Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord - Chapter 42: A Corner of the Truth

A young middle school student faces a life-altering choice. Destined for mediocrity and without a War Spiritual Bloodline, he dreams of transcending his ordinary existence and becoming a high-status War Spiritualist. His world is transformed when he becomes bound to the “”Godly Pet Evolution System,”” enabling him to activate his War Spiritual Bloodline and cultivate divine pets, even from the most unlikely sources.Armed with this system, he defies expectations by nurturing underdog spirits into formidable allies. The seemingly weak flower spirit evolves under his care, as does his Lord White Dragon, challenging the mightiest thunder-attribute battle spirits. Even when presented with a Diamond Demonic Spirit Card, he counters with three Epic-Demon Spirit Cards of his own.His journey takes an unexpected turn as powerful entities, including the Six-Tailed Demon Fox, the Phoenix Holy Maiden, and the Queen of the Seas, vie to become his second battle spirit. Faced with a wealth of choices, he refuses to settle for just one and ambitiously aims to harness them all.

Xu Feng transmigrated into the cultivation world with only one useless cheat.When he was born, the Golden Armored Spirit Turtle had just hatched, and according to the family tradition, it was bestowed upon him as his companion spiritual beast.Thinking that the Golden Armored Spirit Turtle had an extraordinary bloodline, he believed it would become a great companion in the future.However, to his surprise, it took twenty years for it to reach the Qi-Refining stage.So Xu Feng gave up all his expectations. He decided to keep nurturing it. If he failed, he could just pass it on to future generations.Unexpectedly...A colossal golden turtle, as vast as the entire world, lay across the shattered land.Looking at the devastated world, Xu Feng harshly tapped the head of the golden turtle.“Try to be more gentle next time!”

What do you do when your brother dies because of some entitled assholes? You go undercover.My real name? Clare. But at school, I’m Clause—just another guy blending in. Disguised. Watching. Yes, a boy. No, it's not an all-boys school—I'm just deep undercover, hunting down the bastard responsible for my brother’s suicide. Nobody—and I mean nobody—messes with my precious brother and gets away with it. They better pray I never find them, because when I do? Death will be a mercy, and trust me—I don’t do mercy.And as for the egotistical Alpha and the narcissistic Vampire Prince? They can go fuck themselves. I don’t do mates, I don’t do claiming, and I sure as hell don’t do them.

“Evil God of the Universe, You are in every space and time. Present in every dimension of reality and govern the darkness of our world.Oh, almighty Atticus! Hear our plea and grant us your presence tonight, awaken my Lord!”The rain had completely stopped and the strong gale had subsided into the fading raindrops. The night had turned eerily silent and only the sizzling and cackling of the fire entered their ears.Suddenly, they all felt like floating from their feet despite setting foot on the watery, hard ground, as if they were traversing into space. The darkness of the night gradually turned darker, enveloping them, morphing into everyone, like a void eating them slowly. Sequentially, their breathing turned oddly slower. Despite exaggeratedly inhaling air to breathe, it was to no avail, as if a higher entity was limiting them from breathing.Nolan felt his throat and tried to open his mouth to gasp more air but failed. Everyone but him was in a state of indignation and panic as they struggled to breathe to fill their lungs with air. Nolan tried to calm his heart. He closed his eyes and stopped inhaling air in pure panic, instead, he put his heartbeat and breathing into a rhythm. It was hard at first, but after a minute, he found his breathing gradually went stable.His whole being was in pure anticipation of what was going to happen next.After a couple more minutes, the storm completely subsided, the night turned to normal. Nolan remained standing, taking in his surroundings with his eyes closed. Everything turned silent. The eerie atmosphere and the crackling of the fire from the hay figure didn’t even enter his ears. Nolan waited for a couple more minutes, his breathing turning normal. He was reluctant to open his eyes, afraid he might ruin their ritual.“It’s alright now, Young Master. You can open your eyes now.”Nolan’s breathing hitched. He jolted on his feet as he fluttered his eyes open.“Atticus? W-why are you here?”The butler, standing in front of him, a raincoat hung on his arm, smiled. “I am everywhere, Young Master, in order to best serve you.”****Atticus, a demi-god from the underworld, was cast out of his parents' realm and banished to the human world. The reason? He had yet to give them any grandchildren.Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction and is purely the product of my imagination. Any resemblance to real people, events, or beliefs is entirely coincidental. The intention is not to disrespect or diminish any faith or tradition, but rather to explore ideas within a fictional context. Reader discretion is advised.