Deep Sea Embers

Chapter 250 “Underwater”

A few seconds belated, Tyrian didn’t miss Duncan’s mention of briefly encountering the Frost Queen, and his astonishment was evident on his face.

Duncan wasn’t surprised by this reaction; he just gently shook his head: “My ‘meeting’ with her was quite unique, outside the normal timeline. Think of it as me intervening in historical gaps, witnessing Ray Nora from a bystander’s perspective – while in regular history, I had no connection with the Frost Queen.”

Tyrian frowned, attempting to comprehend these profound words. Then his eyes flickered slightly, looking up at Duncan with restrained emotions: “Why are you interested in the Frost Queen’s matters? Is it due to that ‘brief encounter’? Or because of… this puppet named ‘Alice’? What did she tell you?”

“Alice knows nothing about the Frost Queen; her memory is as pure as a blank sheet of paper,” Duncan stated indifferently. “I am intrigued by the Frost Queen because people claim that the Frost Rebellion occurred due to Ray Nora’s collusion with the Vanished, and her plot was revealed – isn’t it natural for me to be interested in this rumor?”

“Colluding with the Vanished,” Tyrian’s voice was low as he looked down, making his emotions unreadable at the moment. “Yes, that’s how they framed Queen Ray Nora.”

“Based on your reaction, it is indeed a fabricated charge,” Duncan’s voice emerged from the mirror. “So, was the Frost Rebellion merely an elaborate conspiracy, with the accusations against Ray Nora entirely unfounded?”

As he spoke, he observed Tyrian’s reaction.

But Tyrian didn’t answer immediately; instead, he slightly furrowed his brow and asked, “Does this truth matter to you?”

“Yes,” Duncan replied earnestly, “after all, from a certain viewpoint, I am partially involved.”

Tyrian was clearly taken aback and seemed unable to counter his father’s response. He then laughed helplessly, sighed, and shook his head: “The rebellion did involve a conspiracy, but to be fair, the pretext used by the rebels wasn’t entirely fabricated…”

“Oh?”

“The Frost Queen never conspired with any Vanished, but she did… delve into some forbidden research. Once this research became public, it would have been difficult for her to retain her position as the ruler of the Frostbite Kingdom even without the rebellion.”

Duncan’s gaze was intense, and after a few seconds of silence, he abruptly said, “It’s called the ‘Abyss Plan,’ right?”

Tyrian looked up in astonishment.

“I know much more than you think,” Duncan remarked casually.

“But all the documents related to the Abyss Plan have been destroyed, and even the traitors who disclosed the project back then have been eliminated and executed by the rebels…” Tyrian expressed disbelief, “everyone believes that the project’s name itself has been cursed and tainted, and the last knowledgeable individuals from that time have long since passed away…”

“Oh? All the materials have been destroyed?” This time, Duncan appeared somewhat surprised. He had thought the matter might be highly confidential, but he hadn’t anticipated it to be so exceedingly concealed. “Even all the knowledgeable people are dead?”

Tyrian hesitated for a moment. He was more familiar with the situation than anyone else and naturally knew the reasons for the project’s burial. After a brief silence, he finally spoke:

“This prohibited project involved too much related to curses, subspace, and mental contamination, to the extent that even the rebels back then didn’t dare to casually discuss the materials they discovered.”

“In fact, the project’s name was revealed only once. It was during the final execution when the rebels announced the Frost Queen’s crimes and uttered these words. On that day, an unprecedented catastrophic collapse occurred at the Sea Cliff of the Frost City-State. The entire cliff, along with a quarter of the city, plunged into the vast sea. All those who heard the words ‘Abyss Plan’ perished, becoming lost souls in the Boundless Sea.”

“Back then, the rebels had prepared a series of follow-up propaganda campaigns targeting the ‘Abyss Plan.’ They intended to publicize the matter on a large scale without exposing the forbidden aspects, in order to completely eradicate the Frost Queen’s influence in the northern seas and emphasize the rebellion’s righteousness. However, after the Sea Cliff’s great collapse, these propaganda plans were immediately abandoned – as I just mentioned, they firmly believed that the ‘Abyss Plan’ name was cursed and tainted, so they simply destroyed all materials related to the project, including its name.”

“So, I’m particularly curious… how did you learn about the ‘Abyss Plan’?”

Tyrian finally stopped avoiding the question, looking directly into Duncan’s eyes. After hearing the project’s name from half a century ago, his thoughts were tumultuous and difficult to calm. For a moment, he even began to suspect that there was some sort of “collusion” between the Frost Queen and the Vanished.

“As I said, I have ‘witnessed’ some things in the gaps of history,” Duncan admitted openly, and asked again, “So, what exactly is the Abyss Plan? Why is it so secretive and forbidden, and why do even you… seem to still have a trace of fear when mentioning it?”

Tyrian’s face was grave, and after a lengthy silence, he finally spoke slowly and solemnly: “In simple terms, it is an exploration project – but unlike those adventurers exploring new routes at the edge of civilization, the Abyss Plan explores the deep sea.”

“Exploring the deep sea?” Duncan furrowed his brow. “Are you referring to one of the planes of existence from the World Standard Model? But if it’s just research in these areas, it shouldn’t involve the word ‘forbidden.’ Although it is indeed dangerous, the study of the occult has always been legally conducted in various city-states, and the Academy of Truth even has dedicated research groups…”

“I’m not talking about the ‘deep sea’ in the occult sense of figurative speech,” Tyrian gently shook his head. “I mean the deep sea in the true sense, the underwater ocean in the natural world – a ‘deep sea’ that is right in front of us all, yet everyone pretends to not see it. We don’t touch it, nor do we dare to touch it.”

Tyrian suddenly posed a question, “Father, have you ever considered what lies beneath our city-states, beneath these islands in the waters that support our entire civilization?”

Duncan remained silent. However, beneath his composed exterior, a wave of turbulence had unexpectedly emerged in his heart.

He had never truly pondered this question, or rather… he hadn’t even realized that it was a question that needed consideration! In this world, people were accustomed to using terms like “spiritual realm,” “deep sea,” and “subspace” to represent the “depths” of the occult world, and this structural model could indeed explain the current functioning of the world to some extent. However, in reality, this model was only an interpretation based on “theoretical concepts.” Strictly speaking, it described the “dimensional” structure of the world, not the “physical structure”! What Tyrian was discussing at the moment was clearly not this dimensional model based on occult concepts but the body of water in the physical sense that’s descending from the sea surface.

In terms of the World Standard Model: reality, spirit, deep sea, subspace, the “deep sea” level Tyrian was referring to was actually located in the first layer beyond the surface world of reality. However, this “deep sea,” situated directly below the surface, seemed to be a complete blank in human understanding.

Duncan had never considered this question because he held a set of preconceived “common sense.” He naturally assumed that beneath the city-states must be geological structures raised from the sea, such as underwater mountain ranges or elevated volcanic vents, and further down, of course, there should be things like the seabed. However, when he carefully recalled the various knowledge he had encountered since coming to this world, he realized… there has never been any research on the underwater world deeper than 200 meters!

“Clearly, you haven’t considered this question either,” Tyrian’s voice suddenly interjected, interrupting Duncan’s thoughts. “Before I knew the Frost Queen, I had never thought about this question either – the Boundless Sea covers the entire world, our city-states are islands floating on the sea surface, the gods’ protection establishes a firm foundation for the real world, and Vision 001’s radiance provides us with a safe and stable daytime. As for what’s beneath the water surface… why should we care? Spiritual realm, deep sea, subspace… these ‘areas’ are already enough to give us headaches.”

Tyrian gently shook his head.

“But Her Majesty Ray Nora informed me that this question is crucial, as important as the secrets of the ‘spiritual realm,’ ‘deep sea,’ and ‘subspace.’ Right beneath our feet, beneath the city-states and the sea surface, there exists such an immense unknown area in our real world. She is a person filled with the spirit of exploration; she cannot accept that such a vast region within her domain is enshrouded in mystery.”