0:02

I, Dr. James Wesley, placed

0:04

this testimony here as a record of

0:06

the events leading up to

0:08

the death. No. Leading

0:12

up to the genocide of everyone that worked at

0:15

the corporate office of AUSET

0:17

Pharmaceutical found in Washington State. We

0:23

were told that the work we were doing was going to help

0:25

people. This

0:30

started last spring. I got a call from

0:32

the headmaster at Carbuncle Academy. I

0:35

had been studying medicine there for nearly three years

0:37

and never once was asked his office, so

0:40

the thought of being summoned actually terrified me. Marsh

0:43

was as old as dirt and stern as a brick wall. He

0:46

smoked a pipe and wore clothes that looked like they belonged

0:48

in the 1930s. As

0:51

I entered his office, he played a vinyl record

0:53

on an old player and let classical music fully

0:55

air. He

0:57

told me to close the door and asked me if I

0:59

was familiar with the piece to which I admitted that I

1:02

wasn't. According

1:04

to him, the music was created by a local cult

1:06

leader back in the 1880s named Abraham

1:10

Zwane. The

1:12

headmaster explained that Zwane had managed to convince hundreds

1:15

in the area to kill the themselves due to

1:17

a meteor shower. If

1:19

I might ask, why are

1:21

you telling me this, sir?

1:25

His bizarre rambling about ritualistic genocide

1:28

had left me unnerved and I

1:32

wasn't entirely sure what the

1:34

purpose was of my arrival to

1:36

his office. He

1:39

puffed his pipe again and focused his old pale

1:41

eyes on me before explaining that a rumor had

1:44

spread across the academy campus that I

1:46

was involved in extracurricular activities with questionable

1:49

students. I

1:53

didn't lie. I have

1:55

no intention of concealing the truth from anyone that hears

1:57

this tale. Full disclosure

1:59

is necessary. in order for guilt and

2:01

blame to be placed where they belonged. When

2:06

I arrived in Carbuncle Academy three years ago, one

2:09

of my first interactions with the students was

2:11

actually near the East Gate. Another

2:14

student, a senior, had just

2:16

plummeted from the rampart and smashed their skull

2:18

all over the courtyard below. Dozens

2:22

of students and teachers were trying to get a look

2:24

at this grisly scene. Someone

2:26

in particular, a young medical orderly named

2:28

Herbert, told me that the student who

2:30

had committed suicide had

2:32

been involved in strange behavior surrounding

2:34

a church that sat in the

2:37

soft courts. I

2:40

had always had an inquisitive mind, and it

2:42

bothered me that someone with a bright future

2:44

ahead of them would toss

2:46

it all away after a single visit to

2:49

an old religious institution. So

2:52

I traveled there myself. According

2:55

to others I met during my time here, many

2:58

believed the church was not made by human

3:00

hands. It had otherworldly

3:02

feels about it, and people gathered

3:04

there to express their interest in

3:06

the unknown. The

3:09

leader of these congregates was named Severn, Thomas

3:12

Severn, and he greeted

3:14

me like a sheep to be brought to slaughter. Considering

3:19

how easily I was roped into this

3:21

mess, that analogy proved true in

3:23

many ways in one. Severn

3:26

explained to me that the land around

3:28

Carbuncle Academy was considered sacred by the

3:30

local police, and of course

3:32

the immigrants that settled and took over

3:34

and built the academic buildings had no interest

3:37

in such superstitions and plundered

3:39

the land of their own benefit. The

3:43

church, he claimed, was

3:45

the only one remnant of the old world.

3:48

I asked a lot of strange rumors surrounding the

3:51

church and the student that had committed suicide. He

3:53

told me that there were star charts that

3:56

some students studied here in the church that

3:58

the teachers considered questionable. Apparently

4:00

they showed systems that didn't

4:02

match modern astrology, and therefore

4:04

they were deemed inferior. The

4:08

student that had jumped from the wall had

4:10

somehow learned more about these charts, and

4:13

that knowledge had caused him to end his life. I

4:17

told all of this to Headmaster Marsh, explaining

4:19

that ever since that encounter I

4:21

had dabbled in the Esoteric, the

4:23

Long, Herbert, and Severn. I

4:27

had come to theorize that the charts which had

4:29

baffled so many were actually

4:31

not showing any stars we were familiar with

4:33

at all, but rather from an age long

4:36

past, when the skies

4:38

were still luminous in the area. I

4:42

also, I admitted to him, believed

4:45

that the charts were created by visitors from

4:47

the stars. Saying

4:49

such things out loud made me feel foolish in

4:52

front of such a learned man, but to my mind,

4:55

he only puffed his pipe and nodded in

4:57

agreement. I

5:00

had heard you were writing such papers under a

5:02

pseudonym, trying to see if

5:04

any of the other teachers in the academy agreed with

5:06

you. As it turns out,

5:09

there is a chapter of this school's history

5:12

that has been covered up which relates to

5:14

your own investigations, and that's when

5:16

the story of Zwayne comes in. Headmaster

5:21

Marsh explained to me that the board of

5:23

directors had agreed to keep the works of

5:26

Zwayne under lock and key almost a hundred

5:28

years ago, but over

5:30

the past few generations. Things

5:34

got forgotten, and a few of the

5:36

papers that the cult leader had written were able to

5:38

leak, and the star charts

5:40

and the books I had been studying at the

5:43

church in secret were actually part of those papers.

5:47

Were you saying there is truth to the

5:49

ramblings of a fictional story where

5:51

he claimed to have seen aliens, I asked.

5:55

The story, which I can summarize, connected to the

5:57

meteor shower that Marsh had already told me about.

6:00

During the late 1800s, Zwayne said that

6:02

large, monolithic objects fell

6:05

from the sky all across

6:07

Dunwich County. He

6:09

believed these objects were actually from the Earth's moon,

6:12

and they revealed that these aliens

6:15

were living amongst us. It

6:18

had sounded insane when I studied it, but

6:21

the papers had included detailed

6:23

descriptions of the aliens

6:25

and illustrations. The

6:29

beings looked like massive slugs with

6:32

thousands of eyes and skin

6:34

as smooth as moon

6:37

beasts, he called them, and

6:40

he claimed that the crash of the monolith

6:42

was the first step in their plan for

6:44

coming to Earth. We

6:46

had hoped to keep these matters private

6:48

because of your own meddling. We've

6:52

attracted the interest of a third party.

6:55

Someone that wants to invest in

6:58

this goose chase, Marsh

7:00

told me. And

7:03

to my surprise, he told me that

7:05

this new company wanted to hire me

7:07

full-time as a medical professional. You

7:11

understand, of course, this sort of employment would be

7:13

off the record, and the

7:15

Academy would deny any involvement,

7:18

Marsh warned. I

7:21

was still dumbstruck by this sudden turn of events, so

7:23

I did my best to keep my feet on the

7:25

ground and recap what was happening.

7:30

So a fresh-faced entrepreneur company wants

7:32

to hire me as a medical professional based

7:34

off my theories

7:36

related to esoteric magic and

7:39

star charts from ancient cults,

7:41

I asked, rubbing the back

7:44

of my neck sheepishly. I mean,

7:46

you timed it a bit outlandish. That's

7:49

all we know. Mr.

7:52

Lang has been to contact you shortly

7:54

and give you further details, but I

7:57

should also advise this is not the sort of

7:59

position. position you turned down, James. Your

8:03

papers made the Academy look bad.

8:07

We're doing you a favor by letting it slide

8:09

and getting you out of their hair, rather than

8:11

kicking you onto the streets. I

8:16

grit my teeth, trying to

8:18

think fast as I stood up and looked

8:21

at his taxidermy trophies. If

8:25

that's the case, it'd

8:27

be awful for anyone to realize you were ostracizing

8:29

me just because I spoke the

8:31

truth. I

8:34

countered. Marsh

8:37

raised a weary eyebrow. He

8:39

knew I was threatening him. What

8:42

do you want? All

8:45

we want is to make this go away. Let

8:48

Aasat have the headache, he said direly.

8:52

I knew my demands before he even

8:55

finished speaking. Herbert

8:58

and Severn, their expertise in

9:00

these fields exceeds mine and, in

9:03

their hindsight, will be valuable. They'll

9:06

be joining me for the new assignment, I told him. Marsh

9:09

promised he would make it so. And

9:12

so he did. I

9:16

didn't really pay much attention to the details of

9:19

our transfer to the small town of St. Mava's.

9:22

There was a clinic there that was reopened

9:25

for Aasat a few months back, and

9:27

that was where I went to meet Lang. He

9:31

was a tall, dark-haired Asian man with

9:33

a brutish spirit, and most

9:36

of that first meeting is a bit of

9:38

a blur. I was too eager

9:40

to find out what sort of work my colleagues and I would

9:42

be assigned to pay attention. Only

9:45

because I knew it meant some of the theories I

9:47

had written about might be true.

9:51

When I expressed such excitement to Lang, he

9:53

promptly offered to give me the charts and

9:55

notes that were connected to the scandal. The

9:58

Academy so vehemently wanted to call it a day. cover up, the

10:01

Zwane incident, he called it. For

10:04

posterity, I will provide a short summary

10:06

of what we found in those notes

10:08

before I explain what we did with

10:10

this knowledge. Despite

10:14

being a religious zealot, I was

10:16

surprised in the writings of Abraham Zwane

10:18

to find that he was a learned

10:21

man, and he

10:23

studied astrology and philosophy quite avidly.

10:27

He included quotes from Shintoism and even

10:29

ancient Mayan texts in his writing, which

10:31

all centered around the belief that the

10:33

world we live in is

10:35

not the only one that exists. In

10:38

short, Zwane saw through the monoliths

10:40

a secondary realm that exists

10:42

alongside the one we live in, the

10:46

true world, as he called it, starkly

10:49

different than the flourishing life of

10:51

Earth. Zwane said

10:53

on the other side of the mirror, life

10:56

hardly existed at all. There

10:58

were long, streaking lines of white and

11:01

strange tall buildings that defied architectural

11:03

standards of our world, corridors

11:06

and stairwells that panned

11:09

whole galaxies and

11:11

seemed to circle black holes. He

11:15

theorized that these places were connected somehow to

11:18

the star charts from the church, and

11:21

the church itself was in fact a conduit

11:23

which held more power in our universe than

11:25

others. A conduit,

11:27

he claimed, was the result of

11:30

the collective memory of the culture around

11:32

that spot. The longer

11:34

the collective memory could recall details about

11:36

the location of the true world that

11:38

existed there, the longer that location would

11:41

still exist in our world as well.

11:44

This explained why the members of

11:46

the congregation felt an otherworldly connection.

11:48

When they saw and prayed in the pews,

11:50

they were actually sliding in and out of

11:53

an alternate dimension. We're

11:56

hoping we could try to learn some more

11:58

about this collective memory. that he spoke about. We

12:01

begin trials tomorrow, Lang explained.

12:06

I should have further questioned about all this,

12:08

but the sheer excitement to be a part

12:11

of all groundbreaking discovery was so overwhelming

12:13

I kept them to

12:15

myself. The

12:18

next day we had about a dozen people

12:20

show up to participate in what Lang called

12:22

a clinical trial. The

12:26

drugs we administered here are not FDA

12:28

approved, of course, so we will be

12:30

signing waivers and non-disclosure agreements. You'll be

12:32

paid once the six-week period had come

12:34

to an end. In

12:37

private he explained to me that each patient would

12:39

be given a slow drip of psychedelic drugs and

12:42

other substances that were designed to

12:44

enhance neurological functions. I

12:47

began the tests immediately. It

12:49

took less than forty-eight hours for one of the subjects

12:51

to die. I

12:53

like to say that I knew their name, or

12:55

that I understood why they had died,

12:58

but I can't

13:01

say either of those things because I would be lying. I

13:07

just finished a shift rotation on the other side of

13:09

the facility where we worked to

13:11

manufacture the equipment of the samples when I heard

13:13

a loud scream from the patient area. My

13:17

natural instinct was to run and assist. The

13:20

patient was there holding down his

13:22

patient as she screamed horribly and

13:24

shook and vomited. After

13:27

a full recovery about an hour later I took the

13:29

time to obtain a statement. You

13:33

were given approximately four doses before you experienced

13:35

this unfortunate side effect. Could

13:37

you describe what caused this or what

13:40

you feel went wrong? The

13:43

patient was looking at us like we

13:45

were strangers even though we had been there for a

13:47

while now. True, we

13:49

hardly knew each other, but the level of

13:51

distrust was disheartening. I

13:54

encouraged openness, especially due to the health

13:56

benefits. I'm

13:58

starting to think that... might be a lie," she

14:01

said, as she coughed up more blood. First

14:05

standard protocol I urged them to explain would

14:07

cause their outburst. You'll

14:10

think I'm crazy, but I

14:13

saw something leaking in the shadows. I

14:16

felt like I was back there in those corridors I was

14:18

running from it. The halls never ended

14:20

and the strange shadow just kept

14:22

getting closer. I

14:26

was soon aghast to discover that four

14:28

other patients had similar experiences and I had

14:31

missed them. Could

14:34

it be a coincidence? When

14:36

I told Lang about it, his response troubled me

14:38

even more. Increased

14:40

their dosage, monitored their brain activity. I

14:43

want to get a clear picture of what they're seeing the next

14:45

time they have an episode. Is

14:49

you suggesting we actively place our patients in harm's

14:51

way? I asked. We're

14:54

only letting their mental state be at risk. Their

14:56

physical bodies remain here. They have no means of

14:59

crossing over to the other side and neither did the

15:01

creatures they are envisioning, Lang said

15:03

dismissively. I

15:05

wasn't so sure that was a solid excuse,

15:07

but I was obeying orders, still not

15:10

questioning the methods. I

15:14

wanted to learn more and felt like we

15:16

were finally making progress. I

15:20

did as I was told. The

15:24

results began to trickle again over the next month.

15:26

Our patients were sharing the same nightmare. I

15:29

documented what I could and I found the

15:31

notions even more terrifying than I care to

15:34

admit. The first pair,

15:36

a man and a woman, reported that the

15:38

dream consisted of labyrinths, much

15:41

like the ancient Grecian myth. This

15:46

one seemed to be haunted by beasts

15:48

that clawed at my patients' minds long

15:51

after they woke up. The

15:54

bear, its reeks

15:56

of death, haunts us

15:59

relentlessly. We walked in the halls for

16:01

days, trying to find a place to hide, but each

16:03

path we took, even if

16:05

it felt like we were going forward, he wound us back

16:07

up around the core of that awful

16:10

maze. When

16:14

they described the maze, the

16:17

third patient said sometimes there were doors

16:20

and stairs. They

16:23

didn't always appear, but when they did, they would

16:26

lead to different segments

16:28

of this starry world. One

16:33

led to a hotel. The

16:35

rooms were always empty, but the patients would

16:38

talk about screams and

16:40

crying in the empty rooms. Something

16:44

trying to dig its way out from under. They

16:50

often felt like their feet were

16:52

heavier when they went inside these rooms, so

16:55

they marked them as dangerous and avoided them as best

16:57

they could. Another

16:59

talked about a forest, about its

17:02

framework quite interesting because it seemed to follow the

17:05

same principles as the hallways. The

17:08

forest would snag and twist about, circling a

17:10

lonesome mountain that the patients never seemed to

17:13

be able to reach. They

17:15

would hear distant static luring

17:17

them to the mountain, but the closer

17:19

they got, the more the massive landmass

17:21

would re-maneuver itself.

17:25

Dang called these infinite corridors the key to

17:27

our knowledge of the world. He

17:30

wanted more information and told me to continue to

17:33

increase the dosage. It

17:35

all seemed to be progressing until the first suicide.

17:41

It had been almost three months since we

17:43

started these human tests. Most

17:46

of the people we were using had lost sanity.

17:49

Others seemed to have been driven to stay inside the

17:51

dream world and refused to wake

17:53

up. The

17:56

patient that passed away was actually one

17:58

of Herbert's. A

18:00

young man that came to the clinical trial for money

18:02

to support his family. He

18:05

only meant to stay a week. He

18:08

was given the max dosage to enter

18:10

the shared consciousness faster, and we documented

18:12

what we learned via a new method

18:14

Lang wanted to try, where the dreams

18:16

were projected onto a screen. The

18:21

subject, who I must admit

18:23

I never learned the name

18:25

of, was immediately thrust into

18:27

the corridors as soon as the syringe pierced

18:30

his skin. His

18:33

readings were familiar to someone who had fallen from a

18:35

great height. There

18:39

were rows of doors in front of him, all marked

18:41

very similarly, with the number three on them. He

18:44

approached the first one, testing it out, swinging

18:47

it open to see another corridor that stretched

18:49

for miles of glowing blue lights on either

18:51

side. Before

18:54

he went in, the subject tried the next

18:56

door, found the exact same thing.

19:00

Then they tried another door, and another, and

19:03

another, until they were

19:05

surrounded by open doors that all seemed to be

19:07

leading to blue, fiery hallways. They

19:10

were luckily entered, and I whispered to Herbert

19:12

if he had ever seen this portion of

19:14

the alternate dimension before. I've

19:17

been doing some studying in their mental health as

19:19

they went to the true world. I'm

19:22

not mistaken the halls and mazes they find

19:24

in there are of their own making. Each

19:26

time they toss into this labyrinth

19:29

they make new pathways intersecting

19:31

grow the maze, he told me.

19:35

I was fascinated by that theory, but too focused

19:37

on the feed to provide any sort of insight

19:39

on what that might mean. There

19:43

was a single door in front of the subject, this

19:45

one was already open, and

19:47

inside there was a slender woman wearing

19:49

a familiar outfit. Looks

19:52

like the uniforms from Offset, I commented,

19:54

trying to get a better look at the woman. She

19:57

was a redhead with sparkling blue eyes and humming.

19:59

I'll admit, even attractive.

20:02

She was mouthing words we couldn't understand to the

20:05

subject, and I was trying my best to keep

20:07

an eye on his physical reaction. Whatever

20:12

she's saying to him is causing quite a

20:14

spike in his adrenaline. Herbert

20:16

said, as he reached for the device that would take the

20:18

subject out of the dream, wait, we

20:21

need to see what happens. This could

20:23

help us, I said. I

20:26

regret pushing things that day.

20:30

The woman kept talking, the levels

20:32

kept rising, and then at the end of

20:34

whatever speech she had given to our subject,

20:36

she took out a syringe. It

20:40

reminded me of the same one we administer

20:43

to place them within the dream. She

20:46

plunged it into the patient's neck, and in that

20:49

instant they woke. They

20:51

gasped for air as if they had

20:53

been drowning, their gaze confused and fearful

20:55

as they looked at us. What

20:59

happened in there? But

21:04

they didn't respond. Before

21:07

they even dared to try and comprehend the

21:09

situation, the patient jumped from their bed and

21:11

ran towards the nearby railing. They

21:14

ran straight on past the railing, falling

21:16

to their death without even a scream

21:18

passing their lips. Nautopsy

21:22

revealed nothing out of the ordinary for their brain

21:24

function. Lying

21:28

considered the whole incident just a

21:30

simple misunderstanding and miscalculation. I

21:34

wasn't sure. I

21:37

kept replaying the footage of

21:41

the blue eyed woman in my head over

21:43

and over. Who

21:50

was she? Did

21:53

she work for us? What

21:57

had she told the subject to make them want to kill?

22:00

kill themselves. Over

22:05

the next weeks, those questions were compounded by

22:07

even more issues with the patients. Some

22:10

were refusing treatment, harming themselves to

22:13

stop the dream. They

22:17

just wanted to go home. They

22:21

felt sorry for them. And

22:27

I insisted their work was hardly finished.

22:31

We've only scratched the surface of what this maze

22:33

is, what sort of abilities it could give us.

22:36

We need more players in this game, James. Can

22:39

you help us? I

22:43

knew what he was asking. He

22:45

wanted me to be a recruiter. I

22:49

played that part quite well. I

22:54

went back to the academy this time as a representative

22:56

of the Ausek Company. Even

22:59

though this campus had been a part of my home for

23:01

nearly two years, stepping back

23:03

into it now was overwhelming. I

23:07

didn't feel very welcome anymore. A

23:11

few students stopped and saw my badge

23:13

that represented Ausek made a

23:15

few hushed comments amongst themselves, then

23:18

they zigzagged around to avoid being near me.

23:23

I turned about to ask what

23:25

they were saying when someone bumped into me and dropped

23:28

their coffee on my clothes. Just watch

23:30

it! I said jumping back and

23:32

looking at the young woman. She

23:36

had curly red hair. Freckles.

23:41

Who are

23:43

you? She reminded me of the same

23:45

woman I had seen in the visions of

23:48

our patience. How

23:50

was that possible? I'm

23:54

so sorry, are you okay? She

23:57

asked as I tried to ignore the burning liquid.

24:00

covered my shirt. That's,

24:02

uh, fine. Fine. Do

24:05

I? Do I

24:07

know you? I said, as

24:09

I helped her gather the papers she had dropped. I

24:14

couldn't help but notice the familiar esoteric symbols,

24:16

graphs on the paper. But

24:19

she's a student of Zwayne's teachings, too. I

24:22

don't think so, but... You

24:27

know me now. I'm Emma Carter. She

24:30

told me she spotted the logo on my shirt. You're

24:33

with the corporation we're contracting with, she asked

24:35

in surprise. You're

24:38

familiar with us? Headmaster Marsh made

24:40

an announcement about a month ago that we

24:43

had a new internship program happening with the

24:45

company, but I'll admit that's not the

24:47

only time I heard about you. Let's

24:49

just say that there are a few

24:51

ugly rumors circling about the people who go to work for

24:53

them. Rumors. What

24:56

kind? What kind? She

24:58

pointed toward a nearby study lounge and I

25:00

followed her to discuss this privately. You

25:04

probably know this firsthand, but the people who go to work

25:06

for you? They

25:08

never come back and finish their studies. They

25:12

disappear. I

25:15

can see it in your eyes. You

25:18

know it's worse than that, Emma

25:20

said. Well I

25:22

averted my gaze. I

25:26

thought about some of the things that had happened to

25:28

the patients I'd tested with. I

25:32

didn't want to think that we were hurting them, but I

25:35

couldn't deny it was dangerous. Some

25:37

of them had already tried to off themselves and some...

25:42

Some had been successful. I'd

25:46

been pushing these things out of my mind, focusing

25:49

on the end game of research, but something

25:52

about the waves. This

25:54

young woman spoke to me, made

25:56

me pause and realize... I

26:01

was being a monster. What

26:06

is it? What do

26:08

you know? I

26:10

know that we've been dabbling in

26:12

scientific discoveries that will

26:14

shake the very foundation of our entire human race,

26:17

alternate dimensions that connect via endless halls.

26:23

I paused. I paused

26:26

to see if any of this sounded familiar. I

26:31

decided to make a guess about our studies. It's

26:34

what Pastor Zwayne was researching almost a hundred years ago,

26:36

am I right? Emma

26:39

actually looked surprised I was so forthcoming. I

26:43

think I might know something that can help you, she

26:45

told me. She wrote

26:47

a time and a place for the South Dormitory to meet

26:50

that very night. A

26:53

group of us have been getting close to unlocking what

26:55

Zwayne learned all those years ago. Bring

26:58

your own calculations. I think

27:01

we can reach a solid understanding

27:04

of this alternate dimension. Now

27:10

I'm not. Oh,

27:13

Minhao stunned she knew so much about this subject.

27:18

It made me think about what I had seen in that vision.

27:22

Was that an alternate reality where Emma had

27:24

already become a member of Aasad? Yet

27:27

she was transforming my patients into monsters

27:29

in that nightmarish place. I

27:32

thought if I decided to help her and we discovered a

27:34

way to enter the true world right here on this campus,

27:37

would it cause the same inevitable reaction for

27:39

her in the future? Was

27:43

this what fate was? I

27:46

didn't have an answer, but the questions troubled me. I felt

27:48

as though an unseen force was

27:50

pushing me along. I

27:54

didn't even feel that my free will was

27:57

existent as I realized the

27:59

only force forward would be to meet with

28:01

Emma and the

28:03

other Zwane acolytes. Whatever

28:06

this power is, it wants

28:09

us to find it. The

28:14

true world was almost within reach,

28:16

and new information that could reinterpret

28:18

the entire universe. As a man

28:20

of science, I felt there could be no other way

28:22

to go. I checked a map of the campus and

28:24

where Emma wanted us to meet. The

28:27

location was obvious. The

28:31

dark church. Where

28:34

all of this started. Almost

28:36

a hundred years ago. I

28:46

took a break at the cafeteria and took off my coat to

28:48

eat a fine lunch. With

28:51

my logo hidden, none of the students gave me dirty

28:53

looks. It was nice to think about

28:55

my days as a learner here. So

28:58

much had changed since then. The

29:01

reflection made me feel guilty because of how

29:03

I was now using these same students for

29:06

the experiments of OSOT. What

29:09

did that become? I

29:13

lost my appetite with that thought, collected

29:16

my things, and went towards the

29:18

dark church. At

29:21

this time of day, the ancient structure was

29:24

empty. Candles were lit, though,

29:27

from a morning service. I

29:30

saw several books laying on the ground around

29:32

what looked like a magical sigil. I

29:35

knew better to think this was mundane act of worship,

29:37

so I leaned forward to get a better look at

29:39

the written words. But

29:43

what I saw made little sense. At

29:48

least at first. As

30:01

I kept repeating it in my head, somehow

30:03

the translations came to me as

30:07

if the book was telling me what I

30:09

was trying to convey. Here

30:12

the disciple Blythell lies. In

30:16

sleepless nights he bleeds. Kith'on,

30:21

Kith'on, M'onwa,

30:25

In'vah, Daxvah,

30:28

Vah'pay. Awaken

30:31

his chaos, let loose

30:33

his fury. A

30:37

pit formed before my eyes, the endless

30:39

void ripping open to give me a

30:41

glimpse into eternity. This,

30:44

this was the true world. I

30:47

looked around, I should have been waiting for

30:49

Emma, but the new

30:51

portal beckoned for me to investigate. From

30:55

the shadows I saw light, beautiful

30:58

and ancient. It swirled and shimmered

31:00

and shook the room. Immediately

31:02

the candles fell down onto the

31:04

ground, the fire shaking and transforming

31:07

as blood and dark slime was

31:09

emerging from their wax, feeding this

31:11

nameless monster. Even the

31:13

walls around me formed reflections of my own

31:15

self. No longer was I standing in the

31:17

carbuncle academy. No longer was I in the

31:20

world I knew and loved. This was something

31:22

else dark and mysterious. It only

31:24

spoke to me the truth. As

31:26

the swirls of anger and blood formed

31:28

a shape, its unimaginable face became

31:30

clear to me and when I

31:33

saw what the mirror was showing

31:35

me, I screamed. The reflections

31:37

shattered into millions of pieces and I

31:39

realized how foolish we had

31:41

been to even step foot into

31:43

this place. I

31:46

saw others trapped in the labyrinth. Ones

31:49

that I hadn't met. I could only

31:51

assume they came from the other timelines

31:53

or other dimensions, wandering this place and

31:56

becoming faceless monsters. They could, they could

31:58

smell my fear. I

32:01

stepped forward to try and get the attention of

32:03

one that looked almost human. He

32:05

had cut out his own eyes, and he was mumbling, mumbling

32:08

about like a madman. We

32:11

cannot see the world beyond ours, for

32:13

it invites death, every path,

32:15

every direction. It leads only

32:17

to our extinction, he whispered as I

32:20

passed by. The

32:23

other creatures were feeding on themselves, crawling,

32:26

making hallways of flesh as I ran through

32:28

to find Emma, or to find anything that

32:30

reminded me of the same reality I'd come

32:32

from. I saw

32:34

her at last, standing like she had in the

32:37

first vision, with syringe in her hand, but she

32:39

wasn't alone this time. The tunnel of

32:41

flesh fell away, and I was trapped. I was

32:43

trapped in a white room with no clear dimensions.

32:46

Carter stood there next to an operating chair,

32:48

and beside her was an older man, perhaps

32:52

in his early nineties, who greeted

32:55

me cordially. You're

32:58

the one we have to thank for this new

33:00

discovery. So I've

33:02

heard. It's a pleasure to meet

33:04

you, Dr. Wesley," he said. How

33:07

do you know me, I asked. My

33:09

voice sounded hoarse. The

33:12

walls of this place whisper your name often.

33:15

Almost every iteration of these endless cordors'

33:17

names is the one that

33:20

these beings chant whenever we ask who sent

33:22

them here. It

33:24

would seem that the entities that

33:26

control this corridor have used you

33:28

and people similar to you in

33:30

almost every single dimension to keep

33:32

themselves fed. You

33:35

are puppets, pulled here

33:38

by forces beyond your understanding,

33:40

and now the threshold

33:43

widens and a new reality will

33:45

be swallowed up," he said.

33:49

The experiments. They

33:53

weren't unlocking any potential for humanity. This

33:55

was always a trap, I

33:58

realize. Took

34:00

you long enough," Emma

34:02

said, as strange, faceless

34:04

beings strapped me down. What

34:07

are you going to do to me? You

34:11

don't belong here anymore. There's

34:14

still other places where a harvest must take

34:16

place. We can

34:18

handle the workload here, and you, you will

34:20

remain our puppet. I

34:23

looked at the older man, a

34:26

realization of who he was. Your

34:29

swing? The one that killed

34:31

those students all those years ago? Killed?

34:35

Oh, that's it, no. I

34:38

awakened them to their

34:40

full potential. They're here, part

34:43

of the Endless Tapestry. This

34:46

shared consciousness is a

34:48

way for our species to live forever, James.

34:51

What I have done is

34:53

give them immortality. Emma

34:56

plunged the syringe into my neck. I'll

34:59

fight this. I'll find a way to save

35:01

you, I told her. She

35:04

looked sad. Her

35:06

eyes told me she believed it was too late. The

35:10

walls of flesh began to close in. I

35:14

was drowning in their vitriol and then coming

35:16

up for air in the dark church. My

35:19

hands were clammy and shaky as I walked

35:21

away from the ritual circle. Actually

35:24

Emma I knew was in the doorway

35:26

a bit perplexed by my strange behavior.

35:30

Dr. Wesley, are

35:32

you still trying to recruit us? She asked.

35:35

No. Sweet

35:37

child, you have to flee from here. Only

35:40

devil's work is being done here. We have

35:42

to get away, I told her. Emma

35:45

didn't want to leave with me that evening, and

35:47

it was the last chance I got to speak

35:49

with her. I sent

35:52

in my resignation to offset the following

35:54

evening as I caught a train to

35:57

Clear River. They

35:59

didn't see me. to hold a grudge, but

36:01

instead pressed forward with their work to

36:04

map and understand the labyrinth underneath. I

36:07

tried again to reach out to Emma, only to learn

36:09

that she'd already decided

36:11

to join the corporation. It

36:16

feels like no matter what I've done, Fates

36:18

found a way for the endless

36:21

halls to grow, the doors

36:23

to grow more numerous.

36:25

So I suspect that many others will

36:27

find their way to these back rooms of

36:29

the mind and become trapped there. Spread

36:33

this morning, stop

36:36

this madness as much as

36:38

you can, please. Please, we might

36:40

not be too late. At

36:43

the very least, we

36:46

might be able to be prepared for

36:49

what comes next. Fall

37:03

is finally here, and it's finally cooling down,

37:05

which means it's time for you guys to

37:07

get yourself a hot cup of tea. My

37:09

wife happens to sell tea. etsy.com/shop slash ivory

37:11

monocle tea sells different teas that are inspired

37:14

by nerdy-based things, as well as a bunch

37:16

of new teas that are available for the

37:18

Halloween season. My personal favorite, the one that

37:20

I drink whenever I'm recording, is Dark and

37:22

Stormy Night. It has a little Mr. Q

37:24

pasta symbol on it, and if you ask,

37:26

you can get a little Mr. Q pasta

37:29

dabbing sticker. Also, anytime that you order one

37:31

of those, you actually get my autograph on

37:33

a little card, so if you want that, hey,

37:35

you can get that. And finally, I want

37:37

to give a huge thank you to everybody

37:39

who supports me on Patreon. So

37:42

I want to give a very special thank you to

37:44

Jordan Humble, Diana Krause, Disciple,

37:47

Strategy, Wolf, Emoji, Sullyman, Brandon

37:49

Mendoza, Brimstone, Pandemonium, Caltuna, William

37:51

Wellington, Scruffy the Janitor, Brenna

37:53

Crow, Laketa Kanazales, Smiley the

37:55

Psychotic, Jana, Dontae Kincane, Simba's

37:57

Bloody Mojo, Nephistopheles, Curse Pox,

38:00

I really appreciate your support, and

38:02

I cannot thank you enough.

38:27

I wish you all the best. Sweet dream.