Dragging the inert man across Level 0's carpet had become a macabre dance of exhaustion and sheer will. Every foot was a struggle, every muscle flex a brutal reminder of his vulnerability. Alex felt the weight, not just physical, but moral, of his decision. The man remained inert, his gaze lost, a ghost of humanity in an already spectral place. But Alex had no regrets. It was a connection, however one-sided, in an infinite void.
As he moved, his eyes stayed glued to the almost imperceptible grid on the floor. The lines, so subtle his chest camera barely picked them up, were his only guide—a promise of structure in the chaos. His lens camera, however, displayed them with crisp clarity, almost like a game filter superimposed on reality.
The chat was buzzing, but now, in addition to direct comments to Alex, he saw linked lines of text, indicating users were responding to each other, creating real-time conversation threads. It was as if the stream itself had evolved into a live forum.
[Bruce Wayne]: "Silence isn't absence of danger, Echo. It's a trap. An ambush zone. Observe the subtlest changes."
[Dr. Sheldon Cooper]: "A variation in ambient sound frequency is indicative of a change in material density or structure. Are there changes in the walls?"
[User_Silence]: "Such peace! After all that humming, this is a breather."
[Harley Quinn]: "Peace? No! Peace is boring! Look for something that goes boom!"
[User_Scientist]: "@Dr. Sheldon Cooper: Good point. Alex, check the wall conductivity. Use your gear!"
Excitement points received: +800 (for calm and mystery)
Alex, exhausted, appreciated the advice. He sighed. "I don't have a conductivity detector, scientists. But... the carpet here is thinner. And the walls... they feel colder to the touch." He barely realized his hand instinctively touched the wall, his skin registering a different temperature. His chest camera caught the gesture.
The man on the tarp stirred with a groan. Alex looked at him. His skin was still pale, but a slight flush seemed to have returned to his cheeks. He had drunk a few more sips of almond water a while ago. A small, fragile spark of hope ignited in Alex's chest.
"Chat, I think my... passenger is a little better. Not much, but something," he said, his lens camera showing the man's face. "Maybe this silence is doing him good. Or maybe it's the almond water. The miracle drink!"
The chat reacted with a mix of optimism and skepticism:
[Chihiro Ogino]: "He is healing. Kindness is powerful, Alex. Keep taking care of him."
[Joel Miller]: "A breather is good, but don't get complacent. There's always a cost."
[Leslie Knope]: "It's a victory, Alex! Let's celebrate it! Even if it's with a small, very quiet applause!"
[User_Medic]: "Hydration and rest are key. But if he's catatonic, something more serious is at play. Any signs of trauma?"
[Rick Sanchez]: "It's not kindness, it's biology! He's a living being, he hydrates, what a novelty!"
Excitement points received: +1500 (for hope and debate on improvement)
Alex allowed himself a small smile. Despite Rick Sanchez's cynicism, Chihiro's and Leslie's support felt good. The grid led him to an intersection where the lines became even finer and crisscrossed in a complex pattern, like a circuit diagram. The air grew colder; a smell of metal and electricity began to waft through the area, replacing the mold and dampness.
Suddenly, a section of the front wall, which had been smooth and yellow, seemed to... ripple? It wasn't a visual effect; it was a physical distortion, as if space itself were breathing. His chest camera captured the vibrating surface; his lens camera, the "peep-hole" effect his glasses offered.
"The wall!" Alex exclaimed, his voice a little louder than intended in the silence. "It's... alive! Or it's melting. Chat, this is new!"
The chat immediately theorized:
[Neo]: "The curtain is rising, Alex. It's not the wall bending, it's you. It's the Matrix."
[Tony Stark]: "An energy fluctuation. Could be a dimensional gate. Or a glitch in the simulation. You have to interact."
[Agent 47]: "An entrance. Evaluate before proceeding. Is it an opening or a death trap?"
[User_FanTheory]: "It's the way out of Level 0! It's the path to the next!"
[Freddy Krueger]: "Oh, sweet Alex. Do you want to come through? The other side is much more fun. And you won't wake up."
Excitement points received: +2500 (for revelation and tension)
Alex approached cautiously, dragging the man. The vibration in the wall was almost hypnotic, a dance of yellow colors merging and separating. It wasn't a visible door; there was no handle, no hinges. Just an anomaly. He remembered Tony Stark's phrase: You have to interact.
He extended a trembling hand towards the rippling wall. He hesitated. What would happen if he touched it? Would he be electrocuted? Absorbed? The chat was in a frenzy.
[John Wick]: "One step at a time. There's no turning back once you enter. The decision is yours."
[Jessica Jones]: "No guarantees, Alex. Only choices. Make yours."
[User_Nervous]: "Don't touch it! It could be dangerous!"
[Rick Sanchez]: "Touch it, idiot! That's how science advances! Or you die spectacularly!"
[User_Adventurer]: "Go ahead, Echo! Risk is part of the adventure!"
Excitement points received: +3000 (for the crucial decision)
With a knot in his stomach, Alex touched the wall. There was no resistance. His hand sank into it as if it were dense water, without a sound. The sensation was strange, like touching jelly, yet simultaneously an infinitely hard surface. The grid in his lenses flickered and vanished, replaced by a single bright point.
"It's... it's a door," Alex whispered, his voice filled with awe. "I don't know. It's... it's like entering another state of reality. Or a giant Jell-O."
With a final determined breath, Alex began to push the man through the wall. It was a monumental effort. The tarp slid with difficulty, the inert body passing through the undulating substance. Alex strained, feeling a strange pressure all over his body, as if he were being squeezed and stretched at the same time. His chest camera captured the effort, his pixelated face contorted with fatigue.
Finally, the man passed through. Alex followed, feeling a burst of white light and a cacophony of sounds that deafened him for an instant. He closed his eyes, disoriented. When he opened them, the hum had vanished completely. The smell of mold and dampness was gone. And the walls...
The walls were no longer yellow.
He was in a different hallway, though equally monotonous. The walls were immaculate white, with gleaming tiles that reflected the light from silent, perfectly aligned fluorescent fixtures. The air was clean and fresh, almost sterile. Absolute silence, broken only by his own ragged breathing and that of the man beside him.
The man, now on the white-tiled floor, moaned, a clearer sound, almost conscious. His eyes flickered open.
NEW SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: YOU HAVE LEFT THE DELIMITED ZONE. INITIATING NEW ZONE.
AUDIENCE REACTS TO NEW ZONE: +4000 EXCITEMENT POINTS.
The chat exploded:
[User_FanTheory]: "He did it! He passed to the next level! It's Level 1, The Habitable Zone!"
[Neo]: "Welcome to reality, Alex. It's not a dream. It's something far more complex."
[The Professor]: "A change of scenery. New variables. New plan."
[Jessica Jones]: "This feels... too clean. Too quiet. Don't trust it."
[Rick Sanchez]: "This is boring! Where are the monsters and weird dimensions?! I want blood!"
Alex gaped, looking around. The contrast was overwhelming. From noisy, yellow chaos to this pristine, silent white. The chat's words resonated in his mind: "Level 1." Was that it? Was he on another "level"? His pixelated face turned towards the man. His breathing was more regular.
The man moaned again, and this time, his eyes opened fully. They weren't empty. There was fear in them, but also a glimmer of awareness. He looked at Alex, then around, and his lips moved, forming a single, barely audible word.
"Water...?" he whispered.
Alex felt a wave of euphoria. The man had spoken. He was... coming back. A small miracle in such a desolate place. He pulled a bottle of almond water from his backpack and offered it to the man, his hands trembling. "Yes. Take it. Take all you need."
The show had changed. And Alex, the protagonist of an interdimensional stream, had just moved on to the next act.