Ashes Of Deep Sea
Chapter 417 - Chapter 417 Chapter 421 Sailing Toward The Abyss

Chapter 417: Chapter 421 Sailing Toward The Abyss Chapter 417: Chapter 421 Sailing Toward The Abyss “The Queen’s key?”

Agatha’s expression changed instantaneously, fixing her gaze on the eyes of Governor Winston.

However, the latter seemed even more astonished than she, his eyes brimming with bewilderment, “You don’t know? Then how did you get in here?”

Agatha’s expression became grave as she realized that the situation might not be what she had anticipated–when she had first sensed that she could “enter” the stone wall, she thought that Governor Winston, who had entered this place before her, was the same kind of being as herself. But now, it seemed that Mr. Governor had used some other method.

He knew more secrets than she had imagined.

“I have my own methods,” Agatha spoke slowly, her tone inadvertently carrying a certain pressure, “You just mentioned ‘The Queen’s key’–what exactly is that?”

Winston looked at the gatekeeper before him with suspicion, but after a moment’s hesitation, he finally let out a resigned sigh and reached into the pocket over his chest.

“Well then, we have reached this point; there’s no need to keep secrets any longer.”

He pulled out a small object from his pocket, which was a brass key with an ornate pattern. Its handle resembled a horizontal “8,” or the infinity symbol from mathematics, but the head lacked the usual tooth-like structure common in keys, and instead was a cylinder with a groove in it.

Agatha curiously scrutinized the object in the other’s hand, suddenly feeling that it looked less like a key for opening doors and more like… the type used for winding up dolls or other spring-driven mechanisms.

“A winding key?” she blurted out instinctively, “You mean to say this is something left behind by Queen Lei Nora? Why would it be in the hands of a Governor?”

“The Governors have handed it down from one generation to the next. This key was a gift from the Queen to the rebels, and… a curse,” Winston’s mouth twisted into a bitter smile, filled with bitterness and even tinged with fear, “From the moment the first Governor took the key, a shadow has loomed over our heads, Madam Gatekeeper.”

Agatha did not interrupt the seemingly feeble middle-aged man’s rambling, almost delirious mutterings; she waited patiently for him to finish before speaking calmly, “You actually know the real situation of the Boiling Gold mine, don’t you.”

“If by the real situation, you mean signs of exhaustion in the Boiling Gold mine as far back as the Queen’s reign… yes, I know,” Winston spoke softly, conceding, “I am sorry, I have known what the door you found was all along, but I thought there was time to set everything back on course before the situation worsened. That way, what you found would have just been a disused mine tunnel, and Frost… would still be the flourishing Frost.”

“I need an explanation, Governor,” Agatha spoke seriously, her tone somewhat icy, “If the Boiling Gold mine was already exhausted during the Queen’s reign, then what has been dug out and shipped out for these past decades? Moreover, what is the connection between today’s strange occurrences in the City-State and the mine’s exhaustion?”

“The Boiling Gold is still Boiling Gold, Madam Gatekeeper. What we have dug up is Boiling Gold, and what has been shipped out is still Boiling Gold, genuine and real,” Winston lifted his head with an expression that was a mix between crying and laughing, “It wasn’t any contamination. We tested it; the Queen’s time tested it too. If something looks like Boiling Gold, functions like Boiling Gold, and the effects and byproducts are indistinguishable from normal Boiling Gold–then without a doubt, it must be Boiling Gold.”

“Those are really Boiling Gold?!” Agatha suddenly widened her eyes, finding the answer particularly inconceivable, “But the mine ran dry decades ago, and the ore appearing in the mineshafts now…”

“That is precisely the most terrifying and bizarre part, isn’t it?” Winston said with bitter laughter, “The ore veins dried up, but soon new ore would fill up certain unnoticed corners as if a parallel, false ‘Frost City-State’ existed, continuously feeding ore into the real world–or perhaps, once the mine reached a certain depth underground, we have always been mining from a mirror world, and those phantom-like contraventions of nature… no matter how they are tested after being extracted, they turn out to be real.”

Agatha listened, her expression stern, as these incredible truths shook her already often disoriented mind. But ultimately, she kept her composure and spoke softly, “Mirror Frost–Mr. Governor, you are correct, there exists a mirror Frost. The fog that now envelops the City-State and the counterfeits that keep appearing within it, they are all escaping from that mirror city. This mirror City-State is gradually corroding and replacing our real world.”

Winston’s face subtly changed, and then he fell silent for several seconds before finally letting out a long sigh, “Ah, it seems that this is the price of that Boiling Gold.”

“Price? You speak of it too lightly–the ones bearing the price are not just you and me, but the entire population of the City-State, most of whom have no idea what is happening…”

“But the vast majority of them have been reaping the benefits of the boiling gold trade–all in the City of Extreme Cold. It’s the boiling gold that keeps everyone in the city warm, with plenty of food, and allows us to maintain a relatively prosperous standard even after the sea cliffs collapse, Gatekeeper Lady.”

Winston paused for a few seconds, then waved his hand.

“You should know, I never indulge in luxury, own no real estate, keep no private wealth–I don’t even have an heir. Lady, everything I do is not for personal desires.”

Agatha gazed into the Governor’s eyes, but all she saw in those depths was exhaustion.

“They don’t have a choice…”

She murmured as if speaking to herself.

“It’s that no one has a choice,” Winston shook his head, “I know what you mean. This road today, today’s cost, none of it was chosen by the citizens of the City-State–but neither did I choose it. There is simply no other path to take.

“The City-State is only so large, there’s no second Frost on the Endless Sea for us to stand upon, we need food, fuel, houses, and clean fresh water, we need boiling gold–even if it comes from the eerie shadow world. Without boiling gold, just one winter would kill a quarter of the City-State’s people, and the rest would gradually revert to the dark City-State era before industrial development over a few years, continuing to lose a quarter or more of the population…

“Gatekeeper Lady, take a rest. You’re as tired as I am, and perhaps we should now accept a fact–the City-State is a steam locomotive driving towards The Abyss, and everyone is on board. The only difference between the protectors of the City-State and ordinary people is that ordinary folks live with their eyes covered, while we… just keep our eyes open.”

Agatha, however, paid no mind to Winston’s defeatist remarks. She stood silently in the darkness, feeling the unbearable cold creeping in from all around, feeling her blood growing colder in her veins.

Then, she broke the silence, “Someone made a different choice.”

“…Yes, there was one. The Frostfolk once called her ‘Queen,’ while history books named her the ‘Mad Queen,'” Winston laughed, though it was unclear whether he was mocking the queen or himself. “A great mortal, she even tried to defy the sea itself, to defy the terrors of the deepest sea.”

“The Abyssal Expedition…” Agatha whispered, all the clues she had grasped finally coming together in her mind, forming a clear picture, “So, the Abyssal Expedition was not just a simple exploration project recorded in the documents… The Queen wanted to uncover the deep secrets of the City-State?!”

“We do not know why she believed that the constantly appearing boiling gold in the mines was related to the ‘deep sea,’ but clearly, she was heading in the right direction–the uncontrollable disaster of the Abyssal Expedition and the terrible fate she later faced prove that she had touched the true source. The greatest irony of our world lies right here,” Winston shifted his position next to the tree stump, looking up at the endless chaos and writhing shadows above, and spoke calmly, “Truth points to madness, and madness leads to failure. Every step you take towards your goal takes you closer to The Abyss.

Winston sighed.

“She wanted to uncover the true nature of the boiling gold mines, to solve the hidden dangers behind the City-State, to defy the sea itself with her own wisdom and strength… It’s noble, but it turns out, she merely used up her destiny ahead of its time.”

“So, you ‘Successors’ have decided not to follow her old path–you pretend to be like everyone else, covering your eyes and rushing towards The Abyss with this locomotive. The once Queen, who tried to hit the brakes or change the tracks, is now characterized in history books as a madwoman beguiled by Subspace.”

“An ancient Frost adage–The dead must give way to the living,” Winston slowly turned his eyes, locking gaze with Agatha’s, “A once-great ruler would not mind being characterized this way, if it helped Frost quickly stabilize after the turmoil.”

Agatha wanted to say something, but in the end, she said nothing.

After a long moment, she could only shake her head slightly.

“That key… How did it end up in the hands of the first Governor?”