“That’s……”
The crowd stared dumbfounded at what was in front of them.
They had ventured deep into the depths of the Antarctic underground. Before them stood a pitch-black mountain. In the outside world, as altitude increases, temperatures would drop, and the air would become thinner. As a result, ordinary mountains would be capped with white snow at their peaks.
However, beneath the Antarctic continent, the situation was different. The mountains grew downward here, defying gravity in an inexplicable manner. Consequently, the higher the peak, the deeper it extended underground, getting closer to molten lava. Therefore, these mountains lacked any snow on their summits. Instead, they appeared fiery red at their highest points, resembling glowing-hot branding irons.
“No, this doesn't make sense... If the mountains grow downward, then the deeper we go, we will encounter thicker layers of rock. But here it's so spacious, as if the entire interior of the Earth is hollow. And look at those, what are they? Those are stars, it's the night sky!! We're clearly underground, so why can we see the night sky?!”
While everyone was still out of their senses from the shock, Gui Bin was the one who came to his senses the fastest and exclaimed loudly.
Beside him, Smith pondered for a moment and then said, “... If those Elder Things truly appeared on Earth two hundred million years ago, arriving from the stars, it's very possible that this space isn't real. The fact that we can see a starry sky here might indicate that this space is a form of a 'wormhole'. The Elder Things' civilization could have employed magic or technology unknown to us to create such a space, opening a wormhole that allowed them to traverse countless light-years and arrive on Earth.”
This statement sounded very sci-fi and also very metaphysical, but this statement was probably the best explanation anyone could come up with. Otherwise, it was simply impossible to explain why the night sky would appear in the Antarctic underground. It could even explain why such a large hollow space appeared in the interior of the Earth.
If the night sky was real, then it probably meant that this space was connected to the stars.
Thinking this, the crowd was filled with gasps. The elder things possessed the ability to traverse the cosmos in ways humanity could only imagine. Yet, despite their advanced capabilities, these beings still worshiped some malevolent deity. These evil gods were the ones sealed away by the deities from Earth's myths and legends, as known to modern humans.
With that kind of association, it was easy to imagine how terrifying the evil gods of the Cthulhu system were. It also allowed them to imagine how terrifying Earth’s gods that sealed the evil gods were.
Typhon, who appeared in the Pacific Ocean might just also be a phantom. If the real Typhon descended, the Earth might just be destroyed in the blink of an eye.
Had they not observed that these highly advanced civilizations capable of traversing the stars were mere servants before the Cthulhu mythology gods? And yet, these Cthulhu mythology gods were defeated by the Elder Gods. The intricacies of this contrast can be understood with human thinking and logic.
“This relic ...... looks like a temple, but it also looks like a spaceship!”
An astronomy expert suddenly spoke out at this time, he pointed with his hand to an unknown thing at the foot of the mountain in front of him and let out a cry.
The crowd fixed their eyes on it and realized that the man-made thing in the rocks at the foot of the mountain that seemed to have become one with the entire mountain indeed looked like both a temple and a spaceship.
If this were a human creation, even a few hundred thousand years would erase any traces. However, the civilization of the Elder Things was beyond human understanding. The fact that their creations could endure for two hundred million years seemed plausible. With this in mind, it's possible that there was valuable knowledge within this spacecraft!
“Fortunately, fortunately ...... the 'door' that the elder thing said was only the 'door' of the airship ah, I thought it was the door that would lead us to the All-in-One.”
Gui Bin patted his chest afterward. Even though he wasn't a professional researcher of Cthulhu mythology, he knew a thing or two about this myth, and the great name of the All-in-One, Yog-Sothoth, was even more familiar to him.
“We won't be able to climb this mountain. Even looking at it from here, it feels like there are thousands of temperatures above it, and there is no way human technology will allow us to ascend it physically.”
The major carefully surveyed the mountain, which was higher than Mount Everest, and said with regret.
“Hey, what are you doing?!”
Gui Bin saw that the American Cthulhu enthusiast suddenly approached the spaceship. He fiddled with something and chanted some cryptic words. Suddenly, a door appeared!
The group exchanged glances, feeling increasingly uneasy about the situation. This enthusiast seemed completely different now. Could an evil god have possessed him? Controlled by the Elder Things? Or perhaps he had gone mad?
“Major, what should we do?”
Smith asked the major. Every bone in his body wanted to leave this place.
The major thought similarly. He wanted to order the team to retreat, but just as he opened his mouth, his mind seemed to be struck by some mysterious spell, and he ordered everyone to go in.
Everyone else also seemed to be somewhat mentally deranged. Somehow they found themselves convinced of the appropriateness of the major’s orders. They followed him without complaint.
When everyone entered the spaceship, they came to their senses and realized what crazy decision they had made. These people quickly turned back to try and escape but were shocked to find that the door had disappeared.
“Oh God, I feel as if I am in a horror movie!!”
“Allahu Akbar, I think I’m going crazy! This is making me go fucking crazy!!”
“......”
The people frantically shouted the names of their gods. They had twisted faces as the eerie atmosphere alone had pushed them close to madness.
The interior of the spaceship was surprisingly well-lit as if there were light sources present. However, there was none of the futuristic technology that humans would imagine in a spacecraft. Instead, it appeared desolate, covered with strange structures resembling honeycombs, densely packed and eerie enough to trigger trypophobia.
On the surface of these honeycomb-like structures, there were numerous nauseating viscous fluids. These fluids appeared fresh, suggesting that they had been recently left behind. However, the sight of them immediately evoked images of "tentacles" traversing this area.
“Everyone be quiet!”
In the midst of the mutual cursing and crying, the calm major shouted angrily, causing the crowd to just barely regain their senses.
At this point, Gui Bin’s face was pale and covered in cold sweat, “I-I know a bit about the Cthulhu mythology. Everyone should try to maintain their sanity and control their thoughts and actions. Try not to lose control because I’m sure that you will surely die once you do!”
He glanced around once more, swallowing hard. “... This place... it looks like the lair of some creature. This ship seems to have been occupied by a monster. If I had come here without knowing anything, I would surely suspect it’s the ‘Xenomorphs’. But now that we know this is a ship of the elder things, we can determine the identity of these monsters. They are... the shoggoth!”
As the shoggoth was mentioned, an inexplicable chill swept through the crowd, causing people to shiver. Goosebumps appeared on their skin.
“The ‘door’ has already disappeared. We can’t leave even if we want to, so let’s act together to find another exit. This time, our lives will have to take priority. If we can find anything useful here under the premise of survival, then bring it with you.”
“The major issued an order.
If no one lived to tell the tale, then what was the point of having gained unspeakable knowledge?
He carefully recollected his actions since arriving in the underground Antarctica and realized that his mind and consciousness had definitely been compromised. Back in the Atlantis temple, his usual self wouldn't have chosen to continue exploring; he would have opted to leave!
In other words, the people who followed him in this adventure were definitely affected by something terrifying, mysterious, and unknown. Of course, it's also possible that there were individuals who sacrificed their sanity in the process.
And those who decided to go back were the ones who weren't affected.
“That man is gone, the man who studied the Cthulhu mythology is gone.”
Someone screamed in fear.
The crowd quickly looked around, and indeed, the young man who had previously held the key and had contact with the ancient beings was nowhere to be found.
Was he dead? Or was he problematic from the beginning? Could his mind have been contaminated by some mysterious existence that brought everyone here?
Just when everyone had figured out their bearings, a very low and mysterious sound echoed from within the spaceship
“Cthulhu fhtagn, Cthulhu fhtagn!!”
That voice was very hoarse, yet it seemed to penetrate the walls and appear in the minds of the people.
“Motherfucker, why is there suddenly Cthulhu now?!”
Curses related to the Cthulhu mythology resonated in the minds of those who were familiar with it.
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