Chapter Text
After the trial, Furina sat in her favorite armchair by the fireplace, reviewing the transcript of the case. Lyney v. the Court of Fontaine had certainly shocked her — truly the trial of the century. Yet still , it wasn’t the magnificent and dramatic trial! What could possibly be more thrilling than this case? It couldn’t get much better than the famed outlander versus the great Archon of their nation! Furina seethed. She felt like punching something. Or someone , she thought darkly, looking to the heavens above.
However, what had surprised Furina most during the case was the mention of “Water from the Primordial Sea”. She had never heard of such a thing, though she had no doubt that it would be the blade that would execute the Fontainians. The properties of the water had been verified, though Furina didn’t need the demonstration through Garde Vaughn. Despite the fact that the Oratrice had never given out a death sentence, death had come for him anyway. Regardless, the second he had confessed to being part of a plot so terrible, Furina knew he’d be spending a long time in the fortress. Vaughn was always going to be punished in some way for his direct or indirect part in the suffering of those twenty-four women.
Furina sighed. Neuvillette wouldn’t think such thoughts. He was always a better fit for this role than her, always more impartial.
However, more than anything, the reveal of the Primordial Seawater had brought Furina’s worry about the prophecy to the forefront of her mind. Armageddon was approaching. They would obviously try to evacuate everyone, but there was no indication of when the apocalypse would occur, and all it took was one drop for a person’s to be lost beneath the torrent.
And of course, as she had predicted, all of this had been triggered by the Traveler’s arrival. Sighing, Furina continued to review the case when something caught her attention. She stilled, biting her lip. Lyney’s alibi . Furina found it odd that he hadn’t just investigated the core during construction of the vent while claiming to be inspecting it — that would have been smarter. It was also rather ironic that in trying to prove their innocence, the twins had confessed to another crime — trespassing. They had been apprehended after the case, and would soon be facing trial again . The outlander would be furious. It would of course be handled by a lower court, since it wasn’t as serious of a charge. Moreover, Furina couldn’t be the judge of every case — there were far too many.
Regardless, Lyney had claimed to be investigating the Oratrice’s core, and heard a mysterious voice. “Once he reached that area, he heard a voice in what should have been an empty room…” the outlander had said. That detail had been glossed over during the trial in favor of other things, but it had been intriguing at the time.
Now that she knew of Lyney’s origins — Neuvillette had told her after the trial — it became alarming. Furina had wondered why Neuvillette had not revealed Lyney’s connection to the Fatui during the trial, and he replied, “It was irrelevant, and rather personal information.” How honorable. If she was in his position, she likely would’ve exposed him. After all, the prosecution has no need to be impartial.
However, it was clear that Lyney was inspecting the Oratrice for a reason. It must be on the Knave’s orders , Furina realized. And if the Knave sent out an agent to investigate something, it was usually important. Important enough for her to look into personally. While she would usually go back to the Palais Mermonia by sunset, today was the exception. She hoped Neuvillette wouldn’t worry too much.
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After a few hours more hours of work, Furina left her office. The door closed with a loud creak, and Furina groaned internally. She had been wanting to replace that door for ages.
Finding the basement was not an issue — she knew these walls like the back of her hand, courtesy of working in this building for five hundred years. Her steps barely made a sound on the thick, carpeted floor, and soon enough, she had reached the basement. She nodded to the two Gardes stationed outside, who immediately straightened. Furina opened the door, and was immediately hit with a cloud of dust as she resisted the urge to sneeze. She closed it and continued onwards towards the room with the Oratrice’s core in it.
Within no time, Furina had reached the room in question. She took out the key needed to unlock the door, and it opened with a sharp click.
Furina gazed at the Oratrice’s core. It was contained in a large, brass-colored metal box with a small door in the center. She could see a crack of bright blue light peeking through, a sign of the immense power the machine held. Power she knew wasn’t just being used for Indemnitium.
However, before Furina could reach for it, she was enveloped in a bright light. She yelped, feeling like she was falling.
After a few seconds of silence, she opened her eyes and found herself in a different space. She looked at her surroundings — she was in a courtroom that looked almost exactly like the Opera Epicelse. However, there was a hazy air about it, giving the room an ethereal look. Red-cushioned chairs were floating when they should have bolted down, and there was rubble levitating everywhere. The courtroom’s walls seemed to fade into a blue-white mist that stretched on endlessly.
Then, she heard a voice behind her.
“Oh, how unexpected…”