Genshin Impact: Following the Winds

The Story begins like this:

Once upon a time, a god came into being within the nation of Fontaine. A creation born from the Primordial Seas, bearing the heart for Justice, yet without full understanding of what that truly meant. 

It was here that she gained an infatuation-, nay, a love for humanity. One so deep that it drove within her such anger when she learnt of the prophesied end these humans would face beneath the gaze of the Heavens. A drowning of man and marble, turning all back into the seawater from which hence they came.

But a prophecy could not be changed, merely diverted. And so when that being rose into a god, she concocted a plan. She would create an accursed doll, a being barely human. She tasked it with acting as Fontaine's Archon, such that they could fool the Heavens when the prophecy reached its apex.

But though the god tasked it with being a human for 500 years, a doll it remained. A doll incapable of living, or growing, of being. Left without strings yet desperately searching for a purpo-

Crack!

"V-Vivianne?" Furina asked, staring wide at the pen I just snapped.

I glanced at the pen I'd accidentally snapped, and I took a deep breath. "Apologies." I muttered, not quite able to keep my sadness from my voice. "This…Story simply brought up more emotions than I first expected." I said, unconsciously clenching my fists as I reread the parts I'd written down in my notebook.

I didn't know the full extent of the plan Fontaine's true Archon created, but to condemn a child to 500 years.

What greater breach of FrEedOm could there be?

Furina stared at me worriedly, but she was also happy to see that someone felt so strongly about her circumstances. She wasn't quite sure why she felt this journal-, no, this Storyteller was the one she would first her true Story with, but she was glad she did so. She'd always believed people would be disgusted of her, of this thing that only masqueraded behind its human skin, but-

Maybe she too could mean something.

After I calmed myself down, I cleared my throat and brought out another pen from my suitcase. "I am better now." I said, smiling slightly. "Shall we continue?"

Furina smiled back, her smile smaller than usual but no less genuine. "Of course, dear citizen!"

Onwards the Story goes:

For 500 years the doll performed as it was told. For 500 years it fooled all of Fontaine into believing that it was its Archon, that she held powers beyond the mortals' comprehension. It had even fooled a great dragon to come to its side to act as the city's Grand Judge! How wonderful!

And perhaps, the doll began believing that it too was human. That perhaps 500 years of lies were enough to coalesce that initial lie into something resembling the truth.

Ah, but that did not change that she wasn't an Archon, did it?

When the distinguished Traveler arrived in Fontaine, everything began to unravel. Like a hound the Traveler unwound every lie she had woven into this city, and it all came ahead when her lack of strength was finally revealed in the disaster that drowned nearly all of Poisson.

In the end, it was naught but a doll. Nothing but a facade to a mimic. And soon she was to be judged for her lies, her injustice against the nation itself. All her preparations against the prophecy, made useless in a single month.

And now, all she could do was await her impending execution.

End of Story.

Furina laughed tiredly as she finished the Story. "Ironic, is it not?" She turned to me, and for the first she had none of the bravado she'd maintained publicly for hundreds of years. "For the Archon of Justice to be judged for her own injustice." She attempted a dull smile. "It's certainly a headline that would turn eyes, would it not?"

"Maybe." I agreed, gently placing the notebook down onto my lap. 

To say that I had…mixed feelings was an understatement. I understood where Furina's friends were coming from—after all, how could they know how hurtful their actions were? They had not an inkling of what Furina had gone through to ensure that the prophecy could not come to be as it was?

But at the same time, to demand their Archon so brazenly, to believe themselves correct as to ignore how much anguish their betrayal would cause-

And that Traveler. From her description, it was easy to realize that it was likely Aether, Lumine's brother. And while I had some idea on how he was, I was ultimately still in the dark. Yet if he was even a little like what Lumine described him like, it wasn't a surprise that he was able to uncover Furina's secrets in merely a month.

I closed my eyes as I forced myself to calm down. In the end, there is nothing I can do to change the past.

All I can do is to change the future.

"Lady Furina, may I ask when your trial will be held?" I asked solemnly.

She smiled brightly at me, and it hurt me to see how happy she was to realize that at least one person believed her. "It shall be two days from now." She hopped from the bench and did a little flourish, before extending her hand towards me. "Will you watch my final performance, Ms. Storyteller?"

I took a deep breath, and smiled as I took her hand. "I will, Lady Furina."

She beamed at me, and with a bright grin she pulled me from the bench. "Then, come, come!" She grinned. "Before that final day, let us enjoy ourselves!"

Furina grinned further as she saw the smile I returned. Oh, how wonderful! She may only have two days left before her execution, but so be it! She'd lived 500 years, and that was far more than enough. Finally, no matter how things ended, her role would finally be over. She would finally be able to stop pretending.

Silently, she apologized to her mirror self for indulging herself like this, but after everything she'd gone through recently, she couldn't find it in herself to care.

"Then first, some parfait!"

I chuckled as I performed a showy bow. "Of course, milady."

And so, with her excitedly leading us, we began walking back towards the heart of Fontaine, heading to the dessert shop Furina liked to frequent whenever she had the time.

But as she turned and began leading me away, she didn't see me glimmer for a moment, shining with hundreds of colors, filtered through thousands of fractal-like shapes. Then a soft hum sounded, and my body suddenly split into two identical copies, with one still holding Furina's hand while the other quickly used my Anemo to hide.

I gave my reflection a subtle nod, and my reflection nodded back, placing a finger on her lips. Then, their form grew white as they shifted into a Wind Sprite, and in mere moments they were gone.

I smiled slightly, still somewhat perturbed by how this new Talent felt.

[Modular Autonomy 4★

A talent for creating near-perfect replicas of the original; a power made available by the strange technologies kept by Celestia. Though normally used to replicate their Outposts, it is also more than capable of replicating living beings after some preparation.

When Used, allows the User to create a Clone of themselves that will act and live just like the User. When that Clone is dispelled, all gained memories and experience will be transferred back to the User.

Current Available Clones: 3

Current Active Clones: 1]

This was the Talent I got after using the [Mirror of Memories] on the Celestial Outpost I destroyed. As it turned out, that outpost was created by copying another, which implied that there were likely hundreds of that same outpost, all capable of firing those Celestial Nails. Just the idea of it sent shivers down my spine.

But that was a nightmare better saved for later. 

Right now, I had an Archon I had to make happy, at least for the next two days.

.

.

.

But all dreams come to an end, don't they?

Furina smiled faintly as she remembered the past two days. In that brief moment, she had felt more alive than she had for the last 500 years. Content in knowing that someone else knew her story, and were so heartbroken by it. That someone else could love this fraud she turned out to be.

So when the Traveler began his accusation, there was only one thing she did.

She smiled. Smiled brightly, even. Proud and tired and hopeful and regretful all at once.

"Indeed. I am no Archon." She said, her answer followed by a round of gasps from the audience. "I have never been one. That role has never been mine." She closed her eyes. "My position, my words-" She smiled simply. "They are nothing but lies."

"Lady Furina…is not an Archon?"

"So all those claims of yours were fake!?"

"You-! So Poisson happened because of you!?"

"Liar!"

"Fake!"

Her friends quickly looked at one another, clearly surprised that she was to be so bold as to reveal everything immediately. Even those from the House of the Hearth looked quite surprised, with only the Knave at the far back looking with some akin to…pride? Vindication? She couldn't be sure, and she supposed it mattered little now.

She gazed at Neuvi-, the Ludex and smiled with teeth. "So, oh Ludex, there is no need for more time." She closed her eyes. "Let us begin my judgement, shall we not?" She didn't dare open her eyes. Didn't dare to see what expression her oldest friend would have. She wasn't sure if she could maintain her calm if she ever did so.

She heard his faint sigh, and she braced herself.

"Furina de Fontaine." He began, voice low and even. "Your crimes include: Ceceiving all of Fontaine into believing you are the Hydro Archon, and Causing thousands of deaths due to your lies." Ah, that one hurt the most, but she did her best to maintain her smile. 

"In light of all of this,"

She heard a dull whirring—the unmistakable sound that the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale had activated. She caught a faint light from behind her eyelids, and she gripped onto her chair tightly as she waited for her verdict.

Neuvillette's eyes went wide as he saw the final judgement the Oratrice had made, and his eyes shook. He gazed at the audience that had gathered, at this persecution turned show, and he could only tense and grit his teeth. "In light of this," He repeated shakily. "The Oratrice has deemed you guilty, and to be sentenced to death."

A round of gasps followed. Everyone turned to him, pleading, begging that he was wrong. But he too could only grit his teeth.

He turned a pleading eye to the guilty, and yet,

Yet Furina only continued to smile. There were tears gathered in her eyes, but they refused to fall. She seemed to have realized her sentence far before she even stepped foot into this hall. 

Was it fear, he wondered. Or was it simply acceptance?

It was neither. 

Because in truth, Furina was happy. So incredibly happy that she felt like she was seconds away from crying. Because this was it! The moment she'd been waiting for all along! Perhaps the prophecy would come true after this, but the Oratrice had judged that she too was to be slain. She would vanish alongside this nation she had so dearly loved for 500 years.

And she had spent the previous two days experiencing joy unlike anything she'd ever felt before. When she brought Vivianne all around Fontaine, as if showing her this nation she had ruled for so long. When Vivianne then returned the favor by sharing the many Stories she'd gathered in her time outside of Fontaine. When they then watched the latest opera being held the day before, knowing that the end was near,

What other thing could be better for a fraud like her?

So her eyes remained closed as she waited.

Waited for her execution.

And waited-

"OBJECTION!"

Suddenly, the door to the hall slammed wide open, and a familiar voice shot through the panicking crowd like a siren. The hall suddenly went silent, and everyone turned to the one who had abruptly opened the doors. 

But Furina knew that voice, and her eyes shot open.

And there, standing by the opened doors, with dozens of unconscious Garde officers surrounding her, was a familiar woman dressed in the uniform often worn by journalists of the Steambird. An unused monocle hung on the clasp near her neck, and atop her head was a striking green beret.

The tears Furina had stubbornly held finally fell.

To most people, the young woman was simply another face in the crowd. But there two people who knew, or at least recognized her.

The first was Charlotte, a journalist from the Steambird. She gasped as she saw one of her own coworkers suddenly burst into the scene like a haywire Aquabus, and her shock only rose as she spotted the many unconscious Garde officers surrounding her, implying that Vivianne had defeated them all before bursting the door open. A bright grin came onto her face as she quickly pulled out her notebook, eager to watch what happened next.

The second was Aether, who stared at the shockingly familiar visage with wide eyes. He'd certainly never met her before, but the woman had a striking resemblance to a certain Tonedeaf Bard he'd met early in his journey. This woman could not be the same as the Anemo Archon himself.

And yet as he stared into her eyes, there was an undeniable feeling of danger that came. As if his body would be carved apart by the strongest winds if he dared to gaze at her directly.

"Who are you!?" Clorinde shouted, recognizing the officers I'd brought down. She now remembered that the door had been guarded by a platoon of officers, and yet that woman had somehow defeated them all. "Harming the Garde is punishable-!"

I ignored her, and stared right at Neuvillette.

And the crowd began to gasp as pressure filled the halls. Heavy and overbearing, as if an invisible pressure had come down to crush the world beneath its heels.

Neuvillette narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?" He asked, gripping tightly onto his cane in preparation for combat.

I smiled with teeth. "Vivianne, just another journalist from the Steambird." I introduced myself with a showy bow. I then winked. "I couldn't just miss something so eventful, can I?"

Nuevillette frowned, eyes roaming onto the officers around me. "Unauthorized entry is a crime, Ms. Vivianne."

"A crime that can be lifted if I kill the Champion Duelist, maybe?" She said back, a harsh smile on her lips. "After all, that's how this nation likes to solve things, no?"

Silence followed after my claim. No one was quite able to refute that, knowing that my words were indeed true.

"Vivianne…?" Furina whispered.

Her eyes went wide as I turned to her, confused as to how I heard her. "I told you, did I not?" I smiled gently. "I am a Storyteller, and I love happy endings the most."

I stomped my foot down, and by instinct, I pointed a finger right at Neuvillette. "You claim to bear the mantle of Justice, but I see differently." I narrowed my eyes. "You are nothing but a traitor." I spat out with all the venom I had. "You used your connection to Lady Furina to entrap her, and in doing so you have wounded her."

I scoffed. "But I am not here to lay out your failings, oh Ludex. Nay." I smiled coldly. "This is a time of Justice, no?"

He narrowed his eyes. "And what Justice do you wish to share?" He grit out, his chest hot with an emotion he hadn't felt in hundreds of years.

My smile fixed, I raised my finger, before pointing it right at the scale-shaped contraption at the center of the hall. "I judge the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale guilty of lying to all of Teyvat, and of propagating Injustice!"

And in the face of everyone's surprise, I only smiled.

It was time to flip the board entirely.