Chương 33: Floor 1

When the rush of power from his Primary abruptly ceased, Aaron's mind swam through darkness for some time, and strangely, he found no real desire to push back against the darkness or wake up once more. Utterly drained, he felt like doing nothing at all, content to rest. Even with the roots piercing his skin, even as he felt like his entire body itched and stung, even as he was suffocated by the weave covering him, he felt no claustrophobia or fear.

The roots gently sustained him, a warm liquid slowly filling him in a way that was easily felt through his body. At first, the warmth was simply comforting, and it was easily ignorable. For some reason, he felt no hunger as it rushed through him. Not only did it ensure he remained healthy, it sated him as well. So, he slipped into unconsciousness once more, dreaming of nothing, and Nothing, his voice appearing many times in his shimmering, ephemeral sleep.

His mind flitted from one thing to the next, forgetting all of it as his attention turned away to something else. At some point, he even found himself within the place he'd been once, but forgotten. His memories of this place rushing back. Below him, what should've been a swirl of yellow and green opened before him. The last time he was here, it was right after he fought the locapedes and passed out, back when it quizzed him on why he wasn't as afraid as the others had been.

Now, there was little light, its spiraling energy flickering and weak. Guilt filled him, but he couldn't remember why. He just felt like this was his fault. This time, there was no conversation to be had. He glanced upon his handiwork, upon the destruction he'd wrought, and was promptly pulled away, mind sinking fully into obscurity. * A low hum of pain slowly pushed through the haze, forcing his consciousness to coalesce as his mind refused to ignore it indefinitely.

Suffering from nightmares for several minutes, he conjured images of wolves nibbling at his limbs, of a distant wildfire's heat landing on his skin in falling ashes, of tiny worms crawling under his skin, peeking out in places. Finally, his eyelids fluttered open, but he saw only a straight tube, a tunnel of roots that pierced his skin in several places, though not his eyes. It was through these roots that the pain came, a faint stinging sensation as they delivered nutrients and something else.

They assured him the second thing to arrive was helpful, and he was inclined to believe them. He felt a faint tension in his muscles from the new addition, and only now realized he hadn't been able to move until now, his atrophied body weak from disuse.

'How long have I been here?' he wondered, the thought eliciting a wave of emotion. His drooping eyelids widened marginally, and his muscles twitched beyond what the roots forced them to, trying briefly to tear him out, but finding themselves woefully inadequate. His attention lapsed into exhaustion once more, but this time, he fought against it, doing all he could to keep his eyes open a moment longer, knowing it might be a long time yet before he opened them again.

Failing, he was slowly drawn back under, yet the rest was no longer peaceful. He was beset continuously by nightmares, of sleeping for a hundred years and rotting in the roots, of being consumed by daisies and dandelions. Soul trapped in his own dead body and unable to move on, he called out to his family, wanting to see them again. He shouted into the ether, not caring about staying alive any longer. He accepted that he was dead, and wished for it all to be over. He'd had a good adventure, a last hurrah.

He'd met nice people, spoken with a kind bat lady, and finally made a few friends that might miss him. A light descended on his body, resting between the treeroots, and he reached out as two fatherly hands greeted him, reaching wide. He was ready to, to be at peace.

'Dad,' he thought, even as his ghostly hands slipped through his father's own. Confusion and grief filled him, the idea of not hugging his parents even in death bringing tears to his eyes, but the glowing light moved past his arms, his father's hands grabbing not him, but one of the many weeds eating him. His father pulled, tearing them out, and agony filled his mind.

Screaming himself awake, he felt like his entire body was filled with ants, the roots filling him no longer simply content to feed him, but actively sending powerful electric shocks through his body, making him seize harshly all over. Looking down, he saw his own hands tearing roots out by the handful, each covered in blood yet leaving behind pristine skin as their energy healed him on their way out. His father was not here. He was not dead, yet, but the roots jolting his muscles might soon kill him.

His hands took in the tube-like links in bundles, ripping them free with a series of snapping and squelching. The more he removed, the more he found himself able to swing his limbs wide, more space opening to grant him even more agency. As fewer roots held him in place, he started to sink, a bed of plant matter catching him gently, but ultimately not enough to hold his weight indefinitely.

The roots digging into his back couldn't be pulled out easily, and in his desperation to make the pain stop, he pressed himself against the bottom of the tiny space he'd created, dragging himself along the floor to try and pull them free. It was there, writhing on the ground, that the entirety of his mini world shook violently. Having apparently collided with something and broken through, he was thrown around his room violently, though unhurt due to the spongy nature of the entire place.

The roots still in his back and stragglers over his front and sides helped to keep him slightly in place as he was pulled halfway into the ground when everything stopped, his momentum continuing to carry him further down. Then, when he started to fall again, he found himself suddenly floating for several seconds, and finally, one last time, the entire room slammed to a halt, and he found himself falling through the previously-opened crack in the floor that he'd formed when he first hit it.

This time, rather than the floor stopping his descent, he felt it buckle. His body was pulled down through the floor this time, some of the roots extending down with him as he fell through a gargantuan structure of wrinkly, white pillars, all of them meeting at the center- where he'd just been. Having escaped the cell, he found significantly more open space, though still hitting many thin roots on the way, each bleeding off his momentum before it could build up.

Somewhere along the way, the roots attached to him stopped stinging, making it easy to forget they were there at all amidst all the other information bombarding him. The roots catching him gradually thinned, their white tangle giving way to a green floor, specks of light peeking through the cracks. Perhaps faster than was healthy, Aaron found the ground approaching rapidly, and braced himself to have many broken bones.

When he hit the leafy green floor, though, he found it bending beneath him, then promptly began to slide as it curved downwards further. His feet occasionally caught on veins protruding from what he would eventually realize was a massive leaf, ensuring that he never tumbled or rolled too quickly. The further he went down the leaf, the lower it bent, the more he struggled to keep hold or slow himself. Suddenly, he ran out of leaf, and found himself in freefall, though only about… three stories up.

Still a lot, still enough to break many bones or kill him. Yet, the roots in his back, that were still somehow attached, began to go taut, snapping and breaking one by one, each time slowing him ever so slightly until, finally, he found himself hovering a mere foot off the ground. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Then, at once, all the remaining roots broke, depositing him feet-first on a grassy, blessedly solid, floor. Also, nude.

His pants had finally given out, disappearing at some point between when he exploded and when the roots dug through almost every part of his skin, but honestly, he didn't even care. The important part was that he was alive… and somewhere distinctly not on Floor 0. He hoped his notifications would explain more about what happened and how he got here- wherever he was, either a broken Earth or finally having descended to Floor 1.

Rather than instantly drop his guard to check though, he took in all the scenery, hoping to find a safe place to sit down and rest. Above him, a massive ball of dandelions that had all their roots meeting in the middle blotted out the entire sky, but he could tell that if he went far enough, he'd be able to get out from under it.

Looking at the "Jack and the beanstalk" levels of plant matter, it was both terrifying and awe-inspiring, like a giant green germ with many follicles extending out in all directions; the leaves at its base created a massive ball, and the stems going out ended in flowers more often than not. Aside from the monstrosity he'd somehow created, he looked around at where he'd landed… And was immediately put on guard.

He noted absently that the terrain itself was a field of glassy shards sticking up from the ground, each showing a scene into somewhere else, like a window, or reflecting back on him, like a mirror, but peeking out from behind several of the mirrors, he saw a many sets of eyes, some herd of taller beings staring at him in… what was likely fear.

From the parts he could see sticking out, they seemed to be a half-furred humanoid creature with two sets of arms and defined muscles, though he couldn't get a clear shot on any of them. The staredown took place for several seconds, Aaron going for intimidation knowing that they outnumbered him fifteen to one. It worked. The first one broke and ran, the rest soon following. Only once they abandoned hiding behind the crystals, did he realize they were wearing clothes and armor, while also wielding spears…

'Aliens! Fuck, those are probably sapients!' He wanted to call out to the fleeing band, but quickly sighed, realizing there was no chance they'd watch a dude fall from the seed of a giant floating forest and go "Yea let's talk to him." They'd either attack to kill him ASAP, or run for the hills. Of the two, running was probably the best option, so he'd have to take it as a win.

Everything else in the area he saw was still, so he decided to get a move on, but was quickly stopped as a strange whistling sound met his ears. Quickly pinpointing the direction, he looked up and his weariness turned to joy as he saw his Mushki feather falling down a short distance away, landing on the ground and sinking deep; a moment later, a small metallic object fell next to it, and he quickly realized it was his glasses case!

Practically skipping over to them, he quickly snatched up the immensely beat up glasses case, studying it for a brief moment, and frowning as he noticed a strange, sparkly glow around it. It was soon accompanied by a status window, making his eyes widen. {Secondary Discovered: Peacemind Vapors. Stat: Resistance. Allows for one to summon and control a unique kind of smoke.} He blinked several times as he realized what this was.

He had no doubt in his mind that it was the Imprint that the Underworld promised him he'd need for survival later. He was expecting something more combat oriented, not… what might actually be infinite weed, though he had no proof of that other than the name and Imprint. When he opened the case, he saw that his joint was glowing as well, so he decided against removing it from the case for now, lest he break the Imprint that the Underworld itself said he'd need to survive.

Even that thought made him think about just immediately absorbing it, but also… he just didn't want to. Yea, it might give him infinite weed, but he just wanted to keep it… was it so much to ask that he kept a small memento of his time back on Earth? Did he have to have the Imprint be destroyed, case and all? Why was it the case too, he wouldn't have even hesitated if it was the joint, but he'd had this case for years, and it'd served him well. He wanted to carry it with him.

So instead, he shut the metal container, grabbing his sword and setting out. He didn't know a lot about where he was, but he did know his dandelions. True, they'd kind of electrocuted him a moment ago, but looking back, they were almost certainly trying to jumpstart his consciousness again, or perhaps warn him to be ready that they were going in for a crash landing.

'From what height were we falling that they had such a long time to warn me?' Either way, if his dandelions still had his best interest in mind, then he'd be fine to use them as hiding. Anything else would see a gargantuan monstrosity crash land and run away, making his current location perhaps the safest in the area for now. Still, he wouldn't sit exposed, so he started to jog on over to one of the many supermassive flowers, intent on hiding within.

The mirror/windows were everywhere about, but he did notice the cleared paths and broken shards where the stalks first landed and pushed outwards, crushing many. Now that he had the time to note it as well, he saw that the floor beneath him was strange and blurry, its grass slightly undefined. The entire place was weird and discomforting, all signs pointing to this still being the Underworld. The System felt way too organized to create something so crude and natural, but he could be wrong.

He'd have to check the windows out later. Arriving at the giant flower, he saw how it helped support the middle, keeping it in the air; the stalk was thick around as an oak tree, its flower taller than him. Thankfully, it hadn't landed flat against the ground; the flower was forced to go horizontal, the back part where the flower connected to the stalk bent at an angle as the flower pointed slightly upwards into the sky. It formed a small hook, and he thought it would be perfect.

Clinging up and in between the large, thin petals, he forced himself between the multiple stacked yellow layers, eventually stopping as he knew he was hidden, if a bit cramped, in the deepest recesses of the flower. It was here that he finally opened all of his notifications. {WARNING: CEASE!} {WARNING: CEASE!} {WARNING: CEASE!} {Failure to cease has resulted in catastrophic consequences. Current attempt to return to the Overworld has failed.} {Sensitivity: 1. 3} -> {Sensitivity: 1. 31} {Corruption: 1. 2} -> {Corruption: 1. 3} {Corruption: 1. 3} -> {Corruption: 1. 8} {Corruption: 1. 8} -> {Corruption: 1.?} {Corruption levels exceeding all parameters; no calculations can be made.} {Warning, Primary Overload imminent} {? Venting Overload?} {Severe Primary Damage Taken. Cease usage of Primary until self-repair can be made.} {Overload Venting Failed. Death imminent.} {? Vent Condensing?} {Secondary Discovered: Cracked Plantshift} {Corruption: 1.?} -> {Corruption: 1. 8} {Corruption: 1. 8} -> {Corruption: 1. 3} {Corruption: 1. 3} -> {Corruption: 1. 2} {Resistance: 1. 3} -> {Resistance: 1. 2} {Sensitivity: 1. 31} -> {Sensitivity: 1. 21} {Weight: 1. 3} -> {Weight: 1. 2} {Corruption: 1. 2} -> {Corruption: 1. 1} {Resistance: 1. 2} -> {Resistance: 1. 1} {Sensitivity: 1. 21} -> {Sensitivity: 1. 11} {Weight: 1. 2} -> {Weight: 1. 1} {Corruption: 1. 1} -> {Corruption: 1} {Corruption: 1} -> {Corruption: 0} {Welcome to floor 1, The Mirror. A reflection of all that came before, is of now, and will soon be.} There was…

a lot to unwrap there, but he started at the top; rather than go up again past Sensitivity 1. 3, he'd still pushed further… into 1. 31. Again, he couldn't be sure, but it really felt like these were not just decimals. Then, he saw how his Corruption had skyrocketed after he cut a piece of his emotions off; even looking back, he knew he'd overestimated how much would be required terribly, but how was he supposed to know there was that much raw energy in a human mind?!

He'd barely given the slightest tap to his emotions, he didn't think he would literally blow up! In doing so, he'd promptly damaged his Primary, apparently quite severely. Even now, his Primary was silent, and he wasn't sure if it would produce enough energy for him in a pinch. At the very least, he was able to feel the faint draw of it consuming his emotions again, albeit very slowly, so it wasn't dead. He… actually felt pretty bad for that.

From the little he remembered, it was pretty clear he'd done something agonizing to his Primary, essentially overstuffing it until it vomited everywhere repeatedly. Yes, they were more enemies than friends, but even a rival deserved respect. He resolved to do something nice for it when it woke up in order to apologize. After that, he saw how close he got to dying.

Turning himself into a reactor, the only thing that'd saved his life was his formation of a Secondary, and likely what'd created the big ass plant in the sky. Checking his Status, he pinpointed where his new Secondary was, and found himself unsurprised by its placement. {Primary Ability: Onward Evermore Resistance: 1. 1 *Sensitivity: 1. 11 *Weight: 1. 1 *Corruption: 0} {Corruption: 0} {Secondaries: Cracked Plantshift.} He'd been hesitant to earn a Corruption-based Imprint, but it'd saved his life, so he couldn't complain. Now, he supposed he would be able to create his own external manifestations, sort of. Though with a lot less control over them. Then, his Corruption dropped until it was zero, and he eventually ended up on Floor 1. Overall… it could've gone worse. Yet, he couldn't just hide here. As much as he wanted to, he needed to get a lay of the land while his dandelion mass still terrified the locals.

Eventually, monsters and people would start to get brave enough to move in and test the waters, and when they did, they'd see that his dandelions weren't all that dangerous, just large. Before that happened, he resolved to, at the very least, make clothes for himself, figure out a more permanent home to live in, and figure out whether he wanted to absorb Peacemind Vapors or not. Two of those could be done at once. So, crawling out of the flower, he looked at the huge yellow petals.

Plucking them one by one to wrap over his body, he considered what to do with his joint and case.