Furina was panicking—utterly panicking.
She dared not imagine the mental storm raging within Neuvillette's mind.
Here she was, the Hydro Archon, having just obtained a Hydro Vision!
And she had done so right in front of him!
How could she possibly explain this?!
Hydro Archon, you've set me up!
Furina was completely at a loss for words. The situation had unfolded so suddenly. She had merely thought to herself that it would be nice to wield Hydro Elemental Power alongside her Anemo Vision. Then, a Hydro Vision had actually appeared before her eyes.
Under any other circumstances, receiving this Vision would have thrilled her. But not now. Neuvillette had seen it with his own eyes!
If only I'd known the Hydro Archon was so eager to grant wishes, I would have made one sooner!
"Lady Furina?"
Neuvillette's words finally snapped Furina out of her daze. She quickly concocted an excuse, planted her hands on her hips, and feigned composure.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Is there a problem?"
"As the Hydro Archon, isn't it perfectly reasonable for me to grant myself a Vision for amusement?"
Keep lying, Furina. Keep lying.
Neuvillette stared silently at Furina, his gaze so intense it made her sweat profusely.
"Uh... those two suspicious people who were here earlier? They seem to have run off!"
Desperate to change the subject, Furina tried to divert his attention. But Neuvillette wasn't buying it for a second.
However, he knew Furina was determined to maintain her facade, so he abandoned the pointless questioning. After one last deep look, he withdrew his gaze.
Neuvillette had already noticed Jacob and Virlick's escape.
Initially, he had assumed they were merely reconnaissance personnel. He never imagined one of them would be a person of such importance.
The man radiating an ominous aura—Neuvillette's instincts never lied. The man carried the power of the Abyss within him.
Clearly, the anomalies in this place were connected to him. Coupled with the diving equipment on the other man, it was obvious they were the masterminds behind sabotaging the energy transmission nodes.
Neuvillette had been poised to intervene, but suppressing the surging Primordial Sea Water had momentarily occupied him. This, combined with his misjudgment of their capabilities, allowed them to escape.
Just as Neuvillette was about to order Furina to pursue them, he witnessed an unforgettable scene.
Furina, the Hydro Archon, had acquired a Vision.
It was now clear: Furina was not the true Hydro Archon.
Neuvillette was speechless. He had harbored suspicions himself. The voice of Focalors that had lured him into his current position had sounded strikingly similar to Furina's, yet the tone had been utterly different.
However, Neuvillette had never imagined the Hydro Archon Focalors would orchestrate such an elaborate scheme. Despite noticing anomalies in Furina's behavior, he hadn't given them much thought.
Now that the truth was revealed, he didn't know how to react.
Of course, if Furina wasn't the true Hydro Archon, neither was Dark Furina. The real Focalors remained hidden, secretly orchestrating everything from the shadows, a plan she had meticulously crafted over five centuries.
Neuvillette was certain that the Furina who had stood before him had never been replaced. After all, Furina was no ordinary individual; few could convincingly impersonate her.
This meant that ever since she had tricked him into becoming Chief Justice, the Furina who had stood before him was a carefully chosen imposter handpicked by Focalors herself.
The revelation unraveled many of Neuvillette's long-held doubts, yet it spawned even more questions.
Where was the Hydro Archon Focalors now? What was the true nature of her plan? Had Dark Furina guessed her scheme? And was Dark Furina's very existence connected to the Hydro Archon Focalors?
Furthermore, what unimaginable weight had Furina carried for the past five hundred years?
For a mere mortal to bear such a secret for half a millennium, Neuvillette could only imagine the shattered state of Furina's heart, riddled with countless wounds.
At this realization, Neuvillette felt a profound pang of sympathy. His long-held resentment toward Furina for her frivolous ways vanished completely.
He had originally thought he had suffered enough at Focalors' hands, working tirelessly for five centuries, day in and day out, while she indulged in endless leisure and entertainment.
But now he realized Furina's plight was far more tragic. Though she appeared composed on the surface, Neuvillette knew her heart had become hollow and numb.
This also explained why Furina seemed more vibrant and alive after her return from the Fortress of Meropide. Emily's presence had filled the void in her heart, restoring her sense of wholeness.
Yet for the centuries before Emily's arrival, Neuvillette couldn't fathom the depths of loneliness Furina must have endured.
For hundreds of years, Furina had guarded this secret with unwavering vigilance, refusing to reveal it despite her suffering.
The reason for her secrecy likely stemmed from the methods used to counter the Prophecy.
As for why the Hydro Archon Focalors had voluntarily revealed this secret to him today, it was likely because she believed Fontaine's situation had become so dire that Furina alone could no longer handle it, thus indirectly revealing the secret to him as well.
Neuvillette couldn't fathom the immense risk Focalors had taken by doing this. After all, without some extraordinary reason, she would have revealed the truth much sooner.
Having pieced everything together, Neuvillette's heart grew heavy. After taking a deep breath, he spoke before Furina could.
"Let's go. We need to bring them back."
With those words, Neuvillette strode past Furina, heading in the direction Jacob and Virlick had fled.
Furina, relieved that Neuvillette wasn't pressing for further explanations, hadn't even had time to exhale when his words startled her.
"Ah, they've already vanished into thin air! Where are we supposed to find them?"
"The Tower of Gestalt."
"I suspect they'll be there."
Neuvillette tilted his head slightly upward, his gaze seeming to pierce through the layers of clouds, focusing on a distant, towering spire that pierced the heavens.
Inside the Tower of Gestalt, Jacob, his face twisted in a grimace, manipulated the Tower of Gestalt Core, layering protective mechanisms.
Damn it! What are the odds of running into Neuvillette and the Hydro Archon Furina today?!
If not for the pre-set explosives detonating and Neuvillette and Furina's concern for the safety of innocent bystanders, he would never have had the chance to escape.
Otherwise, he would have been caught today.
If he failed to awaken Rene according to plan, the world would inevitably follow its predetermined path to destruction.
Saving the world and everyone in it was a shared dream between him and Rene. He couldn't let that hope perish at his hands!
Rene, I'm sorry.
Though I couldn't fully execute your plan, for the sake of precaution, I must awaken you early!
"Master Jacob, what should we do now? Neuvillette and Furina might find us here. Is it safe for us to stay?"
Virlick, his mind reeling, looked anxiously at Jacob. His words only deepened Jacob's frustration.
Just as Jacob was about to lash out, he suddenly remembered Virlick's earlier act of loyalty—his willingness to hold off the pursuers to cover Jacob's retreat. Suppressing his anger, Jacob restrained himself.
Although he saw no inherent value in their actions, Jacob acknowledged the loyalty of those who chose to sacrifice themselves to let him escape in that perilous situation. Not a single one had fled.
Moreover, it was their distraction that had prevented him from prematurely revealing himself. Otherwise, his chances of escape would have been uncertain.
With these thoughts, Jacob's mood brightened considerably.
"Rest assured, they only stumbled upon us by chance. There's no way they could trace us here."
"Centuries ago, even Master Narzissenkreuz himself took quite some time to discover this place."
"Even if Neuvillette and Hydro Archon Furina suspect something, by the time they pinpoint our exact location, it will be too late."
Narzissenkreuz, the name Rene later adopted for himself, held paramount significance within the Tower of Gestalt.
Hearing Jacob's words, Virlick quickly relaxed.
"Very well, Lord Jacob. I understand."
"So, our next move is to destroy the remaining energy transfer nodes before Neuvillette and Hydro Archon Furina can?"
"The plan is on hold for now. I feel uneasy. If we proceed as planned, unforeseen circumstances might arise. Therefore, I've decided to awaken Master Narzissenkreuz immediately."
Jacob shook his head, continuing with his original plan. Destroying the nodes before Neuvillette and the Hydro Archon Furina could intervene seemed the most prudent course of action.
Yet, for some reason, Jacob felt increasingly uneasy.
This unease compelled him to abandon his original plan and awaken Rene ahead of schedule.
He knew this might disrupt Rene's carefully laid plans, but he trusted that Rene's genius would easily compensate for this minor oversight.
"Has the moment finally arrived?" Virlick's voice trembled with excitement upon hearing Jacob's words.
"To witness Master Nacissenkreuz with my own eyes is my lifelong dream!"
"I had imagined I wouldn't see the Master until the final phase of the plan, but now I can see him now!"
"Lord Jacob, let's begin at once!"
"Patience, Virlick. Your loyalty has not gone unnoticed. I will grant you an audience with Master Nacissenkreuz."
"For now, follow my instructions. Activate the Energy Units at these locations in the Tower of Gestalt."
Virlick's brow furrowed in confusion. "Activate them now?"
"Lord Jacob, I thought these Energy Units only activated when initiating the Tower of Gestalt's defensive offensive."
"Since Neuvillette and the Hydro Archon Furina aren't likely to come here for the time being, why activate them now?"
Jacob was about to answer when the entire Tower of Gestalt suddenly began to shake violently. The screens flickered erratically, emitting a crimson glow.
Though caught off guard, Jacob quickly regained his balance and noticed the anomaly on the screens.
His pupils constricted sharply as he stared at the simplified image of the spire, now with its upper third severed.
Meanwhile, Virlick, steadying himself against the wall, finally regained his footing. Shaking off the dizziness, he clutched his head and asked, "Lord Jacob, what just happened?"
Just then, Virlick also spotted the image on the screen. He exclaimed in astonishment and excitement, "Lord Jacob, your foresight is truly divine! You anticipated the attack on the Tower of Gestalt and activated the defense system in advance!"
"My admiration for your profound foresight surges like an endless river!" Virlick exclaimed.
Just as Virlick finished speaking, the upper half of the Tower of Gestalt finally plunged into the sea, unleashing a deafening roar that, combined with Virlick's sycophantic praise, made Jacob's head spin.
"You idiot! The Tower of Gestalt is under attack—what are you celebrating for?!"
Jacob snapped at him, then immediately activated the Tower's external sensors. Moments later, he detected Neuvillette and Furina's figures a short distance ahead.
Seeing them, Jacob's heart sank again.
Why? How did Neuvillette and Furina find this place?
He couldn't understand it. Even if they had recently uncovered the secret of the Covenant Seal, they should still require considerable time for on-site investigation.
Even Rene hadn't been able to deduce anything from maps alone. How could anyone uncover its secrets without conducting a thorough on-site investigation? He refused to believe anyone could accomplish what Rene himself had failed to do.
As for activating the defense program, it was merely to trigger Rene's failsafe measures ahead of time. Deep down, Jacob never believed Neuvillette and Furina could find this place so quickly.
Yet the impossible had come to pass.
It couldn't be that they had tracked them here. Jacob had carefully erased all traces during his escape, and at the time, the pair had been preoccupied with containing the Primordial Sea Water eruption, leaving them no opportunity to pursue him. He hadn't sensed any tracking marks left on them either.
Damn it! Why are unexpected events piling up today? Is fate conspiring to thwart my mission to save the world?
No! No one can stop me from awakening Rene today!
Once Rene is awakened, everything will be over!
"Hey, Lord Jacob," Virlick said, his voice tinged with surprise, "isn't that Neuvillette and Hydro Archon Furina outside? Didn't you just say they couldn't possibly find this place?"
Virlick had spotted the two figures as well and couldn't contain his astonishment.
"You talk too much!" Jacob snapped.
"If you want to meet Master Narzissenkreuz, keep your mouth shut!"
Hearing Jacob's words, Virlick immediately clapped a hand over his mouth, then pantomimed zipping it shut. Jacob just stared at him, speechless.
"Fine," Jacob sighed. "I have important things to do next. You're in charge here."
Jacob then gave Virlick clear, concise instructions on how to operate the device, along with key precautions.
"Got it?" Jacob asked after finishing his explanation.
"Mmm-hmm!" Virlick whimpered, nodding vigorously.
Seeing this, Jacob clenched his fists again...