"Farewell, Neuvillette. I hope you enjoy the role that has been yours for the past five hundred years."
Within the game, Focalors gazed at Neuvillette, the Chief Justice before her, with a faint smile. After speaking those words, she stepped forward with calm composure, walking toward death. Her movements were light and graceful, a silent mockery of The Sustainer of Heavenly Principles.
At that moment, the background music of the Court of Fontaine turned unbearably mournful.
The figures of Focalors and Furina overlapped, then slowly parted. Five hundred years of suffering—human and god alike—unfolded in profound tragedy.
Lora Chaya closed her laptop. She couldn't bring herself to watch the cutscene to the end.
"I really deserve to die…"
She leaned back in her chair and rubbed her temples. Before today's main storyline went live, she had been mocking Furina as a coward who didn't resemble a god in the slightest. Today's plot, however, had cut her to pieces without mercy. Thinking back on it now, she wanted nothing more than to slap herself.
Outside, the sky seemed to echo her mood. Dark clouds gathered, and rain began to fall.
Lora picked up her phone, keys, and umbrella and headed downstairs to the convenience store to buy something to eat. After that story, she had no energy left to cook. Once she finished paying, she stepped outside under her umbrella and stopped at the crosswalk, waiting for the light.
Suddenly, her vision swam. At the far end of the crosswalk, she seemed to see a white-haired girl in blue-and-white robes standing there, watching her. But when Lora blinked and looked again, there was nothing.
"Was I seeing things?"
She frowned, starting to doubt her own eyes.
Before she could think further, the red light's countdown ended and the green light came on. Reflected in a puddle beside the crosswalk, the green glow shattered as raindrops struck the water.
Holding her umbrella, Lora stepped forward. The instant she set foot on the crosswalk, the sound of a violent collision rang out. An out-of-control, fully insured semi-truck smashed through the cars waiting at the stop line and barreled straight toward her.
Instinctively, Lora tried to run—but her feet felt as though they were rooted to the ground, unable to lift even an inch.
The truck's cab grew larger and larger in her vision. At the same time, a bolt of lightning split the sky, illuminating both her and the driver. His face was completely expressionless as he stared at Lora.
Was there no time left to feel fear or panic?
Or was it intentional?
In any case, her body was flung away like a broken rag doll, crashing into the middle of the intersection. Her umbrella was crushed beneath the truck's wheels, snapping into pieces, just like her body. The instant noodles in her bag were completely flattened, leaving nothing but a scattered mess.
Agonizing pain tore through Lora's nerves as blood and froth spilled continuously from her mouth and nose.
Her limbs twisted at grotesque angles, broken bones piercing through her skin in a horrifying sight.
The crimson color, diluted by the rain, spread beneath her into an eerie yet strangely beautiful tableau—like a living ink painting drawn in red. Raindrops fell upon the blood-formed mountains and rivers, blooming into blurred blossoms.
Blood mixed with water and flowed into the sewer.
What a shitty life.
That thought inexplicably surfaced in Lora's mind just before she lost consciousness.
...
When Lora regained awareness, she found herself in an endless expanse of blue. Beneath her feet was something that felt less like solid ground and more like the surface of water, ripples spreading outward in rings with every step.
"Where is this?"
She frowned. She clearly remembered being hit by a car—by a fully insured semi-truck, the classic cross-world isekai killer. Had she really died and ended up in another world?
"Hello!"
A voice suddenly called out from behind her.
Lora jolted and spun around. A girl stood there—beautiful, gentle, and calm. But none of that was what mattered most. What mattered was that Lora had seen her before. This was the very girl who had flickered into view at the crosswalk.
"It's you? Who are you?"
The girl smiled when she heard the question.
"Those two questions of yours carry a bit of Buer's flavor."
"Buer?"
Lora froze.
The girl continued.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Egeria, the former Hydro Archon of Fontaine, burdened with 'sin.'"
"I'm Lora Chaya—wait…"
She reflexively returned the introduction, but quickly realized what she'd just heard. She stared at Egeria in disbelief.
"You said you're the Hydro Archon Egeria? But… aren't you already dead?"
"You are now too!"
Egeria replied with a smile.
"No—that's not important!"
Lora waved her hands, momentarily at a loss for words.
"What matters is, you're a character from the game!"
"That depends on how you define 'reality' and 'game,'"
Egeria said calmly.
"For us, Teyvat is reality."
A game, from the moment of its creation, is itself a world—one with a destiny that develops on its own.
Once Lora understood that, the shock of seeing a game character standing before her faded somewhat.
"Then why am I here?"
"Because you died, and I chose you."
Egeria explained her situation to Lora.
"After my divine body perished, my consciousness resided within the 'Harvisptokhm' for five hundred years. During that time, I was constantly searching for a way to save Fontaine and Focalors."
"Eventually, I came to understand one truth: Teyvat's fate has long been inscribed in the Irminsul. It is fixed history. Only a Descender can change it. Those who exist outside Teyvat's destiny are not bound by the Irminsul's influence."
"For that reason, I began searching for a method. In the end, I found your world—and found you. Perhaps it was fate itself. You died before my eyes, and so I brought your soul here."
"You didn't kill me, did you?"
Lora suddenly frowned, as though recalling something.
Egeria shook her head.
"Of course not. Even though I am no longer the Hydro Archon, I am still the Hydro Sovereign, the God of Justice. I embrace all things. Taking the life of an innocent is something I would never do."
Seeing the sincerity in Egeria's expression, Lora chose to believe her. One of the most fundamental principles of Teyvat's Archon lore was that the gods love humanity. She trusted that Egeria would not have taken her life for this.
"So… you brought my soul here because you want my help saving Fontaine and Focalors?"
Lora asked after steadying herself.
Egeria nodded.
"Yes. Neither the people of Fontaine nor she should bear any 'sin.'"
Lora spread her hands helplessly.
"But I'm just an ordinary person. What can I even do?"
The protagonist of the story was a veteran traveler who had crossed countless worlds. Could her strength possibly compare? What did she have to offer to save Fontaine and Focalors?