"What do you mean by that?"
Focalors, shaken and confused, pressed him for an answer.
Idris only chuckled lightly.
"Human desires aren't complicated."
"Strength.
Being with loved ones.
Warmth.
Wealth, power, reputation.
The relief of achieving a dream.
Or simply the pursuit of beauty, food… or immortality."
"Furina doesn't need a title. She was already loved across Fontaine — Water God or not."
"And she doesn't need immortality. Whatever method you used to keep a mortal alive for five hundred years… that's between you and her."
"In short, to complete this plan, you sacrificed yourself — but she sacrificed five centuries of her life."
"She wasn't a god.
She wasn't chosen.
She was just a human who happened to fit your script."
"That's why I said your 'reward' is laughably empty."
"For a girl like her, the greatest blessing would've been a dependable partner and a real family."
"Not this half-hearted 'freedom' you think is enough."
As Idris spoke, every line hit like a hammer.
And every hit made Focalors' expression grow paler.
She opened her mouth, defensive.
"Even if… even if freedom and honor aren't enough—"
"Don't pretend everyone is so noble, Water God."
Idris' voice sharpened.
"I'll tell you the same thing I told Nahida."
"You think everyone is kind. But reality is cruel."
"You forgave Scaramouche, a man who committed countless sins—
Yet when I first became Grand Sage, all of Sumeru wanted me dead."
"Why?
Because I wasn't their god?"
"Or because gods conveniently have favorites?"
Focalors froze.
Idris continued, step by step dismantling her defenses.
"We are mortals, not gods. We can't afford to chase idealism when the future is uncertain."
"Do you know how far five hundred years is for a human? That's ten lives' worth of time."
"When you chose Furina, she was still just a normal girl. No power. No Vision. No divine protection. Just… a good actress."
"You don't know how many nights she broke.
You don't know how many times she forced herself to smile."
"And for FIVE HUNDRED YEARS, she didn't even have a TREE HOLE to talk to."
"In Sumeru, kids whisper their troubles into tree hollows so that the forest spirits will hear."
"But Furina? She had no one. Always alone."
"And in the end?"
"Her 'reward' is… what?
A sigh of relief?"
"That's why I said—"
Idris leaned in, eyes cold.
"You're hypocritical. Any objections?"
The words were detonations.
Every sentence struck Focalors straight through the heart.
Her body trembled.
Her lips parted.
But she couldn't force out a single argument.
In the real world, Nahida was listening to everything through the dream channel.
She let out a long, helpless sigh and rubbed her temples.
"Oh dear… it's happening again…"
This scene was painfully familiar.
Idris had scolded her in this exact same way back in Sumeru.
A brutal verbal beating from a man who knew exactly where to strike.
Even Focalors — a water goddess — wasn't spared.
Despite her admiration for the previous Water Archon, Nahida couldn't deny it:
Idris' words were true.
And harsh as he was, his scolding had always led to growth.
Meanwhile, in the real world, Furina blinked at Nahida.
"Lady Nahida? You made a strange face. Is something wrong? Was the pastry too sweet?"
"N–Nothing… just thinking about something," Nahida replied quickly, forcing a gentle smile.
Back in the dream—
Focalors finally spoke.
Barely.
"You… you think I'm that wrong…?"
She looked like she'd lost all strength.
Even standing straight took effort.
And when Idris delivered the final blow—
"I'm sorry, but I won't halt my plans."
"I could clean up the chaos I created."
"I just don't feel like wasting the time."
"Besides—Fontaine isn't my country.
I owe it nothing."
"So I'll use my way.
A way that benefits Sumeru.
That's all."
Focalors' eyes widened.
Then the tears came.
The Water Archon — who didn't cry during her own trial,
didn't cry when she faced a divine blade,
didn't cry when she chose to sacrifice herself—
Now she cried.
Because Idris had shown her something she'd never let herself consider:
Furina had suffered more than she ever realized.
And she, who prided herself on protecting her people…
had failed to protect the one girl who served her most faithfully.
Tears slipped down her perfect, divine face.
A single drop hit the dream's ground like a falling star.
The entire space rippled like an ocean wave.
Idris sighed softly.
"…Don't cry. You're just a fragment of a soul. Cry too much and you'll disappear."
Focalors glared at him with reddened eyes.
"You bully me… I can't even go complain to anyone…"
"Oh? Want to complain to other gods? At this rate, you'll need evidence."
He mimed Nahida's famous gesture — the "I saw everything" camera pose.
"If you like, I can take a picture for you."
Focalors choked.
Half crying, half laughing.
She hated him.
But she also couldn't deny—
He was absolutely right.
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