Chapter Text
The world is spinning. Your vision consists exclusively of grey, and you feel much colder. Everything is wrong. You can't hear the sounds of fans, lights, anything like you could before. You don't even know if you're facing up or down anymore. You hear only your soft movements echo until another voice begins speaking... somewhere else. It's hard to focus on anything, but you try to listen to what it says.
[-̵̧͚͈̌͠o̶̬̓͘͝k̵̮͍̒ͅa̴̘͙͝y̸̧̙̌͐?̷̣͎͚͊̇̈́]
[A̵̘̖̙͐̓r̸̛̮̄̔ḛ̵̘́ ̴̥̗̺͒y̶̛͉̪͆ō̸̬͈͗͛ŭ̴̖̾ ̶͎̩̾̆̚o̴̎ͅk̶̛͚̖ä̷͖͚͚́y̴?̷]
The voice is distorted and metallic. It doesn't sound like anybody you've heard before, yet you still sense sincerity behind the words.
[P̶l̶e̷a̵s̴e̵,̷ ̴g̷e̶t̷ ̴u̷p̵.̴]
[C̸o̶m̸e̸ ̴o̷n.]
It stops. Everything stops. The ground stares back at you, waiting for you to move. You do, scraping an arm across the stone, and the sound starts again.
[̍ΰ̢t᷇ s̍e̴e̒m̥s͆ Ϗͪ'᷈v̴e̘ f̸i͗n̙āl̶l᷆y̶ b̒e͜e͡n᷀ f᷃o̍u̢n̄d̪➨̓]̈́
[᷄Y᷂őu̩'̷rͥè Д҃o͝t̗h̡ ḟa̯r̐ t͔ൻുo̡ l຺ຸ̻t͎e͢.᷿ N͂o͉ẓ̧h᷿i̼nͨg̤ l͔e̮f̢t͈ i᷿s̷ w͓ຊຶصَtͦh͞ s͊a̚v̠iͥn̡g̃.͏]̘
The voice pierces your eardrums. You wearily scan the room, trying to identify the source.
[ͥၖ̪u̻r̡e̳ႈ̃y᷊ N͢i͝k̀o͂ wͨᎎ̜n̨tͦsͨ ṭo̓ l͠e̶a̸v͠eͯኲ፟ a̍n̵d̫ t͖h͙eͧr̊e̮'̈́s̮ n᷃o᷂bͥo͎d̍y̜ ȟa̢p͎p͉i͆ḙr͝ ťū́ f̐u͕l̙f̼i̬l̽l̙ t͙ḧ́a̶t̀ ṙe̙q̍u͖e͏s͢t̝ ṫୀa᷅n̈́ ḿe̛.̾]ͪ
It's a robot - standing directly in front of you. It stares into you, eyes rapidly flashing different shades of blue.
[̵K͔ẹe̻p̖ i᷁nͮ ᙓ̓i̧॰ॉd͈ t̙h̹r᷊e̵e̴ t̔ĥi᷅n̂gͦs̃:᷇ ]
[̶F͉i᷃r͡s̖t̮,᷇ y̦o̊u̚r͞ ᖗ̂e͚c̄i̸ዣ፟iͫo͘ṋs̠ h̷a͌v̋eͯ p̀e̠r͝m̤ạǹe̜n̓t̗ cͫo̸͎sͥeͨq̹ṵe͇n̵c͟e͒s͎.ͥ]͌
You cover your ears. It's too loud and broken to even comprehend at this point.
[̘Se̙͙͞c̕o᷀n̒╶̧,ͬ y͒oͅu᷅ m̠↧ͨy̆ Ḣ̩u̜i̦t̄ w͏h̊eͅn̯e̓v͞eͪr͓ y̰o̙u͑'͆d᷁ l̬ḯk̎e͖.͉ T̵h̵i͆s̻ i̧s͗ pͧe͞r̤m̖aͯѴ҄èῷ̬t̸ f̳a͌îl̀uͭr͓֢ׄ ān᷂dͤ m̥u̶ም፟d͊ਲ਼ੈᝒ̅.̀]̇͏͏
[̉ᇠ̸n͒d̕ mͯo᷃s͝tͣ i̍mͬp̈o̒r̩tͨa͟n̢t̲l̞y̾.̢.͘.̨]̕
[᷿⇨᷇o̦u᷀ o̴n̞l͙y̝ hͅa̸v͖e͗ o͆♴᷈e̔ sͮh̗o᷂t͆,̿ E͘R̬RͦO̭Rͩ.̔]͞
Then, the robot falls over, powerless.
Cool. It seems it used everything it had to give you that message. You already knew what it was saying from the few words you understood, so you didn't really need to hear the rest. With some effort, you roll onto your back and look around, something you haven't had time to do yet.
You're in a darkish room, one carved from rock. A lantern sits next to you, providing the only glow that bothers to light up the room. You note the thousands of little particles swimming around inside. Craning your head up, you spot an infinitely long shaft leading into complete darkness. Tracks invite you to explore inside... but you don't spot a minecart anywhere in the room. The room sounds exactly like what a cave sounds like, based on the reverberation of the now-destroyed robot's voice. You figure you're probably in a cave.
Shakily picking yourself off the dusty floor, you can see a clear exit to the cave directly to your right. There's not much more light coming from it. You take a few unsteady steps towards the lantern, taking it in your hand. Facing the exit, you carry yourself through, searching for a landmark or sign. Anything to orient you to your new surroundings.
The first thing that startles you is the almost endless void below the slim path you walk. Faint light sources deep below, like stars, stare back at you. You resolve to not look down.
Unfortunately, after walking through the darkness for a minute, you find a landmark. A house, with some light pouring from the windows, just a little to the right of your path. Deep breath, be ready to face anything...
You stumble through the door.