Ren
"God damn, it's another elevator."
Ren had to take a moment to admire the machine. There was also an elevator in Wangshu Inn, and the floating thing that got him up to the Jade Chamber, but this was much closer to the elevators from his world.
Just a lot cooler looking.
The elevator platform rose slowly, and the low vibrations helped to soothe him a little.
After the whole fiasco with Rose and getting moleste—dying, nearly dying, he needed some time to let his mind calm down.
Looking back at the 'spell' she put on him, it was something he couldn't sense at all. There weren't even any traces of energy for him to analyse, so Rose, or whoever she really was, must be extremely skilled.
'She even one-shot Yǔnjié…' The fusion was blown up with a single attack from Rose.
If a Ten Shadows shikigami is killed, that meant the user can't summon them anymore, but they can be used in a Totality.
Fortunately for Ren, his fusion technique operated on different rules.
If a fusion shikigami is killed, they and the original shikigami used in the fusion wouldn't be able to be summoned for a period of time.
Unfortunately, the length of time depended on the shikigami's strength.
Given that Yǔnjié was his trump card, safe to say he was freakishly strong.
'Can't believe I can't use Orochi or Nue for two weeks…'
Ren tried to see if he could use their extensions to no avail. Looks like he'll have to change his fighting style for a while.
DING.
The noise signaled the elevators had stopped, and the doors opened to reveal an open area with dozens of people, and dead set in the center was a Statue of The Seven.
Ren had seen Liyue's version of these statues depicting Rex Lapis, and Fontaine's were quite similar, except the figure on them was Focalor.
He gave a quick prayer to the Hydro Archon to show he meant no harm before doing anything else.
'Alright, now I just need to find out how I'm supposed to get to the main city—What the heck is that?'
His thoughts were frozen in their tracks as a small figure happily walked past him.
From its size and appearance, it was obviously not a human. Its eyes were much bigger, and it had fluffy ears and a tail to boot.
It seemed to notice Ren's stare and looked back at him.
'It's so cute!'
If Ren wasn't blinded by the shock and cuteness, he would have noticed the small creature tensing up at the sight of him.
"Hello sir, is there anything I can help you with?"
'It spoke!'
"Yes, actually. This is my first time in Fontaine, and I was wondering how I could get to the main city."
"Oh, that's easy. Follow me."
"Thank you, miss… uh… mister?" Ren stuttered. "Sorry, this is my first time seeing someone like you. Wait, that sounds so bad. I didn't mean it in a bad way, I swear."
His hesitation seemed to amuse her. "I forgot how jarring it may seem for first-timers to see a Melusine the first time they enter Fontaine. All Melusines are she's, and my name is Siora."
'An all-female species? Interesting.'
"I see, it's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Siora. I'm Ren."
"The pleasure's all mine, Mr. Ren." Siora stopped and pointed to a few counters. On the far end, there was an open area with many people in line to board… a boat?
'So I use a boat to get here and use a boat to get to the city? I guess this isn't the Nation of Hydro for nothing.'
"You can buy a ticket to use an aquabus to head to the city. Alternatively, you can go on foot yourself, but that obviously takes much longer."
"Alright, I get it now. Thank you, Ms. Siora." Ren extended his hand for a handshake, only for Siora to flinch before realising what he was doing and shook his hand.
'Weird. Might be a rough day at work for her.'
"Very well, I shall take my leave. Take care." She waved and walked off quickly.
'What a nice person.'
Without any more delay, he walked up to one of the counters.
"One ticket to the city, please."
"That will be ten thousand Mora."
'Ten thousand?!'
/ — /
Aside from the outrageous ticket price, Ren had to admit the views from the Aquabus were immaculate.
Vibrant landscapes filled with life, along with gorgeous blue oceans that lacked any pollution.
He didn't know if it was just his eyes playing tricks on him, but the water here looked more blue than the water in Liyue.
The aquabus continued through a bridge filled with water, and Fontaine's city slowly came into view.
It was a grand, magnificent city. Its architecture unlike anything Ren had ever seen.
Considering Fontaine had similarities with France, he had thought the architecture would be somewhat similar. As that was the case for Liyue.
But no, this was a complete sci-fi/fantasy masterclass of beauty and functionality.
Once the aquabus finally made its stop, Ren got an even better look at the city.
He stepped into a wide, bustling plaza with dozens of shops and countless people wandering about.
The architecture of the city, buildings, and even the roads showed just how much Fontaine values looks and splendor.
And of course, there was a lot of flowing water.
'Alright, gotta find more info about the Champion Duelist training.' Since Rose didn't leave the newspaper to him, he'll have to ask around.
"Excuse me, sir." Ren stopped a passing pedestrian who looked to be a businessman of sorts. "Sorry to bother you, but I wanted to ask about an event with the Champion Duelists. Would you happen to know where I could sign up?"
The man didn't seem to be in a rush and considered his question, "Ah, you must be talking about the upcoming training event. From what I heard, the Palais Mermonia handles registration. Though I'll warn you now, they're strict about the pairing requirement."
Ren's stomach dropped slightly. "Pairing requirement?"
"Minimum party of two. Has been since they announced it." The man shrugged. "Something about liability, or so the paper said. You'll need a partner before they let you anywhere near the actual sparring."
"Of course…"
'So that part wasn't a lie.'
He thanked the man, and he went on with his day.
Ren took a moment to think of his predicament. Almost everything about Rose was most likely fabricated, but this one point had turned out to be completely true.
'How annoying.'
Now came the real problem. Even if he wanted to sign up, he wouldn't be able to due to lacking another member, and having no idea where the Palais Mermonia actually is.
He needed to get some understanding about the city first, something he no doubt would have done beforehand had he not been hypnotised.
After walking a while longer through the city, he spotted an interesting building. It had what looked like a pigeon with a hat as a logo just above the entrance.
Reading a sign at the front, he found the place was called the Steambird. A place where they make and sell newspapers.
'Well that's definitely convenient.'
The inside was busy with people moving about and chatting. Ren walked over to one of the stands and bought the latest newspaper to see what was up.
Bringing the paper outside, he found a bench to sit on and skimmed through the contents.
He didn't know what he really expected; it was literally just a newspaper.
Inside were updates about Fontaine's economy, something about missing people, a weird prophecy—
Then something interesting caught his eye.
[ Lady Furina Spotted Wandering City Streets, Outskirts! Third Sighting This Month! ]
'So that's what the locals call Focalor. Lady Furina, huh?' A picture of the archon was printed on the paper, a well-dressed woman with unique eyes. 'To think their god would be casually walking the streets.'
He really hoped he wouldn't come across her.
Reading through it, he found that Furina had been seen walking through various areas in the city and even further in the wilderness of the nation. The article suspected that she might have been doing an investigation of some sort, but even they were wary of digging further.
No matter how much they desire news and information, meddling in the business of a deity was an entirely other matter.
He kept reading for a bit and sadly found nothing regarding the Champion Duelist training. From his memory, it shouldn't be happening too soon, so he would have time to figure things out.
Finding the Palais Mermonia wouldn't be too hard, but the real trouble would come from finding a suitable partner.
He set the paper aside into his Shadow Storage and stood up. A feeling of hunger was slowly growing in his stomach.
'Archons, when did I last eat?' He rubbed his stomach. After everything he went through the past few days, and after the success of the Shadow Courier, he decided that he would treat himself to something special.
He was going to find a fancy restaurant to clear his mind and eat his worries away.
Surely the people would know about good places to eat more than anything.
Above all, he was quite curious what Fontainian cuisine would taste like.
/ — /
'This is amazing!' Ren smiled dreamily as he took a bite from his Barbeque Ribs. It was plated with some vegetables and mashed potatoes, but that paled compared to the explosion of flavor the meat had.
His table was covered in many more plates of food and desserts, earning some envious gazes from others in the restaurant.
Plates filled with desserts such as Fruity Trio, La Lettre a Focalors, and Coffee Bavarois. Along with actual food such as Poissonchant Pie, Boudin Noir aux Pommes, and many more.
Ren didn't even mind the cost of all of this.
It was nice to splurge once in a while.
'I'm sorry, Mom, but what's the point of having money if I don't spend it?'
He grabbed a spoonful of the Coffee Bavarois next, letting it sit on his tongue for a second before immediately following it with another bite of ribs.
A mix of sweet and savory hit his taste buds, and he allowed himself to be lost in the sea of flavors.
He gained a few stares from other tables. Either from his lack of dining etiquette or the sheer amount of food that he was devouring.
Ren paid no mind to their stares and decided to try the Poissonchant Pie. The whole fish heads in the dish threw him off a little, but his doubts went away the moment he took a bite.
This was definitely a step above Liyue food.
'Sorry, Liyue, my taste buds just like this more.'
Before he could continue indulging in his gluttony, a voice made itself known to him.
"Ren!"
He turned his head, with his mouth still full, to see a familiar face. Well, not face per se, as it was covered, but it was an energy he recognized.
A Fatui Cicin Mage walked up to his table with a smile.
"Katarina, I didn't expect to see you here." He set his fork down and wiped his mouth. "Have a seat."
"Don't mind if I do." She took the seat across from him, eyeing the sheer volume of food on the table with amusement. "I actually spotted you earlier. Wanted to come say hi, but had work to do."
'Work, huh?'
"Well, since you took time from your schedule to visit me, help yourself to some food," he said, gesturing to all the plates.
Katarina nodded eagerly and shamelessly filled a small plate with almost half of the desserts.
'She was probably told by her superiors to come here and figure out what I'm up to.' It was quite obvious. While her actions weren't particularly alarming, he wasn't going to let his guard down.
Not after everything with Rose.
But Katarina was good company regardless of her reasons for showing up, and there wasn't much reason to be cagey about something as mundane as a training event.
"So, what brings you to Fontaine?"
"I just heard about the Champion Duelist training thing and figured I'd give it a shot."
"That tracks." She said with a smile, as if she predicted that would be the case. "You seem like a person to chase thrills."
"I don't know about that." Ren shrugged. "But my main goal is really to get a spar with Clorinde. From what I heard, she's the strongest Champion Duelist there is."
Now that got a reaction from her.
"That is bold. Clorinde isn't exactly the easiest person to approach." She eyed him from under her mask, a grin forming on her face. "But I suspect anything less than her wouldn't really give you a challenge, right?"
"Exactly."
Solenne had given him a peek into the skill and strength of a Champion Duelist.
He knew that not all were as powerful as her. But given that Solenne was retired, that meant he fought and nearly lost to a washed Champion Duelist.
What would one in their prime look like? Especially the strongest.
He'd already fought Tartaglia decently, able to injure and keep up with the Harbinger. The strongest Champion Duelist shouldn't be all that different.
Compared to a few weeks ago, he had grown much stronger.
Even if he wouldn't win, the experience would give him much needed pointers to improve his own skills.
Katarina took another bite from the desserts. "So who's your partner? You need another person to enter the event, don't you?"
Ren's expression soured immediately after she asked the question.
"I had one… It didn't work out."
"I see…" The shift in his tone wasn't lost to Katarina. "What exactly—"
"Lady Furina?!"
The shout tore through the restaurant from somewhere near the front counter.
Ren choked on his food as a powerful, negative presence made itself known to the room.
'The fucking Hydro Archon?!'
/ — /
Katarina
Katarina turned toward the shout along with everyone else in the restaurant.
'Lady Furina?'
It was hard not to spot the woman.
Even with her short stature, she was draped in an oversized coat that did nothing to hide her signature hairstyle and glowing blue eyes.
The Archon's disguise was something that would get Katarina thrown out of the Fatui if she ever did something similar.
Lady Furina's appearance was definitely unexpected, but nothing she should worry about.
She was just another lowly low-ranking Cicin Mage having lunch. Nothing about her presence or circumstance was significant enough to draw an Archon's attention.
Still, the sheer hilarity of the 'disguise' made her chuckle.
'Why would she even bother with such a thing? She could just use her Archon powers to hide herself, couldn't she?' Similar stories from other nations told of other Archons changing their forms and concealing their presence. There was doubt in her mind that the Hydro Archon couldn't do the same.
But then she remembered that this was Furina she was dealing with.
'Of course. Theatrics.'
Lady Furina had a well-documented love of spectacle, and getting recognized in a disguise this ineffective was, in its own way, probably exactly the kind of dramatic scene she enjoyed.
Katarina's thoughts were soon proven right. Not even a second after her identity was discovered, Furina threw the coat aside and greeted the people with a dramatic bow.
People from all over the restaurant rushed forward to greet, take pictures, or even just pray to their god.
In any other Nation, people would be more hesitant to rush to their god so brazenly.
But it seemed like Fontaine was a unique exception.
"I can't imagine having the confidence to talk like that in front of so many people," Katarina muttered.
She turned back to Ren to ask what he was about to say.
But she stopped.
Ren's entire body was frozen, his eyes opened wide as he stared across the restaurant. Looking closer, it seemed like he was trembling slightly.
"She's so strong… So much negative energy…" He muttered, barely audible to her ears.
'What's going on?'
Katarina had never seen Ren act like this.
Granted, she's only ever seen him in action in the Chasm. But she's heard and read plenty of reports of his actions and brutality in the mansion raid.
It described him as a force of nature whose entire purpose was to inflict suffering on all those who stood in his way.
To think that such a person could look so frightened was… scary.
Even she started feeling uneasy seeing the look on his face.
Ren caught himself and forced his attention back to his plate. Trying his best not to look in Furina's direction.
Suddenly, a cold chill ran up Katarina's spine.
She turned toward Furina's direction from pure instinct, and found the Archon's gaze fixed directly at her direction.
It wasn't just a mere stare, but a gaze filled with an extreme intensity the Hydro Archon had never showed before.
'Shit! Is she looking at me?!' Katarina's body went into instant fight or flight. But looking closer, Furina's gaze wasn't directed at her at all.
Instead, it was to the person she was sharing a table with.
The stare held for a long moment. Even though the stare wasn't directed at her, Katarina still felt the weight of it secondhand.
An Archon's gaze couldn't be a good sign.
A child near the counter worked up the courage to ask Furina for a photo. This seemed to snap her attention back to the crowd, and her serious expression turned back into a bright one as she continued indulging requests like nothing had happened at all.
Katarina turned back to Ren.
The man was still eating obliviously, completely unaware that an Archon had just spent several long seconds studying him from across the room.
She looked between him and Furina once more, a heavy feeling settling over her chest.
'Looks like things in Fontaine are about to get very interesting.'