Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

The rope ladder was hauled up by the people on the airship, and Gwen grasped the hatch door, staring fixedly downward.

White Mist—white mist everywhere, seemingly endless. The airship sailed like a lone boat upon a sea of clouds.

She stared in a daze for a long time, then suddenly turned around and asked the people inside the cabin,

“Just now… who was that little girl?”

The cabin fell silent for a moment. Everyone turned their heads toward her.

“What little girl?”

“A girl about this tall… very small, with white hair, and her pupils were also white. She looked really, really—anyway, she looked about eight or nine—a white-haired little girl!”

The people on the airship exchanged astonished looks. Finally, a man dressed like a member of the Expeditionary Army stepped forward:

“There’s no little girl on the airship. Where did you see her?”

“Down below—no, in the air! When we were about to be caught by those White Bones, she fell down just like that. Wait… you mean there’s no little girl on your airship?”

“Yes. The airship is still a combat unit, and we were on a mission. How could a little girl be allowed aboard?”

Gwen opened her mouth but could not speak. Indeed, it would be strange for a little girl to be on this airship. But… but…

She lowered her head to look at the White Mist below, then turned back to the people inside the airship.

That little girl had simply vanished—no one knew, no one noticed. She had sacrificed herself silently.

“Then what about that White-Bone Skeleton? Did it disappear on its own? She clearly defeated that gigantic Skeleton, and afterward she never came back up… none of you noticed?”

Gwen shouted in agitation, but in the eyes of the people around her she saw only… confusion?

“White-Bone Skeleton? Hm… there were many White Bones just now, but a skeleton… did any of you see one?”

The Expeditionary Soldiers all shook their heads.

“Miss Gwen, we have some calming medication. Are you overstimulated—”

“Impossible! Those White Bones gathered together, forming a giant Skeleton that almost pulled our airship down! You didn’t see it? Impossible—absolutely impossible!!”

Gwen felt like she was going mad. What was happening?

Hodge stepped forward, worry in his eyes, speaking softly to soothe her:

“Gwen, relax. We’re safe now… yes? First, put the machine gun down.”

“I’m perfectly fine—I’m not crazy! But I clearly saw it just now. None of you saw it?”

“Gwen, you said the White Bones formed a giant Skeleton and nearly brought down the airship—yet that clearly doesn’t make sense. If they truly had such ability, why didn’t they use it earlier?”

“Even if a giant like that really appeared, a little girl—let’s not judge yet whether this little girl even existed—how could she defeat such a massive White-Bone giant alone? No Transcendent possesses such strength.”

Gwen could not refute him. She knew Hodge made sense. But then… was everything an illusion?

That little girl… her sacrifice… all an illusion?

The Soldiers of the Expeditionary Army looked worried. They cleared a space and brought over a seat beside a file cabinet. The medical team poured her a cup of calming drink.

Gwen held the cup, but an indescribable chill rose in her heart.

Everyone was worried about her—but still, the coldness spread within her.

These people had truly forgotten everything that had just happened.

She wanted to do something—yet didn’t know what. Like walking alone through a desolate wilderness, drawing her long sword, only to find she could not even locate the Enemy.

Gwen sat on the chair, her eyes filled with confusion and pain.

Suddenly, her aimless gaze paused. She slowly turned her head toward the nearby file cabinet.

“Buried by wind and snow… the past… the Sanctum never… forgets?”

She softly read the inscription on it.

“Oh, that’s a scripture from the Silent Sanctum. We collected several classic excerpts for reference. That sentence is the most widely known—many churches carve it on their gates. Nora’s hammerhead even has that very line engraved on it.”

Hodge casually explained from the side.

He reached up and pulled out that page of file papers.

“Almost forgot—you’re a White Raven Person. You should know more about this than we do. We only have basic understanding.”

Gwen slowly raised her head, staring at Hodge.

“Which Sanctum?”

“Huh?” Hodge froze for a moment.

“The Silent Sanctum, of course. Isn’t Nora a Church Cleric from the Silent Sanctum? Are you… alright?”

“No… I remember now. They used to be called the Sanctum of Forgetting.”

Gwen began trembling all over. It felt as if she had finally grasped a thread she had overlooked all along.

“Buried… past… never forgotten.”

“Silent Sanctum… what exactly happened…”

“She told me to ‘stay alive’… Could she… have known me?”

—

Sunlight spilled across the black sandalwood dining table inlaid with golden filaments. Hunter poured amber-colored cedar honey wine into a goblet. He gently inhaled its aroma and smiled with satisfaction.

He held the goblet out toward the opposite side of the table, but after glancing at Grisha’s youthful face, he pulled the cup back and instead swapped it for a bottle of frost-thorn juice.

Grisha looked at Hunter, then lowered his head to the scone on the silver platter.

“Well? I dare say that even Archbishop Alexei wouldn’t get such a refined meal inside the Military Camp.”

Grisha nodded in agreement.

“Indeed. This bread smells amazing. There was one time when I fell asleep while keeping watch in the forest. When I woke up, a bunch of coyotes had gathered under the tree. I struggled with them for five days before finding a chance to slip away. During that time I could only eat snow off the branches.”

“I was starving to death. When I finally made it back to the Camp, Gwen was roasting potatoes. I grabbed one and ate it. At that moment it felt like the most delicious thing in the world.”

Grisha scratched his head with a silly smile and pointed at the scone.

“This one is only a little worse than that.”

Hunter swallowed hard listening to him, then quickly said,

“Roasted potatoes, huh? Are they easy to make? When the war is over, roast one for me—I’ll teach you calculus!”

“Really? Is calculus interesting?”

“Interesting! It’s one of the most interesting things in the world… well, one of them. But I’m not very talented. Even the snack stall owner back in Castel knows more than me.”

“Mm… it’s alright. I’m always clumsy anyway. I can’t do anything well.”

“Forget it—enough talking. Let’s eat!”

“Okay!”

The two—one tall, one small—both smiled and began eating happily.

“Um… by the way, why do you have so many good things here? I noticed the Barracks for the others are all very simple.”

“Oh, my family refused to surrender earlier, so I told Alexei about several secret tunnels. He easily took the Fortress, and afterward they moved all these things here for me.”

Hunter shrugged.