So, this is the place. Never been to a liminal space before. I’d only heard about it from others—and some Outsiders. They call it "Chimera" or the "Landfill." I expected a rough landing, but it’s clear here.
Remember the training: scan the area and stay frosty.
Taking my first step out, I took noticed how inconsistent this place was. This raised my suspicions. To test it, I cut open a rift just a few meters away. On the other side? A completely different place. That settles it. This place is unstable. I set up a gem in an open area for them to rendezvous, hopefully.
Then, someone called me.
"Castle?" I answered.
"This is Elder. Where are you? We have been looking for you." His voice was calm but with a hind of concern.
"I'm already out here... doing 'scouting,'" I replied.
"Enzaio..." Elder sighed heavily. "You should have waited for the others. Exploring deep into that reality alone is dangerous."
"I know," I said, trying to sound reassuring. "But you need to know—this place is all over the place."
"How so?" he asked.
I explained, "Bad. I ended up in elsewhere than it should. I think it’s not the Orrery would caused that."
"Curious," Elder murmured, seem checking something on the other side. "Your recent arrival has not confirmed on our drop point... Hmm... where might you be at this moment?"
"Walking deeper into this maze," I answered.
"Very well," Elder replied. "Proceed with your investigation into the source of this anomaly. You are clear on your objective, I trust?"
"Yeah, I’m on it. En out," I said, ending the call.
"Take care out there," Elder added softly before the line fell silent.
I pressed on, walking for what felt like miles. Hours passed without anything strange happening. Just this endless yellow maze, flickering lights, and the annoying buzzing noises from these white lights. The liminal space was quieter—and duller—than I expected. Still, I didn’t let my guard down. My blade stayed ready.
Eventually, it happened. First, I found a spacious chamber, a bed and wooden furniture illuminated by a single lamp with a dim light. Then, an empty room filled the sound with that seems to be a classical music. Next, a tight passageway that forced me to squeeze through, which led to a bottomless pit crossed by dangerous platforms but this is just one of the few weird things I've ever came across. If I were a different person, navigating one of those place would’ve been either creeped me out or just simply dangerous.
Then came the noises. A dozen of roars break the silence in this maze, echoing from everywhere and nowhere. I dropped into a fighting stance, my grip tightening on my blade. But as suddenly as it started, the sound stopped. It all return to silence.
It took me a moment to steady myself before moving again. Whatever made those sounds, something was alive... and ugly in here.
I came to an open area and noticed a black smudge trailing across the floor. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was blood, putrefied and dried up. I followed the trail cautiously, blade ready, and soon I found it.
A corpse. Human, normal baseline. The first being I’d seen in my life.
The body's fresh but the poor guy got mauled viciously by some creature-probably came from those noise earlier. But it's weird. The body's intact but the blood had decayed, maybe the time itself had warped around it when...
Huh?
Movements. A lot of them. Looks like they're chasing something. No time to think—I decided to jump into the hole. While freefalling, one of those creatures came into view directly below me. I angled myself, landing feet-first on its shoulders, severing its head clean off in the process.
After that, one of those red humanoids charged at me from behind. I spun around, grabbed its arm, and hurled its entire body into the others, knocking them down. Before they could recover, I bisected another that got too close, then unleashed a barrage of throwing knives, each finding its mark.
But I didn’t stop there. I went on the offensive, leaping toward the stumbled bunch as they scrambled to their feet. They barely had time to react before I cut them through their bodies, spraying blood across the walls and the filthy, carpeted floor.
Standing alone in the carnage, I took a closer look at these corpses. Humans, well... or at least, what they're used to be. Looks like they torn off their skin and revealed their flesh, most of them were mutilated, just nasty looking, almost reminding me from the First Cataclysm. I wondered what cause them to give chase. I begin tracing, I followed the trail to an open door and stumbled into a flight of stairs then jumping straight to the bottom.
Once I landed, I heard gunshots. I followed it, cutting down anything in my way. As I go deeper the maze became more convoluted, while I was swarmed by them. But they won't stop me. Another round of gunfire echoed.
I followed it, but I was blocked by a ball of limbs. From behind, something else's gaining on me, closing in fast. I came charging at that thing, I hacked off several of its arms before leaping onto it, delivering a final blow that bisected its body. Landing on the other side, I quickly turned a corner.
Until I got ambushed by a pack of human-canine freaks by lunging at me. Rolling away from their surprise attack, I retaliated swiftly, slicing through them until nothing remained but bloody chunks. But I don't have time for this—dozens more creatures blocking in my way. One by one, they die by my blade, their blood and guts painting the walls and floor like a bloody canvas.
What is this place? It suddenly populated with these freaks the moment I came in contact with them. I sprinted and navigating through the yellow maze as I kept killing more of them until I saw that human again, and they looks like they're finally giving in from exhaustion.
I need to be quick.
"But... thanks," he said, standing up without my help, though his breathing was labored from exhaustion. He let out a sigh of relief and took a long breather until he compose himself.
As he dusted off his clothes, he glanced at me with a strange, expression. I could tell he didn’t trust me yet, despite the fact that I’d saved him and even offered him a hand. Judging by the way he looked at me—like I'm more dangerous than those that I had effortlessly cut down and he thought he might be next.
We stood there in silence for a moment. Finally, I sheathed my blade.
"If you think I’m here to kill you, I’m not," I said, breaking the silence. "So relax."
"Oh... thank God. A good one," he muttered, almost to himself. "I thought I was done for."
This guy didn’t seem like an Outsider, but he looked as though he’d been living in this place for a very long time. I had questions—a lot of them. I asked who he was and why he was here. Gradually, he calmed down enough to answer.
He took another breather before he introduced himself as a "wanderer" who had "noclipped" into the "Backrooms." Whatever blazing star that was supposed to mean, from what I can understand: he’d been accidentally transposed into this liminal space away from his origin point. He continue to explained that he wasn’t alone. He said there were plenty of others like him—people who had gotten lost in this place. Many had banded together to form colonies in different sub-sectors, surviving as best they could.
"So, you guys stuck in here for years?" I asked. He nodded, adding that he’d fallen into this yellow maze.
Now that I thought about it, this might be connected to the anomaly we were investigating.
Before I could say anything, the guy looked at me skeptically and said, "Have you noclipped in here too..? Or are you an entity."
"No, I'm neither of those," I replied. "I just got here and came in willingly. But I’m surprised there’s someone like you living in this dump—let alone forming a damn civilization."
He gave me another odd look but eventually chuckled awkwardly but the tension between us was cooling off. We both had plenty of questions, but first things first—I asked if he know how to get out which he said if I meant the "Frontrooms" then it's impossible for any of them to get back but he knew his way back to his outpost. I offered to help him get to safety, which he accepted, as if he had no choice. This wasn’t part of my mission, but protecting civvies was always a top priority, one of Soldiers' unspoken rules. Besides, it could be an useful to learn more about them.
He led the way then explaining that there was an outpost far from here where he and his group had planned to rest after a long journey—until things went south. As we walked through the yellow maze, the silence between us grew awkward. I noticed him glancing at me occasionally with that curious expression.
Finally, he broke the silence. "It’s Jake, by the way," he said.
"What?" I replied, confused.
"My name. It’s Jake," he repeated. He seemed to be opening up, introducing himself properly.
"Enzaio," I said in return.
Jake started talking more after that. I mostly listened, keeping my senses sharp and my guard up. He mentioned that his team had gotten split up during the attack. When he asked if I’d seen any of them, I told him the truth that he's the only one I’d encountered. That corpse might have been one of them, but it was better not to say anything.
For a moment, he looked serious, but he quickly brightened and began talking about his life in the Landfill. He gave me a sort of a tour, describing these "levels" he and the others had explored. He mentioned that many had formed factions or communities to survive together and shared stories about phenomena, entities, and other anomalies.
I can see why some of Outsiders seem to drawn in this reality, this place is like a treasure trove for research companies—and maybe a refuge for criminals.
Then, I stopped and something felt off.
I looked up.
Are those rifts? Whatever these are, they’re a mess. Is this how it threw me off course and ended up elsewhere from earlier? How didn't I noticed sooner? No matter—this must be what I’ve been looking for. Now that I had what I needed, I placed a gem on the floor and setting it up the coordinates here. I'll have to let them know I've already finished it.
As I caught up with Jake, I was surprised by how good to navigate in this maze. He said he lost his map and his gun from running away from the creatures but he still has a good sense of direction. He claimed we’d find the outpost soon, though if he was wrong, I might have to bring him back to our base. That would mean a long explanation about why I brought a "local" along with me.
"It should be around here somewhere..." he muttered, squinting as he scanned the hallway ahead. "I think... it’s that way." He pointed left.
We pressed forward, but then a faint, muffled noise reached us, echoing through the space. Something felt off, and Jake noticed it too. He froze, then peeked cautiously around a corner. A moment later, he jerked back, his face pale as he pressed himself against the wall.
"Shit... Partygoers," he whispered under his breath.
"The what—?" I said, but he shushed me with a panic written across his face.
"How did those guys get here?" he murmured to himself, his worried expression telling me everything I needed to know. "That’s the only way out of here. Too many of them." he added.
I moved silently to take a look. Around the corner, I saw humans. Well... what they used to be. And they're eating on something, once I saw one of them turn, I can see one of their mutilated faces. There's no mistaking it, they're infected, like those red-skinned freaks.
Sliding back into cover, I glanced at Jake. "Stay put. I’ll handle this."
"What?!" he whispered, disbelief in his voice. "You’re going to take them all on?! Alone?!"
He pleaded me to stay, but I ignored him. I unsheathed my blade, I stepped into the open. The infected noticed me immediately, their jaws snapping as they charged.
The first one lunged, but I moved faster, slicing its head from its shoulder. Another followed, and I cut it cleanly in half. One tried to attack me from behind, but I kicked its shin, I tossed a knife and lodged it deep on one of its eyes.
They kept coming. Another rushed in and crazy enough to jump lunged at me but I knelt low, slicing its torso apart as its guts spilled onto the floor. Two more coming in, but I spun around as I cut its legs in front of me then driving my sword into its chest from in the back. As more comes and one closing on me, I twist the blade, I severed its right part of upper body followed by a spin that cut another thing in two and stab the crawling freak's head to the ground that I cut its legs from earlier
Then an armored infected stumbled forward, slow and clumsy. It swung clumsily, but I dodged, throwing a knife into its leg to bring it down. Another knife pierced its chest, the blade sinking through its armor. My final throw struck its helmet, shattering it, and it fell limp.
One more came at me, trying to grab hold on to me. I rolled beneath and grabbed another knife from a nearby corpse, and threw it into the back of its skull.
They just won't stop, but they all charging in together in a way that gave me an advantage. I dashed into them, slashing with speed and precision, weaving through their attacks. Blood and dismembered bodies splattered across the walls and floor as I tore through them.
At the edge of the room from where I came in, I saw him just stand there awestruck.
But there's something behind him...
"But you told me to..." Jake sighed and trailed off. "Well, you're right. That's some serious ninja moves, by the way."
"Focus. Are we that close?" I asked ignoring his compliments, focusing on the task at hand.
"You're a serious guy, huh?" Jake blurted, still shaken. "Just a couple of miles." he breath out deeply, "We should see a stairway that leads to Level 1."
Jake came over to me through bloody room and lead the way to the next. We walked for miles until we started seeing a few markings on the walls that led to their place—we were nearly there. I was curious about how these people able to live in such a dangerous, albeit, weird environment, so I asked Jake about it. He said that they scrounge up supplies from places and brought them to their safe zones and they brought some of those useful "objects" that really helps them a lot.
"Uh... En? If I can call you that?" Jake asked suddenly.
"Yeah," I replied,
He then asked, "I noticed you have a crack on your helmet right now. Did those Partygoers hit you?"
"No," I replied and fell quiet for a moment. "It was from long ago. It's a reminder of my failures."
"Oh," he said softly, "Sorry to hear that."
"It's all in the past," I said to him.
It had been a long walk alongside him, I can't imagine to live in this broken reality while surviving with no chance of going back to their homes.
Our conversation didn’t last long before Jake suddenly took off running for a bit. He stopped and waved his arm at me with a smile on his face.
"It's over there!" he said, pointing to a dark hallway. "We're close!"
I followed him closely to where he was pointing, and there I saw it—some illumination here and there, and at the end of the hallway.
Is a door.
The aging man, whom I assumed to be Jake's boss, he look at me with a neutral expression. Unlike everyone else who eyed me back from that outpost, he seemed to view me as just another "wanderer" but I'm sure he didn't me see otherwise. The silence broke when the man spoke, directing his anger toward Jake. His voice steadily rose as he expressed his displeasure over Jake bringing "it" into their outpost.
He still looked like he was about to blow up like a supernova. Jake glanced at me and whispered a quick, "Sorry," before gesturing for me to step out of the room.
As I left, I felt their eyes on me. They whispered among themselves, uncertain of what to make of me. Feel like they're debating themselves whether I was one of those "entities" or not. But I can't help that most of them look miserable in this place, and a few looked like they were on the verge of breaking.
I wasn’t sure if I should contact my team and bring them to this place—it could complicate things. Maybe Elder would know what to do.
I decided to call him. "Elder?" I said.
"Enzaio." Elder replied. "We have received your coordinates and have been regrouped. Your initiatives are impeccable, you have our thanks yet again." he complimented.
"Yeah, and..." I pause for a moment, "I found someone living in here in Chimera, humans." I informed him.
"What a coincidence," Elder said, "We too have crossed paths with them along the way."
I explained more of what I did from earlier after I went dark, I told him that I found the source that we're looking for and the tidbits that Jake chatting with me about the "Backrooms" and the other things, it made him piqued his curiosity. For Elder's side, he and the others managed to found each other, all thanks to relaying a coordinate. They met some resistance but they're all fine until some of them found a lost group of wanderers in their way and treat the wounded with an intent of bringing them back to safety likely they're bringing them back in our base though he doubt it, he said the best course of action is to bring those guys to safety.
"May I ask where are you now?" Elder asked.
"About that..."
"And another thing," I added, "since I’ve been to their place, I think they’re talking with their higher-ups. Can you sort it out for me?"
"Very well. I’ll talk to them when we get there. Elder out." He ended the call.
Not long after, the man came out, approaching me with a wary look. He still didn’t trust me, though there was a hint of gratitude for saving one of his men. He introduce himself as Lewis Moore, he's part of a faction called the "M.E.G." He went on explaining their situation about their shortage of manpower, the instability of the Landfill, and the increasing numbers and the aggression from those creatures as they were being attacked on their outposts and colonies as years goes by. He then told me he's in a predicament that he lost his men from sending out to these levels with little to no success and he doesn't want the risk of losing them.
I can understand from his situation but I assured him that my team have found them and they'll be here later. He sighed out of relief though he's still quiet but the way he looks he's being grateful again.
As I was about to leave their outpost, I asked him if it's okay to give any information. He handed me his small PDA that contained a data regarding in this dump. I touched the screen, allowing the data to encode and archived, I would later give my guys with this encoded Engram once I come back.
Once done, I decided to leave from their outpost, Jake and the people watched as I leave and fade into dark.
"Hey!" I stopped and look back who's shouting, it was Lewis'.
"Be careful out there," he said out loud.
I gesture my arm to acknowledge him, and with that, I left the outpost and go deeper.