Chapter 470: Chapter 471: The Potential Behind the Key Chapter 470: Chapter 471: The Potential Behind the Key Frost, southern port, deep within the secret facility, unauthorized personnel had already evacuated the area, with Agatha and Terrian awaiting Duncan’s arrival.
Just behind them stood that massive machine secretly constructed by the forr city hall—an oval-shaped pressure-resistant chamber firmly secured with steel cables between beams, as light from the ceiling poured down, reflecting on the tallic shell of the submarine, giving it an icy, silent glow.
Silence enveloped the hall, the tense wait continued for a mont before Agatha suddenly looked up. Her voice, ghostly and hoarse, broke the quiet, “He’s here.”
Once she had spoken, her arms spread in midair, and the vivid green flas that cloaked her entire body rose from the scars that crisscrossed her skin. Her pose resembled that of embracing the sun. In front of Agatha, a dark green fire abruptly soared, then condensed into a whirling fiery gateway, from which the skeletal form of Ai Yi flew out first, followed by a robust silhouette wrapped in a black coat and bandages.
Terrian bowed respectfully towards that figure and stepped half a step to the side, “Father.”
Agatha then retracted her arms and the flas on her body, assuming a prayer-like posture with folded hands before her chest, and bowed her head slightly, “Sorry to trouble you to co here in person.”
“No matter; this incarnation had nothing else to do. Being on-site is far more efficient than listening to reports,” Duncan waved his hand, walking past Terrian and Agatha, his gaze already fixed on the colossal machine behind them, “… Is this it?”
“Yes,” Agatha nodded gently, “The legacy left by Governor Winston—perhaps it also embodies the dedication of other forr Governors. According to the current inspection, this submarine is nearly complete and in good condition.”
Duncan uttered a soft “hmm” but did not continue speaking. He just stood there quietly, as if watching a segnt of frozen history, not uttering a word for a long ti.
That dusty history was also watching him, with the grand aspirations and lonely quests of tis past solidified in the crisscrossing lights, within this hall on the verge of being forgotten, where all human fears and courage were cast into that cold steel.
Duncan could almost hear the obsession and roar cast within that steel.
He took a few steps forward, reaching the edge of the railing, stretching out his hand to touch the submarine’s cold, hard shell. And deep within his own lifeless body… there seed to echo a faint throbbing, but then the sensation vanished in an instant.
Yet that fleeting feeling still made Duncan feel an echo of familiarity. He rembered, finding the source of that feeling:
It was when he first set foot on the plains of Prand, standing as “Uncle Duncan” before Nina, and she, with a radiantly smiling face, ran towards him with open arms; it was when he found that silver brooch on Holoss, and heard the na “Lucresia” from others—for at that mont, the slightest affection and mories welled up from his heart, as if they were remnants of humanity in a body that had persisted to the end, never quite able to dissipate completely.
Duncan withdrew his arm, staring thoughtfully at his palm as if contemplating the original owner of this body. After a long while, he spoke softly, “Ah, you know about this…”
Terrian’s voice ca from beside him, “Father? What did you say?”
“Nothing,” Duncan turned around, “Is the submarine operable now?”
“This…” Terrian’s tone held a hint of trouble, “We’ve carefully examined the facility’s condition and the state of the submarine. The main structure of the submarine itself is intact, but there are two issues. First, it seems that all the original technicians of this facility have perished, and the docunts and equipnt left in the outer hall are severely damaged. This problem is relatively easy to resolve; so of the ‘old fellows’ from the Mist Fleet should be able to handle this device—it was built based on blueprints left by the Frost Queen, after all. The second issue is more troubleso…”
Terrian paused for a bit, organizing his thoughts before continuing, “According to our preliminary inspection, this submarine is vastly different from the ones used in the past; it actually doesn’t rely on atmospheric pumps from the surface, but uses built-in oxygen tanks for oxygen supply. However, we only found the installation location for the tanks, not the tanks themselves—perhaps this part wasn’t completed yet. This is also why Ms. Agatha said it is ‘nearly complete.’ To manufacture an oxygen supply system compatible with this submarine on short notice might take a considerable amount of ti.”
Duncan turned his head, quietly giving Terrian a glance.
With a twist of anxiousness, Terrian murmured, “Father?”
“I don’t need to breathe,” Duncan looked into Terrian’s eyes, “Any problems now?”
Terrian: “…”
The newly appointed Governor of Frost was montarily stunned, then it dawned on him. A flush of embarrassnt washed over his face, and he quickly nodded, “Ah, then there are no problems whatsoever…”
“You’ve beco so caught up on this breath issue when the whole Mist Fleet hardly has a few mbers who breathe. It seems recent events have really muddled your mind,” Duncan shook his head, “Alright, since there is no problem, get ready quickly. Get this submarine operational in the shortest ti. This is the matter I’m most concerned about in Frost.”
Terrian imdiately stood upright; although it had been a century since he heard a command from his father, his muscles stiffened reflexively, “Yes! Father!”
Afterward, Tyrion left—to carry out his father’s orders as quickly as possible.
Duncan turned around and observed the strangely shaped diving equipnt for a while, before he noticed that Agatha was still standing in the sa spot, seemingly hesitant to speak.
Duncan turned his head, his eyes sweeping over Agatha and her shadow on the ground beside her. He nodded, “You can speak now. It’s just us—what’s going on? Who will speak first?”
Agatha was startled but quickly realized, “You… have you noticed already?”
“There were two shadows in the light of the fire, and although one tried to hide, the flas on you both originate from , which makes your concealnt… clumsy in my eyes,” Duncan turned back, his gaze sowhat gentle, “I noticed as soon as I arrived here, but you didn’t want to speak earlier, so I didn’t ask.”
“I just thought that this matter should not be known to General Tyrion for the ti being.”
Agatha spoke and slowly stepped aside.
Her shadow remained where it was.
The next second, the shadow left on the ground suddenly trembled and then, a blurry and ethereal figure, vaguely recognizable as the forr Gatekeeper, stood up from within the shadow and bowed slightly to Duncan, a hoarse voice nearly identical to Agatha’s following, “Pleased to et you, Captain Duncan.”
“I believe this is the first ti I’m eting you,” Duncan said with a tinge of surprise, examining the flickering phantom for a few seconds before suddenly looking up at Agatha not far off, “Has she always been this blurry?”
“She’s clear in the mirror, but there are no mirrors here,” Agatha imdiately explained, “Also, according to our tests, ‘she’ becos blurry when feeling nervous—the more nervous she gets, the blurrier she becos. Right now… she’s sowhat tense in front of you.”
“…How fascinating,” Duncan grew increasingly incredulous as he watched the apparition. Despite having sensed her presence earlier, he was still taken aback, “I thought you had dissipated into the darkness—Agatha accessed the mories you left behind when you vanished.”
“I did dissipate at one point, but ultimately, I returned to this world,” the indistinct shadow said, “I’m sorry, I don’t know how to explain this process. When I beca aware of my existence again, I was already a reflection in the mirror…”
Agatha imdiately added, “We suspect it has sothing to do with the ‘Key,’ but we have no evidence.”
“Key?”
“The brass key,” Agatha nodded, “Based on her faint impressions, ‘she’ reappeared in this world when I obtained that brass key—perhaps the key possesses not only the power to store information but can also preserve mories, personality, and even the soul to so extent. Under the right conditions, the stored mories and souls could ‘reshape’ into so form…”
Duncan listened silently and did not respond imdiately.
The key left by the Frost Queen, Lei Nora, was now on the Holoss, in the hands of his “original self”. Out of caution, he had not yet tried using that key on Alice, but now it seed… his caution might have been warranted!
Agatha’s touch of the key ant that the “counterfeit Agatha,” who had also handled it, returned to this world. What would happen if the key were used on Alice?
Could the key possibly contain the mories, or even the soul, of the Frost Queen, Lei Nora?
Successive Governors of Frost had been influenced by the brass key during their dealings with it, passively learning the truth of the Deep Abyss Project, passively accepting the “legacy” of the Frost Queen, and even having their wills disturbed by the Queen. Up to now, this kind of “influence” had rely been crudely attributed to the “Curse” of the Frost Queen. The events now occurring with Agatha made Duncan realize the potential that lay behind the key.
Given that Alice and the Frost Queen were the spitting image of one another, this possibility pointed towards an even more unsettling direction—the puppet is a vessel, and the key within it stores a soul. Together, they form the Frost Queen.
Duncan was silent, releasing a soft sigh in his heart.
He understood why Agatha had not ntioned this before Tyrion just now.
But then, he suddenly felt that sothing wasn’t quite right.
Alice, as a puppet, combined with the “soul-storing” brass key… was that truly the thod for resurrecting the Frost Queen? Could things really be that simple?
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