Moist, cold Corridor No. 2 of the sewer system. The gatekeeper walked towards the darker depths.

The black uniform, representing the city-state’s defender, was tattered. The combat staff, made with special technology, was scarred. Pain and fatigue seemed like distant illusions. All she could hear was the hollow echo resonating from the depths of the underground.

Her blood seemed to be running dry, but her heart still beat. Death was so close. With every breath, she could almost feel the coldness of the world of the dead. In this dark, lonely corridor, there were no comrades, and she hadn't seen an enemy in a long time.

But something still accompanied Agatha on her journey. At the end of this death trip, there was a cluster of not-so-bright, but slightly warm flames.

Agatha held her left hand in front of her chest, carefully protecting that cluster of “fire seeds” that danced in the air. The faint green of the flame illuminated her chin and a small section of the corridor around her. She felt, even enjoyed, the slight warmth the fire seed brought her—because she could feel that the road ahead was getting colder.

Or perhaps, it was her own body that was cold.

"I have crossed the intersection of the Upper City and am approaching the branch corridors around the Boiling Gold Mine..." Agatha whispered to the flame. She raised her head and glanced at a plaque on the wall to her side. The mottled, ancient plaque was inscribed with the city streets corresponding to the sewer—this helped her determine her current location. "I've encountered almost no enemies on this road, but the road is getting harder and harder to walk. There's a... suffocating coldness delaying my steps."

A dignified and deep voice sounded directly in her heart: "Perhaps, those cultists have given up using their claws to delay your steps... They are focusing their energy on the final moment."

"How are things outside?"

"A thick fog has risen, covering the entire city-state. The City-State Guard is maintaining order and urging residents to return home. Guard squads can already be seen at some intersections—they are carrying night watch lanterns, because the fog is blocking the power of the sun," the dignified voice in Agatha's heart said. "Around the city-state, fog is also rising on the sea, and its range may extend hundreds of nautical miles."

"...Those heretics have taken action," Agatha whispered. "Perhaps my actions stimulated them and made them act ahead of schedule..."

"Your condition doesn't seem very good."

"I may be seriously injured," Agatha continued walking forward. She felt her breathing was a little heavy, but her mind was clearer than ever. "But don't worry about me, I am ready to die—I will send your fire seed into their lair, in whatever way possible."

"I would rather see you complete this task alive, Agatha—although you are a messenger of the God of Death, there is no need to rush to report to Bartok. By the way, speaking of this, I'm suddenly a little curious. For you priests of the God of Death, is 'death' a demotion or a promotion?"

Agatha was stunned for a moment, then twitched the corner of her mouth: "Your sense of humor really surprises me—I'm sorry, I really can't answer this question. I'm afraid that death priests throughout the ages have never thought about this. If there's a chance in the future... I'll think about it carefully.

"Okay, I wish you find the answer."

The voice in her mind fell silent for the time being. Agatha breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't know if it was an illusion, but she suddenly felt that her breathing was not as difficult and tiring as before, and even her steps became a little easier.

She glanced at the fire seed she was holding in her left hand, carefully protected it, and stepped through another intersection.

Water overflowed from a nearby drain, forming a small pool on the ground. The pool's surface was as calm as a mirror, reflecting the dim sewer vault.

Agatha stepped over the pool, and the calm water surface rippled in layers. In the suddenly shattered reflection, a figure wearing a black trench coat, wrapped in ritual bandages, and carrying a tin cane was reflected.

The figure walked in the direction Agatha had come from. In this brief moment, they passed each other.

Agatha suddenly stopped, looking at the place she had just passed with some doubt. She saw a small pool of water there, and ripples still spread across the water's surface, disturbed by footsteps.

In the turbulent and broken water surface, she could no longer see the reflection from just now, but Agatha always felt that she had just seen something.

It was a figure, like her own, but not quite—the figure was wearing a tattered black uniform, covered in scars, and looked as if she had experienced battle after battle, and her direction of travel was the depths of the Second Waterway.

That was exactly the place she had just left.

Perhaps it was because she stopped so suddenly that a subordinate's voice came from behind: "Gatekeeper? What's wrong?"

"That pool of water..." Agatha turned her head and pointed not far away. "Was it there just now? Did you see any strange sights appearing in it?"

"Pool of water?" The subordinate turned his head and glanced over, with a puzzled expression. "It was there just now... but I didn't see anything strange."

Agatha didn't speak, but suddenly fell silent, staring at the still-shaking water surface for a long time. Only then did a trace of solemnity and contemplation gradually appear in her eyes.

"Did you see something?" The subordinate couldn't help but worry.

Agatha was silent for a moment, then gently shook her head: "Don't worry, everything is fine, everything... is fine."

The subordinate was obviously still a little confused, but faced with the solemn expression of his superior, he restrained his excessive curiosity and changed the subject in time: "What did you find on the other side of that door? It feels like your expression has always been very serious since you came back..."

The chaotic thoughts in her heart quickly converged. Agatha raised her head and looked in the direction she had just come from - the door leading to the abandoned mine had disappeared on the other side of the intersection, but she still clearly remembered what she had found in that dark mine.

She didn't explore that mine for too long, but after confirming her discovery, she returned to the Second Waterway and hurriedly led the team on the road back to the stronghold - out of necessary caution, she had not yet revealed to her subordinates what she had discovered behind that door.

Even now, she didn't know how to explain that overly terrifying and bizarre... "guess" to the black-clothed guards in front of her.

After a brief hesitation, she turned around and continued walking towards the stronghold.

After walking for a while, she suddenly muttered to herself, as if talking to herself: "Frost... what does it rely on to survive?"

"What does it rely on to survive?" The subordinate was slightly stunned and didn't react for a moment. After a few seconds, he hesitated and opened his mouth, "Are you talking about... the city-state's economic source? The Boiling Gold business?"

"Boiling Gold is the blood of Frost, and the mine is the heart of the city-state..." Agatha murmured to herself, saying words that confused the black-clothed guards. "We don't seem to have thought that this heart would stop beating..."

Another black-clothed guard couldn't help but step forward, with a hint of nervousness on his face: "You..."

Agatha gently raised her hand, interrupting her subordinate's words.

"Don't think too much about it for now. Everything cannot be determined yet. I did see something on the other side of that door, but whether I can reveal it to you specifically needs to be discussed with the Archbishop."

She had calmed down from her previous unease.

Perhaps she was too nervous. It was just a dry, abandoned mine, and for an old mine that had been mined for many years, it was not surprising that one or two mines were exhausted. The city-state council's subsequent decision to close it off was likely due to other reasons - some kind of pollution that once existed but has now subsided was the most likely situation.

Jumping to conclusions is a major taboo in investigations.

Agatha shook her head, but the scene she had just seen in the pool could not help but appear in her mind.

That "self" in the reflection, walking in the opposite direction, bloodied and battle-worn...

Agatha closed her eyes slightly, and the knuckles of her fingers holding the cane were slightly pale due to the force, but after a moment, she reopened her eyes and looked ahead, her expression on her face had returned to calm.

She still had many things to do.

In silence, Agatha led the guardian squad back to the stronghold located at the underground crossroads, and as soon as she returned here, she noticed that the surrounding atmosphere seemed a little strange.

A slightly tense atmosphere enveloped the stronghold. There were priests who looked like they had just come down from the vertical shaft talking nervously to the stronghold's defense负责人 about something. Several steam walkers that had previously set off to clear the岔路 were recalled in advance and seemed to be preparing to return to the surface by elevator.

Agatha quickly stepped forward, and before she could ask, the black-clothed guard commander in charge of this stronghold quickly opened his mouth: "Gatekeeper, something's wrong on the surface."

Agatha frowned tightly: "What's the situation?"

"Fog, very large and strange thick fog, has enveloped the entire city-state and surrounding sea area. You can't even see the sun in the sky," the commander reported quickly. "And creatures of evil have appeared in the library and archives. Although they were suppressed by the scholars on duty in time, panic and chaos are spreading in the city - the Archbishop sent people down to ask you to go back immediately!"