Plague Doctor - Chapter 497 - Some Legends
The 3-sided contract between humans, Zoogs and cats was thus committed. Elder Zoog was escorted out from the temple by Lucky and a few other young Zoogs. He might end up the biggest sinner or hero in Zoog history, time would tell but for now, he only wanted to take a breath and rest. The small creatures, including the evil Zoog left the temple with their head hanging. They left Ulthar and returned to Enchanted Forest. They had to come up with a team of Zoog to follow the PM Team back to Earth to work.
Some of the cats sauntered out from the temple as well. They carried a few leaves of catnip with them. Before they got far, they were surrounded by their kin, fighting over the leaves.
Back in the lobby, Gu Jun tried to get as much info from the leopard cat as well as the Great Atal. Was Nyarlathotep the divinity worshipped by the Ulthar cats?
“Of course not!” Hearing that name, the leopard cat and black cat growled in disgust. The leopard cat explained, Nyarlathotep was worshipped by their rival cats, another feline tribe at Dreamlands. “We do not know what exactly Nyarlathotep is, because it has many faces.” The leopard cat continued, “It will sometimes appear at Dreamlands. Many smaller divines here will bow towards it. Those who follow it, be it man or cats, they find joy in destroying and toying with others. They are the forces of chaos.”
Gu Jun and Yu Chi knew about these but it was news that there was another tribe of cats at Dreamlands.
“I guess it doesn’t matter for us to tell you about the divinity that we worship.” The leopard cat yawned lazily, “It’s the Goddess of Cats, Bastet.”
Yu Chi instantly shivered. Bastet! That was the cat goddess in the Ancient Egyptian pantheon! The goddess of war among the lower Egypt. With a cat’s head and human body, she was also the protector of human, warmth and joy. In the legends, Bastet also was the rival of Apep the Great Serpent.
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“Captain Gu, Captain Gu…” Yu Chi hurriedly revealed the info to Gu Jun. Ryan Nathan from England who studied Ancient Egypt also shared his knowledge. Gu Jun listened quietly and at last one of his hypothesis was proven. Nyarlathotep had been in human history for a long time. The name Nyarlathotep sounds very Egyptian in the first place, in fact the affix, ‘-hotep’ means ‘make… satisfied’ or ‘make… calm’. For example, the four pharaoh Amenhotep 1, 2, 3, and 4. Their names can be translated as ‘the one that makes Amon satisfied.’ The Amon in question is Amon-ra, the sun god, the twin of Apep and its nemesis.
So if Nyarlathotep was read similarly, it would mean ‘the one who makes Nyarlat satisfied,’ in that case, who is this Nyarlat? This Nyarlathotep serves someone beyond it?
Gu Jun posed the question to the cat and Great Atal.
“Is there a higher presence above Bastet and Nyarlathotep?” The leopard cat mused. “The answer is yes but we do not know much about them and it is not something you humans should be involved in. But in the legends related to Rudolph Carter… There is one where he was tricked by Nyarlathotep and sent to meet the higher existence. But the man realized it was a dream and he used lucid dreaming to dream his way out.” With regards to Rudolph Carter, the leopard cat could only provide little information. This was because this was from a long time ago, even a senior cat like it had not met the man.
In the legend, Carter got to the summit of the tallest mountain, Kadath and managed to get back the City of Dusk from Earth’s Gods. The ‘Earth’s Gods’ were different from Bastet and Nyarlathotep, these were divinities that common humans could approach. In comparison, they were much weaker than the Old Ones. But these were mere legends. There were lost details and no one knew how it ended. One could have easily found out about these tales from the citizens of Ulthar, they were like fairy tales at Dreamlands.
On one hand, the PM Team was excited to listen to the story because Rudolph Carter was so powerful and he represented the upper limit of human strength; on the other hand, due to the same reason, they couldn’t help but wonder if his strength was exaggerated…
“This Rudolph Carter, I remember him.” The Great Atal who had been silent suddenly said something that surprised all the humans and cats. The man’s wrinkled face looked lost in memory. “At the time, he had me drunk on the Zoog’s moon wine and got me to expose many things that I shouldn’t. He is a very special human, indeed, he exudes a special kind of power.”
So Carter’s time of activity wasn’t several thousands years ago. This Atal who had been alive for several hundred years had served Carter at the temple. Gu Jun was inspired knowing that. The Great Atal had lent great validity to Carter’s existence. As well as the City of Dusk and the foundation…
Also did this mean City of Dusk might be located at Dreamlands?
“Turn Towards Light, Never Despair!” Like usual, Yu Chi was much more excited than Gu Jun. He too understood the hidden meaning behind Atal’s words. Their worlds needed too much help, the help that could be trusted. This news was a great reward for their journey. But no matter how they tried to get the Great Atal to speak, the old man refused to provide any more information about Carter. As if to prevent the repetition of his past mistake, he refused drinks and food but sat there stonily. All he was willing to say was, he didn’t know that much about Carter, he too didn’t know what happened to the man.
“Nyarlathotep is a huge trouble.” It was instead the leopard cat who said, “But it has a short attention span. Time is not a thing for them. If you do not pique its interest, it might be several hundred years before it appears before you again.”
The cat’s whisker pulled taut. “I also heard that you have summoned Shub-Niggurath to resist its chaos, but it has disintegrated into dust and floated away. Shub-Niggurath has immensely powerful tenacity and life. It is a cradle of life but its power is not all-sustaining. Just like a moth cannot sustain a dog’s life, a human also cannot sustain a life force stronger than its mortal body can support. Thanks to your help today, we will give you some advice. A great change to humanity is about to come.”
The leopard cat said seriously and the expression of the other cats turned stern. Gu Jun’s brows furrowed. To be honest, before this warning, their worlds were already prepared for tragedy. “Or rather this change is different from the tragedies that you have faced recently…” The leopard cat continued, “Disease and plague are to claim lives but Shub-Niggurath doesn’t do that, it produces and evolves life. But that kind of over-abundance can crush a civilization too.”
After that, the cat and Great Atal stopped talking. For one, their knowledge was limited, for two, it did not benefit them. The cloud over the future collected over the humans’ heart. Humanity just overcame a tragedy but they were still floating in the dark ocean. Everyone was feeling down.
The only exception was Wu Siyu. Her mission was to play with the cats, to build a bond with the cat tribes. That was perfect for her. She only needed to lie around, sunbath and be surrounded by fluffy creatures.
