Chapter 4: Chapter 4: Flesh & Tunnels

“You possess the power that, in another universe, makes the group of people known as ‘Sarkists’ a terrifying force. One of your powers is the power of biological manipulation. You can control your flesh!” The not-so-diminutive goblin reveals to her master, the eldritch creature abducted by the wicked master of The Backrooms.

“If you want to save that cat, and that… other, much larger cat, the key is to learn to use biomancy.” Gustavo’s familiar explains to him, succinctly.

“Focus on your skin. Will your flesh to change, to morph into something useful for battle.” The goblin says, urging her master to tap into one of his stranger foundational powers. The creature does as he is told, and he envisions his arm morphing into a long, almost spear-like, sword.

His skin begins to bubble and change as what he imagined begins to become real. His arm lengthens and his digits and fist disappear as his skin becomes one long blade. The process is not painful and only takes a split second, though the end result is horrifying to look at. The skin-colored sword is functional, but even with perks unknown to Gustavo it can only be made so pretty, despite technically being a “Creation” of his and thus falling under the purview of one of the perk trees he possesses in full.

Gustavo looks at the limb and chuckles. Now that he is armed with something he practices swinging it and finds that he is weirdly comfortable wielding it. His unnatural skill and the unusual ease he feels is something that his companion remarks on, eager to be helpful to her master.

“Oh if you’re finding it easy to use your sword-arm skillfully it’s because of a perk. That one does not come from where I come from. But I’ll explain more after you save those cats.” The goblin tells her master, in a surprisingly reassuring tone of voice. He chuckles as he hears her and nods.

The figure takes a quiet breath and then darts off toward the room where the foes are clashing with those he wishes to save. He is followed by his companion, the familiar who now knows more about the transformation her master is undergoing than he himself does.

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My companion and I dash into the room just a few rooms away from where my enemies are attacking at least one innocent, or if nothing else seemingly unmutated animal. We then reach the room just two rooms away, and only a second later we are in the room next to the almost unnaturally dark room.

As we dart from room to room I examine the odd bubble that I can see that dictates my total range of motion, which changed dramatically when I transformed my arm. The thing is a powerful aid in moments like this, as it allows me to be certain of what I can and can’t do physically, and by studying it I can more smoothly adjust to the oddities of this newly discovered ability of mine.

I am moving fast. I am currently sprinting even faster than I could before, and I know that I am moving at speeds surpassing what is humanly possible, at least if someone is a human from the world of my birth. My speed is unnatural, and I am silently thankful for it.

I can feel my body refining itself, polishing itself to shine unnaturally brilliantly with each step I take. It feels good. My companion and I hurl ourselves into the gigantic room where the fighting is occurring and while our intrusion is silent I am not.

“Hey, assholes! Pick on someone your own size!” I roar, causing the dogs that are watching the fighting to turn around. As soon as they see me they snarl and bare their fangs but I show them no fear. My words are heard by the cats as well, but none of them react.

I decide to test something out. My corruption has been growing stronger and stronger since I first started using it, and over the course of the last few hours I’ve used it a lot compared to when I first met the first hound I dealt with. This moment feels sufficiently like a boss-battle for me to feel like trying to use my corruption again.

This time I am not guided solely by powerful instincts when I point my gun at one of the hounds and fire a corrupted bullet at the creature. The shot hits the creature in the leg, and I smirk as the canine does not fall over but instead becomes corrupted, my power now inside of it thanks to the wound I dealt the beast. I instantly condense the corruption in the beast into seeds of corruption which immediately produce more of the stuff than hit the beast originally and makes it a self-sustaining font of corruption.

I can feel the powerful instincts and weak mind of the beast connect with mine and become subservient to me, as the master of the eldritch energy coursing through its veins. The creature even grows a bit larger than it just was, as its leg recovers from the blow thanks to the corruption now surging through its veins.

I will the beast to attack its former companions and it turns on them immediately. I’m sure smarter creatures than the beast would be able to resist me more meaningfully than the hound can, I am still delighted when I see the creature turn on its friends, powerfully leaping at them. It seems almost eager to tear them apart or to spread corruption into them and I chuckle as one of them only barely reacts in time to leap out of the range of the beast’s initial lunge.

I turn to face the cats and watch as one of the larger ones seems to laugh mockingly at the smaller creatures it is menacing. I glare at the beast, only to hear a voice whisper directly into my brain. The sensation is odd, but I listen to the voice curiously. 

“Master, why don’t you try to hit the creature with a corrupted attack?” My companion asks me, speaking to me mentally rather than physically.

“How can I do that?” I ask physically, not bothering trying to replicate her feat. She knows more about corruption than I do, and from what she’s told me she knows about powers more broadly as well. If any part of me doubted her, it doesn’t now that my arm is a sword.

“Focus on the corruption inside of you and visualize releasing it out of one of your limbs or an extremity of some sort. Like it’s a cast magical spell or something.” The goblin explains, vaguely. I glare at one of the cats: a gigantic and eerie wall of flesh that up close almost looks like it’s made up of shadows. I mentally envision my corruption welling up in my eyes and then I imagine releasing it outward as a sort of sickly, almost destructive force coming out of my eyes.

A nanosecond later I am surprised when the cat howls in agony as a visible, bright red, lance of corruption emanates out of my eyes and collides with its thick flank. The cat roars in pain as my corruption slams into it and actually forces the gigantic thing off of its feet.

As the thing sails through the air I smirk as I see a new mental theater appear in my mind’s eye. It is nauseating to look at though, as the new mental theater is linked to what the cat can see so I can look through its eyes and see a dizzying view as the cat is flung through the air. I can also feel its strange senses filling a small, but gradually increasing, part of my mind.

I dart forward, eager to assail the two other gigantic cats and as I move the two creatures I am here to save glance at me for the first time. I can feel their curiosity and their relief, which is a bit surprising to me but I am glad that they are capable of telling that I am no foe of theirs. Behind me the dogs continue to clash with each other, the first one I converted to my side having already bitten one of its companions and filled the creature with corruption.

My familiar is over there as well, and is strafing around the hounds, waiting for a chance to attack. Her skin is hazy and I can tell that she is doing something supernatural, even if I’m not quite sure exactly what she’s doing.

I dart forward and as soon as the bubble that surrounds me alerts me that I am in range to strike at one of the other cats I do so. I hurl my arm, and myself, at the cat while I release corruption into the floor beneath me and order the stuff to surge out of the floor and form a solid barrier that prevents the other cat from getting me from behind.

My corruption oozes up out of the floor, more under my control than it’s ever been, and forms a thick, nasty-looking wall that intercepts the cat before it can attack me. The wall also protects the non-hostile cats, and it costs me most of my corruption to create but I can tell that it was worth the work it took to create it.

The cat in front of me, that I am hurling myself at, hisses and throws itself at me. It is a gigantic beast with long, vicious paws, and those paws cleave through the air as they rocket towards me. The stuff actually collides with my arm, hitting me between the elbow and the hand, but I feel no pain as it cleaves through my skin. I make a noise in surprise, one unlike any I’ve ever previously made, and I am stunned to see my hand and upper arm begin to crawl towards me within nanoseconds of hitting the floor, still clutching my gun.

The cat hisses, which is so shockingly mundane for this weird, unearthly beast that the shock of it allows me to refocus on the scene in front of me and I lash out at the cat with my corrupted limb. My sword dances through the air and I manage to impale the enormous beast with surprising ease. The cat roars in pain even as corruption floods into it and I feel our minds synergizing.

I retract my blade and turn my attention to the final beast, even as the last of the dogs succumbs to my corruptive energies. It has been defeated by my familiar, who is smirking behind the beast and spinning a knife she fashioned from corruption. At the same time the part of my arm that the cat cut through reattaches itself to the stump that was created when it was cleaved off, corruption working to allow my flesh to stitch itself together.

“Just… one.” I mutter, even as I aim my gun in the direction of the remaining cat. I will the part of the corrupted floor that has formed a protective barrier separating the cat and I to drop and I shoot my weapon twice as soon as the wall has dropped enough for me to see the cat. The two bullets hit it between the eyes and the cat’s mind is immediately beaten into submission by the enormous tidal wave of corruption that fills it instead of killing it outright.

“Alright, alright, alright.” I say, as I pocket my gun and smirk. The cats that have not been attacked by me look at me curiously, and wait to see if I am hostile. I look at them and do not attack, even as my small menagerie approaches me. The tamed beasts are no longer hostile and my familiar walks up to me as well.

“Oh hey, not bad!” She tells me, delightedly. She almost claps in approval, and I turn to her and smile.

“You tamed a total of eight beasts. And these are ‘Backrooms’ beasts too… It looks like the perks you possess aren’t just for show.” She exclaims, even as the other cats relax and begin to approach me. They are both covered in wounds.

“Heck even that unique ‘Smiler’ and that little tabby cat seem to like you and they aren’t corrupted!” The goblin-like creature serving me says. The cats stop in front of me and study me with eerie intelligence and curiosity.

The tabby cat looks normal, or at least like an Earth cat, but there is a strange glow in its eyes hinting that it possesses much greater intelligence and awareness than it should. The creature my familiar calls a “Smiler” is an almost person-sized cat with dark scarlet fur. It seems equally intelligent, though I have a feeling that that wasn’t always the case for reasons I am not entirely sure about.

Both beasts are injured, and I wonder how I can heal them for a moment before I feel something be directly added to my backpack, like if someone stuck their hand in it, despite it being closed. I curiously move the thing and open it only to find a note in the main pocket with a brief message followed by a lengthy description.

“Hello jumper. Congratulations on surviving the first level of the Backrooms. You are about to enter the second level, known as ‘The Basement’. Before you do, you ought to know that there are new perks within you now, and the first two essences you are compatible with has fully activated within you. Ask your familiar for information about essences, more broadly, but the first of the two that are active within you is known as the ‘Essence of the Healer’. You will need to train before you fully master it, but even what you can do now is incredible. Especially in a place like the Backrooms…” The note reads, and then it goes onto describe the essence in full.

The “Essence of the Healer” is a potent thing. It grants me a powerful array of meaningful healing and health based powers, and I can feel a corner of my mind filling with all sorts of health-related information. When I finish reading the note I chuckle and put it back in my backpack. I look up and notice that my familiar is looking at me with wide, awestruck eyes.

“Master… You’re glowing!” She tells me, causing me to look at my arm and chuckle. She is right, there is a tiny bit of radiant light coming off of me, softly illuminating the dark room, just a touch. I will my sword-arm to turn back into a true arm and hand before turning to the cats and lifting my hands in their direction.

I will my new power to flow into them and heal their wounds, and I let out a joyful sound when I see my powers begin to affect them. Both cats gaze at me curiously, right before they begin to glow. Their eyes widen as they are healed by my powerful new ability. Their wounds vanish and I watch them both begin to grow as they absorb the power I am sending them. I stop when I see that they are fully healed, and both cats turn to look at me with awe in their eyes.

“Amazing…” I mutter, delighted. I turn back to look at my companion and see that she is staring at me, even more awestruck than she had been before.

“Uhh… Master, you are gaining new powers, right now!” She explains, and I silently wait for her to go on. It takes her a moment to realize that, and when she does she laughs softly before launching into an explanation.

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“Alright so… How do I explain this? Okay, so you know that I am attuned to you. While each ‘Item’ is attuned to you in different ways, I have an especially deep connection to your soul. As such I can see what you cannot, at least not yet, about yourself and your connection to the omniverse. Through that connection I can see your perks, essences, origins, and items. And I can learn more about both you, and wherever we go, by existing in that place for sufficient amounts of time.” The creature tells me.

“At the moment you have two essences, one which you clearly already know about, and another which is a bit weirder. Your second essence is the ‘Essence of The Force’ which grants you the ability to wield ‘Force Powers’. It is an essence that requires training but it makes you a ‘Force Conduit’, which grants you the potential to be the strongest force-user to ever live if you hone your abilities through training and dedication. I’d explain what those are in more detail if I thought you needed such an explanation, but I know that you are familiar with Star Wars.” She explains, after taking a second to think about what to say next.

“You also possess powers over your own flesh, ‘Sarkic’ abilities. New ones have awoken within you. Previously you only possessed ‘Nalka’ abilities, but now you also possess ‘Neo-Sarkic’ powers. They are… much darker, but your power is your own. How you use it is up to you. You also possess a shadow of another powerset related to this, but even I can’t quite identify it at a glance…” The goblin-like creature reveals, before her eyes narrow in frustration.

“This is the ‘Backrooms’, a sort of afterlife dimension created by this universe. It is hostile to all mundane beings, and to you as well, but even here the omniverse is not powerless. There are perks attuned to each ‘Level’ of this space, and you now have more of them. Originally you only possessed the perks related to ‘The Halls’, which is the name of this level, but now you also possess the perks of ‘The Basement’, the next level we’re heading to.” She says, even as she points in the direction of the rest of the supernatural room.

“You also possess the complete set of perks from ‘Generic First Jump’ which is certainly a gift from the omniverse. Under other circumstances you’d probably have gone there first, but instead… Well, instead you got stuck here. Give me a moment to break those down for you.” My familiar tells me before launching into a lecture that reveals why I can walk again as it turns out that one of the perks from “Generic First Jump” is a full body heal that fixes any health issues.

The perks from this particular jump are all basic but they are also quite powerful if you collect all of them. They also explain my ease with my abilities, as some of the perks there are “training booster” which increase the effectiveness of my ability to use my abilities and greatly amp up my training rate. Eventually she stops explaining the perks and I watch her face drop as she began to think about how to explain the one thing I know she hasn’t talked about: her own origin. She is quiet for several moments before she sighs in resignation and looks up at me.

“I don’t know where to begin with my own origin. I come from a setting, or universe, known to jumpers as ‘Generic Lewd Overlord’. I am an item from an origin known as ‘Corruptive Dominance’ and before now I was the only origin you had from that setting. But now there are two new ones in you as well, known as ‘Manipulative Monarch’ and ‘Minion Management’. The only possible reason I can think of for those new origins to be given to you, in conjunction with me and the origin I represent, is that you are a… well, a control freak.” She tells me, bluntly.

My eyes widen when she tells me this, and I begin to laugh. I nod at her, not feeling like really keeping that a secret, causing her eyes to widen and for her to laugh as well. We both delight in the bluntness of her words and in my confession for several moments before our laughter stops.

“Well, in that case I have great news for you. The origins I just mentioned are incredible for control freaks, as they all focus on controlling different things. ‘Minion Management’ is all about enhancing and controlling those who work for you, while ‘Manipulative Monarch’ helps your planning and scheming skills, while giving you an edge with regard to controlling people through words. ‘Corruptive Dominance’ is great for seizing control of things directly, as your corruption can bring inanimate objects to life, as well as do other, more sinister things related to control.” She says, teasingly.

“Sadly, there are not many items you possess that you can really use in this particular place, but you do have an edge in the form of companions! Companions are unique beings from any particular setting that can go with you on adventures. All of the origins from my setting have companions, and right now when you cross the threshold separating this level from the next you’ll be able to pick an origin from my universe whose companions you want to manifest. They are irrevocably loyal to you, and have abilities and skills that are tied to their titles. In time you’ll even be able to call on more of them, as you gain greater master over the origins they come from.” The goblin announces.

“Your powers with these origins will increase as you use the powers, but you have theoretical access to all of the abilities that come with each of the origins. They are as follows,” My familiar says, before launching into a long lecture about each of the three origins I possess from her home universe. I listen diligently as she explains what each of the origins offers me.

“Corruptive Dominance” is a Lovecraftian thing that meshes remarkably well with my “Sarkic” abilities, but beyond what it seems like it can do at a glance it can also allow me to do things like pilot a hivemind, shapeshift other people and creatures, and even manipulate souls. “Manipulative Monarch” is a far less directly powerful tool but it is all about running circles around those who aren’t under my control, letting me more easily understand people and know how to move them where I want them to be.

“Minion Management” synergizes quite well with “Corruptive Dominance” and is all about making my minions extremely effective. My familiar tells me she is boosted by the perks from this origin, and that she already feels their effects. It is only when she is done that we both turn towards where a wall ought to be, but isn’t. Instead of a wall there is a rift in space and time and we can see a tunnel with a floor made of concrete, dimly lit by lights hanging from infrequent catwalks which themselves are situated high above the place.

When we begin to walk towards the tunnel, we are followed by the animals we have recruited and I am suddenly stopped when my familiar turns around and notices this. I knew it already, thanks to my slowly growing mastery over my own corruption and the connection to my burgeoning hivemind that the conquered animals have helped me with, though that was unintentional on their part.

She grabs my arm and silently motions for me to turn around. I do as she asks and am surprised to see that the unique “Smiler”, and the Earth-like cat are fine but both the other “Smilers” and the hounds are visibly winching in pain.

“What’s going on with them?” I ask as I turn completely around and look at the creatures. The hivemind isn’t yet strong enough for me to be perfectly connected to them. My goblin-item studies them for a moment and then she looks at me with an uncertain, uncharacteristically worried, look on her face.

“I’m… not sure. I wonder if they lack the ability to travel from ‘Level’ to ‘Level’?” She tells me, causing me to stop and try to think of solutions based on that hypothesis. After a few moments I decide to speak up.

“So if that’s the case… Can we fuse them with the cats?” I ask, causing my ally’s eyes to widen in delight.

“Actually, we can! That’s a brilliant idea. That’ll keep our party small, while allowing us to retain the boosts to your overall power that comes with having more things under your corrupted control. Having more minds under the sway of your powers is good, especially since the corruption itself is a mighty holistic steroid with the only ‘negative’ side-effect being that it either grants you control over other people or allows you to influence them. Every aspect of them is improved, and they can even shapeshift or use perks or essences of yours if you let them.” My follower tells me, while walking over to the creatures.

She approaches the hounds first, and touches them one by one. When she touches them they seem to melt into a sickly looking flesh-like goo, which begins to move towards the seemingly mundane cat. The cat looks a bit uncertain as the goo approaches it, but when the canine-turned-goop touches the cat, I feel a bit of the cat’s mind begin to interface with mine and the cute thing relaxes a bit.

The cat also grows more muscular looking and fiercer as a result of the substance touching it. This process happens again and again a total of five times, and by the time it is done the cat is the size of a fully grown tiger, but then immediately shifts back to its former size unprompted.

The cat’s mind is fully a part of the hivemind, and its presence has somehow strengthened what remains of the hounds, as well as giving me true access to a hivemind that I can actually meaningfully feel. I try to cause the cat to shapeshift, but I can’t do much beyond altering its natural state in minor ways that keep it clear that it is a cat. I can do things like give it extra legs, but nothing like allowing it to be bipedal. Not yet, anyway.

I begin to explore this hivemind, now strengthened enough that I can communicate with creatures in it. Their minds are seemingly also strengthened by this, and I can sense them beginning to communicate with each other.

My follower walks over to the “Smilers” that look like each other and touches them, causing them to melt into shadowy slime that slinks over to the scarlet-furred smiler and does what the hounds did to the massive cat. By the time the final member of the defeated trio has fused with the unique “Smiler”, its mind has been boosted as well and it is part of the hivemind I can control and direct with ease. It is also huge, but as soon as the last of the three cats that were fusing with it is done fusing with the beast it willfully shrinks itself back down to its normal size.

I look at my first ally and smirk, before we both turn in the direction of the next level of the Backrooms once more. Neither of us speaks as we step forward and we resume our walk. Before even five minutes have passed we’ve reached a point of no-return where when we look behind us we can only see the dark room as a distant, and tiny point in the horizon.

At some point during our walk the huge, monstrous cat-like creature that has decided to join us slunk into my shadow, apparently unable to really handle even fairly dim light unless in a place of darkness. The cat-like beast is nearly invisible and even smaller than the mundane cat is, but if I use the senses of the creatures in my hive-mind I can see it looking at me.

Eventually we’ve walked so far from the dark room that it is not visible and we are fully in the second level of the Backrooms. When this occurs we walk for another few minutes before my familiar urges me to stop and looks me in the eyes.

“So… I have just gotten a notification. It looks like your body can’t quite handle any sort of system, even a tiny one, this early. So for now I’ll be your tether to the omniverse. I am being asked to ask you which of the companions you’d like to have join you first: a ‘Mega-Assistant’ and ‘Chief-Recruiter’ from ‘Minion Management’, a ‘Herald’ and a ‘Broken Angel’ from ‘Corruptive Dominance’, or a ‘Gadget Builder’ and a ‘Spymaster’ from ‘Manipulative Monarch’?” She asks me, her eyes weirdly and supernaturally, even for her, white. It is like someone poured milk in empty eye sockets, it’s deeply off-putting.

I consider her question for a moment, before I decide to study my surroundings. I lightly tap my foot on the concrete floor and I unleash a wave of corruption into it that surges out of me and begins to explore my surroundings. The corruption splits off into tiny patches and races ahead of where my followers and I are, and because of it I learn that off in the distance there are hallways that connect this long concrete tunnel with other tunnels made of concrete.

My corruption is fast, traveling at an impressive rate, and as it speeds further and further away from me I begin to see more anomalous creatures. Curiously though at the very edge of the range my corruption can reach, many miles from my current location, some of the stuff locates something very intriguing: a wider tunnel with a series of tents pitched in the middle of its widest area. A number of living people go about their business, some of whom are wearing shirts with a logo of a golden blade pained across the middle of them in this… camp.

I recall the corruption to a short distance away from the camp. It lingers in a hall close to the camp, so that I can use it in a few moments.

“Hmm… I think my choice just got made for me. You said that the skills of the companions are based on their titles?” I say, as I study the strange outpost. My companions are excited as I continue to use my corruption to study the place. My follower-item nods at me, excitedly.

Having human allies would be good, and I don’t yet possess the mastery over my corruption to give my new pets human-forms… I quietly make my choice and smile as my follower-item realizes what choice I’ve made.

“Excellent master. Now let’s call them!” She says, right before two silhouettes appear in front of us. One of them is of a woman with a curvy body, and the other is of a tall figure with no discernible identifying features from their silhouette alone.

The silhouettes are quickly filled and before I know it I am standing in the presence of a beautiful woman dressed in a clean and professional looking maid’s outfit, and a genderless blue slime whose face is remarkably non-descript and who is purposefully manipulating their own goo to fill out a crisp looking suit and tie. The slime’s body begins to vibrate as it purposefully manipulates itself and somehow changes how it looks, taking on the appearance of a sleezy looking businessman with dark brown eyes.

“Well… I don’t think anyone would expect to see that in this weird dimension…” I mutter, as I look at my allies. I close my eyes and I unleash a wave of sickly corruption in a short-ranged, omnidirectional burst. The second the figures are hit I feel their minds join my hivemind, and I can hear their thoughts. Not one of us utters any more actual words, and we all vanish from view as I teleport the lot of us to where I sent the corruption that spotted the camp in the first place.

We go from standing in a long tunnel that stretches past where even my eyesight can see to standing in a narrow hallway, almost shoulder to shoulder. I look ahead and I see the ending of the hallway and the same tunnel where the camp is located.

“People…” I mutter, excited at the thought of interacting with other humans.

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