Border Intelligence

Duncan gazed out at the distant sea, lost in thought. Lucretia stood quietly behind him. The silence lasted for who knew how long before Duncan finally broke it. "Tell me about the border."

Lucretia stepped forward, hesitation in her voice. "You..."

"I don't remember what happened back then," Duncan said softly. "So I want to hear your thoughts on the border. You've been active in the border regions all these years, and as far as I know, you even ventured into that dense fog several times... If we're destined to deal with that fog again, then I at least want to know what you understand about it."

Lucretia's gaze was hesitant and conflicted. She stared fixedly at Duncan's back, as if afraid that he might suddenly vanish into the wind once more. Before today, her father had brought up the border before, but their discussions on the matter had never gone deep. She had deliberately avoided the subject, yet today... things seemed different.

After several seconds, the "Sea Witch" finally spoke. "...I have entered that dense fog, but I only operated at a very 'shallow' level. Six nautical miles—that was the limit of how far I could travel into the mist. In theory, it should also be the limit of the Four Gods Church's surveillance in that area."

"What's there?" Duncan asked curiously.

Lucretia thought for a moment. "The sea is calm through most of the region, even calmer than other normal waters of the Boundless Sea. Its surface is like a mirror, clearly reflecting the flags on the masts. There are no waves at all, and even the ripples caused by a ship passing over it settle in an extremely short time. The entire sea has the texture of some kind of... heavy, viscous substance that cannot ripple, yet