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[Dungeon of Stories] 42 – New World and Visions past the Fog Wall
🕑 Added 2025-03-29 23:31:43 +0000 UTCYou would think casting a 'hook' out through the void and attempting to form a tether with another realm would be easy due to the sheer infinite amount of realms, but the void still had much more space than the occasional bubble holding a realm. Just as the ocean had trillions, if not countless more fish, it did not mean a fisherman was guaranteed to catch something even after days of trying to catch a fish.
Kohl lacked a 'lure' to his hook, more for safety reasons than anything, but if his 'hook' so much as scrapped against a realm, it would instantly hook onto it and form a however long 'tunnel' to his Dungeon, providing instantaneous travel between wherever Kohl hook onto and his Dungeon. This did mean that if something were to entangle or cut said line, Kohl could lose access to wherever he hooked onto, and with how realms, universes, and multiverses constantly moved around in the void like ping pong balls, it would mean likely having difficulty in finding the realm again, if ever.
So, while Kohl waited for his hook to latch onto something, he focused on continuing his expansion of Invictus, which, after a few more weeks of constant effort, was nearing 100% completion. The monsters were formed, and the biosphere of the city was put into motion. All of the structures Kohl wanted to construct were completed, along with some notable 'locations' of Invictus.
For one, the Factory, where the city's Autonomous Defense Units would be created, city districts going from industrial to residential, commercial, office, and government districts, an archaic metro system under the city, and countless other structures and features of the city that, if repaired properly, would give whoever decided to call the ruined city home in the future bountiful resources, water, and even power.
At the rate Kohl was working, the City would be completed within a week. After that...the 'wall' would come down, and a new one would be placed around the city and with the Hunters, the term the Humans used to call their Combat Classers who were not defending the city, likely going to focus on the City, the Monster population in the Dome would skyrocket again, and eventually set off another Monster Wave. Kohl was fortunate to have made as many Monster Spawners as Kohl had; otherwise, the Humans would have slain them all long ago, outside of the Beast Lords.
...
A few more days passed, and Kohl made even more progress. He felt his hook finally latch onto something in the middle of his work. Expanding his senses, he took full control of the hook and shaped its head to pierce through the dimensional membrane of the realm before peering through the 'hole.'
Kohl immediately noted a difference between IKEA and this new realm. Behind the dimensional membrane, one hid an Ikea, while the other hid a universe.
However, Kohl's attention was drawn to a unique solar system found in many other realms and universes—the Sol System, home to Earth, the birthplace of Humanity.
Despite being far away from the planet, Kohl could already see that the once green and blue ball was instead one of blue and brown, and as the tendrils got closer to the planet, more damage was revealed. The Biosphere was in shambles, radiation was ever-present in the atmosphere, and even the atmosphere was showing signs of damage.
Knowing the history of Humanity and countless variants, Kohl knew the most likely cause of such damage was one of only a few possibilities.
The first and most apparent is a Nuclear War. The Second, a World War of such a Grand Scale that World War II would be a mere footnote in terms of damage and casualties. The third and last Kohl could think of was a cataclysmic event.
Yet, as his tendril breached that atmosphere, the cause became quite evident, as there were over ten thousand craters scattering the planet's surface worldwide.
Instantly, two worlds that suffered under a Nuclear War came to mind; the first was aptly named Fallout, while the second took the name of 'Metro.' The first thing Kohl did was head for the continent that once held the United States of America and began exploring it in depth.
...
After a few days of examination, it was clear that this was yet another realm Kohl was familiar with; specifically, it was the world of Fallout, and Kohl knew there were not many dangers to his being in this dimension. There were, of course, Aliens, Cryptids, Eldritch Gods, and Mysterious Strangers, but in the grand scheme of things, this world would be a good source of new Humans, and Kohl knew the perfect spot to open the portal. A state that was once called Nevada is now called the Mojave Wasteland.
At its center was the still-standing jewel of the once great city of American Capitalism, Las Vegas, now named New Vegas, still under the management of one Robert House centuries after the Great War, and surrounding the city were two large Factions of Humans with opposing ideologies, it would be a region filled with conflict, and with conflict, came the desire to survive and to thrive. This region would suit Kohl's purposes quite nicely, and he had quite the welcoming gift for this new world.
Once Kohl found the perfect spot to place the portal, it would be time to draw the attention of the major 'powers' of the Mojave.
...
[Robert Edwin House, Creator of RobCO industries and the Ruler of New Vegas POV]
Two hundred and sixty-one years, that is how long Robert has been alive, and for over two centuries since the Great War, Robert has been trapped in his life-extension pod, his body decrepit and weak, yet his mind connected to his network was never more alive. He saw everything through his Securitrons, robots in the shape of a 'T' with enough firepower to fight the armies of the wasteland and win. There were a few problems with them; his Securitron's operating system was out of date, limiting their firepower vastly, as his securitrons could not utilize most of their weapons nor their adaptive plate armor that would greatly minimize most damage done to their shells.
However, Robert's luck was looking up; his Platnium chip, containing the updated software that he had been waiting since the Great War for, was nearing its destination, and once Robert had it, he'd push out the two uppercomers vying for his city, the NCR and Casers Legion, fools who thought themselves superior.
He had a plan. It's one he has been working on ever since the bombs dropped. While these upstarts were somewhat new variables in his plans, the challenge they offered was negligible. Yet, as his mind got caught in his thoughts, a figure approached one of his more...hidden Securitrons, as it was one of the few Securitrons he had stationed in Freeside, the part of New Vegas that lay outside of his walls around the strip.
The man approaching was one of nearly two hundred Agents Robert employed; this particular agent was in charge of keeping track of rumors and important news in the Mojave.
"H-House?" The addict uttered with a stutter.
The screen of the securitron shifted, showing a picture his face from before the war, "Speak," Robert's monotone voice spoke from the speakers of his Securitron.
"A...A new rumor has popped up from some Caravan Guards that I overheard in the Atomic Wrangler last night...t-they say that their caravan encountered a strange shimmering...thing in a distant field not far from Fiend territory along the 95," The 'chem' addict hesitantly reported.
"Explain," Robert commanded, needing more information than the 'shimmering thing' in a field.
"T-There's not much to Explain, H-H-House. They said they spotted some Fiends messing with whatever it was, including seeing a f-few of the more important-looking F-Fiends surrounding it," The Addict hesitantly continued, not giving much more information.
"Where exactly did they say they saw this...thing?" Robert asked, contemplating sending a more...qualified agent to check it out and snap a few pictures.
