[ For a quiet moment, only the breeze and the rustling of leaves in the trees can be heard. Gold and contracts, and history... so far, the only person he's told about Focalors is Furina—and all she had to say that she was tired and wanted to rest, looking neither saddened nor comforted—but he had a feeling that the former Geo Archon would sooner or later seek him out for answers. Now that time has come and he will give him those answers. The general public will probably never hear the full story of the god who deceived the Heavenly Principles, but he will share it with someone who can preserve it for centuries and millennia to come. Her deeds deserve to at least live on in the hearts of her fellow gods. ]

It is. I will tell you everything.

[ His gaze flickers briefly to the statue of Focalors in the distance, then returns to settle on Zhongli once more. He takes a deep breath to sort out his thoughts a little and settle on an appropriate place to start. He breathes out, and begins to speak. ]

When that bright light enveloped the courtroom, I was brought to a plane of consciousness created by the true Hydro Archon, Focalors—she had been within the Oratrice all this time, having set up the past five hundred years to unfold in a manner that would fulfill the prophecy via technicalities while still saving her people.