"You..."
Focalors' pupils dilated as she stared at the man who had shielded her from the fatal blow.
He doesn't even rember ... so why would he risk his life for ?
"Luo Qing..."
mories long buried began to surface in her mind.
She recalled their first eting, back in an era that felt like another lifeti.
"Why...?"
For the first ti since their reunion, Focalors' composure cracked. Tears welled in her eyes, glimring like the waves she ruled.
In front of her, Luo Qing had already lost consciousness. His body, limp and unresponsive, collapsed into her arms.
As she held him, Focalors felt his familiar presence, a comforting warmth she hadn't realized she had missed.
There's no doubt now.
The man before her was the sa one who had once appeared before her and Egeria in their darkest monts.
He was no longer as strong as he had been, but even now, when faced with peril, he had chosen to protect them.
"You fool..."
Sitting on the shattered stage, Focalors cradled Luo Qing in her arms.
Her tears flowed freely, unchecked by pride or pretense.
Suddenly, Luo Qing's body emitted a faint glow. The light coalesced into seven chess pieces, each circling the two of them in an intricate pattern.
"What is this..."
Before Focalors could react, one of the chess pieces—a deep blue one—began to shine with a dazzling light.
It absorbed the residual Retribution Energy from the Sword of Damocles and the Opera Epiclese, devouring every last trace.
As the energy dissipated, a strange force emanated from the blue chess piece and began flowing into Focalors.
"My divinity..."
The realization hit her like a wave.
The divine essence she had inherited from Egeria—the core of her godhood—was being unraveled, thread by thread.
"It's... dissolving my godhood. But why is my consciousness still intact?"
For as long as she could rember, she had believed that destroying a god's divinity would also erase their consciousness. Yet here she was, lucid and whole, even as her godhood unraveled.
Suddenly, a scene from her distant past resurfaced in her mind.
"Hah! You won't call 'husband,' but you want to tell you how to counter the prophecy? Keep dreaming!"
"You insufferable jerk! Do you have to be this petty?!"
"If you're not going to say it, I'm leaving. Goodbye!"
"Fine! Wait—don't go!"
"Hmm? My dear Focalors, did you need sothing?"
"...Husband."
"Huh? What was that? Speak up—I can't hear you~"
"...Husband!"
"Husband! Husband! Husband! Husband! Are you happy now?!"
"Hmm... not bad~"
"Then hurry up and tell how to fight the prophecy!"
"Oh, it's simple. Just collect enough Retribution Energy, wait for the right mont, and destroy the godhood."
"What kind of ridiculous solution is that?! If we destroy the godhood, won't Egeria... won't she be..."
"Maybe. But then again, who knows? Maybe soone will swoop in and save you at the last mont."
"So that's why..."
Focalors finally understood.
Everything Luo Qing had said back then—his cryptic warnings and seemingly nonsensical suggestions—had all been leading to this mont.
"You planned all this from the start, didn't you?"
Tears fell silently down her cheeks, landing on Luo Qing's motionless body.
Footsteps echoed on the stage.
Focalors looked up to see Neuvillette approaching, his expression calm yet unreadable.
"..."
He surveyed the scene before him—the shattered stage, Focalors clutching Luo Qing, and the seven chess pieces glowing faintly before vanishing back into Luo Qing's body.
"So, the person you told to look out for... it was him, wasn't it?" Neuvillette asked softly.
From the mont he had been appointed as Fontaine's Chief Justice, Focalors had tasked him with finding soone.
She had described their personality and characteristics in vague terms but had never revealed their na.
"If you ever encounter them," she had said, "inform imdiately."
Years passed, and despite his vigilance, he never t anyone who matched her description—until Luo Qing arrived in Fontaine and piqued his suspicions.
"I apologize for showing you such a sorry state," Focalors said quietly, her eyes fixed on Luo Qing's face.
Monts later, the last remnants of her divinity dissolved completely.
The chess pieces disappeared into Luo Qing's body, and Focalors' form began to blur.
Without her godhood to anchor her, she looked as if she might vanish with the slightest breeze.
The consciousness space fractured.
Neuvillette's vision returned to reality.
On the stage, Furina sat motionless in her chair, her eyes hollow and distant. Luo Qing lay unconscious in her lap.
Above them, the Oratrice canique d'Analyse Cardinale emitted a soft blue light.
The light split into two streams—one flowing into Furina's mind and the other rging with Neuvillette's body.
"What is this..."
Neuvillette looked at his hands, sensing a new power coursing through him.
With the disappearance of the chess pieces, he realized he had inherited an aspect of Focalors' divinity—a fragnt of her authority over water.
Perhaps this was what Focalors had ant when she spoke of her godhood returning to the elental dragons.
"I will fulfill my promise to you," Neuvillette said quietly.
With that, he soared into the stormy skies above Fontaine, disappearing into the rain-soaked clouds.
---
Lumine watched the scene unfold, her heart heavy with unanswered questions.
As Neuvillette vanished, she turned her gaze to Furina and Luo Qing.
Approaching them cautiously, she knelt beside Luo Qing and prepared to administer first aid.
But before she could act, a thunderclap split the air.
The stage darkened as shadowy figures appeared behind her.
"What's this..." Lumine whispered, spinning around.
Behind her stood several individuals, their presence imposing and undeniable.
Among them were Makoto, Ei, Bu'er, Nahida, and even Rosalyne.
"You..."
Lumine and Paimon were too stunned to speak, overwheld by the sight of these figures.
At the group's center, Makoto stepped forward, extending a hand toward Ei.
Ei nodded silently and placed a fist-sized orb of earth into Makoto's palm.
---
...
If you're reading this, then you've wandered all the way to the end. I'm impressed. Stories are like wine—ant to be savored, not rushed. So if you took your ti? Thank you.
Of course, the real thanks goes to WiseTL—the one who turned tangled words into sothing beautiful. I just got asked to wrap things up with a ribbon. Hopefully this counts!
If you enjoyed the journey and want to support the person who made it possible, you can find them here:
👉 [patreon/WiseTL]
Go on. Be generous. They've earned it.
Until next ti—read well, rest often, and maybe co visit at the Hostess of Fertility soti.
– Syr ✨
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