Chapter 2353: The Mythos Text
The remains of the Sea Lily were scattered across the floor. When the Yellow King believers returned from the theater, they discovered that because Jayad had led them into the small theater, they had been unable to maintain the magic, and the seawater from the secret passage had rushed down.
Like a flushing toilet, seawater gushed out from the secret passage, finally returning to the underground sea and washing away the remains into the ocean. This was the old man’s last trace, and not a bit of it was left.
“This form of life is truly interesting. The Miasma and the Sea Lily are separate, and even the Miasma itself is a layer of biomass piled up by countless algae, yet they are regarded as one life.” Jayad sighed as he watched the remains being washed away.
Since the Troupe Leader could take it away with one shot, it indicated that it was indeed a complete life form, but its composition seemed to be separable. The life forms of sea monsters were strange and varied, and such a unique one also existed.
“Indeed, life itself is truly magical. But this is only because it has become this form due to uncontrolled mutation. It is not a normal life form at all. Even if we don’t kill it, it should die soon due to its inability to adapt to the environment,” the General Manager also said.
Jayad did not agree with his view. Given the way sea monsters he had seen could alter their environment, and the information he had received from his younger sister, perhaps even such a bizarre sea monster could modify the environment to suit itself. This kind of creature seemed to have transcended nature to some degree.
The water flow did not last long. After all, it was just a trap. When the stored water dried up, the secret passage became passable again.
“Boom!” The collapsing rocks were blasted away by an ethereal, dark yellow tentacle, and a passage was once again blasted open at the entrance of the secret passage. Jayad led the Yellow King believers out.
This secret passage had endured various traps and repeated destruction by the Yellow King believers. It was now very fragile. Although it was reopened, it was estimated that it would collapse completely soon.
Jayad led the Yellow King believers back into the stone chamber. Without Jayad’s order, the Troupe Leader waved his hand and said, “Search this place thoroughly for me. We’re here so quickly, that old man couldn’t have destroyed or taken everything. There must be something left behind.”
Soon, everyone turned the secret residence upside down. All the bookshelves, cabinets, and boxes were searched. Even the furniture made of coral was smashed, and the walls and floor were tapped to check for hidden compartments.
In the end, they did find quite a few useful things. One of them was several rows of bone plates placed directly on the bookshelf, carved with very strange hieroglyphs that looked incredibly ancient. However, Jayad had heard his younger sister talk about this script.
“Oracle bone script?” Jayad asked with some doubt. He had never seen real oracle bone script with his own eyes, only heard his younger sister describe it. Moreover, even Parul had only seen oracle bone script in some ancient books.
“This is the Mythos Text!” The Troupe Leader recognized the bone plates immediately. Many Yellow King believers also showed surprised expressions, clearly recognizing these bone plates.
“No mistake, it is indeed the Mythos Text, written in oracle bone script, recording the ancient Deep Ones civilization and their god, the Lord of R’lyeh, and its lineage. It is said that it was originally salvaged from the Luo River in the Central Plains. These bone plates should be a replica,” the General Manager also said.
It is often said that your greatest enemy usually understands you best, and this saying is not wrong. When it came to understanding their arch-rivals, the Deep Ones, and the Lord of R’lyeh, these Yellow King believers knew everything by heart and were familiar with the Mythos Text.
The Mythos Text is considered an artifact from when the Xia Dynasty people researched the Deep Ones, or when the Deep Ones attempted to preach to the Xia people. It is regarded as the earliest existing record concerning the Lord of R’lyeh and has immense value.
As expected, they soon found a manuscript on the adjacent bookshelf. It was a book with a human skin cover, written in Latin. After multiple translations, its content was consistent with the oracle bone script version.
“Heh heh, the Latin version of the Mythos Text. This is the most widely circulated version. It is said that even Napoleon possessed one. This book alone can bring immense power to its user,” the Snake Person said, looking at the human skin book.
Jayad’s main body had recently seen records of Napoleon’s deeds in his memorial hall. He never expected to hear his name here, and that even Napoleon had a copy of the Mythos Text.
“The spells and divine powers used by that old man have no resemblance to the Lord of R’lyeh. This text should only have helped him understand the Deep Ones or the god behind them; he didn’t truly want to worship it,” the Troupe Leader also analyzed.
“Indeed. If he believed in the Lord of R’lyeh, there would be no need to possess both the oracle bone script and the Latin versions. He should have been able to understand the Sea Tribe language directly. And when escaping, he would have prioritized destroying them. Since he didn’t, it means they weren’t that important,” an Appraiser from the Carcosa Foundation also analyzed.
The Mythos Text is not a true sacred scripture, nor is it a classic of the Deep Ones’ faith or the Dagon Cult. It is more like an introductory or promotional book. Even a normal Mage could benefit from the records within, which is why it is widely circulated.
If one wants to understand the faith and ecology of the Deep Ones, the Mythos Text is undoubtedly the best way. Of course, it is also a banned book that has been forbidden by various countries.
As for those bone plates, they were likely made to restore the original by carving the rubbings of oracle bone script onto bone plates. Originally, they should have been carved on clay tablets or tortoise shells.
Many ancient scripts inherently possess power. Only when inscribed on a similar medium can they exert their strongest power and be used directly as a Magic Book.
The bone plates are a good medium. Judging by their large size, they are likely from the bones of some large Monster, possibly from dragons or sea creatures, both of which are good conduits for magic.
However, carving so much oracle bone script filled an entire bookshelf. If it were the Latin version, only one book would be needed to record all the content.
“This only suggests that the old man was researching the Deep Ones’ faith and ecology. We had already suspected that there should be collusion between them. Keep searching; we need more Intelligence,” a scholar among the Yellow King believers said.
Soon, they found something even more significant: a diary placed on the nightstand, recording the old man’s daily thoughts before. Perhaps he left in too much of a hurry and didn’t have time to take it with him.
“He actually has a diary? Do you write a diary?” the General Manager asked the Troupe Leader, looking at the diary.
“I don’t. Who writes diaries?” the Troupe Leader retorted.
