As Light Rain Falls Without Reason is the second act in Chapter IV of the Archon Quests.
Quests[]
Summary[]
- Like the Faint Moonlight of Yesteryear
Arriving at Hotel Debord, Navia orders food as the three sit at a table and begin to enjoy it. They talk about the disappearance case; due to the previous trial, they now know that there is an organization behind the disappearances, though unsure as to their motives. While Paimon laments the fact that they were close to finding out who they were, Navia expresses a lack of faith in the Garde, stating that they needed to look at the case from another perspective to gain more clues. Navia then asks them what they plan to do, learning that they wanted to speak with Furina as part of their journey to find the truth of Teyvat, though the chance was lost after the trial. Navia then suggests less legitimate means, though the Traveler and Paimon shoot them down. However, this results in them getting an idea to talk to her while she's on break, since Navia believes that Furina was embarrassed after losing the trial.
Navia then notices that her Fonta was gone, resulting in Paimon apologizing for drinking it. The Traveler and Paimon note that it felt off, so Navia decides to blacklist the hotel's Fonta should they return. She later sees them off, promising to help them with their requests should the need arrive.
Returning to the Fountain of Lucine, the Traveler hears a voice calling for Vacher from the fountain and walks towards it, blacking out in the process. When they come to, they find themselves inside with an Oceanid, asking them about Vacher. The Traveler tells it they are not Vacher, while the Oceanid tells them that it has lost a lot of their memories while human, causing them to realize that they were one of the disappearing girls. The Traveler offers to find Vacher, but the Oceanid refuses, as their reunion has since long passed and that she deserved to be forgotten. She laments the fact that she could not comfort Vacher as she was dissolving, but nonetheless is glad that they sensed her presence and tells them to tell Vacher to forget about her before sending them out, as Paimon was calling for them.
When the Traveler comes back to the real world, they immediately find Navia, Silver and Melus fighting a large horde of Clockwork Meka. During the battle, Navia spots Clorinde, and her assistance allows them to defeat the entire horde. Afterwards, Navia asks Clorinde how she managed to come, who admits that she was following her because danger had been tracking her too closely as of late and wanted to honor her father's wishes, though this simply creates tension as Navia is still upset about her father's demise. Getting back to the point, Clorinde tells them that the mastermind behind the disappearances is very powerful and that their performance would certainly attract their attention. Navia asks her how the Meka were controlled, as the Gardemeks could only be operated by the Maison Gardiennage. Clorinde tells her that these were illegal meka, as they had no serial numbers with them. She warns them to be careful, though Navia insists that they'll find the truth behind the matter.
As Clorinde leaves, Melus tells Navia that she could have tried to thaw relations, though Navia finds it hard to do so. Paimon tells the Traveler that the Meka appeared after they fell unconscious, only for Navia and her group to save her. Navia credits Paimon for tipping her off, as Fonta was not supposed to be "salty and icky" and that the color was off - it had been spiked with water from the Primordial Sea that was meant for her. When she realized this, she also realized that the Traveler was in danger and came to their rescue. The Traveler then tells her about the Oceanid they encountered in the water, giving them a good lead. Navia tells them to meet at one of their bases to discuss more.
Heading into the sewers of the Court of Fontaine, the group catches up to Melus. Navia admits that when her father was the head of the Spina di Rosula, their funds were much better. Asking about her father, they learn from her that three years ago, her father, Callas, was accused of murdering his friend, but rather than standing trial, he chose to duel to maintain his honor, only to die doing so. Therefore, coupled with the death of her mother (who he had hidden from her also), she was resolved to find the truth, believing that the disappearance case was tied to the murder. Melus reveals that the person who killed Callas was Clorinde, hence their strained relationship.
The following day, the Traveler and Paimon find Navia greeting them, who had sent Melus and Silver back to their headquarters. She had spent the night trying to find out who Vacher was, but discovered that there were no traces of him at all. However, she decides that there is one place that they could never reach - the archives stored by Neuvillette, which would be their best bet to find more information.
- The Truth, Lost With the Rain
Heading to Neuvillette's office, the Palais Mermonia, the three are stopped by Sedene, who asks the reason for their visit. Navia claims they came to archive information on a follow-up case, so Sedene lets them pass. They enter Neuvillette's office, with Paimon apologizing for the deception. Neuvillette does not mind and asks why they came, so Navia tells them that they were looking for a man named Vacher, who was a witness to the disappearance case. Neuvillette begins going through the files but finds nothing about Vacher. As they leave, he apologizes to Navia for Callas' death, resulting in her becoming offended as she knew he had no emotion behind his words and that even though he agreed that something was wrong with the case, he let the duel go through. After calming down, she apologizes for taking her emotions out on him and leaves.
Outside, it begins to rain, causing the Traveler to realize that the real murderer might have been dissolved into water to leave no evidence at the crime scene. Navia realizes this and accepts their logic, so they head to Poisson and catch up with Melus. There, Navia deduces that with her father's case, there had been a popular drink known as Sinthe which she believes was spiked with water from the Primordial Sea. Sinthe was popular for recreation, but Callas, seeing the dangers of extended drinking, banned it from his group, which incurred the sellers' wrath. To learn more about the mastermind, he made relationships with some of the vendors, such as Jacques, who was ashamed of his work. During a banquet, Callas shot Jacques dead, though she now knows that a third party might have been involved as there were clothes lying around at the scene. Melus warns Navia that there was no shame in backing out of the case as their enemy was highly dangerous, but Navia insists on finding the truth.
Melus reveals that he had hidden more from Navia; he was diagnosed with an illness that meant that he did not have a long time to live and that he had a contingency plan by exposing the dangers of Sinthe to the public - the group had targeted Navia, but did not make an attempt on her life until now because their plans and motives would be exposed if they did so. Melus is confident that with the Traveler's help, she could uncover the truth for herself. He advises that they not storm their headquarters, as it was tantamount to war. Instead, he gives three potential suspects to investigate on - Florent, Thierry and Marcel, but they first stop by Jacques' family.
Collecting evidence, they discover that Jacques' betrayal was noticed by the higher-ups in his organization and he was forced to kill Callas, but struggled with the order. They also learn that Callas was off on the day of the murder and that when he left to get air, he had left his gun inside, ruling out the possibility that he had a second gun on him to kill Jacques. When they meet up with Thierry, she asks him about the Gardemeks that attacked her. He tells her that they were nearly impossible to modify without keeping a secret and that either someone rich and/or powerful could get their hands on private units. Finally, they meet up with Marcel; while he does not recall the events during the banquet, he is willing to defend her.
With all the information collected, the Traveler concludes that Marcel was the likely suspect, seeing that he was the only one of the three to be wealthy enough to afford private Meka. Before they could go any further, Thierry darts in, informing them that the authorities have accused Tartaglia of the disappearances. Realizing what's going on, the Traveler offers to infiltrate the enemy headquarters while Navia goes to the opera to stall for time.
- When All Return to the Waters
Heading underwater to the Sinthe production facility, the Traveler and Paimon arrive at the entrance and infiltrate it. Back at the opera house, Tartaglia is confused as to what he's being charged for but is willing to accept it if he could duel Clorinde again, as he was disappointed that she had held back in their sparring session. Before the trial could go anywhere, Navia barges in and accuses Marcel of being the prime suspect, going back to her father's case. Neuvillette begins to recall the case, which Navia refutes with the evidence she acquired. Furina asks for physical proof, which she does not have, but Navia states that it would be coming soon, while Neuvillette orders Marcel to court. She also reveals that she had been the next target in the disappearing cases, prompting Furina to ask why Callas did not want to defend himself. Navia explains that if Callas had done so, Spina di Rosula would not exist and many lives would have been lost. She then asks Clorinde to tell the truth, since she was the one who killed him.
Furina asks Clorinde if what Navia said was true, which she confirms; as a Champion Duelist, she could tell when someone was fighting to live or die, and that Callas wanted to die. Furina finds this as sufficient to open the case, but Neuvillette asks her to explain the link between her father and the disappearances. Navia states that on that day, the suspect would have had to attend both events and was willing to dissolve someone in water in front of many witnesses to protect their identity; coincidentally, Marcel was in both events. Marcel defends himself by stating that she was rushing headlong without sufficient evidence by proving where he was, turning the scales in his favor. However, Navia pulls a trump card by mentioning Vacher, which catches him by surprise, confirming that he did know him.
Back at the Sinthe facility, the Traveler and Paimon begin to explore and reach the innermost sanctum, collecting evidence for Navia's case. After collecting enough, they find Vigneire's notebook containing Marcel's name.
Returning to the opera house, the Traveler presents the evidence to Neuvillette, who asks Marcel to defend himself. Marcel does not, instead blaming the system for failing him as when he reported about the dissolving to the Garde, they simply laughed him off. He even drinks a large amount of the Primordial Water to no effect. As he appears to show signs of mental distress, Neuvillette declares that Tartaglia is innocent and reviews the evidence provided by the Traveler, recollecting the entire event. He then submits the information into the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale, which returns a "Guilty" verdict. Tartaglia prepares to leave, but Neuvillette stops him, as he too also has to be cleared from the charges initially pressed against him. Neuvillette puts the information in the Oratrice, which hands a "Guilty" verdict on Tartaglia, surprising everyone present, as it was the first time that it gave a verdict different than his own.
Tartaglia is unamused and attempts to escape using his Electro Delusion and his Foul Legacy Transformation. Before he could fully transform however, Neuvillette leaps from his seat and crashes down on Tartaglia, using an unknown Hydro power to knock him out. As the Gardemeks apprehend Tartaglia, Neuvillette apologizes to him but promises to personally investigate the matter. Once the scene settles, the Traveler and Paimon talk to him about the verdict. He admits that it is the first time the machine had put him in a situation like this, but had to uphold the court rules nonetheless. Neuvillette suggests asking Furina, though when everyone stares at her, she becomes nervous and even shows signs of agitation before composing herself, claiming that the verdict was right and leaves to save face.
As the Traveler leaves the opera, they run into Marcel and Esmond. Marcel asks the Traveler how they knew of Vacher, who tells them about the fountain. He asks to go to the fountain, which a passing Neuvillette grants as he accompanies them there. They then begin to hear Vigneire's voice and Marcel finds himself in the dream realm. He meets the Oceanid, but it is not Vigneire, but instead the collective consciousness of the women he had dissolved. The Oceanid tells him that Vigneire is avoiding him because of his actions and that she did not want him to come because they would kill him. The entire consciousness, including Vigneire, "drown" Marcel; in the real world, his death is ruled as a panic attack.
A few days later, the Traveler and Paimon finish shopping and catch up with Navia. With her father's honor restored, Navia holds a memorial for him and decides to visit his grave. When they arrive, they find Neuvillette there, who explains why he let the duel between him and Clorinde continue. He admits that Callas had proved him wrong and that without his sacrifice, the case would have never been solved. After paying their own respects, the Traveler and Paimon asks Neuvillette several questions. He reveals that he was prepared for such an outcome from the Oratrice. He promises to continue investigating Childe to prove his innocence and that Furina herself took the prophecy seriously.
Soundtracks[]
Gallery[]
Other Languages[]
| Language | Official Name | Literal Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| English | As Light Rain Falls Without Reason | — |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 仿若无因飘落的轻雨 Fǎngruò Wúyīn Piāoluò de Qīngyǔ | Like Drizzle Falls Gently Without Reason[• 1] |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 彷若無因飄落的輕雨 Fǎngruò Wúyīn Piāoluò de Qīngyǔ | |
| Japanese | ゆえなく煙る霧雨のように Yuenaku Kemuru Kirisame no You ni | Like Smoky Drizzle Falls Without Reason |
| Korean | 이유 없이 내리는 비처럼 Iyu Eopsi Naerineun Bicheoreom | As Rain That Falls Without Reason |
| Spanish | Una llovizna inesperada | An Unexpected Drizzle |
| French | Alors que la bruine tombe sans raison | As Drizzle Falls Without Reason |
| Russian | Словно лёгкий дождь без причины Slovno lyogkiy dozhd' bez prichiny | Like Light Rain Without Reason |
| Thai | ไร้เหตุผลที่ฝนปราย Rai Hetphon Thi Fon Prai | Without Reason That the Rain Falls |
| Vietnamese | Như Làn Mưa Nhẹ Không Rõ Nguyên Nhân | |
| German | Grundlos gefallen, wie ein sanfter Regen | Fallen Without Reason, Like Soft Rain |
| Indonesian | Bagai Rintik Hujan, Turun Tanpa Sebab | As the Light Rain, Falling Without Reason |
| Portuguese | Uma Chuva Inesperada | An Unexpected Rain |
| Turkish | Yağmur Çiseliyor Ama Neden? | Rain Drizzles But Why? |
| Italian | Come una pioggia inaspettata | Like an Unexpected Rain |
- ↑ Chinese: This may be a reference to 海燕 Hǎiyàn, "Sea Swallow," a prose written by Zheng Zhenduo (1898 – 1958), or to Il pleure dans mon cœur… "Tears fall in my heart…" a poem written by Paul Verlaine (1844 – 1896).
