Chapter 1 A Gigantic Void

A huge void lay at the end of the alley.

Vanna reached the edge of the void. The alley ended abruptly here, the ground and ceiling disappearing as if swallowed by something invisible. Across the neat break, the vast and empty darkness exerted such pressure even on the inspector that an instinctive human fear of such enormous dark spaces surged within her.

Morris followed and stood before the "entrance" of the void. He raised his miner's lamp, but the light from the specially-made lamp seemed to be swallowed directly. The light didn't disappear; rather, the dark space ahead was so vast that there was nothing to reflect the light. The beam faded into the darkness, illuminating only a steep slope descending along the pit wall, while the rest remained shrouded in darkness.

"This... no matter how you look at it, this couldn't have been part of the original mine structure," Vanna said, taking a breath and looking back at the tunnel they had walked through. "The normal passage ends here... This position should be the 'stone wall' mentioned in the report."

Morris bent down, examining the small section of the void's interior wall illuminated by the lamp. "It feels as if some enormous 'thing' originally filled this space, but now that thing has vanished into thin air, leaving this large hole."

"Such a large cavity hasn't collapsed, but has stabilized instead?" Duncan frowned, looking up into the darkness with some concern. "If this collapses, at least a third of the upper city will be in serious trouble."

He suddenly turned to Agatha. "Are you alright? You've seemed off since a while ago."

"I... I can't clearly see the 'void' you're talking about," Agatha said hesitantly. "I only see vast and distorted echoes here. The wind is filled with noise. Is there really nothing ahead?"

"There's nothing, at least visually, and I can't sense any pollution left by supernatural forces," Vanna said with certainty, then thoughtfully added, "But you can feel it... Perhaps it's because what's left here is resonating with you?"

"I don't know," Agatha said, shaking her head, then turned to Duncan. "What do you think?"

"We should go in and see what's going on." Duncan had made his decision. He waved his hand in the air, and a ball of ghostly green flame appeared beside him. The skeletal bird, wrapped in flames, flapped its wings from the fire and landed familiarly on his shoulder.

Ivey tilted her head, looking around. "The old driver is here! The old driver is here!"

"We can't rule out the risk of this 'cave' collapsing, so bring this pigeon," Duncan explained. "Don't scatter once we're inside. Always observe the surroundings for any signs of instability. Watch the ceiling. If there's any sign of collapse, everyone teleport."

"Yes, Captain." "Understood." "Okay." "Hehe..."

Duncan tapped Alice on the head, then confirmed the terrain at the edge of the void. He took a deep breath and stepped into the darkness.

The others followed closely behind.

Stepping into the void, they found themselves on a steep slope, which wasn't continuous. There were occasional drops and winding "forks." Every step had to be taken with extreme caution. The winding and difficult slope extended deep into the darkness, as if reaching the very bottom of the void.

The slope felt like a deep indentation left in the rock after some long-term erosion had faded.

Duncan moved cautiously in the darkness, the ghostly green flame burning steadily beneath his feet, illuminating the small area around the path and leaving a striking "flame trail" behind them. Looking back, they could see the flowing fire like a thread, winding through the darkness to outline the path back to the void's exit.

In such a vast and dark underground space, it was important to mark the way. Although they had the pigeon spirit as a last resort for escape, Duncan, out of caution, left his flames along the way. These flames also extended his perception, helping him to keep track of subtle changes in the cave walls.

Vanna had conjured a storm sword made of ice. She held the sword in one hand, wary of the monsters that might lurk in the vast darkness. Alice carefully supported her head the entire time, afraid that she might slip and die in the darkness. Agatha, her senses affected by some "echo" in the cave, had to be supported by Vanna as she carefully stepped on the uneven slope.

Morris, meanwhile, was curiously observing the stones along the roadside.

"Very dense rock... and it seems to be fused and compressed together," he said, raising his lamp, a faint silver light flickering in his eyes as he tried to observe the distance. "If the entire inner wall of this cave is made of this rock layer, it might explain why it can remain stable after its 'contents' disappeared—these stones form a dense and thick 'inner shell' that supports the entire structure."

He hesitated, then added uncertainly, "But an inner shell alone may not be enough. Such a large cavity should have other supports in the middle."

Vanna couldn't help but turn to look at the old man. "How many fields do you understand?"

"Mathematics, history, chemistry, occultism, physics, a little geology and mining knowledge, and some knowledge of combat, firearms, mechanics, and demolition," Morris said casually. "Is there a problem?"

Vanna was dumbfounded. "How... how did you do it?"

"Just read more books," Morris said. "It's not strange that I know these things. After all, I'm a historian."

Vanna looked at Morris with a strange expression. She thought that of all the subjects he had mentioned, none except firearms, combat, and demolition had anything to do with the needs of a "historian," but she was too embarrassed to say it.

Agatha, supported by Vanna, had an even stranger expression on her face. The gatekeeper was once again deeply shocked by the followers around Captain Duncan. The last time she had felt this way was when she learned that Vanna was a "sports student..."

But Morris himself was clearly unaware of the amazement he had caused. His attention was again drawn to the "stones" beneath his feet.

In the light of the lamp and the green fire, the surfaces of these stones had a slight metallic sheen, and whether it was an illusion or not... there seemed to be some special patterns on their surfaces.

The old scholar bent down, picked up a piece of gravel, and examined it curiously.

He suddenly stopped.

Duncan also stopped and looked curiously at the stone in Morris's hand. "Is there a problem?"

After several seconds, Morris seemed to suddenly react, and slowly opened his mouth with a strange tone: "... It's Boiling Gold."

Agatha immediately turned her head. "Boiling Gold?"

"Boiling Gold ore, almost pure enough to be directly put into a steam core reaction furnace..." Morris muttered in astonishment, then quickly bent down to pick up another piece of gravel. After checking it, he simply squatted down, carefully examining every rock under his feet. The more he examined, the more shocked he became. "This is also... No wonder, no wonder I felt that the texture of these 'stones' was strange, but I couldn't see it because it was too dark..."

The old scholar suddenly stopped and looked up at Duncan and Agatha.

The expression on his face was strangely astonished, with a hint of excitement from some great discovery: "It is indeed Boiling Gold, Captain, Agatha—this entire cave is formed of Boiling Gold! At least its bottom is covered with ore!"

Everyone fell silent, and in that silence, Duncan could clearly feel Agatha's emotions fluctuating violently. Vanna even felt her body trembling slightly.

No one understood the significance of "Boiling Gold" better than a native of Frost.

"This is all Boiling Gold. We saw the remaining Boiling Gold veins in the mine tunnels before," Vanna said, holding Agatha's hand in a low voice. "It seems that Frost won't have to worry too much, at least for a while."

"Yes... no need to worry... there's still Boiling Gold here..." Agatha muttered, her tone unusually complex. "But why, why are these things here..."

"The erosion of the Sacred Lord of the Depths leaves Boiling Gold?" Duncan frowned. "If the speculation based on the information is correct, this great void should have come about this way..."

Everyone seemed to suddenly become serious, so much so that even the usually slow-witted Alice felt the change in atmosphere. The doll girl couldn't help but come closer and gently tug on Duncan's arm, carefully asking, "Captain... what is Boiling Gold?"

Duncan: "..."

With everyone so serious, it was truly a wonder that this simpleton was still a steadfast simpleton.

He sighed. "Boiling Gold is the foundation of modern industry, the energy source for all steam-powered machines—just as people need to eat, machines need Boiling Gold to run."

Alice listened, half understanding, and after a long while, nodded in realization. "Oh—"

Duncan didn't care whether the illiterate doll really understood. His gaze once again turned to the depths of the darkness ahead.

This vast underground void had completely aroused his curiosity.

If this entire cave is made of extremely pure Boiling Gold... then what awaits him in the deepest part of this cave?

(End of chapter)