"Come, let's go escort the prisoner," Xia Yu said, pulling Furina and Neuvillette along to follow the team transporting Vacher.
Outside the opera house, not everyone could get a ticket. Xia Yu specifically ordered that families of the missing girls have priority, so most Fontainians didn't see the trial firsthand.
That didn't stop them from gathering in the square, waiting for the result.
When they saw the Hydro Archon leading the Special Security and Surveillance Patrol, escorting Vacher out, the crowd swarmed forward. This was normal; they usually interacted with the Hydro Archon this way.
But for those who had been inside, this scene was a bit too intense. Especially for the patrol members. They looked back at the "weakened" Hydro Archon who was sacrificing everything to sustain Fontaine, then at the massive crowd, and began to block the people.
"Stay back! Do not approach!" Seeing the patrol so alert, the surrounding Fontainians were stunned.
'Wait, isn't this how we always act? What happened inside today?'
"Stay back, don't come any closer," those who had been inside also began to warn.
Xia Yu didn't pay much attention to their movements. She led the group to the Fountain of Lucine and turned to Vacher.
She grinned. "Look. Your promised land is here."