Agatha put away her cane instantly, then widened her eyes, staring in shock and vigilance at the "fake" monster that was slowly raising its head in front of her, and at this moment, she realized... this
The monster made of the element "mud" has mutated.
Some kind of power or will came into its body and instantly changed its nature - it had turned into a medium and continued to release frightening power in this dark sewer.
Layers of noise rang out, turning into countless incomprehensible murmurs and roars in her mind. Agatha felt that the edges of her vision were filled with trembling black shadows, and countless eyes seemed to open instantly in the black shadows.
This is a sign that her spirit is being polluted - the exhaustion and mental damage accumulated in continuous battles have weakened her protective capabilities, leaving her almost unable to resist.
But this pollution only lasted less than two seconds. It seemed that the owner of the power had consciously controlled it and restrained the power escaping from this incarnation. Agatha's senses became clear and stable again, and in this
In a moment of clarity, I realized the "identity" of the person in front of me.
"You are... the one who descended..." She rubbed her forehead and spoke hesitantly.
"It's me," the avatar said. The body made of elemental mud was still squirming and deforming. It seemed that it could not carry too much power. It could never present a clear and stable image. "Just call me Captain.
Well—that’s what my followers call me.”
"Captain?" Agatha frowned. The sequelae of mental pollution made her thinking a little slow. She felt that this title was a bit strange, but she quickly gave up her entanglement in this aspect - there are countless "
"Captain", a superior being of unknown origin may also call himself "Captain" just out of interest. This is not something worthy of further investigation.
"Why are you here?" she asked confused.
"I have been looking for you for a long time," Duncan said. "When you suddenly disappeared in the city, I concluded that you had an accident."
"Are you looking for me?" Agatha was a little surprised, then she raised her head and looked around quickly, "'How is the situation outside?"
"If you're referring to the 'frost' of the real world, then everything is business as usual, normal to the point of being abnormal," Duncan shook his head, "Do you know where you are trapped?"
"I... I'm not sure," Agatha used a cane to support her body and slowly leaned against the wall next to her. She got a precious moment of safety and must take this opportunity to recover.
*Force, "Here is another frost, a frost completely controlled by fakes. There is no sun here, and the connection with the gods is very weak, but there are clues to the activities of the Annihilation Heresy. I am following them
One of them has been tracking all the way here..."
She stopped, panted slightly, and turned to look at the "captain".
"A mirror image," said the temporary avatar. "You are trapped in a mirror image of frost."
"Mirror image?" Agatha was stunned for a moment, then lowered her head with a thoughtful expression, "It's actually like this...a mirror image..."
"They may have copied the entire frost, including the sea area around the frost, and this mirror image is the source of all fakes," Duncan continued. "What's worse is that there are signs that this 'mirror image' is gradually becoming different from the real world.
Get closer—this should be the real plan of those Annihilation Cultists."
Agatha suddenly raised her head: "You mean..."
"The counterfeit products that frequently appear in the city-state, the copied Haiyan, the disappeared Dagger Island, and even your being trapped are all the result of the 'mirror frost' constantly approaching the 'real frost' - the purpose of annihilating the cultists.
From the beginning, it was not to invade or destroy the city, Agatha, what they wanted was to transform the entire city into the 'kingdom' in the prophecy."
"...At some point, the approaching mirror image and reality will collide..." Agatha took a gentle breath and murmured to herself. She had already thought of that possibility.
, "No wonder, no wonder that heretic said that when the guardians find the 'sanctuary,' that's when their plan will succeed..."
...That moment is the moment when the mirror image comes into contact with reality!"
"It seems that you already have an idea," Duncan said. "You just said that you found clues about the cultists here and are tracking them?"
"Yes, I smell their scent - right in the depths of this 'second waterway,'" Agatha raised her head and looked in a certain direction deep in the corridor. After a short rest, she had
After regaining some strength, he stood up straight again with energy and walked forward slowly, "There is a heretic who has been obstructing me, but the longer he persists, the more he exposes his whereabouts. I feel
Already very close...,
The avatar under Duncan's control followed Agatha's footsteps.
"I'm so sorry." Agatha, who was walking in front, suddenly said.
"Why apologize?"
"Just now...I almost attacked you." Agatha's tone seemed a little embarrassed.
Duncan was stunned for a moment, and then recalled what he saw when he first entered this incarnation - the tin cane in Agatha's hand was only a few millimeters away from his head.
But after thinking about it, he felt that it wasn't a big deal.
It was stronger than Fanna's jumping chop at that time.
"I don't care, and I'm used to it."
"……got used to?"
"One of my followers will suddenly jump chop when frightened - sometimes the target is me, although she doesn't do that anymore."
Agatha: "...?"
The young gatekeeper was greatly shocked, and could not help but wonder how such a suspected ancient god usually got along with his followers, and how outrageous, strange, and evil his followers were.
After thinking about it for a long time, my san value was almost cleared and I still couldn’t figure it out.
Duncan didn't pay attention to Agatha's sudden confusion and thinking. He just continued to walk forward and carefully observed the situation in the corridor along the way.
This is the second waterway of Mirror Frost - obviously very different from the second waterway in the real world.
He stopped and looked thoughtfully at the sewer corridor stretching ahead in the dim light.
"What did you think of?" Agatha also stopped and turned back in confusion.
"In the real world, this is a collapsed area with no roads," Duncan said, with a thoughtful tone. "It seems that in this mirror image of Frost, the second waterway is intact and even appears to be in constant use."
"...Perhaps, it looks like the queen's era," Agatha said in a hoarse voice. "I have noticed that many details of this mirrored frost... are all similar to the scenes I am familiar with.
It’s a modern look.”
Duncan listened to Agatha's analysis and did not speak for a while. After a few seconds, he broke the silence: "It seems that I may not be able to accompany you on the journey ahead."
Agatha turned around unexpectedly.
She saw that the incarnation of the "Captain" was gradually disintegrating. The black mud that was constantly flowing and deforming seemed to be carrying too much power. It was peeling off little by little at the moment, leaving criss-crossing, spiderweb-like traces on the surface of the body.
cracks, and between the cracks, there are green flames jumping, as if they are about to escape and flow uncontrollably.
She subconsciously exclaimed: "Your body..." "Don't worry, this inferior copy cannot stably carry my power. It will collapse sooner or later." Duncan just shook his head and said calmly, "Yes.
It’s quite unexpected that I persisted until I finished talking to you so much.”
Then he waved his hand again, stopping Agatha from speaking.
"You are in a bad state now and need more help. I will leave some fire here. That fire can strengthen the connection between you and me. You take it with you and continue to track the lairs of those cultists. I will continue
Help you."
Agatha stepped forward subconsciously, as if she wanted to ask something else, but before she could speak, the incarnation that was about to collapse due to excessive force reached its limit.
exist
In a sudden rise of green flames, the elemental mud that made up the incarnation stopped flowing in an instant, and was engulfed by the flames, torn apart, and countless ash fragments scattered loudly.
And in the center of the black element remains that were burned to ashes, only a small, finger-sized flame was left.
The flames floated in mid-air near the ground out of thin air.
Agatha stared blankly at the flames floating near the surface. Its green appearance made the gatekeeper wary. She instinctively felt fear and nervousness. However, after a moment of hesitation, she took a step forward and
Bend down slowly.
"...I hope this is the right choice."
She said softly, reciting Bartok's name in her heart, and then stretched out her hand, as if she had made up her mind with great courage, and touched the small flame with her fingertips.
The flame was like a weightless flower petal, held in her hand.
"...You can actually pick it up."
Agatha looked at the flame held in her hand in astonishment, and at this moment, she felt the connection between herself and the flame.
Faint, strange, but indeed there - after a brief trance, she woke up and carefully protected the flame in the palm of her hand. She lifted the scarred cane with her other hand and walked towards the deepest part of the second waterway.