Chapter 1: The Passage Between Realities
Ren Evergreen was walking quietly down the street, when something strange happened. He felt a jerk, as if the world around him had disappeared for an instant, and his body fell into the void. An instant later, he was standing in a place he could not identify.
He looked around in surprise. He was in a huge corridor, with faded yellow walls and flickering fluorescent lights that emitted a constant buzzing sound. The floor, covered with damp carpets, stretched into infinity. Instead of fear, however, a curious smile appeared on his face.
-This is... interesting," he murmured, surveying his surroundings.
Before he could move, a robotic voice emerged in his mind, clear and emotionless:
_"Welcome, Ren Evergreen. System activated. Functions available: storage, entity information, level mapping. Do you require assistance?"__Ren raised an eyebrow.
Ren raised an eyebrow. A system? This was beginning to sound like the novels he used to read. Without hesitation, he replied:
-"Give me a rundown."_"What is this place?
You're in the Backrooms. A space between realities where the rules of the world you know don't apply. Currently, you are on Level 0: an infinite maze of rooms with faded yellow walls, damp carpets, and flickering fluorescent lights. No immediate threats have been identified on this level, but I recommend you remain vigilant. This level lacks visible exits, although there may be hidden transition points to other levels.
Ren surprised at the clarity of the system's artificial intelligence. This was going to be an adventure after all.
-"Let's go exploring then," he said, starting to walk down the endless corridor. "Can you mark the explored areas for me? I don't want to get lost".
Function activated. Marking explored areas. Warning: Backrooms may reconfigure unpredictably. Maps may be unreliable in the long term."_
"Nothing's easy, is it?" -Ren muttered with a smile.
He walked for what seemed like hours, passing identical rooms, with the same annoying buzzing and lights flickering occasionally. There was no sign of life or immediate danger. However, the AI continued to provide useful information.
"Ren, on this level there may have been items left behind by others. Provisions or tools. Suggested to explore darker areas for potential resources."_
-"Received. Let's go look for them"
As he moved forward, Ren noticed a slight shadow in a corner, an area where the lights didn't quite reach. He approached cautiously, more out of caution than fear, and found something on the ground: an old backpack, with worn straps.
-It looked like someone had been here before," he said aloud.
Scanning contents... Backpack contains: 2 water bottles, 1 flashlight, 1 rope, 1 empty notebook. Suggested storage in dimensional space."_
-Not bad. Store them.
The backpack disappeared into thin air as the AI stored it. Ren smiling again, impressed with the functions of the system. This wouldn't be easy, but with a little luck and his new system, I felt I could handle it.
A little story to pass the time at work.
I am new and appreciate any comments or ideas :)