LEVEL 8
THREAT INDEX
CLASS 3
Exit: 3/5
Difficult to Exit
Environment: 3/5
High Environmental Risk
Entities: 2/5
Some Hostile Presence
Description
Level 8 is a sprawling subterranean complex of towering, rocky heights and deep, twisting burrows. Its difficulty of navigation has rendered it effectively incapable of measurement; as a result, few have ventured into the level’s depths, and even fewer have made it back out.
Due to its expansive structure, all noises emitted within Level 8 echo extensively after ricocheting off its rocky surfaces, reaching the frigid bodies of water below. Along with being stagnant and rife with bacteria, it is generally advised to avoid sources of water within the level due to its inexplicably high number of related drownings.[1] No light appears to penetrate past the water’s surface, and its temperature has been described as unnaturally cold, remarkably remaining in a liquid state far below 0°C.
While Level 8 has few records of proper exploration or the construction of settlements, many accounts and photographs indicate signs of past wanderer habitation, such as decrepit wooden bridges and small dens scattered with old supplies. Despite their frequency, little to no documentation exists relating to these outposts, with no credible groups having claimed responsibility for them. How and when these settlements originated is currently unknown, but due to their largely rotten state and dated technology, they appear to have been created several decades to several hundred years ago.
The Burrows
The Burrows are a labyrinthine series of cramped underground tunnels and damp antechambers that run deep beneath the level’s cave floor. Entrances to these areas are often incredibly tight, requiring wanderers to duck, crawl, and squeeze their way through the claustrophobic passageways, while others are too confined to safely attempt entry whatsoever.[2] It is strongly advised to avoid exploring The Burrows due to the inherent dangers within, as one may easily become lost or stuck, rendering the cavernous underside of Level 8 virtually unnavigable.
The layout of The Burrows is reportedly inconsistent, being rumored to shift and alter when not observed. A variety of accounts detail becoming lost when backtracking through tunnels that initially led back to the level's surface, instead leading to even deeper and narrower areas of the caves. This property is equally hazardous to wanderers in groups, as they may become separated even when briefly losing sight of one another.
Entities
Although the variety of species in Level 8 is limited, the level bears the signs of what was once a thriving, diverse ecosystem of coexisting organisms.
Mortisdoptera
Mortisdoptera, often confused for Deathmoths, are phototactic, predatory insects reminiscent of the Lepidoptera superfamily, and the primary source of life in Level 8. These large, mothlike entities typically attack in swarms, using their venomous mandibles to incapacitate and consume prey. As these entities primarily rely on their advanced photoreceptors, it is advised to avoid carrying flashlights when exploring Level 8; while they may prove useful in the level's dark environment, the risk of attracting one or several Mortisdoptera is far more pressing.
Mortisdoptera have been observed to consume significant quantities of the level's organic waste, including the carcasses of deceased organisms. The majority of the Mortisdoptera population resides in large groups, with some of the largest nesting areas purported to house up to several hundred of the entities at any given time.[3]
Troglosidae
Although superficially similar in appearance to typical spiders, Troglosidae are far larger in size and belong to a different order of arthropods entirely. The Troglosidae have a particularly short, segmented abdomen with four pairs of disproportionately long legs and a pair of short, whip-like mandibles. Their legs are primarily used for web-building, and their mandibles seem to be adapted for piercing and ingesting prey.[4] Their cephalothorax does not appear to be used for movement, but is instead lined with several minuscule eyespots that seem to be used both for camouflage and for searching the level's substrate for smaller organisms.
Colonies and Outposts
While many abandoned settlements are present within Level 8, the construction of new outposts is not recommended due to the many hazards posed by the level's environment. Along with its frigid temperatures and lack of resources, the level’s native organisms pose a moderate threat to those seeking to inhabit its caves for an extended period of time.
Attached Information
The following is a submitted report from an anonymous wanderer claiming to have explored and exited Level 8, included due to its useful details about the level's environment and lending credibility to a possible method of escape.
It might have been just a few days — I wouldn’t know, my watch had broken all the way back in Level 3, and even if it hadn’t, it was too dark to see — but they were the longest days of my life. I had come to Level 8 with a group of people, about 10, and I lost them to a swarm of what looked like Deathmoths. The biggest I’ve ever seen. Those godless creatures chased me into The Burrows, their bites searing my flesh, and when I had finally lost them, I couldn't find my way back. All I had with me was a few water bottles, so I continued forward. I walked for hours, passing by dark tunnels that seemed to go on forever, and frequently finding myself lost, as if the caves themselves were shifting.
Gusts of vapor entered the tunnels from the caves above, freezing my already shivering body further. The corridors were so terribly quiet, aside from the unending sound of wind. I remember when the silence was shattered, when the monotony finally broke — a large crack suddenly consumed the stone below me in a matter of seconds. I felt the grip of my shoes loosen as the floor crumbled under my weight. I remember trying to get away before slipping into the water below — it was more than freezing, as if every muscle in my body refused my will — completely paralyzed. I remember the feeling of drowning, descending to the lake floor, before suddenly plummeting on hard asphalt, and looking up to find myself in some kind of suburb.Entrances and Exits
Entrances
- Holes in the composition of Level 6 or the depths of Level 7 commonly lead to Level 8.
- Stumbling into a sinkhole in Level 85 has been reported to lead to Level 8.
Exits
- While there are no verified, reliable exits from Level 8, many groups of wanderers have found their way out of the level by various means. Most accounts of escape detail finding a small tunnel or vertically descending hole leading into another level, with a recently submitted report describing a possible but dangerous method of exiting via the level's bodies of water.
Footnotes
- ↑ Water within Level 8 is often reported to behave similarly to a rip current, despite its lack of visible movement. Due to the overwhelming darkness, the depths of these bodies are entirely unknown, and none who have submerged below their surfaces have returned to provide an estimate.
- ↑ Several accounts of deeper explorations within Level 8 have reported wanderers becoming lodged in its cramped tunnels, often unable to free themselves without assistance. Anecdotes have described wanderers coming across rotting cadavers stuck in tight passageways, often in precarious positions such as being wedged upside down or headfirst in freezing pools of water.
- ↑ In smaller groups, the Mortisdoptera typically live within inset spaces along the level's rock walls, displaying a relative indifference to other colonies.
- ↑ The venom of the Troglosidae is known to contain powerful coagulants that quickly solidify blood into a jelly-like substance, leading to total circulatory collapse.
Old archived version can be found here.
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