(Marvel, DC, images, manhuas, and every anime that will be mentioned and used in this story are not mine. They all belong to their respective owners. The main character "Karito Josue Valdez" and the story are mine)
I feel so... strange. I hear voices echoing through my head. The ground feels rusted as if this place hasn't been visited for years. Slowly, I open my eyes, the light making me squint and my pupils dilate. Rising to my knees, I survey my surroundings. There isn't much to see, but right in front of me is a door with a strange question mark marked on it.
As I lay eyes on it, a piercing headache invades my mind. I recognize this sensation; it's information pertaining to the dimension I'm in. So, it appears that this door... this door leads to level "Run For Your Life!"—the one seemingly penned by a 9-year-old. Well, there doesn't seem to be much else to do, considering this is the exit for this level.
The Spider-God did throw me into The Backrooms, huh? How annoying. It also seems that the second Guardian is facing Godzilla in another dimension after accidentally distorting Space and Time. He's not going to have an easy time against an opponent much higher in the Tiering System. But I hope he will eventually be able to make some headway. Perhaps I should impart some information about his new powers and the enemy, at least to a degree where he won't lose his mind. For that information, I'm going to have to explain it to him personally.
Anyway, I have my own problems to deal with now. The Darks have made sure to imprison me inside dimensional barriers, each containing uncountable infinities atop each other. Inaccessible and Mahlo cardinals... Well, I'm severely fucked, aren't I?
How in the hell am I supposed to break through those two-dimensional barriers? First, the inaccessible cardinal is so immense that you can't reach it by simply incrementing smaller numbers, as one usually would. It's like a milestone that remains elusive, no matter how many steps you take. Below this large number, the sizes of sets stabilize, lending orderliness and coherence to the mathematical universe. Regardless of how many attempts are made to ascend the ladder of numbers using ordinal exponentiation, one always falls short of reaching the inaccessible cardinal. It's as if there's an insurmountable barrier preventing progress beyond a certain point. Think of inaccessible cardinals as rare, super-strong pillars in the world of numbers, upholding the structure of mathematics and imposing limits on how far we can ascend in certain directions.
And the Mahlo cardinal? Sitting atop that? While an inaccessible cardinal poses a formidable barrier in the realm of set theory, a Mahlo cardinal goes a step further by ensuring that the set of smaller inaccessible cardinals isn't scattered sporadically, but densely packed and uninterrupted beneath it. It's akin to a towering peak in the mathematical landscape, surrounded by a dense forest of smaller peaks, each representing another inaccessible cardinal. Mahlo cardinals contribute an extra layer of structural integrity to the mathematical universe. By guaranteeing the presence of numerous inaccessible cardinals beneath them, they establish a robust foundation upon which the hierarchy of ordinals can stand. This dense network of cardinals provides stability and coherence to the intricate framework of set theory. In the hierarchy of large cardinals, Mahlo cardinals reign supreme. While inaccessible cardinals form the first line of defense against the infinite, Mahlo cardinals stand as the commanders, orchestrating the arrangement of smaller inaccessible cardinals below them with precision and finesse.
So, in short, I'm extremely and utterly SCREWED!
(Toxin) "Look, overthinking of how to escape this reality isn't going to take us anywhere." he interrupted.
(Karito) "Oh yeah? Then what the hell do you suggest?" He ask sarcastically.
(Toxin) "Well complaining is doing so much right now, ain't it?" He scoffs.
(Karito) "No, it really isn't but what the hell am I supposed to do, besides looking for a different way out?"
(Toxin) "We where thrown into The Backrooms, and strangely enough, we didn't fall in the usual floor which is 0. We where thrown right in front of the entrance for for "Run For Your Life!", don't you find that strange?"
(Karito) "It's not like the enemies here can actually beat us, we maybe get a few headaches here and there for the ones that attack us emotionally and psychologically, but Skin Stealers, Partygoers and the likes ain't going to do shit to us."
(Toxin) "Duh, obviously. But the Darks have taken extra precautions this time. Hell, they but infinite infinities as a first barrier to keep us in and another infinity that's higher than that infinite infinity." He pauses "What I'm worried about is that they will definitely bring someone from another verse to fight against us."
(Karito) "Well, those bustards created a Von Neuman Universe and more powerful concepts that already go past High Outerversal. We are ALREADY way past our paygrade here. It's a fuckin' miracle we haven't even died yet. Not only was I trapped in the fucking Backrooms who are know to psychologically break people, but we are also potentially risking a fight with other darks that will make me lose my marbles more than I have already have!"
(Toxin) "Do you think this is how the make more territory for their Dark Dimension?"
(Karito) "Maybe? Last time I was there the place already had infinite space, and the cosmology that Spider God made is infinities stacking upon each other infinitely."
(Toxin) "I swear... The internet is just never ending..."
(Karito) "And by how things are going, it will never be."
(Toxin) "..."
(Karito) "..."
(Toxin) "So we are going through that door?"
(Karito) "Well, there ain't any other doors around, now is there?"
(Toxin) "Though..." Looks at the fading question mark that's engraved in the door "Don't you think this looks like someone tried to remove it?"
(Karito) "Like someone is trying to "delete" it or something?"
(Toxin) "Well, you know how people felt about "Level !" so what if...?"
(Karito) "You mean the Author tried to delete it?"
(Toxin) "One way to find out."
(Karito) "True, it's not like we have any other choice. This is probably just the beginning of a complete shit show that's gonna happen later." He sighs.
(Toxin) "Well, that always seems to be the case for us, isn't it?"
(Karito) "Unfortunately..."
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I sighed. I knew how the level went, and I'd have to run at least 10 kilometers until I reached the end of it—a very easy feat for me. What's going to be annoying is the constant blaring of the alarm and the screams of the entities that are going to be chasing me throughout the entire marathon. But if Toxin's theory is right, and the Author of said floor did try to do something, for better or worse, we should be prepared for it.
So, I grabbed the doorknob, getting ready for a possible marathon until... Nothing happened. I had opened the door and was transported into the level, but... nothing happened after that.
(Karito) "Um..."
(Toxin) "Why is it so quiet? Wasn't there supposed the be an annoying alarm blaring and stuff? Didn't the Wiki specified a "room entirely encased in a reflective metal, and lit by a dim red glow." Or are we missing something?"
(Karito) "I remember that... but... there's no lights."
(Toxin) "There ain't anything here."
(Karito) "This hall is just full of dust and rust."
(Toxin) "Did the Author just... abandon this Floor?"
(Karito) "I'm starting to think they did."
We continued walking; the hall was dark and ruined. The dark didn't bother me, as I could see perfectly fine in the darkness. But witnessing a floor that was highly esteemed by a community of thousands reduced to such a state is just...
(Toxin) "Do you think this is the process a fictional world takes after being abandoned by their creator?"
(Karito) "I wouldn't be surprised. After a certain point, tales who are long forgotten by people from the real world are just sent to the trash, to never be remembered and tossed away by their Authors for some reason.
(Toxin) "And being consumed in the obsidian void... What a sad existence."
(Karito) "It's strange how such a popular floor, despite is weirdly written narrative is..."
(Toxin) "Storytelling can only keep things alive for so long. It reaches a limit where someone wraps it to the point where the story isn't even recognized, a real sad way of forgetting things."
(Karito) "Since when did you started spewing out philosophies?"
(Toxin) "Can you not let me cook for a moment?"
(Karito) "Hehe..." He snickers "But I can understand your point."
(Toxin) "Are your reassuring me now?"
(Karito) "Give me a break man!"
(Toxin) "Alright, alright. Geez."
(Karito) "Look, continuing your point... wouldn't this... forgetting/abandoning be my fault?"
(Toxin) "You mean the people of the real world?"
(Karito) "Yeah, exactly. Don't you think that people have just told so many stories from a topic? The many times it's been told? The Rewrites, fanfics, and the likes? Who has forgotten what? Who has wrapped it? Don't you think it's just been desecrated to a point that it's just... forgettable... desecrate places without even noticing?"
(Toxin) "Well, people do stories for fun. But making something original in todays age is just impossible."
(Karito) "Yeah... you're right. Who am I to judge? I just think that a few snips from other stories here and there can create an interesting concept for a good story as long as it's written well, I guess."
(Toxin) "Why be original? You do know how many things exist in todays age? If something exist, it is fine to inspire things from it for your story. The problem just lies on how people choose how to deal with the story telling."
(Karito) "Yeah, and I'm very sure it's hard... Very hard... and it's especially demoralizing when people just don't appreciate what you've done. "
(Toxin) "There's a difference in being a troll and giving constructive criticism. But today's age people have forgotten how to treat people with curtesy."
(Karito) "Respect has literally been losing it's meaning."
(Toxin) "Didn't you insult the story telling of this floor to be written by a 9-year-old?"
(Karito) "Would it be an insult if they themselves said it?"
(Toxin) "Still..."
I continued walking, pausing our conversation. After a few minutes, I arrived upon an empty hall, with an old table leaning on it's walls, frames and the sort just loosely hanging. The floor and walls aging more and more as I kept going forward.
(Toxin) "This hallway... Isn't this where the entities gather?"
(Karito) "I think so. It did say "In the starting room are two doors. One is locked upon entering, but entities can be heard gathering behind it, attempting to break free." Doesn't that sound gut wrenching?" He ask with sarcasm.
(Toxin) "Even if they where here, they would be put out of their misery."
(Karito) "And it's smells like dead bodies here too."
(Toxin) "I'm not sure if I should be concerned about the fact that you don't starting gagging anymore when faced with an unholy amount of gore."
(Karito) "Well, try surviving in a Creepy pasta..." His gaze lowers.
(Toxin) "How you're still sane after being a lab rat in the Russian Sleep Experiment, is a miracle."
(Karito) "Who said I was?"
(Toxin) "The system did cure you psychological state after surviving..."
(Karito) "You know my state... H-How I literally turned into a monster. I looked like SCP-096! You think remembering that is having a sane mind?!"
(Toxin) "Of course it isn't but your alive regardless!"
(Karito) "FUCK! You saw my memories! The shit I did in that fuckin' story! I became a goddamn cannibal!! I mentally broke my cell mates! I was in a room that was fully of shit! I teared people apart like they where some piñata-!" His agitation increases.
(Toxin) "OKAY! I GET IT! Just get your mind out of the gutter and focus on the NOW! That has passed! You are here and overthinking traumas is just going to bring them back! Too much thinking will be you're undoing, so stop!"
(Karito) "I-!"
(Toxin) "Just stop!"
(Karito) "..."
(Toxin) "Jesus, man. How do you expect to move on when all you do is think about the past? Just learn and improve. That's it!"
(Karito) "But-."
(Toxin) "NO!"
(Karito) "I-!"
(Toxin) "STOP!"
(Karito) "..."
(Toxin) "Just stop talking about it... you aren't the you from then, the you from now is different, but you can be better."
(Karito) "Alright..."
(Toxin) "Thank you."
This is already going to be an exhausting adventure.
(Toxin) "Isn't that a smiler? Dead on the floor in this hall?" He points slightly ahead.
(Karito) Continues marching forward "Didn't they had an amorphous body or something?"
(Toxin) "How? Aren't they just floating faces?"
(Karito) "It's what I hard, I dunno man."
(Toxin) "You do see the bones, right?"
(Karito) "Yeah?"
(Toxin) "How would their bodies be amorphous? That should be a lack of thereof."
(Karito) "Um... snakes?"
(Toxin) "Well... that makes more sense, I guess?"
(Karito) "I'm just gonna carry on with my stroll."
(Toxin) "Please, smells horrible here."
I continued my walk, arriving at the starting point where the Wanderer is thrown into the level. It's the hall where they begin running while a horde of entities pushes open a door and starts chasing.
(Toxin) "Seems we made it to the door that connects the hallway."
(Karito) "So now we have to walk... 10 kilometers..."
(Toxin) "Honestly... how are people expected to run 6.2 miles without stopping... while monster are chasing you the entire time?"
(Karito) "Before I even had powers, I struggled with just 3 miles. Asthmas' a bitch."
(Toxin) "You hate cardio."
(Karito) "True. And even after I got my powers, my training regime would deactivate my powers when I did training and when I was done, it would return. I guess it was... stacking?"
(Toxin) "Like leveling up base stats and then the system will give the super stats and it'll be multiplied?"
(Karito) "I guess that's what it was doing."
(Toxin) "If that was the case, then you reached a point where your "human base stats" had turned into "superhuman base stats" at some point."
(Karito) "Yeah, I was stupid strong with just my base stats in that Headshot dimension."
(Toxin) "I remember."
(Karito) "Seeing my memories?"
(Toxin) "Yup."
(Karito) "Noted. Welp... guess we are going through this door."
(Toxin) "You think you're gonna have to start running?"
(Karito) "To be honest, I don't think so."
(Toxin) "Yeah... so far, this place has looked pretty dead."
(Karito) "Exactly, so I'm not too worried. Pluss, if danger did arrived, I would sense it."
I opened the door, revealing an empty but ruined hallway. The rooms on the sides contained bones, not a single speck of flesh remaining on them. The walls were scratched up and torn, as if desperation had consumed the inhabitants of this floor.
(Toxin) "And here we thought things looked bad a few minutes ago."
(Karito) "Yeah... just look at these marks."
(Toxin) "These scratches are ravenous. As if they where trying to grab something."
(Karito) "By the state of this place, maybe the entities ran out of food source."
(Toxin) "And they went for the walls for sustenance? Goddamn..."
(Karito) "Walls, floors, chairs... heck even themselves."
(Toxin) "To resort to such a thing."
(Karito) "Even the bones laying around look torn. Completely with, as if shaved clean or something."
(Toxin) "Starvation is one terrible way to go out with."
(Karito) "Yeah, been there and done that."
(Toxin) "Karito..."
(Karito) "I'm not thinking about it, don't worry..."
(Toxin) "Good, because if you lied, I would know."
(Karito) "There's no point into lying when you can do that."
(Toxin) "Exactly..." Sighs "So, I guess it's walking..."
(Karito) "Yup... time for the 10K Marathon..."
And so I walked... and walked. Debris collected and piled in certain corners. The aging of my surroundings never ceased. It still retained its forgotten, abandoned feel.
(Karito) "This makes me think of something..."
(Toxin) "Hm?"
(Karito) "You think this level came out of that garbage dumb of lost levels? Or was it before in the Obsidian void?"
(Toxin) "Wouldn't the level be more... broken or distorted if that was the case?"
(Karito) "True... this does feel abandoned but... it feels like it was recognized... in a way."
(Toxin) "Because the Obsidian Void is basically the internets trash can, it will rot inside that infinite dimension, where every concept that has existed through human imagination cease to exist. Science, math, philosophy... and things of that degree has no meaning in the Void, it just... dies."
(Karito) "Um..."
(Toxin) "What is it?"
(Karito) "Have you ever thought about home the dimensions we've visited are?"
(Toxin) "...Go on."
(Karito) "We know that... my story keeps getting told. Season 1 is done and..."
(Toxin) "Do you feel like the connections you've made will just be forgotten? Abandoned? Because they've fulfilled their purpose of giving a story of the readers?"
(Karito) "I had people I loved in those dimensions... I had... Chisato in the Lycoris Recoil verse and Rebecca in Cyberpunk..."
(Toxin) "I..."
(Karito) "Do you think I'll ever..."
(Toxin) "Karito, you where manipulated into being a killing machine by that time. To move on and forget the people you saved and loved. Kara fucked us up so bad... I..."
(Karito) "No... I understand..."
(Toxin) "We can't be so certain... We don't know that specific dimensions location anymore because of Kara... we remember... but... not where it is..."
(Karito) Sigh "It's difficult to love when the fear of losing is because of my responsibility... to all of Fiction..."
(Toxin) "I don't even know it's even possible... What about Chrona-?"
(Karito) "No..."
(Toxin) "Yeah~...thought so... She's and Peter are interested in each other, right?"
(Karito) "Yeah... And I'm not gonna take away the only person that's keeping him grounded."
(Toxin) "..."
(Karito) "He lost everyone he loved, Toxin."
(Toxin) "Because Astral Regulator Thanos came out of nowhere and snaped all of reality away, including the narrative."
(Karito) "Exactly... and because of me... he-."
(Toxin) "Don't blame yourself."
(Karito) "The only reason he's alive was because he's my apprentice. Any other Spider-Man would have died if reality itself exploded in their face, only a few exceptions would... but Peter lived because he became a character that can exist outside his verse and survive all concepts. That's why inapplicable dimensions doesn't make him go insane and finding out that he was a fictional character didn't broke him."
(Toxin) "Then it was thanks to you he survived."
(Karito) "But-"
(Toxin) "You know his aunt would have wanted him to live... no matter what."
(Karito) "Is this because of No Way Home...?"
(Toxin) "Peter will be fine. He has all of fiction to explore now. He will never lose hope. And thanks to Chrona, he never will."
(Karito) "...Okay... Thanks..."
The halls continued to be empty, the same repetition as before. I just continued to think... as if, for a long time, I could finally just... relax... in a weird cosmic way...
(Karito) "You know... what you said earlier got me thinking."
(Toxin) "Where have you taken the topic to now?"
(Karito) "Look... if re-telling changes the looks of the floors that exist. Now grab that, and apply it in a grander scale. What would happen to the world that was created? The characters? Us?"
(Toxin) "What?" he asked, confused.
(Karito) "You know that I want to find a way back home, to the family I haven't seen in years. Will they recognize me? Remember me? What if-?"
(Toxin) "Stop! You're overthinking stuff again! I told you that thinking too much makes you think of irrational stuff! Just breathe and stop."
(Karito) "..." Inhales and exhales.
(Toxin) "Done?"
(Karito) "Yeah... I guess I just got carried away..."
(Toxin) "I guess? You did."
(Karito) "Ugh..."
(Toxin) "What I said was just a theory. It doesn't mean anything if it's real or not, or both."
(Karito) "But still..."
(Toxin) "Even if people get forgotten. If we just... disappear. Then you aren't going to be alone."
(Karito) "..."
(Toxin) "I'm your ride and die, man. You know this."
(Karito) "Heh... who would've thought a parasite would give me this kind of pep talk?" He smirks.
(Toxin) "And you ruined the moment. A round of applause people."
(Karito) "Sorry, you know I can't contain my self."
(Toxin) "I know, I know..."
I continued walking and took notice of very small changes in the hall. It wasn't as ripped apart nor filled with as much debris as it initially was. It was more or less... preserved, while still looking old and abandoned.
(Karito) "Well... this is the most dead part I've seen for this place."
(Toxin) "Yeah, the debris and marks are clearing up. That's a marker to take note of."
(Karito) "For how far the monsters got in their destruction."
(Toxin) "The resources did get scarce at the beginning of this level. Wouldn't be surprising if they fled ahead to scavenge."
(Karito) "Yeah, like thing no clipping into the area and stuff. Even if it's weird for people to have made it this far."
(Toxin) "But I'm sure the stopping point would've been the exit."
(Karito) "Though, I think the dumb ones didn't comprehend it and those that did... well... left."
(Toxin) "Though, there is part of the information that was interesting. Like this one, "If a group should enter this level, they will be separated into solo instances of the hallway, with no two people ending up in the same area as another." So, multiple instances, meaning more entities that could have left and invaded other floors. Just the smart ones, though."
(Karito) "If that was the case, then that would've been a series of unfortunate events for other floors."
(Toxin) "Mhm. Not a problem for us."
(Karito) "Indeed..." He looks forward and sees an exit sign "Well... would you look at that? We made it to the end."
(Toxin) "Well... this walk was therapeutic. It didn't feel like that long of a walk, but it does feel like we've been here for a few hours."
(Karito) "Well, it definitely wasn't what I expected."
(Toxin) "You're right."
(Karito) "..."
(Toxin) "..."
(Karito) "Can I add something in your theory?"
(Toxin) "Go ahead."
(Karito) "About the retold of the original intention... wraps into something new and disconnects from it's original purpose. Do you think it was for the greater good? Like... for the best?
(Toxin) "Mhm."
(Karito) "Let's take fanfiction as an example... From an Author's perspective. You get inspired or people ask you for a specific story, but you don't find it entertaining enough, so you rewrite it or reword it. Making something new, giving it life and going down a path where it's more than it's original idea?"
(Toxin) "So you think it would be of benefit for whatever purpose it's being spoken of?"
(Karito) "Yeah! Like being reborn. It may die out but it can be something new, maybe an improvement for it's past. I believe that the Author for this level did just that. But there also exist it's original, this is just it's rework."
(Toxin) "I understand... Levels changing into new, and unheard of in different ways, just because one person alone took it upon themselves to improve for what they heard. Haven't you done something like this before?"
(Karito) "I did... When restoring the Lycoris Recoil and Cyberpunk worlds. The Darks where corrupting it... but I... Rewrote it..."
(Toxin) "That hacking skill is insanely powerful, you know that, right?"
(Karito) "It has saved my life a lot."
(Toxin) "But change can be good. It can add different elements into things. Something staying the same would just be repetitive and boring."
(Karito) "Though some people probably don't think about it too hard and just go with it and forget the purpose of making a well written story..."
(Toxin) "Why do you think, in novels, Authors always go in some sort of "Research Expedition" to understand a theme for the story they want to write? It's so they can have a sense of understanding and have a better sense for the story they want to tell."
(Karito) "Not many people do that now a days... It's stays with the generic..."
(Toxin) "Like I said, originality is almost impossible at this point. People have talked about everything in this point. I just think that... Inspiration from other tales aren't bad, what's important is how you guide the story."
(Karito) "Even if the beginning was shit?"
(Toxin) "Even if the start was not too well, it can definitely improve."
(Karito) "Hm... I see."
(Toxin) "So..."
(Karito) "So?"
(Toxin) "What do you think is beyond this door? This exit?"
(Karito) "Our demise, most probably."
(Toxin) "With how shit our luck is, I wouldn't be surprised."
(Karito) "But... I think I needed this..."
(Toxin) "The gore and abandonees or the walk and talk?"
(Karito) "The walk and talk."
(Toxin) "Well, I'm glad to be of assistance."
(Karito) "Let's go and see what we're up against in the next floor, shall we?"
(Toxin) "Together?"
(Karito) "Yeah, together."
I stepped in front of the exit door, eyeing the doorknob. Whatever lies beyond this door, better be prepared. Because I'm going to tear this dimension apart...
Entering Level... 415...
To be continued...