Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

Chloe had actually considered finding a safe place, methodically setting up the ritual, while sending the airship back to the island to bring more people for support and, incidentally, summoning a heretical god to show the other side.

Unfortunately, there was no time.

She could feel that the eerie presence within the palace was about to break through some kind of boundary.

Although Chloe didn't know what it was, her intuition screamed warnings at her, urging her to get as far away from here as possible at all costs.

In the extraordinary world, breaking through a boundary often meant a complete transformation.

Willpower was originally just a vague and intangible personal thought, but once it broke through the walls of reality, cognitive interference and pollution would descend.

Pollution was merely the slow accumulation of negative effects, but once the boundaries of will were breached, the extraordinary individual would go mad, and their body would be twisted and corrupted into a monster.

Right now, that monster was still something that could be defeated.

But once it crossed the boundary, while the world itself might not be destroyed, the entire Storm Ocean would certainly be buried with it.

Chloe was a cultist, the leader of Moths Chasing Fire, a member of Castel, a powerful extraordinary being.

But stripping away all these identities, she was just a girl.

She had too much to consider, too much to bear.

Yet at this moment, as she looked at the monster within the palace, for some reason, the first figure that surfaced in her mind was her mother.

Her mother was a mortal, the daughter of a miller, who married a craftsman in the city and gave birth to Chloe.

She couldn't remember the details very well.

Those memories were too distant, and that city along with her parents had faded into a vague impression, buried deep within her mind.

She had always thought that when she died, she would do so without hesitation—walking towards death with composure, whether it be dying in battle or sacrificing herself for the greater good as she was doing now.

But in this moment, what appeared in her mind was the indistinct outline of her mother's face.

How strange.

Was she really this weak?

The Church of Candlelight had always believed that the Moths Chasing Fire were a bunch of lunatics.

She had somewhat believed it herself.

Would lunatics think of their mothers before dying?

This thought irritated her.

She tried to focus on the ritual, but she couldn't help it—memories kept flooding back.

She thought of her parents, of that city where it always rained, of the cold expressions on the faces of the Church's Holy Guard as they massacred the city.

Memories were such useless things.

They always interfered with her ability to live properly.

If she had never recalled these things, perhaps she would still be just an ordinary nun of the Church of Candlelight.

Then she could have lived in blissful ignorance, spending her life peacefully, growing old and dying in her bed.

Unlike now, where she had even lost her human body.

Soon, even the last trace of her soul would cease to exist.

This was an important moment.

She was making a great sacrifice.

Chloe kept telling herself this over and over.

Yet all she felt in her heart was confusion.

She had made the decision to sacrifice herself without hesitation.

She had made such decisions many times before.

The Moths Chasing Fire always faced death with composure, and she was no exception.

She shook her head, reminding herself that she must have been affected by all these chaotic memories again.

Chloe sighed, giving up on thinking.

Understanding everything wouldn't make her death any more dignified—it would only cause her to waver.

But the more she tried not to think, the more memories surged up.

The wandering of her short life, the faces of her fallen companions, the helplessness of fleeing to the sea.

And finally—finally—on this remote island, she had met Hughes.

Her tragic memories suddenly came to a halt.

Ever since meeting Hughes, the very tone of her memories seemed to change.

Her memories gained color, and her life became a little brighter.

Her organization was accepted.

Her ideals were understood.

She had dragged Hughes into countless mad experiments.

Though he scolded her every time, she still felt happy inside.

Her title as leader no longer felt like a shackle.

She felt joy in being useful.

Even her inhuman body seemed to have some purpose.

She had personally helped build Castel.

She had met many people, both human and non-human.

This was their shared home.

Castel.

Castel.

Fire and light in the storm, a utopia for those who pursued knowledge.

Sometimes, she felt it was all too beautiful—like a dream.

In those moments, she would secretly perform an illusion-breaking ritual.

When the ritual took effect and she saw the factories and the bustling people still before her, she would quietly feel happy.

"Chief, the ritual is ready. It's time for the sacrifice."

She lowered her gaze to the Polluted Serpent.

The smile on her lips faded and was replaced by a firm line.

It was time for the sacrifice.

She was the offering.

The gazes of several other Moths Chasing Fire fell upon her.

In their eyes, Chloe saw a familiar emotion.

They too were members of Castel.

Now, the moths would plunge into the flames together.

Memories were truly useless.

They had stirred up so many emotions in her, wasting so much precious time.

Yet in the end, the path still led to death.

From the moment she became a Moth Chasing Fire, her fate had been sealed.

She would ultimately turn to ash in the flames.

Only now, there were many meaningless things along the way.

That was her life.

Her insignificant, unremarkable life.

Even she didn't care much about it.

As long as she completed her mission, nothing else mattered.

Death was her greatest value.

"Begin."

Chloe's voice was calm, but her expression was wild.

She couldn't tell if she was truly insane.

If she was, all the better.

In this world, the more rational one was, the more painful it became.

The others smiled as if relieved.

They were no longer weak humans.

They were the most fanatical cultists.

Madness was their mask, their weapon.

What reason couldn't solve, madness could.

The fate of the Moths Chasing Fire—

Abandon emotions.

Abandon reason.

Abandon weakness.

Abandon everything.

Embrace madness.

This was the lesson Chloe had learned.

And it was very useful.

The feeling of pain dissipated from her heart.

She looked at the monster below, her eyes burning with frenzied hatred.

She would not allow everything she cherished to be destroyed.

She wanted to protect all that she had.

This will, as unyielding as steel, transcended reality itself.

Though they were different individuals, their hearts carried the same will, the same anger in their eyes.

The towering wall of reality collapsed with a thunderous crash.

The bitter waters of the Sea of Unawareness surged into the present world.

For a brief moment, the world seemed to freeze.

By sheer force of will, they interfered with the workings of the world.

At this moment, even the laws of reality had to give way!

This was cognitive interference!

The once feeble glow of the ritual instantly became as brilliant as a blazing sun, shooting straight towards Castel.

The summoning of the heretical god, which should have required dozens of people to sustain, forcefully tore through layer upon layer of resistance.

The precise and intricate extraordinary rules were violently ripped open, then flooded with immense energy.

The ritual skipped all steps and completed itself directly.

The prepared vessel opened its eyes.

A strange and immense presence descended.

The airship shattered, crashing into the palace along with the newborn heretical god.

Moments later, a colossal blaze engulfed everything.