II-132 Submarine (I) (INFERNAL ASCENSION STUFF)

Earth-based technology doesn't work very well with Essence. There are a lot of theories as to why, but in simplicity, it's because we have hard laws. We're not narrative-based. There's nothing spiritual about our materials, the mechanisms we use. There isn't a satori behind what rituals work, or why certain metals are as hard as they are. It's all just a function of physics. And when physics and Essence meet, well, one has to bend.

The most common outcome is, effectively, some kind of mutual destruction. If you shoot someone with a bullet from Earth, it'll put a hole through them, and they'll bleed no matter who they are, provided that the gun can pierce through them physically. And that's the important part. If you fire a bullet at, well, let's say, a Hivekin, 9mm will just bounce off. It won't really do anything. However, 50 caliber, yeah, it'll put a hole through it. It won't even let the bug's Essence protect it.

But at the same time, if you try to channel Essence into a gun, well, the most likely option is that it just doesn't fire, it doesn't work, it doesn't understand or can't cooperate between physics and magic. The worst outcome is that it does fire, and the gun goes off in your hand, or worse, it causes the Essence to go off in a weird way as well, because it's confused, it doesn't get the story. It pops like a bomb instead of a bullet, and now you're dead. Pieces on the ground, a smear across the land.

Despite this, you can replicate some functions of technology using Essence. It's the nature of a skill to have specific rules, and if you can collect enough skills with similar rules, you can create your own system with physics-like properties. Well, maybe unnatural is a better word.

But I've heard whispers as well, mutterings, and rumors exchanged between Trespassers about someone who figured out how to incorporate earthbound technology, and the general toxicity of earthbound materials into the fathoms. Well, if they know what to do with that, then I'd say a good portion of us are screwed because I managed to cut myself on earth glass. Not metal, just glass. Earth still remembers us, the things from earth still remember us, and they don't remember us as demigods. We're just meat, flesh, blood, physics.

Merely mortal.

II-132

Submarine (I)

"It's legitimate," Kalrus said. He turned and looked at General MacArthur, his expression one of astonishment and building excitement. They were standing on a drawbridge connecting the observatory to the nuclear missile. Both Kalrus and the General were dressed in the appropriate anti-radioactive measures. Dense suits meant to protect one from nuclear fallout clad their bodies. And it was an awkward thing for most Trespassers. 

They were used to being immune to everything, due to their high levels of constitution or special skills. But this wasn't a thing of the Fathoms. This was from Earth, and every measure needed to be taken. You couldn't casually cure a disease or cancer from Earth the same way you could something that originated in the Fathoms. One was born of stories; the other was just raw and real. And there was no avoiding damage there. 

Even so, Kalrus placed a hand on the warhead and exhaled. "It is a functional warhead. I've examined it. It works."

"Nope," Greatest interrupted. "Not really. It does not completely work, for you see, it came as a twin. And when that warhead went off, guess what? It didn't really explode."

"What did it do?" Kalrus asked.

"When the other warhead went off," Greatest continued, "it did kind of explode, but instead of blasting out in a mushroom cloud or whatever else it's supposed to be like. I don't know how you people describe it. It's supposed to go outward, right? It didn't. It went inward."

"It imploded," Kalrus said, sounding surprised.

"No, not imploded. It just kept burning in. You know how it's like when you stick a cigarette on a piece of paper, right?"

"Yes," Kalrus replied.

"Yeah, it's kind of like that. It blew a hole in the fabric of the Fathoms. And after that, well, the hole was just left there. A big gaping wound that I have no idea how to interface with. It filled up with colors of black and white, you know, colors from a void—Source."

And just then, the general and the former weapons engineer looked at each other. "It blew a hole in the world, and source filled it."

"Yes," Greatest said, "isn't that curious? It's like the default state of this place is just white, black, and chaotic desolation. The same thing that is empowering our mutual acquaintance, one certain Little Wei of… Whatever.”

"The Patriarch of the Drowned Sky Sect," Kalrus corrected.

"Yeah, sure. Call him daddy, call him whatever you want. But the System he has, I think that's the key to getting this thing to work. Him and you. I don't really know any of your earthbound technology, and all these guys," the engineers that now dwelled and had been living in Greatest's domain for many years, waved awkwardly, "are not sophisticated enough, in terms of Essence, or all that other shit. Listen, you are the scholars, you are the engineers. I leave the crafting to you. If you help me finish my warhead, you do that, and I'm going to ensure certain accidents happen in the base. Certain accidents that can very much benefit your war effort, and ensure you can spread out your control. What I need, though, is for this to be done, and done as fast as possible, you understand? I want it ready to go before we decide to get together and deal with their Wei problem

"Who's we?" General MacArthur called out.

"Oh, you know, just all the other big people that matter in the Claimed Hells, the Princes and Princesses, the Kings and Queens. When word gets out about what this kid can do, what his system can provide, there's going to be a desperate struggle. And when they realize that I technically own him..."

"You what?" MacArthur called out.

"I technically own him as act of deception, MacArthur, keep up. I'm trying to force the other Princes and Princesses to deal with me, to focus on me. He doesn't have the experience for this political horseshit on his own, but he sure as shit can become Hell's Vanguard if they all bid high enough. If I could turn the masters against each other. Don't you see it? It's finally here, the opportunity for me to be rid of you, and you to be rid of me. You can go home, back to that blue shithole without any magic, and you can run that place however you want. And finally, all you filthy Trespassers will be able to leave the Fathoms alone and stop sustaining this place with your foul, dead, murderous technology and your goddamn soulless natures."

Kalrus pressed his lips together as he thought. "I will need to spend some time with this bomb. More importantly, if it did as you said, we will likely need Wei here."

"Yeah, well, I think I can handle that. Of course, it might take some convincing for the kid to walk right into my domain. He didn't seem to be the… how do I put it, experimental type. He's a bit of a prude, which is a shame, because let me tell you, when I was a kid his age—"

"That's what you need Kalrus for," MacArthur interrupted, before he could experience another horrific tirade from the Prince of Pride. "Why am I here? If you wanted Kalrus, you'd just go grab him. Why'd you invite me, too?"

"Well, first, General, I want to say that I managed to get you to come in my ass!" 

MacArthur let out a long, suffering sigh, and immediately started fighting the urge to empty his pistol into the surrounding walls in hopes of ripping some delicate inner tissue. Or maybe I should just shoot myself.

"But secondarily," Greatest continued, "I had to ask you here, to give you a proper warning."

"A warning?" MacArthur replied.

"Yeah, when I use this thing, when the bomb goes off, and we make this go off right, there's going to be an opening in the Circle of Wrath. Hell, there's going to be a lot of openings across all the circles. I want you to be ready, and I want you to climb up and take a position as high as you can. Frankly, I think you need to start talking to the boy to have him boost you up so that you can jump to, well, let's say Prince at the very least."

"At least," MacArthur hissed out. “What do you meant at least? The rest of Wrath doesn't like to deal with me, they have their own way of doing things, and I have mine."

"Yes, and that's why I always let you be," Greatest said. "You're a reason why you're here, probably because of your insatiable ego, but your willingness to commit to the fight, no, that brought you to the rage demons. The problem is, the rage demons are, well, rageful, and you, you're more of a soldier. It's a hard thing to work out, especially when the upper echelons of your circle are filled with people who are really, really good at fighting and breaking shit, but not so good at anything else, like, I don't know, long-term planning, facial skin care, wealth management, not torturing children to death on a whim, that kind of stuff. 

“But what we need right now is less of them and more of you. So, consider this a heads up. That, and I think it would be a little bit rude to take someone's chief scientist without informing them."

"Well," MacArthur nodded regrettably, "I appreciate your honesty."

"And lots of people do," Greatest replied. "Anyway, I'm gonna go prepare to speak with the Trespassers Lodge."

"Trespassers Lodge?" MacArthur said. "Why are we talking to them now? Don't tell me you're looping them into this deal too."

"Oh no, no, they're already in, they're with the boy. And frankly, they're one of the groups I want gone more than any other. That, and I intend to sell them some weapons for the coming war.”

"Weapons?" MacArthur said. "What kind of weapons? What war?”

"Oh you know, the weapons that came with this warhead. Come on MacArthur, follow, keep up. You think I just managed to get a single earth source warhead on its own? Someone like me can’t use this very well, but Trespassers? They can use a certain vehicle against the Unfallen or the Dying Queen all the same.”

"What else did you get?" MacArthur was almost too scared to ask.

"Oh you know, just an entire submarine. A broken one but still a submarine.”

MacArthur’s pipe fell out of his mouth and started burning the inside of his radiation suit. “A submarine? What kind?”

“Well the crew was made up of Trespassers too, but they're not your kind of Trespassers. They're, how do I put it, the other side of your so-called Berlid wall."

"Berlin Wall," MacArthur replied.

"That's it.”

Wait, you managed to get a Soviet nuclear submarine?”

"Well yes, but uh, it's not quite a submarine anymore, not after everything it's been through. Anyway, that's business with the Trespassers and not you. Very nice, very nice. That's all General. I'll let you out of my domain later. If I remember."

"Greatest!" MacArthur cried out.

“Ta, ta, General!”

***

"He's not inside you right now, is he?" Moonscar said. One of her eyebrows was raised, but Wei never recalled seeing the leader of the Trespassers lodge look so uncomfortable before. She shifted in her seat and looked him up and down. A small orbit of pale white stones danced around her, and they spread out through a room. Strings of Essence passed between each of the stones. She dragged the Essence net over Wei, over everyone else in the chamber. Elsewhere within the Gray House, a certain terrible surgeon was trying to extract a curse of boundless gold droppings from a certain trine. The face taker and the oath bearers remained with the trine. Wei elaborated on his most recent experiences with Greatest, Prince of Pride and all-round pain in the ass.

"No, he's not inside me," Wei said. Still, he shuddered. He remembered how Greatest forced his way out of the old man, the way the old man screamed, how his rear deformed to accommodate the emergence of such a large and, well, bombastic individual.

"And you said he came to you, specifically seeking you?" Moonscar asked. The pallid glow in her eyes shifted several colors, becoming as if a star flaring and fading into dust.

"Yes," Wei said. "I was intending to seek recommendation from Master Bishop, but he recommended that I bring this matter to you, that you had experience dealing with him."

"I have," Moonscar sounded uneasy. "I wouldn't call it experience. It's more like I have survived an encounter with the Prince of Pride. Greatest, however, he is among the most dangerous of the princes."

"Why?" Wei said. "Am I to be his enemy? Is this a deception?"

"No, that's why he's the most dangerous," Moonscar continued. "He isn't interested in climbing. He's not interested in more power. He's not interested in anything but preserving his current position because he is truly satisfied. And on top of that satisfaction, he desires only one other thing."

"The removal of Trespassers," Wei said.

"Yes," Moonscar replied with a frown. "And because of that, I can see why he is so interested in you. Your loathing for the inheritors, the things you've done thus far. You are aligned with him in some interests, but he likely also sees you as a form of entertainment. And more than this, he's identified in you the same qualities we have."

"What is that?"

"You can be a firebrand," she said, "someone that deliberately disrupts the structure of the Claimed Hells, someone that can unite the Fictionals against the Trespassers in a charge to claim what has been denied from us for so long, and what lurks as a prize above prizes for all the great powers that dwell in the fathoms." Her expression briefly turned inscrutable. "This is a good thing. It is a good thing for our cause and our interest, but a dangerous thing for you now."

"When Greatest descended from the heights of the Claimed Hells to seek you out, to curry your favor and to form this scheme with you, understand that you are now noticed and watched by the other princes, by the other circles. A Prince of Hell cannot go far and cannot go long without someone noticing their presence, noting what they are trying to do, who they are meeting with. Expect more princes to follow in the coming days. Since he has already delivered himself to you in person, there is no loss of," she paused as she considered her words, "face if they came to see you themselves. Though not all of them would be like Greatest."

"And what does that mean?" Wei said. "Are they all going to be as eccentric as he is?"

"If you are fortunate," she said, and it didn't sound like he was going to be fortunate. "Greatest has many flaws, but his character and his personality are—"

And then a loud rumbling sounded. The grey house shook as a series of knocks rattled through the wall.

"Hello?" a familiar voice came from the outside.

Wei closed his eyes and sighed. "I just finished talking to him. What now?"

"Now, I do not think he's come for you," Moonscar replied. "I think he's come for us."

"For you?" Wei asked. "Why?"

"That might be related to you somehow, but he might be coming with a final offer for us as well. He intends to remove us from the Claimed Hells, and it will be best if we are delivered from this place of our own accord rather than forced by a struggle or a blade."

"Moonscar," Greatest called out aloud. "You home? If you're not, I'll come back later. There's a certain submarine I can offer you."

"Submarine?" Moonscar said, suddenly shooting up from her table.

"What is a submarine?" Wei asked.

"Submarine?" Bishop burst into the room. "Did that motherfucker just say submarine?"

"Yes," Greatest yelled out loud. Apparently he could hear them. Of course he could hear them. He was a Prince of Hell, Wei thought to himself, who knew how high his Aspect of Perception was. "A nuclear submarine," Greatest finished.

Both Moonscar and Bishop looked at each other, and they uncharacteristically blasted out of the room, ripping through the walls to get to the Prince of Pride. Wei blinked as part of the ceiling broke over his head.

“I still don’t know what a submarine is,” Wei called out.