The ground has disappeared and I fall into the void. A warm, golden light envelops me and blinds me.

Noises of iron rubbing. Siren’s whistle and create a chorus of delays. Silhouettes emerge from the light, carrying clouds of ink with them.

Locomotives.

I've never seen any before. How do I know these machines?

Yet I'm sure of it.

They are locomotives that run on iron bridges, tracks that lead to darkness out of light. Their black plumes transform into seas, piercing the wall of light and outlining a new landscape.

Huge electrical pylons made of bronze, silver, and emerald descend onto a white and yellow gold chessboard. Buildings with monumental facades, chimneys, and forests of pinnacles.

Opal glass windows and floors, iron scaffolding, and cranes.

Admiration.

Fear.

Amazement.

Above me, black slime drips from the floor above, further and further away, in muddy stalactites. The drops dissolve into a golden haze that occludes the ceiling.

I look around and everything overlaps. The shapes repeat and overlap with each other endlessly.

Panic.

I turn my head several times, this fuels the general confusion and overlap. I bump into something.

The blow makes me spin around. Everything overlaps again and again. I can't make out anything anymore. I hit my head against the floor.

In a hall of mirrors, I see in a glass darkly.

Ci-cin!-Cin-cin-cin…

“AH!”

Helping myself with my hands, I kneel and stand up.

The floor under my feet is warm. If I keep my gaze fixed in front of me, everything remains well-defined. Only at the edge of the views field the image is mirrored with each step.

A crystal bridge with golden steps allows me to reach the base of the real Golden Doors.

They look upon an incinerator castle, whose plumes burn an acidic, green fire. White buildings with square windows surrounded the courtyard.

Colonnades.

Distant roads and chessboards.

Turning, horror is already evident to me. A slight overlap and repetition. The more I turn, the more reality seems to multiply and mix.

I can't get used to this annoying problem.

I close my eyes and open them again.

Ci-Ci-Ci-cin…

The problem seems solved. Maybe I can keep it under control by blinking frequently.

I push the doors, opening them laboriously. Be careful never to take my eyes off the center.

I don't know what could happen. I don't know where exactly those beyond [lv: 90] rest.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

This chaos is the fruit of their dreams. Is this their power to manipulate reality?

Freight trains chug in the distance.

Worry makes me cautious. I don't know what is happening. Nor do I understand how to defend myself or react to a threat. I'm no longer at my house.

The space wrapped in this golden sky is mesmerizing. All this light is tiring for the eyes.

The sounds echo endlessly, producing a growing migraine.

In an open space in the garden of coils and cables in the courtyard, there is a throne with a monstrous and incomprehensible back. On a pedestal, erected, it is made of gold, bitumen, and ruby and shines in general splendor.

[Scan]

[Trono vuoto]

Ci-cin.

The empty throne.

That empty throne.

So, this is where the God of Wisdom should sit!

Dizziness.

Faintness, meaninglessness.

I put a hand to my forehead and close my eyes. The light is so intense and psychedelic.

When I reopen them, the throne has expanded, multiplying its parts like metastases. I look away.

I take a step back; the chaos increases.

I lean on a ledge. It is nothing more than the repetition of a part of the barrier.

I don't understand; the more I turn, the more everything blends into kaleidoscopic colors.

What remains is the absolute white that calms all my excitement.

“I was waiting for you.”

In the absolute black light, a defined stain in an incomprehensible amalgam all around. A stain that is constantly changing, dividing, and reassembling.

My eyes focus on it. On its dark blue hue, its reassuring coldness. It is immune to the effects of the Hall of Mirrors.

“You are the God of Wisdom, right?”

“A specter of its being. I have closed the Golden Doors and made this area accessible only in the way you have used.”

“So, you knew.”

“Part of necessity.”

“I do not understand you. What's the point of all this? Why are you doing everything to jam the System?”

“There's no point in talking about it now. You are here because this is where I have enough power. In this room, I can infinitely mirror that glimmer of existence granted to a ghost.”

I can't follow it.

What is it talking about?

Mirroring infinitely? Is it perhaps a local property?

I…

…I would like to act, but my body seems to have disappeared. I only feel a burning steam, mitigated by the presence of that stain.

Seeing it is synesthetic. The more I look at it, the colder I feel, as if it emanates visual cold.

“There are many things I would like to ask you, but I am here for another reason.”

“Judge me?”

“Sure.”

[Judgment]

[Judgment: Judgment: Judgment: Judgment… Judgment…]

Ci-cin, Ci-cin, Ci-cin, Ci-cin, Ci-cin…

“WHAT!?”

“I'm sorry to disappoint you, but my nature is infinite, and so are my parts and their ghosts. Your skill began to judge my parts. In an infinite time, it will judge infinite parts of me. But it will never overcome my nature.”

“Absurd! How could it be—”

“Empress, the truth is that we are playing a very old game. Older than this reality. I waited for your father's exit only because the universe was still thriving at the time. I have to wait until the dead are in sufficient numbers, that is, all of them. The judgment of everyone is fundamental for the creation of an ever-better universe, more similar to their dreams, nightmares, and self-awareness. But it is finally about to reach its climax. There are fewer and fewer of you left. When you settle the last elven settlers, an ancient machine and the Yellow Queen will do the rest. But I already gave you the order, only you were dreaming. The Ocean is ready. So am I...”

The stain continues to make screeching sounds. Words that discourage and intimidate me.

I can't be hospitable, not to this creature. There is something about it that is close to me.

I can't judge it.

I have to try another way!

[Blue…

It does not work!? Arc after arc of electricity envelops my space. I feel my strength draining.

“Here, everything is projected to infinity. A single spell would cost you infinite energy to cast. On the other hand, it would have infinite power. The Golden Doors are the trap of beings too powerful to handle otherwise.”

“How can you?”

“Because I transcend this reality. My dream permeates the entire universe. What you find here is nothing more than an insignificant specter. Simulacrum of my corpse.”

No matter how hard I try. I get more and more foggy. I feel like something is affecting my mind.

With breath, with every blink of an ear, something insinuates in my body.

“I will erase all your memories of this meeting, of this place. Even me. I have already calculated that this is the most efficient route. In the dark, you will act better. Risks of failure reduced to a miracle.”

“I… I…”

“See you soon, Empress. Remember that the game has already started a long time ago. You play against the ancient adversary, me, and you are merely taking the baton of other failures… failures… failures… failures… you… failures… you… you… failures… you must know… you… failures… failures… you… you must know…”

…

The words overlap and become incomprehensible. I try to cover my ears, but my hands become infinite overlaps.

I hear endless ears!

I can't stop them!

I can't close my eyes!

Parts of me reflected everywhere, trains vent and rattle in the background. An infinite kaleidoscope.

The stain! The stain is absorbing everything. I feel like I'm dissolving. To disappear…