Chapter 1 Cold Frost

In the secret facility deep beneath the southern port of Cold Frost, all non-essential personnel had been evacuated. Agatha and Tyrian waited together for Duncan's arrival.

Behind them stood the enormous machine secretly constructed by the former city hall – an ovoid pressure hull secured by steel cables between girders. Light spilled from the ceiling, illuminating the submersible's metallic shell with a cold, silent gleam.

Silence blanketed the hall. After a moment of tense anticipation, Agatha suddenly raised her head, her wraithlike, ethereal voice breaking the stillness, "He's here."

As the words fell, she opened her arms to the air. Burning green flames erupted from the cracks and scars that covered her body, her posture like one embracing the sun. In front of Agatha, a flash of ghostly green fire burst into existence, swiftly coalescing into a swirling gate of flame. The skeletal form of Ai'i emerged first, followed by a burly figure in a black coat, wrapped in bandages.

Tyrian bowed respectfully to the figure, stepping back slightly. "Father."

Agatha lowered her hands, extinguishing the flames around her, and bowed her head slightly, hands clasped before her in a prayerful gesture. "I apologize for requiring your personal presence."

"It's nothing. This avatar has nothing else to do anyway. Seeing the site in person is more efficient than listening to reports," Duncan waved a hand, stepping past Tyrian and Agatha, his gaze already fixed on the enormous machine behind them. "This is it?"

"Yes," Agatha nodded gently. "Chancellor Winston's legacy – perhaps incorporating the efforts of other former chancellors as well. According to our current assessment, the submersible is nearing completion and in good condition."

Duncan hummed softly, but said nothing more. He simply stood there, as if gazing at a solidified piece of history, silent for a long time.

That sealed history also gazed back at him. Condensed within that time were ambitions and solitary pursuits that could no longer be known today. Under the intersecting lights, in this hall that had nearly been buried by dust, all of humanity's fears and courage had been forged into this cold steel.

Duncan could almost hear the obsession and roars cast within the steel.

He took a few steps forward, reaching the edge of the railing. He stretched out a hand to touch the cold, hard shell of the submersible. Deep within his own lifeless husk… a faint tremor seemed to stir. Then, the feeling vanished in an instant.

But that fleeting sensation still sparked a sense of familiarity in Duncan. He reminisced, finding the source of that familiarity:

It was when he first stepped onto the surface of Pland, standing before Nina as "Uncle Duncan," and Nina ran towards him with a radiant smile, opening her arms. It was when he found the silver brooch on the Vanished, and heard the name "Lucretia" from others – at that moment, faint affections and memories surged from the bottom of his heart, like the last vestige of humanity remaining in a shell, yet unable to be completely extinguished.

Duncan retracted his arm, lowering his head thoughtfully to look at his palm, as if gazing at the former owner of this body. After a long silence, he finally spoke softly, "Ah, you know about this..."

Tyrian's voice came from the side. "Father? What did you say?"

"Nothing," Duncan turned around. "Is this submersible currently operational?"

"This..." Tyrian's tone carried a hint of difficulty. "We carefully inspected the facility and the condition of the submersible. The main structure of the submersible itself is intact, but there are two problems. First, it seems all the original technical personnel for this facility have perished, and the data and equipment left in the outer hall were severely damaged. This... this problem is still relatively easy to solve. Some of the 'old timers' from the Sea Fog Fleet should be able to handle this thing – after all, it was built based on blueprints left by the Queen of Cold Frost. The second problem is more troublesome..."

Tyrian paused slightly, organizing his words before continuing, "According to preliminary inspection, we found that this submersible is very different from the one used in the past. It doesn't rely on surface air pumps, but uses built-in oxygen tanks for oxygen supply. However, we only found the location for installing the oxygen tanks, but not the corresponding tanks – perhaps that part hasn't been manufactured yet, which is why Ms. Agatha said it was 'nearing completion.' Now, to temporarily manufacture an oxygen supply system that fits this submersible, it may take a considerable amount of time."

Duncan turned his head, quietly looking at Tyrian. Tyrian was a little nervous. "Father?"

"I don't need to breathe," Duncan looked into Tyrian's eyes. "Are there any other problems?" Tyrian: "....??"

The new Chancellor of Cold Frost was stunned for a moment before suddenly reacting, his face immediately showing embarrassment, then hurriedly nodding. "Ah, then there are no problems at all..."

"The entire Sea Fog Fleet can't find many who breathe. You're the only one concerned about this issue. It seems recent events have really made you dizzy," Duncan shook his head. "Alright, if there are no problems, hurry up and prepare. Get this submersible ready as soon as possible. This is one of the things I care about most in Cold Frost."

Tyrian instantly stood up straight. Although it had been a century since he had heard an order from his father, he still reflexively tensed his muscles. "Yes! Father!"

Afterward, Tyrian left – to complete his father's order as quickly as possible.

Duncan turned around and observed the submersible, which he considered oddly shaped, for a while, then noticed that Agatha was still standing in place, and looked… somewhat hesitant.

Duncan turned his head, his gaze sweeping over Agatha, and the shadow beside her on the ground. Then he nodded. "You can speak. There's only us here now. What's the situation? Which of you will speak first?"

Agatha was stunned for a moment, then suddenly reacted. "You… you've already noticed?"

"There are two shadows in the firelight. Although one of them is trying hard to hide, the flames on you originate from me. In my opinion, this concealment is somewhat… clumsy," Duncan turned back, his gaze carrying a hint of warmth. "I noticed it as soon as I arrived, but you didn't want to say it, so I didn't ask."

"I just thought that General Tyrian shouldn't know about this for the time being." As she spoke, Agatha slowly took two steps to the side.

Her shadow remained in place.

The next second, the shadow on the ground suddenly flickered. Then, a blurry, illusory figure, vaguely recognizable as the former gatekeeper, stood up from the shadow and bowed slightly to Duncan. A hoarse voice almost identical to Agatha's sounded, "It's a pleasure to see you, Duncan… Captain."

"This should be the first time I've seen you," Duncan looked at the blurry, flickering figure with a hint of surprise. After looking at it curiously for a few seconds, he suddenly looked up at Agatha not far away. "Is she always this blurry?"

"She's very clear in mirrors, but there are no mirrors here," Agatha immediately explained. "Also, according to our tests, 'she' becomes blurry when she feels nervous, the more nervous, the blurrier… right now…"

"...she's a little nervous in front of you."

"...amazing," Duncan felt even more incredible. He looked at the illusion. Even though he had noticed the other's existence just now, he couldn't help but be surprised. "I thought you had dissipated into the darkness – Agatha read the memories you left behind when you dissipated."

"I did dissipate at one point, but eventually returned to this world," the hazy shadow said. "I'm sorry, I don't know how to explain the process. When I became aware of my existence again, I was already a reflection in the mirror..."

Agatha immediately interjected, "We suspect this is related to that 'key,' but there's no evidence."

"Key?"

"The brass key," Agatha nodded. "According to 'her' vague impressions, 'she' reappeared in this world when I obtained the brass key – perhaps that key not only has the power to store information, but also to preserve memories, personality, and even souls to a certain extent. When the conditions are right, the preserved memories and souls can be 'reconstructed' in some form..."

Duncan listened quietly, not speaking immediately.

The key left behind by the Queen of Cold Frost, Lei Nora, was currently on the Vanished, in his "main body's" hands. Out of caution, he hadn't yet tried to use that key on Alice. Now it seemed... that caution might be correct!

Agatha touched the key, and thus the "fake Agatha," who had also once held the key, returned to this world. What would happen if the key were used on Alice?

Did that key… contain the memories, or even the soul, of the Queen of Cold Frost, Lei Nora?

Throughout the generations, the Chancellors of Cold Frost had been constantly influenced by the brass key as they came into contact with it. They passively learned the truth about Project Abyss, passively took over the Queen of Cold Frost's "legacy," and were even interfered with by the queen's will. All along, this "influence" had been simply and crudely explained as "the Curse of the Queen of Cold Frost." But what was happening to Agatha now… made Duncan realize the possibilities behind that key.

Considering Alice's identical appearance to the Queen of Cold Frost, this possibility pointed in an even more unsettling direction – the doll was a vessel, and the key stored a soul. The two combined were the Queen of Cold Frost.

Duncan fell silent, sighing softly in his heart.

He understood why Agatha hadn't mentioned this to Tyrian earlier. But then he suddenly felt that something was wrong.

Alice, as a doll, and the brass key, which "could store souls"... were they really the means for the Queen of Cold Frost to be resurrected? Could things be so simple?