Ashes Of Deep Sea

Chapter 344: Chapter 348: Bishop Ivan’s Secret

Chapter 344 -348: Bishop Ivan’s Secret

Agatha pulled out the denunciation letter—this letter, which merely looked like it was written on common stationery, enclosed in an envelope produced by a small local factory in Frost, and even the ink was clearly ordinary, had been delivered to her from the third graveyard. Honestly, if she didn’t know that the old caretaker wouldn’t jest with her like this, Agatha would never have believed that this item actually came from an indescribable, higher Transcendent being.

She couldn’t even detect any Transcendent powers from the letter—but after conducting a few simple tests, she had confirmed that the thing indeed originated from that higher Transcendent’s hands.

A rustling of clothes came from the dark coffin, and the heavy lid finally opened slowly, accompanied by a strange fragrance. A body, wrapped in bandages and resembling a mummy, slowly sat up.

This was the Bishop of Frost City-State, Ivan—who had lost his complete physical form many years ago due to an accident, but Bartok’s mighty power had prolonged his life until now. Most of the time, he had to stay inside the “Spirit Coffin” in the meditation hall and only appeared in public during major sacred ceremonies. Even so, he was still the most popular and trusted bishop in the history of Frost.

His achievements and profound knowledge in the Transcendent domain were indisputable.

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He sat up in the coffin, took the “denunciation letter” from Agatha, and the only eye visible outside the bandages stared at the letter for a long time while he remained silent.

Unable to bear the silence, Agatha spoke up, “You…”

The widely knowledgeable and scholarly Archbishop spoke in a muffled tone, “I’ll need a moment.”

Agatha waited a while, then asked, “Have you recovered?”

“…Are you sure this is it?” Bishop Ivan lifted his head, his slightly yellowed eye filled with confusion, “Have you…”

“It does look quite ordinary—but when I tried to view the text on the letter through the Spirit Realm perspective, I immediately lost fifteen minutes of memory,” Agatha knew what the bishop was trying to say and nodded seriously, “It’s entwined with power beyond human imagination. This plain appearance… perhaps is just that visitor’s unique taste.”

Bishop Ivan was silent for a moment, seemingly recovering, then slowly spoke, “The contents mentioned in this letter… are unsettling. You have already seen the ‘Sea Swallow,’ and if what’s written in the letter is true, then the Sea Swallow is just the beginning, and even the uncontrollable situation on Dagger Island is just the beginning… Whether it’s the heretics in the city or the pollution caused by ‘Prime Element,’ whether it’s the return of the Sea Swallow or the anomalies on Dagger Island, everything points to the deep sea, pointing to the Submersible Plan from half a century ago.”

“I have already issued a warning to the city hall and have requested to review those archives sealed for half a century. I will also visit the church library, and I have arranged for personnel to enhance the search throughout the city to capture those heretics who are hiding,” said Agatha, “But that’s still not enough—we need to confirm what the current situation on Dagger Island is—the larger source of pollution seems to be on that island.”

Bishop Ivan pondered briefly, sighed softly, “If everything points to the Submersible Plan… the appearance of the Mist Fleet near Frost now seems explainable.”

“…Do you think all this is part of the plan devised by the Frost Queen back then?” Agatha furrowed her brows, “Because she left some orders for that ‘Iron Admiral,’ so the Mist Fleet has appeared today?”

“I’m not sure,” Bishop Ivan shook his head, then suddenly looked directly into Agatha’s eyes, “Agatha, in your perception, what kind of figure is the Frost Queen?”

Agatha hesitated, then thoughtfully spoke, “A once-great ruler who, after a brief period of glorious reign, was corrupted and seduced by the powers of the deep sea, falling into a dangerous ‘Mad Queen.’ Due to her stubborn actions, Frost established connections with the terrifying entities of the deep sea. Her terrifying plans, even after half a century, still need to be completely sealed, forbidden from any commoner’s knowledge—her life was both tragic and dangerous.”

“A very standard response—for a member of the younger generation with sufficient access to the data from half a century ago, your summary is quite accurate,” Bishop Ivan nodded, but then his tone shifted, “But you haven’t really experienced all that.”

Agatha didn’t speak, just quietly looked at the Archbishop.

“I experienced it—I was twenty-six years old that year, merely a common bishop in a small church in the dock district. Did you know? That small church was right next to the testing site of the Submersible Plan. I had even held blessing ceremonies for some soldiers and officers who were going to come into contact with the ‘Submersibles.'”

Bishop Ivan spoke slowly, his voice low, as if a tributary flowed gently from the river of his memories, revealing those ancient events that couldn’t be told to ordinary people, bit by bit, from beneath the overlapping bandages.

“After the rebels stormed the palace, most of the materials related to the Abyss Project were sealed. Furthermore, the ensuing panic from the cliff collapse at the execution site led to the destruction of most of them, so even a ‘Gatekeeper’ with your level of access could only touch upon the most superficial part of the materials—if I now told you that the Frost Queen had actually come to the small chapel the night before the City-State Guards rebelled, and had me conduct a spirit-sending ritual for her… what would you think?”

Agatha suddenly widened her eyes.

“She was called the ‘Mad Queen’—indeed, her behavior during the last few months was no different from madness. Despite the complete loss of control over the project, with people disappearing, dying, or going mad every day, she still pushed forward with the project, even locking down the palace chambers and imprisoning the last ministers who were willing to advise her. She ordered the constabulary to blockade the ports, capturing those who tried to flee from the Frost City-State… Given these actions, the subsequent uprising was a logical outcome, and it was destined that she could not end well on her own as queen…

“Yet even so, I believe she was never truly ‘mad’… She was lucid, even…”

Bishop Ivan suddenly stopped, as if recalling those distant events overwhelmed his mind, or perhaps he was searching for the right words to describe the eerie feeling he had experienced back then. After several seconds, he continued: “Even, like she was the only person in the entire City-State who was still sane.”

Agatha unconsciously leaned forward: “Why do you say that?”

“She walked into the chapel without any attendants, her eyes clear, as if she had already foreseen her fate. She came to Bartok’s icon, lit the incense for herself, and then patted my shoulder—just like this.”

Bishop Ivan raised his arm, as if to replicate that scene from half a century ago.

“She patted me, saying, ‘Wake up, you’re the only one in the entire city who still has eyes open—help me with something; I’m about to die.'”

Agatha felt her breathing suddenly constricted, as if pausing for a moment between sleep and consciousness. In the next instant, she couldn’t help but reach out to steady her forehead, her heart pounding; she didn’t know how to react. After a few seconds of silence, she could only voice her most direct confusion: “You’re the only one in the entire city who still has eyes open… What does that mean?”

“I still haven’t completely figured it out,” Bishop Ivan sighed, his voice muffled and somber under his bandages, “she told me to wake up—but I was already awake, and afterwards, she did not explain anything to me, just ordered me to obey her commands… She lay on the morgue slab, just like a dead person, and then… I conducted the spirit-sending ritual for her.”

“How can a living person have a spirit-sending ritual?” Agatha stared in disbelief, “Did that ritual… actually get completed?”

“Of course, a living person cannot have a spirit-sending ritual—I merely completed the entire process as she instructed, and naturally, nothing happened afterward,” Bishop Ivan shook his head, “I think the ritual was meaningless, but the Frost Queen seemed to have achieved her goal. She left after that, leaving me one instruction before she departed…”

“One instruction?”

“She told me not to speak of that night’s events, or else the rebels would definitely kill me—when she said this, there were still exactly twenty-four hours before the first City-State Guard assault on the armory.”

Agatha fell silent, and after what seemed like a long time, she finally spoke softly, “You never told me any of this before…”

“I haven’t spoken of it to anyone,” Bishop Ivan said lightly, “Back then, I was just a minor bishop.”

“But you later became the City-State Bishop, and no one could judge you for those past ‘involvements’ anymore—this secret…”

“This secret I intended to take to the grave; why reveal it?” Bishop Ivan lifted his head, his cloudy, yellowed left eye staring intently into Agatha’s eyes, “I know this matter is extraordinary—the queen had already been aware of the rebels’ actions and even accepted her own death serenely. This fact could shock many… but aside from its shock value, it holds no meaning. The Abyss Project will still be sealed, maintaining the stable order of the City-State is what matters most to the citizens, no one cares about what a queen who was executed thought or did in her last moments, and there’s an even more important reason…”

Bishop Ivan paused for a moment, taking a light breath.

“A more important reason—the Abyss Project ended, the queen’s era ended, everything has settled, at least… that’s what I’ve thought for the past fifty years.”