Malediction of the Depth – Silence in Judgement

Lea stood on the deck of the AMS Sargon, staring at the impossible vessel that was supposedly hers now.

Knight floated beside her, silent and patient.

"How do I...", Lea gestured vaguely at the ship, "...use this?"

"[The manual is located in the captain's quarters. Her Majesty assumed you would figure it out.]"

Of course, Charlotte would just throw her into this without proper instruction.

Lea took a deep breath and climbed aboard via a sleek metal gangplank that extended automatically when she approached. The deck was smooth, almost frictionless. Unlike the wooden ships she knew, just seamless metal and what looked like glass panels embedded in various surfaces.

This is way too advanced; just thinking of what and how this was made hurt her brain. Maybe Dawn would want to disassemble this, but not Lea.

She found the entrance, a hatch that slid open with a soft hiss when she touched it, and descended into the ship's interior.

It was... sterile.

Everything was silver and white, with glowing blue lines running along the walls like veins. The captain's quarters were easy to find, the only room with an actual door rather than an open passage.

Dawn would gush over this... Lea thought inwardly, stepping in.

Inside, on a metal desk that seemed to grow from the floor itself, was a thick book labeled 'AMS Sargon - Operation Manual'.

She picked it up, flipped it open, and immediately felt her head hurt.

The text was in a language she could read, but the concepts were completely alien. 'Fusion reactor', 'Electromagnetic propulsion', 'Ballast tanks', 'Sonar array'. What even are these?

None of it made sense.

"I need help.", she muttered.

She closed her eyes and reached inward, calling upon her new familiars.

The twenty ghosts emerged from her body one by one, little orbs of pale light floating around the captain's quarters. They pulsed and bobbed excitedly, clearly curious about their new environment.

"I'm going to give you all bodies now.", Lea said, "We need to figure out how to operate this ship together."

Her Cursed Constructs spread through the room, forming grotesque humanoid shapes, vaguely human but wrong. Too many joints, limbs that bent at odd angles, faceless heads like the Twilight Gaunt.

They looked like creatures from nightmares. Or Lea is just bad at anatomy, and her imagination can't quite fully make it.

No wonder she usually makes simple shapes. The ghosts entered the construct bodies eagerly, taking control. Twenty horrifying puppets now stood in the captain's quarters, silent yet expressive as always.

Lea handed the manual to the nearest one, "We're going to need to split up. Figure this out section by section."

The constructs nodded and dispersed through the ship, some staying in the captain's quarters to read, others exploring to match what they read with the actual equipment.

=0=0=Two Hours Later=0=0=

Lea sat in what the manual called the "bridge", a room dominated by a large panel covered in buttons, switches, and screens displaying incomprehensible symbols.

Ghost-constructs surrounded her, pointing at various sections of the manual, then at corresponding controls. One construct had figured out how to make a screen light up. Another had discovered that pressing a certain sequence of buttons caused the ship to make a low humming sound.

Progress was made. Yet it was slow.

Lea flipped through the manual's section on "Basic Operations."

'Step 1: Activate main power by engaging the fusion reactor.'

She looked at the ghost-construct nearest to her, pointed at a large red button labeled with a symbol that might have meant "power", and gestured questioningly.

The construct examined the manual, compared it to the button, and then nodded enthusiastically.

"Alright...", Lea muttered, "Here goes nothing."

She pressed the button.

The entire ship thrummed to life.

Lights blazed across every panel. Screens flickered on, displaying readings and diagrams. The humming grew louder, deeper, settling into a steady rhythm that Lea could feel through the floor.

The ghost-constructs looked at each other, then at Lea, their faceless heads tilting in what might have been excitement.

"We did it!", she laughed like a child, finding joy once again, "We actually—"

The ship lurched suddenly, throwing her against the captain's chair.

Oh no, what did we—

Another screen lit up with what was clearly a warning symbol flashing red.

One ghost-construct frantically flipped through the manual, found the relevant section, and pointed at a passage.

'WARNING: Ensure ballast is properly configured before engaging propulsion systems.'

Lea groaned, "We didn't configure the ballast, did we?"

The constructs shook their heads in unison.

"Of course not...", she grabbed the manual again, "Alright, everyone, new plan. We're going to read this thing cover to cover before we try moving again."

The ghost-constructs settled into various positions around the bridge, each taking sections of the manual.

Lea sank into the captain's chair, which was surprisingly comfortable despite being made of what looked like solid metal, and opened the manual to page one.

"Let's actually learn how to sail this thing properly."

Outside, waves lapped against the Sargon's hull. Knight floated on the beach, watching patiently.

Inside, Lea and her army of nightmare constructs began the tedious process of learning to operate a ship from another world.

=0=0=Six Hours Later=0=0=

"Okay!!", Lea said, exhausted but determined, l "One more time. Ballast configured, power stable, propulsion systems ready. Navigation set to... uh... West coast of Australia."

The ghost-constructs were positioned at various stations around the bridge, ready to assist.

Lea's hand hovered over the final button labeled with a symbol that definitely meant 'go'.

"Here we go."

She pressed it.

The AMS Sargon's engines roared to life.

And it set sail, parting the water like an unstoppable titan. The clear view of the sea from the bridge was truly beautiful, but Lea thought back to that Dragon, Curruid, lurking somewhere underwater... it sent shivers up her spine.

"Oh, right..."

Lea summoned from her shadow a piece of fossilized wood, a sailor's tradition Lea heard about. She quickly heads to the front of the ship, with the now somewhat professionally trained ghosts manning it.

"Lord of the Deep;

All Encompassing Waves;

Body of Infinite Clash."

After chanting the Honorific Title of the God of the Sea, Lea threw the piece of wood overboard into the ocean's depths. Then she offered a prayer.

"I pray for your blessings, for safe passage through your Domain. Have mercy upon this vessel, O' Lord of the Deep."

There was no reacting, as the ocean is vast and wide, a mere prayer on an otherworldly ship was insignificant.

After a few more seconds of watching, nothing happened. So she retreated back to the bridge, sitting in the captain's chair.

"Is everything alright?", she asked the constructs.

All of them gave thumbs up, signifying everything was alright.

Looking at the manual again, Lea tapped a button, displaying the checkmark toward her destination. It would take four days to get to the general location; luckily, the way is fairly straightforward.

But there are a few obstacles in her way. First, she needs to look out for pirates, then the Blood Knight Order, and try not to anger the ocean itself.

Lea wouldn't let her guard down, waiting for whatever trial the world would throw at her...

=0=0=

The ship cut through freezing waters, its red sails billowing despite the unnatural stillness of the air. Behind it sailed nineteen other ships, a fleet of faith, carrying the chosen of the Goddess of Madness toward their destiny.

Eric stood at the bow of the flagship, his breath forming white clouds in the frigid air. His Fifth Step body barely felt the cold, but he pulled his fur cloak tighter anyway. Something about this place made warmth feel precious.

"How much further?", he called back to the navigator.

"Hours!!", the woman shouted over the sound of waves, "Maybe less! The fog is already visible!"

Eric looked ahead and felt his stomach tighten.

On the horizon, a wall of gray stretched from sea to sky. Impossibly tall, impossibly wide. A solid barrier of gray that seemed to devour all light and sound that touched it.

The Fog Wall.

The thing that had enclosed the North Pole for as long as anyone could remember. The thing that erased knowledge of itself from minds the moment people looked away, the thing that had kept an entire continent hidden from the world.

And now they were sailing directly toward it.

"Goddess preserve us.", he spoke in a whisper.

The Saintess walked up beside him, her face determined to follow the will of the Goddess.

"She will.", she said, "The Savior himself blessed this mission. We will succeed."

Eric nodded, but his hand remained tensed.

Around them, the other ships maintained formation, temple ships carrying warrior-priests, supply vessels laden with provisions, and at the center of the fleet, the sacred barge carrying Krima himself.

The Savior stood at the barge's bow, his crimson eyes fixed on the Fog Wall ahead. His flesh-vine clothing writhed slowly, as if responding to proximity to their destination. He looked fourteen, but his presence felt ancient.

Eric had watched the Savior bless their expedition before departure. Had felt the surge of divine power as the Goddess of Madness spoke through him, promising victory and revelation. But now, staring at that wall of gray that seemed to watch them approach, Eric felt doubt creeping in.

Charlotte's warning echoed in his mind, 'As long as the Ego remains dethroned, this world cannot be free.'

What did that mean? What Ego? And why had Charlotte bothered to warn them at all?

"Your Eminence!!", a priest ran up from below deck, "The temperature is dropping rapidly! Some of the crew are getting frostbite despite their blessings!"

"Distribute the warming talismans.", Oliver ordered, "Double rations of hot food. Keep everyone moving."

The priest saluted and ran off.

Eric looked back at the Fog Wall. They were close enough now to see details, or rather, the lack of details. The gray was perfectly uniform, just an endless, featureless wall that hurt to look at directly.

"It's quiet...", Olivier observed.

She was right. The normal sounds of the ocean had faded to near silence. As if the world itself was holding its breath.

The fleet sailed closer.

Closer...

The Fog Wall loomed impossibly large now, filling their entire field of vision. Ships that had seemed massive suddenly looked like toys before it.

"Prepare for landing!", the captain shouted, "All hands, battle stations!!"

Warriors emerged from below deck, weapons drawn. Priests began chanting protective prayers. The air filled with the glow of activated blessings and divine power.

The vessel struck something solid, facing some sort of invisible force field. As if the ocean itself had decided to stop here.

But they kept moving forward, pushing through whatever barrier existed, and suddenly...

Frozen shore of black sand covered in frost. Rocky outcroppings jut from the snow.

The North Pole.

They'd breached the outer edge.

All twenty ships hit the shore simultaneously with thunderous crashes, their hulls grinding against frozen sand. The impacts were violent enough to throw people off their feet, but the ships held.

No one gave orders to lower anchor. No one suggested securing the vessels for later departure. The ships had been built with one purpose, to carry them here. Return was never guaranteed. Return was barely even considered.

This was a one-way journey.

Eric climbed down from the ship, his boots crunching on frozen sand. Around him, hundreds of warrior-priests disembarked, forming ranks on the beach. Olivier was already in the front, walking along Krima.

The Fog Wall stood before them; it seemed to pulse slightly, as if breathing.

Krima walked forward, his bare feet leaving bloody prints in the frost. The flesh-vines covering his body had grown thicker, more aggressive, as if responding to this place.

He stopped at the edge of the Fog Wall and raised one hand.

"We have arrived.", he announced, his voice carrying across the beach despite speaking quietly, "The first step of our journey is complete."

He turned to face the assembled faithful, crimson eyes blazing.

"From here, there is only forward. The ships will not take us home; we must forge a new path through whatever waits beyond."

Krima placed his hand against the Fog Wall.

It rippled like water.

"The Goddess watches, the world watches. Let us show them what faith can achieve."

He stepped forward into the gray.

And disappeared.

For a heartbeat, no one moved.

Then Olivier drew her golden sword and followed. Then another priest. Then another.

Eric took a deep breath, gripped his staff tightly, and walked into the Fog Wall.

The gray swallowed him.

And behind them, on the frozen beach, twenty ships sat abandoned, their hulls already beginning to freeze into the shore itself, becoming permanent fixtures.

There would be no retreat.

Only forward.

Into whatever nightmare awaited in the North.

While above them, a blooming flower of golden flame came down. Like the Judgement of Justice... And outside, a being of energy floats just before the Fog Wall, standing on air itself.

"All revealing Light;

Keeper of the Forbidden;

Book and Knowledge of Truth."

Their voice was like an echo, a mournful cry for someone. Yet it also carries an ember of rage, an inferno for something disrespecting them.

"I call upon the Tome of Light, Recorder of Stories and Tales, Vision's Light."

The Tome of Light appeared in the air, and its divine texts flowed out and surrounded them. Through stories and tales, they were given a concrete form.

Holding the tome now was an androgynous figure, unclear between male or female. Black flames drip down and burn back up, covering their hair and four completely black eyes. Their bodies were wrapped in chains and barbed wire, yet they didn't seem to hinder them.

Holding their hand up, a quill made of black flame emerged, and with the Tome of Light in their hand. They began to write in the book.

"As I've Written, Open!!"

They swiped across the page, leaving a trail of black flame as they swung the quill.

And above the Fog Fall, it temporarily opened up, revealing the land beneath— yet it was all consumed by the divine blaze of The Sacred Flame.