Chapter 345: Chapter 349: Snow, Fog, and Secrets Chapter 345: Chapter 349: Snow, Fog, and Secrets “`
In the dark coffin, the old bishop, wrapped in bandages like a mummy, finally spoke of the secret he had kept hidden for half a century, followed by a long silence.
Agatha’s voice broke the calm, “But evidently, this matter is not over.”
The old bishop didn’t speak, and Agatha asked again, “In your opinion… do the strange occurrences that keep happening within the City-State and the shadow over Dagger Island also fall within the Frost Queen’s calculations?”
“The Queen is not a god. She might have anticipated that a rebellion would stop her ‘mad’ actions, but she couldn’t possibly foresee what would happen here half a century later,” Bishop Ivan shook his head. He was still recalling those details from the past, but perhaps too much ti had elapsed, and many details had grown blurry for him, “I actually can’t rember everything the Queen told that night. During the sending off ritual, it seed like she kept talking to , but you know, conducting the ritual requires high concentration, and also inhaling incense beforehand, I… really can’t rember what she told .”
At this he paused, spreading his hands in a gesture of helplessness: “Under normal circumstances, there wouldn’t be interactions about the ritual experience between the ‘deceased’ lying on the platform and the officiating clergyman.”
Agatha remained silent, pondering quietly for a mont before suddenly asking, “Could you tell more about that ti? Before the Subrsion Project was completely over… what else did you see in that church?”
“…As I recall, it was snowing heavily that day, just like this year, and for a long ti after, the snowfalls big and small almost never stopped. The snow would frequently cover the roads around the small church, blurring the edges of the paths, and as a result, many more people fell,” Bishop Ivan reminisced quietly, his low and somber voice seemingly able to draw one’s imagination directly to that cold winter half a century ago, “Often, those who were injured would seek help at the church – because at that ti the district clinic was already overflowing.
“At that ti, the Subrsion Project was already causing great unease within the city. It wasn’t a taboo subject like it is today, although its core was confidential, the general public knew that there was such a ‘sea exploration’ project. Hence, people often ca to in the church and talked about the ‘strange things’ they saw…”
“Strange things?” Agatha couldn’t help but interrupt.
“Yes, strange things. So said they saw lights in long-uninhabited houses, so said that a neighbor they knew suddenly changed their appearance one day, and others claid to have seen the graveyard gates open at night and the people buried during the day boldly walking out of the cetery – all kinds of shocking and bizarre stories, occurring day and night. Given that the Subrsion Project was the most sinister issue in the City-State at the ti, people attributed all these abnormal phenona to the Subrsion Project. Then… they started to attribute them to the Frost Queen.”
“People buried in the graveyard boldly walking out,” Agatha listened to the old bishop’s narration but suddenly frowned, as if making a connection to the present, “And lights appearing in uninhabited houses, this… this sounds…”
“It sounds a lot like the forged corpse in Cetery No. 3, and the room you saw at 42 Fireplace Street, right?” the old bishop said slowly, “But what’s different from back then is that you have seen actual evidence, even collected items suspected to be the ‘Pri Elent.’ Back then in the City-State there were only various rumors – every day people ca to telling about the eerie things they had encountered, but the guards went everywhere and found nothing.”
“Found nothing?” Agatha asked.
“Yes, when residents made reports, of course, we had to send people to investigate, even half a century ago we had these strict procedures. I sent many people to investigate those terrifying tales, the great cathedral’s gatekeeper even personally conducted an investigation like you, but we found nothing, apart from edgy citizens. Everything in the City-State was actually normal – in contrast, the Subrsion Project’s experintation grounds were gradually completely sealed off. All the terrible things happened within the restricted area.
“As for what exactly happened there… you surely have seen in the archives – the constantly appearing Replication divers, unregistered strangers coming and going, explorers sacrificed in the deep sea.”
Agatha fell silent for a mont, her thoughts racing. For so reason, she felt that from the old bishop’s account she could sll a discord, a wrongness that had gone unnoticed for half a century.
“So, you are saying, while the Subrsion Project caused panic back then, all the anomalies were actually confined to the test area, and the City-State was actually operating as usual – even though there was significant ntal stress, city operations were troubled due to the Queen’s extre edicts, and people kept reporting strange events, but analyzing from a transcendent power perspective, the ‘pollution’ from the deep sea never actually spread beyond the confinent line of that year?”
“…At least that’s what I rember,” the old bishop nodded slightly but then continued with a change of tone, “Of course, even so, I am not trying to defend the Frost Queen’s actions back then. Even if everything was normal in the City-State, her Subrsion Project had already stretched Frost’s economy and everyone’s nerves to the breaking point. Even if the Subrsion Project was always under her control and never went awry, that betraya… rebellion, was bound to happen.”
However, Agatha seed to have not noticed what the old bishop was saying at the end; she pondered silently for a while before shaking her head, “Let’s focus on the present, Bishop Ivan. Regarding the current situation within the city and this letter of denunciation I have, I would like to know your thoughts.”
“You have discovered traces of heretics in the city, and there is evidence that suggests they are behind it – this is actually good news. The most terrifying thing when a Transcendent pollution occurs is not finding the enemy, but not finding the enemy.”
Bishop Ivan spoke slowly, lifting the letter in his hand.
“This letter of denunciation you brought up also ntions this – suspecting that the heretics within Frost are communicating with deep-sea powers through so secret ritual, causing deep-sea pollution to directly spill over to the City-State. So, we should try to find where these heretics are conducting their rituals.”
“`
Agatha gazed at the Old Bishop’s eye, the only one not covered by bandages, “Do you think… that ‘visitor’ who wrote the whistleblower letter can be trusted?”
“At least everything that the letter referred to now has evidence proving it is true, even if parts of it can’t be confird for the ti being, logically they hold up,” Bishop Ivan nodded, “Of course, I can’t assert the trustworthiness of the being who wrote the letter — Transcendents’ moods and their perspectives on the mortal world differ from humans, so we can never interact with Them using human emotional logic.
“I can only say that when They temporarily show neutrality or friendliness, we can work with Them or even actively cooperate, but when They suddenly find it boring and prepare to turn on us, we shouldn’t be puzzled or surprised. You should know that the only Transcendents in this world whom we can truly trust and be loyal to are the four deities; all others are neither enemies nor allies.”
The Old Bishop’s words contained the wisdom of half a century, and even though they were equals in rank, Agatha slightly bowed her head in respect.
“Next ti that visitor appears, I will try to make proactive contact and see Their current attitude.”
“That would be best,” Bishop Ivan nodded in agreent.
Agatha thought for a mont, then looked at the letter currently in the hands of the Old Bishop.
“So now, only the final inscrutable puzzle remains.”
As her gaze moved, Bishop Ivan’s eyes also settled on the last part of the whistleblower letter.
The entire content of the letter was understandable, but only that final part, no matter if it was the cetery caretaker who first received the letter or the current Agatha and Bishop Ivan, was difficult to fully grasp.
The two spokespeople representing the highest will of the Church in the City-State gathered together, their three eyes exposed under their bandages staring intently at the end of the letter.
That indescribable, mysterious visitor had left a puzzle in Their confidential letter.
“…What on earth could this string of numbers an?” Bishop Ivan asked with hesitation.
Agatha slowly shook her head, “I can’t make it out either.”
“…Perhaps we could ask a diviner to interpret it or consult experts in mathematics and the mystical arts to work on it together — it might be a secret number pointing to the future of the City-State.”
“That makes sense.”
…
On the edge of the Upper City District, next to Hearth Street, at 44 Oak Street, Duncan stood at the narrow window at the end of the second-floor hallway, watching the nightfall gradually descend.
After a while, he suddenly turned his head, looking at Fenna who was daydreaming beside him, “Do you think they’ve made the paynt by now?”
Fenna snapped out of her reverie, looking perplexed, “Ah… what?”
“Go to the bank for tomorrow, check if they’ve made the paynt,” Duncan said seriously, “I left an anonymous bank account in that whistleblower letter, which I use specifically to receive whistleblower rewards.”
Fenna: “…Ah?”
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