The Backrooms

First photo taken inside Level 94.1

Entry 1

People are so rude and unfriendly here. Don't get me wrong, I know what kind of situation they're in, but they make me want to leave. They don't let me into any of their homes, so I spend every night under a windmill. They don't let me drink water from their fountain; they come to me saying, "Don't drink from something that's not yours." The worst part is that they never rest — they stay awake through day and night — so there's never peace and quiet. At least they're not as aggressive as their counterparts, or so it seems thus far. Maybe everything is fine the way it is? I've only been here for 3 days and I've got more time here ahead of me. I still need to get used to this place; the autumn hills are very surreal, less realistic than the ones in Motion. I'm try to find something other than another village or windmill on a hill. There has to be a reason why the King never comes here.

Entry 2

I began to contemplate leaving the level, circling its border, but realized that 94 isn't a place I'd like to end up in. I decided to overcome my fears and force myself to talk to the local entities. Anyone who was home closed the blinds and locked their doors, while the others ran from me. I chased after them, eventually catching up to one of them in close pursuit. At first they didn't want to talk, but when I asked about the Animated King, they seemed to change their demeanor.

"The King? That idiot left us stranded without saying a single word. We are living here alone without anyone to help us." - I stopped chasing after they spoke, and they ran off into the distance.

Why did the King abandon this part of the kingdom? When did it happen? Who or what made him do that? So many questions, so few answers. At this point, I stopped thinking about returning to Malt Town. I want to solve this mystery, and I'm determined to do so.

The Tower.

Entry 3

Motivated, I managed to cover a lot of ground in the span of two days. I was fatigued; however, I stumbled upon a giant medieval tower. It was much larger than most buildings around the kingdom, and seemed much more realistic too. It was finally something different than what I was used to here. I swiftly approached the tower — the door was wide open, but the inside was eerily empty. There were chairs, tables and a staircase that led to the top of the tower. It was pitch black besides the faint light emitted from a singular window, so I made use of my flashlight. Suddenly a being with a red sheet covering their entire body appeared in front of me from the darkness. Their black hand was visible as it emerged from the canvas. Fear set in as it slowly approached. I backed away as quickly as it advanced. Eventually, they halted. "Good morning," they said. As surprised as I was, I had the wherewithal to switch on my voice recorder:"

"Who are you, and why are you here?"

"You are not the first nor last human to ask me this question. I'm a Wizard, just like the ones in the books that you humans write."

"A Wizard? How do you know what we write in our books? I've never heard of the word "Wizard".

"Oh, it's because you are Backborn. People that come from Earth would understand."

"How do you know that much?"

"I can read others' minds. Knowledge feeds me as food feeds you, though I don't consume it, so don't worry. I know you have many questions, so allow me to answer them for you."

"Why does the King avoid this place?"

"That is a long story, but I will do my best to keep it concise: Several years ago, I was created by the King as an Animation, the difference being that he granted me the gift of free will and other magical abilities. I was supposed to help him rule the kingdom. At first, I enjoyed my role, but I had one grievance. Other Animations didn’t have free will like I did, and what does it mean to rule when everyone is forced to agree with you? I proposed this to the King, but he didn’t like it, so he tried to kill me for even asking about it. That’s when we started to fight — initially, neither of us had the upper hand. I realised he had given me the same powers he possessed, so we were evenly matched. I flew away from the castle because I was scared to lose. The King did not follow, but as I left he shouted that I was exiled. I arrived here in this autumnal land and decided to give the Animations free will. However, to my surprise, they want the King to come back! That will never happen as long as I am here — I want to show them that they have no need for him — that they can be independent. However, despite my efforts, they cover their ears. The King never comes here because he's scared of me. I never leave here because I'm scared of him."

"Why can't you just let them be with the King and go to another level? Your powers could be used to help people in need."

"Lady, if I were to leave this kingdom, I would disappear, to put it mildly."

"Okay, I understand… One more question: Can I stay here for a while?"

"Yes, yes, of course."

Entry 4

The next day I was suddenly awakened by the Wizard. He wanted me to go with him to the nearest village. He didn't explain why, but my curiosity led to me following him. The wizard conjured a magical cloud on which we flew into town. As we descended into town, we were dropped straight into the fountain — not the ideal landing, but nonetheless, we climbed out. He began shouting at the townspeople, explaining that they didn't need the King and that were already independent. The Wizard noticed my confusion and told me to gather as many Animations as possible; he was going to erase their memory of the King. This could supposedly make them finally become independent. The Wizard conjured a gigantic horn with the downside that everything pronounced through it sounded distorted, but it still worked, handing it to me. I blew into the horn, resulting in a cacophony of screeches, attracting the Animations. When enough of them gathered in one place, the Wizard casts a spell on them, erasing their memories of the King once and for all. To his chagrin, chaos erupted — they all began panicking and attacking each other. The Wizard tried to salvage the situation; he made their houses bigger, but they were empty inside; he created a river, but the water was polluted and brown; he tried to cast a spell of happiness upon them, but they lost their motor functions and became completely still.

"Why does everything I do turn out like this‽", the Wizard exclaimed."

The Wizard was cursed — anything he produced with his powers was defective. I asked if he could reverse his spells, but he insisted that it was no use. Dejected, he teleported us back to the castle, but we ended up curled up in barrels outside of it. I popped out of the barrel and tried to console him, but he did not respond.

Entry 5

I tried to talk to the Wizard for a while, but he refused to respond. He avoided me, eventually locking himself away at the top of the castle. I was disappointed and sad at the same time. He was not acting like the man I met at the beginning. I bashed through the door with an axe from my backpack. My heart pumped so hard, it was really hard to imagine. I said to him, "You did all you could. At least you tried." He curled up in the corner, sobbing cartoonishly.

"You know, I always thought I was helping them. Now I no longer know. I wanted the kingdom to be a safe place. I wanted everyone to be free and independent. But as you can see, that is impossible."

"It's not your fault".

"Of course it is!"

"I thought you were smarter than this."

"What? Now is not the time for that–"

"A smart person would notice that there are some things that we just cannot prevent or control."

The Wizard paused. "In that, you might be right, my friend."

The Wizard stood up and hugged me and said that he can show me an exit from this place at any moment. Then he turned around and enchanted everything using the last bit of his power for the Animations to come back to the King, becoming what they originally were. Suddenly, a castle appeared in the sky, followed by the transparent mountain. It was the King; he came back! I didn’t know if I should be scared or amazed. I decided to stay there for another moment and see how everything comes back to how it was. I have so much to tell the people of my town.