Yes, Lady Funina!

"Two Furninas?"

"That's...another me?"

Although Funina had learned from Richard that there was another divine version of herself, when she actually saw the other, she couldn't help but widen her almond-shaped eyes and stare blankly at the 'self' below the stage.

Fukaros looked around and saw the huge, abrupt spatial rift in the audience seats in the distance. A look of realization appeared on her face, which was exactly the same as Funina's.

It seems it's almost time to say goodbye.

Fucaros looked up at the still-working [Decree Machine]. There was still some time to prepare before the execution, and this time was Fucaros's farewell moment for himself.

Fukaros had originally planned for her departure to be quiet and unnoticed, but now it seems that plan is probably off.

“You’re not Funina…who are you?” Navelette asked, frowning.

"It seems Mr. Richard did a very good job keeping this a secret. No wonder he's the man Funina chose; he's very reliable," Fukaros said with a smile.

After saying that, Fucarus looked at the wary Navelette and said, "It's obvious that I am the Demon God Fucarus, isn't it?"

"Demon God Fucarus, you..."

"We can talk about catching up later. Um, you... me? Oh well, never mind. Anyway, could you please go and save Richard? He's been swallowed by a strange fish."

While everyone was astonished by Fukaros's appearance, only Funina was still thinking about Richard being eaten.

Therefore, when she saw Fukaros appear, Furina immediately wanted him to take action and snatch Richard back from the monster fish's mouth.

In Funina's mind, since Fukalos was the water goddess, it meant that she was very powerful and could definitely defeat that strange fish.

Upon hearing Funina's words, Fucaros smiled and shook his head, saying, "It's not that I don't want to save her, it's just that I have more important things to do, and... he doesn't need me to save him."

"You don't need to save him?" Funina stared blankly at Fukaros, who looked exactly like her, not understanding why the other would say that.

“Furina, raise your hand. Look, the seal of the contract hasn’t dissipated, which means Richard is definitely alright now and doesn’t need me to save him.” Fucaros walked up to Furina, took her hand, and stroked the seal of the contract.

Like an older sister, she gently wiped away the tears from Funina's eyes and said softly, "Okay, don't cry. Richard is so capable, he'll be fine."

"Really...really?" Funina asked in disbelief.

“Of course it’s true, and since we rarely meet, this might be the last time we see each other. Don’t you have anything you want to say to me?” Fukaros winked playfully at Funina. “You know, for the past five hundred years, I’ve been looking forward to meeting you like this every single day.”

"I...I don't know." Faced with Fukaros's words, Funina seemed at a loss. Her mind was in a mess, and she was worried about Richard's safety. She didn't know what to say to the person in front of her.

"Sigh, seeing you like this now, I can't help but worry that Richard will have you completely under his thumb in the future." Fukaros sighed, realizing that she, as a human, was such a love-struck person.

But this is good too. Funinna is indeed the most perfect human being in my heart. Even if she is love-obsessed, she is a perfect love-obsessed person.

"N-No way!" Funina couldn't help but protest. How could she possibly be completely under Richard's thumb? It was more like the other way around, hmph!

It's clearly another version of myself, yet I don't understand myself at all!

Fukaros smiled, glanced at the operating [Edict Machine] again, and said nothing more. Instead, she ruffled Funina's hair, paying special attention to that cute ahoge (cowlick), and whispered "I'm sorry" in Funina's ear before turning to look at Navelette.

“I know you still have many questions, Vilette, and I will answer them one by one. However, I also hope you can grant me a request. You don’t have to answer immediately; let’s go somewhere else.” A dazzling light emanated from Fucaros.

Everyone in the theater squinted, and when they could see clearly again, Fucarus and Navelette had vanished.

On the other side, Navelette appeared in Fucarus's mental space.

Within Fucarus's mental space, the surrounding scenery was identical to that of the Opiclie Opera House, the only difference being that the seats, which should have been neatly arranged, were now scattered haphazardly in the air, and the opera house no longer had a roof but instead a pale blue expanse of water.

The most eye-catching of all is the enormous sword of judgment hanging above Fucarus's head.

Navelette withdrew her gaze from the Sword of Judgment and looked back at Fucarus.

"Demon God Fucarus, was it you who made Funina play the role of the water goddess all this time?"

“It’s me,” Fukalos readily admitted.

"Why did you deceive us?" Navelette asked, puzzled. He couldn't understand why Fucarus would do such a thing.

"Of course, my purpose is not to deceive you. What I really want to deceive is [the principles of Heaven]."

“Deceiving the natural order…” Navelette muttered to herself.

"It's that prophecy, right? It's very troublesome, isn't it? Everyone will dissolve, and Fontaine will be submerged by water... When my predecessor, the water goddess Agolia, entrusted me with this prophecy, I also thought... This is too troublesome, isn't it?"

She knew perfectly well that the prophesied scene would inevitably unfold. As one of the seven rulers of the mortal realm, she also understood that the "laws of Heaven"... could not be defied.

Fucaros shrugged and said, "Sigh~ This is completely unsolvable, don't you think?"

“Indeed…” Navelette said, offering appropriate praise.

"So I thought and thought, and I went down to the seabed alone and thought quietly for a long time, until the clams around me started to bubble, and then I came up with the only answer."

Fukaros paused, walked to the center of the stage, looked at the audience and said, "Only by deceiving [the laws of nature] can we save everyone while the prophecy comes true."

"Yes, I am a genius. That is probably why Agolia chose me as her successor."

Fukalos seemed to have thought of something. The ahoge on her head swayed, and she turned to look at Navelette: "So, she inherited all of this from me—the person who saves this country, the duty of a water god, and even the original sin of creating humans."

"Sigh... There's really nothing I can do. Who told me to be one of her many pure water spirit companions?" Fukaros shrugged helplessly, as if forced to accept the mess left by her unreliable mother.

"So, you were also a pure water sprite who was transformed into a human through Egolia's intervention?" Navelette asked.

“Yes, becoming human has always been my dream, and it still is. In my eyes, the existence of humanity itself is a beautiful opera.” Fukaros placed her hand on her heart, closed her eyes as if recalling the time when she became human, and a happy smile curved her lips.

"After becoming a god, I separated my divine nature from my body and spirit, leaving only myself as a human being who had just been created."

The one standing before you now is that [divine being], and the human me, I have named her Funina.

She experiences joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness; she can be arrogant when necessary and cowardly when appropriate. She has people she likes and people she dislikes. Her strengths are those that only humans possess, and her weaknesses are also those that only humans possess.

But in my eyes, Furnessa is the perfect "human being." Because she is exactly like a real human being, she is the ideal "me."

Then, I cursed her… to complete my plan of “deceiving the heavens.”

"……what?"

Despite Fucarus's explanation, Vilette's confusion did not seem to decrease; on the contrary, it increased.

"Remember? The final scene in the prophecy—the water god weeping alone on his throne."

To make the prophecy seem to come true, I invited actress Furnessa to play the water goddess in the prophecy.

Under my curse, as long as I exist as a [god], Funinna will never die, but she will also never enjoy the happiness that humans deserve.

She would be forced to use this opera house as her stage, becoming the true leading lady of the opera, forever playing the role of a "god" to make the prophecy seem to come true. Fucarus took a deep breath, then turned to look at Navelette.

"Now you should understand why your courtroom is called the Opiclay Opera House, right?"

The reason why the Supreme Court of Fontainebleau is actually an opera house is because of this.

“…But, after all, that Frinina is still human. Even with a long lifespan, her mental strength is only at a human level. For her…what agonizing torment that must be,” Navelette said.

"Yes, even though Fryna is a human [myself], I do owe her a lot."

For her, these five hundred years... were an incredibly long, incredibly lonely, incredibly painful... [opera] ah.

"So even Funina herself doesn't know the truth? And you never told her your complete plan?" Navelette continued.

"Yes, to deceive the laws of nature, you must first deceive yourself. Unfortunately, Richard eventually discovered the truth, but fortunately, after I revealed some of the plans to him, he agreed to cooperate with me." As she said this, Fukaros couldn't help but touch her lower abdomen.

“It’s him again…” Navelette felt like she was always living in his shadow.

"By now, I can understand how you [deceived the heavens], but this should only be half the truth, right?"

The key question is... based on this, how exactly do you plan to save the people of Fontaine from the prophecy?" Navelette went straight to the heart of the matter.

“Very good, the logic of the Supreme Judge of Fontaine is indeed clear. You must have realized long ago that the [Cardinal Decree] is not as simple as it seems, right?” Fucaros said with a smile.

"Being able to accumulate such a vast amount of energy unintentionally, and possessing the power of judgment, I did suspect that the Prophecy Machine possessed self-awareness. But now it seems that your consciousness is hidden within the Prophecy Machine, isn't that right?"

"Hmm~ Hmm~ Not bad, that's how it seems on the surface. I've merged with the Oracle, carrying the Divine Heart of Fontaine." Fukaros nodded in satisfaction. "But your understanding of the Oracle is probably not deep enough."

"Oh?"

"In fact, the oracle is not a machine used to carry out justice... The truth is, the oracle is a machine used to kill the god of justice."

“…What?” Navelette recalled the previous verdict and instantly understood what Fucarus was planning to do next.

"Oh no, to be precise, it's a machine that will destroy the throne of the God of Justice along with it."

Hehe, I'm not the kind of guy who watches Funina suffer while he enjoys himself without a care in the world.

Over these five hundred years, my work… has been to continuously accumulate legal compensation energy within the Proclamation Machine. In fact, it has been discovered that only a small portion of the energy generated by the Proclamation Machine is used to power the city of Fontaine, while the vast majority is accumulated and used for today's executions.

“The death penalty…is that also part of your plan…” Navelette muttered to herself.

"No, actually there was a little accident. Richard's intervention saved Funina from public scrutiny, but that's good. That's why I like him so much. Today I thought he would bypass you and force a trial, but I didn't expect him to have anticipated this."

"No, the plan I'm talking about is not your plan, Demon God Fucarus."

"Oh? Could it be that Richard has hidden another little surprise for me somewhere?"

"Destroy the throne of the Water God... If I'm not mistaken, you mean you want to destroy the throne of the Water God and then return the power to the water elemental dragon of this planet, which is me, right?" Navelette did not answer Fucaros's question, but continued to ask.

“That’s right, you who possess the power of the Ancient Dragons, High Judge Navelette, what judgment will you give us after you reclaim all the power of the elemental dragons?” Fucaros didn’t care that Navelette didn’t answer his question and continued.

"It seems that it was your idea to invite me to Fontaine to become the Supreme Judge."

I finally understand the true meaning of this position.

I wasn't initially interested in the existence of humans, but these five hundred years of interaction with them have gradually allowed me to understand this race and try to empathize with their feelings...

"How cunning you are, Fucarus. Now... you know I can no longer convict you, can't you?"

"Ah, it seems the time for my execution is fast approaching. This sinner should prepare for his final bow. Though I say it lightly, facing death still fills me with some fear..."

Perhaps this is the rare common ground between God and man?

"Goodbye, Navelette. I hope you enjoyed your role for the past five hundred years." Fucarus chuckled softly, as if she had just remembered something.

"By the way, please pass on a message to your fellow clansman, Mr. Richard, saying... don't bully Funina too much in the future."

“You should say those words to him yourself.” Navelette closed her eyes and slammed her scepter heavily on the ground.

A slight distortion appeared in the mental space maintained by Fukalos, and it was this flaw that gave the [servant] and [lady] outside an opportunity to take advantage of it.

The lady acted decisively, crushing the divine ice crystal bestowed by the Winter Queen. An extremely cold force spread out in an instant, transforming the Opizlie Opera House into a world of ice and snow in just a moment.

This icy power, seemingly capable of freezing time, spread to the Cardinal of Proclamation and Judgment, bringing this machine, designed specifically to kill gods, to a standstill.

Fukaros looked up, staring blankly at the Judgment Sword that hadn't fallen yet. She looked at Navelette in confusion, not understanding why she was doing this.

"Don't you want to reclaim the [Great Power of the Ancient Dragon] and become a complete dragon?" Fukalos didn't understand why Vilette was stopping him.

“The power of the Ancient Dragon does not necessarily require the destruction of the Divine Throne to be retrieved. It can also be separated from the Divine Throne when one possesses power equivalent to that of a world,” Navelette said.

He thought, this must be Richard's intention in asking the two executives outside to take action.

The divine ice crystals given by the Winter Queen not only froze the Opicley Opera House, but as crystals formed from divinity, they also contained not only the Winter Queen's authority as the Ice Goddess, but also Richard's own ice authority, which had awakened within him during his years of travels in Teyvat.

The combination of the two can change the natural landscape in a short time, turning Fontainebleau into a world of ice and snow, and even the sea surface is covered with a thick layer of ice.

Although this cannot stop the sea level from rising, the ice layer prevents the primordial seawater from reaching the Fontaines for the time being, giving Richard a considerable amount of time.

The only pity is that Leosley's secretly built large ship will probably never be of any use.

Because the sea surface is blocked by ice, you can't float up even if you want to.

“Power that rivals an entire world… such power… should only be possessed by the [Heavenly Principle], right?” Fukaros thought that Navelette was joking with her.

“No, there’s also the former loser, the Dragon King [Nibelungen],” Navelette said.

“【Nibelungen】He’s already… wait, you mean?” Richard’s image appeared in Fukaros’s mind. Even she didn’t know his background. She thought he was just a newly born elemental dragon king like Vilette, but now it seems there’s more to the story.

"Demon God Fucarus, please be patient." Navelette closed her eyes, seemingly waiting for something.

Seeing that there was no better way than to wait, Fucarus took Navelette out of the mental space and reappeared on the stage of the Opiclie Opera House.

"I...I'm back again?" Funina's hair stood on end as she looked at Fukalos, who suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"We meet again, Funina. There was a little accident, but it seems we'll have a lot to talk about again." Fukaros didn't feel awkward at all. With the idea of ​​making the best of a bad situation, he took Funina's hand and ran to the side to chat.

And let me tell you, these two together are just like twins, no, even more like twins. If you disregard their clothes and personalities, they are exactly the same people.

Fukaros and Funina sat together, each with a tuft of hair on their head. When they got a little closer, the two tufts formed a heart shape.

Funina was still somewhat reserved in her attitude towards Fukaros. Perhaps in her eyes, he was the real water god, and she was just an actor playing him.

It's inevitable to feel a sense of unease when counterfeit goods meet genuine ones.

Fukaros keenly sensed this, but she didn't say it directly. Instead, she subtly used language to help Funina regulate her emotions and slowly told her what she had wanted to say for years.

Time passed by little by little, and the story of Fukaros gradually came to an end. Funina also realized that her persistence over the past hundred years was not meaningless, but could actually help Fontaine and Fukaros.

That's good...