It Turns Out, They Are the Protagonists - Chapter 32: Could She Be the Protagonist?

Yi Feng, who was terminally ill, was reborn in the year 2000. In that year, his childhood sweetheart and school beauty Gu Muxi turned 18.“Yi Feng, lend me a pen!”“…Didn’t you just borrow one yesterday?”“Yesterday was yesterday, today is today, things change, don’t you understand?”“…I’m convinced, alright, here you go.”“Yi Feng, tear off a piece of paper for me to use!”“…Why tear mine? Don’t you have any?”“I do, but I don’t mind tearing yours.”“…You really have a way of thinking! Fine, fine, here you go.”“Yi Feng…”“…What do you want to borrow now? I don’t have anything left.”“Hmph, lend me your hand for a moment!”“…What for?!”“Nothing much, I just want to hold my boyfriend’s hand.”“Huh???”This is the daily life of a romance between childhood friends, filled with social awkwardness.A story full of sweetness, without any melodrama or heartache.Welcome aboard!~

Over a million years ago, the first human contracted with the first Spirit. Ever since then, Spirit use has become commonplace. Humans used Spirits to carry items and start fires. Eventually, even start wars. Thousands upon thousands of years past and one day, one human did the impossible. He transcended his mortality and ascended to the realm above.

Deep below the earth's surface, a mystifying subterranean seascape lurks, an archipelago bathed in inky blackness where suspense and horror hold court. Here lie strange islands and even stranger monsters, far beyond the realms of human imagination. In this domain, mankind is far from dominant; instead, madness and death rule supreme.

Pleading for mercy from the unknown creatures of the deep only leads to a slow, tortured existence. The trapped survivors gradually distort, losing what made them human, both physically and mentally, to the gloom as they remain trapped in this eternal obscurity. Their only hope? A perilous expedition into uncharted sea territories.

Fueled by determination, Charles embark on this daunting voyage aboard his steamship, aiming to reclaim humanity's past glory. Together with his crew, they sought a way out of this hidden sea world, a path back to the sunlit world above, where humans once stood tall.

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I read a few comments from Chinese readers that compared this novel with Lord of Mysteries because of similar elements: Lovecraftian, western fantasy, first industrial revolution, and steampunk. However, I have yet to finish reading Lord of Mysteries to do any actual comparison, but I do think those who have enjoyed that novel would enjoy this as well. Also, the author of LotM, Cuttlefish That Loves Diving, also did a shout-out for this novel, so I guess he approves of it too?

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The person who was locked away inside the thorn-covered tower was not a princess, but a witch who employed the powers of darkness.

A brave young hero came searching for the tower in order to kill the witch.

– Light would force the darkness to recede, and grant it eternal rest

The witch wished.

That things would end with, ‘and the hero lived happily ever after killing the witch,’ like in the fairy tales.

And so, she had devised everything to happen in accordance to her wishes.

But the boy, who had grown up in but no time at all, would make the unfamiliar face of man’s from time to time.

“You want me to kill you? ……Do you really think I’ll let you go?”

Reality was very different from the fairy tales.

“The people don’t know of the precious treasure locked away in the tower.

I won’t let anyone else have this god given treasure, this crown of god surrounded by thorns that no one else could recognize.”

The hero gave the witch a slow and deep kiss.

“I am the true victor, and no one else.”