Chapter 1 Agatha

Agatha held the tiny flame in her hand, stepping forward once more, deeper into the second waterway.

In truth, she had lost all sense of time, her perception of everything around her becoming blurred. She could barely remember how long she had been trekking through this damp and frigid place, how many monsters she had dealt with, or how many wounds she had accumulated in the process. At one point, she had even forgotten her own name, forgotten why she was in this sewer.

But when the green flame danced in her palm, she would always regain her sanity and firmly remember her sole, ultimate mission: to carry the fire seed and deliver it to the lairs of the heretics.

Icy wind blew from the dark corridor ahead, carrying layers of murmurs and roars. Agatha swayed, sensing malice in the wind, and carefully concealed the flame within the tattered layers of her black robe.

*Must hide it well, not let the heretics notice.* She raised her head, gazing into the darkness, seeing countless shapeless shadows rising and falling in the wind. The gas lamps on the corridor walls had dimmed to a firefly-like flicker. Foul black sludge seeped from the surrounding ceilings and pipe grates, writhing, coalescing, taking shape, and emitting sickening murmurs.

Agatha raised her staff, as scarred as herself. For some reason, she felt her strength renewed, the nagging fatigue gone.

She slammed the staff heavily on the ground, her gaze fixed on the blasphemous filth surging in the darkness. The tip of the staff struck the ground, producing a booming sound like a resounding bell—

"Dong—"

The elevator creaked as the car descended into the depths of the mine shaft. A guardian warrior, on alert at the edge of the car, suddenly looked up, saying to his comrade with some confusion,

"Did you hear something just now?"

"Sounded like a 'dong'," the other guardian said uncertainly, then instinctively turned his head, glancing at the Gatekeeper standing in the center of the car.

"Like... like..."

Like the sound of the Gatekeeper striking the "Death Knell" with her staff before the start of a purification operation—he wanted to say, but didn't.

Because the Gatekeeper was right there, meditating with her eyes closed.

Seeming to hear her subordinates' conversation, Agatha opened her eyes. She glanced around, then silently approached the railing at the edge of the car, looking down.

"Gatekeeper," the first guardian walked over, hesitating, "There seemed to be a sound coming from below just now. Could there be someone else operating in the mine?"

"We're the only ones here," Agatha said without turning her head.

"Don't worry about that sound."

The subordinate retreated. Agatha continued to stare into the boundless, hazy darkness below.

This was the Boiling Gold Mine, the largest vertical passage leading to the lower excavation zone. Even in the depths of this mountain, the fog... was still everywhere.

Normal fog couldn't possibly reach this place, but this strange mist was clearly the result of supernatural power. It seemed to seep everywhere consciously, and in dimly lit, deep underground areas, the mist was even more abundant, as if appearing from nowhere.

The mine elevator creaked and groaned as it descended through the hazy fog. Dim balls of light could occasionally be seen moving upwards—gas and electric lamps placed in the shaft, appearing so weak that they resembled the faint glow of fireflies through the fog.

Regardless, the equipment in the mine was clearly still functioning—ventilation system, power pipes, lighting system, hoisting gear... all operating normally.

Using machinery at times like this required extra caution. Agatha had specifically sent priests to inspect the condition of the hoist before deciding to use it. A safer option would have been to use the stairs and ramps in the emergency通道 (yìngjí tōngdào - emergency通道), but that would have taken too much time and energy.

"Hope this thing doesn't break on the way up," a young guardian warrior muttered.

"That cargo car that lost control and crashed on the hillside earlier was pretty memorable."

"Can't you say something nicer at a time like this?" a slightly older guardian frowned.

"We're all on the elevator—if you're really nervous, just jump off. You definitely won't have any malfunctions during free fall."

"No, no, no, I was just saying. This thing looks sturdy and reliable, it definitely won't have any problems..."

At that moment, a nun with shoulder-length hair heard the conversation between the two warriors and joined in.

"But I heard that there's a female judge in the faraway Pland City-States who can jump off cliffs and kill the 'Offspring' on the beaches. She'd be fine jumping from here..."

The two guardians were silent for two seconds, then spoke in unison:

"...Is she even human?!"

"I just heard..."

The warriors' chatter did not affect their subsequent actions, but it did help to ease the tension of descending into the darkness. Guardians were human, and they needed to relax.

Agatha, with her back to them, neither joined in nor stopped her subordinates—she simply listened quietly, a faint smile appearing on her face.

Contrary to many people's impressions, the usually serious and steady Gatekeeper was actually quite gentle and tolerant towards her subordinates.

Just then, the sound of tightening steel cables and the friction of the braking system rang out from all around, interrupting the guardians' conversation.

The elevator car began to slow down, gradually stopping in a spacious and chilly place.

"This is the transportation hub on the first level," Agatha looked around, seeing the nearest support structure, lighting system, and the somewhat messy mining equipment in the nearby open space. The hastily evacuated mine workers had obviously not been able to take everything with them. Traces of their hurried departure were everywhere.

"Where's the transportation map?"

"Here," a priest immediately stepped forward, handing the Gatekeeper the transportation map brought from the Mine Affairs Bureau at the start of their mission.

"Our current location is Shaft Number Two."

Agatha took the map, stepping off the elevator while comparing the surroundings to the data, recalling the information she had obtained from the mine management before descending into the shaft:

"The underground railcars leading to the excavation zone are out of service. To reach the excavation zone, you can only walk. Follow the red line markers. There will be a ramp leading to the mining face in one hundred and fifty meters."

She raised her head, confirming the situation around her again.

"Check the surroundings first, set up a safe point, and then move deeper."

The subordinates busied themselves, guardians confirming the safety of various transportation checkpoints, priests and nuns beginning to perform a simple purification of the open space around the elevator and setting up altars and holy objects.

Agatha casually wandered around.

She stopped in front of an overturned transfer box that had not been taken away.

The transfer box was made of iron, lined with tin. The lid was not fastened tightly, and it had been knocked open when it fell, revealing its contents: small pieces of ore.

The ore had a dim metallic luster, with pale golden vein-like patterns visible on its dark, dull outer skin.

"Probably a sample to be sent up with the shift change personnel for inspection," a middle-aged guardian said from the side, judging with experience.

To investigate the mine, about half of the subordinates Agatha had brought were guardians who had been performing long-term missions in the Boiling Gold Mine area. Although they were not professional miners, they had some experience with the situation here.

"Boiling Gold ore, huh..."

Agatha's expression was serious as she poked at a few pieces of ore that had fallen on the ground with her staff, then bent down, picking up a piece to examine closely.

After a moment, she handed the ore to the middle-aged guardian:

"Check it out."

"It's good quality ore. Looks like it only needs simple crushing and preliminary screening to be sent to the furnace, but I can't really judge the mining rate... need a professional."

Agatha frowned.

"That's it?

No problems?"

"I don't see any problems, just ore," the guardian said honestly, then looked a little puzzled.

"Do you have any questions?"

Agatha silently picked up a piece of Boiling Gold ore, examined it for a long time, then spoke softly:

"What I'm about to say is just a guess, but it's also confidential—only those participating in this operation can know, and only after descending into the mine."

The guardian facing her was slightly stunned, but in the next second, his face was already grave and solemn.

Surprise, but not panic; unexpected, but not at a loss.

Because every clergy member qualified to follow the Gatekeeper on a mission—whether guardian, nun, or priest—was a chosen member of the Church, had sworn an oath, and signed a contract under the watchful eye of Bartok.

Everyone knew the special nature of their mission, knew how strange and troublesome the events that required the Gatekeeper to handle personally would be. In these deep-dark actions, anything could be confidential. Things that seemed ordinary one moment could become forbidden secrets that had to be isolated from the civilized world the next. Even those participating in the action could become part of the "secret" at any time.

After all, some things, even just "knowing," left cracks of corruption in the real world; even just leaving an "impression" in the minds of those involved cast a shadow on future losses of control.

Agatha looked up, seeing that the temporary altar and holy objects had been set up, and the safe point established.

"Everyone, gather—I have some things to announce."