Chapter 94

【"What prophecy..."】

【Furina asked in return, but the next moment, she seemed to realize something of great importance.】

【Her surprised body leaned forward slightly: "Ah, wait, I think I know."】

【"Although I don't understand why, it's just there in my mind..."】

【"Everyone will dissolve into the sea, leaving only the Water God weeping on the throne; only then will the sins of the people of Fengdan be washed away."】

【"Yes, that's right." Furikaros smiled in satisfaction: "You understand well."】

【But Furina had absolutely no idea what was going on.】

【She questioned Furikaros, as if seeking to learn everything about herself.】

【"What is happening? My memories feel hazy, yet I remember this prophecy with exceptional clarity."】

【"Will the contents of the prophecy truly come to pass?"】

【"Yes." Furikaros spoke with absolute certainty: "This is why I came to you. Fengdan's disaster will inevitably arrive; everything will unfold as the prophecy foretells. There is no escape."】

【Frightened by her own timidity, Furina hurriedly pressed: "Then it's that serious? Will everyone really die? As a person of Fengdan, will I dissolve too?"】

【Watching Furina's fearful demeanor, Furikaros smiled gently: "Hehehe, don't worry. The very reason wonders exist is to bring humanity a turning point—just as you met me today."】

【"I will tell you the way to save everyone. But..."】

【"You may have to endure some pain..."】

【As the words reached her lips, Furikaros's gaze finally lost its smile, becoming somewhat evasive.】

【But Furina exhaled in relief: "So there's still hope? That scared me to death—you made it sound so final, I thought there was truly no saving us."】

【"As for the pain, my first thought was why must I be the one to suffer..."】

【"But if the prophecy comes true, I'll die anyway—and besides, the wonder found me."】

【"If there were a scale, one side holding the lives of all Fengdan people, the other holding only my own suffering, there's no need to think—where would the scale tip?"】

【After hearing Furina's firm words.】

【Furikaros smiled.】

【A joyful smile: "You are truly the perfect human, my ideal."】

【"This may be your own kind of justice."】

【"Then, I shall tell you the method to save Fengdan."】

【"Listen carefully: Fengdan has just lost its Water God. I need you to play the role of the new Water God."】

【"Play a god?" Furina was stunned.】

【Her azure eyes trembled in fear.】

【"Yes. You must play it—always, endlessly, without letting anyone suspect your identity."】

【"If you can do this, I will have a way to counter the prophecy. But if your identity is exposed, the last hope will vanish."】

【"But how can one play a god without being exposed?"】

【"Don't worry—you don't need to become a true god. You only need to pretend, to make the people of Fengdan believe you are the god."】

【Furina listened, bewildered, yet in the end, she decided to play the god and fulfill Fengdan's salvation mission.】

【"I just want to ask—how long must I play this role before it ends?"】

【"You may endure an extremely long time, but before then, you will never age."】

【"And I can promise you: everything will end in a grand, theatrical trial, and all will be saved."】

This was why Furina impersonated the Water God.

Rather than saying she was an imposter, it was better to say she was another manifestation of the Water God's personality.

And her very birth was meant to resist the Fengdan prophecy.

At this moment, no one wished to judge Furina harshly.

She played this role for five hundred years straight.

Fengdan.

As citizens of Fengdan, they had recently participated in the trial concerning Furina.

Many still harbored resentment over the events in Baishong Town.

Yet the truth left them utterly ashamed.

No one had ever believed the Fengdan prophecy to be real.

But for Furina, the prophecy was real—it would happen.

That blade hung above her head for five hundred years.

Worse still, she could not let anyone discover she was impersonating the Water God, or Fengdan would lose its only chance of salvation.

Night after night, she tossed and turned.

The burden of her task plunged her into despair every day.

She feared discovery; she feared that because of her, Fengdan would lose its sole hope of survival.

This pressure was not something anyone could bear—let alone endure for five hundred years, as Furina had.

【Su Bai stared in astonishment at all of this.】

【He reached out to touch Furikaros, but his hand passed straight through the mirror.】

【The surroundings suddenly dimmed.】

【"Furikaros..."】

【Su Bai's face twisted in pain.】

【"Huh..."】

【The familiar breathing once again interrupted Su Bai's thoughts.】

"Although the Hydro Tribunal has long publicly declared my succession as the Hydro Archon, this is the first time I have faced the people directly..."

Standing in the highest seat of the venue, Furina kept trying to adjust her breathing.

"How can I make my inauguration speech sound like a god? Honestly, I have no idea yet. Anyway, let's just act naturally first."

Furina cleared her throat and summoned her courage.

But her voice and diction already sounded quite unsteady: "Ahem, uh..."

·· ······ Begging for flowers ··· ···

"A very warm welcome to everyone attending tonight's Opera Epiclese."

"I believe everyone has heard about my succession as the Hydro Archon. Yes, I am Furina de Fontaine, your new Hydro Archon."

"Regarding the matter of becoming a nation's new god, I have no experience, but I am honored to guide everyone."

"As the Archon Furina, and also the God of Justice, I will do my utmost to bring everyone an era of fairness and justice."

"Once again, thank you all for coming. If you have any questions or opinions in the future, please submit them to the Hydro Tribunal. The future of Fontaine requires everyone's joint effort."

Like an inexperienced young girl, after finishing her speech, Furina was so nervous she could hardly control herself.

"Is this enough? It should be..."

However, the reaction from the crowd below was not ideal.

Doubting voices had already arisen among the people of Fontaine.

"Is this the new Hydro Archon? Isn't the Hydro Tribunal just fooling us? As a god superior to humans, I thought she would be more imposing."

"Hey, did you hear that? She even asked us to give her opinions in the end."

"Shouldn't a god be omnipotent? She is being so humble; what's the difference between her and an ordinary person?"

"Maybe there is no new Hydro Archon at all. Is this just a puppet put forward by the Hydro Tribunal?"

Paimon: "Ah, no wonder Furina always acts hysterical and arrogantly self-satisfied. So that's why..."

Navia: "So she was deliberately acting it out?"

Clorinde: "It must be so; otherwise, the people of Fontaine would become suspicious."

"Wait..."

The dissenting voices below immediately made Furina panic.

"Everyone is doubting me."

"If this continues, it will be disastrous. If I am exposed, no one can be saved from the prophecy."

"Right, the me in the mirror said that as long as I act like the god humans imagine, it will be fine."

"Calm down. Think carefully about what kind of god they want."