Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord-Chapter 150: Sunken Memory

“Church of the Sea God.”

Chloe spoke the words without hesitation.

She had been about to transport the corpse when Hughes summoned her.

After hearing Hughes’ description, she immediately uttered those words.

As soon as Hughes heard them, he suddenly felt as if a series of memories had been activated, instantly surfacing in his mind.

The Church of the Sea God, one of the churches that had been erased.

Chloe had once told him that this name could not be remembered; it would gradually fade away and then disappear from memory on its own.

Eventually, it would result in that bizarre state of “I remember something about this, but I have no idea what it was.”

“Wait, then how do you remember it?”

Hughes suddenly noticed a flaw in her explanation.

“It’s simple. You’ve seen tattoos before, right? Ink is embedded into the skin. If our memories are like drawings on paper, then remembering something like this requires tattooing, it must be engraved deeper into the memory with a needle, so that no matter how much it’s washed away, it won’t be easily forgotten.”

“And that needle is willpower.”

“Using willpower to pierce the barrier of reality and engrave the memory onto the soul, that way, it can never be forgotten.”

Chloe spoke with a playful smile, curiously observing the underground palace.

Though she had encountered many Sirens before, this was her first time here.

“Using willpower to penetrate reality? Why does that sound so much like cognitive interference?” Hughes frowned. “Is this safe?”

“Of course not. Anything that causes reality to fluctuate may invite pollution, and cognitive interference is no exception. That’s why only a tempered and resolute will can achieve it, to decisively pierce through reality and embed the memory deep into the soul. It’s an esoteric skill.”

“Alright, let’s set aside the question of how to remember these things for now. You’ve more or less grasped our current situation, right? Do you think this is… uh…”

“We call it sunken memory.”

“Alright, so could it be that certain memories related to the fishmen have turned into sunken memories, preventing us from properly understanding what they actually did?”

“From your description, it does sound like that. But unfortunately, I can’t confirm it.” Chloe shrugged and sat on a rock. “The most troublesome thing about sunken memory is that you forget it unconsciously. How would you even know what you’ve forgotten?”

“…”

She was absolutely right. The worst part of forgetting is that you don’t even realize you’ve forgotten.

In other words, the Sirens might have known something before, but they unconsciously forgot it?

That would be a huge problem.

“What if we wrote it down?”

“That works.”

“That simple?” Hughes was surprised. “Hearing you talk about piercing reality with willpower, I thought it would be much more complicated.”

“It’s simple, but unreliable. When you read those words, you’ll remember, but after flipping a few pages, you might forget again. The extent of this depends on how deep the memory has sunk… In short, if you don’t engrave these memories onto your soul, you’ll always struggle to make use of them.”

Hughes fell silent for a moment, and suddenly, an idea popped into his mind.

If the Mind Link was like a chat application, then… could he use it as a NAS?

NAS, or Network Attached Storage, refers to a network-based storage system, similar to cloud drives.

If the Mind Link functioned as a network, could he store sunken memories in it, just like saving chat logs? Would that be possible?

But such a system usually required a server. In the case of the Mind Link, he would need to find someone to engrave the memory onto their soul.

Then, whenever someone else needed to access it, they could retrieve that soul-engraved memory at any time.

Hmm, not a bad idea, using the Mind Link to store memories. If it worked, he could create a shared database for himself and the Sirens.

Speaking of the Mind Link, he suddenly recalled the one he had on the Golden Throne.

He had never figured out its exact frequency, which prevented him from accessing it. Could it be that the database of sunken memories was stored there?

“But sunken memories aren’t completely irretrievable. All memories leave traces, it’s just a matter of depth. Perhaps, at a certain moment, your willpower might accidentally pierce through the barrier of reality and recover some lost memories.”

Hughes blinked. “Say that in plain language.”

“It means that something might trigger your memory. You don’t remember the Church of the Sea God now, but if you enter the Sea Temple, you might recall everything, if you can find the place, that is.”

So even if a memory has sunken, it might still resurface?

“It’s a possibility, but don’t count on it. By the way, I must say, the architecture of this palace is quite nice.”

Chloe gazed at the distant palace with interest. After a while, she added in a serious tone, “Still, I’d advise you to be careful. The deep sea is practically a forbidden zone for the extraordinary. I don’t know how your Sirens have avoided contamination, but no extraordinary dares to underestimate it.”

“What else do you know about the deep sea?”

“Not much. I hadn’t even heard of the fishmen before. The Church withdrew from the coastline a long time ago. Most extraordinary won’t even board a ship. That’s why the Church banished those workers here, they don’t really care about this little island. I stayed at the chapel for so long, and no one ever came to inspect it.”

Hughes frowned but quickly understood.

The ocean was filled with pollution. The Moths Chasing Fire had fled here to evade pursuit.

No wonder the Empire never provided any information about the fishmen. Perhaps even the Candlelight Church had little data on them.

『Lord, what do you think?』

Nini and Ash sent a message in the group chat.

『There’s still too little information.』

Hughes shook his head.

『Ash, if we put together a team to infiltrate the fishmen’s settlement, make contact with that strange polluted serpent, and then retreat, can it be done?』

『No problem. About twenty Sirens would be enough. Two additional squads for support… I’m confident I can bring everyone out safely.』

Ash pondered for a moment before replying.

Many fishmen on the outskirts had already been killed.

They were aware of an enemy presence now. Staying hidden was pointless.

Instead, taking the initiative might yield more information, and catch the enemy off guard.

Hughes looked up. Around him, the Sirens were eager for action.

『Get ready.』