A/N: After finishing all of Fontaine's archon quests, as well as Furina's story quest, I knew that I wanted to write an exploration of sorts that revolved around Furina. I find Furina's character quite simple and complex at the same time – being arguably one of the most 'human' characters that Genshin has told a story about to date. I'll admit, I didn't quite like Furina at the very start – but gradually, as I got to know more of her story, I became more and more invested in the character that, ironically, seemed to show so much by doing very little – or rather, just by being herself.

Despite being pretty satisfied with the story that we got in game, I also felt like there was just so much untapped potential in there – all of Furina's five hundred long lived years, her mentality over her eternity, and the ever growing amount of human emotions that she would've had to inevitably experience and overcome in that entire time. I felt particularly inspired to give those untold stories some light – so I decided to bring them to life myself.

This is a story of Furina's long lived life, her "justice",and the convictions that will carve out the path to Fontaine's future.

So without further ado, please enjoy my imagination of Furina's story!

It is often said that "human beings wear many different masks". On the surface, one could be the happiest and most content man in all of Fontaine – and yet, behind closed doors, that happiness can just as easily be replaced by the likes of dejection and self-doubt, rearing its ugly head when no-one else is looking. A beautiful woman at a social gathering could be giving you nothing but praise on your appearance – but behind that pristine and practiced smile of hers, it is entirely possible that she only has thoughts of jealousy.

Such is the way of man – human beings see only what they want to see – and show only what they want to show.

But to Furina, she didn't think this was necessarily true, or even a bad thing. A mask implied intentional deception – a facade. That there was something to hide from the greater world at large.

Happiness. Content. Satisfaction. There can be no doubt that humans feel all of these things. But on the other side of the same coin, there can be no happiness without sorrow. No contentment without disappointment, or pride without shame.

Innately, everyone who walks the earth understands these things. People feel positive things, as well as negative things – but it is often left unspoken. And why wouldn't it? Given the choice, would any rational person intentionally choose to focus on the emotions that we dislike the most?

It is therein that lies the crux of the matter – more often than not, the decision to hide these emotions away from the prying eyes of others are not originating from thoughts of deceit – but rather, a subconscious human nature to focus on the side of the coin that shines more brightly. An innate desire to be accepted – and so to that end, we choose to show the selves that others would want to see. So while the saying, "human beings wear many different masks" does hold some merit, to Furina, that saying is just as akin to saying, "human beings have many different feelings".

And in the end, should that not be how humans should be? To live their lives the way they should – to grieve, to feel happiness and sorrow and everything in between…

Is that not the "justice" that humans have created for themselves?

…

"Lady Furina! Glory to Lady Furina!"

"That's her fiftieth successful prosecution in a row this year! Can she do no wrong?!"

"Of course not, she's the God of Justice after all! Her feats and abilities go far beyond us mere mortals!"

"I'm so glad I attended today's trial at the Opera Epiclese today, if only to gaze upon Lady Furina's radiance!"

Amidst the banter and eruption of the crowd within the Opera Epiclese, Furina stood proudly amongst the prosecution seat, eyeing her subjects. She had good reason to, after all; having easily dismantled the defendant's shaky case, she had successfully identified and cornered the guilty party, as indicated by Chief Justice Neuvillete's verdict. And, as her subjects had so faithfully and dutifully identified, this was her fiftieth successful prosecution just this year alone.

"My loyal Fontainians!" she loudly exclaimed, shushing the crowd quickly, all of them eager to hear what their god had to say to them. "See here how the Archon of Justice operates within the Opera Epiclese! As long as you hold faith in me, and the justice that I tout, no evildoer that lives in my land shall go unpunished!"

"Hear, hear!" The crowd erupted once again, endlessly drowning out the room with chants of her name. "Lady Furina! Lady Furina!"

With one last gaze, Furina took a dramatic bow, before turning around and exiting the main opera theater – all the while hearing the chants of her subjects. Even as she went through the doors that led to her private residence, she could still hear them in the distance. It wasn't until she had retired to her own living space in the opera house, did those chants of her name seem to die down.

"Whew…that's another successful day, today…" Furina said softly in the privacy of her own chambers, taking a seat on her bed. "Thank goodness today's trial was relatively straightforward."

She fell backwards onto the bed and felt her body slowly sink into the mattress, before taking a deep breath and exhaling, her thoughts idly pondering the words that the crowd in the Opera Epiclese were saying.

Had it really been already fifty prosecutions that she had done just this year alone? It was hard to tell; every day, no – every year, for her, seemed to just blur on by…she felt like she had long since lost count.

But though her body did not physically age throughout the years, her mind, it seemed, was growing weary. In the very beginning, she was able to pack her schedule with a multitude of events befitting the Archon of Justice – a morning meet and greet with her citizens, followed by a exhilarating trial in the afternoon, and finally wrapping up with a private meeting with researchers from the Fontaine Research Institute after dinner. These days, however, one simplistic trial in the afternoon was enough to tire her out for the rest of the day. Lying down on her bed, she could feel all of her mental fatigue catching up to her all at once, with nowhere left to go. Maybe if she just closed her eyes for a little bit…

All dreams of that were dashed, however, when there came an abrupt knock on her door, unexpectedly disturbing her rest.

"U-uwah!" Furina let out, quickly opening her eyes and sitting up. "W-who is it?!"

"Lady Furina, congratulations on your successful prosecution today." The voice was slightly muffled behind the door, but there was no doubt that it was Neuvillete's distinctive voice. "I am just checking in to make sure that our meeting later today is still proceeding as planned? I can accompany you back to the Palais Mermonia if needed."

"O-oh, yes, of course!" Furina quickly followed up, only now recalling that she had indeed set up that meeting a week ago. "I'll be right out!"

"Very good, then. I'll wait for you at the front of the Opera Epiclese."

With those final words, she could hear Neuvillette's footsteps retreating, indicating that she was again, finally alone.

"Haah…guess I don't have time for rest, after all…" Furina mumbled, cursing the fact that she still had more to do in her schedule.

With one more sigh, she got up from her bed and headed to her bathroom, deciding to splash some water on her face and wake herself up.

'Ugh…if I look as tired as I feel, then I must look terrible…' Furina thought to herself while drying her face with a towel.

But when she finished drying her face and looked up at the mirror…

"!"

All she saw was her usual, carefree smile – the one she reserved for when she was out in the general public.

"Huh? My face…"

She moved her hand to touch her face as if to make sure that it was still there – that it was, indeed, her own face still. Her mouth opened, and her lips moved – but although it was clear to her that she was not consciously smiling, in the mirror, her likeness definitely reflected the image of her smiling back.

She contorted her face in various manners in an attempt to get her reflection to change its countenance; but no matter what expression she made, no matter how she maneuvered her face so – the Furina in the mirror kept that same smile. Frozen, unwavering – as if it was the only expression that it knew how to make.

She was so preoccupied with her smiling reflection, in fact, that she initially failed to hear the rising noise in the background. But when she finally did, it seemed to ring out in numerous echoes, encapsulating the entirety of the Opera Epiclese itself.

"?! What's that sound?!" Furina asked, turning around, a little panicked.

The sound kept on building, getting louder and louder – until it sounded like it was right outside her door.

"!"

Only then, when it had reached her door, and spilled out into her own room, did she realize that it was the sound of the crowd again, still chanting Furina's name.

"Lady Furina! Lady Furina!"

The sounds got louder and louder, bouncing off of her walls, echoing into her chambers, and filling up her ears. Even when it reached her in the bathroom, the sounds would not stop. They built up and up, getting so loud, that Furina could no longer even hear her own voice.

"A-Agh! Stop!" Furina covered her ears and crouched to the ground, trying to block out the deafening sound, but to no avail. "Stop screaming my name!"

The sounds became so loud, so dense, so heavy – until it seemed to ring in her mind itself. She fell to the floor, suffocating under all of that weight. But even then, it did not stop. The chants of her name continued to pour over her body, covering her entirely – until the seemingly infinite sea of echoes had swallowed her up, her people's admiration and expectations having fully indulged in her at last.

And when Furina had been fully consumed by the masses – when they had finally pulled her into the ground, her very being lost to the incessant echoes and boundless adoration – all that remained of her at the very end was just her reflection in the mirror, eternally smiling.

Now, and forever more.

…

"AH!"

Furina's eyes jolted open, her body in a cold sweat.

"A…a dream?" Furina said to no-one in particular, blinking herself awake.

Slowly, she sat up, vaguely aware that she was indeed in her usual bedroom. Judging by the light that was streaming in through the window, and the sounds of the birds chirping outside, it seemed to be around mid-morning. At the very least, the time that she woke up was relatively normal.

"A nightmare, then…been getting more of those lately, it seems," she muttered annoyingly. With a brief sigh, she lazily fell backwards back onto her pillow, opting to just stare aimlessly at her ceiling.

For a brief moment, she entertained the notion of just staying like that for the rest of the day. For just a day, to just do nothing…what if?

She had never really considered herself the lazy sort – quite the opposite, in fact – she felt like she liked to keep herself busy, if only to just keep her mind from drifting off too much in her own thoughts these days.

But undeniably, there were some days like this, where she felt like the best thing to do today was…nothing. To just stare at the ceiling all day, to think about nothing but tasty desserts, and to carelessly waste the day away…everyone felt like doing that once in a while, right?

But, well…

She let out a brief sigh, mentally cursing herself for imagining something so blissful knowing full well there was absolutely no way that she could do such a thing. For one thing, she definitely had appointments scheduled for today. But perhaps the bigger problem…

She recalled the last time when she voluntarily gave in to her spontaneous whims, and decided to not make a public appearance for a couple of days. Or, rather, she recalled the rumors that had spread in the short amount of time from when she was absent and enjoying her brief, yet unannounced all the same, respite.

'Did something happen to Lady Furina?' 'Did she get sick?' 'Wait…but surely Archons don't get sick, right?' 'You're right, that can't be true…unless she got some disease that only gods can get?' 'You think Lady Furina already passed away and the one standing up there is a fake?' 'What if Lady Furina got replaced by a guardmek…'

…And so on.

That must've been over four hundred years ago at that point. After that…she rarely withdrew from the public eye unless it was telegraphed to the public well in advance. She needed complete and utter faith from her people – anything less was unacceptable. Back then, she had naively put her own selfish desires above her mission – a hundred years had just passed after all, and she thought she would celebrate on her birthday…

Although, wait – come to think of it…when was her birthday again?

Actually…what day was it even today?

…

For a moment, as Furina vacantly stared up at her bedroom ceiling, her mind tried to focus in, identifying the correct date for the day that she was currently experiencing.

…Ah, but what did it matter?

Shaking her head, she sat up on the bed, tossing aside all of these trivialities seemingly as quickly as she thought of it. The reality was, when her birthday was or what day it was were such trifling matters to her at this point. As someone who had lived over five hundred years, and could very well live another five hundred more – she had stopped counting by the day, or even by the year, long ago.

Besides…

Standing up, she walked to her bedside window, looking down upon the Fountain of Lucine and the few early risers surrounding it from her vantage point at the top of the Opera Epiclese. She could see the people and couples tossing in coins, no doubt praying for a healthy baby, as tradition had endured.

For five hundred years, Furina had watched over and guided the people of Fontaine, such that traditions like these could be passed down faithfully – so that people like the ones at the fountain now could smile and pray for a brighter future, happily. It had been five hundred years, yes – but it was not the number of years that mattered in and of itself. It was what happened during that time, and the flawless reputation that she had built up since the very beginning, which was important. And in any case, that same reputation would need to be forever maintained, so the length of time that had passed mattered not – only that it would continue to be so. So whether it was five centuries, or ten, or a hundred – to Furina, her behavior deviated little.

In the end, the acknowledgement of the passage of time did nothing to help Furina – it didn't help her be more beloved by the people, nor did it bring her one step closer to circumventing the prophecy; it didn't even help her know how much longer she had to continue on, as disheartening as it might've been. The only thing it did, if Furina thought about it for too long, was…

For the second time this morning, she shook her head again, chasing those thoughts away. She couldn't complete that sentence, or finish that thought – she was to make a public appearance in an hour's time, after all.

Somberly, she took one last look down at the people who adored her – at the people that she was sworn to protect – before turning around and going to the bathroom to get ready for the morning trial.

When she took a look at herself in the mirror, her reflection appeared normal – she pinched her right arm slightly, just in case.

But even though her reflection appeared fine, and she didn't seem to be in a dream –

"Hmm…I don't look so good today, do I?" she murmured softly.

She had slight bags under her eyes, and her hair was a bit more ruffled up than usual. But it wasn't just her physical appearance – today of all days, her heart felt slightly heavier, and her motivation seemed to be wavering just the slightest bit more than usual. All a consequence of the dream, perhaps – she didn't get that great of a night's rest.

It was just one of those unfortunate days; she didn't look great, and she didn't feel great.

Except – when has that ever mattered?

…The answer was never. …It had to be never. Furina couldn't settle for anything else.

Moving her lips upwards, she donned on her usual, fabulous smile, and her reflection in the mirror was none the wiser for it – showing that there was, in fact, not a worry in the world for herself. And after putting on a little bit of makeup, combing her hair down, and donning on her naturally pristine outfit, it was clear to all of Teyvat itself that Furina was her usual, whimsical self, as omnipotent and clairvoyant as ever.

…They say that "human beings often wear many masks". But Furina, being a god, and not a human, meant that those words did not apply to her. After all, she had no facade to cover up – no deception to conceal. She was Focalors, the Archon of Justice; and the only emotion she felt was omniscient contentment and satisfaction, as all gods do – knowing that once again on this typical, unassuming morning, she had naturally and successfully led Fontaine to the greatest "justice" that one can ask for.

Satisfied with her perfect appearance, she exited her room with her usual, carefree smile, ready to take to the stage once again as she happily faced another beautiful and exciting day.

"Now, then…what's on the schedule for today? Ooh, I hope there's time for dessert!"

A/N: That's all for now! A short introduction, but one that I wanted to use to set the tone for the chapters to follow.

Speaking of which, I do have a rough narrative structure that I am following, but because there's so much to cover, I'm definitely open to some suggestions on any events you would like me to write about. If you have any ideas or feel strongly about something, feel free to let me know!

Thanks for reading, and until next time!