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Info Written by Partly inspired by the How To Survive Camping series by Bonnie Quinn. Purposely overusing em dashes in an effort to reclaim them from the LLMs. We were walking back home, late one night. Why was it so dark? None of the streetlamps were working. We looked up into the pitch black sky. "I forgot how dark the night is," she whispered. All our big buildings and artificial suns, yet still we scurry like mice in a maze we built ourselves, seeking cover from the eternal void above. |
- tell me, lost creature.
- have you forgotten.
- how dark the night is?.
To properly understand the peril faced in this level, you must first cast away the fundamental notion of object permanence.
When you close your eyes and are blinded momentarily, you take for granted that the world out there is still present and stable and will duly return to your senses the moment your eyelids reopen. When you turn off the lights and are plunged into a darkness so thick it feels no different than a void, your confidence may waver, but you still know and are certain that reality persists despite the absence of light.
Do not make that mistake here.
THE DARKNESS—
—here does not simply hide things. It takes them away, engulfs them, devours them. It melts reality down into nothingness, with the elegance and fluidity of a wave flattening sand castles at shore. Where the light fails to reach, it is not simply dark; it may as well cease to exist.
This darkness exudes a constant and all-enveloping pressure on everything it surrounds. Shadows creep in on the edges of poorly lit areas, patiently inching closer, until the light dwindles and dims and ultimately caves in. You will feel goosebumps when it gets too close, but not from the temperature. It is neither cold nor warm. It simply doesn't feel like anything at all.
THE LIGHT—
—fights an unending battle that keeps the level from instantly collapsing into non-existence.
As if willed to glow by a cosmic counterbalance, or simply fulfilling their intrinsic purpose, any and all objects that are supposed to emit light will do exactly that. Hold on to them: flashlights, headlamps, lanterns, nightlights, LEDs, devices, flares, glowsticks, and glow-in-the-dark materials. Regardless of the lack of batteries or electrical outlets, they will shine because they are meant to, because they are the only ones that can.
When light breaches a previously pitch-black area, you will find nothing surprising—dirt, air, terrain, trees—except for how it is different each time you revisit it. Take the light away, and it dissolves into the void. Illuminate it once more, and see how it renews before your eyes. Those familiar with computer graphics may liken it to optimized generation for games: terrain will generate if it is required, but be erased when no longer needed.
It is not that the light is weak, but rather the dark is more patient. Small lights cannot keep the night at bay indefinitely and risk being snuffed out if abandoned for long. Three lights of at least medium strength are considered stable. Two lights are a temporary refuge. Lonely lights will be swallowed whole.
The only exceptions are Hyrum Lanterns. The Hyrum Light they emit is incredibly potent and will never be extinguished, in addition to warding off entities, making these objects a keystone for survival.
Dead lights no longer glow. You may rediscover them sparsely scattered around the campground, cracked lanterns and empty bulbs, indifferent to their fate of being washed away by the shadows again. Don't let it happen. Touch the dead light with your own light-emitting object and watch it smolder back to life.
THE TENTS—
—scattered along the campground are the only stable pockets of safety, islands staying afloat in an ever-rising tide of black. Campsites will have between two and eight tents, a campfire area, bright lantern posts, and occasionally picnic benches.
Inside the tents you will find sleeping bags, air mattresses, or even bedframes in larger tents; coolers stocked with food and Almond Water; portable or mini gas stoves; and tools and storage utilities such as Worn Sacks and Pockets.
Keep fires burning steadily. Spread warmth all across your camping area. Always zip your tent closed, or something might take it as an invitation to crawl inside. Only campsites containing a Hyrum Lantern are guaranteed to be entity-free.
Remember: a single chain of lights is vulnerable. The dark will eat away at the ends until there is only one left at the center, and then it, too, will succumb. Instead, try to form a web-like grid. The more interconnected the lights are, the more they will all support each other and form a stronger barrier.
If possible, locate and connect with nearby tents and safe areas. Rekindle any dead lights you come across. When venturing out into the void, bring multiple sources of light and even multiple companions. Strength is in numbers. Lights glow brighter together.
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THE MOON—
—is not in the sky, nor anywhere else. There is no sun for it to reflect. No celestial object will shed its feeble light on you here; it never has and never will.
THE STARS—
—do not hide behind trees to watch you. Do not follow the moving lights.
THE CREATURES—
—emerge from the shadows, as disoriented and spooked as you are.
- Stars Shining eyes Light Guides?
- Owls and birds huddled atop high branches. They cry out, like we do, in search of each other.
- A black hound mutely watching you in your peripheral vision. It will be gone every time you turn around.
- Herds of deer that stand perfectly, unnervingly still.
- Facelings walking in circles around lit campfires.
- Something unknown is out there making the most unsettling noises. It's never been seen, but many wanderers have heard it. You'll know it when you hear it. No one knows its true nature. I pray it's not human.
- Lifeless Deathmoths falling out of the air.
- People, or bodies, standing upright (it is hard to tell the difference in their frozen state). But perhaps, like the dead lights, they can be rekindled as well.
Whatever entities you may encounter, you'll find that they behave strangely and hesitantly. They won't exhibit hostility, but you should still exercise caution to not startle them.
Sometimes you'll see them lingering at the edge of a campsite, uninvited. They will only try to enter tents that are left open. If there is someone or something in your tent, do not panic. Dim the interior lights, or place a much brighter light far away, and it will probably be lured out.
If you sense shapes or footsteps following you, it is not out of malice. There is one fear all beings share. And of course, when you're in nature, the worst sound you can hear is no sounds at all. If it has already hushed the plentiful crickets, it will soon silence you too.
THE WAY OUT—
—is a fleeting occurrence. Since relighting an area regenerates it from a vacuum, there is a slim chance it can spontaneously reveal an exit. This may happen in the form of structures or objects that appear completely out of place: doorways, elevators, partial staircases, or a patch of cornstalks. Keep your eyes peeled for something inexplicable among the trees, for if you pass by it completely, the darkness will have reclaimed it.
Some wanderers launch themselves into the forest chasing after this possibility, never to be seen again; whether they have been blessed by luck or embraced by the void remains unknown. Others vow to propagate the light and connect nearby campsites as much as they can. Some move from one tent to another, taking resources for themselves and leaving them more vulnerable than before. Others cower in their tents in quiet resignation to the darkness lurking outside.
But the battle here is not all lost.
Every spark matters in this inscrutable midnight, for a single candle can light countless more without ever diminishing its flame.
So share your light with others.
Be brave in the face of obscurity.
And if, or even when, you someday manage to break free of the shadows and stumble into a brighter world—where the open sky above is freeing rather than dizzying—where the strong walls around you are a haven and not a prison—where the air tastes like nectar—where there is room for laughter—where there is a place to rest—where time spent healing is not wasted—where you can enter a tunnel and have faith you'll come out the other side—where you can close your eyes and not fear the world crumbling beneath your feet—where your skin burns under a brilliant, everlasting sun—
—don't ever forget how dark the night can be.