Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 747 Jules' Letter

On the magnificent ebony table, a fine typewriter sits.

Beside him, another scribe held a quill pen, ready to transcribe the text at any moment.

Jules looked at the respectful-looking people in the room, his brow furrowing slightly. He waved his hand, signaling them all to leave.

After the door closed, Jules pulled out a chair and sat down at the long table. He placed his hands on the typewriter, moved his fingers a few times, but still felt uncomfortable and inexplicably awkward.

After thinking for a moment, he took off the triple crown symbolizing the Pope from his head and casually put it aside, only then did his expression become more relaxed.

Jules placed the parchment into the typewriter's slot and, as was his habit, pressed the backspace key a few times to check the typewriter's status.

Then, the metal button levers were struck with a series of clicks.

Beatrice, I'm sorry it's taking me so long to write to you.

“These years in the church must have been very difficult. That triple crown was very heavy, but you had to wear it.”

"But it doesn't matter, I'll kill them all."

"It's funny, they are clearly superhumans with great power, capable of distorting reality with just their will, yet even when I put a knife to their necks, they couldn't believe I would do it."

"Now I am both the Pope and the entire Council of the Keepers of the Secrets."

"That's quite fitting, after all, I am also a [Keeper of Secrets]."

Jules seemed to have thought of something and smiled slightly.

"I wonder how you are doing in Castel? To be honest, I'm quite surprised that you actually survived until then, even though the ritual I designed should have completely destroyed your body."

"Perhaps they are very skilled at treatment? Or perhaps you have finally given up on something important?"

"In short, I can feel that you are still alive. Your heartbeat is ringing softly in my ear, which makes me feel extremely remorseful."

“My niece, you can hate me and criticize me as much as you want. You have survived, so you have that right.”

"But you must remember that you also made mistakes."

“Beatles, you didn’t listen to me.”

“In my previous letter, I warned you to be wary of inhuman beings, but you completely failed to do so.”

"I am disappointed."

"In this world, only humans are trustworthy; everything else is untrustworthy."

Jules pulled the parchment down further and tapped it again with extra force: "None of it is credible!"

“You’ve never seen the true nature of this world, so you’re hoping for the best, which I understand.”

“But you can’t make the same mistake again. Hughes is not trustworthy—I know I can’t convince you anymore, but you should be able to tell.”

“Hughes, he is not human.”

“I have observed him for a long time, longer than you can imagine, but I still don’t know what he is.”

Jules paused for a moment as he wrote this.

He pushed aside the lever, picked up the parchment, and held it in front of him.

Should we tell her?

“Hughes will definitely see this letter. I’ll write it down and he’ll know.”

"Bruno got lost, the [named] people went the wrong way, and it was all too late to turn back."

"Hughes, will you be our last hope?"

Metal fingers tapped on the table, the tapping sound echoing in the empty palace.

The last rays of the setting sun shone on Yule, and his shadow grew longer and longer.

Snapped.

The candlelight in the room was lit. Jules stared blankly at the candlelight, his eyes flickering.

"never mind."

"If I have done something wrong, let him walk over my dead body."

"I can't let this last chance slip away."

After muttering to himself for a while, Jules' expression suddenly relaxed.

He took the cup, tasted the engine oil in it, stretched, and the two machines on the table immediately came over to wipe the wires and apply lubricant.

From the robotic arms to the steel ribs, and then up the metal spine, just as the machines on both sides were about to separate his mechanical skull, he suddenly raised his hand.

"That's enough for today's maintenance."

The indicator lights on both sides of the machine flashed, skipping the subsequent maintenance process, and then retreated to the side, returning to silence.

Jules lowered his head and put his hands back on the typewriter.

“Beatles, I asked you to look at some doctrines before, I don’t know if you did it.”

"Not just the Candlelight Church, but the doctrines of the other major churches are also acceptable."

"The church may conceal things, but it will not lie about doctrine."

"Fine, I'll just give you some hints."

"If you've been looking carefully, you should have noticed it already."

"None of the four major churches mention God in their doctrines."

"The Candlelight Society worships the inextinguishable candlelight, the Silent Sanctuary worships the remains of the bone dove, the Temple of the Sleepless worships the eternal dream, and the Mechanics Society worships the craft itself."

"Only the Church of the Sea God worships the sea god."

"Therefore, the Church of the Sea God perished."

"Yes, you're so clever, you should have already guessed why the four major churches don't worship gods."

"If not, let me give you some more hints."

“Everyone who studies secret history knows that the four major churches each have two sects.”

"The Candlelight Society's unquenchable candles and moths drawn to flame, the Silent Sanctuary's buryers and forgetters, the Temple of the Sleepless's skinners and night watchmen, the Church of the Sea God's deep-diving beings and banshees of death, the Mechanicus... best left unmentioned."

"Like light and shadow, they coexist and coexist."

"The light and darkness of the Candlelight Church are shattered, the light of the Silent Church overwhelms the shadow, the light and darkness of the Sleepless Children coexist, and the shadow of the Sea God Church overwhelms the light. Oh, and so they perish."

“Beatles, you are a smart girl. If it weren’t for bad luck, you wouldn’t have been dragged into this vortex.”

"But my advice is, whatever you've guessed, forget about it, and as for the reason—"

Jules shook his head and stopped writing. Instead, he tugged at the letter and signed it from the bottom.

"The Candlelight Pope, Chief of the Council of Keepers of the Secrets, and the Mechanical Sanctuary"

His fingers paused for a moment, then he pulled the spring of the typewriter, took out the parchment stuck in the slot, crossed out the long signature line, put it back, and typed the signature again.

"Your uncle Jules."

Jules took out the parchment, put it into the envelope, and sealed it with sealing wax. Looking at the candlestick emblem printed on the sealing wax, he pursed his lips.

"Send this letter to Castel."

He spoke softly, and the door opened immediately. Someone respectfully took the envelope and was about to leave when another voice came from behind the long table:
Do you know how to send it?

Seeing the priest's bewildered expression, Jules chuckled and said, "Put it in a nice box, go to the Rhine, find a hole, and throw it into the ground."

(End of this chapter)