[Furina: The prophecy... so this is the power of prophecy. No matter what, the scenes foretold will always manifest as reality.]
[Ningguang: Indeed. It's terrifying to think about—a group of people seeking to break the prophecy ended up becoming its agents, driving the foretold scenes into reality.]
[Mona: This is prophecy—a fixed future. Though the process may differ, the outcome is already sealed.]
[Furina collapsed into her chair: So the people of Fontaine are truly fated not to be saved?]
[The Knave: Lady Furina, I apologize to you. I questioned you many times before. You are a lady truly worthy of respect.]
[Ningguang: Miss Knave is also a dignified lady. Though the outcome is not a good one, your intentions are equally worthy of respect.]
[Nahida: I believe the true prophecy is not that single line passed down in Fontaine, but those four images.]
[Furina: Nahida, God of Wisdom, you must know a way to save Fontaine! What difference is there between that line passed down and the four images?]
[Nahida: There is indeed a difference. The circulated prophecy says that all Fontainians will dissolve into the seawater, leaving only the Hydro Archon weeping alone upon her throne. But the images contain no depiction of Fontainians dissolving—only the image of the Hydro Archon weeping upon her throne. And now, the image of you, Furina, collapsed upon the throne has already appeared, identical to the image on the prophecy tablet.]
[Nahida: I believe the images on the tablets are the original, firsthand account of the prophecy. The circulated prophecy was someone's interpretation after viewing the tablets. The interpreter believed that all people had already merged into the seawater, and that was why the Hydro Archon had collapsed upon the throne weeping. But what the video shows is that the Fontainians have not been dissolved. Furina was put on trial, her identity as a human was exposed, she lost everyone's trust, and she collapsed in despair upon the chair. The true prophecy is only that the Hydro Archon would collapse upon the throne—not that all Fontainians would dissolve. And now, all four corresponding images of the prophecy have already manifested. The prophecy has already ended, hasn't it?]
[Zhongli: As expected of the God of Wisdom. Her analysis is well-reasoned and convincing.]
[Nahida: I believe the people of Fontaine will be all right.]
[The Knave: Thank you for the God of Wisdom's blessing.]
[Furina: Thank you for the God of Wisdom's blessing.]
In the video.
Navia stood up. "We organized this trial precisely to prevent things from unfolding according to the prophecy. And yet the result is that we are advancing step by step along the prophecy's course, becoming its very agents."
Paimon looked to Lumine, utterly unable to make sense of the situation: "What should we do?"
Lumine shook her head: "I don't know either. It feels as though everything is being dictated by the prophecy."
Clorinde: "The prophecy will inevitably come to pass. Is this what it feels like... to be unable to escape fate?"
Paimon was also frightened: "If that's the case, then the scene on the fourth tablet may be about to appear at any moment now."
Just then, the Opera House began to shake violently. People scattered in all directions. A rift to the void opened in the ground, and a colossal whale burst forth from beneath the earth.
Neuvillette mobilized a surge of powerful Hydro elemental energy to form a barrier, attempting to block the whale, but the whale shattered it.
The whale circled once around the Opera House and then flew straight toward the citizens.
Neuvillette swiftly attacked but failed to draw its attention.
Just as the whale was about to crash into the civilians, Tartaglia, clad in his Foul Legacy Transformation, burst forth from the water. He used abyssal power to intercept the whale. Neuvillette and Tartaglia joined forces and drove the whale back.
[Tartaglia: How did I end up in Fontaine? Shouldn't I have been in Liyue, preparing to seize the Geo Archon's Gnosis?]
[Zhongli: Tartaglia is indeed candid.]
[Tartaglia: Isn't it obvious? I am an envoy of the Tsaritsa, and a member of the Fatui. All Fatui seek the Gnoses. The common people of Liyue may not know my objective, but Lady Ningguang and Lady Keqing surely do.]
[Ningguang: Mm. I am indeed aware of this.]
[Keqing: Ah, there was such a thing? I didn't know.]
[Ningguang: Keqing primarily oversees land development and management. She hasn't been heavily involved in matters concerning the Fatui.]
[Tartaglia: ...Fine.]
The All-Devouring Narwhal was driven back, and the crisis was temporarily averted!
Neuvillette explained: "That whale does not belong to Teyvat. It is a creature that perpetually sheds tears as it travels between the stars."
"It has been greedily devouring the energy of the Primordial Sea, growing larger and larger in the process. That is the reason why Fontaine's sea levels have been rising."
"And one day, the Primordial Sea will run dry. When that time comes, its target will be the people of Fontaine, for Primordial Seawater flows within the blood vessels of every Fontainian. That is why it came to the Opera House—because a great number of Fontainians are gathered here."
[Navia: In other words, if we can defeat this whale, Fontaine's water levels will return to normal, and the prophecy will be averted!]
[Clorinde: Theoretically, that is correct.]
[The Knave: Our House of the Hearth will also take action and join in this battle.]
[Navia: I sincerely thank you for your help.]
[The Knave: You needn't thank me. Fontaine is my homeland as well.]
[Tartaglia: Thank me too! In the video, it looks like I've already been fighting that whale for a very, very long time. And I even used my Foul Legacy Transformation—that takes a huge toll on my body!]
[Navia: Thank you, Mr. Tartaglia. Thank you for your help.]
[Charlotte: Thank you, Mr. Tartaglia...]
Navia urgently spoke: "We only drove it back just now, didn't we? Does that mean it will come back up to the surface again before long and treat the people of Fontaine as its food?"
Neuvillette nodded: "That is correct. This whale has long desired to come to the surface. The reason it has only appeared now for the first time is likely thanks to that Fatui Harbinger."
"Judging by his exhausted state, he must have been locked in combat with the whale for a very, very long time."
Paimon: "That whale and Tartaglia have some past entanglement, it seems. I never imagined it would come in handy here."
"In that case, now that we know the whale is the source of the disaster foretold in the prophecy, if we can find a way to defeat it, wouldn't that stop the prophecy from coming true?"
Neuvillette shook his head: "There is no longer enough time."
"Unbeknownst to us, it has already consumed far too much Primordial Seawater. Its power is now too immense. Even if all of Teyvat were destroyed, this whale might very well still remain alive, and simply move on to another world."
Navia: "I absolutely refuse to accept this. We've done everything within our power, and now the culprit has finally appeared right before us. To be told at this moment that we face an invincible enemy... this is too painful."
Lyney: "Such a grand opening ought not to meet such an ending."
Clorinde: "No matter what, I will fight it to the very end."
Paimon: "So what the prophecy foretold... is really going to happen after all?"