Ashes Of Deep Sea
Chapter 396 - Chapter 396 Chapter 400 Traveling by Water Together

Chapter 396: Chapter 400 Traveling by Water Together Chapter 396: Chapter 400 Traveling by Water Together Agatha instantly retracted her wand and then stared wide-eyed, astonished and vigilant, at the “counterfeit” monster that was slowly raising its head before her. In that instant, she realized… the monster, composed of Prime Element “mud,” had undergone a transformation.

Some force or will had descended into its body and instantly changed its essence–it had turned into a medium, continuously releasing terrifying power in the dim sewer.

Layers of noise emerged, turning in her mind into countless incomprehensible murmurs and roars. Agatha felt her peripheral vision blurring with trembling shadows, which seemed to blink open countless eyes in an instant. This was a sign that her spirit was being contaminated–continuous fighting had accumulated exhaustion and mental injuries, weakening her defenses and leaving her almost unable to resist.

But this contamination lasted for less than two seconds, as if the master of the power intentionally controlled it, containing the might emanating from this incarnation–Agatha’s senses regained clarity and stability, and in this moment of lucidity, she realized the “identity” of the person before her.

“You are…the Descendant…” she muttered, rubbing her forehead hesitantly.

“It is I,” the incarnation replied, its body, still composed of Prime Element mud, continuing to wriggle and deform as if unable to bear the overwhelming power. It could not maintain a clear and stable figure, “just call me Captain–my followers all call me that.”

“Captain?” Agatha furrowed her brows, the aftereffects of spiritual contamination slowing her thoughts. She found the title peculiar, but quickly dismissed her concerns on the matter. There were countless “captains” in the world, and a higher Transcendent from unknown origins might simply call themselves “Captain” out of interest–it wasn’t something worth delving into deeply.

“Why are you here?” she asked, puzzled.

“I’ve been looking for you for a long time,” Duncan said, “you vanished in the City-State, and I deduced that something unfortunate had happened.”

“You were looking for me?” Agatha was a bit startled and then quickly glanced around, “What’s the situation ‘outside’?”

“If you mean ‘Frost’ in the real world, then everything is as usual, normal to an abnormal extent,” Duncan shook his head, “Do you know where you are?”

“I… I’m not sure,” Agatha supported herself with her wand, slowly leaning against a wall. She had found a precious moment of safety and needed to seize this opportunity to recover, “This is another Frost, one completely controlled by ‘counterfeits’. There’s no sun here, and the connection with the gods is very weak, but there are clues about the activities of annihilating the heretics. I’ve been tracking one of them, all the way here…”

She paused, catching her breath, and turned to look at the “Captain.”

“A mirror,” the temporary incarnation said, “You’re trapped in a mirror of Frost.”

“A mirror?” Agatha was shocked for a moment, then lowered her head with a contemplative expression, “So it’s like this… a mirror…”

“They might have replicated the entire Frost, including the surrounding sea areas, and this mirror is the source of all ‘counterfeits’,” Duncan continued, “The bad aspect is, there are signs that this ‘mirror’ and the real world are gradually converging–this is probably the real plan of the annihilating heretics.”

Agatha suddenly looked up, “You mean…”

“The frequent apparitions of ‘counterfeits’ in the City-State, the replicated Sea Swallow, the vanished Dagger Island, even including your entrapment, are all results of the ‘Mirror Frost’ drawing closer to ‘Real Frost’–from the beginning, the heretics’ aim wasn’t to invade or destroy the city, Agatha, they wanted to transform the entire city into the ‘realm’ prophesied.”

“…At some point, the approaching mirror and reality will collide…” Agatha inhaled sharply, murmuring to herself. She had thought of that possibility, “No wonder, no wonder that heretic said when the guardians find the ‘Sanctuary’, that would be the time their plan succeeds… That moment would be when the mirror contacts reality!”

“It seems like you already have a plan,” Duncan remarked, “You just mentioned that you’ve found traces of the heretics here and are tracking them?”

“Yes, I’ve caught their scent–deep in this ‘second waterway’,” Agatha looked towards a direction deeper into the corridor, having regained some strength after the brief rest. She stood upright once more, making her way forward slowly, “There’s a heretic who has been obstructing me, but the longer he entangles with me, the more he exposes his whereabouts. I feel I am very close…”

Duncan, controlling the incarnation, followed Agatha’s steps.

“Very sorry,” Agatha suddenly said as she walked ahead.

“Why apologize?”

“Just now… I almost attacked you,” Agatha’s tone seemed a bit embarrassed.

Duncan blinked and then remembered the scene he had witnessed upon entering the incarnation–Agatha’s tin wand was just millimeters from his head.

But upon reflection, he didn’t consider it a big deal.

Bifana’s cleaving was stronger.

“I don’t mind, and I’m used to it.”

“…Accustomed to it?”

“One of my followers, when startled, used to suddenly employ a jumping chop–sometimes targeting me, although she doesn’t do it anymore.”

Agatha: “…?”

The young Gatekeeper was hugely shocked and uncontrollably speculated about how a suspected ancient god normally interacted with their followers, and how outrageous and eerie those followers might be.

After thinking for a long time, she almost ran out of sanity points and still couldn’t figure it out.

However, Duncan didn’t mind Agatha’s sudden daze and contemplation; he just continued to walk forward, carefully observing the situation in the corridor.

This was the second waterway in the Mirror Frost–obviously very different from the second waterway in the real world.

He stopped walking and thoughtfully looked ahead at the sewer corridor extending under the dim lights.

“What are you thinking about?” Agatha also stopped, turning back to ask with confusion.

“In the real world, this is a collapsed area, impassable,” Duncan said thoughtfully, “It seems that in this Mirror Frost, the second waterway is intact and even appears to be in constant use.”

“…Perhaps, it reflects the era of the Queen,” Agatha said hoarsely, “I’ve noticed many details here in Mirror Frost … they closely resemble but aren’t exactly like the scenes I’m familiar with, not like the modern style.”

Duncan listened to Agatha’s analysis and did not speak for a moment. After a few seconds, he broke the silence, “It seems I might not be able to accompany you for the rest of the way.”

Agatha looked back in surprise.

She saw the “captain’s” avatar gradually disintegrating, the continuously flowing and deforming black sludge seemed to be bearing too much power, now flaking off bit by bit and leaving crisscrossing, web-like cracks on that form. Between the cracks, emerald flames leapt as if uncontrollably dispersing and flowing.

Her voice involuntarily exclaimed, “Your body…”

“Don’t mind it, this poor Replication cannot stably bear my power. A collapse was inevitable,” Duncan merely shook his head calmly, “It’s surprising that it lasted long enough for me to say so much to you.”

Then he waved his hand to stop any words Agatha might have wanted to utter.

“Your condition is very poor right now, and you need more support. I will leave some sparks here that can strengthen the bond between us. Take it with you and continue to track down the dens of the Heretics–I will continue to help you.”

Agatha instinctively stepped forward, seemingly wanting to ask something more, but before she could speak, the avatar, already on the verge of collapse from an overload of power, reached its limit.

In a sudden surge of emerald flames, the elemental sludge forming the avatar ceaselessly flowed, then got engulfed and burst into pieces by the flames, scattering countless ash fragments.

In the center of the burnt black elemental debris, all that remained was a tiny, finger-sized spark.

That spark hovered in the air near the ground.

Agatha stared blankly at the spark hovering near the ground; its emerald appearance made the Gatekeeper feel vigilant. She instinctively felt fear and tension, but after a moment’s hesitation, she still stepped forward and slowly bent down.

“…I hope this is the right choice.”

She murmured softly, invoking the name of Bartok in her heart, then she reached out her hand, as if summoning considerable courage to make a decision. Her fingertips touched the tiny flame.

The flame, like a weightless petal, was held in her hand.

“…It really can be picked up.”

Agatha looked in astonishment at the spark now cradled in her palm, and at that moment, she felt a connection with the flame.

Faint, remarkable, but definitely present–after a brief trance, she came to her senses and carefully protected the flame in the palm of her hand, the other hand grasping her battered staff, and she stepped towards the deepest part of the second waterway.