Date: April 26, 2010

Dear Journal,

Following the information given by the scrolls of the Cygnus Archives, we found the entrance to Boveta. Unfortunately, I see no Boveta in sight but instead, this forest that we have no information about. Boveta was supposed to be a prospering metropolis, our final escape from this cruel and unforgiving life, a utopia where we can spend the rest of our lives. I guess some things are too good to be true. But this is no time to give up; the city must be somewhere here. This level aligns with every piece of evidence we've found so far; we could have just no-clipped into the wrong place.

The other 3 are also befuddled right now, so we focused on building a barely functional wooden shack so we don't die over the night. I guess we'll try looking for the city next morning; if it is in the level, it would be quite easy to spot. Thankfully the level should be safe, as we have not encountered a single entity yet, which should make exploring the level easier.

Date: April 27, 2010

Dear Journal,

Last night was horrifying; there weren't any entities, but instead, when the sun dropped below the distant mountains, the darkness came out. It was a shadow; it seemed to not just block light but emit darkness, and even though I know that's not how it works, it felt like it changed physics. Through the entire night we slept in pitch darkness; it was terrifying to be able to see nothing. Normally in dark environments your eyes adjust to take in more light, but this time, it was just dark. As day broke, so did the darkness, and we woke up relieved to know everyone was still fine. We are not kids anymore, and none of us should be afraid of the dark, but there's something weirdly unsettling about this one.

On the other end, today we finally had time to actually settle down and discuss the situation; well, at least that's what I hoped would happen. Martin keeps insisting we escape the level immediately because he said the darkness of the night will eventually consume us. I laughed it off at first because I thought it was a joke, but he was being really serious. I've worked with him for years in our time at the B.N.T.G., and never for a single time did he say anything this irrational and stupid. He's an optimist and a logical one. Why would he make such absurd statements? Why is he refusing to elaborate? Could he be right about the darkness consuming us? Could this be an entity or a phenomenon?

Regardless, I would call getting here a blessing, not a curse. We get to live on a safe level and far away from the chaos of the Backrooms and have ample time to look for Boveta. We found 28 sources in the archives, both modern and ancient-looking, that claim its existence; even if the civilization collapsed, at least there will be a trace, right? Actions speak more than words, and I know exactly how to convince Martin that we are all fine, and that is to find Boveta.

Date: April 28, 2010

Dear Journal,

I guess I really needed to take this seriously. Yesterday it was just Martin saying all the nonsense, and today Jason joined in as well. Jason is insisting that some being controls the level and it demands us to worship it, again referencing the darkness and stating that if we don't worship it by building a temple and sacrificing a bunch of stuff, then the darkness will consume us. Again, they refuse to elaborate at all. Jason was also one of my old friends, and while he sometimes has wild ideas, he still acts rationally. I tried explaining to them how it's fine and there is no Being, but they wouldn't listen; they shushed me and told me I shouldn't say things like this. They said they were trying to protect us, but what they want to protect us from doesn't even exist!

Thankfully Clara still agrees with me. I still maintain that the darkness is some scary but harmless phenomenon. We searched the local vicinity for any signs of civilization because how hard is it to find a civilization of 1 million people? Turns out, hard enough that we didn't find anything, and our new plan is to embark on a long trip to the North (we assumed the direction of sunrise to be East), as it seems the least mountainous from here. If things go well, we might be able to find Boveta by chance and rescue Martin and Jason. Using some Firesalt we collected on the way, we managed to light a fire and discovered that it can illuminate an approximately 1-meter radius in the darkness, so it's not like level 6 dark. We didn't get much time with the light because Jason and Martin immediately extinguished the fire, stating that it disrespected the Being. Regardless, even with a fire the visibility is still pathetic, and I really can't think of any uses for the lights right now.

Date: April 29, 2010

Dear Journal,

Today we embarked on our journey to find Boveta; at least Clara and I did. So far we discovered nothing but more forests; we even climbed a tree, and all we saw was an endless forest in all directions without any artificial structures. On our search I kept thinking of Jason and Martin for some reason. I want to know more about what's causing their weird behavior; then at least I'll know what is affecting them. I don't believe in any way they are correct, but also I am starting to believe something is influencing it. It's just very annoying that nothing they say makes any sense, and it sounds like they were fooling around.

Date: April 30, 2010

Dear Journal,

Today we returned to our shack after concluding the failed search for Boveta. I'm starting to doubt the existence of Boveta. Could it be that these sources were purely fiction? All this time searching in the archives, all leading to fiction. If it is fiction, where should we go instead? Where can we even go? Is there even a way out of this level?

About Martin and Jason, instead of looking for an exit or collecting resources for survival, they built a temple. It's a shabby one, but it's still a temple. They say it's for communicating with the Being telepathically. What are we now, Partygoers? Followers of Jerry? They kept trying to convince us that we need to communicate with the Being to know how to stop the darkness. This thing has been nonsense the entire time, and it's just getting worse.

I tried telling Martin again that there is no evidence of this being and that the darkness is probably just a harmless phenomenon, and this time he told me he "felt its existence on the first night" and we should "appease it as much as possible until we can stop the darkness." He repeatedly stressed how Boveta does not exist because it was consumed by the darkness and that we should probably go back to level 11 with all those angry GOIs on us again. It's starting to make a bit more sense now; I'm starting to grasp the situation, but I can't figure out how to describe it. There is this idea at the edge of my mind that I simply can't access, and that's stopping me from figuring out the truth.

Date: May 1, 2010

Dear Journal,

Unsurprisingly, the ritual to communicate with the being yielded silence; they even forced us to try, and it felt like a joke. This morning they said that the being was angered by us starting a fire and demanded a sacrifice to establish communications. They then took some of the fruits we collected yesterday and offered it to the being before going off to explore the level. Right now the fruits are just still sitting on the temple; what a waste, though it is the least of my concerns right now. I am starting to believe that Boveta might not have existed this entire time. I don't know whether the civilization collapsed or if they were actually consumed by the darkness; perhaps Martin and Jason were correct. But the point is, since Boveta does not exist, maybe we could… you know… make it exist? I don't know. I'll hold on to this thought for now.

Date: May 2, 2010

Dear Journal,

Last night they tried to communicate with the being again, and nothing responded; this morning, though, the fruits were gone. Something must have taken it. Could it be the being? If so, why did the being not communicate with Martin and Jason? Or was it an entity? That means that the level may not be safe. Okay, actually Martin and Jason do have an "explanation," which is that we need to offer more things to the being, and I'm starting to see how this will end. I decided to start sharpening a stick into a spear so if the worst comes, I can at least defend myself.

Perhaps the darkness can consume things, and we have simply been at the mercy of the being. If so, why hasn't it consumed us so far, and more importantly, why did it consume Boveta? What being is even this powerful to wield darkness as a weapon? The situation only seems to get worse day after day. Clara also told me that she is starting to believe in the being. If there are no other options, I always have the option to venture into the darkness and attempt to kill the being.

I climbed a tree once again to get a good look at the level, and as far as I can see, there is nothing that could mean the slightest hint of a city. I really don't want to make a conclusion yet, but I am starting to get confident that Boveta does not exist.

Date: May 3, 2010

Dear Journal,

It happened. And it was horrifying. Last night, without any warning, Martin dismembered himself in the temple and sacrificed his life to the being. His last words were "Please forgive us." If only I knew what he wanted us to be forgiven for… I wonder if even he knew? You know what, this is enough. I am taking matters into my own hands, and I'm either killing the being or getting out of this place. Clara and Jason will not come with me, so I'm doing this myself. This might be my final journal because tonight I will use my spear and fire to confront the being. I know the risks are high, but keeping the status quo would just be a prolonged and agonizing death as all of my friends are sacrificed one by one.

Date: May 4, 2010

Dear Journal,

Last night, I was wandering through the woods when I saw a smiler. When it approached me, I stabbed the spear directly at it, but it didn't land. I tried again, but it still didn't hit anything. Before I knew it, I felt it, an itch on my leg. I instinctively kicked, and then the darkness suddenly weakened. Then it came to me: the smiler wasn't a smiler; it was an absolutely pathetic little creature. It had a black body that's barely 20 cm long, four insect-like eyes, two horns, and a smiler-like smile on its face that made it look like a smiler in the dark. Its shell was crispy, and I punctured it easily with my hand, and the darkness completely disappeared. Anyways, the night sky was brilliant; there were thousands of stars and nebulae just up there. In the far distance, I can see the disk of something that could be a galaxy. I don't know if this is just a skybox or if each of these stars is real, each potentially with worlds of its own.

I decided to head back to the shack to see how well they are doing, and unsurprisingly, they were doing rituals again, and the sudden death of the darkness definitely confused them. When I showed them the creature, which I assumed to be the being, they felt very stupid. Jason almost instantly returned to how they were before we came to this level. Under the night sky, we dug a grave for Martin. I'll really miss this guy.

I guess it's finally time to make Boveta real.