Ashes Of Deep Sea
Chapter 410 - Chapter 410 Chapter 414 Connection

Chapter 410: Chapter 414 Connection Chapter 410: Chapter 414 Connection Boom!

A thunderous explosion erupted deep within Maurice’s consciousness, and he almost instantly lost control of his own state – even in a sheltered state of isolated consciousness and hardened mind, he was still swept up by the spreading shockwave, teetering on the brink amidst the subsequent tsunami-like barrage of information!

In that instant, his “psychological perspective,” standing behind and beside his body, began to spin. He could no longer see the words in his mind, feeling only the endless mists spiraling and ascending. The phrases he had just read seemed like a swarm of uncontrollable bees, assaulting and gnawing in his memory, tearing at parts of his personality. He even forgot his own name for a moment. All that remained in his mind was the name he had seen in the last second–

The Saint.

However, in the next moment, the dizzying sensation was abruptly halted by something, and Maurice felt his consciousness forcefully pulled back to the real world. During this “pullback,” he saw an array of flickering lights in the thick fog, revolving around the largest red light source.

It seemed like a glimpse from the God of Wisdom Rahm, but then, in the next second, the array of lights vanished rapidly, transforming into a raging tidal wave;

Immediately after, the tidal wave transformed into a roaring collapse of pale dust right before his eyes. The fine, pale ash, like the ashes of a saint, sprinkled down upon him;

Then, that pale dust ignited midair, turning into a shower of falling fire, within which countless piercing and fiery streams condensed, as if to utterly consume him with their surging arrival!

But just when the crimson flames were about to touch him, Maurice saw all the fire suddenly take on a layer of eerie green–the explosive fire abruptly softened and gradually fell beside him. A flame touched his shoulder, and he immediately felt someone heavily pat him. The next second, he abruptly opened his eyes and realized he had returned to his own body.

The effects of consciousness isolation and mental hardening had been forcibly terminated, and he once again returned from the brink of Madness Threshold to this world.

In the moment his consciousness recovered, Maurice resisted the urge to “take another look” and quickly closed the thick black book in his hand.

His actions were swift, but even so, the book still flipped through several pages violently before closing. In the fleeting peripheral glimpse, some trembling texts left a strong impression on Maurice’s sight–a sentence with the intense obsession of a dying moment: “We will ultimately return to that pure and holy origin.”

The black book was completely closed, and Maurice, gasping for air heavily, had the last seen texts lingering in his mind.

Fenna immediately noticed something was off and quickly approached, “How are you?”

“…The daily life of a scholar, dealing with deadly knowledge and then surviving,” Maurice caught his breath and extended his hand to Fenna, “I’m fine, I’m still myself–help me up.”

As soon as he stood up, he then asked, “How much time has passed?”

“A few seconds,” Fenna nodded and replied, “I just saw you open the book and take a few glances, then suddenly close it, while your aura continued to fluctuate incessantly, and indiscernible shadows began to emerge in the surrounding fog.”

“Several seconds…” Morris tugged at the corners of his mouth, his mind recalling the wondrous scenes he had seen when he was pulled back from the brink of losing control.

In the next second, a low and majestic voice emerged in his mind, “Morris, what situation have you encountered?”

Morris was startled and hurriedly composed his expression. He responded in his mind, “Just now, I was reading a Book of Desecration confiscated from the Heretics and accidentally became contaminated–Captain, was it you who pulled me back at the end?”

“Mm,” Duncan responded, “I suddenly noticed your mind was under attack, so I used the ‘mark’ I left on you to check your condition. You said you confiscated a Book of Desecration? What exactly happened? And are you still together with Fenna? Where are you now?”

“Fenna and I are together; we’re still operating in the Upper City District. We discovered that the Heretics were using the fog to enter the real world and control some ‘replicas’ to attack the City-State–we’ve just located and eliminated one of the controllers,” Morris quickly replied, then organized his thoughts before continuing, “It’s very strange, after the heretic died, his body exhibited fusion with Prime Element materials, seemingly some kind of extreme ‘modification’. He was carrying a black, unnamed book; the content of the book…”

Morris suddenly stopped, his tone becoming extra cautious, carefully controlling his thoughts, “The content was unsettling, written in the original scripture copied by the ‘Crow’, and I had only managed to read a small part of it before being contaminated. Sorry, I can only report this much–I can’t recall the details right now.”

Duncan’s voice was silent for two seconds, then rang out again, “That’s enough, safety first. Do not continue to recall what you saw. Bring the book along and report to me in person afterward.”

Morris exhaled slightly, “Yes, Captain.”

Just then, Fenna suddenly “spoke” up, “Captain, how are things on your end?”

“I’m with Alice in the second waterway–it’s quite quiet here.”

In the depths of the central city area, within a crossroad at the second waterway, Duncan raised his head, looking towards the long-empty corridor.

A thin layer of fog was floating above the corridor, clinging to the dark dome above. The fog seemed to appear out of nowhere within the space and was becoming thicker over time–though compared to the City-State surface completely enveloped in dense fog, the fog here was not significant.

“I’m waiting for the fire to be ready.”

Via the connection of the “mark,” he spoke to Fenna in his mind.

“Fire?” Fenna’s voice sounded a bit puzzled.

“The Heretics’ nest is not in the real world–the Mirror Frost is their true stronghold,” Duncan slowly stated, “Whether it’s the Mist Fleet or the Frost Navy, including the City-State Guards and the Church’s guardians, the ‘invaders’ they eliminate in the real world are only slowing down the process of emerging from the mirror. Only by acting from the mirror side can we truly resolve this issue.

“Agatha has gone with the fire already–she will find the nests of those heretics, and then I will help her ignite that place.”

Fenna hesitated for a few seconds, “Then…what can we do?”

“Continue to hunt in the mist, eliminate all the counterfeits you see, find out all the puppeteers behind them, and kill as many as you can,” Duncan said, “Slowing down the invasion is meaningful. You are buying time for Agatha and also reducing the pressure she faces.”

Fenna responded immediately, “Yes, I understand!”

After a few more seconds, her voice came through again, “Also… there might still be a ‘Gatekeeper’ impostor active in the City-State, and the church doesn’t seem to react at all. What do you think…”

Her voice sounded hesitant.

Duncan had already known about the impostor and even had clearer information than Fenna did.

After all, he had made contact with the real Agatha.

“Don’t worry about that ‘Agatha’,” he replied after a moment’s thought, “and don’t confront her — but if you encounter her, provide help as necessary based on the situation.”

Fenna was clearly startled for a few seconds, and then speaking with astonishment, “Provide help? Help that ‘counterfeit’?”

“Don’t forget, not all counterfeits are controlled by the Heretics. The most outstanding among them have their own wills,” Duncan’s voice remained calm, “The Gatekeeper will not easily become a puppet of the heretics. Of course, the specific situation will still need to be judged by yourselves.”

“Yes, I understand, Captain.”

This time, Fenna’s response carried a sort of unusual solemnity.

It was as if her sense of mission as a Judge resonated subtly with that “Gatekeeper” at this moment.

The communication with the followers ended.

Duncan exhaled softly, then raised his hand, igniting a small flame at his fingertips.

He stared at the flame and after a moment whispered, “Agatha, do you think ‘she’ will really behave as you think?”

A cold and hoarse voice rose from the flame, “She will.”

“Why are you so sure?”

“Because I trust myself.”

“But that’s just your Replication,” Duncan said calmly, “There might be slight differences between you two, which could lead to her making different decisions from you.”

“But you did not instruct your followers to eliminate that ‘risk’,” Agatha replied, “You trust my judgment too.”

Duncan was silent for a few seconds before he sighed softly.

“A human named Brown Scott once proved his humanity to me, and that humanity still holds true in the ‘counterfeit’–so this time, I don’t mind trusting again.”

“What if… I mean, what if my judgments are wrong too? Your trust will be misplaced…”

“It’s okay, it’s a minor issue.”

A minor issue…

In the cold, damp sewer corridor, Agatha lowered her head and glanced at the small flame still quietly burning in her palm.

The feeble warmth emanating from the flame seemed to be the only warmth she could feel in this world–beyond the firelight, she felt the entire world as cold as a grave.

The voice of the “Captain” came again, “Agatha, how is it on your end?”

“I’m still advancing, almost there. I can feel it, very close.”

“I mean your situation; your voice sounds different from before.”

Agatha stopped walking.

She lowered her head, her gaze landing on her scarred body and wounds that no longer bled.

“It’s okay,” she said softly, her voice as cold as a grave, “It’s a minor issue.”