Chapter Text
It was a dark and humid place illuminated only by some oil lanterns scattered around. The light of the lanterns revealed walls of ancient ruins, huge columns with their base covered in bioluminescent moss, and walls decorated with ancient tiles making interesting mosaics.
The air in those ancient ruins was thick with humidity, the scent of wet moss and fresh blood covered the place in a blanket of despair and hopelessness. The ancient place had become the final nightmare for some poor souls and the witness of continuous frustration.
"Damn it!" a man screamed as he saw something utterly normal.
The man was wearing a white robe typical of researches found in the Sumeru Akademya. He was tall, his frame was a little lanky, and his brown hair cut short in a stylish way. The man had obvious noble descent and held himself as if he had all the power in the world. Though, right now, a frown was decorating his face making his noble image slip up.
"Professor Harish, is everything alright?" Nakul, a dark skinned man asked. He was shorter than the researcher and was wearing the same kind of white robe, though his seemed of lesser quality.
Harish, the noble-like researcher turned to his assistants. He had three men that willingly went with him onto his search of answers and the truth.
One was Nakul. He had darker skin, was the shorter of the three assistants and had decent musculature. He was born in the desert and his morals were questionable at best, that's why he was the best candidate for this sort of project.
The other was Kabir, a blonde student of the Akademya that gets extremely obsessed with his projects and tends to not think of anything else but results. His methods were taken into questioning and Harish was glad that he had discovered such a hard working man to be his assistant.
And the last one was Ved, he wasn't the smartest student of the Akademya and did not have the best ideas for research, but he was huge and muscular, so in a way, he was perfect to move heavy equipment and to hold down their specimens.
Now that he was thinking of specimens, Harish looked at their last one. It had endured longer than the last three but even then it did not last long enough for the deep research he needed. Though he doubted it would have the answers he sought, all its responses to stimuli and its insides were too human.
And that was why he and his assistants were doing their research in those dark and humid ruins, after all, anything that had to do with the betterment of the human body was forbidden to research in the Akademya.
"Nothing is alright boy, but don't worry, I will think of a solution soon enough" the professor said as he got rid of the dirty gloves, "clean up boys. There is work to do and little time"
"Yes sir!" the three assistants answered at the same time and started to move the body from the metal table where it was strapped on.
As he let his assistants do the tedious and dirty work, Harish moved towards a well lit desk where his journal and research papers were. Before thinking of a solution on the lack of good specimens, he needed to write down the results of the latest experiment.
//Entrance 85: the subject exhibited reaction of a typical human being and endured for longer than specimen 1, 2 and 3. Specimen 4 had the same organs, muscles, and bones as the typical human. No mutations were found//
Harish frowned at the results. It seemed that it didn't matter how many specimens he bought, nothing changed. The results were the same no matter what he did or how he investigated. But he couldn't give up. He had to find the truth and the secret for the next step in human evolution.
And he knew he could find it here, in Fontaine. After all, these humans were not really humans at all. These Oceanid mimics held the secret of ultimate change and he was going to find it.
Oceanids. That had been his main research point ever since he entered the Akademya. Those hydro elementals were so strong and adaptable that if handled correctly, they would be the key to make humans better. After all, weren't humans 70% water?
He had tried everything he could. He had gone after known Oceanid's territories but he had never been able to capture one. Mostly because none had ever shown itself before him so he didn't have any way to obtain an specimen. He even got a dendro vision when researching the last known place of the previous Hydro Archon. Not that it helped much in obtaining an specimen but it was useful for a lot of other things in his investigation.
And then, the prophetic flood of Fontaine happened, and it was revealed that Fontanians were descendants of Oceanids turned into humans by Egeria. That was it! His answers were in Fontanians' biology. He needed some bodies for his research but the Akademya rejected his proposal.
Harish was frustrated by those old men thinking about morals and the right thing. What did it matter if few people lost their lives when they could better all of humanity? But Harish knew it would be foolish to try and change their minds. That's why he accepted the rejection and made another project. One that would get him, and some selected people, into Fontaine.
Luckily for him, the project to travel to Fontaine and research the history of Oceanids was approved rather quickly so the professor and his assistants moved to Fontaine after gathering everything they would need for the true investigation. They found some abandoned ruins where no one would disturb them and started their true research. Now that he was here, no one would be able to stop him from finding out what he desired.
But getting specimens to do his research on was not as easy. He was a professor and researcher, just like his assistants, meaning that they did not have the right talents for capture. But Harish had a lot of money. Money that his parents gave him so he could be the best professor of the Akademya. Money that could give him the right specimens if he paid the right people.
And get them he did. All specimens were healthy and great for his research but no matter what experiments he did on them, nothing indicated that these specimens were related to Oceanids at all.
It was frustrating. It was maddening. He had all the knowledge and equipment necessary to find the truth but the results were not conclusive enough. He needed more evidence, or an entirely new specimen.
Wait… that's it! He knew why all these specimens were useless now. He needed an Oceanid turned human. These ones were not good. Too many generations of them breeding with humans had left them too human like. He needed something different. He needed…
"The previous Hydro Archon" Harish mumbled.
Yes. She was the last one. The last Oceanid turned human in all of Teyvat. It had been too long for anyone to survive so she was perfect. And now that she had lost her divinity, it would be easy to capture such a perfect specimen.
With a new goal in mind, the professor closed his book and went towards the exit of the ruins. He needed to contact the right people and offer a higher price for this job, after all, obtaining such a known and rare specimen would not be cheap.
It had been a few months after the prophetic flood and the Nation of Justice flourished after being freed from their fate. The streets of the city were filled with people living their lives as usual, though there was a constant mood of happiness and relief. The people were happy and that could be easily seen by anyone that took a passing glance to the Fontanians.
Someone that was witness to such happiness was the one responsible for enduring until the final stage on a long and secret plan was done. Furina de Fontaine, the human half of the Hydro Archon, walked around the streets of Fontaine observing everything around her.
She watched how children played and laughed without a care in the world, street vendors trying to convince people to buy their wares, and people walking around, living their lives.
Although even with everything around her being full of life and happiness, Furina wasn't feeling very festive. She knew, logically, that she should be relieved. The prophecy was done and she was free to do whatever she wanted. She even got a vision to protect herself and explore the nation that she helped save.
Even so, having a prophecy haunt her and her people for 500 years was not something easy to forget. It was not easy to get rid of the dread that surged every time the tides moved and the waters raised. It was not easy to ignore the fear that wrapped around her heart after every nightmare of her and everyone else drowning to their deaths. It was not easy to start living after not being able to do so freely for centuries.
So, some days, Furina was haunted by a prophecy that was no longer active. And those days, she would do everything she could to distract herself, be it reading whatever novel she was interested on in her house, go out to the beaches of Fontaine and surf with the otters. Or, like right now, wander the city she had lived in for so long and observe the people live their lives, look at the clear happiness in every expression, and hope that all that good energy would appease her fears.
That's why Furina was walking around the Court of Fontaine without a destination in mind, she would look around, see the happiness of her people, and move on towards another place, only to witness the same thing over and over. She needed to repeat this for a long time so her heart could be at peace and her dread would leave her.
It was not easy. After 500 years, it was very hard to let go of old habits that had stayed with her for so long. But she was trying. She wanted to live free of the prophecy, the divine, and the constant fear that plagued her ever walking moment.
And thankfully, she was not alone in this. Not anymore.
Clorinde, her loyal champion duelist and bodyguard, had visited her when she was in her worst moment. When she was letting isolation consume her and not letting her live. Furina was in a state of uncertainty that did not let her move. She was frozen in indecision on how to continue and that did not let her truly live.
It was a good thing that Clorinde visited and helped her clean around, taught her how to make macaroni, and promised to visit again. Furina had been so shocked that Clorinde did not hate her that she had not doubted her intentions at all. She just let the duelist come and go as she pleased.
Furina even went to a small gathering with Clorinde in where, even if she drank a little more than usual, she had some fun and it showed her that people did not resent her for what she had to do. Most didn't even knew what happened, only that she lost her powers and abdicated. And Furina preferred it that way. She was tired of the constant attention of the masses.
Then, it was the Traveler the next to help her out. They helped a lot and the small adventure with the troupe was fun. Getting a vision was a surprising but welcoming change in her life. The fact that it gave her four amazing familiar that made her company when she was alone was one of the best advantages of having her vision.
And from then on, more and more people seemed to come into her life and decided to stay. One of them was Navia that, in one of Clorinde visits, the blonde president of the Spina di Rosula had joined them. After an awkward conversation over tea and pastries, Navia decided they were friends now and she was going to teach her how to make macaroons, and Furina had no choice but to accept it.
Another person she never thought would want to be her friend was Neuvillette. Her oldest companion had all the right to hate her and not want to see her again, but the dragon seemed to want to be in her life. It only took another awkward conversation one day they found each other in the streets for Furina to know. She had lived with Neuvillette for so long that she could easily tell when he was nervous.
Neuvillette had always had a hard time recognizing and expressing his feelings, so Furina had become an expert in figuring out what he wanted to communicate. And that day, the Iudex was nervous but happy. He wanted to see her and listen to her. He wanted to spend his time with her. And Furina, haunted by her loneliness, had accepted his friendship. After all, she didn't desire that kind of isolation on anyone.
And with her renovated friendship with Neuvillette came another unexpected friend. She never imagined herself talking about tea and pastries with the Duke of Meropide. Wriothesley was a very easy going man that had a troubled past. She knew of his trial and the crime he was guilty of, but she also knew why he was the true victim in that crime.
Either way, Furina now had a lot more friends than before, which was none, and she could, in theory, go to them for help when she was feeling this persistent dread. If not for help then as a distraction but the habit to handle all of her pain alone was hard to let go off. So Furina wandered the streets alone while trying to deal with her own negative emotions.
She walked and walked until her feet hurt, her hunger reminded her that she needed to eat to survive, and the darkness of the streets reminded her of the late hour. Maybe she could visit one of her friends tomorrow if this heavy feeling persisted.
'Yes, tomorrow would be better' Furina could only hope.
Exhausted for walking all day and tired beyond belief, both mentally and emotionally, Furina returned home. She reached her street and noticed that the mechanical anvil was silent. The smith must have gone home for the day and now the street was silent and desert. No one was around.
That was weird. Shouldn't people use this street as one of the few that joined the Palais with the commercial center? Was something going on that she was not aware of?
Furina shook her head and took out her key from her pocket. She ignored the dread that had accompanied her all day and opened her door.
"Huh?" Furina frowned. Her lock was unlocked. Did she forget to lock her door?
Furina ignored the stronger dread and entered her house. Everything was dark but the small part of the entrance that she could see thanks to the light coming from the open door was the same as usual. Nothing strange awaited for her at the foyer of her house.
Calming herself a little, Furina entered and closed the door. She was then surrounded by complete darkness. She then raised her hand to the light switch and flipped it on.
But instead of the lights flowing into the hallway, everything continued to be dark. That was weird. Why weren't her lights working? The street lights were fine so it wasn't like the Arke that powered all of Fontaine now was gone.
Furina frowned and turned to leave. She only needed to make sure this was a normal power outage rather than a planned attack, because if it was the second, then she was in danger. Furina knew she was famous and many people would want to get to her, either to get revenge on her for her act as the Archon or to do something disgusting. There were a lot of crazy people in the world and she knew what lines a stalker was willing to cross to obtain what they think is theirs. She had seen the end result in too many trials to not known.
Furina could only take half a step before she felt something round and cold at the back of her head.
She froze.
Dread and adrenaline traveled through her body like a lighting strike. Someone was here and they were not friendly.
"Don't move" the gruff voice of a man sounded at her back. He was way too close. Why was he so close? Why hadn't she felt his presence?
"Don't say a word unless you want a bullet through your skull, lil miss" the man did not gave her an opportunity to ask her questions.
"Got what I'm saying?" the mouth of the gun pressed harder against her head.
Furina trembled in fear. This was not happening. This couldn't be happening. This was supposed to be a safe neighborhood. Crime was low here so it shouldn't be a robbery. At that thought, Furina understood. This was not a robbery. He was here for her.
"I asked something lady" the man behind her sounded about to lose his patience.
Furina nodded quickly, not daring to speak in fear. She was still quivering. She could feel how her hands were trembling and she felt her knees weaken, but she did not succumb to her fear. She had endured a lot more than this. She would prevail no matter what.
So with her body trembling but with determination that would put gods to shame, Furina waited for an opportunity. While waiting she noticed that her house was way too dark. Darker than usual. Normally some light from the street would enter through her windows but at the moment, nothing seemed to pass through them. Were her curtains drawn? Did this man do that?
Furina's plan to deal with this man was discarded as soon as she heard someone else coming closer. Oh so this was not a stalker wanting her for some nefarious reason. This was much more complicated than that.
"Don't move" the first man grumbled and let his partner come closer.
But Furina had no plans to stay still and let them do whatever they wanted. So, as soon as she felt the gun being moved a small amount, Furina dropped low, summoned her sword from her vision and rolled around, letting the sharp blade caught her attackers by surprise.
"Aahh!" a man screamed.
Furina felt her blade rip through flesh but did not dare to stop. She couldn't see them and they knew where she was. She needed to escape. She needed to go outside. At least there she could either fight or escape, but for that she needed the help of her Salon Solitaire.
Furina raised her hand to snap her fingers and summon her familiars, but before she could complete the action, something hit her head. Disoriented, Furina stumbled and, much to her charging, someone grabbed her arm.
Luckily for her, it was not her sword arm. Following the instinct that Clorinde had drilled into her over and over in their trainings, Furina rested the blade near her ribs and with all her strength she stabbed backwards where a body should be.
"Aaahgg-! a scream started but was cut short soon after. The chocked breaths of her attacker would be the only sound on the house if another man didn't attack too.
"You bitch!" Furina heard the shout before blinding pain followed.
Her head was hit again, but this time it was with a much stronger force. This time she fell down, her sword dropped from her hand before it was kicked away. Then a great weight pushed her onto the floor. Furina tried to move but couldn't. The hit disoriented her too much and the man on her back was too heavy.
The room was then illuminated by a small lantern and now Furina could see her attacker even through the blinding pain. There were three, no, two if the unmoving body near her had anything to say. They looked strong and used to this kind of dirty job.
The situation seemed to be helpless but even so, she did not give up. Furina tried her best but her arms were being held tightly and, in a quick movement that she could barely register, her arms were tied up with some kind of rope.
Furina tried to get free with all of her strength. She kicked and tried to scream but just as her mouth opened, a filthy cloth that smelled of sweat and mecha-oil, was shoved into it, gagging her. Furina tried to kick but her legs were being held down by the man's weight before being tied up as well. She couldn't move! She couldn't call for help!
Now with her limbs tied and her voice muffled Furina knew that she didn't have any way to get out of this situation. Tears started to form but she crushed the feeling of desperation and blinked quickly. Tears won't help her. She needed to do something. Anything. She won't get taken like this!
As if feeling her intense feelings, her vision light up. Hydro came forth at the call of her fear an desperation and a ball of water formed above her. In an instant, it moved too quickly for anyone to dodge and slammed on the side of the man holding her down.
"Fuck!" the man cursed as he was thrown into the wall.
But before Furina could take advantage of the new development, the other man, the one with the gun in his hand, shot. The bullet reached her leg and passed through skin and muscle until it exited out of the other side.
"Mmmfffhhh!" Furina's muffled shout left her gagged mouth. She was shot on the leg! It hurt, it hurt, it hurt! Now tears of pain dripped from her eyes without her being able to stop them. Furina could feel the burning pain of the injury and her warm blood dripping from it.
"Damn it!" the first man grumbled before getting close to Furina.
The ex archon panicked. She didn't know what the man would do with her and she did not want to find out. In response to her fear, her vision lit up again. But before another ball of Hydro could be summoned, the man ran and kicked Furina's head.
The girl fainted a second later. A darkness filled with terror surrounded her and there was nothing she could do to stop it.