Chapter 1 The Secret

In the pitch-black coffin, the old bishop, wrapped in bandages like a mummy, finally spoke the secret he had concealed for half a century, followed by a long silence.

Agatha's voice broke the stillness, "But it's obvious this isn't over."

The old bishop didn't speak, so Agatha asked again, "In your opinion... are the strange occurrences frequently appearing in the city-state, and the shadow of Dagger Island... also within the Frost Queen's calculations?"

"The Queen isn't a god. She might have foreseen that there would be insurgents to stop her 'madness', but she couldn't have predicted what would happen here half a century later," Bishop Ivan shook his head. He was still recalling the details of that year, but perhaps because the time was too long ago, many details had become blurred. "I can't really remember what the Queen said to me that night. During the funeral ceremony, she seemed to be talking to me the whole time, but you know, performing the ceremony requires intense concentration, and you have to inhale incense beforehand. I... I really can't remember what she said."

At this point, he paused, spreading his hands with some helplessness, "Normally, you wouldn't have the 'deceased' lying on the platform exchanging ceremony experiences with the officiating priest."

Agatha was silent, pondering quietly for a moment before suddenly speaking, "Can you tell me more about the situation back then? Before Project Abyss was completely over... what else did you see in that church?"

"...As I recall, it snowed heavily that day, just like this year, and for a long time, it seemed like it was constantly snowing, big and small flakes. The accumulated snow often covered the streets and roads around the small church, making it difficult to see the boundaries of the road, and many people fell as a result," Bishop Ivan recalled quietly, his low, muffled voice seeming to draw one's imagination directly to that cold winter half a century ago. "People who were injured from falling often came to the church for help—because the neighborhood clinic was already overflowing."

"At that time, Project Abyss had already caused great unease in the city. It wasn't a taboo topic like it is today. Although the core part was classified, most people knew there was such a 'sea exploration' project, so people who came to the church often mentioned to me the 'strange things' they had seen..."

"Strange things?" Agatha couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, strange things. Some people said they saw lights in houses that had been uninhabited for a long time. Some said that a neighbor they knew well suddenly looked different one day after going out. Some said they saw the cemetery gates open late at night, and the people buried during the day walked out of the cemetery openly in the evening—all kinds of terrifying and bizarre stories, both day and night. And given that the most sinister thing in the city-state at that time was Project Abyss, people lumped all these abnormal phenomena together and attributed them to Project Abyss, and then... they started attributing them to the Frost Queen."

"People who were buried in the cemetery walked out openly," Agatha frowned as she listened to the old bishop's account, as if associating it with the present. "And there were lights in uninhabited houses. This... this sounds like..."

"Sounds a lot like the fake corpse in Cemetery No. 3, and the room you saw at 42 Hearthstone Street, doesn't it?" the old bishop said slowly. "But unlike back then, you saw tangible evidence, and even collected exhibits suspected to be 'primordial substance'. Back then, there were only rumors in the city-state—people came to me every day to tell me what strange things they had encountered, but the Guardians went everywhere, but all came up empty."

"All came up empty?" Agatha asked.

"Yes, of course we had to send people to investigate reports from residents, even half a century ago we had these rigorous procedures. I sent many people to investigate those terrifying tales. The doorkeeper of the cathedral at that time even personally investigated like you, but we found nothing. Apart from nervous citizens, everything was actually normal within the city-state—but in contrast, the test sites of Project Abyss were gradually completely sealed off, and all the terrible things happened within the sealed areas."

"As for what exactly happened there... you must have seen it in the archives—the constantly appearing replica submersibles, unregistered strangers coming and going, explorers who sacrificed themselves in the deep sea."

Agatha was silent for a moment, her mind racing. For some reason, she felt that she had smelled a trace of disharmony from the old bishop's account, a trace of wrongness that no one had noticed for half a century.

"In other words, although Project Abyss caused panic back then, all the abnormal events were actually concentrated in the test sites. The city-state was actually operating as usual—although everyone was under great psychological pressure, and the city's operation was difficult due to the Queen's extreme decrees, and people kept reporting abnormal events, but from the perspective of transcendent power, the 'pollution' from the deep sea actually never spilled out of the blockade line back then?"

"...At least that's how I remember it," the old bishop nodded lightly, but then changed the subject, "Of course, even so, I'm not defending the Frost Queen of that year. Even if everything was really normal in the city-state, her Project Abyss had already stretched Frost's economy and everyone's nerves to the breaking point. Even if Project Abyss was really always under her control and never went out of control, that rebel... uprising, was destined to happen."

Agatha didn't seem to notice what the old bishop was saying at the end. She pondered silently for a while, then shook her head, "Let's focus on the present. Bishop Ivan, regarding the current situation in the city, and this letter of report in my hand, I would like to know what your opinion is."

"You discovered traces of Annihilation cultists in the city, and there is evidence to prove that they are pushing things from behind. This is actually a good thing. The most terrible thing when transcendent pollution occurs is not discovering the enemy, but not discovering the enemy."

Bishop Ivan said slowly, and raised the letter in his hand again.

"This report letter you brought also mentions this—suspecting that the Annihilation cultists in Frost City communicated with the power of the deep sea through some kind of secret ritual, causing the deep-sea pollution to directly spill over into the city-state, so we should find a way to find the place where those cultists are holding the ritual."

Agatha looked at the eye of the old bishop that was exposed outside the bandage, "Do you think... that 'visitor' who wrote this report letter is trustworthy?"

"At least every thing mentioned in the report letter, there is now evidence to show that it is true, even the parts that cannot be confirmed for the time being are logically valid," Bishop Ivan nodded. "Of course, I can't say whether the person who wrote the letter is trustworthy—the joys, angers, and perspectives on the world of upper-level transcendents are different from those of mortals, so we can never get along with them using human emotional logic."

"I can only say that when they temporarily show neutrality or friendliness, we can cooperate with them or even actively cooperate, but when they suddenly feel that this is boring and are ready to turn their faces, we don't need to have doubts and surprises. Know that the only upper-level transcendent in this world that can be truly trusted and loyal to is the Four Gods, and everything else is neither enemy nor ally."

The old bishop's words contained half a century of wisdom. Even though their identities were equal, Agatha bowed her head slightly with respect.

"Next time that visitor appears again, I will try to actively contact them to see their current attitude."

"That's for the best," Bishop Ivan said, nodding.

Agatha thought for a while, and then looked at the letter that was currently in the old bishop's hand.

"Then now, there is only one last unsolved puzzle left."

Following her gaze, Bishop Ivan's gaze also fell on the last part of the report letter.

The content of the entire letter was easy to understand, but only the last part, whether it was the cemetery keeper who first received the letter, or Agatha and Bishop Ivan now, found it difficult to understand its deep meaning.

The two spokespersons representing the highest will of the Church in the city-state came together, and the three eyes exposed under the bandages stared closely at the end of the letter.

That indescribable mysterious visitor left a puzzle in the secret letter.

"...What does this string of numbers mean?" Bishop Ivan asked hesitantly.

Agatha slowly shook her head, "I can't understand it either."

"...Perhaps we can find a diviner to deduce it, or ask experts in the fields of mathematics and mysticism to calculate it together—it may be a secret number pointing to the future of the city-state."

"That makes sense."

On the edge of the Upper City, at 44 Oak Street, next to Hearthstone Street, Duncan stood at the narrow window at the end of the corridor on the second floor, looking out at the approaching night.

After a long while, he suddenly turned his head and looked at Vanna, who was dazed beside him, "Do you think they've transferred the money by now?"

Vanna woke up from her trance, looking confused, "Huh... huh?"

"Go to the bank for me tomorrow and see if they've transferred the money," Duncan said with a serious face. "I left an anonymous account in that report letter, which I specifically use to receive reward money."

Vanna: "...Huh?"