# 1184
Chapter 1184: A Myth That Should Not Exist
Lin Qiye followed her gaze, his eyes landing on that dark, mysterious castle.
"Cthulhu Faction ruins..." Lin Qiye frowned slightly. "There's something like that on Earth?"
"There is, but those ruins aren't as simple as you might imagine."
Jinian nodded and walked straight toward the castle. "Entering there requires the highest level clearance. Come, I'll take you in personally. You'll understand then."
Lin Qiye followed suit.
After taking just two steps, Cao Yuan patted his shoulder and said seriously:
"Seven Nights, when it comes to checking archives, I wouldn't understand any of it anyway... You go in with President Jinian. I'll wander around outside."
"I'm coming too!" Baili Pangpang spoke up immediately, his expression grave.
"I'll go with Old Cao, otherwise he'll get lost on his own here."
Lin Qiye: ...
Lin Qiye couldn't be bothered to expose these two's true intentions. He simply nodded and said, "Alright, stay safe. Contact us by radio if anything happens."
After Cao Yuan and Baili Pangpang had gone far, Lin Qiye followed Jinian through the archives' entrance.
After a dizzying array of security measures, they walked directly into the castle's first floor. Though it appeared somewhat worn from the outside, the interior was quite orderly—rows of shelves arranged by different pantheon lineages, layered in neat sequences, clear and organized at a glance.
"This floor houses materials related to the Greek and Norse pantheons. The second floor is for India and Egypt. The Sumerian materials you're looking for are all on the third floor."
As Jinian guided Lin Qiye, she walked toward the stairs to the second floor. "Sumerian mythology originated in the Fertile Crescent. Unlike Greek, Norse, and Indian mythologies, this mythology is far too ancient, and with the passage of time and the changing of dynasties, few people still know of its existence. Due to a lack of believers, combined with certain changes among the pantheons, the Sumerian pantheon has essentially declined, submerged in the river of time. It's even uncertain whether any deities from this pantheon have survived to the present."
The two reached the third floor. Jinian reached out and pointed to a dusty shelf in the corner:
"That, right there, is the shelf containing the Sumerian pantheon archives. There aren't many documents, so it shouldn't take long... Though you can start later if you want."
"Why?" Lin Qiye asked, puzzled.
"Because I want to show you something else."
Jinian stuffed her hands into her pockets, turned, and continued up the stairs.
"Something about Cthulhu?"
"That's right."
The two walked to the fourth floor, where several thick pixelated doors sealed off the entire level entirely. With a wave of Jinian's hand, these doors rose one by one.
Dim light illuminated the corridor's end. Jinian walked forward with a serious expression and said slowly:
"During the Great Xia exploration team's searches and the Oath Society's development activities, we successively discovered some mysterious ruins on different continental plates. After investigation and research, we have basically confirmed that these ruins were all left during very ancient periods. We expended tremendous human and material resources to explore them, and ultimately confirmed that these were all ruins left behind by Cthulhu Faction deities."
Passing through the corridor's end, a vast open space appeared in their field of vision. Dozens of display platforms stood orderly on the pixelated ground, enclosed by glass cases that emitted a faint glow, like a mysterious museum exhibition hall.
Lin Qiye's gaze swept across these glass display cases.
Black soil that seeped with eerie blood, a broken tree trunk bearing bizarre handprint marks, dark red insect exuviae embedded in rock, gray river water that seemed to have been tainted by some kind of gas...
These bizarre exhibits all exuded an aura of the strange and the extraordinary.
"The Oath Society has a 'Research Institute Number Two,' dedicated to covert archaeological research. This castle is what they constructed. Through the research of 'Research Institute Number Two,' it has been basically confirmed that in ancient times, small groups of Cthulhu deities were already active on Earth. Later, they were apparently sealed on the Moon by the Heavenly Court deities, which led to the earlier Red Moon incident."
As Jinian's words fell, Lin Qiye paused in front of one of the glass display cases. While observing, he said calmly:
"It's not 'apparently.' The Heavenly Court Holy Sovereign gathered some of Earth's Supreme Gods and set a trap on the Moon. They used the Heavenly Court origin to seal the Cthulhu Faction deities, while the other deities of Heavenly Court basically all died in the war with Hell."
"Oh?"
Jinian raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Tell me more."
This matter was indeed a secret to others, but Lin Qiye had just returned from Heavenly Court and Hell not long ago, and had learned that history from the Seraph Michael's own mouth—enough to fill the gaps in the Oath Society's intelligence.
"I was planning to share intelligence with you, but I didn't expect to gain something in return." Jinian made a note of the whole matter and sighed.
Lin Qiye walked past these display cases in turn, as if remembering something:
"Right, there's another question. Why can't the Asylum of the Gods hold the souls of Cthulhu Faction creatures? What exactly are they?"
Jinian pondered for a moment, looked into Lin Qiye's eyes, and asked seriously:
"I have to ask you—how did you come to know the stories of the Cthulhu deities?"
"..." Lin Qiye shook his head. "I can't remember. I must have heard it from someone? Or from some novel, or on TV?"
"Great Xia has never published any novels or TV shows about Cthulhu Faction deities. As for hearing it from someone else... hmm, almost everyone gives that same answer." Jinian shrugged. "Don't you find that strange?"
"It is a bit strange. I heard someone say before that this pantheon seemed to suddenly appear in everyone's minds... No one can accurately say where they learned about these things."
"Of course no one can say." Jinian shook her head. "Because it simply shouldn't exist in this world."
"What do you mean?"
"I should have told you before—I'm not from this world... In the world I came from, Cthulhu mythology does indeed exist.
Cthulhu mythology is based on the worldview of the novel 'The Call of Cthulhu' published in 1928 by American writer Howard Phillips Lovecraft. It's an extended fictional setting system derived from that novel. Fundamentally speaking, it's just fiction, not mythology."
"1928? America?" Lin Qiye's eyes were full of confusion. "That date..."
"That's right. In this world, the Mist covered all places outside of Great Xia back in 1922. America wouldn't exist... 'The Call of Cthulhu,' which should have been published in 1928, naturally shouldn't exist either.
But it偏偏又出现了, and in such a bizarre form. No one knows who brought it up, no one knows how it spread into everyone's knowledge. It's like a ghost, quietly descending upon this world. Even on ancient Earth, traces of them could be found."
Jinian paused for a moment.
"I even suspect... they're like me, like your psychiatric hospital—both of us aren't from this world either."