The Frost Queen's plan for the Abyss half a century ago was to find out and solve the problem of boiling gold beneath the city-state, and the successive archons passed down the secrets of the boiling gold, the queen, the curse, and the ancient gods of the deep sea, and the power of the dark lord formed a physical projection in the city-state, and invaded this huge hollow area...... Every piece of information is shocking.

But for Duncan, none of this information can be compared to the "ancient gods who invaded the city-state are copies".

Vanna was also aware of the astonishing information contained in these words, and the Inquisitor, who specializes in dealing with heretics, looked at the "giant pillar" that supported the entire cave for a long time before she spoke: "First of all, this thing is indeed a remnant of the 'Old Gods' who invaded the city-state...... And the source of this thing is still located in the deep sea below the city-state, so there are actually two explanations for the 'fake' that Agatha just said. ”

"Yes, two explanations," Duncan nodded, "the first explanation, the 'source' located at the bottom of the sea is genuine, so in a sense, the 'erosion' projected by the source into the city-state can be seen as a copy, that is, a fake, and the second explanation ......"

He paused, looked up at the massive pillar that held the entire cavern, and exhaled after a moment.

"The second explanation is that the 'source' of the seabed is also a replica - another Agatha touched at the last moment, not only the tentacles of the ancient gods in this 'cave', but also learned the truth in the deep sea through this tentacle, but due to time constraints, she did not have time to leave too many explanations."

The scene was quiet for a while, Alice raised her head, her curious gaze swept over everyone - she didn't fully understand what everyone was talking about, but she was also trying to listen and understand, and it took a long time before she tugged Duncan's arm: "Sounds scary?" ”

"Yes, and I can't tell if the first possibility is more scary or the second is more scary," Duncan said "scary", but with a hint of a smile in his eyes, he pressed Alice's hair, comforting the doll who didn't understand the situation but seemed to be nervous, "You don't have to worry so much, things won't be more troublesome than a mirror frost." ”

"Yes, it won't be more troublesome than Mirror Frost - if we don't let the 'source' at the bottom of the ocean continue," Agatha began, turning her head and "looking" into Duncan's eyes, "Like you said last time, we need to probe beneath the frost again to see if the 'Old Gods' who invaded the real world are still there......"

Duncan let out a soft "um", he knew that Agatha was not idle, and must have begun to prepare for this matter, so he did not urge, but at this moment, he suddenly saw something in the corner of his eye.

There was something glowing in Agatha's right hand, what appeared to be some kind of metalwork.

"Agatha, what's that in your hand?"

"In my hands?" Agatha was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously raised her hand, and it was only then that she suddenly noticed the touch of a foreign object coming from her palm—cold metal, but it seemed to have been warmed a little by body temperature.

It was a strangely shaped brass key.

"The key...... "Vanna looked at the thing in surprise, and then reacted, "Ah, you just mentioned the key - the key that Archon Winston ended up giving to another 'Agatha'?" The key left by the Queen of Frost? ”

Duncan's eyes changed slightly: "Show me." ”

"Absolutely." Agatha did not hesitate, and immediately handed the key to Duncan's hand.

The brass-made key has a thick "infinity" symbol on the handle, and the front of the key is not serrated and instead has a grooved round bar structure, like a ...... The "clockwork key" used to wind the doll.

Alice leaned over curiously and grabbed Duncan's arm: "I'll take a look, I'll see...... Yes? This is the key? Why is it different from the key I've seen...... What is it for? ”

There was no sound around.

One after another, eyes fell on the puppet lady.

"Why are you all looking at me?" Alice reacted with hindsight and raised her hand to point at herself, "What did I mess up again?" ”

"You don't have any special feelings when you look at this key?" Duncan lowered his head and looked Alice into the eye, "Like familiarity, or the urge to touch?" ”

"No......" Alice shook her head, dazed, "I haven't seen it." ”

Vanna, who was on the side, leaned over and whispered in Duncan's ear: "Captain, what do you think ......?"

"I remember Nina mentioning that," Duncan said slowly, "Alice has a keyhole in her back. ”

When Agatha heard this, she was surprised to look at the Gothic doll on the side.

In an instant, it was as if everything had been connected together, crossing the points of time and space, connecting into a zigzag line in this cave eroded by the ancient gods.

The key left behind by the Frost Queen, and the identical appearance of the Frost Queen's doll, Anomaly 099, are the two ends of this line that spans time and space.

However, under the gaze of a few eyes, Alice only looked left and right blankly, and then raised her arm and groped her back.

"I didn't touch it," she said, a little aggrieved and a little sorry, "blocked by her clothes." ”

"Let's go back and talk about it...... Be careful," Duncan said in a deep voice, breaking the somewhat solemn atmosphere in the cavern, and then he looked up at Agatha again, "I'm going to take this key, okay?" ”

“…… Theoretically, this key is the inheritance of the Frost Archons, and according to Winston's Archons, it also contains the 'message' left behind by the Frost Queen, but it ......"

Agatha paused, then shook her head slightly.

"It's all gone, of course you can take it."

"Thank you." Duncan didn't say anything polite, he handed the key to the pigeon that was resting on his shoulder, and with a flash of green fire, Ay and the key disappeared over his shoulder, and the next second, the pigeon returned, but the key was gone.

It had been sent to the ship, to Duncan's body.

Duncan fiddled with the key he had just given to him on the Lost Land, and in the hollows of the Frost City-State, he glanced back at the massive pillar that supported the cavern, and reached out to tap its hard, cold stone.

"It's time for us to leave." He said.

The scale of this cavern is huge, and even with the help of Spiritfire Spirit, the area that the group has explored so far is only a small part of the hollow, but for Duncan, the information gathered so far is enough.

He needs time to slowly sort out and digest what he has gained here, and the follow-up exploration ...... It can be given to Agatha and Agatha's men.

After confirming that there was no remnant of the ancient gods in the cave, and that the cave itself had a stable supporting structure, Agatha was able to bring her men here with relative confidence.

Following the path left by the spiritual fire, the group safely withdrew from the huge cavern, and then took the elevator back to the mine passage on the upper level.

On the way out of the boiling gold mines, Duncan asked Agatha curiously, "What do you think of the hollow area down here?" ”

"Thoughts?" Agatha thought for a moment, "I should lead a few more expeditions, at least to understand the surface of the cave and the situation around that huge pillar, and if there are any valuable discoveries along the way, I will share the information with you as soon as possible, and I will ...... later."

She paused at this point, and seemed to think very seriously before slowly speaking: "After that, I will suggest that the city-state find a way to mine the boiling gold in the cave, and find a way to transport the boiling gold there on the premise of avoiding the collapse of the hollow area and avoiding the destruction of that 'pillar'." Of course, how to implement this part depends on the ability of those professionals in the city hall. ”

"Aren't you worried about the 'hidden dangers' of boiling gold?" Duncan casually asked, "After all, it may be something left behind by the Old Gods." ”

“…… The city-state has to live before it can think about anything else," Agatha shook her head slightly, "and after 'seeing' the situation in that cavern, one thing came to mind. ”

"Oh?"

"If the boiling gold under the frost is the product of the invasion of the power of the ancient gods, what about the other city-states in the Infinite Sea? The underground ...... of each city-state Is it really all right? ”

The scene fell silent.

"After the Queen's veins were depleted, Frost mined boiling gold from the mirror world for another fifty years - we instinctively thought that the boiling gold mined from the mirror world was a 'fake' like everything else in the mirror world, but the truth is that after the destruction of the mirror city-state, the boiling gold did not disappear, and even left a new 'bonanza' in the underground cavern we just discovered...... The only possible explanation is that the 'boiling gold' generated by the power of the Old Gods is not a 'twist'. ”

"Boiling gold generated by the power of the Old Gods is not a distortion - it can only be a natural part of the world," Duncan said with a deep meaning, "It sounds a little close to the Annihilation Cultists' theory of the creation of the Holy Lord." ”

"Yes, it's already deviant." Agatha admitted calmly and calmly.

"But you don't look wavering."

Agatha paused, and she slowly raised her head, staring silently ahead, as if through the black cloth band.

At the end of the passage is the above-ground exit of the mine, from which bright sunlight is pouring in, warm and bright.

In Agatha's perception, the whole world is still cold, as cold as a grave.

But she knew the sun was warm.

"As I said, the city-state must first live," said the pious goddess softly, clasping her hands over her chest as if praying to someone, "There is only one heresy in the world—and that is what hinders our existence, and all things are allowed. ”

(End of chapter)