Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 759 This world has no gods.

To be honest, Hughes wholeheartedly agreed with this idea—that faith was in power, not in the gods themselves.

But the person who said this was the head of a religious order, and it seems that the five major churches share the same idea.
Then, recalling Jules's statement that the church does not believe in God, he always felt a sense of unease.

There are many churches on Earth, and almost all of them dedicate one or a group of gods to worship, with very few directly taking power itself as their faith.

In this world, almost all churches have unanimously abandoned faith in God. Why?
Hughes suddenly seemed to remember something and opened the letter again.

"The Church of the Sea God believed in a deity, therefore they perished."

This was something Jules mentioned casually.

Why is faith in a deity equated with destruction? What is the connection between the two?

"Do you...no, do all churches not believe in God?"

Chloe hesitated for a moment before replying, "I think I've heard of some smaller sects having this particular hobby. That's rather rare."

"So, in your heart, what kind of existence is the god?"

"A wonderful thing, an extremely valuable resource, possessing immense power, but unfortunately, there's no way to communicate with it."

Hughes paused for a few seconds before suddenly realizing, "You mean an evil god like the Lord of Moths? Uncommunicable, isn't that an evil god or some kind of outer god? I'm talking about a deity."

"Gods, aren't they just evil gods? Outer gods are actually a type of evil god, just less likely to bring as much pollution and are much less dangerous."

"Are you referring to other beings as 'gods'?"

Hughes was completely stunned.

He suddenly realized that he knew nothing about this world.

Having been in this world for so long and dealt with so many churches, is it now possible to tell him that there are no gods in this world, only evil gods?

What a joke!
But upon closer reflection, Hughes really couldn't recall ever hearing anyone mention anything about gods.

Even the sea god, people only fear his power, not his existence itself.

Looking back now, it seems that this is indeed the case. He locked the sea god in the furnace as fuel because he was originally a human from Earth and had no reverence for gods.

But his subordinates didn't object much and just carried it out directly.

He subconsciously overlooked this point, which is actually extremely wrong. Faith is not so easy to change; whether you give up faith or embrace it, it should come at a great cost.

Even the existence of the banshee, the harbinger of death, took people a long time to get used to, so there's no reason to suddenly give up faith in the gods.

Hughes was momentarily confused, just as he had when he first encountered cognitive interference. Just how many secrets was still hidden in this world?

"Uh, are you alright? Did I say something wrong?"

Hughes shook his head: "No, the problem is with this world."

『.』

"Speaking of which, do you know what lies beyond the extraordinary?" Hughes suddenly asked.

Beyond the extraordinary?

"Yes, above the extraordinary, there is a power even stronger than the extraordinary."

"The [named] are much stronger than the extraordinary. There are even higher-level extraordinary beings, such as the second-tier extraordinary being like Brother Kesch." "Brother Kesch is a second-tier extraordinary being?" Hughes was somewhat surprised, then suddenly realized.

Brother Kesch was in Castel the whole time, but he was almost like a statue from beginning to end, barely able to move.

The fact that they could only have very simple conversations occasionally was indeed consistent with the characteristics of high-level superhumans that Beatrice had told him before.

"Is he [Cocoon]?"

"Oh, you actually know this name. Did Beatrice tell you? Or Nora? Never mind, he really is the 'Cocoon.' My existence is only possible because my soul is residing within him. The diary is merely a medium through which I communicate with you, like... like..."

"Just like a cell phone."

What is a mobile phone?

Hughes didn't answer, but continued to ask, "What about above the second-tier transcendents? Aren't there third-tier beings? Or other, even stronger beings?"

"Third tier? How is that possible?"

"Even second-tier transcendents cannot exist stably in the mortal world. Their physical bodies are near the Three-Pointed Gate, and they are almost unable to escape the Sea of ​​Consciousness. How could there be any higher beings?"

"The Gate of Three Points!" Hughes' eyes lit up. This sounded like some kind of boundary. Could it be that this world has a mechanism similar to the ascension of immortal cultivators?
What lies on the other side of the Three-Pointed Gate?

"What do you mean 'opposite'? There's no opposite side to the Gate of Three Points!"

"Why not? If it's a door, there should be a way to open it, right?"

"It's just called a door; there's no real 'opening.' It's just a landmark at the deepest part of the Sea of ​​Ignorance—I know you're probably wondering what's beneath the Sea of ​​Ignorance, or if there's something even higher than it."

After Chloe finished speaking, she continued on her own before Hughes could reply:

"Stop asking. No, there isn't. Superhumans are already the strongest force in the world. Evil gods are more like some kind of calamity, a phenomenon similar to a storm or earthquake. There's no such thing as a superhuman striving to become stronger and then suddenly turning into an evil god!"

Hughes pursed his lips, and said somewhat reluctantly, "I remember you said that superhumans can lose control."

"Yes, losing control will turn you into a monster, but a monster is not an evil god. Evil gods and the extraordinary have little to do with each other. There is a limit to becoming stronger; above the extraordinary, there is nothing else."

Hughes fell silent after hearing this.

Indeed, he always felt that there should be such a thing as a "god" in this world. After learning that there were only evil gods, he refused to accept it and fantasized that a sufficiently powerful superhuman might become a god.

In retrospect, perhaps he was overthinking things. His ingrained mindset as a time traveler influenced him, and he always felt that it was strange to have a church but no gods.

This world is strange, isn't it?

Hughes comforted himself with this thought and was about to accept it, but then he suddenly felt something was wrong.

He seems to have overlooked something.

Hughes frowned and thought for a long time, then suddenly laughed.

How could he forget himself? If the extraordinary beings in this world are the pinnacle, then what are the Golden Throne and that hall?
"What are you laughing at?" Chloe asked curiously. "What strange question have you thought of this time? Go ahead and ask!"

It's clear that she also has some interest in exploring beyond the extraordinary.

"There is indeed a problem—if second-tier extraordinary individuals are not a continuation of ordinary extraordinary individuals, then why are they called second-tier extraordinary individuals?"

"Could it be that the Three-Pointed Gate is actually blocked?"

(End of this chapter)