[BARELY VISIBLE AT THE EDGE OF HIS PERIPHERY, THE CRITIC NOTICES SOMETHING SHIFT]
[hey theo
im gonna go by myself for a bit]
[Okay where do you want to meet back at]
[ill come find you
dont worry about it
im gonna go now]
[Stay safe]

MEMZ6 - treasure-of-the-ocean-cave

something about that flooded variant always brought me back

i dont know if it was the area itself or the mirror

i remember when fiend walked into it like it was nothing
almost like he expected it to work
and
it went to that other variant

as i stare at the mirror now i can see a flicker in the reflection

almost like
something is moving around

i hesitate for a moment before stepping out of the paintings frame

i was never good with water

but before i could scare myself into going back
my shoe has already stepped in a small hole of water

PART I - WET SOCKS

the same place it was before
of course the variant wouldnt change

i hear a scraping sound coming from behind the mirror

i pass my hand through but pull it back quickly
just in case something bites

nothing of course
why would there be anything

i walk through the mirror after the scraping stops
it lasted around eight minutes or so
its hard to tell the time down here

PART II - DRY HANDS

i immediately noticed the variant on the other side had two sets of stairwells

one leading up
a potential second floor

and another leading down
a basement of sorts

the normal version didnt have a stairwell
or at least i dont think it did

i walk back through the mirror
i feel something push me through

i press against the mirror
i feel something press back

i hear running water
i look down
the floor looks more wet than usual
its flooding

the water is rising
the water is rising quickly
the water is grabbing my ankle
the water is dragging me down into it
the water is staring at me with its horrifying face
the water is holding my head beneath the surface
the water is just below my chest
the water is

i fall through the mirror
i had been leaning back on it the whole time
hoping whatever was resisting me would let up
it did thankfully

i hear it rushing from the other side
but nothing came through the mirror

my clothes are soaked
just my luck

i turn to my left
the stairwells are still there

the idea of a basement here seems interesting
but you dont see a second floor very often
so i head there first

PART III - THE DRIPPING TAP

as i walk up the stairs i hear a constant dripping sound

i look up
i dont know why i havent been before
the second floor looks more like the normal variant

i reach the second floor
i turn to look downstairs

its flooded
it sent me back here

but how

there was no stairwell before
unless this was moved here

i cant wrap my head around it
im stuck here now

or

no

i need to go down there

i cant spend the rest of my life stuck up here

the floor is pretty small
just like the rest

theres nothing to do here
theres no company
theres no potential leads to where he went
theres no fiend theres no theo theres no

id be trapped with my thoughts and i do not want that

so i slowly walk down the stairs into the flooded first floor

♪ — jousecological-dead-zone
original: AREA 4 - The Forest (Overwater) - dconn

return

♪ — (drink-all-the-water-in-the-variant)
original: AREA 4 - The Forest (Underwater) - dconn

[LET'S DO... "SOMETHING CRAZY."]
[the only way i can go is down]
[i dont know how long i can hold my breath]
[the water is lukewarm]
[i cant see the bottom]

PART IV - MARIANA TRENCH

as i reach the bottom of the stairwell
the chunk of the floor i step on gets kicked out from under me

the variant falls apart
im in a vast ocean now

i dont take this well

i try to catch myself on the stairs before i begin my slow descent
but the stairs crumble

i look up
the second floor is gone
i entered from nowhere

there is nothing i can do but try and navigate
but where am i trying to go

air
i need air
i need to get some air

i look around
its hard to see underwater but
i see a chunk floating around that looks like the mirror variant

i try to swim over to it
i was always a crappy swimmer

frantically flailing my limbs around in a
desperate attempt to reach what i could only hope to be safety
i quickly realize that im beginning to overexert myself
so i slow myself down

it takes a little bit and i panic whenever i start descending
but im above the chunk

i let myself fall down onto it
and i hit the ground

there doesnt seem to be any water in this chunk

it formed a sort of air bubble around itself

i use this opportunity to catch my breath
obviously
but also to look around

the horizon is empty
i look up to find a bit of darkness
potentially a ceiling
i look down and

its the darkest down there
but i see more chunks floating around

i dont want to do this
i want to go back
i shouldnt have left the group
but its too late for me to have second thoughts about this

i resigned my control of the situation
the moment i stepped foot inside the jouse

its either i proceed further down or
stay here for the rest of time

i already went over this
i cant stay here
but
what if there is something here with me

i try to listen from the air pocket
nothing but the music
at least the music is distant enough
i couldnt pick up any other sound so that was reassuring
but then i remember that you cant really see well underwater
and that sense of security went as quickly as it came

PART V - ABYSSAL

each time i reach another pocket the water gets darker
if i wasnt scared of the dark before then i sure as hell am now

my soaked clothes cling to my skin
my hair is weighed down by the excess water it holds
my eyes burn from how much ive been
compulsively rubbing them after i reach a pocket
its an awful feeling

yet still
there is nothing i can do but press on

the distance between the pockets grow further the deeper i dive

at some point im unable to see the last one when i reach a new one

even worse though
i hear a rumbling coming from below

i dont think its the sound of some sort of creature
but the idea of it being something else is what scares me more

even still i am forced to face trial by fire
or i guess water
and keep diving

PART VI - GHOST LEVIATHAN

i can barely see anything in the water now

the next pocket is so far i have to really try to even make out the
vague shape of it

and when i reach that pocket i finally see it

some light only at the very bottom of this body of water

the floor is the same as the variants usual but

there is a sort of massive hole in the ground
it almost looks like it has teeth
they are made of the dry variants materials

the inside of it looks to be pitch black but
where else could the light be coming from

maybe the rumbling i heard earlier was it opening
will it close again
i dont know
i shouldnt waste enough time to find out
who knows if it would open again
who knows if it would shut when im passing through and it

no i cant think of that now
after all im already swimming toward it

there is a strange sound coming from the other side

PART VII - MAW OF THE VOID

i made sure to take the biggest breath i could before setting out for the hole

even then it was only barely enough for me to reach the teeth of it

i place my hand on one of them
grabbing the side

its dry

something pulls me through

i fall

i fall for a little longer than i would feel safe falling for

and when i finally hit the ground something breaks my fall

i regain my bearings and