Chapter 13 – The 7th Floor’s Ecosystem

Days blurred into one another on the seventh floor. The endless expanse of the forest, the oppressive humidity, the strange, unsettling sounds… it all began to take its toll. We walked for hours, days even, yet it felt as if we were traveling in circles, the familiar landmarks reappearing, mocking our attempts to navigate this alien landscape.

Even the compass and the gravity reader were useless here, their readings erratic, unreliable. One thing was certain: this floor was vast, far larger than any we’d encountered before. We marked our path, leaving small signs on trees and rocks, hoping to avoid getting hopelessly lost. More than once, we had to backtrack, a single wrong turn costing us precious time, precious energy.

Survival on this floor wasn’t just about finding the right path; it was about staying alive. The forest teemed with life, strange, alien life forms unlike anything we’d ever seen in the world above. We documented our findings, a catalog of the bizarre creatures that called this layer of the Abyss home. Where had they come from? How had they adapted to this strange, hostile environment?

• Feathered Serpents:
  
  Long, serpentine creatures with iridescent feathers, gliding effortlessly through the trees, their sharp cries echoing through the forest, a chilling reminder of their predatory nature. We’d kept our distance, not wanting to test their hunting prowess.

• Flickering Trees:
  
  These trees pulsed with a rhythmic light, not a natural bioluminescence, but something… more sinister. We’d learned to avoid them, their glow often marking the hunting grounds of larger predators, the light a lure for unsuspecting prey.

• Ruby Moths:
  
  Beautiful, yet deadly. These nocturnal moths, their wings a vibrant crimson, filled the night sky with their shimmering dance. But their beauty was a deception, their bodies laced with a potent toxin. “Flying poison,” Yuri had quipped, watching them flit through the trees.

But the most terrifying creature we encountered was… the Nightcrawler.

We’d first glimpsed it through the trees, a massive, hulking form moving slowly through the undergrowth. Even from a distance, its size and grotesque appearance was enough to make us catch our breath. Easily thirty meters long, its five thick legs, gnarled and moss-covered, moved with surprising agility. Its body, resembling a jagged rock formation, was covered in a thick, bark-like hide. Its head, if it could even be called a head, was a cluster of dozens of eyes, their pupils constantly moving, scanning, searching. It looked less like a naturally evolved creature, and more like something… engineered, a grotesque creation of the Abyss itself.

And then, there was its cry. A deep, resonating bellow that shook the very ground beneath our feet, a sound ripped straight from a nightmare. A sound that made our blood run cold.

And then, we’d realized the true horror. There wasn’t just
one
.

We were making our way cautiously through a dense thicket when the ground began to tremble.

“Noah,” Yuri whispered, her hand gripping my arm, “something’s wrong.”

A rhythmic vibration resonated through the ground, growing steadily stronger. Two massive shapes emerged from the trees, their forms silhouetted against the dim light.

“Nightcrawlers,” I breathed, pulling Yuri behind a thick tree trunk.

One was similar in size to the one we’d seen before, but the other… it was larger, its hide scarred and battle-worn. They faced each other, motionless, the air thick with tension. The forest held its breath.

Then, the smaller Nightcrawler charged, its massive body surprisingly agile. The larger one responded, its thick leg slamming into the ground, sending tremors through the forest, uprooting trees, leaving a deep crater in the earth. Moss and leaves rained down on us.

“Yuri, stay down! Don’t move!”

We huddled behind the tree, watching in horrified fascination as the two titans clashed. The smaller Nightcrawler lashed out with its front legs, trying to pierce the larger one’s thick hide. The larger one twisted, its five legs pinning the smaller one to the ground, crushing it, the sound of cracking bone echoing through the trees. The air was filled with their roars, their cries, the sounds of their brutal struggle.

“They’re fighting over territory,” Yuri whispered.

“We need to get out of here,” I said, my heart pounding. “Before we get caught in the crossfire.”

The battle raged on, the two Nightcrawlers locked in a deadly embrace, their roars shaking the very ground beneath our feet.

“Now’s our chance,” Yuri whispered. “While they’re distracted.”

We moved quickly, silently, from tree to tree, using the undergrowth as cover, the sounds of the battle fading behind us.

“Just hope they don’t notice us,” I muttered, my breath catching in my throat. “Being trapped between those two… that’s not a good way to die.”

“We wouldn’t stand a chance against them, would we?”

“We’re lucky they’re fighting each other,” I said grimly. “If they turned their attention to us…”

I didn’t finish the thought, scanning the forest, my senses on high alert. Even with the Nightcrawlers occupied, the forest felt… hostile, the unseen eyes still watching, waiting.

We finally found another hollow beneath a cluster of large roots, a small, sheltered space where we could rest, recover. But the sense of unease lingered, a low, rhythmic hum vibrating through the air, through the trees, through the very ground beneath our feet.

“Noah… do you hear that?” Yuri whispered. “That… humming sound?”

“I hear it,” I said, my brow furrowing. “It’s not just sound… it’s… I can feel it. Inside my head.”

It wasn’t a sound you heard with your ears; it was a vibration that resonated within your very being, a pressure that built behind your eyes, a throbbing in your skull.

“What is it?” Yuri asked, her gaze scanning the forest, her hand instinctively going to her knife.

The humming grew louder, the ground beneath our feet trembling.

“Is the ground moving?”

“It’s vibrating,” I said, trying to pinpoint the source. But it wasn’t just the ground. The trees, the air… everything was vibrating, resonating at the same frequency. “It’s… resonance. This isn’t natural.”

“Resonance? What do you mean?”

“It’s like… the whole forest is vibrating. The trees, the ground, the air… it’s all connected, resonating at the same frequency. Like something’s… amplifying it.”

I stepped back, a sense of unease washing over me. This wasn’t just a strange sound; it was something… more.

“Ugh… why? Why is this happening?” Yuri covered her ears, her face contorted in pain.

The vibration intensified, the trees swaying, their branches shaking, their leaves rustling. A faint light pulsed at the tops of the trees, flickering in time with the humming.

“Noah, look!”

At the center of the forest, a glowing sphere hovered above the trees, pulsing with light, its energy radiating outwards, causing the trees, the ground, the very air to vibrate.

“That’s… that’s the source,” I murmured.

But before we could investigate further, the humming stopped, the vibration ceased, the light faded. The forest fell silent, an eerie, unsettling silence.

“It’s… gone?”

“Not gone,” I said, a chill running down my spine. “Just… waiting.”

We would later discover that the resonance was a recurring phenomenon, a rhythmic pulse that swept through the forest at regular intervals.

[Noah’s Journal – Resonance Phenomenon – Abyss 7th Floor]

Phenomenon:

Resonance

Location:

Abyss – 7th Floor, Central Forest Region and other localized areas

Observations:

A strange phenomenon, referred to as “Resonance,” occurs at specific locations within the forest. Initially perceived as a low humming sound, it quickly becomes apparent that the entire environment is affected. The resonance manifests not only as sound, but also as vibrations and rhythmic pulses of light. Most notably, the phenomenon seems to affect the local flora and fauna.

“Noah, I appreciate the detailed notes, but your writing is putting me to sleep. A little less scientific jargon, please.”
– Yuri

Characteristics:

• Vibrational Spread:
  
  The ground, trees, and even the air vibrate at the same frequency, the intensity increasing rhythmically and spreading outwards from a central point.

“I didn’t feel the air vibrating. It felt like my brain was about to explode.”
– Yuri

• Light Emission:
  
  A glowing sphere, located at the epicenter of the resonance, emits pulses of light that reflect off the trees and the ground, illuminating the entire forest.

“’Glowing sphere’ sounds very official. I thought it looked more like a giant, flickering disco ball.”
– Yuri

• Ecosystem Response:
  
  During the resonance, the local fauna exhibit unusual behavior. Nightcrawlers freeze, concealing themselves, while smaller creatures gather in large groups and move erratically.

• Post-Resonance Silence:
  
  After the resonance ceases, an eerie silence descends upon the forest, a silence that feels pregnant with anticipation, often followed by increased activity from larger predators.

Problems Caused by Resonance:

• Psychological Distress:
  
  The resonance causes a disorienting pressure within the skull, making it difficult to concentrate, to maintain one’s bearings. Yuri and I both experienced a loss of direction and coordination during the resonance.

“I think we got lost because you said ‘turn right at the big tree’ and then turned left. Not because of some… ‘resonance’.”
– Yuri

• Environmental Shifts:
  
  The vibrations seem to cause subtle shifts in the terrain, the trees swaying, the ground itself feeling unstable. It’s possible that the forest floor itself is changing during the resonance.

“That’s why we kept going in circles! Our markers were useless if the whole forest was rearranging itself!”
– Yuri.

• Indicator of Threat:
  
  After the resonance, the presence of larger creatures, presumably predators, is often detected. This suggests that the resonance might be a signal of some kind, perhaps emanating from a dominant creature or entity within the forest.

Speculation and Conclusions:

The resonance is not a natural phenomenon, but a deliberate signal, possibly emanating from a dominant entity within the forest. The locations where the resonance occurs may be connected to a central point, perhaps the lair or territory of this entity.

Response Strategy:

Seek immediate shelter during the resonance. Approach the central region with extreme caution. The effects of the resonance are likely to intensify the closer one gets to the source. Avoid immediate travel after the resonance ceases. Observe the surrounding environment for changes and potential threats.

“The forest is testing us. I hope these observations help us unlock its secrets.”
– Noah

“Unlocking secrets is great, Noah, but staying alive is slightly more important. Just saying.”
– Yuri