Agatha put away her cane instantly, then widened her eyes, staring in astonishment and vigilance at the "fake" monster that was slowly raising its head in front of her, and at that moment, she realized... this monster made of the element "mud" had mutated.

A certain power or will descended into its body and instantly changed its nature—it had transformed into a medium, constantly releasing terrifying power in this dark sewer.

Layer upon layer of noises rang out, transforming into countless incomprehensible murmurs and roars in her mind. Agatha felt a trembling black shadow at the edge of her vision, and countless eyes seemed to open in the shadows in an instant. This was a sign that her mind was being polluted - the fatigue and mental damage accumulated from continuous battles weakened her defensive capabilities, making her almost unable to resist.

But this contamination only lasted for less than two seconds, as if the owner of the power consciously controlled it and restrained the power emanating from this incarnation - Agatha's senses became clear and stable again, and in this moment of clarity she realized the "identity" of the person in front of her.

"You are... the Adventer..." She rubbed her forehead and spoke hesitantly.

"It's me," the incarnation said. This body made of elemental mud was still wriggling and deforming. It seemed that it could not bear such a strong force. It could not present a clear and stable image. "Just call me Captain - that's what my followers call me."

"Captain?" Agatha frowned. The aftereffects of mental pollution made her thinking a little slow. She thought the title was a bit strange, but soon gave up worrying about it - there were countless "captains" in the world, and a superior extraordinary person of unknown origin might just call himself "captain" out of interest. This was not something worth delving into.

"Why are you here?" she asked puzzledly.

"I have been looking for you for a long time," Duncan said, "You suddenly disappeared in the city-state, so I judged that you had an accident."

"Are you looking for me?" Agatha was a little surprised, and then she raised her head and looked around quickly, "What's the situation 'outside'?"

"If you mean the 'Frost' in the real world, then everything is normal, normal to the point of being abnormal." Duncan shook his head, "Do you know where you are trapped?"

"I... am not sure," Agatha supported herself with her cane and slowly leaned against the wall next to her. She had a precious moment of safety and had to take this opportunity to recover her strength. "This is another Frost, a Frost that is completely controlled by a 'fake'. There is no sun here, and the connection with the gods is very weak, but there are clues to the activities of the Annihilation Heretics. I am tracking one of them, and I have been tracking him here..."

She paused, breathing slightly, and turned to look at the "Captain".

"A mirror image," the temporary avatar said. "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 turned out to be like this... a mirror image..."

"They may have copied the entire Frost, including the sea area surrounding it, and this mirror is the source of all the 'fakes'," Duncan continued. "What's worse is that there are signs that this 'mirror' is gradually getting closer to the real world - this should be the real plan of the Annihilation Cultists."

Agatha raised her head suddenly: "You mean..."

"The frequent appearance of 'fakes' in the city-state, the copied Petrel, the disappeared Dagger Island, and even your entrapment are all the result of the 'Mirror Frost' constantly approaching the 'Real Frost'. The purpose of the Annihilation Cult was not to invade or destroy this city from the beginning, Agatha. What they wanted was to transform the entire city into the 'country' in the prophecy."

"...At some point, the ever-approaching mirror image will collide with reality..." Agatha took a deep 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', their plan will succeed... That moment is 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 those cultists here and are tracking them?"

"Yes, I smelled their scent - deep in this 'Second Waterway'," Agatha raised her head and looked in a certain direction deep in the corridor. After a short rest, she had recovered some strength, so she stood up again and walked forward slowly. "There is a heretic who has been obstructing me, but the longer he pesters me, the more he exposes his whereabouts. I feel that he is 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 he recalled the scene he saw when he just entered this incarnation - the tin cane in Agatha's hand was only a few millimeters away from his head.

But he thought about it and felt that it didn't seem to be a big deal.

Stronger than Fanna's jump and slash at that time.

"I don't mind it and I'm used to it."

"…Are you used to it?"

"One of my followers would suddenly use a leap attack when frightened - sometimes targeting me, although she doesn't do that anymore."

Agatha: “……?”

The young gatekeeper was greatly shocked, and could not help but wonder how such a being who looked like an ancient god usually got along with his followers, and how outrageous, weird, and evil these followers were.

I thought about it for a long time, and my san value was almost cleared, but I still didn’t figure it out.

Duncan didn't pay attention to Agatha's sudden daze and contemplation. He just continued walking forward, carefully observing the situation in the corridor along the way.

This is the second waterway of Mirror Frost - obviously, it is very different from the second waterway in the real world.

He stopped and looked thoughtfully at the sewer corridor extending ahead in the dim light.

"What have you thought of?" Agatha also stopped and turned back to ask in confusion.

"In the real world, this is a collapsed area and the road is blocked," Duncan said, his tone thoughtful. "It seems that in this mirror Frost, the second waterway is intact and even appears to be in use."

"...Perhaps, it presents the appearance of the Queen's time," Agatha said hoarsely, "I have noticed that many details of this Mirror Frost...are similar to the scenes I am familiar with, and do not look like modern times."

Duncan listened to Agatha's analysis and didn't speak for a while. After a few seconds, he broke the silence: "It seems that I may not be able to accompany you to complete the rest of the journey."

Agatha turned around unexpectedly.

She saw that the incarnation of the "Captain" was gradually disintegrating. The constantly flowing and deforming black mud seemed to be carrying too much power. It was peeling off bit by bit at this moment, leaving criss-crossing, spider-web-like cracks on the surface of the body. And between the cracks, there were dark green flames jumping, as if they were about to dissipate and flow uncontrollably.

She subconsciously exclaimed: "Your body..."

"Don't worry about it. This inferior replica can't stably bear my power. It will collapse sooner or later." Duncan just shook his head and said calmly, "It's unexpected that I can hold on until I can finish talking to you."

Then he waved his hand again, stopping Agatha from speaking.

"You are in a very bad condition now and need more help. I will leave some fire here. The fire can strengthen the connection between you and me. Take it and continue to track down the nests of those cultists. I will continue to help you."

Agatha stepped forward subconsciously, as if she wanted to ask something, but before she opened her mouth, the incarnation that was about to collapse from bearing too much force reached its limit.

In the sudden rise of dark green flames, the elemental mud that constituted the incarnation stopped flowing instantly, and was engulfed by the flames and shattered into pieces, with countless ashes and fragments scattered.

In the center of the black elemental remains that were burned to ashes, only a small, finger-sized flame was left.

The flame floated in the air close to the ground.

Agatha stared blankly at the flame floating near the surface. Its dark green appearance made the gatekeeper alert. She instinctively felt fear and nervous, but after a moment's hesitation, she took a step forward and slowly bent down.

“…I hope this is the right choice.”

She spoke softly, chanting Bartok's name in her heart, then she 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 bunch of petals, held in her hand.

“…I can actually pick it up.”

Agatha looked at the flame that she was holding in her palm in astonishment, and at this moment, she felt the connection between herself and the flame.

Faint, strange, but real - after a brief trance, she came to her senses, carefully protected the flame in her palm, picked up the scarred cane with her other hand, and walked towards the deepest part of the second waterway.