Tirian's story finally came to an end, but in Duncan's opinion, this strange story ended too hastily.

"Everything is over? Is it really over?" He couldn't help but look at the big pirate across the mirror, questioning, "A submersible with a warehouse of explosives running to a depth of one thousand meters underwater solved the worsening 'out-of-control supernatural phenomenon'? Let's not discuss how much power those explosives can release at a depth of one thousand meters underwater - just from the perspective of the supernatural field, is it possible for that kind of explosion to destroy a...supernatural phenomenon?"

"We can only think so," Tirian was obviously not surprised by his father's doubts. "In fact, no one knows what happened a thousand meters underwater at that time. No one knows what the No. 4 submersible saw there. The only connection between us and the deep water is the partial perception shared by the priests through psychic echoes... A scream, a roar, and a roar. There is really not much truth that can be pieced together from these tiny fragments.

"And judging from the fact that after the explosion of Submersible No. 4, no copies of Submersible No. 3 have ever surfaced from the deep sea, so we can only assume that... the matter has been resolved."

"It's resolved..." Duncan frowned and shook his head. "Okay, let's assume that it's resolved. Then the Abyss Project..."

"The Abyss Project has not been completed, and this is exactly what is wrong," Tirian said bluntly. "This happened, and we paid a huge price. We finally solved the strange crisis of Submersible No. 3. Logically, we should indeed re-examine the Abyss Project and stop this dangerous project in time. However, Her Majesty Ray Nora went against the public opinion and not only announced that she would restart the plan and start building Submersible No. 5, but even... raised the priority of the Abyss Project to the highest level, and did not hesitate to mobilize extraordinary manpower and resources for this."

Duncan's eyes suddenly became profound. He vaguely realized that the real "out-of-control" part of the matter might have started from here. The "crime" of the Frost Queen and the rebellion half a century ago all originated from this.

He looked Tirian in the eye. "It sounded like you did not support your queen at the time."

"I had a dispute with her, a very fierce dispute, which is why I said that I would no longer directly participate in the 'Abyss Project' after the depth of 'One Thousand Meters' - because after that, I felt that things were sliding in a dangerous direction," Tirian said slowly, his voice low, "But now I think about it, I should have tried my best to stop the Frost Queen instead of avoiding her... I trusted her too much and didn't realize that she could make mistakes."

"Do you think the Frost Queen did make a mistake?"

"The Abyss Project caused a series of crises in Frost and gave opponents an opportunity to take advantage of it. This increasingly extreme exploration action eventually even cost Her Majesty Ray Nora her life. At least from this point of view, it was certainly a mistake."

"…What happened after Lenora insisted on implementing the Abyss Project?"

"After that, I was no longer directly involved in the project, so I don't know much about it, but from what I occasionally heard, the plan did not go smoothly, and... there were more and more strange and terrifying things, and they were getting more and more serious," Tirian said calmly. "The No. 5 submersible was completed, using the most advanced engineering technology and tough materials at the time, but its dives were always accompanied by various accidents, as if something in the dark was preventing humans from continuing to dive into the sea...

"Some people involved in the project started to go crazy, some were inexplicably injured, some suddenly disappeared, and then reappeared in the city-state in a daze. The explorers who dived in the submersible became suspicious and irritable, no longer looking like rigorous and respectable scholars and soldiers, but more and more like eerie and weird fanatics. It is even said that even the 'Submersible No. 5' itself has undergone some incomprehensible changes during its dives, and its internal operation is becoming more and more like some kind of... 'living thing'.

"And the weirdest thing is that even after all these changes, even though the atmosphere of the entire project is getting more and more terrifying, the Abyss Project is still moving forward without hesitation. Those who participated in the project, those who were accompanied by madness and accidents all day long, and even those who began to suffer frequent trauma, none of them were timid and withdrew, and no one doubted or opposed the instructions from the upper level. It feels like..."

Tirian was a little stuck, and seemed to be unable to find the right words to describe the atmosphere of that year.

Seeing this, Duncan whispered, “It’s as if the deep sea is calling them.”

"Yes, it's as if the deep sea is calling them." Tirian was startled, then nodded immediately, and then looked at Duncan with a strange look, "Very... accurate description."

"Don't think too much, just keep talking."

Tirian retracted his gaze and sorted out his thoughts: "That's it. The whole plan seems to be called and pushed by some force. It even seems that this "plan" itself has a certain will, and is moving towards the deep sea persistently. The members who participated in the project have become cells in this huge will.

"And it was in this atmosphere that the No. 5 submersible had unknowingly crossed a depth of one thousand meters. I don't know how deep it finally dived, but I heard that... it was an astonishing number, very, very astonishing. From the perspective of engineering, materials science, and the technology level at the time... it was a number that was simply impossible to achieve.

"The deep sea embraced the Abyss Project, and the deep sea accepted the No. 5 submersible. The increasingly weird machine and its increasingly weird crew members traveled through the dark sea thousands of meters deep as if they were at home. However, in the surrounding waters of the Abyss Project...strange events are gradually increasing.

"Merchant ships began to see 'reflections' identical to their own ships appearing near the sea surface. Thick fog frequently descended on the eastern part of Frost. In the fog floated shadows that looked like ships or giant beasts. Some... 'strangers' began to appear in the city-state. Lots of strangers. They gathered near the facilities related to the Abyss Project, claiming to be participants in the project. The number of these strangers even exceeded the actual number of participants in the Abyss Project.

"It was under such circumstances that rumors... in fact, they were no longer rumors. Rumors began to spread everywhere. People initially said that the Frost Queen was doing some suspicious research, but soon, the rumor turned into that the Frost Queen was studying the Warp. Later, it became that the Frost Queen was colluding with the Warp and had already reached a cooperation with the big boss of the Warp - Captain Duncan..."

Tirian exhaled softly and spread his hands. "You know what happened next. The Frost Rebellion shocked the North."

The small warehouse filled with "antiques" fell silent for a moment. After an unknown amount of time, Duncan's voice came out of the mirror slowly: "It's understandable that people associate this incident with the warp, but associating it with the Lost Homeland is really too imaginative."

"This is actually a very normal association, and it even involves me," Tirian smiled bitterly and shook his head, "After all, I am your son - and I happen to be loyal to the Frost Queen, and I participated in this terrible project in the early stages. You should know that conspiracy theorists have the strongest imagination."

Duncan remained silent. After a brief thought, he said, "If you look at it this way, then the outbreak of the great rebellion is not to blame. The Abyss Plan that Lenora insisted on implementing was too dangerous. And from your description... her mental state at the time was really not right."

"That's exactly what I wanted to say," Tirian said suddenly. "I know that all the signs indicate that the Frost Queen's actions at the time had lost her mind. She acted like a madman who was seduced by something, but I know that she... has always been sober, very sober, very rational, and knew exactly what she was doing."

"oh?"

"I had a dispute with her, but I was still her trusted general, and I could get close to her - in fact, other senior officials of the city-state could also. They all knew that the queen had never been crazy, and she had no conspiracy to destroy the city-state or threaten the world. Yes, they knew... but they were afraid and hesitant. Some of them were bought and bewitched. They were not as firm as I was.

"But I know that perhaps other participants in the Abyss Project are indeed gradually being affected by something, but she... obviously withstood this influence and is using it in the opposite way."

"You mean, the Frost Queen actually has a clear and 'safe' plan, and she is confident that she can accomplish it, but she hasn't told anyone - not even to you," Duncan looked at Tirian thoughtfully, "and you still trust her unconditionally? Because you believe that even if something under the deep sea threatens the city-state, everything is under Lenora's control?"

"In your opinion, this trust should be too blind."

"Whether she is blind or not is your business," Duncan shook his head. "I just want to say that the Frost Queen didn't seem to be able to really keep 'everything under control' - she died at the hands of the rebels in the end, and the Abyss Project was completely buried. Things didn't develop as she planned."

“…I really can’t argue with that.”

Tirian sighed helplessly.