Chapter 128 Mirror

Agatha instantly retracted her cane, then widened her eyes, staring in astonishment and wariness at the "knock-off" monster slowly raising its head in front of her. In that instant, she realized... this monster made of elemental "sludge" had mutated.

Some force or will had descended into its body and instantly changed its essence—it had transformed into a medium, and was constantly releasing terrifying power in this dark sewer.

Layers upon layers of noise arose, transforming into countless incomprehensible murmurs and roars in her mind. Agatha felt the edges of her vision fill with flickering shadows, and countless eyes seemed to open in those shadows in an instant. This was a sign that her mind was being corrupted—the fatigue and mental damage accumulated from continuous combat had weakened her defenses, leaving her almost powerless to resist.

But this corruption lasted for less than two seconds. It seemed the master of the power consciously controlled it, restraining the might that radiated from this incarnation. Agatha's senses regained clarity and stability, and in this moment of lucidity, she recognized the "identity" of the person before her.

"You are… that Descender…" she said hesitantly, rubbing her forehead.

"I am," the incarnation said. This body made of elemental sludge was still constantly writhing and deforming, seemingly unable to bear the overwhelming power. It could never present a clear and stable image. "Just call me Captain—that's what my followers call me."

"Captain?" Agatha frowned. The aftereffects of mental corruption made her thinking somewhat sluggish. She found the title strange, but quickly gave up on dwelling on it—there were countless "Captains" in this world. An obscure, higher-order being might call themselves "Captain" simply out of interest. It wasn't worth investigating.

"Why are you here?" she asked, puzzled.

"I've been looking for you for a long time," Duncan said. "When you suddenly disappeared in the city-state, I knew something must have happened."

"You were looking for me?" Agatha was taken aback, then quickly looked around. "How are things outside?"

"If you mean the 'Frost' of the real world, then everything is as usual—so normal it's abnormal," Duncan shook his head. "Do you know where you're trapped?"

"I… I'm not sure," Agatha supported herself with her cane, slowly leaning against the nearby wall. She had gained a precious moment of safety and had to take this opportunity to recover some strength. "This is another Frost, one completely controlled by 'knock-offs'. There's no sun here, and the connection to the gods is very weak, but there are clues to the activities of those Annihilation heretics. I was tracking one of them, all the way here…"

She stopped, breathing slightly, and turned to look at the "Captain."

"A mirror," the temporary incarnation said. "You're trapped in a mirror image of Frost."

"A mirror?" Agatha was stunned for a moment, then lowered her head with a thoughtful expression. "So that's it… a mirror…"

"They may have copied the entire Frost, including a stretch of sea around it, and this mirror image is the source of all the 'knock-offs'," Duncan continued. "The bad news is, there are signs that this 'mirror image' is gradually approaching the real world—that must be the true plan of those Annihilation cultists."

Agatha suddenly looked up. "You mean…"

"The frequent appearance of 'knock-offs' in the city-state, the replicated Sea Swallow, the disappearing Dagger Island, even your being trapped, are all the result of 'Mirror Frost' constantly approaching 'Real Frost'—the Annihilation cultists' goal from the beginning was not to invade or destroy this city, Agatha. What they want is to transform the entire city into that 'kingdom' foretold in the prophecies."

"…At some point, the constantly approaching mirror and reality will collide…" Agatha took a light breath, muttering to herself. She had already thought of the possibility. "No wonder, no wonder that heretic said that when the guardians find the 'sanctuary,' that's when their plan will succeed… that instant is when the mirror and reality touch!"

"It looks like you have an idea," Duncan said. "You said you found clues to those cultists here and were tracking them?"

"Yes, I smelled their scent—deep within this 'Second Waterway'," Agatha looked up, staring at a certain direction in the depths of the corridor. After a short rest, she had recovered some strength. She straightened up again and slowly walked forward. "There's a heretic, he's been hindering me, but the longer he stalls, the more he exposes his tracks. I feel like I'm getting close…"

The incarnation controlled by Duncan followed Agatha's footsteps.

"I'm very sorry," Agatha, who was walking ahead, suddenly said.

"What are you apologizing for?"

"Just now… I almost attacked you." Agatha's tone seemed a little awkward.

Duncan paused slightly, then recalled the scene he had seen when he had just entered this incarnation—the tin cane in Agatha's hand was only a few millimeters from his head.

But he thought about it and felt it was no big deal.

It was weaker than Vanna's leaping strike back then.

"I don't mind, and I'm used to it."

"…Used to it?"

"One of my followers suddenly uses a leaping strike when startled—sometimes the target is me, although she doesn't do it anymore."

Agatha: "…?"

The young gatekeeper was greatly shocked and couldn't help but guess how this being, who seemed to be an ancient god, usually interacted with his followers, and how outrageous, strange, and heretical his followers were.

She thought for a long time, and her sanity was almost cleared out, but she still couldn't figure it out.

Duncan didn't notice Agatha's sudden daze and contemplation. He just continued walking forward, carefully observing the situation in the corridor along the way.

This was the Second Waterway of Mirror Frost—obviously very different from the Second Waterway in the real world.

He stopped and stared thoughtfully at the sewer corridor extending ahead in the dim light.

"What did you think of?" Agatha also stopped and asked, turning her head in confusion.

"In the real world, this is a collapsed area, the road is blocked," Duncan said, his tone thoughtful. "It seems that in this Mirror Frost, the Second Waterway is intact, and even looks like it's been in use."

"…Perhaps, it presents the way it was during the Queen's era," Agatha said in a hoarse voice. "I've already noticed that many details of this Mirror Frost… are similar to the scenes I'm familiar with, but not quite, not like the modern era."

Duncan listened to Agatha's analysis without speaking for a moment. After a few more seconds, he broke the silence: "It looks like I might not be able to accompany you on the rest of the way."

Agatha turned back in surprise.

She saw that the "Captain's" incarnation was gradually collapsing. The constantly flowing and deforming black sludge seemed to be carrying too much power, and was now peeling off little by little, leaving crisscrossing, spider web-like cracks on the surface of the body. Between the cracks, there were flickers of eerie green flames, as if they were about to escape and flow uncontrollably.

She exclaimed subconsciously: "Your body…"

"Don't worry, this inferior replica can't stably bear my power. It's only a matter of time before it collapses," Duncan just shook his head, his tone calm. "It's already surprising that I could hold out long enough to say so much to you."

Then he waved his hand, stopping Agatha from speaking.

"Your current state is terrible. You need more help. I will leave some kindling here. That kindling can strengthen the connection between you and me. Take it and continue to track those cultists' lair. I will continue to help you."

Agatha stepped forward subconsciously, as if she still wanted to ask something, but before she could open her mouth, the incarnation, which was about to collapse due to bearing too much power, reached its limit.

In a sudden burst of eerie green flames, the elemental sludge that made up the incarnation instantly stopped flowing and was swallowed by the flames, splitting apart. Countless fragments of ash scattered with a bang.

And in the center of the black elemental wreckage that had been burned to ashes, only a small, finger-sized flame remained.

The flame floated in mid-air near the ground.

Agatha stared blankly at the flame floating near the surface. Its eerie green appearance made the gatekeeper feel vigilant. She instinctively felt fear and tension. However, after a moment of hesitation, she still took a step forward and slowly bent down.

"…I hope this is the right choice."

She said softly, and recited the name of Bartok in her heart. Then, as if she had made up her mind with great courage, she reached out and touched the small flame with her fingertip.

The flame was like a weightless petal, taken into her hand.

"…I can actually pick it up."

Agatha looked in astonishment at the flame that she was already holding in her palm, and at that moment, she felt the connection between herself and this flame.

Weak, wonderful, but definitely there—after a brief trance, she woke up and carefully guarded the flame in her palm. She raised the already scarred cane in her other hand and stepped towards the deepest part of the Second Waterway.