Chapter 132: Backrooms

With a grunt James slipped through the seam and out into… he couldn’t make sense of what he was looking at.

The golden seam hung behind him, fading away for good now, Jelly’s last cries going with it.

Instead of black rock walls and the dour reality of the Hopeless Tower, James now hung suspended in a great starfield, every direction revealing endless motes of bright light, an infinitude that beggared his mind with its endless scale.

Yet there was a structure here, an object hanging in space to which he desperately turned his attention like a man jerking back from the edge of a precipice.

A tower.

No, a collection of floors both descending and rising past him.

A wave of vertigo washed through him and crashed against his Mental Dominion. Were it not for his enhancement, he was sure he’d have collapsed.

For the ‘floor’ above him was a great crimson canyon, its entirety contained within a space the size of a football field, everything shrunken down, including the huge wall that blocked off one end. The Jormungandr dragon lay dead in its heaped up coils, and even as he stared James saw a wind blow red sand up against is form, beginning the process of burying the dead demon.

Above that? A second layer, a world contained and constrained by impossible physics, the Ruby Grove, the great trees reaching up to form its ruined canopy, its massive size shrunken down to rough the same areas as the Sinister Blockade.

The rest of the levels ascended above them; the Onyx Crypt, the Crimson Swamp, the Hollow Hill, up and up to the Fallen Plains and the great funnel of power that rose to Earth.

The portal to which appeared as a vast glowing circle of blue and white light, opaque and brilliant against the stars.

Around these plains, these stacked realms, was a helix of gray light, like complex stairs or channels that James intuited were a means of travel. He stood within one such tube of gray light now, ephemeral and barely discernible.

Below?

James stared down, his stomach plastering itself against his diaphragm, breath caught in his throat.

To gaze upon an impossibility.

Nine layers, almost identical, superimposed so that they blurred, yet also distinct, stacked.

His mind rebelled. The layers couldn’t be simultaneously overlaid yet above and below each other, yet somehow they were, and he felt his thoughts stretch to breaking to encompass that reality.

In all nine layers a huge castle featured, cyclopean and beautifully built, a gothic masterpiece of blue roofing, pale yellow walls, spires and towers, galleries and great chambers like lighthouse lantern rooms.

Yet in some layers the castle was ruined, in others it was restored; in mid-layers great beams of blue light encircled it like some light show, while in others small angelic figures rushed about.

And in all of them the castle was besieged.

Gorge rising, James tried to force his gaze deeper, to the layers hidden below these nine, but it was then that a voice rang out.

“Hey!” The Angelic Host angel had turned back to him. A new, horizontal seam had appeared in the starfield before James, akin to a platinum and golden Aurora Borealis, and it was in this great slash that the angel hovered, irate, almost departed from the Pit helix and its layers. “What the fuck are you doing in here?”

James tried to gather his thoughts. He felt completely discombobulated, overwhelmed, nauseous.

Past the Angelic Host, through the great shifting and horizontal seam, James could make out an elegant chamber, as large as the ballroom back in the Marriott, in which dozens of other angels mingled, drinks in hand. They were varied in kind, with one in particular at the back being as effulgent and glorious as a living sun.

One of the walls was translucent, a view of an impossible world beyond it composed of waterfalls, hanging greenery, shimmering rainbows, yellow skies -

“How did you get in here?” The Angelic Host flew right up to James and got in his face, clutching a fistful of James’s shirt. “You followed me? You brazen little bitch!”

“I… what is this… I mean -”

The angel reached out and a new portal slashed itself open in the air.

“Don’t speak a word about this,” hissed the angel, glancing back over his shoulder. “To anyone. If anybody finds out you were here we’ll both be destroyed. Now forget everything you saw and get!”

And the angel flung James through the new portal. He crashed onto the obsidian flooring of the circular chamber in the Hopeless Tower.

The Host Angel glared at him, zippered up the portal, and it vanished from view with far greater alacrity.

James! James, what the fuck?!Jelly flew in anxious circles around him. What did you just do? Where did you go?

Slowly, carefully, James sat up. His mind reeled. He rested his elbows on his knees, hung his head, and fought to control his breathing. The scale of what he’d glimpsed, the physical impossibilities, all of it made him feel as if his spirit were still out at sea.

James? James, what the actual fuck, what did you do, that’s not - I mean, that can’t be right, you shouldn’t have -

“Jelly, chill.”

Jelly, chill? Chill?! You just antagonized a Host Angel, and now who knows if it will tell anyone -

“He told me we’d both be destroyed if word got out. So no, I don’t think he’s going to tell anyone.”

Still! Jelly waved his sword-arms in distress. That was… naughty!

“Naughty?” James stared and Jelly, and then he couldn’t help it. He covered his eyes and laughed. “Fuck, Jelly. Don’t hold back on me now.”

You can’t do that again.

“No?” James dropped his hand. “Why not?”

It’s against the rules? The angel looked pissed? What if it ruins all angel summons from now on? What if a Dominion finds out and decides to punish you? What if -

“Jelly. Fuck. C’mon.” James took a deep, steadying breath and climbed to his feet. The nausea was disappearing, probably because he was forgetting the exact complexities of what he had seen. “You know this game is rigged.”

By the demons, yes. But these are our allies, the angels.

“Yeah, maybe. But I’m not going to play favorites. We’re only on level 9, and things are going to get much tougher from hereon out. Right? So any advantage I can get is worth taking.”

And? Did you get an advantage?

“I don’t know. Maybe. I got a glimpse of the next levels. The next nine. Weird as fuck. They’re all the same castle, but like… different snap shots of it in time?” James pressed the base of his palm against his brow. “Like, the first one was the castle all ruined and fallen apart, and then each layer down… though they were also all the same layer? Seemed to be going back in time, as the castle was increasingly more repaired and magical and shit. I don’t know what that means, though.”

Jelly hovered, pensive. Weird.

“Yeah. But there were demon armies outside in each one. So it looks like we’ll be busy. But… I don’t get it. We’re supposed to find the portal to the next level in each layer, right? How do we…? Maybe the portal moves about inside the castle, and we have to find it before the demon army conquers the castle, or…?”

I don’t know. Guess we’ll find out? But James, you have to cool it with that crazy shit. We can’t go pissing off the angels!

“Relax, relax. I don’t want to piss them off. If it’s any consolation, I don’t think I’ll get the chance any time soon.”

For a moment they stood in silence, and then James considered the hovering coin of gold light. “Might as well follow this thing. How do we -”

The coin floated over the well and then dropped out of sight.

“Hey, hold on!” James peered over the edge, saw the golden light rapidly falling, then grimaced. “Shit. Well, here goes nothing.”

And he vaulted over the edge and dropped.

The fall had to be some fifty yards. James fell faster and faster, then emerged into a regular square chamber and dropped into a crouch.

Jelly flew down a second later, and together they took off after the flying coin.

Which picked its path down the hallways. Only it seemed as if it pushed against what was meant to be there: it would approach a T-junction, only to press straight ahead through an archway that James could have sworn wasn’t there a second ago. It would turn into a blank wall which would open before it to reveal a climbing staircase.

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Not illusions; the tower itself was giving way grudgingly to the coin’s illumination.

Five or so minutes later they climbed a final flight of stairs and emerged into a circular room. Kerim and Miriam were already present, each with a golden coin floating before them. They’d been discussing something earnestly, but broke off as James entered the room.

“There he is.” Kerim smiled. “I knew it wouldn’t take you long. We saw you coming and decided to wait before fetching the others.”

The relief James felt at the sight of them was huge. He threw an arm over their shoulders, pulled them into a quick hug, then stepped back. “The - oh.”

The floor under their feet was translucent. He could see the missing members of their crew down inside the tower’s body. Denzel, Olaf, and Serenity were loping through corridors, their frustration evident. Jason had discovered a hidden passageway and was crawling toward a circular chamber. Yadriel sitting cross-legged, eyes closed.

Miriam curled a strand of black hair behind an ear. “You need to summon an angel to get out of here. I did so almost immediately.”

Kerim smirked. “I must admit it took my finding the clue in the circular room. Next time I won’t be so hesitant about reaching out for help.” He hesitated. “James? You look… upset?”

“Yeah. I’ve got something to share. But let’s get the others together first. How do we do that?”

“We were just exploring that,” said Miriam. “The angel said we could use this coin to find the others, but they won’t follow us back down the stairs.”

“I think…” Kerim raised a long finger to his own glowing guide. “That we are meant to share… or will - our psychopomps to find our friends. Miriam however is loath to part with hers.”

“I’m…” She hugged herself. “No, it’s fine. We can send them away.”

The three coins responded to each of their silent commands, and zipped back down the stairs.

James watched, fascinated, as the motes found their way to each of their companions, cutting through the architecture which responded grudgingly to the coins’ progress by opening new doorways.

Serenity, Denzel, and Olaf reacted with surprise, suspicion, and then relief when the coins appeared to them. Jason summoned an Angelic Host who gifted him with his own coin, and soon all four were en route.

“At last!” Olaf bounded into the room. “This tower! It was very bad! I was about to pull out my beard!”

“I hate puzzle rooms,” groused Serenity, arriving moments later even as Olaf was clapping Kerim on the shoulder. “I hate escape rooms, all that garbage. What the hell?”

James sent his coin back down to Yadriel, and a few minutes later they were all gathered together at last.

A portal appeared in the air before them, signaling the end of the level.

Layer 9, The Hopeless Tower, Defeated

Layer 10, Blackfall, Unlocked

James waited for his friends to express their relief, Denzel and Kerim exchanging a tight hug, and then coughed into his fist.

“So…” Everyone turned to regard him. “I’ve got something to share.”

“Oh no,” said Serenity. “Nobody ever shares good news this way.”

“What?” Jason raked his fingers through his short blonde hair. “What gives?”

“I, ah, well.” James frowned at the ground, hands on his hips. “After my Angelic Host left, I followed him.”

There was a moment of silence.

“You followed him?” asked Serenity slowly. “What the fuck does that mean?”

“I, ah… you notice how the golden portals they use hang in the air for a few seconds after they leave?”

“You followed him?” Denzel’s incredulity was both sharp and amazed. “That’s possible?”

“No? I mean, it shouldn’t be, I don’t think. I almost lost my fingers trying to force it open. But then I shoved Herman’s bar into it and that caused the whole thing to spaz out.”

“Herman’s bar?” Kerim blinked. “I don’t follow. Like a crowbar item?”

“No,” said Serenity. “A real bar. Back in Brooklyn?”

“I still don’t follow,” said Kerim.

“Me neither,” said Olaf.

Denzel and Yadriel both shook their heads.

“I’ll show you.” James activated the demiplane, and to his relief his Aeviternum point was restored to him by Fortuna Aeviternum. The door appeared to one side of the room, old and scarred just like the real entrance.

“Oh shit! Your demiplane!” Denzel smacked his palm against his forehead. “I clear forgot. Wait. You made it a bar?”

“The best bar.” Serenity opened the door. “Check it out!”

They all filed inside. Bob Marley was playing on the jukebox. Syrupy amber light fell in distinct cones from the spotlights over the bar, and everything else was ambient and gloomy.

“Oh shit,” said Yadriel, popping behind the bar. “Can we just like, stay here forever?”

For a moment everyone just looked around.

“A dive bar,” said Jason.

“It could have been anything, right?” Denzel raised an eyebrow. “A day spa with a sauna?”

“A Norwegian cabin over a fjord,” offered Olaf.

“A beach in Bali?” offered Miriam. “The Maldives?”

Serenity glared. “Yeah, well you got the best bar in town. So wait.” She looked over to James. “You shoved the bar into the portal?”

“Kind of. The door never appeared. But it glitched the portal and allowed me through. Actually…” James stared past everyone to the backwall of the bar. It was lost in the shadows, but he activated Dark Vision and it cleared up.

The back wall was fucked. It looked like the shelving and decorations, the faded paint and everything had been a glass pane that had been stomped on. Cracks ran through it all, reducing everything to shards.

“Oh whoa,” said Yadriel. “Dude, your bar’s fucked up.”

James stepped up to the rear wall. The original image was there, overlaid on the cracks. He raised a hand to touch it, then drew back. “Yeah.”

For a moment they all just stared at it.

“Should we evac?” asked Jason.

“I think… I think we’re fine.” Nothing was happening. No more cracking. No energy was leaking through. “Just… maybe nobody touch it.”

Yadriel paused. He’d been pouring tequila shots. “That’s not reassuring, yo.”

James backed away. “Regardless. I broke through the portal and emerged into… well. I’m going to need that shot of tequila before I try to explain it. Actually, I think we all need a shot.”

The crew glanced at each other, took up shot glasses, and then as one clinked them together and tossed them back.

“Ah!” Serenity wiped her wrist across her lips. “All right already. Enough with the mystery. Spill.”

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