Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

”Rather than an evil god descending into a vessel, it is the vessel that gives birth to the evil god.”

The room fell silent, and Hughes felt a mess of thoughts tangled in his mind.

This was completely different from what he had previously imagined.

He had always believed that evil gods descended into the world in some form, after all, he often heard phrases like ”summoning an evil god” or ”the descent of an evil god.”

But according to Chloe, it wasn’t that an evil god existed first and was then brought into the world, it was that the evil god was born within the vessel, just like water filling a boot.

Could it be that evil gods originally did not exist?

Was it the summoning that granted them existence?

This idea felt strangely familiar to Hughes. A strong sense of déjà vu struck him, and after a moment of recollection, he suddenly shivered.

He remembered, there was indeed something very similar to an evil god.

Machine Souls.When Monica summoned a Machine Soul, it wasn’t about inserting a sea serpent’s soul into steel; rather, it was about creating a soul within the steel itself.

He had even specifically told Monica not to treat Machine Souls like animals but rather as machines.

A soul born in a machine.

An evil god born in a body.

So then, what exactly—what exactly—

”What exactly is an evil god!?”

Hughes stared intently at Chloe, never before feeling such an urgent thirst for an answer.

”Sigh, I’ve already told you so much. Don’t you feel unwell?”

Chloe was pressing her fingers against her temple, the firelight in her eyes flickering unpredictably. In the dimly lit room, she seemed like a moving furnace.

”I’ve spoken too much already and have been affected by some contamination. Let me rest for a bit, let me rest.”

Her state was clearly unstable, as if she had just run a long distance. She sat gasping for breath in her chair.

Hughes turned his head to glance at Lina. She still had that eerily doll-like expression.

Damn it, why did the conversation have to stall here? He really wanted to know more.

”Do others know? Can someone else tell me? I have no problem listening.”

”Your purification ability is really enviable. Unfortunately, we can’t switch people. It’s not that I don’t want to tell you, but the question you’re asking is too special. ’What is an evil god?’—this is an extremely contaminated secret knowledge. It has almost no proof, only pure speculation, which means this secret lacks any ’anchors.’”

”Then even if you recover, it would still be difficult for you to tell me?”

”There is a way. You’re underestimating us Moths Chasing Fire. What we pursue is precisely this kind of dangerous and enigmatic knowledge. Secret knowledge, contamination, nothing can stop us from seeking the truth.”

Chloe’s voice grew excited. The firelight in her eyes seemed to burn brighter, suppressing the discomfort she felt.

”Huff, that’s much better.”

”You seem to get excited quite easily.”

”That’s the moment when the fire of the mind ignites. It unites my soul and flesh, naturally allowing me to resist contamination, strong will has always been the solid wall that stabilizes reality.”

”Stabilizes reality...”

”After you asked me last time, I actually started preparing a ritual. In some rituals, knowledge can flow in a relatively safe manner. I haven’t finished setting it up yet, but once it’s done, I’ll inform you.”

”So I still can’t know what an evil god is today!?”

Hughes felt an indescribable sense of frustration, as if reading a novel only to have the most exciting part cut off. He was so annoyed he wanted to punch something.

”Yes, there’s no way. Speaking secret knowledge is very dangerous. It must be done cautiously. You don’t need to be impatient, you’ll find out eventually, and not knowing now may not be a bad thing.”

Damn it, what kind of cryptic nonsense was this? Hughes felt a headache coming on.

The room fell into silence again. Chloe sighed and curled up in her chair, hugging her legs.

Hughes paced back and forth in the room, then suddenly stopped as a strange idea surfaced in his mind.

”Speaking secret knowledge causes contamination because you’re spreading knowledge, right?”

”Yes.”

”Then what if I figure it out on my own?”

”???”

”Look, I’ll make a guess about what an evil god is. You don’t say anything, just tell me if I’m right or wrong. That way, we can avoid contamination, right?”

Chloe’s eyes widened.

She froze in place, thinking for a moment before responding, ”But speaking secret knowledge causes contamination, even if it’s an incorrect guess...”

”It’s fine, I can purify it.”

”That seems possible... Wait, no. If I confirm your guess, wouldn’t that still count as passing on the knowledge?”

”Then don’t confirm it. If I’m wrong, just tell me. If I’m right, don’t say anything.”

”???!!!”

Chloe sat frozen in her chair, her expression blank, her mind working frantically.

After a long time, she hesitantly said, ”It seems like there’s no problem... but you might have to make a lot of guesses.”

”That’s no problem. My purification ability is extremely powerful.” Hughes grinned. ”So, shall we try it?”

Chloe was clearly intrigued. She jumped up from her chair, the firelight in her eyes shining even brighter. ”Let’s try, let’s try! Go ahead!”

Hughes licked his lips, thought for a moment, and then spoke: ”Evil gods are the manifestation of humanity’s negative emotions, they—”

”Wrong! How could that be?” Chloe interrupted.

The two fell silent. Hughes looked at Chloe. ”Are you alright? Any contamination?”

The nun closed her eyes and sensed for a moment, then said excitedly, ”No! This method actually seems to work! Keep going!”

”Let me think... Evil gods are summoned from another world?”

”Wrong.”

”Evil gods are gods who have fallen or become corrupted?”

”What kind of nonsense is that?”

”Can evil gods communicate?”

Chloe fell silent, her expression hesitant. ”This question... skip it.”

”So I guessed correctly?”

”No.”

”Then I guessed wrong?”

”Not exactly, and it’s hard to describe.”

Chloe’s face showed a conflicted expression.

Hughes recognized that look, when he had a very complex thought but couldn’t find the right words to express it, he would look just like that.

It was as if she couldn’t find a suitable term to describe it.

But what did she mean by ”not exactly”?

Was it uncertain whether they could communicate?

Could they both communicate and not communicate?

”Are they unable to communicate through language?”

”Not exactly.”

That was strange. Whether or not something could communicate with language should be easy to determine.

If even that couldn’t be answered, then perhaps his approach was wrong.

Maybe the key wasn’t language, but communication itself?

Hughes took a deep breath and slowly said: ”Can they only speak, or only listen?”

Chloe suddenly fell silent. Her gaze dropped to the floor, as if she had developed a sudden fascination with the tiles beneath her feet.

The corners of Hughes’ mouth gradually curled up.

”Evil gods do not listen to us, but they actively speak?”

Chloe sat still as a statue.