Chapter 43 - of Water and Sky (Part 3)

Words : 1115 Updated : Sep 17th, 2025

After the animated cutscene ended, the game returned to dialogue mode. This time, the girl on the screen was no longer Themis but Astrea. "You're Rea, right?" Hearing Paimon's question, Astrea looked utterly confused. "Of course it's me. Who else would it be?" "But just now... Rea, do you have a sister?" "A sister?" Astrea tilted her head and blinked. "If you mean sisters, everyone in the Holy Knights could be considered my sisters." "That's not what I meant... Wait, aren't you the younger sister? That Fansetty girl from before clearly looks older than you!" Paimon couldn't help but complained. Lumine sighed and took over the conversation. "Rea, do you have a biological sister?" "A biological sister? You mean one related by blood? Of course not." "Then... Rea, do you have dissociative identity disorder?" "Dissociative identity disorder?" Hearing Lumine's question, Astrea's eyes widened slightly before she fell into deep thought. Then, she hesitantly whispered: "I... I can't say for sure." "You can't say for sure?" "In my memories, I don't have dissociative identity disorder, but... there are many times when I experience moments of confusion." "Like just now?" "Yes, just like that. I don't remember where the flyers went—whether I handed them all out or threw them away... I remember trying to hand them out, but I couldn't muster the courage to give even one. And then, somehow, it ended up like this." Astrea looked up at the sky. "Judging by the time, it seems like several hours have passed. I have no memory of what happened during that time." As she spoke, she turned to Lumine with a serious expression. "Big Sister, you asked that just now... Do I really have dissociative identity disorder? Did my other personality do something bad?" "She didn't do anything bad. She just finished handing out the flyers for you." Paimon wagged her finger: "But she claimed to be your sister, named Themis. Rea, do you really not know anything about this?" "Themis?!" Astrea's eyes widened slightly. Lumine raised an eyebrow. "You know her?" "...The Holy Knights have nine members. The second knight is named Themis, but I've never met her." Astrea lowered her head and murmured hesitantly: "So that's how it is... No wonder..." "Ah, I see now!" Paimon clapped her hands. "Your other personality believes she's your sister, and your other personality is considered a separate person by the Supreme Bishop of Fontaine, so she was appointed as the second knight. That must be it, right? I don't think you need to worry too much, Rea. Your other personality seems like a good kid. She was helping you hand out flyers earlier, clearly a thoughtful and caring sister." Astrea: "..." Brother Da suddenly paused the game, frowning at Astrea's silence in the dialogue and falling into deep thought. "Something's off. This part feels really off!" Brother Da took off his glasses and wiped them, speaking as he did: "Did you all watch the third episode of Reporting to Lady Furina? There's a crucial piece of information in it." As he spoke, he exited Genshin Impact and reopened the PV he had watched many times, fast-forwarding to the critical part. "Astrea and Themis were originally separate individuals, you could say they were sisters, as they came into existence. However, before their existence, Themis was overly concerned about her sister, which led to her merging with Astrea—Themis would actively do everything Astrea was too afraid or unwilling to do." Brother Da paused the video. "Ever since I watched this part, I've been wondering: Are Astrea and Themis even human?" "I think many players share the same doubt." "Themis was so worried about her sister that she merged with Astrea... If the Supreme Bishop is telling the truth, this is clearly not something humans can do." "Pay special attention to the wording: the Supreme Bishop didn't say 'born,' but 'came into existence.' One word difference, but the implications are worlds apart." "In other words, Astrea and Themis might not be human at all, but members of some unknown, mysterious race—a race that might form consciousness even before being born into the world." "Themis gained consciousness before Astrea and, out of concern for her, merged with her to become one... Wait, no, that doesn't make sense." "If Themis gained consciousness before Astrea and they share the same body, even if they're sisters, shouldn't Themis be the older sister?" "Also, Rea's silence here is very suspicious. She clearly knows something—she didn't know about having a sister at first, but after hearing the name Themis, it's like everything suddenly clicked for her." "Another thing you might not have noticed: Astrea said all the knights of the Holy Knights could be considered her sisters... This made me think of Astrea's character story." "I didn't realize it before, but after Fanseti appeared and I connected it to Astrea's profile, something felt very off." Brother Da took a deep breath. A bold speculation suddenly emerged in his mind. "At the end of Version 1.1, Fanseti said something." As before, Brother Da pulled up the line and rewatched it. "Mr. Dottore, leaving aside whether the two of you as Harbingers could actually kill me, even if you could, what you said about the Supreme Bishop feeling heartbroken is impossible—would you feel heartbroken if one or two of your segments died?" "If 'segments' refers to clones, what does it mean for Fanseti to compare herself to the Supreme Bishop's segments?" "At first, I thought Fanseti was saying that, to the Supreme Bishop, she was as insignificant as Dottore's segments... But what if that's not the case?" "What if Fanseti was explaining that she is like Dottore's segments?" "Or... what if all the knights of the Holy Knights are like Dottore's segments?" This was a very bold speculation. "Of course, I'm not saying Rea and the others are the Supreme Bishop's clones. That's clearly impossible." "I'm saying, is it possible... that all the knights of the Holy Knights are artificial humans created by the Supreme Bishop of Fontaine?" Brother Da slammed his thigh, growing more convinced as he spoke. "We all know Fontaine is a technologically advanced nation, and the Supreme Bishop is an otherworldly being. Is it possible that Fontaine's technology is far more advanced than we imagine? That the Supreme Bishop possesses scientific knowledge far beyond this world? That even artificial humans have been successfully created by the Supreme Bishop of Fontaine?!"

Chapter 43 - of Water and Sky (Part 3)

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