Fu Xuan

The head of the Xianzhou Luofu's Divination Commission and a confident, no-nonsense sage.
Using her third eye and the Matrix of Prescience, Fu Xuan calculates the Xianzhou's navigational route and predicts the fortune of future events. She firmly believes that everything she does is the "best solution" for the situation.
Fu Xuan is waiting for the general's promised "abdication." However, that day still seems... very far away.

Even after the stretch of many years, Fu Xuan would always think of the day she got permission to enter "the library" and ask her question.

"What are you thinking about?" The blind elder wearing sunglasses awaited her response in silence, tilting his head and holding to his cane for support.

"Do all those moments of choice hold predestined outcomes? Or is it that, if in that very instant, I could calculate with even greater precision, even by a fraction of a fraction, I could make the right choice and prevent them from leaving?" The girl's eyes were half-closed, and she spoke her question akin to an answer.

"Across each and every moment, we stand at the center of a maze laid out by our own footprints." The old, blind man softly shifted his cane. "I cannot provide you with answers. I can only offer questions... and the perspective to see them. And whatever you have sought from me along the way, surely it is not an answer."

"Then, grant me 'The Eye'. Regardless of whether fate has been predetermined from the start, as a diviner, I long to see with greater clarity."

"As you wish. But the people of the Xianzhou are ageless in flesh. To accept my 'eye' means to bear timeless pain. Rather than a tool, it is more like an.... 'instrument of torture.'"

"Aren't these the very words of the Wisdomwalker's creed? Knowledge exchanged with pain. I do not wish to make the same mistake in my future choices."

...

In the stupor that followed the bestowal of her "eye," she witnessed a great many past happenings.

She saw herself during childhood, sitting upright and diligent in her studies; her father tenderly brushing the point between her brows, proudly praising her intellect and wit; her elders revealing to her the Fu family's gloried history serving as the Xianzhou Yuque's stargazers. She saw the operations and rites conducted by diviners, divining the brilliant future for her where she would claim the throne of master diviner.

"Is this my future?"

"Isn't every morsel, every drop predestined?. This is your destiny. The divination results have been submitted to Master Diviner Jingtian, and he has agreed to personally supervise your tutelage. This is an immense fortune you have been blessed with."

All the past is layered in the mists of probability, shifting on the edges of consciousness between dreams and reality, and extending forward into futures uncountable. She strove to find the day she became a diviner in the vastness of all moments.

On that day, Fu Xuan sought her master beneath the Cloudpeer Telescope of the Xianzhou Yuque, but found herself unable to believe that the man before her was the master diviner her elders had so reverently regarded. He wore a somewhat aged pilot's outfit and was unceremoniously seated on the ground, his attention dedicated entirely to the shifting of the interwoven light rays in the matrix.

"Your humble student, Fu Xuan, comes bearing her respects, Master Diviner." Such were the words spoken by the girl after a period of hesitation.

The man's gaze remained unwavering, as he simply raised a finger, beckoning her to look at the show. Fu Xuan noticed that his hand had, inexplicably, morphed into a wooden ingenium. "The Yuque's Nephjade Orbit Fleet are currently laying out a defense at Thalassa in coordination with the Yaoqing's encirclement and eradication of abominations. You should have heard of this, yes? However, they are fated to lose this battle."

"Huh? The Yaoqing is noted for its martial prowess and is rarely rivaled. According to intelligence, our forces outnumber and outmatch the borisin. How can victory be denied if an attack is commenced?"

"Well asked. You don't seem like an apprentice that just accepts things." The man stood up and patted down his dust-coated sleeves. "A diviner knows fate without resigning to it. Treading through varied possibilities to find the best choice is indeed wise. But, sometimes, no matter how you choose, destiny will only grant you a single path forward. When the finalized divination presents you with only two outcomes, the bad and the worse, what will you choose?"

"...Naturally, the choice should be the lesser of two evils. This is the first lesson of divination."

"But what if it's humanly impossible to judge matters at hand?" The man turned.

"This divination is gleaned from the newly arranged 'Deca-Light Reflection Barrier' matrix. There are two outcomes: To temporarily transfer the Crane Feather Orbit Fleet of the Xianzhou Yaoqing, or to draw from the manpower of the Ebony Pearl Orbit Fleet of the Fanghu. Only one choice can be made. To use the Crane Feather Orbit Fleet means being able to press a strong offense for some time but losing any hope of victory thereafter. To use the Ebony Pearl Orbit Fleet, we must endure the vast distances between us and the Fanghu and have the conflict drag on for six months. During this time, we must also withstand multiple counterattacks from the enemy, not to mention the losses that are certain to come. But should the defense hold until reinforcement arrives, then victory may well become possible."

"They went with the first option, I presume?"

"Correct. Divination can provide counsel and guidance, but only the general can make the final decision. He chose the path that would lead to the smallest loss. This didn't invalidate my divination, of course — defeat was the predetermined outcome."

"The treatises on the art of war state that an advantage in numbers speaks favorably for initiating battle, and calling on the aid of Yaoqing's forces may not be the worst possible decision. Moreover, nothing is ever certain in this world. How can you be so sure, master diviner? How can you speak as if all have been predestined?"

"Nothing is ever certain in this world?" The man sighed heavily. "I thought the same thing when the divination results appeared... I thought there must have been an error in the calculations. However, the results did not change after the re-analysis. I therefore resolved to head to the battlefield and seek evidence myself."

"I had ventured deep into Thalassa the past few weeks, fought the abominations, and gained the trust of the local water dwellers. That was how I received a shocking piece of news: Within a month's time, a great tide known to the Thalassans as the 'Devil's Tide' — caused by the gravitational influence of their moon — will arrive."

"None will be able to keep fighting the abominations in such abyssal conditions without the help from the Fanghu Vidyadhara's cloudhymn magi. This piece of intel does not exist on any guide, nor is it recorded in our army's data bank. Only that, in order to validate my results in a moment of superfluous effort, I gave my hand as the price."

The man smiled bitterly and lifted his wooden hand in a wave. "Sometimes there is only ever one path in destiny. Everything is predetermined."

"By the way, you don't need to address me as master diviner. You should call me 'Teacher' from today onward."

She spent the happiest time in her life studying in the Yuque's Divination Commission. She learned about predestination versus free-will, about matrix calculations versus human choices... The girl recalled she was always arguing with her teacher on every issue regarding divination and fortune-telling. Those were not aggressive confrontations with sharp words, but heated discussions between peers. And yet, though the two agreed on many topics, there was one issue they could not come to a consensus —

Nous had granted divine volumes outlining the matrix calculations to the Xianzhou centuries ago. The Xianzhou Yuque's Divination Commission had pored over them to interpret and manifest the wisdom within, ultimately constructing the best divination matrix in the entire Alliance. Thought this is a point of pride for Yuque's diviners, Fu Xuan felt it was nothing short of culling the future possibilities of the Xianzhou people within the narrow path set out by the matrix.

When people believe that the predictions of the matrix will always come to pass, then "choice" became an empty concept only for show. The diviners have unwillingly become prisoners of the matrix. They head to work when the hour is fortuitous, and stay home when the hour is ominous. What they do, what they avoid doing — everything was in accordance with the divination results.

"If the matrix tells me that I will die tomorrow, does that mean I should just hurry up and end myself? At that point, what is the difference between performing a divination and not performing one?"

"The difference is that we know we walk on the ordained path set by the heavens. That is the supreme path sought by Grandmaster Xuan Yao, who initiated the Divination Commission system."

"All the diviner has to do is to faithfully believe and obediently follow the guidance of the matrix, and make one choice after another in that way — even though those choices may be ludicrous, incomprehensible, or difficult. All such efforts will ultimately lead the Xianzhou to the great work that it has been seeking throughout its existence — that of eradicating the Plagues Author and rid the world of the agony of Abundance." The man's expression was as placid and calm as an enlightened disciple who had received divine revelation. He looked at Fu Xuan and continued, "just like how I chose to take you in as my student after knowing about your predetermined future."

It wasn't for my talents? And it wasn't for my well-connected family? It was just to fulfill some prediction? This... this was absurd! Rage took over Fu Xuan, and she was at a loss for words.

"Did I ever tell you that after I consulted the Deca-Light Reflection Barrier and interpreted the hexagram, I now firmly believe that my life will end in your hands? However, I still took you in as my student. I'm waiting for you to take over my position and become the Xianzhou Yuque's master diviner, because it has all been predetermined."

Predetermined? His life will end in my hands?

He was talking as if the Xianzhou was still in the Three Sufferings Era! As if she was a treacherous disciple who craved the seat of the master diviner so much, that she would even kill her teacher for it! Her teacher was a scoundrel!

"And I... I will never let that prediction come to pass!"

The girl admired everything about her master as a diviner — his intelligence, skills, and integrity. However, she could not accept how he willingly sank into the blinding abyss of fatalism and regarded it as an acceptable way of life, despite being a diviner who could peek into destiny.

Therefore, Fu Xuan ran away from the Xianzhou Yuque despite her family's dissuasion and the hurdles she had to cross. She ran away like a self-exiled escapee, plunging into the Luofu's Divination Commission with its more unrestricted culture and devoted herself to calculations. Not only did she want to part from the Xianzhou Yuque, she also wanted to prove with her own hands that her teacher's prediction was nothing but his own ludicrous delusions.

Centuries passed thus, and the flames of war descended again. Diviner Fu Xuan calculated ceaselessly at her job. The grand armies of the Denizens of Abundance formed for the third time and launched a surprise attack on the Xianzhou Fanghu. The Yuque and the Luofu were close to the Fanghu, and it was their duty to give assistance. The divination revealed that all Xianzhou armies will meet a devastating defeat if they choose to face the assault head-on — however, should they keep up a defense, then there will be a chance to change the tides of battle.

What a pity that the hexagram did not reveal how this chance will come about! Fu Xuan calculated and divined over and over again, yet the results given by the Matrix of Prescience never changed.

"No one will choose defeat." This was the limit of a diviner's capacities. Fu Xuan outlined the pros and cons in writing and submitted the divination results to the Seat of Divine Foresight. However, as she expected, the outcome of the meeting between the Arbiter-Generals concluded that they must not take on a defensive position, not when such overwhelming numbers of the Abundance Axis were assaulting the Fanghu. The Cloud Knights of the Luofu and the Yuque must rise to face the enemy, buying time before the Yaoqing's army can arrive.

On that day, Fu Xuan bore witness through the Projection Sandpit to the Alliance's army being decimated. Not only did the borisin bring fleets and mechabeasts numerous enough to block out the sky, they even summoned the incarnosphere Ketu Mirage from ancient legends. This evil gravitated toward the Fanghu, hellbent on bringing annihilation to all lives onboard, recreating the tragedy of the fall of the Xianzhou Cangcheng. And the only thing people could do was watch as it neared.

Was this truly the limit of a diviner's capacities!? A bold idea surfaced in Fu Xuan's mind as she drowned in anxiety and anger. "I must see General Jing Yuan!"

The girl spoke her thoughts when brought face-to-face with the general. It was no longer possible to obtain victory with the forces available to the Cloud Knights. The only chance of victory lies in making the Reignbow manifest themselves.

She was not expecting the tired-looking man before her to simply nod after hearing her absurd and borderline blasphemous idea. The general did not even show any hints of ridicule. "How would you want to do it?"

"The Xianzhou Yuque holds the Cloudpeer Telescope, the ultimate astronomical observation device in the Alliance. Not only can it scry into the distance, it can also be used to send out information... I plan to ship the Cloudpeer Telescope to the Fanghu using a Navis Astriger, and send out an SOS signal to the last observed location of the Reignbow's Lux Arrow. If we hurry, we still have a chance to turn everything around before that living planet falls."

"I trust that you are... well aware of the singular sign of the Reignbow's descent onto the physical plane and its consequences, correct?"

"Yes. As the person who voiced this plan, I am willing to be on the front lines and execute it." The girl's expression was solemn. She was keenly aware of how unorthodox her idea was.

"I thank you for your words, but the Six Charioteers should work together to combat such a great crisis. Moreover, you do not have the permission to manipulate that device. Should this plan go awry, I will take all responsibility as the one who made the suggestion. Do not trouble yourself over this, Miss Fu."

As Fu Xuan watched the general's retreating figure, she suddenly realized what he meant by "the Six Charioteers should work together" — the only person who has the permission to use the Cloudpeer Telescope and can send out a signal in the format of the Reignbow's decree...

...was none other than the Yuque's Master Diviner.

...

"Is this why you seek "The Eye"? I saw your dreams..."

The girl did not open her eyes, yet she could already see the world around her condense into solid form from nebulous mist, see all possibilities fade and leave behind the solitary, absolute, and faultless "choice."

"Those are not dreams. They are my past. They made me who I am."
"And he was right all this time. There is only ever one path in destiny."