Chapter 81: The Sole Exception

“You wish to inform your Empress of his existence, don’t you?” Furina suddenly asked.

The servant did not reply, yet the thought had indeed crossed her mind. Tomorrow, she would face judgment; once the trial concluded, freedom was not guaranteed, so whether she could act on it remained uncertain. Still, if the opportunity arose, it would be best to reveal Nidhogg’s existence to the Empress of Ice.

“That’s an interesting idea, but I advise you not to speak of it. This is a dream, after all, and He is here—so mentioning Him occasionally poses no problem,” Furina paused briefly, her gaze growing faintly dangerous, her tone playful as she continued, “But if you were to mention Nidhogg in reality, to speak of his existence… who knows what curious things might happen.”

“Do you care to guess why he would choose such a human-sounding name as Lu Mingfei? Why does he always keep a human form? Why, in your elemental vision, does he appear only as black? Hehehe, let your imagination run wild, Arlecchino. The truth may not be far from reach.”

The servant’s expression darkened.

She began to understand why Furina dared to reveal Lu Mingfei’s true name, Nidhogg. This being was the abyss itself; his name could not be uttered, or it would invite forbidden contamination.

Moreover—

If she remembered correctly, forbidden knowledge, merely by existing in the mind, could inflict great harm. Now she knew Nidhogg’s true name—the most forbidden of all. It was hard to imagine what influence it would have upon her awakening.

No, that’s not quite right!

Furina knows Nidhogg too, so forbidden knowledge must reside in her mind as well, yet she is unaffected.

Why?

It made no sense!

The servant raised her head, gazing at the pitch-black dragon, and a new hypothesis formed in her mind.

Nidhogg was a higher abyssal lifeform; his existence differed fundamentally from lesser beings. When someone called his true name, he could selectively ignore or infect them, which explained Furina’s earlier claim that mentioning him here was harmless.

His existence was pure black, pure abyssal life—utterly distinct from the golden creations that, once infected, could only instinctively pollute the world.

Moreover, Furina had said Nidhogg had only recently awakened and remained relatively weak—a juvenile dragon king. Juvenile! Even in infancy, he could draw her spirit across worlds into this dream realm. Was this the power of a top-tier abyssal entity? If he grew further, perhaps he could drag all life in Teyvat into dreams!

“You’re warning me out of kindness?” the servant suddenly inquired.

“Ah, I’m afraid Lu Mingfei might mistake the Empress of Ice for a mere passerby and kill her, which would seriously upset Teyvat’s balance.” Furina’s mood was somewhat uneasy—after all, she was improvising wildly—but as a renowned actress with over five centuries of experience, her composure betrayed no flaw. She even continued to patch her story, adding, “In the vast universe, there exists a powerful organization: the Oblivion Society. Within it stands the Everfire Mansion, whose master, Lord of the Netherflame Prison, possesses the strength to destroy planets with ease, walking the path of destruction.”

Her voice abruptly ceased. She clapped her hands, making a crisp sound, then spoke in a bizarre, playful tone, “But, the Lord of the Netherflame Prison is dead. Do you know how he died?”

“How did he die?”

“He encountered a traveler—a stronger one. He blocked the way. The traveler cared nothing for identity; with a single casual stroke, he destroyed the Lord of the Netherflame Prison and the Everfire Mansion vanished with him.”

Furina walked to the nearby greenery and gently plucked a verdant leaf. As she crushed it slowly in her palm, she continued, “In the eyes of the mighty, the weak have no place, not even if that weakling can destroy worlds. To the strong, he remains weak.”

“Is that so,” the servant replied softly, watching the fragments of the fallen leaf.

She understood at last: in Lu Mingfei’s eyes, even the famed Empress of Ice might be a weakling. He was a deep, powerful abyssal being; to him, the Empress and ordinary mortals were perhaps little different.

I am alive only because Focalors desires me as a player in her games. The Empress cannot die, for she is the scenery, the backdrop of the drama. Perhaps that is the truth of it all.

She sighed.

After a brief moment, the servant recalled Neuvillette, the Water Dragon King of Fontaine—a being who treated Furina well. Though he seldom spoke kindly, his actions were decisive; beneath his grave exterior, he hid a gentle heart.

Another dragon king…

Why does the Water God have such affinity with dragons? Shouldn't the Ice God have the advantage against dragons?

‘She believes me! She truly believes!’ Furina watched the servant’s reaction, her smile growing calm, the burden in her heart easing.

Though tonight was the eve of the trial, Furina could not simply tell the servant, “I’ve arranged a script; follow it.” That would seem clumsy, perhaps even ruin the persona she had so carefully crafted as the mastermind behind the drama.

She needed another way to solve the servant’s problem—one that would conquer her in the domain Furina knew best, leaving her unwilling to act rashly.

Furina understood the goals of the Empress and the Fatui, and could guess at certain secrets—some things she was forbidden to know, but not entirely ignorant. The Fatui sought the Heart of God; as Fourth Harbinger, the servant could not be unaware of the Nibelung. Thus, Furina chose to use Lu Mingfei’s uniqueness as intimidation.

Lu Mingfei appeared as pure black in elemental sight, and in dragon form. The servant could not help but think of the Nibelung; once she did, and understood, Furina’s goal was achieved.

“Aren’t you afraid he’ll destroy Teyvat?” the servant suddenly asked.

“I’m not afraid.”

“Why?”

“Because I watched him grow up.” Furina drew herself up proudly, her confidence absolute. Perhaps her earlier words were somewhat false, but this—this was the unvarnished truth. She spoke with undeniable certainty.

As she finished, she could not help but recall how Lu Mingfei had first approached her. Back then, he was just a wretched child, living worse than most, crying at night—sometimes crying together with her.

Hmph! He was so childish!

At that time…I was just playing along! He started crying first! It’s all his fault!

The servant observed Furina’s reminiscing expression. With her powerful analytic ability, she could affirm with certainty that Furina was not lying; she truly had watched Lu Mingfei grow from a very early age, step by step, to the present.

She didn’t know the exact length of time, but it was most likely within the past five centuries, for Lu Mingfei was still a juvenile dragon king—if it had been longer, he would no longer be juvenile.

If I’m not mistaken,

She truly has no divine power…

Furina possessed no godly strength, yet she connected with a dragon king from another world. Their relationship was exceptionally close.

I’ve figured it out! Furina must have contacted the abyssal dragon king through some means during his weakened state, and in order to save that boy, she sacrificed all her power. Thus, she earned his true heart and affection, at the cost of losing her power as Water God.

If so, it explains why the violent, arrogant dragon king holds Furina in such high regard.

From what I’ve learned of Lu Mingfei these days, he seems an exceptionally brutal dragon king. His gaze is always proud and terrifying; whenever he looks at me, it’s full of malice. If not for Furina, I’m certain he would have killed me without hesitation, again and again.

No doubt, Nidhogg is a tyrannical monarch. Only by saving him at a crucial moment could Furina earn his favor.

Such a brutal king—

When called by his true name, even if the caller were the Empress of Ice, he would kill without hesitation. Even if he could not kill her, the Empress would suffer dreadful contamination.

The Empress must never learn his true name. His name is a curse of the abyss.

A curse from a savage king!

The servant exhaled deeply, gazing at the black dragon whose flames scorched the land, then at gentle, lovely Furina, and couldn’t help but remark, “To inspire such devotion from that savage dragon king, you truly deserve to be Water God. Perhaps…he really does love you.”

“Hmm?” Furina tilted her head, sensing something amiss, and instinctively explained, “I think you may have misunderstood. Lu Mingfei is actually a very good person—kind, cheerful, lively. He’s only a little biased against you.”

Kind… cheerful… lively…

The servant felt as if her heart had suddenly been grasped tight. It was a wrenching feeling.

She couldn’t help but grumble inwardly: Is your ‘kindness’ the amiable smile he shows while threatening me? Is your ‘cheerfulness’ the smile he wears after killing me? Is your ‘liveliness’ the lively grin he reveals while slaughtering me?

Don’t I know what sort of person Lu Mingfei is? I’d never been killed by anyone in my life—he’s the one who has done it, repeatedly. The feeling of death, I will never forget; nor will I forget how he looked while killing me.

Aside from his bias, I really can’t see any goodness in Lu Mingfei. He is a savage monarch, and only in front of Furina does he show a different face.

Only you are the exception, Furina!

(End of chapter)