Chat Group: Starting by Swapping Bodies with Elysia?

Communication wasn't an effective method, at least not now.

Narzissenkreuz—René, was a very stubborn and proud person. Beneath his calm exterior hid an unparalleled arrogance and obstinacy. He looked down on those who were inferior to him, stubbornly believing that only he could save the world.

And this was even more so after merging with the primordial waters of the Primordial Sea and the numerous consciousnesses within.

As a savior, he wouldn't stop, nor would he waver. Or rather, he couldn't waver.

Being able to maintain his consciousness within the primordial water, even becoming the dominant consciousness among the many wills within, all relied on his belief in salvation. If this belief wavered, it was hard to say whether Narzissenkreuz could maintain his current form.

"Even a god cannot hinder our grand undertaking of saving the world."

"However, facing a god as our first opponent after awakening is perhaps a necessary tribulation on the path to salvation."

"Being able to defeat Jacob is indeed commendable."

"But don't misunderstand, Hydro Archon. You are the challenger now!" His imposing voice, like a raging wave, echoed through the Primordial Sea, an immense power swirling around his giant form.

He held no fear towards Focalors, or even the concept of gods.

After all, if he had decided to save the world, wouldn't it be ridiculous to still fear gods?

"With your confidence, you indeed have the right to say such things."

[Furina] wasn't angered by his disdain, but nodded, hands on her hips.

Although Narzissenkreuz's plan wasn't the best, after much planning and the "Tree of Kabbalah" trial, he had transcended human limitations and was on the path to becoming a "god."

Moreover, merging with the Primordial Sea had granted him infinite vitality. As long as the Primordial Sea didn't dry up, Narzissenkreuz, standing here, couldn't be defeated.

Combined with his near-Archon level power, he was now among the most formidable beings, even among Archons.

And if his plan succeeded, it would be even more remarkable.

This hidden realm, in the game, was named "The Origin of the Microcosm," referring to Narzissenkreuz's state.

Once he completed his evolution, he would completely control the Primordial Sea, becoming a planetary consciousness like Gaia, or even higher.

By then, he would even possess power rivaling that of Phanes, the Primordial One.

But…

That would have to wait until his plan was complete—and whether René's will could truly bear such power and status.

But before that…

The blue and white-haired girl, looking up at the giant Narzissenkreuz, tossed the holy sword to Furina and chuckled, "To show my respect, I won't use the holy sword."

"?"

"Such an arrogant god." Narzissenkreuz's voice held a hint of anger.

The ideal of salvation was a clash of wills, a struggle of utmost effort.

One should exert all their strength, all their wisdom, all their courage.

Deliberately holding back, in his opinion, was undoubtedly a sign of disrespect.

"Foolish Hydro Archon, even if you do so, I won't hold back, not even a little."

In a way, the most effective weapon against Narzissenkreuz was the holy sword, capable of cutting through anything.

In the game's storyline, if the Traveler hadn't obtained it, the outcome against Narzissenkreuz wouldn't have been good. He could have easily worn them down—of course, if the Traveler had foolishly charged at him with the Dull Blade, the battle would have ended even faster.

But even though he recognized the threat of the holy sword, Narzissenkreuz still didn't think he would lose.

—However, Jiang Qiao's decision to abandon the holy sword did please him.

Saying he wasn't afraid of the holy sword—that depended on the wielder.

With the holy sword in the hands of an unknown Traveler, how could Narzissenkreuz, who believed himself to be the true hero, be afraid?

But if the holy sword were in the hands of a god… ahem.

"Mmm, arrogance might indeed be a bad habit."

"But it can't be helped."

The girl crossed her arms, a troubled yet serious expression on her face as she raised her index finger.

"If I used the holy sword, and cut such a large fellow into pieces, putting him back together would be too troublesome, wouldn't it?"

"Hey… that's too much!" Furina, watching her "self" utter such arrogant words with a calm expression, couldn't help but complain softly.

She admitted that she was usually somewhat flamboyant and occasionally arrogant—these traits wouldn't disappear even without the Hydro Archon facade.

But like this guy, saying such provocative words so naturally and calmly… even Furina couldn't help but feel her eyelids twitch.

Hey, aren't you a bit too skilled, performing beyond your usual level?!

It made Furina feel a sense of defeat, as if she had completely lost to this outsider, both as the Hydro Archon and as Furina.

"Be more low-key, low-key!"

Muttering softly, Furina looked at the giant creature, feeling slightly intimidated.

Although it seemed like a fight was inevitable, provoking him and not provoking him were completely different, right?

"Alright, alright…"

"Let's try that again."

"Let me think… I've got it!"

The blue and white-haired girl stroked her chin, thinking, then after a brief moment, looked up at Narzissenkreuz and said with a smile,

"It's okay, you're… weak anyway."

Her blue, divine eyes held no trace of disdain or arrogance, and neither did her words, spoken with a smile, as if she were simply stating a fact.

Furina's eyes widened—You call this low-key?!

He must be angry! He's definitely angry!

Narzissenkreuz's single eye widened, filled with rage.

"Hydro Archon, I will show you the price of arrogance!"

The calm primordial water turned into raging waves.

This was his domain.

But the next moment,

As [Furina] landed, the surging waves instantly froze.

Then, they began to solidify and spread, centering around her.

The boundless Primordial Sea, under the influence of this power, began to recede, replaced by a dome of azure crystals.

Narzissenkreuz's momentum instantly stalled.

He said in disbelief, "My power… it's being blocked?!"

Having merged with the primordial water, he could control its power to a certain extent and possessed infinite vitality.

This made him incredibly difficult to kill, unless he encountered a natural enemy like the holy sword.

However…

With the appearance of this thin layer of crystal, all his advantages vanished.

He could no longer sense the power of the Primordial Sea, and his infinite vitality was cut off.

All Narzissenkreuz had left was the primordial power and vitality within his own body.

"Pristine… Dome." A soft whisper broke the silence. Looking over, they saw the girl's smiling face and her following question:

"So, what are you going to do now?"

For Jiang Qiao, dealing with an enemy like Narzissenkreuz was never a problem.

Connected to the Primordial Sea, gaining infinite primordial power? Then just sever the connection!

Just like dealing with the Second Herrscher, in a way, Narzissenkreuz was even easier to deal with.

After all, even after being isolated, the Second Herrscher could still obtain Honkai energy through the Imaginary Singularity, requiring Jiang Qiao to contain her from multiple angles.

But Narzissenkreuz… once separated from the Primordial Sea, this giant body was just a rootless weed.

"..." Narzissenkreuz was silent for a moment, then raised his giant claw and swung it at her.

"Even without the power of the Primordial Sea, I can still defeat you!"

His deep voice held an unyielding will.

A savior wouldn't lose their courage just because they lacked some power!

Jiang Qiao wasn't surprised. He simply smiled and raised his hand.

A slender, gloved index finger collided with the giant claw—no, it wasn't a collision. The moment it touched the claw, Narzissenkreuz's movements froze, his giant body trembling uncontrollably.

The girl lowered her hand, not caring, and walked towards his giant form, her outstretched hand reaching into his body, unimpeded by the primordial water.

… She's inside.

Narzissenkreuz desperately wanted to push her out, or rather, he was already using all his strength to resist, but under that strange power, that overwhelming will, he could only watch helplessly as [Furina] did this, unable to resist.

A faint light emanated from her pale hand, and [Furina]'s hair glowed faintly.

Then, the giant figure crumbled like a sandcastle.

All that remained was a strange, watery sphere.

"It's over."

The shrunken Narzissenkreuz looked at the girl, his voice slightly dejected.

"I lost… my consciousness separated… my power completely gone…"

He was now even weaker than in the game's storyline.

At least back then, he could still use a small portion of his primordial power. Now, he only had enough power to maintain his form.

"You didn't even use the holy sword… Is this the power of a god?"

His tone was filled with unwillingness, then turned into resignation.

A human losing to a god wasn't surprising.

He had simply… failed his challenge.

"As you said, I'm truly weak." Although incredibly proud, Narzissenkreuz—René, was also someone who acknowledged reality.

Since he had already lost, Jiang Qiao's previous words seemed like a simple truth, a foolish mistake he had made.

Unable to recognize the difference in their power, he had been blinded by his newfound strength.

He was indeed weak.

"Don't underestimate yourself. In the realm of humans, you've indeed done very well."

"At least in my opinion, even a Fatui Harbinger might not be much stronger than you." Jiang Qiao said, then added, "Of course, I'm not referring to combat ability."

In terms of combat ability, Narzissenkreuz was undoubtedly lacking.

Even with the power of the Primordial Sea, it was still the same. After all, at the level of gods, everyone had their own unique abilities.

Among the current Seven Archons, besides Focalors and Buer, perhaps none would be helpless against Narzissenkreuz just because of his "primordial power."

They had dealt with even more resilient Abyssal creatures before.

And the Fatui Harbingers, as high-ranking members, undoubtedly possessed Archon-level combat abilities.

But setting aside immediate combat strength, if Narzissenkreuz truly completed his plan, even a Harbinger wouldn't be his match.

In terms of willpower—being able to stand out among the countless consciousnesses in the Primordial Sea, maintaining his individuality even after merging with it, even controlling it… his will was definitely no less than a Harbinger's.

"..."

"My plan has failed."

"But Hydro Archon, how are you going to save Fontaine's people?" Narzissenkreuz asked calmly, perhaps with curiosity, but mostly concern.

Jiang Qiao didn't answer immediately, but instead asked another question:

"Mmm… do you know the origins of Fontaine's people?"

"Origins… isn't everyone the same?" Furina, puzzled, asked, "Could Fontaine's people be different from others in Teyvat?"

"…No, they are indeed different." Narzissenkreuz affirmed. "I've conducted research and investigations on Jacob, Carter, and many others… I've also been to the Vourukasha Oasis in Sumeru."

"Fontaine's people have the same nature as the waters of the Vourukasha Oasis…"

"Well, that's because the Vourukasha Oasis is where the previous Hydro Archon, Egeria, perished." Jiang Qiao shrugged.

"?!"

Seeing their surprised expressions, he nodded after a moment of thought:

"You didn't know… oh, it's true that this isn't very clear."

"Five hundred years ago, when the Kaenri'ah Cataclysm occurred, Egeria, as one of the Seven Archons, went to Sumeru to suppress the escaping monsters. But the power of the Abyss was too great. To turn the tide, Egeria transformed herself into the Vourukasha Oasis, nourishing the countless Irminsul trees, thus containing the Abyss's expansion. The Irminsul trees, nourished by the Vourukasha Oasis, gave birth to the Pari, sealing the Abyss's power within the Tunigi Hollow."

"The Vourukasha Oasis is essentially Egeria's incarnation… You can think of it as her remains."

"The Oceanids should know about this… didn't they tell you?" Jiang Qiao looked at Furina curiously.

Furina was embarrassed and stammered, but before she could say anything, [Furina] found the answer in her memories:

"Oh… you had a falling out with them."

The Oceanids had initially given Furina some face, but after that "spy" order, they immediately turned against her.

Especially since she didn't possess the power or authority of the Hydro Archon.

Lacking credibility and failing to display the demeanor of a Hydro Archon, and even giving orders the Oceanids disliked, as dependents of the previous Hydro Archon, they naturally rebelled.

After looking through Focalors's memories, Jiang Qiao's expression became even stranger.

Focalors, as one of Egeria's many dependents, being chosen wasn't just because she was the most intelligent among the Oceanids, but also because she was the leader, the representative of Egeria's dependents.

And yet, Furina, essentially the same person as Focalors, was actually overthrown by the Oceanids…

Furina's face flushed crimson, the temperature rising rapidly!

"Don't look!"

The embarrassed and angry Furina pounced on him, pinning him down.

This intimate scene confused Narzissenkreuz. He couldn't understand the strange relationship between these two… well, they were gods, who knew what was going on?

"Let me reveal a bit more. Egeria's true nature as an Archon was the heart of the Primordial Sea…" Jiang Qiao said, his words slightly muffled as he was being pinned down.

And this information made Narzissenkreuz's eyes widen.

Egeria was the heart of the Primordial Sea.

Oceanids were Egeria's dependents.

Fontaine's people had a similar nature to Egeria…

Remembering that Fontaine's people would dissolve and transform into Oceanids upon encountering primordial water,

A terrifying thought suddenly crossed his mind.

"The people of Fontaine… are all Oceanids?!"

Narzissenkreuz's voice was hoarse.

And this answer also made Furina stop her retaliatory actions.

"…The people of Fontaine… are Oceanids?"

She was stunned and in disbelief.

And Narzissenkreuz returned to his academic research mode, muttering to himself, "…This makes sense… how could a person transform into an Oceanid out of nowhere…"

"Only if Fontaine's people were originally Oceanids could this be explained."

"But if that's the case…"

"No, this plan absolutely won't work!"

Narzissenkreuz immediately rejected his own plan.

Because his plan was based on the premise that Fontaine's people were "humans."

"Human" was a constant.

Once this constant was overturned, his salvation plan would go in an extremely unpredictable direction.

Especially with the variable being changed to "Oceanid."

It would be better if Fontaine's people were Vishaps!

Because Oceanids, a race whose consciousness would dissipate upon encountering malice, with their unpredictable intelligence, if Narzissenkreuz's plan was implemented… the collective malice of Fontaine's people could easily overwhelm him.

The result wouldn't be Oceanids or human-shaped water creatures.

They would all become corrupted water spirits!

And because Narzissenkreuz's plan could expand the effective range of the primordial water… not just Fontaine, but everyone in Teyvat could experience the joy of dissolving in water.

If this were the outcome, it couldn't be called a salvation plan, at least not from a human perspective.

As for the perspective of continuity…

If it was truly for continuity, then it would be better to do nothing!

At least Fontaine's people weren't dead; they had just become Oceanids, losing their memories as humans.

With his plan, Fontaine's people would go from reverting to their original forms to becoming ultimate fusion monsters, perhaps not even able to maintain their Oceanid forms. And the people of the other six nations would be even more furious—We were perfectly fine, and now, because of you, we're all going to have a reunion with those Oceanids in human skin. Thank you so much! Geneva!

While Furina and René were shocked by this news, Fairy Ely, acting as the early warning system, suddenly said, "Something seems to be approaching…"