Chapter 400: Chapter 404 Interwoven Chapter 400: Chapter 404 Interwoven The damp, cold Second Waterway corridor echoed with footsteps as the gatekeeper strode towards even darker depths.
The black clothes representing the City-State Defender were already tattered, and the magically crafted combat staff bore nurous scars. Pain and fatigue seed to have beco distant illusions, leaving only the hollow echoes from the deep bowels of the earth ringing in her ears.
Blood seed to be running out, but her heart still beat, and death was so imminent that with each breath, it felt as though she could sense the chilling cold of the world of the dead—In this dark and solitary corridor, no comrades remained in sight, and enemies had not been seen for quite so ti.
Yet, sothing was still accompanying Agatha on her journey, providing a small, not very bright but sowhat warm fla at the very end of her march toward death.
Agatha cradled the “fire-seed” in her left hand against her chest, protecting the flickering fla carefully. Its soft green glow illuminated her chin and a short stretch of the surrounding corridor. She felt, even relished, the slight warmth the fire-seed brought, because she could feel the road ahead growing colder by the minute.
Or perhaps, it was her own body that was becoming cold.
“I’ve already crossed the Upper City District’s intersections and am nearing the branch corridors around the boiling gold mines…” Agatha whispered to the fla, lifting her head and scanning over a plaque on the sidewall—a mottled, ancient plaque labeling the streets of the City-State correlating to the sewer beneath, which helped determine her current position, “I’ve barely encountered enemies on this path, but the going is getting tougher, and there’s a… suffocating coldness dragging at my steps.”
A majestic and deep voice resounded directly at the bottom of her heart, “Perhaps those Heretics have given up delaying your progress with their minions… They’re concentrating their efforts on the final mont.”
“How are things outside?”
“A heavy fog has risen, shrouding the entire City-State. The City-State Guards are maintaining order and urging residents to return ho. At so intersections, Defender squads can be seen—they’re carrying lanterns used for night patrols because the thick fog is blocking the power of the sun,” that authoritative voice within Agatha continued, “At sea, around the City-State, fog is also forming, possibly extending out for hundreds of miles.”
“…The heretics have taken action,” Agatha murmured softly, “Perhaps my actions have provoked them, forcing them to move ahead of schedule…”
“Your condition doesn’t seem too good.”
“I might be quite seriously hurt,” Agatha continued forward, feeling her breath heavy but her mind clearer than ever, “but don’t worry about . I’m prepared to face death—I’ll ensure your fire-seed reaches their den, by any ans necessary.”
“I’d rather see you complete this task alive, Agatha—Although you are a ssenger of the god of death, there’s no need to rush to report to Bartok. By the way, speaking of which, I’m suddenly curious, for you servants of the god of death, what does ‘death’ an… is it a demotion or a promotion?”
Agatha paused, a smirk tugging at her lips, “Your sense of humor is unexpected—Sorry, I can’t answer that. I’m afraid none of the Death Priests of the ages have considered such a thing. If I have the chance… I’ll give it so thought.”
“Good, I wish you find your answer.”
The voice in her mind went silent, and Agatha exhaled softly—maybe it was an illusion, but she suddenly felt her breathing wasn’t as labored as before, her steps also seed a bit lighter.
She glanced at the fire-seed she was cradling in her hand and guarded it carefully as she crossed another intersection.
Water overflowed from a nearby drainage channel, pooling into a small puddle on the ground that mirrored the dim vault of the waterway.
Agatha stepped across the pool, its still surface rippling—amid the abruptly shattered reflection, the image of a figure dressed in a black coat, wrapped in ritual bandages and holding a tin staff ca into view.
The figure walked in the direction Agatha had co from, and for a brief mont, they passed each other face to face.
…
Agatha ca to an abrupt stop, looking perplexedly at the spot she had just traversed. She saw a small pool of water, its surface still disturbed with ripples.
Within the turbulent broken water, there was no trace of that montary reflection, but Agatha felt as if she had seen sothing.
It was a figure, similar to her own, yet not quite—it wore a tattered black coat, battle-scarred and looking as though it had endured battle after battle; its path was towards the deeper reaches of the Second Waterway.
That was exactly the place she had just left.
Perhaps her stop was too sudden; a subordinate’s voice ca from behind, “Gatekeeper? What’s happened?”
“That puddle of water…” Agatha turned her head, pointing not far away, “was it just there? Did any of you see any strange phenona in it?”
“A puddle?” Her subordinate turned back to look, his expression sowhat puzzled, “It was there just now… but I didn’t see anything strange.”
Agatha didn’t speak, she just suddenly fell silent, staring at the still-rippling water for a long ti. Only gradually did her eyes begin to fill with a trace of solemnity and reflection.
“Did you see sothing?” the subordinate couldn’t help but ask with so concern.
Agatha fell silent for a mont longer before she shook her head gently, “Don’t worry, everything is fine, everything is… fine.”
The subordinate was still sowhat confused, but, facing his superior’s serious expression, he restrained his excessive curiosity and promptly changed the subject: “What did you find on the other side of that door just now? You seem very serious ever since you ca back…”
Agatha gathered her chaotic thoughts swiftly, lifting her head to look in the direction she had co from—the door leading to the abandoned mine shaft had disappeared around the corner of the street, but she still vividly rembered what she had discovered in that dark mine shaft.
She hadn’t explored the mine shaft for too long; she returned the sa way after confirming her discovery, hurrying back to the second waterway and quickly leading her team on the way back to the outpost—out of necessary caution, she still hadn’t revealed to her subordinates what she had found behind that door.
Even now, she didn’t know how to explain to the black-clad guards in front of her that frighteningly bizarre… “guess.”
After a brief hesitation, she turned around and continued walking towards the outpost.
After walking for a while, she suddenly murmured to herself as if talking to herself, “Frost… what sustains life?”
“What sustains life?” her subordinate was taken aback for a mont, not understanding at first. It took a few seconds for him to hesitantly speak, “Do you an… the economic source of the City-State? The molten gold trade?”
“Molten gold is the blood of Frost, the mines are the heart of the City-State…” Agatha murmured to herself, uttering words that confused the black-clad guards, “It seems we have never considered… that this heart could stop beating…”
Another black-clad guard couldn’t help stepping forward, his face showing a tinge of nervousness: “You…”
Agatha gently lifted her hand, cutting off her subordinate’s words.
“Don’t think too much right now, nothing is certain yet. I did see sothing on the other side of that door, but whether I can reveal it to you will have to be discussed with the Archbishop first.”
She had cald down from her previous unrest.
Perhaps she had been too tense. It was just an exhausted abandoned mine shaft, after all. For an ancient mine that had been excavated for many years, it wasn’t surprising that one or two mine shafts were exhausted. The subsequent decision to seal it off by the City-State’s municipal hall was likely due to so other reason—a form of pollution that once existed but has since subsided is the most likely scenario.
Jumping to conclusions is a major taboo in investigations.
Agatha shook her head, but the scene she had seen earlier reflected in that puddle of water involuntarily erged in her mind again.
That version of “herself” in the reflection walking in the opposite direction, blood-stained from past battles.
Agatha closed her eyes slightly, the knuckles gripping her staff turning slightly white from the force, but after a mont, she opened her eyes and looked ahead, her expression having returned to calm.
She still had much to do.
In silence, Agatha led the Defender squad back to the outpost located at the underground crossroads. As soon as she returned, she noticed the atmosphere around was a bit unusual.
A faintly nervous air enveloped the outpost; so priests, who looked like they had just co down from the vertical shafts, were talking anxiously with the person responsible for the outpost’s defense. Several steam-powered walkers, which had previously left to clear the side tunnels, had been called back early, seemingly ready to take the elevator back to the surface.
Agatha quickly approached, and before she could speak, the commanding officer of the black-clad guards at the outpost had already swiftly begun, “Guardian of the Gate, there’s a situation on the surface.”
Agatha’s eyebrows furrowed deeply: “What’s happened?”
“Fog, a very large and unusual fog has enveloped the entire City-State and the surrounding seas; you can’t even see the sun in the sky,” the commander reported quickly, “and creatures of heresy have appeared in the library and archives. Though they were promptly suppressed by the resident scholars, panic and chaos are spreading throughout the city—the Archbishop has sent soone, please go back imdiately!”
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