Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 239: Secret of the Sea
The candlelight burned slowly on the wall. Every candle here was a precious moon candle, whose light could suppress and purify pollution wherever it shone, but here it was only used for lighting.

Bookshelves stood on both sides, and the candlelight could barely illuminate the names on the spines of the books, but if you wanted to see the details, all that was left was a blur. The reality here was not stable, just like the towering dome, with only a rough silhouette.

This is the forbidden book room.

Beatrice was now moving quickly through the endless bookshelves. She was not supposed to be here, but she forced her way in by using her identity as the Pope.

The gatekeeper didn't try to stop her and let her in.

Beatrice was an investigator, and she could feel that some eyes were secretly watching her, and they would take action as long as she did something out of the ordinary. Perhaps they wanted to appease her, or perhaps coming to the forbidden book room would not bring too much trouble. In short, they acquiesced.

Beatrice felt her heart pounding, and she knew she had won the gamble the moment she stepped into the room.

If the candlelight allowed her to wear the triple crown symbolizing the Pope, it would definitely give her some power, even if it was very small.

The Forbidden Book Room is the core of the core of the Holy See. The teachings of the Candlelight Society are to collect secrets, keep secrets, bury history, and seal the past.

This is the cemetery carefully selected by the Candlelight Society. Countless contaminated knowledge is sealed here and will never be deciphered.

Even if Beatrice is the Pope, she has no right to leak the books and knowledge here. There are the most stringent protective inscriptions here, which even the current Candlelight Society itself cannot replicate. This is the true sanctuary of the Candlelight Society.

Although she couldn't take it away, she had the right to browse it. After all, Beatrice was the Pope, even if it was only in name only.

The scrutinizing gaze was like a thorn in her back, but Beatrice pretended not to notice. She turned the pages of the book with trembling hands, her fingers running over the secrets.

Finally, her gaze stopped on the records from a thousand years ago.

Marine pollution
Beatrice's pupils shrank instantly, and she felt as if thousands of needles were piercing her mind. As her thoughts shifted and slowly stirred, the words in front of her gradually stood up from the paper, slowly spinning and dancing with the tingling pain in her head.

Hallucinations again.

The severe headache was like a warning, and she forced herself to suppress the uncomfortable feeling, which was the cry of her body being polluted.

There is a reason why this knowledge is classified as a banned book. The pollution brought by reading knowledge is direct and huge.

Fortunately, she was an investigator, and this extraordinary path could exempt her from most contamination when investigating secret history. She took a few deep breaths, and the illusion in front of her eyes dissipated a little.

She closed the book, rubbed her forehead, and pondered for a moment, trying to eliminate the knowledge that might be contaminated. She then spoke from the link:
Scepter: "I suspect that Caster traveled back a thousand years to the time when the ocean pollution erupted!"

After saying this, she let out a long breath and waited for a response.

Can it be successfully sent out? This is the Forbidden Library. There are not many places in the world with tighter defenses than this one. The waves of the Sea of Unconsciousness cannot even reach here. Can this place really be connected to the outside world?
In the silence, Beatrice quietly counted her own heartbeats. If she couldn't connect here, she would leave here, return to her room and send it again. This was her cautious first attempt.

Let me see how far this strange link that suddenly appeared can go.

Beatrice held her breath unconsciously.

French Fries: "Uh, what do you mean by a thousand years and a pollution outbreak?" A crisp voice broke the silence. Beatrice took a deep breath and looked around the empty forbidden book room, trying hard not to show any abnormality.

It actually worked.

This kind of link can really overcome numerous blockades and ignore the tight seal of the Forbidden Book Room. Even the Sea of Unconsciousness cannot reach this place, and this kind of link can actually maintain a stable connection.

The sound of French fries was exceptionally clear in the quiet room, without even a hint of distortion, as if the speaker was standing right next to him and asking him questions.

Beatrice paused and slowly told the two of them the story.

Scepter: "I should state in advance that this part of knowledge is taboo in most churches. I am aware that simply repeating it will contaminate you."

Ken nodded subconsciously, but suddenly felt something was wrong and turned to look at Jeremiah.

Jeremiah snorted coldly and said nothing.

French Fries: "I've seen them a little bit. They look like worms, black, and they wriggle slowly."

Scepter: "That's physical pollution. The rumors about the Seagod Church hoarding pollution are indeed true. I'm referring to the pollution caused by spreading the secret teachings. Aren't you two transcendents? If you weren't, the harm from the pollution wouldn't be significant. But if you attempt to touch the transcendents, then the pollution will be your death knell."

Ken and Jeremiah exchanged a glance. Transcendence was still too far away for them, but the threat of Castel's disappearance was real, especially with the sea still slowly drying up.
French Fries: "Go ahead, Lady of Wands, this is very important to us!"

Scepter: "Well, this story begins with a sudden change a thousand years ago. It's said that many sudden changes occurred simultaneously, and the sea was just one of them. However, this also caused the True God Church to move away from the ocean."

Scepter: "It is said that at that time the sky fell to the ground, the sea became polluted, countless monsters emerged from it, and the sea became devoid of all life overnight."

Scepter: "The Church of Poseidon, well, that's not very relevant. Anyway, the Church of Poseidon disappeared overnight. Their headquarters was located at sea. When other churches went to investigate, only ruins remained. Of course, that was hundreds of years later."

Scepter: "The four major churches worked together to resolve the various anomalies, but they were also severely weakened, forcing them to each shrink their spheres of influence. The religious wars that had been waged against each other for hundreds of years came to an abrupt end, followed by a thousand years of recuperation. Only in recent decades have some churches begun to explore the sea."

Scepter: "In fact, until now, most extraordinary people have nowhere to go, and they will not go near the sea. The pollution in the sea is extremely poisonous to extraordinary people."

The explanation of the scepter ended, and silence returned to the link. After a while, French Fries asked again:

"Ms. Scepter, you haven't explained how this relates to Castel yet."

Scepter: "It's very simple. The changes in the sea back then were just like what's happening now. The entire island was directly dug out of the sea."

Scepter: "And that dug-out island still leaves behind a bottomless pit. Since you are on the Ocean of Storms, you should know this, right?"

The captain's deep voice suddenly rang out: "Eye of the Storm."

(End of this chapter)