Chapter 1 The Overlook

Tirion's narrative finally came to an end, yet in Duncan's view, the eerie story concluded far too abruptly.

"That's it? That's really the end?" He couldn't help but look at the sea pirate across the mirror, his tone filled with skepticism. "A submersible, carrying a hold full of explosives, goes a thousand meters underwater, and that solves the escalating 'out-of-control transcendent phenomenon'? Let's not even discuss how much power those explosives could release at a thousand meters deep – just from a transcendent perspective, could that explosion destroy a… supernatural phenomenon?"

"That's all we can assume," Tirion said, evidently unsurprised by his father's skepticism. "In truth, nobody knows what truly happened a thousand meters underwater, nobody knows what the Fourth Submersible actually saw down there. Our only connection to the deep was the limited perception shared by the priest through psychic resonance… A scream, a roar, and then a rumble. There's not much truth that can be pieced together from these small fragments."

"And the fact is, after the Fourth Submersible exploded, no more 'Third Submersible' duplicates ever surfaced from the deep sea, so we can only assume… the matter was resolved."

"The matter was resolved…" Duncan frowned and shook his head. "Alright, let's assume the matter was resolved. Then the Submersion Project…"

"The Submersion Project didn't end, and that's precisely where things get fishy," Tirion stated bluntly. "After something like this happened, and after such a great price was paid, after they'd finally resolved the bizarre crisis of the Third Submersible, they should have, by all rights, re-examined the Submersion Project and halted it immediately. Yet Her Majesty, Queen Lei Nora, overruled everyone, not only announcing the project's continuation and the construction of the Fourth Submersible, but even… raising the Submersion Project to the highest priority, using extraordinary manpower and resources to do so."

Duncan's eyes immediately deepened. He vaguely realized that the truly "out of control" element of this affair probably started here. The Ice Queen's "crime," the rebellion half a century ago, all stemmed from this.

He stared into Tirion's eyes. "It sounds like you didn't support her at the time."

"He argued with you, a very strange argument, which is why you said you stopped directly participating in the 'Submersion Project' after that 'thousand-meter' depth – because after that, you felt things were sliding in a dangerous direction," Tirion said slowly, his voice low. "But thinking about it now, he should have tried his best to stop Her Majesty then, instead of avoiding you… He trusted you too much, so much that he didn't realize you were capable of making mistakes too."

"You think Her Majesty really did make a mistake?"

"Oh?"

"It wasn't in this kind of situation that the rumors… well, they can't really be considered rumors anymore, the gossip started spreading. People started saying that Her Majesty was doing some suspicious research, but soon, the story became that Her Majesty was studying the subspace, and then it became that Her Majesty was colluding with the subspace, and that she had partnered with the big boss in the subspace—Captain Duncan…"

"And the strangest thing of all was that even with this series of changes, even with the atmosphere surrounding the project becoming more and more terrifying, the Submersion Project continued without hesitation. Those involved in the project, those constantly accompanied by madness and accidents, even those who were frequently traumatized themselves, not a single one of them was afraid to quit, nor did any of them show any resistance to the orders from above. It was as if…"

"Merchant ships kept observing 'reflections' that were identical to their own ships in the distance, frequent heavy fog descended on the east, and shadows that looked like ships, yet also like giant beasts, drifted in the mist. Some… 'nameless people' began to appear in the city-state, a great many of them. They gathered near the Submersion Project's facilities, all claiming to be participants in the project, and the number of these nameless people even exceeded the actual number of participants in the Submersion Project."

Tirion took a breath and spread his hands. "Then you know what happened – the great rebellion that shocked the north."

Duncan remained noncommittal, and after a moment's thought, said, "Looking at it that way, the eruption of this great rebellion really is due to Lei Nora's insistence on pushing forward the Submersion Project, which was far too dangerous, and…"

"From your description… his mental state at the time really wasn't quite right."

"That's exactly what I wanted to mention," Tirion said suddenly. "I know that all the signs indicate that Her Majesty's actions at the time had inexplicably lost their reason. He was like a madman being lured by something, stubbornly going his own way, but I know, I… I've always been clear, very clear, very rational, and completely aware of what I was doing."

Tirion averted his gaze and gathered his thoughts. "In this way, the entire project seemed to be called and driven by some force, as if the 'project' itself had developed some kind of will, persistently advancing into the deep sea, and the members involved in the project had become individual cells in that vast will."

"In your opinion, that trust might have been too blind."

The large warehouse filled with "antiques" fell silent for a time. After an unknown period, Duncan's voice slowly came from the mirror, "It's understandable that people associate this with the subspace, but it's really stretching the imagination to associate it with the Ghost Ship."

Seeing this, Duncan spoke softly, "It's as if the deep sea is calling to us."

"…What else happened after Lei Nora insisted on pushing forward the Submersion Project?"

"Don't overthink it. Continue."

Tirion hesitated slightly, seemingly unable to find the right words to describe the atmosphere of that year.

"Instead of that kind of atmosphere, the Third Submersible unknowingly crossed the thousand-meter depth. I don't know how deep it went in the end, I only heard… it was an astonishing number, very, very astonishing, from an engineering perspective, from a materials science perspective, from the technical level of that year… an impossible number."

"People involved in the project began to go mad, some were inexplicably injured, some suddenly disappeared, only to reappear, dazed and confused, in the city-state. The explorers descending in the submersibles became suspicious and irritable, no longer like rigorous and respectable scholars and soldiers, but more and more like gloomy and bizarre fanatics, and even… it is said that even the 'Third Submersible' itself underwent some inexplicable changes in its repeated dives, its internal operations becoming more and more like some kind of… 'living thing'."

"Yes, it's as if the deep sea is calling to us," Tirion was stunned, then nodded immediately, followed by a somewhat strange glance at Duncan. "A very… precise description."

"But I know, perhaps the other participants in the Submersion Project were indeed gradually being influenced by something, but I… obviously withstood that influence, and was even using that influence in reverse."

"He argued with you, but you were still his trusted general, and he could be in close contact with you – in fact, other senior officials of the city-state could too. They all knew that Her Majesty was never crazy, and had no conspiracy to destroy the city-state or threaten the world. Yes, they knew… but they were afraid, they hesitated, and some were bribed, seduced. They weren't as steadfast as I was."

"Whether it's blind or not is your business," Duncan shook his head. "I just want to say that Her Majesty didn't seem to really have everything under control – he ended up dying at the hands of the rebels, and the Submersion Project was completely buried. Things didn't develop as he planned."

"What I mean is, Her Majesty actually had a muddled and 'blind' plan, and he wasn't confident he could complete it, but he didn't tell anyone – not even you," Duncan looked at Tirion thoughtfully. "And he still trusted you unconditionally? Because you firmly believed that even if something was threatening the city-state from the depths of the sea, everything was still under Lei Nora's control?"

Tirion sighed helplessly. "The Submersion Project created a series of crises and gave those who approved of it an opportunity…"

"Taking advantage of the situation, this increasingly extreme exploration ultimately even cost Her Majesty Lei Nora her life. At least from that point of view, it was certainly a mistake."

"Actually, this is a very normal association, this association process is even related to him," Tirion shook his head with a wry smile. "Who told me to be your son – and also happened to be loyal to Her Majesty, and participated in this terrible project in the early stages. You should know, conspiracy theorists always have the strongest imaginations."

"After that, I stopped directly participating in this project, so I didn't know much about the situation, but just from what I heard, the project wasn't going smoothly, and… more and more strange and terrifying things were happening, becoming more and more serious," Tirion said calmly. "The Fourth Submersible was completed, using the most advanced engineering technology and resilient materials of the time, but its dives were always accompanied by various accidents, as if something in the dark was preventing humanity from continuing to dive into the sea…"

"The deep sea embraced the Submersion Project, the deep sea accepted the Fourth Submersible. This increasingly strange machine and its increasingly strange crew traveled through the dark depths of the sea several thousand meters deep as easily as returning home, and in the waters surrounding the Submersion Project… bizarre events were gradually increasing."

"…I really can't refute that."