Ashes Of Deep Sea
Chapter 419 - Chapter 419 Chapter 423 Moving Forward

Chapter 419: Chapter 423: Moving Forward Chapter 419: Chapter 423: Moving Forward Deep at the seafloor, beneath the City-State, the ancient god stretched its tentacles into the real world, growing stronger each day in that indescribable darkness–

It was visible, its filthy, horrifying fleshly limbs were its physical form, icy and chilling to the bone, yet it was also formless, for its will had long ago crossed the dark abyss and penetrated the thick rocks and soil of the City-State, its unimaginable power continuously burrowing into this city and deeply piercing into the depths of the boiling gold mines.

“Gatekeeper Lady, we are now inside it–this place was once rock, but the power of the ancient god has transformed the rock here into part of its fleshly body. This dark material, separated by over a thousand meters of rock and seawater, pulses with the source at the seafloor, and with each beat, it draws the mirror City-State closer to our real world… Do you hear it? Thump, thump… The flesh moves, contracts, murmurs in its dreams, this place… is thinking.”

Winston whispered like a prayer, slowly raising his hands, gesturing towards the endless darkness around him and the thorny, tangled “branches” within the darkness, between which dim points of light shot rapidly like fireflies. Gradually, Agatha really seemed to hear that deep sound–thump, thump…

This vast anomalous area buried deep in the boiling gold mines was producing a heartbeat.

Even her own heart seemed to be influenced by this heartbeat, wanting to resonate and pulse along.

However, a faint current of warmth suddenly appeared at her heart, shocking Agatha sharply back to reality. She realized that her humanity had just retreated from the brink of madness and immediately, her expression shifted as she stared intently into Winston’s eyes.

“Your sanity is abnormal, Governor Winston–you are influenced by this place.”

“Ah… Is that so? Perhaps,” Winston waved his hand indifferently, “I initially thought I could calm the ancient god like the Queen, then thought I could at least delay it for a while, and then believed I could remain lucid until the end, but it seems… I have failed without even realizing it?”

“Calm the ancient god like the Queen?” Agatha sharply caught the key point in the Governor’s words, her gaze changed subtly, vaguely realizing the real reason for the Governor’s presence here, “You mean, the Frost Queen half a century ago successfully put the power of The Saint into slumber?”

Winston laughed, “…What do you think caused the collapse of the sea cliff back then?”

Agatha paused, hesitating as she spoke, “The collapse… After the Queen was beheaded, the entire execution grounds fell into the sea… That wasn’t an accident?!”

“It was a sacrifice–the sacrifice was the Queen herself, along with the first group of opportunists who chose to betray her after the uprising–of course, also the entire group of executioners and not a few rebel officials to accompany her in death,” Winston calmly explained, “We sealed the detailed records from that time, thus few people know about the specifics after the sea cliff collapse–thousands died in that accident, but in reality, almost all the civilians survived the collapse, while those swept into the waves… even if they were just a meter from the shore, had no chance to struggle, as they were instantly ‘sucked’ into the seabed.

“And after that collapse, the expansion of the anomaly in the boiling gold mines stopped for a time, and only then did the first Governor realize that everything was part of Lei Nora’s plan–the cold truth transferred from the Queen’s key to the Governor’s hands, just as she said, now it’s our turn.”

Agatha fell silent, and after a moment, her eyes became complex, “You came here, intending to recreate that sacrifice…”

“‘It’ is surfacing, the knowledge carried in the key tells me, to suppress this process, one must touch ‘Its’ mind. Fifty years ago, Its power was still slumbering in the deep sea, so the Queen could only sacrifice herself to the deep sea, but now, Its power has deeply pierced the City-State, so this is the best place to touch–this is the method left in the key by the Queen; every Governor, upon receiving the key, is entwined with this responsibility, preparing for it all their life, and I too prepared everything for it, but there was just one thing I hadn’t anticipated…”

Winston tugged at the corner of his mouth, which hardly counted as a smile.

“Not everyone is Lei Nora.”

Agatha listened silently, then lowered her head, quietly observing the brass key still lying in her palm.

This was something created by the Frost Queen using some transcendent power–she had condensed the “knowledge” she touched and part of her own “thoughts” into the physical form of the key.

Yet, for some reason, Agatha felt that the key… might have another purpose.

It should not merely exist to bind the successive rulers of the Frost City-State to a responsibility.

But at this moment, Governor Winston clearly could no longer answer her more questions–and she herself, seemed to already lack a way back.

After learning the truth of this dark space, Agatha understood: she had not passed through that stone wall to arrive at some place, but had been directly incorporated into a massive mass of anomalous material.

Here, death awaited Winston, while return and assimilation awaited her.

She looked at the palm of her hand, where the skin that had made contact with the key showed signs of softening and deformation, and a viscous black substance was seeping from it, slowly covering the key.

But she still wanted to move forward, she was somewhat … curious.

“Do we have anything else to do?” Agatha lowered her head to look at the City-State Governor, who had fallen silent, “Are you going to wait here until death overtakes you?”

“Death has already arrived, ma’am–we’re just reviewing our failed lives before we draw our final breath,” Winston shook his head, “There’s nothing left to do, just sit down and rest like me.”

“…You have actually done what you ought to, as the Governor of Frost. You at least bravely faced this so-called ‘Curse’,” Agatha calmly stated, “Inadequacy does not equate to inaction.”

Winston just shrugged self-deprecatingly, “Incapability is a sin.”

“…I still need to move forward, I want to go through these ‘thorns’ to the place of the Touching Tentacle,” Agatha said, “Will you come with me?”

“It holds no meaning for me anymore, ma’am,” Winston quietly replied, “If you wish to go, then go. Let me stay here–my journey has ended.”

Agatha stared at him for a few seconds, then handed over the brass key: “This belongs to you.”

Winston didn’t reach out but looked up into Agatha’s eyes, “Keep it. You’ve taken it–now it’s yours; that’s how we’ve passed it on till now.”

Agatha fell silent for a moment, then pocketed the key.

“Very well, then I shall go alone.”

She bid farewell to Winston, then turned around, raised her cane, and stepped into the void of this dark expanse.

“Ms. Agatha,” Winston’s voice suddenly came from behind, “Does this truly have any meaning?”

Agatha slightly turned her head, “Why do you ask?”

“Even if you discover more truths ahead, even if you really traverse these ‘bushes’ and touch the limbs of the ancient god, what can you change? You can’t stop any of this, nor can you communicate what happens here to the outside world–the investigation is over, and without the ability to relay information, no amount of knowledge you gain matters.”

Agatha’s steps halted, and after a moment of thought, she softly began, “I am the guardian of Frost, it is my duty. And…”

She paused, her hand gripping the brass key unconsciously fell to her chest.

Although the surroundings remained very cold, the sensation of her blood slowly coagulating was stronger than ever. Yet for some reason, since a while ago, she had constantly felt a slight warmth throbbing at her heart, as if… invisible flames were flickering there, spurring her to move forward.

In her mind, a thought that was not her own softly fluttered–the most intense of these thoughts was an obsession–an obsession directed toward the vast, illusory “Touching Tentacle” beyond the thorny shrubs.

“It is meaningful, I am not alone in progressing–though there is no evidence, I believe… everything I see here will eventually be known by someone.”

“Oh, is that so? That’s good… Ms. Agatha, you retain your faith to the very end, and that is truly enviable.”

Winston’s voice ceased, and there were no more sounds from that direction.

Agatha turned back, spotting a small lantern shining brightly in the darkness, illuminating a dry “stump,” where a middle-aged man in a deep blue coat was quietly leaning.

A bullet hole penetrated his temple, and in his hanging hand, he held a finely crafted revolver.