"Champion Duelist Clorinde," Arlecchino purred, "I should have known it would come to this."

Clorinde stood on the deck of Arlecchino's ship in silence. The rain fell heavily, drenching the both of them in an instant. Her sword was held to the side in a challenging posture. Her purple ringed eyes sparked with Electro, the air snapping and crackling as a haze of purple static formed a halo around her.

"You have one chance to tell the truth," Clorinde narrowed her eyes, "What are you doing here, Lady Arlecchino?"

Arlecchino smiled wanly, "Oh I just happened to fancy a cruise-"

"Lie," A brilliant line of Electro seared across Arlecchino's vision, narrowly missing her eyes as she tilted her head back. Arlecchino slid around Clorinde's strike fluidly, her leg snapping up in a high kick to catch Clorinde on the back of her head.

"How rude. You won't even hear what I have to say?" Arlecchino laughed.

Clorinde ducked without looking, drawing her pistol and twisting around to fire. Arlecchino weaved through the bullets and flipped backwards on one hand, landing perfectly on the rails of the ship.

"I do not wish to fight you-"

"Another lie," Clorinde lunged at her, sword darting swiftly, "You are smiling as you fight."

"I have always acted for the good of Fontaine!" Arlecchino sneered, dropping all pretenses of civility, "What has that pathetic excuse of an archon ever done to deserve your devotion? She can't even save herself!"

Clorinde matched her blow for blow, each strike furious yet precise. It was no wonder Clorinde had gained such renown. They disengaged briefly, circling each other as they caught their breath.

Clorinde glared at her, sweeping her sword to gesture at the fierce winds and waves around them, "Is this what you call good for Fontaine?"

"The Archon will be slain by the maddened Dragon!" Arlecchino growled and spread her arms out to the side, "The Authority of the Sea will return to its rightful owner! Don't you see? I am the salvation of Fontaine!"

For a moment, Arlecchino paused, intently examining Clorinde's reaction. The strongest Champion Duelist, this stoic warrior. Perhaps Clorinde was the one she had been waiting for. At last, after she had waited for so long, finally Clorinde would be the one who could understand-

Whatever she saw in Arlecchino's eyes made Clorinde shudder visibly. The Champion Duelist stared at Arlecchino in a manner that was all too familiar- that look of horror mixed with pity- Disgusting, it was so disgusting. That disgusting expression made Arlecchino just want to rip off her face-

"What a disappointment you are, Clorinde," Arlecchino grounded out, "I thought too highly of you after all." There was no point in toying any further with a weak puppet that only knew how to serve a useless archon.

Flames burst into existence around Arlecchino as she activated her Vision and charged.

Wriothesley knew he had a bad habit of getting in over his head. Perhaps the fact that he'd managed to get himself exiled to the Fortress of Meropide in the first place was a sign that he wasn't that great at avoiding bad decisions.

"I didn't see this coming, that's for sure…" Wriothesley laughed wryly to himself under his breath.

The Hydro Dragon reared up before him in all its glory. It opened its maw, revealing rows and rows of hooked fangs each the size of a man. A blue glow built up in the back of its throat as a ridiculous amount of Hydro began to condense into a beam.

Wriothesley punched a blast of ice towards the Dragon, catching it on the side of its jaw before it could launch another devastating blow. Its hill-sized head crashed onto the sands and it let out a roar so powerful that it almost felt like a physical attack.

This was not exactly what he'd been planning to do when he'd woken up this morning, Wriothesley reflected idly.

The island was literally falling to pieces around him, the cliffs and shoreline riddled with craters. It was a small mercy that this island seemed to be uninhabited...well, except for the Hydro Archon who was probably trapped somewhere nearby.

Bursts of Electro and Pyro could be seen over the sea where Clorinde and the Fatui Harbinger were locked in a deadly battle on the Fatui ship. Wriothesley hastily ducked as a Hydro beam swept overhead, carving off an entire section of beach. The Dragon really had not appreciated his last attack.

"I could do with a cup of Lapsang Souchong right about now," Wriothesley muttered wistfully, "Engaging in a brawl really doesn't suit you, Monsieur Neuvillette-" Wriothesley dodged again, using a blast of Cryo to propel himself away as a ball of Hydro burst from under the sands. He grimaced as a stray jet of Hydro caught him, slicing a thin cut across the side of his jaw.

How long could he keep this up?

"As long as I need to," Wriothesley growled to himself. He clenched his fists defiantly, frost radiating around him. He stood alone with his head held high as he faced off against a Dragon.

Wriothesley didn't consider himself a praying man. Furina was really more of a mascot than of any practical help most of the time. As for Neuvillette, Wriothesley wasn't exactly going to worship a guy who helped him review budgetary expenses, even if he was usually quite generous in providing support to the Fortress of Meropide.

There was absolutely no divine intervention he could rely on here. It really was a terrible idea to keep fighting here, Wriothesley considered, but sometimes you just had to make bad decisions when the alternatives were even worse.

Wriothesley panted harshly as he punched at the Dragon again. The section of jaw that he'd managed to freeze earlier fell off, restored immediately by water drawn from the sea.

"Now that's just cheating," Wriothesley huffed, "We should meet in the desert for round two."

Something squeaked near his feet. Wriothesley's brows went up as he spotted a translucent blue…otter? The hydro creature looked at him and then waved a paw back towards a nearby crater. There was…a white ahoge bobbing about in the crater?

Lady Furina peeked out at him and then ducked for safety again. She looked terrified as he had expected…but she also wasn't trying to run away. Perhaps Neuvillette's belief in her wasn't entirely sentimental after all.

"Ahem," he heard Furina's voice resonating from the water around him, "I, Focalor, the God of Justice-" she began formally.

"Can you cut to the chase?" Wriothesley cut her off immediately, "I can't exactly keep this up forever."

"Why, you-! Er, I- I need an opening! To get close to Neuvillette!" she stammered, "A-As close as possible!"

Wriothesley was already moving before she had finished speaking. He took a deep breath, pouring all his focus into the strongest Cryo blast he could muster. He surged towards the Hydro Dragon-

-and punched!

The air cracked as Cryo raced across the Dragon's head, turning it into an ice sculpture. By the time Wriothesley landed on the ground, he could already see cracks forming in the ice as the Dragon struggled furiously. It wouldn't be long before the Dragon got free and resumed its attacks.

Furina stumbled out of the crater and tugged his arm urgently, "Throw me at him! Hurry!"

Wriothesley had a lot of questions. They were all out of time though, so he simply nodded and picked up the Hydro Archon under an arm.

"Hey! How dare you hold me like a piece of luggage, you oaf! I am Focalor, the God of- aaaAHHHH!"

Wriothesley grinned and fell back onto the beach. As he stared up at the stormy sky, he began to laugh. Tossing the Hydro Archon like a sack of potatoes…now that wasn't something he got to do everyday.

Dissolving…

He was dissolving into the tainted Ichor…

His memories and form were coming undone. A few centuries were nothing but a mere droplet compared to an ocean of eternity and he was lost in it. His name was…had he already lost that too? HIs name was…

*** cried from its bed of chains. Golden Ichor weeped from its broken form, pooling incessantly into a once-treasured chalice.

"Why?!" *** demanded, thrashing fruitlessly. It watched helplessly as ***** poured out Ichor to the people. This was madness. It was completely unforgivable to taint the Sea with Sin, to pour away their humanity as if it was worth nothing- and perhaps it truly was worth nothing after all if this was how they were going to survive.

Wrath. Vengeance. Rage. That was all that was left in the end. Every waking moment was filled with agonizing torment, every dream was a constant reminder of the foolishness of man. He was drowning in their Sin, choking slowly but surely on his Rage.

His name, if only he could remember his name… what was his name?

"I am sorry, old friend," ***** replied, "You must forgive me, this must be done! I must avert the prophesied crisis! I must save my people! Can't you just learn to understand?"

"Betrayer!" *** raged, unable to accept these words, "Foul Usurper! You are all guilty Sinners! The Sea shall judge you all!"

"...tte!"

A soft voice of sweet water, of purest clarity, entered his mind.

"I am sorry for what has happened. I am sorry for all that you've lost," she said, "Most of all, I am sorry that I cannot allow you to pass judgement upon them, not as you are now, at least."

*** roared for it could no longer remember how to speak. There was nothing left inside it except for Wrath, Vengeance, and Rage.

"I can't bear to see you in pain. You've been suffering for far too long," the voice of water said, "Listen to me, ***, listen carefully. You will see much in the human world…"

Her voice was familiar, where had he heard it before?

:"Cast away your name and take up a new mantle," she said, "Let go of the past for your own sake, for I will call you-!"

Yes, she was the one that had given him his name. Who was she? The memories were there, her face was just out of reach. If he could just dissolve further before this chance was lost forever...this chance to finally understand…

"...villette!"

But no, someone was calling for him. He had to turn away from the sea of memories, he had to return to her, for she was the one who had named him-

"LISTEN TO ME, NEUVILLETTE!"

Neuvillette opened his eyes. He was falling in midair. A pair of arms was wrapped around his neck, their owner screaming for dear life. Reflexively, he wrapped his arms around her and controlled the Hydro in the air, floating them both safely onto a sandy beach. Around them, large clumps of falling seawater burst apart, splashing into the sea as rain.

"Neuvillette!" Furina pounced on him the moment he set her down, "My Neuvillette!"

Furina had lost her hat at some point and her clothes were covered in wet sand, but she didn't seem to care at all as she buried her head in his chest as if she was determined to meld into him. She clutched him tightly by the waist like she was afraid he would disappear if she let go.

"Lady Furina…?" Neuvillette awkwardly held her by the shoulders. Furina did many things that he couldn't understand but she had never done this to him before as far as he could recall. What was the appropriate manner in which to act here?

"Oh, just hug her back already," Wriothesley sighed.

The Duke lay flat on the sand nearby, catching his breath. He sat up, pale with exhaustion, but grinning slyly as he watched them. There was a flash of Electro and Clorinde appeared on the beach as well. The Champion Duelist gazed briefly out to sea before she turned back to nod at him. She leaned heavily on her sword, limping as she walked towards them. Clorinde had been fighting hard it seemed, her clothes singed and burnt here and there, but she was also smiling.

Neuvillette stared at the two of them. There were no words to describe the rush of sheer gratitude and fondness he felt in that moment, a distinctly warm feeling that he could not fail to recognize. But before he could attend to them…

Furina pulled away from him bashfully. She pushed the tips of her fingers together anxiously. Her eyes darted around, unable to meet his gaze, "M-My dear Iudex," she began nervously, clearly with no idea as to where she was going, "I, um, w-well-"

She squeaked and flushed bright red when Neuvillette hugged her, resting his chin lightly on her head.

"I am glad to see you too, Lady Furina," he said.