Deep Sea Embers

“He passed away quickly. The rapid ascent and decompression took his life. He screamed and shouted for some time before succumbing to a blood clot. At least that’s the cause in the real world.”

“Was he the only crew member in the submersible?” Duncan questioned further.

“It had room for just one person. While this undoubtedly amplified the explorer’s mental pressure, it was also an unavoidable decision. The technology was limited then, and such exploration was ill-suited for multiple people to undertake together. In the ocean, one could never be certain what might take your companion’s place at any given moment or whether the sounds you heard were genuine. So diving alone was preferable, at least to avoid doubting the presence of others in the submersible.”

“Deep sea, darkness, solitude, and confronting the enigmatic unknown waters far from civilization—all these factors might have contributed to the explorer’s descent into madness,” Duncan shook his head slowly, “but this is not the crux of the matter. What’s essential is… this still doesn’t explain why the Abyss Plan later became a highly forbidden topic.”

He locked eyes with Tyrian and continued, “So far, all you’ve recounted is an accident during an exploration. Similar endeavors occur every year. The Academy of Truth even actively supports and encourages scholars and adventurers to participate in these pursuits. This has nothing to do with taboo, nor should it be connected to the Vanished.”

“Yes, if the plan had halted at 1,000 meters, the subsequent events would not have transpired,” Tyrian shook his head, his emotions stirred by the memories. “After the incident with the third submersible, Her Majesty Ray Nora temporarily suspended the exploration, but a few days later, something occurred that made the situation… progressively eerie.”

Duncan furrowed his brow, “Something?”

“The third submersible resurfaced at the edge of the temporarily sealed-off test area.”

Duncan was momentarily taken aback before responding, “A second third submersible?!”

“Yes, a second one,” Tyrian confirmed, nodding, “It emerged right in front of the naval soldiers and began sending continuous light signals for assistance in opening the hatch. The well-trained soldiers, albeit momentarily bewildered, quickly adhered to standard procedures to haul the submersible onto the work platform and aimed twenty-seven rifles, two rapid-fire cannons, and a flamethrower at its hatch. Then, a courageous priest stepped forward, sprinkled holy water, and unlocked the hatch.”

Tyrian paused momentarily before continuing, “The hatch opened, and a person… strikingly similar to the explorer emerged.”

Duncan’s expression grew serious, “Strikingly similar?”

“The facial features were similar, but there were differences in height and weight. He was dressed in a Frostbite Navy uniform, but there were many inconsistencies in the clothing details. More importantly… the person who emerged from the submersible only lived for a brief time on land before passing away. He didn’t even have a chance to utter a word. Once the soldiers undressed ‘him,’ they discovered that his flesh appeared to be ‘fused’ with the clothes, and there were large and small, inexplicable wounds all over his body.

“Afterward, doctors and church scholars collaborated to examine the body, and Her Majesty is said to have personally inspected the autopsy scene as well. However, the results of the examination were never disclosed—or rather, before they could announce anything, a third ‘third submersible’ appeared.”

At this point, even Alice, who had been attentively listening without speaking, couldn’t help but interject, “There was a third one?!”

Tyrian instinctively glanced at Alice, his expression somewhat peculiar. He seemed unaccustomed to seeing someone who looked identical to the Frost Queen standing there, exclaiming in astonishment. But he quickly adjusted his expression and nodded gently, “The third one, and not just three—in the following days, a ‘third submersible’ would surface every twenty-four or forty-eight hours…”

Alice listened in awe to this strange and remarkable “story.” She pondered for a moment and suddenly blurted out, “So, you just need to wait there, and you can have an endless supply of submersibles? By the way, is that thing called a ‘submersible’ very valuable? Is it more valuable than cultists?”

Tyrian, who had been lost in his memories just a moment ago, suddenly found his train of thought interrupted by the doll lady. He opened his mouth for a while but couldn’t quite recover his emotions, “We… hadn’t considered that at the time…”

“Don’t mind her; her thought process is unconventional,” Duncan glanced at Alice and said gravely to Tyrian, “Please continue, what happened later?”

Tyrian collected his thoughts and proceeded, “After the third submersible surfaced, it also sent out light signals requesting the hatch be opened. This time, the soldiers were more experienced. They towed the submersible to a more secure containment area, and only after the priests had established numerous supernatural safeguards did they open the hatch. This time… what emerged was a grotesque, swollen, and deformed humanoid creature, utterly unrecognizable as the ‘explorer.’

“That monster also couldn’t survive in the air for more than three minutes.

“From the fourth submersible, a continuously writhing mass of flesh slithered out, devoid of any human characteristics.

“When the fifth submersible’s hatch was opened, nothing emerged. The soldiers at the scene investigated and discovered only a suspicious dark red sludge in the cabin, which exhibited faint signs of life.

“The sixth submersible contained only a small quantity of black fibrous dry matter, resembling an undeveloped neural structure or desiccated blood vessel specimens…”

As Tyrian continued recounting the story, Duncan’s expression grew increasingly serious. Even Alice, sitting beside him, seemed to perceive the shift in the atmosphere and began to sit up straight.

Amid the progressively somber ambiance, Tyrian slowly stated—

“The seventh submersible, the last one I’m aware of, was empty.”

“Empty?” Duncan raised an eyebrow, then shook his head, “That’s even more disconcerting.”

“Yes, empty, and thus even more unsettling. The situation spiraled out of control, and we needed to find a way to stop it,” Tyrian said gravely. “Fortunately, the ‘fourth submersible’ was eventually completed—it was the successor to the third submersible. After the ‘thousand-meter’ incident, the project was put on hold, as was its construction. However, as one ‘third submersible’ after another emerged, the Queen ordered the ‘fourth submersible’ to be assembled as quickly as possible and decided to use it to investigate what had happened at the one thousand meters depths.”

Tyrian paused, seemingly struggling with gaps in his memory. He gathered his thoughts before slowly continuing, “I can’t recall the specifics of the fourth submersible. It was hastily finished, and the Frostbite Navy was only responsible for part of it. I only know that it was larger than the third, could accommodate three people, and had a sample chamber—scholars had initially planned to use it to gather specimens from the deep sea if any were found.

“The day after the seventh ‘third submersible’ surfaced, the Frostbite Kingdom’s fourth submersible was launched into the sea. Onboard were a scholar, an officer, and a powerful priest—at this point, we could no longer care about the risk of having ‘multiple people exploring together.’ Preventing the appearance of the eighth ‘third submersible’ was the top priority.

“The fourth submersible quickly descended and soon reached a depth of one thousand meters. The priest onboard maintained contact with the surface using psychic power. Perhaps due to the enhanced capabilities of the new submersible, their journey was smooth, and they confirmed the city-state’s ‘base’ scenery as previously observed by the explorer. However, the connection became intermittent soon after, and when the depth reached one thousand meters, the small church on the surface platform could barely hear any sound coming from the deep sea.”

“Nevertheless, fifteen minutes after losing contact, the priest on duty in the small church suddenly heard sounds from the deep sea again. They first heard the onboard priest scream in terror, warning the others, ‘Don’t look! Don’t think!’ Then came the officer’s voice, bellowing, followed by a deafening explosion.”

Tyrian looked up, gazing into Duncan’s eyes.

“The fourth submersible detonated the explosives,” the pirate slowly said. “They had filled the sample chamber with high-energy explosives to be the last contingency plan.”

“And then, it was all over. The fourth submersible never resurfaced, and no more ‘third submersibles’ appeared before anyone afterward.”