Fontaine's Court.
After finishing lunch, Mona bid farewell to Editor-in-Chief Eufrasie. She hurriedly made her way to the Palais Mermonia to pay off her 20,000 Mora debt, then immediately rushed to the Quartier Lyonnais.
The line was incredibly long—would she even make it in?
Mona was doubtful.
But seeing that the queue was moving at a decent pace, she felt slightly reassured.
Having just enjoyed a hearty meal, she was full of energy. Standing in line? No problem!
It wasn't just her own curiosity driving her—Eufrasie had encouraged her to come, too.
At the time, Eufrasie had said: "We're in the information age now, Ms. Mona. We can't be primitive folks who only know how to write and send letters, can we~?"
Primitive folks!
Those three words hit hard.
Mona suddenly felt like some kind of mountain-dwelling aborigine.
As she waited in line, she pondered.
Logically speaking, if the world had undergone such a massive change, her master should have told her about it!
Why hadn't her master mentioned anything?
As someone deeply involved in astrology, Mona, now with a clearer understanding of the world, knew the reason:
You must not speak the names of the powerful directly!
Those who reached a certain level of strength could hear when their names were uttered.
So, even in her thoughts, Mona replaced "Lu Heng" with: That One.
Thinking about the owner of the card shop—That One—Mona felt a sense of resignation.
What did her master matter?
What did being the Thrice-Great Astrologer mean?
What did being one of the founding members of the Hexenzirkel count for?
Confined to a single world, her limits were already set. How could she possibly possess the ability to casually observe That One?
"Following this line of thought..."
Mona began to understand why her master hadn't said anything.
Perhaps her master was also considering many things—like how the world had changed, and what preparations she should make.
"Speaking of which, have the other witches of the Hexenzirkel reacted to this at all?" Mona wondered.
Probably the same as her master, right?
Shaking her head, Mona snapped out of it.
Why bother thinking about them?
She should focus on herself first.
She definitely didn't want to be a primitive!
As time passed, Mona gradually reached the front of the line.
Peering into the shop, she immediately spotted two identical figures.
One was watching the TV mounted on the wall, while the other was appraising cards for customers before happily cradling a phone, seemingly sending messages.
Mona wasn't surprised—she'd already heard that the Hydro Archon had split into two.
She continued waiting.
Just as she was about to reach the counter, the content playing on the TV suddenly changed.
The art style was unusual but oddly captivating.
Mona, along with many others, found herself staring curiously.
Those with phones immediately looked down at their screens.
Then, out of nowhere, Mona saw herself on the TV!
"…Huh?!"
She was stunned.
Why was she seeing herself?!
"Genshin Impact—that's the name! It's a game! Mr. Lu extracted the original future of this world and turned it into a game!"
"What? Extracted the original future and made it into a game? As expected of the great and generous Mr. Lu!"
"Let me see… Oh! It's an adventure game about searching for a sibling! Mr. Lu is showing Teyvat from their perspective?"
"I wonder if I'll see myself in this game!"
"Whoa… This feels really weird!"
Listening to the chatter around her, Mona felt an odd mix of emotions.
Just as she was at a loss, Furina suddenly called out to her.
"Hey, you're… Mona, right?"
Though phrased as a question, Furina's tone made it clear she already knew the answer.
How could she not? Mona looked exactly like her in-game counterpart!
Snapping out of her daze, Mona noticed everyone's eyes on her and sighed internally.
"Greetings, Lady Furina."
"I actually ran into a live game character!" Furina exclaimed, delighted.
Mona: "…"
What an awkward thing to say!
How was she supposed to respond to that?
"May I ask… what is this?" Mona inquired curiously.
"Oh!" Furina explained enthusiastically, "Mr. Lu extracted the future of a Teyvat where his card shop didn't exist. That's a mouthful, isn't it? But you get the idea!"
"He turned that extracted future into a game, so everyone can see what major events would've happened!"
"Really?" Mona's eyes widened.
Peering into the future wasn't unusual.
But the extent of what one could see depended on their power.
That One had turned the future into an entire game—a uniquely grand way of presenting it!
Considering his identity and unfathomable strength… Mona found it somewhat expected.
However, what puzzled her was why she had been singled out.
Did she play some significant role in the original future?
"You don't have the gear or a phone yet, do you?" Furina asked.
"No," Mona admitted.
"Better buy them quick—the game's about to release. This is just a preview," Furina said.
Compared to others, she was even more excited about this game!
The original future!
Lu Heng had already told her everything that day.
She already knew the Traveler would eventually arrive in Fontaine and what would happen there.
Thinking about her own predicament, Furina couldn't help but smirk.
Once Fontaine's people played through the Fontaine arc… what would their reactions be?
She couldn't wait to see who'd still dare question her identity as the Hydro Archon!
Originally, Furina had been gathering her Mora reserves.
But now?
No rush!
Once everyone knew about the original future…
Heh.
She'd make her grand entrance, shattering the prophecy crisis with her own hands!
Wouldn't that be absolutely epic?!
Wouldn't the people of Fontaine—who'd just been pitying her—be utterly stunned?!
Just imagining the scene made Furina tremble with excitement, her lips curling into a grin.
Mona watched Furina's inexplicable enthusiasm with confusion.
What was she so happy about?
Focalors, standing nearby, simply smiled knowingly.
As Lu Heng would say, this condition could generally be diagnosed as: delusional fantasizing.
But…
Focalors had a rough idea of what Furina was planning.
And she supported it.
After all Furina had endured, letting her have some fun was the least she deserved.
Soon, Mona purchased her gear and phone.
She had 260,000 Mora left.
Standing at the counter, Mona honestly considered using astrology to divine her fortune.
But when it came to personal gain, the stars would abandon her.
Reluctantly, she abandoned the idea.
After some thought, she decided to keep 20,000 Mora as emergency funds.
The remaining 240,000 Mora?
All in!
Half a minute later…
Mona sighed.
First and second-tier cards—were they useless?
Not exactly!
But for someone like Mona, who'd been taught by a master, they offered little help.
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T/N:
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