Novels2Search

VOLUME 7

7 - 1

Unaware of what is happening, A aimlessly wandered through the settlement, surveying the lively sunlit streets. Passersby paid little attention to the strange, limping guy in a semi-daze, as the city was actively filled with non-conformists from all over Europe.

Feeling the heat of the summer, A takes off his worn-out warm clothes. A random passerby is shocked by the number of scars and tattoos on A's body, making him look at himself from a different perspective.

Examining his hands, completely covered in various numerical markings and symbols, A experiences a severe headache from fragmented flashbacks of a destroyed settlement, the deaths of encountered passersby, and the directive to find B.

Noticing the initials "C" on his wrist, A recalls her death and the directive to find B. Promising that C's death will not be in vain, A heads towards the familiar path to the house on the outskirts.

Finding the right house, A immediately knocks on the door, asking to let him in. Sensing an inexplicable threat from the stranger who opened the door for him, A immediately lunges at him, bringing him down to the floor.

Starting to strangle him with both hands, A sees in the face of the stranger his own reflection from the past, realizing that he is his suffocating doppelganger. Releasing his double, A notices the slow approach of dark silhouettes in the distance, feeling a chilling fear.

Closing the doors and covering the windows, A interrogates him about the whereabouts of B. After catching his breath, the double immediately grabs a knife, claiming that he knows nothing about her, and calling A a psycho.

Noticing the striking resemblance between himself and A, the doppelganger falls into a stupor. Taking advantage of the situation, A directly tells the doppelganger that he is the version of himself from a possible horrifying future.

To make sure of the reality of meeting his own duplicate, the doppelganger asks A to disclose a fact about himself that only he would know. A couldn't remember much about himself from the past, revealing only that he had always liked women's legs. In the end, A manages to gain the doppelganger's trust, but he finally realizes that due to chronic amnesia, he has lost much of his identity.

7 – 2

The doppelganger bombards A with questions about his condition and origin. Due to the rush of memories, A experiences another severe headache, after which he briefly recounts the horrifying events of the future, promising the doppelganger a repetition of his fate and the inevitable death of everyone he knows in this settlement if they fail to prevent B's suicide.

Pondering, the doppelganger retrieves his phone, showing A a message from the homeowner warning about the arrival of a new guest tomorrow, who was mistakenly assigned to the same house. After reading the message multiple times, A realizes with horror that he won't survive until B's arrival tomorrow because he will be consumed by the bleakness exactly at midnight.

Devastated, A leaves the house, leaving his doppelganger in utter confusion. A wanders the city, trying to find the strength to come to terms with his impending death and the failure of the mission for which C sacrificed her life.

The doppelganger finds A sitting on a bench in a local park. Sitting down next to him, he attempts to start a conversation. Meanwhile, an unknown observer (revealed to be D) watches them from a distance, remaining unnoticed. A confesses to his companion that he has failed the most crucial mission of his life, dooming himself and other versions of himself to eternal suffering, and that he will be incinerated tonight at exactly midnight, as someone foreign to this reality.

The doppelganger doesn't take A's words seriously, brushing them off with humor. A understands his behavior, admitting that he himself would never have believed his own story before.

Suddenly, the doppelganger pushes A off the bench, saving him from a stray bullet, pointing to the area where he noticed the shooter. After that, as they watch the setting sun, A urges them to return home immediately. Commenting on the situation, the doppelganger declares that this is the craziest day of his life, one he will never forget.

As they head towards the house, A suspects the involvement of the cultists in the assassination attempt. He then declares the need to stop the Circle of Outcome cult, which founded this city as a platform for exploring the consequences of outcomes in our world by the angels, beings that exist outside of time and space, capable of guiding reality towards any desired outcome.

7 - 3

Upon reaching the doorstep of the house, A refuses to take shelter inside, despite all of the doppelganger's pleas. Instead, he asks the doppelganger to protect the incoming girl named B from the cult since she is a contactee—a person capable of direct communication with the angels. A warns that if B is captured by the cult, they will use her for irreversible reality-altering, enslaving millions of people.

The clocks inside the house show 11:55. A strips down to his torso, surveying the panorama of the settlement from a hill. At this moment, the unknown observer once again watches the situation from a distance. In A's mind, memories of a romance with C from before her immolation flicker.

(FLASHBACK) Naked, A and C discuss recent events. The girl promises that she will get A and the others out of the city, no matter what it takes.

(PRESENT TIME) A addresses the doppelganger, persuading him not to let B commit suicide due to the constant visions of a terrible future sent to her by the angels. As he steps onto the porch of the house, A notices the outlines of C's incineration by the bleakness in this very spot.

As he watches the approaching bleak entities, A recalls C's final moments in the catacombs. He thanks the girl for fulfilling her promise and helping him retain his identity.

The clocks in the house strike midnight. A expresses hope that the doppelganger won't forget their encounter and will do everything to avoid becoming his copy. Afterward, A is instantly surrounded by the bleak entities. One of the entities, with outlines resembling A himself, grabs his head and incinerates him with blue flames, staring directly into his eyes.

Recording A's demise, D sends an unknown four-digit code. Within minutes, he receives a response message with further instructions to monitor the situation in the settlement in anticipation of the imminent operation to capture the contactee.

7 - 4

Approaching the doorstep, B, confirming the correctness of the chosen house, knocks on the door several times. When A appears for the first time, he immediately addresses B by name, inviting her into the house, which surprises the girl as she hasn't had a chance to introduce herself yet.

(INSERT) From the torn abdomen of a humanoid covered in frost, missing the upper part of its body up to the stomach, an icy dead embryo emerges along with tubes and organic fluid that haven't completely come out.

During their introduction, B is reluctant to engage in conversation, perceiving A's words and actions with some apprehension. Trying to establish a connection with the girl, A decides to show her around the house. During the tour, A claims that this house and the entire settlement are excellent places for relaxation. Despite his statement, he looks tired and despondent, which B notices. A confesses that shortly after arriving in the city, he began having the same surreal dream in which a certain silhouette warns him about the imminent invasion of the Circle of Outcome, a cult intending to alter reality for all of humanity.

Realizing that he might have said too much and made himself appear insane, A attempts to justify himself, attributing his condition to frequent late-night walks. After hearing this, B thanks him for the tour and goes upstairs to her bedroom. A decides to let the situation go, heading into the settlement to recover from what has transpired. He stops at the very bench where the silhouette in his nightmares always appears. Analyzing recent events, A realizes that the silhouette's predictions have begun to come true.

Over the next few days, A and B avoid contact with each other, crossing paths in various places throughout the settlement. Soon, A, along with a group of acquaintances, attends a large party, where he notices B in the company of an unfamiliar friend. As he drinks, he watches the two girls through the lights of the music.

Unexpectedly, one of the girls, B's friend, approaches A. She introduces herself as C and informs him that B pointed to A as her roommate, asking him to escort her intoxicated friend home. When A meets the girl, he experiences a powerful sense of déjà vu: despite meeting C for the first time, it feels like they have known each other for a long time.

Approaching B, A notices a man in his thirties questioning her about how long she has been in the city. Presenting his officer's identification, the man introduces himself as D, claiming to be the local order keeper, and wanted to offer his assistance upon seeing her in such a state. C politely declines his offer. Leading B away from the party, A and C agree that D doesn't inspire trust.

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Escorting B to her home and tucking her in, A suggests that C spend the night in one of the vacant rooms in the house. C agrees, admitting that she hasn't yet decided where to stay, as she arrived in the settlement today upon B's invitation.

7 - 5

Later that night, B comes to the living room where A was sleeping. She explains that she decided to visit the settlement to confront the nightmares and anxiety that have been plaguing her. However, her arrival only worsens the situation. B had been trying to avoid sleep because her nightmares, now indistinguishable from reality, depict the settlement descending into chaos, with everyone in it dying horrific deaths. She hadn't shared this with anyone before, fearing the stigma of being labeled as insane, and only confided in A after he told her about the silhouette that visits him in his dreams.

Initially, A dismisses B's words as drunken nonsense, but he quickly realizes that the girl is speaking quite lucidly. Recalling the silhouette's instructions to prevent B's suicide at all costs, A reassures her that he doesn't consider her mentally unstable.

This disconcerts B further, as she realizes that A knew her name beforehand, as if the silhouette had informed him. At B's request, A recalls that, according to the silhouette, all the nightmares and images she sees are signs and messages from the angels—beings capable of altering reality. After hearing this, C speculates that the occasional whispers she hears might also belong to the angels.

In their attempt to make sense of what's happening, the two agree that their symptoms of madness began after their arrival in the city. Thanks to the conversation with A, B finds more confirmation for her theory that her nightmares have a prophetic nature.

Understanding the urgent need to escape the settlement, B expresses dissatisfaction with C's recent arrival, as she repeatedly told her friend about her bad premonitions regarding the impending nightmare and asked her not to come here. Unable to contain her anger, C bursts into the living room, stating that she came to the settlement because she sensed B needed help, and overheard their conversation, confirming her decision.

C's sudden appearance angers B even more. She confesses that C's arrival has intensified her anxiety, which she had been trying to alleviate at the last party with alcohol. In response, C accuses B of distrust, noting that she preferred to confide in a stranger rather than her longtime friend. Following this, C states that she doesn't consider B crazy and is willing to help her, no matter what. Since their school days, a mental connection had developed between them, allowing them to sense each other's moods and emotions. These words touch B, and she apologizes for causing everyone distress, revealing that she and C plan to leave the city in the morning and suggests that A do the same.

(INSERT) The gates, covered in frost, made of light gray stone with metallic symbols and alien figures carved into them, couldn't close due to the desiccated corpse of a humanoid trapped between the doors.

Several hours later, B, drenched in cold sweat and trying to sleep, hears whispers in an unfamiliar language growing louder, compelling her to open her eyes. She cracks open the window and sees, with the early dawn, a multitude of humanoid silhouettes rapidly approaching her.

Seeing what's coming, B succumbs to a panic attack. Upon hearing the girl's screams from adjacent rooms, A and C quickly gather around. Feeling a sharp drop in temperature, they watch as B, without blinking, gazes into the distance through an open window where a gradually intensifying snowfall has begun.

The whispers that B hears become unbearably loud. Despite all attempts to stop her, she rushes out of the house, donning her raincoat, and stops not far from the porch.

7 – 6

Frozen in place, B peers through the snow at the approaching group of levitating humanoid beings, distinguishable by primary male and female characteristics in their bodies, composed of ribbed plates and living silvery flesh, fused together with some mechanisms. All the humanoids have perfectly smooth silvery bodies and lack mouths, concealed by ribbed plates. Female specimens feature long metallic nails and heels fused with their soles, along with semi-exposed busts made of ribbed plates (in the style of H.R. Giger's works).

In the eyes of A and C, who rush onto the porch after the girl, the creatures arrange themselves in front of B, forming a space with ribbed walls, similar to their plates. In this space, time stands absolutely still for everything and everyone except the humanoids and B (such temporal spaces essentially don't exist).

Periodically merging with the surfaces of the space, the humanoids transmit visions of tragic future events to B, occurring in numerous parallel realities. Overwhelmed by excruciating pain, B starts to bleed from her nose. Upon witnessing how the cult's actions inevitably lead to the death of everyone in the settlement, the girl whispers her plea to the humanoids.

Suddenly, B is blinded by a powerful flash of light, causing her to faint. After that, the otherworldly space and the humanoids vanish instantly, and time resumes its normal flow. D, who arrives in time, attempts to carry B away in an unknown direction.

Noticing this, A and C quickly intervene to stop the man. When asked to release the girl, D claims that he must protect her from the Circle of Origin, a powerful organization that founded this settlement to find the Contactee – a person capable of realizing the physical existence of angels and establishing direct contact with them.

Carrying the unconscious girl in front of him, the man explains that, judging by the sudden temperature drop and intense gamma radiation, an "origin event" occurred in this area. This event involves angels manifesting in our reality through the signals of the Contactee, whom, according to D, is none other than B. D's theory proved correct: by creating a powerful directed beam of light, he manages to interrupt the origin event since only the speed of light is sufficient to intrude into the angels' otherworldly space.

A recalls the silhouette of the Circle of Origin from his nightmares, demanding more information about the situation from D. The man asserts that, working in the Spanish authorities, he dedicated years to investigating the Circle, suspecting their involvement in the disappearance of his sister, who vanished in this town eight years ago. D vows to do everything in his power to thwart the cult's plans and seek revenge for his sister's disappearance.

Suddenly regaining consciousness, B urges A and C to flee immediately, revealing that D is working for the Circle. D vehemently denies this, insisting that he has always been a staunch opponent of the cult.

The girl claims that in the visions sent by the angels, in numerous realities, copies of D, unaware of their true purpose, were used by the cult as informants. Their main mission was to identify the Contactee among newcomers to the settlement. These copies of D are biological clones of a single person, created by the Circle, who implanted false pasts and objectives to divert suspicion from themselves.

As evidence of her claims, B points to D's numerous tattoos, which he unconsciously used as a diary, meticulously concealed. Stripping down to his torso, D displays his body, completely covered in numerous brief inscriptions with dates and timestamps.

The man comes to terms with B's truth, struggling to accept that he himself had found B for the cult and that his sister and past were never real. D hands over the car keys to the trio, instructing them to leave the town immediately. Multiple laser pointers are trained on D, followed by gunfire, causing D to collapse lifeless.

All three immediately make a run for it. Pressing a button on a remote, they hear the car's alarm activate among the trees and head towards it.

Inside the car, the group notices bullet holes and realizes it's malfunctioning. Within seconds, numerous laser beams are aimed at them.

Obeying the sect members' orders, all three quickly find themselves captured. Subsequently, one of the cult members reports via radio the capture of the Contactee.

(INSERT) The desiccated head of a humanoid made of flesh and machinery, with an empty eye socket on one side, holds a cocoon of pulsating living tissue with a metallic valve protruding from it, connected by protruding wires covered in semi-decomposed flesh.

7 – 7

The clouds had been lingering over the settlement for many days, which the Circle had completely isolated from the outside world. They had begun conducting new experiments on the remaining arrivals who suffered from various mental disorders following the interrupted Angelic Event.

Among the test subjects were A and C, on whom they studied the reason for the relative stability of their sanity when in proximity to B. B herself was completely isolated from the other test subjects, kept under constant observation in a special research complex.

Placing the girl in an artificial coma after interrogations about her contact with angels, the cult studied the structure of her brain as her insanity worsened. Each time she lost consciousness, B found herself back in the otherworldly realm, where, having realized the threat the cult posed to humanity through her visions, she pleaded with the angels to physically erase the organization known as the Circle and all their activities from reality.

At the next meeting of the Circle's research leaders, it was announced that the organization had successfully proven the theory of the angels' orientation during the Angelic Event, towards the signals of the contactee's mind, whose brain structure remotely resembled the hypothetical Boltzmann brain. Additionally, thanks to the contactee, new data had been discovered that confirmed the theory of the materialization of the Boltzmann brain into the form of angels who had become aware of their existence beyond time and space.

Further information was relayed to the highest council of the cult, but there was no response. It was then reported that there was a complete lack of information about the cult members and the test subjects, and the research division remained isolated from the outside world at all levels. Commenting on the report, the assembly members speculated that the observations mentioned were the result of the interrupted "D Event" and decided to continue monitoring the situation.

One of the research leaders present at the meeting suggested that, in this reality, the cult members and the test subjects were extraterrestrial objects, as it seemed they simply did not exist in this reality, making them a direct target for the eradication by the Bleak. The other assembly members rejected their colleague's claims, pointing out that if the theory were true, they would have already been incinerated.

(INSERT) The image is divided into two parts: on the left side, amidst mist and gas emissions, there is an intricate labyrinth seen from a bird's-eye view, with numerous damaged corridors leading to a gigantic empty square in the center. On the right side, there is a corridor extending to the next similar turn of the labyrinth, on the smooth, light stone walls of which numerous humanoid faces of various shapes and forms are unevenly carved into continuous rows.

B is pulled out of another coma by a cult member who had urged her to save him from the Bleak who had descended upon the settlement, incinerating everyone in their path. Finding herself on the streets of the settlement, under a clear night sky with stars, B horrifyingly witnesses how numerous people, including the cult member who had freed her, become victims of the Bleak.

B remembers her plea to erase the cult and all its experiments from this reality, realizing that what is happening is the result of her wish granted by the angels. Afterward, she immediately sets out to search for A and C.

Soon, B discovers them among the last surviving individuals who were being tracked by the Bleak. A and C notice her, call out to her, and pretend to be part of the Bleak. In front of B's eyes, the Bleak incinerate the entire remaining group.

Then the Bleak surround B, and she sees the silhouettes of all her deceased friends, including A and C. In desperation, B begs to be incinerated as well, but the Bleak quickly disappear, leaving her alone in a completely deserted settlement. Following this, B experiences a nervous breakdown, tearing her hair out as she realizes that by requesting the erasure of the Circle from reality, she had killed all her friends, lamenting over A's skull crumbling into ashes.