Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 597 Praising the Soul of Myriad Machines
The entire island of Castel remained within the scope of the symbiotic contract, a fact that had been tested extensively before.

The banshees weren't all in the water; many were on the island, so the entire Caster was actually covered by the banshees' network.

The she-wolves' united will broke through the high walls of reality, pulling Hughes into a state of spiritual harmony—this was not difficult.

But it would be a bit unreasonable to include the entire island so easily.

There must be other variables involved.

What could it be?

"I see!"

Nini clenched her three left fists and slammed them into the palms of her three right hands: "I've got it, it's the Machine Soul, the Machine Soul!"

Hughes was taken aback, then seemed to realize something.

Indeed, there is another special feature to this Mind Synchronization: the Machine Soul has also joined in.

Mind synchronization is a banshee's innate ability. While it's somewhat understandable that humans could join in, the addition of machine spirits is quite strange.

Strictly speaking, the Machine Soul is not a living being. The original Machine Soul was just a fragment of the Sea God's soul, which was transformed by Monica.

Now, Castel's machine soul seems to have a more complex origin, but it certainly does not have a physical body.

Theoretically speaking, such an existence should be very difficult to be influenced by the will of a banshee, right?
They must have been dragged down by beings similar to themselves, if we're talking about beings like machine spirits.
Hughes slowly lowered his head and looked at the steel ark beneath his feet.

“Nini, I think I’ve found the source of that will.”

"what?"

"The steel ark that Gwen summoned is formed from countless sunken ships, and it possesses a chaotic yet immense will. It has only just been born, but it happened to hear everything I said before, and it has been influenced by me, just as you have been influenced by me, unknowingly being drawn into your mind synchronization."

"No, to be precise, I pulled both the banshee and it into a telepathic connection; I am the center of this connection!"

"And after that, it expanded, pulling in the machine spirits on the island, and you pulled in the people on the island. The snowball grew bigger and bigger, eventually becoming a mind synchronization that covered the entire island!"

Nini's eyes widened, and her mouth was agape enough to fit half of Nora's head.

"So, so the entire Castel was mentally synchronized, and the will of tens of thousands of people gathered together, in turn, penetrated the high wall of reality, forcibly leaving this will of thousands of Castel people in the present world, which is what you just said."

"It hasn't left yet."

Hughes took a deep breath: "That's right!"

The two exchanged a glance, then slowly lowered their heads to look at the steel ark beneath their feet.

"My lord."

"Um"

Do you think it's possible?

“I think so too.” Hughes’s expression was rather complicated. “It’s very likely right beneath our feet, inside this steel ark.”

Nini paused, then whispered, "Should we still burn it?"

"Of course not! Gwen, come here for a second!"

Gwen approached, somewhat puzzled. "My lord? What's wrong?"

"Did you sense anything extra after our wills merged?" "Something extra? No. And what does 'merging wills' even mean?"

"You mean the telepathic connection we just had?"

Hughes suddenly took a step back and began to scrutinize Gwen.

Gwen, being a "named person," seems to be a variable as well?!

You have to understand that Gwen can easily manipulate the physical laws of this world with her own will; she can even fire a Gatling gun without bullets. When Hughes first heard about this, he felt that physics no longer existed.

Others require extremely demanding conditions to cause cognitive interference, but Gwen succeeded with ease, and without the trouble of contamination.

Even this ridiculously large steel ark can be summoned at will, as if the whole world is playing house with her.

Hughes even felt that her abilities were no weaker than those of any evil god.

He glanced at Nini, who clearly thought the same thing, and secretly made a few hand gestures towards Hughes.

Perhaps because the mental resonance had not completely dissipated, Hughes was able to understand those complex hand gestures that resembled hand seals.

—Nini asked: Should we throw her into the stove too and try it?
Hughes was so angry that he stomped on the tip of her tail.

Nini let out a howl and sprang up from the deck, flying away. Gwen looked over, somewhat confused, and scratched her head: "I didn't feel any fusion either?"

Hughes paused for two seconds before realizing what she was saying, and asked incredulously, "Wait, didn't you just enter telepathic synchronization?"

So what exactly is spiritual harmony?

"Have you sensed the will of others? Or did you just close your eyes and sense the presence of a vast soul?"

"No, I was standing perfectly fine on this deck when you suddenly closed your eyes. I was wondering what happened."

Hughes was speechless. The whole island had just been in sync, but he couldn't.
[The one who gave their name] is that amazing?
No, no, no. Hughes had a vague feeling that it might not be because the [Named One] was powerful, but simply because Gwen's personality and thoughts were too different from the others, and she was directly squeezed out by the Mind Synchronization.
Seeing Gwen, who was still holding her longsword with great enthusiasm despite her bruised and swollen face, Hughes suddenly felt that this was not surprising.
Gwen's personality is truly unique.

and many more!

Hughes suddenly thought of a possibility: "Gwen, did you feel anything extra in the steel ark beneath our feet just now?"

“Yes.” Gwen placed her hand on the gunwale. “I suddenly felt that this ship… well, I don’t know how to describe it, it felt like it came alive!”

Hughes also placed his hand on the gunwale. Given his affinity for the Machine Soul, the Machine Soul should have greeted him at this point.

But this time he felt different. Unlike any previous communication with the machine spirit, he sensed another will, a will that he vaguely felt familiar with.

Yes, isn't that what I felt during the mind-body connection just now?

A warm feeling emanated from the steel ship's side in my hands, accompanying the fluctuation of my emotions.

"My lord, it seems quite happy."

"Yes, it seems to really like it here."

An overwhelming sense of joy emanated from the ark beneath their feet and gradually spread into the distance.

At that moment, steam engines throughout Castells sounded their whistles in unison, as if cheering, celebrating, and praising in unison.

"It seems to be able to control other machine spirits. How about calling it the Soul of Ten Thousand Machines?"

(End of this chapter)