Honkai Star Rail: I Became the World Tree — Chapter 27

Chapter 27: Furina’s Panic

In the pristine confines of the Sky Garden, an area strictly designated as Furina’s exclusive parking lot, a tragic sight awaited the Hydro Archon. A sleek flying skateboard lay on the polished marble floor, brutally snapped into two jagged pieces.

“My flying skateboard! What happened to you!”

Furina hurried over, dropping to her knees beside the wreckage. She hovered her hands over the broken halves, her expression twisting into a mask of pure, unadulterated distress. After confirming that the board was completely beyond repair, her sorrow instantly ignited into blazing fury.

“My skateboard! Who did this? Who broke it?!”

Just as her dramatic wail echoed across the garden, Neuvillette happened to be passing by. Hearing the commotion, the Iudex of Fontaine stepped into the courtyard, his heavy boots clicking rhythmically against the stone.

“What is the matter, Lady Furina?” he asked, his tone as calm and measured as a tranquil lake.

Furina shot up to her feet, pointing an accusing finger at the ruined machinery on the ground. “My flying skateboard is broken!” she declared unhappily.

Neuvillette frowned slightly, his gaze shifting to the debris. “I will ask around. I had specifically arranged for the Gardes to secure this area.”

With a brief gesture, he summoned the Gardes member stationed at the perimeter. The guard rushed over, but upon seeing the destroyed skateboard, the poor man was instantly paralyzed with shock.

“How can this be?” the Gardes member stammered, his face draining of color. “Aside from Lady Furina and yourself, Monsieur Neuvillette, absolutely no one else has entered the Sky Garden today. I have been guarding the main entrance the entire time.”

Neuvillette studied the guard’s face in silence. The man’s sheer panic and confusion were entirely genuine; he was not lying. By process of elimination, someone highly skilled had stealthily infiltrated the Sky Garden, destroyed the skateboard, and vanished without triggering a single alarm.

Furina puffed out her cheeks, crossing her arms. Her originally bright mood had completely evaporated, replaced by a storm of indignation.

“Neuvillette, investigate this immediately! Find out exactly who dared to destroy the prized flying skateboard of the Hydro Archon, Focalors!” She stamped her foot for emphasis. “I want to send him straight to the Fortress of Meropide! Lock him up for life!”

Neuvillette let out a quiet, almost imperceptible sigh before offering a gentle correction. “According to Fontaine law, damaging the personal property of the Hydro Archon warrants a maximum sentence of five years in the Fortress of Meropide. Lady Furina, we cannot legally lock the culprit up for life.”

A suffocating silence fell over the garden. Furina stared at him, filled with immense frustration at being contradicted by his rigid adherence to the law yet again.

“Five years then!” she huffed, waving her hand dismissively. “Just go and have the Gardes investigate quickly. I want to judge this criminal personally!”

Neuvillette offered a polite, shallow nod. “Understood.”

Having issued her absolute decree, Furina spun on her heel and marched toward her private quarters, determined to wash away her terrible mood with a hot bath and a long sleep.

Upon returning to her lavish bedroom, Furina’s gaze softened as it landed on Baron Graindorge. The little creature was sleeping soundly on a velvet-cushioned stool, his round belly exposed to the air.

She slumped onto the edge of her bed, burying her face in her hands. “Waaah… my flying skateboard. That was a gift from March.”

In her heart, Stelle and March 7th were her truest friends. While she maintained good relationships with people like Neuvillette and Clorinde, the massive wall of status always stood between them. They were her subordinates; they respected her, protected her, but they could never truly just be her friends. Only when she was swept up in the chaotic, carefree energy of Stelle and March did she feel genuinely happy.

While Furina sat there wallowing in her dejection, a sudden, unnatural breeze swept through the room, blowing the heavy balcony window wide open. A shadowy figure materialized in the center of her bedroom.

Startled by the abrupt intrusion, Furina scrambled backward, instinctively summoning her wooden staff.

“Hydro Bullet!”

A condensed sphere of high-pressure water shot rapidly across the room. The intruder, Venti, made absolutely no attempt to dodge. He had come here specifically to apologize, having accidentally snapped the strange flying board while taking it for a joyride earlier. He had only waited until now to show himself because Neuvillette and the Gardes were swarming the area.

The heavy water sphere slammed directly into Venti’s chest, lifting him off his feet and sending him flying backward out the open window.

A few tense seconds passed in dead silence. Then, two hands gripped the window ledge, and Venti awkwardly climbed back into the room, shaking the water from his green cape.

“Don’t be nervous, Focalors,” he said with a sheepish grin. “It’s me, Barbatos.”

Hearing the intruder casually address her as Focalors and then claim the title of Barbatos, Furina’s mind flatlined before rebooting into absolute overdrive.

Barbatos? If her memory served her right, that was the true name of the Anemo Archon of Mondstadt.

Could it really be him?

A cold sweat broke out across her back. Playing the role of a god in front of ordinary humans was one thing, but performing in front of an actual, living Archon? Furina realized with terrifying clarity that this was likely the most critical moment of her entire five-hundred-year performance. If she made a single mistake, if she showed even a fraction of weakness, this Anemo Archon might instantly see through her facade and realize she possessed no divine authority.

Taking a deep breath to steady her racing heart, Furina fell back into her practiced rhythm. She lifted her chin, adopting a mask of supreme, haughty confidence.

“It is you. Long time no see, Barbatos.” She pointed her staff directly at him. “However, intruding into the Hydro Archon’s private bedchamber in the dead of night is highly illegal. I shall judge you!”

Venti immediately threw his hands up, backing away with a nervous laugh. “Eek! Wait, wait, wait, Focalors, let’s talk this through!”

Seeing a fellow Archon cower before her, Furina felt a massive surge of internal relief. It worked. By taking the aggressive initiative and threatening him with judgment, she had forced him onto the defensive, making him lose his composure first.

“Speak,” she demanded, her voice dripping with theatrical authority. “What business do you have sneaking into my domain so late at night?”

Venti rubbed the back of his neck, looking unusually guilty. “That… your flying skateboard down in the garden… it seems I accidentally broke it.”

The carefully constructed illusion of the dignified Hydro Archon shattered instantly. Furina exploded, lunging forward and grabbing Venti by the collar of his bard outfit.

“What?! You were the one who broke my flying skateboard?!” She shook him violently. “Fine! You actually dare to come back here and admit it!”

Without missing a beat, Furina turned her head toward the heavy oak doors and screamed at the top of her lungs. “Guards! Guards! Neuvillette! Clorinde! Come and catch this intruder! I want to sentence Barbatos to death! Death penalty! Death penalty!”

Fortunately, Venti was quick-witted. With a subtle flick of his wrist, he summoned a dense wall of swirling wind that coated the interior of the room, completely isolating the sound and preventing her frantic shouting from reaching the hallways outside.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry, Focalors!” Venti pleaded, trying to pry her hands off his collar. “I’m here to make amends! Just tell me where you bought that flying skateboard, and I’ll go buy you a brand new one right now.”

Furina stopped shaking him, glaring daggers into his eyes. “Buy one? My flying skateboard is the only one of its kind in all of Teyvat! How exactly are you going to compensate me for a priceless treasure?!”

Venti blinked, realizing the gravity of his mistake. “Then you tell me how to compensate you. Let’s hear your terms.”

Furina released his collar and took a step back, her eyes narrowing as she scrutinized the Anemo Archon. Her mind raced. Having a genuine Archon owe her a personal favor was an incredibly valuable asset. In the unpredictable future, there might come a day when she desperately needed the power of a real god to maintain her charade or protect Fontaine.

“Just consider it as you owing me a massive favor,” Furina declared, crossing her arms with a smug hmph. “I will find you when I have a need for it. How about that?”

Venti’s face lit up, clearly relieved to avoid a diplomatic incident. “Good, then it’s settled! I still have some urgent matters to attend to, so I’ll be going now. Call me if you need anything. See ya!”

With a cheerful wave, Venti hopped onto the window ledge and threw himself out into the night sky.

Furina rushed to the balcony, peering down at the quiet, empty streets of the Court of Fontaine. Seeing no sign of him, she pulled the heavy windows shut and locked them tight.

Turning back to the room, her legs finally gave out. She collapsed onto the edge of her bed, her entire body going limp as she gasped for air.

‘Phew… I actually managed to fool him,’she thought, pressing a hand to her chest to calm her hammering heart.’That was the first time I’ve ever had to play a god in front of another god.’

Little did she know, her performance had not been as flawless as she believed.

High above the city, sitting casually on the towering outer walls of Fontaine, Venti looked down at the sprawling architecture. His gaze drifted from the Palais Mermonia to the distant, glowing structure of the Opera Epiclese.

The corners of Venti’s mouth curled up into a knowing, slightly melancholic smile. He had noticed the complete absence of divine energy the moment the water sphere struck him.

“So that is how it is, Focalors,” Venti murmured to the wind. “You are playing a rather big game.”

He swung his legs over the edge of the wall, looking toward the northeastern horizon. “Oh well, I should handle the matters in Mondstadt first. Tomorrow I have to go to Starsnatch Cliff with Lumine to summon Dvalin. I hope it goes smoothly.”

With a final glance at the sleeping city of water, Venti dissolved into a gentle, formless breeze, leaving Fontaine far behind.

The next day arrived with a heavy, metallic grind.

Deep within the suffocating darkness of the Great Mine in Belobog’s Underworld, chaos had erupted.

Stelle, March 7th, Bronya, Seele, and Dan Heng stood back-to-back, their weapons drawn as they fought against a surging tide of Automatons pouring in from the direction of the Robot Settlement.

Just hours ago, an Underworld mining team had struck the motherlode, discovering the largest, most concentrated Geomarrow vein in Belobog’s history. The news had spread like wildfire. A massive faction of desperate Wanderers grew envious of the discovery and mobilized to seize a share of the profits by force, leading to a violent clash with the entrenched miners.

Stelle and the Astral Express crew had rushed down to the Great Mine to provide support and de-escalate the situation.

But as they pushed deeper into the cavernous tunnels, the nature of the battlefield shifted. At first, they had only encountered scattered groups of aggressive Wanderers. Gradually, the human combatants were replaced by platoons of ancient machines.

The Automatons seemed to be acting on a specific directive to suppress the riot. As soon as their optical sensors locked onto any active combatants—human or otherwise—they would launch a coordinated assault.

However, their combat logic was strangely measured. The moment a targeted fighter was disarmed or lost the physical ability to fight, the machines would immediately cease their attack and move on to the next threat, using strictly non-lethal suppression tactics.

“They just keep coming!” March 7th yelled, firing a volley of six-phased ice arrows to freeze a charging Hound unit.

“Then we break them faster than they can deploy!” Seele shouted back.

Gripping her massive scythe, Seele blurred into a streak of violent purple energy. She sprinted forward, closing the distance in a fraction of a second, and materialized directly in front of a towering Automaton Direwolf. With a fierce battle cry, she swung her heavy blade down, aiming to cleave the mechanical beast’s armor wide open.