Everything was dark around him. Each step was tall. Every time he went down one, he felt like he was falling, but he kept descending frantically.
Mike — Oh crap!
He finally missed a step and tumbled down the stairs. His body rolled down about ten steps before violently hitting his head with a loud crash.
Mike — Ouch, ouch, ouch... That hurts like hell!
He got up with difficulty and brushed off his clothes. Strangely, not a single scratch. His body was perfectly fine, as if the fall had never happened. But he didn't even notice.
The young man looked straight ahead. There stood a door, very similar to the one he had exited through on the previous floor.
Mike — Another door? Looks like there are numbers on it… uh… 99!
Voice? — Are you doing this on purpose? Yes, it's 99.
The voice confirmed the information with a slightly annoyed tone.
Mike — So that means the last one was the hundredth? It's already weird enough to start in the middle of a building… So I still have 99 to go?
Voice? — Yes, it seems that way. But the layout is strange… Anyway, I think you should go through this door.
Behind him, the stairs began disappearing one by one with a metallic clicking sound. They folded in on themselves. In the end, only the last step remained — the one he was standing on.
So, he opened the door and entered floor 99. Behind him, the door vanished. Nothing remained.
Mike — What the…? How am I supposed to keep going? And this floor… it looks exactly like the first one. Way too much. Like two peas in a pod… Even the broken walls… And yet, I definitely went down...
He moved closer to examine the details of the floor. He recognized certain elements: the debris from the fight, the apartment doors. He tried to pick up a stone from the rubble, but it didn't move an inch.
Voice? — Can't lift it? But it's not supposed to be that heavy.
Mike tried harder, but nothing worked. The stone seemed stuck in place, like it was welded to the ground. He looked around, searching for other anomalies. Then he noticed that the liquid on the ground, which had been fluid before, now seemed… frozen.
Mike — The ground is weird… The liquid isn't even liquid anymore. It's solid. Even harder than the floor itself, it seems…
The air felt still, heavy. Even his breathing echoed like a distant sound.
He took a few steps. His shoes didn't sink at all. He was literally walking on the liquid, now a hard, impenetrable surface. It was covered in footprints, as if they'd been frozen into the material.
Mike — Why does everything feel… frozen? Am I still dreaming?
He still couldn't make sense of this phenomenon. It started to wear on him.
Voice? — Rest a bit. It'd be better if you ate something.
He approached a slightly open apartment door. Reflexively, he tried to push it open to go in, but it didn't budge. He pulled his backpack around to the front, then slipped through the gap.
Inside was identical to the previous floor. On the ground was the pack of cookies he had dropped earlier. He stared at it with disdain, then sat down at the table placed in the middle of the room. He set his backpack down, rummaged through it, and pulled out some sweets. He ate a few, then put the rest away.
Mike — A bit of sugar... does help.
??? — I told you not to sit on the table. That candy isn't a proper meal. And to take off your shoes when you come in.
A woman's voice? In this place, he hadn't seen anyone… except for the armor. He spun around abruptly.
Behind him stood a dark, shadowy figure, like a ghost. She looked to be in her forties. Her hair was long, but her face was indistinct, like it had been scribbled over with thin, blurry, warped lines. Her feet didn't seem to be really touching the floor.
Voice? — Oh no… What the hell is that…?
Female figure — Mommy told you to stop misbehaving, didn't she?
She walked toward him and raised her hand as if to hit him. At that moment, Mike was overwhelmed by a violent wave of rage, disgust… and then nausea. A blinding headache struck him.
Mike — Aahhh… my head…! Feels like someone's squeezing my brain!
In his mind, thousands of images rushed by at lightning speed.
Female figure — Sorry.
He shut his eyes, bracing for the blow. But nothing happened.
He opened them slowly. In front of him… stood door 99 once again.