Хребты безумия
V
Yetnowtheswayofreasonseemedirrefutablyshaken,forthisCyclopeanmazeofsquared,curved,andangledblockshadfeatureswhichcutoffallcomfortablerefuge. Itwas,veryclearly,theblasphemouscityofthemirageinstark,objective,andineluctablereality. Thatdamnableportenthadhadamaterialbasisafterall—therehadbeensomehorizontalstratumoficedustintheupperair,andthisshockingstonesurvivalhadprojecteditsimageacrossthemountainsaccordingtothesimplelawsofreflection. Ofcourse,thephantomhadbeentwistedandexaggerated,andhadcontainedthingswhichtherealsourcedidnotcontain;yetnow,aswesawthatrealsource,wethoughtitevenmorehideousandmenacingthanitsdistantimage.
Onlytheincredible,unhumanmassivenessofthesevaststonetowersandrampartshadsavedthefrightfulthingsfromutterannihilationinthehundredsofthousands—perhapsmillions—ofyearsithadbroodedthereamidsttheblastsofableakupland. "CoronaMundi—RoofoftheWorld—" Allsortsoffantasticphrasessprangtoourlipsaswelookeddizzilydownattheunbelievablespectacle. Ithoughtagainoftheeldritchprimalmythsthathadsopersistentlyhauntedmesincemyfirstsightofthisdeadantarcticworld—ofthedemoniacplateauofLeng, oftheMi–Go,orabominableSnowMenoftheHimalayas,ofthePnakoticManuscriptswiththeirprehumanimplications,oftheCthulhucult,oftheNecronomicon,andoftheHyperboreanlegendsofformlessTsathogguaandtheworsethanformlessstarspawnassociatedwiththatsemientity.
Forboundlessmilesineverydirectionthethingstretchedoffwithverylittlethinning; indeed,asoureyesfollowedittotherightandleftalongthebaseofthelow,gradualfoothillswhichseparateditfromtheactualmountainrim,wedecidedthatwecouldseenothinningatallexceptforaninterruptionattheleftofthepassthroughwhichwehadcome.
