"Fontaine's secret?" Furina instinctively rejected the idea the moment she heard it. "What secret could there possibly be? Fontaine doesn't have any secrets! Nothing could escape the eyes of the God of Justice, Focarlos!"
She forced a laugh as she spoke, but the laughter rang hollow, strained, and uncertain.
Aether looked at her with quiet seriousness. "What I'm about to tell you is true. But this isn't the place to say it. Let's move somewhere else."
Without waiting for her reply, he gently retook Furina's hand—and in the blink of an eye, the two of them appeared inside Dvalin's lair.
At that moment, Dvalin was sleeping. The corruption from the abyss had left him drained and sluggish for days. The poison gnawed at his mind, and if Venti didn't arrive soon to help, it was only a matter of time before the dragon lost control and became a wrathful beast again.
Suddenly, Dvalin sensed something. Someone had entered his domain.
He opened his eyes and saw a golden-haired boy and a petite girl in a deep blue gown standing before him.
But then… Dvalin's gaze fixed on Furina. This girl… was she a god?
He was puzzled. He couldn't feel any elemental power radiating from her, but there was a familiar presence about her. It reminded him of Venti.
A god without power? Since when did such strange beings exist in Teyvat?
Furina, meanwhile, stared up at the enormous dragon before her. Her legs were already shaking, her balance unsteady. Her voice trembled as she asked, "W-What is that thing?"
Aether looked toward Dvalin with a warm, familiar smile. "The East Wind Dragon, Dvalin—one of Barbatos' trusted companions."
Then he turned his gaze to Furina, his expression playful. "You should know who he is, right? Don't you have a certain… intelligence network under your name?"
Furina blinked, her thoughts racing—until the realization clicked into place. "It's him. Yes, I've read about him." Her voice was calm on the surface, but inwardly, she was still reeling. No amount of stage experience could have prepared her for this. This wasn't a courtroom or an audience—this was something entirely real, and overwhelmingly grand.
She had always prided herself on her poise and composure, but now? She was just a powerless girl facing a living legend. Her voice, when she spoke again, was noticeably thin. "But I've never seen him with my own eyes…"
Dvalin listened to the two, his glowing eyes narrowing slightly. He shifted, his massive wings rustling faintly as he spoke. "Why have you come here?"
Aether didn't answer him immediately. Instead, he turned to Furina again, gently reassuring, "You don't need to speak. Let me handle the talking. Once I've finished here, I'll tell you everything—Fontaine's truth included."
Furina opened her mouth, hesitated, then managed to mutter, "Fontaine doesn't have any secrets…"
Aether didn't respond to that. He simply turned back to Dvalin, his expression becoming calm and serious. "I'm here to help you. I know the poison still festers within you. The remnants of the Abyss' corruption haven't fully faded… but I can purify them."
Dvalin's eyes widened slightly. "You… can?"
"I can," Aether said firmly, stepping forward. "You've carried this burden long enough. Let me carry some of it with you."
Furina stood silently behind Aether, watching him as if seeing him for the first time, not as a performer, a traveler, or even a hero. But as someone… real. Someone who could stand tall before dragons and gods alike, yet still find time to comfort a fragile girl like her.
For the first time in years, Furina didn't feel like she had to pretend to be anything at all.
Dvalin narrowed his eyes in doubt. "Impossible. The wounds I bear can only be healed by the purest wind. Unless Barbatos himself descends, no one else can do it."
Aether chuckled lightly. "That may not be entirely true. Just don't resist—let me try. I promise it won't hurt."
Dvalin huffed, the corners of his maw curling into a skeptical grin. "Bold words, young one. Even if it were possible, how do I know you're truly here to help?"
Aether sighed inwardly—he figured this might drag on if he didn't show something concrete. So instead of explaining further, he simply lifted his hand and let power bloom around him.
An aura shimmered outward as Anemo, Geo, Dendro, and Hydro elements manifested in succession, orbiting him in harmony.
"I'm not like the others," Aether said softly, meeting Dvalin's gaze. "I don't have a Vision, but I can use elemental power freely. And besides that, I possess a purification ability—something special. If you don't trust my words, then test them. Give me something corrupted."
Dvalin stared at the glowing motes of elemental energy hovering around the Traveler. Their flow was seamless—natural, as though the elements themselves responded to his will.
After a brief pause, the dragon finally relented, lowering his massive head and extending a single crystalline tear, one still tainted by Abyssal corruption.
Aether reached out and cradled it in his palm. Closing his eyes, he summoned the purification within him, the warm light threading through the tear like sunlight breaking through storm clouds.
Slowly, the crimson-stained darkness faded, replaced by a flawless clarity. The tear gleamed like a diamond beneath moonlight.
Dvalin's expression shifted. "You… truly can do it."
"But why?" the dragon asked again, confusion still lingering in his voice. "Why would you help me?"
Aether let out a small, helpless laugh. "I suppose I'm moving a bit too fast, huh?" He turned his head slightly, glancing at Furina, who still stood behind him, wide-eyed.
"But I have my reasons. Things are happening quickly—too quickly. If I don't act now, there might be no second chances."
"I'm a friend of Venti and the people of Mondstadt," Aether explained calmly as he directed his energy. "I sensed the crisis and decided to step in on his behalf. Is that good enough for you?"
Dvalin no longer questioned him. In silence, the dragon turned slightly and exposed the corrupted wound along his side—a place where the Abyss's venom still lingered like a brand of pain.
Without wasting time, Aether raised both hands. Elemental light shimmered across his palms as he began the treatment.
He channeled his inner strength, the gentle flow of Dendro and Hydro weaving around Dvalin's form—healing, soothing, revitalizing. Around each element, he carefully formed a barrier: Anemo wrapped around Dendro, and Geo around Hydro, isolating their interactions so no unstable reactions would occur.
Then, as the final touch, Aether summoned the Purification Light, a power unique to him, flowing directly into Dvalin's wound.
Warmth bloomed.
Dvalin exhaled softly, like a massive bellows letting go of a burden long carried. "This… is comforting. Like basking in the wind of a spring morning…"
And beside them, Furina stood frozen in place.
From the moment Aether had touched the tear, she hadn't looked away. The way he spoke, the calm power he held, the impossible healing he performed—it all struck her like waves crashing against brittle stone.
Her voice trembled inside her heart.
This golden-haired traveler… he knew far too much. The kind of knowledge that even the most secretive Fontaine agents wouldn't dare touch.
He's showing me all this on purpose, Furina realized, fingers tightening at her side. He wants me to trust him. He wants me to believe that everything he says next… is the truth.
But the secret of Fontaine—
No.
There is no secret.
It must never be revealed. It must never be acknowledged.
A cold, unfamiliar fear gripped Furina's heart.
What if… what if he says it?
What if everything is exposed?
All the effort she poured in… the roles she played, the burdens she bore, the people of Fontaine she swore to protect… Would it all be for nothing?
Her mind spiraled.
And as she drowned in her thoughts, Aether had already finished treating Dvalin.
He turned back to Furina and stood silently in front of her. She didn't even notice—her eyes were unfocused, lips parted ever so slightly, lost in a swirl of denial and dread.
Aether raised a hand and gently waved it in front of her. "What are you thinking about?"
Furina startled, blinking rapidly. "N-Nothing! I… Fontaine has no secrets!"
Aether sighed, a breath tinged with both patience and sorrow. "It's alright. Furina, the plan worked. Focalors's grand performance… it succeeded. You don't have to keep pretending anymore. Not with me. Just rest for a moment, okay?"
Furina straightened her back. Her voice took on its usual theatrical flourish as she waved a hand dismissively. "I don't know what you're talking about. I, the great Focalors, have devised no such plan."
But her words wavered.
Aether looked at her with a gentle expression. The kind that wasn't filled with judgment, but something deeper—understanding. He reached out, brushing his fingers softly across the corner of her eye, wiping away a tear she hadn't realized had fallen.
"Is that so?" he whispered. "Then tell me, Lady Furina… why are you crying?"
Furina froze.
She hadn't even noticed the tears until Aether gently pointed them out, and now… now she realized her face was wet again.
"I…" She opened her mouth to speak, deny, and act, but Aether gently raised a hand, silencing her with nothing more than the weight in his gaze.
"Let me speak. Just listen."
His voice was soft, but it cut through the air like a blade.
"The legend that the people of Fontaine dissolve into water—it's true. And the reason is simple: Fontaine's people, including you, Furina… were never human to begin with."
Furina's breath caught in her throat.
"You were all born from the primordial element of Fontaine, the Oceanids. Beings of clarity and emotion, not flesh and blood. It was the first Hydro Archon, Egeria, who made it so. She was moved by her kin's yearning—your yearning—for humanity's freedom, their passions, their lives. And so, she answered your plea."
Aether's eyes didn't leave Furina's. There was no cruelty in them—only truth.
"But what she did… angered Celestia. The Sustainer of Heavenly Principles judged it a defiance of the natural order. And so divine punishment was cast upon Fontaine."
He took a slow breath.
"From that day on, every soul born in Fontaine was branded as guilty from the moment of their birth. The sentence? To dissolve, to return to water—return to what you once were. No matter how long it takes… the verdict is always the same."
Furina stood as if the world beneath her feet had vanished. Her legs trembled, her eyes wide, her breath shallow.
She wanted to scream. Deny it. Laugh and call it absurd. But some part of her—deep down—had always known.