L119

Level 119119: The Painted Nether.

-Class 2-
Mental Hazards
Unknown Information
Low Entity Count

Level 119119, despite having been explored by several M.E.G. scouting teams, remains a mystery. This is due to the unstable, almost sentient, characteristics of the level and the main Entity that resides there. Access to The Painted Nether is simple but initially requires a good deal of luck. Touching any painting or statue created in level 119119 will no-clip you there instantly, as these things are directly connected to the level. While there are said to be hundreds - possibly even thousands - of these artworks in other levels, given the vastness of The Backrooms, it is rare to find them. Most of the secured or overly hostile areas seem to be devoid of these entangled art pieces.
There have been claims of people being randomly sent here while trying to access a different level but nothing has been confirmed.

While this level is poorly understood, there do seem to be a few rules:

- Avoid making any kind of excessive mess. The level seems content to clean away normal wear and tear but there appears to be a limit (as found out by the Science Officer of the first M.E.G. team) to what it will tolerate.

- Avoid being loud; yelling or shouting. Like making a mess, doing so will be met with an imposing feeling that grows quickly within the guilty party. Like making a mess, this was also discovered by the first M.E.G. team.

- If you happen to encounter the main Entity on this level, speak to it as little as possible. While it doesn’t seem too aggressive, its personality is very unstable.

- Some areas of this level can cause a sort of mental drain due to the bizarre and surreal nature of them. It has yet to be discovered if this is intentional or simply due to the fragility of the human psyche. Some wanderers have gone completely insane from spending too much time in the Painted Nether. It’s best to spend no more than twenty-four hours on this level at a time. Less is better.

Zones:

This level has three confirmed zones that seem to randomly change between themselves without warning and the starting location of a wanderer no-clipping here seems to be random as well (or perhaps the location is always the same but the area has changed with another). To date, it seems there is no way of accessing these zones at will. A wanderer has to wait for the changes to occur. These zones are:

The Gallery - A long, wide hallway decorated elegantly and adorned with paintings on both sides, symmetrically. Despite an occasional turn in the hallway, it always seems to be straight (meaning you can turn a corner and look back and see the same long hallway you just walked down). The hallway’s length is not subject to what is considered the ‘natural laws’. It can be only a few hundred meters long or a dozen miles long. No matter it’s length, the number of paintings and their spacing never changes. Nor does the time it takes to walk it (meaning it could be three-hundred meters long and a wanderer would still spend hours walking it). Currently no one has reached the end before the zone shifts to another.
Three feet out from each wall is a simple, velvet rope supported by brass railings that run the length of the hall. No one can ever seem to remember what color the rope is but it’s purpose is clear; to prevent anyone from touching the paintings. Do Not Touch Them. Ever.
So far the paintings themselves seem to be of the normal variety, except for being astonishingly well done. No brush lines or soft rises where paint laid a hair thicker. They each look as real as real life but are clearly painted with oils on a canvas so smooth that is the envy of glass. Their subjects range and vary wildly. Some are scenes from the Frontrooms; examples that have been seen are the fall of Rome, the building of the Great Pyramids, and the Enola Gay in furious flight with the world aflame behind her. A few that have been seen cannot be described in words but the viewers all reported strong feelings of fear and discomfort when looking at them.
The walls seem to subtly change colors, fading across the rainbow so slowly that it can go unnoticed for quite a while. The floor is a soft, purple carpet that never soils or dampens.

“I’d never seen anything like it! These weren’t just art, they were absolutely magnificent pieces that could have no equal! Things like this is why I need to get out in the levels more! Crutch keeps an eye out for me when we do. And lucky I decided to come along as chief science officer to! These guys probably didn’t even make it past high school. They are good at what they do but thinking is my job.”

“Second day in what I have christened “The Gallery Area”. We camped in the middle of the hallway. Lieutenant Ethridge thought it best to sleep single file to avoid someone accidentally rolling under the ropes. After what happened, I can’t say that I blame him though it singes my pride. I was just sorting out my pack, getting rid of clutter that had accumulated from the past levels. That feeling… god, that was scary. I felt like someone was standing behind me about to pounce. Someone who’s anger was growing stronger by the second. The dread…

-Richard ‘Dick’ Miles; Journal Entry #427”



The Sanctuary - This area appears as a massive nave in an ornate 15th century Italian cathedral. The stained glass windows seem to be lit from the outside by a soft, silver-blue light and are unbreakable. The designs on the windows are erratic and give a sense of unease when looked at for too long. A row of seven, large candles stand vigilantly on an oval-shaped altar of dark wood; decorated with cravings of crows and ravens. These candles burn continuously without ever being consumed, though the flames themselves are real enough.
Four wide, stone arches, floor to ceiling in height, reach out from each of the four corners of the altar. They intersect four other arches, each placed at ninety degrees to the original four, in a very surreal way that leaves the viewer unable to tell which arch is which at the points of intersection.
As with the stained glass, focusing on these intersections inflicts mental discomfort on the observer. Sometimes soft, sorrowful, organ music can be heard coming from some unseen source. One very odd thing that stands out is the absolute lack of any kind of religious icons or items. Approaching the altar is not advised as there are numerous reports of people experiencing mild hallucinations once they cross into the area lit by the candles.

“I had never been inside of a church before. Leave it to the Backrooms to put me in one. Of course, the area wasn’t really a church. There were no icons or symbols to denote any faith. It looked like one though. In my official opinion, it was modeled after a renaissance era cathedral. Clearly in the Northern Italy style. Exquisite decor and detail! The stained glass, however beautiful, is very much in keeping with what I expected from the Backrooms. It is impossible to look at for very long. Crutch had us looking at the floor before the area changed. He said it nothing good was above us.
I know he meant it literally. The cross points of the arches and the designs on the windows above us were something ominous but I wonder if perhaps his words were wiser than we knew. I can’t imagine a god that would create a place like this. He’d have to be pretty nefarious.

-Richard ‘Dick’ Miles; Journal entry #429”

The Legion - Called such because of the millions of statues that call this area home. The Legion is a vast, presumed-endless, room with a dark gray, frost-covered floor. There is no visible ceilings or walls; just an endless room. The temperature here hovers around negative 10 degrees celsius and can be an unwelcome surprise if you find yourself here suddenly from one of the warmer rooms. There is no visible light source but the entire room is devoid of darkness or shadows of any kind.
The statues in the room are incarnations of various muses and subjects, all carved from flawless, white marble. They vary in size as well but most seem to be between two and three meters tall. Each statue is spaced exactly 33.3333 meters apart but none of them are in any kind of discernible formation or pattern. NOTE: The number provided is the best that could be obtained with the instruments available. It is speculated that this distance repeats threes for an infinity no matter how precisely you try to measure it. To date, the statues have not revealed themselves to be anything other than exceptional examples of their kind; crafted by a talent that would pale any art found in the Frontrooms. Each one stands atop a one meter tall granite pedestal and almost looks to be fused with it.
Due to this incredible craftsmanship, the statues are very off-putting, because they look like they could very well be alive. Some wanderers claimed to have seen some of them breathing or moving slightly. The M.E.G. teams have not reported any such things though it is common to find what look like drag marks in the frost on the floor. These marks never get near any of the statues and in most causes follows a path that avoids as many of them as possible.
Although they are not roped off like the paintings in The Gallery, it is not advised to touch the statues. A Sergeant from a certain M.E.G. scout group recalls his time in The Legion:

“Statues were everywhere suddenly. The shift had come on us fast that time, I remember. God damn, it got cold quick! I was shivering before I had a chance to figure out what had just happened… I kept expecting one of those damn things to jump down off its rock and start hacking away at us. None of us wanted to admit it but we was all on edge. Hell, I’ve been stuck back here for damn-near seven years, seen a lot of weird shit but even I couldn’t help but get jittery each time we passed one. There was just something about ‘em… Miles wanted to test what they was made of. He got out one of his fancy, science thingamajigs. I told him not to go messing with them but he pulled rank. Pansy-ass little paper-pusher.
He spent too much time in his lab and not enough out here in the levels. You never wanna go looking for trouble cause, brother, in this place, trouble will find you on its own. He poked the statue of some kind of Frontroom critter a few times with his gadget. Then went about collecting all his numbers and whatnot… we’d been having to hear all about the bullshit ideas Miles was coming up with for almost half an hour so when he finally shut up, none of us dared look back in case he started running that jaw again. Cause of that, I can’t rightly say when we lost him or how. He was just gone. Him and all his whats-it things.

-Debriefing of Srgt. Eric “Crutch” McKeegan”

Entities:

The main Entity here is known as Rook, though it claims other names such as The Violet Fount and The Dark Artisan. The M.E.G. database lists it as ‘Entity Nether’ pending more information. This Entity is the artist responsible for all of the artwork and architecture on the level. Like its creations, Entity Nether itself is listed as a mental hazard.


There are only a handful of confirmed accounts describing what it looks like; as most cases describe it as just a strong presence somewhere on the level. When it does manifest, it appears as a large (approx.3.5 meters tall), male humanoid. His skin seems to absorb most light that hits it and appears ethereal, giving it a very shadowy look even in the brightest of light. In place of hair, he has a thick crest of short crow-like feathers. The crest continues down his back - the feathers increasing in size - until it disappears from sight beneath the color-shifting robes he wears. These colors swirl and change but are hard to see, as they, like Rook himself, reflect very little light. Two, vast, crow-like wings hang from his back but seem to disappear and reappear subtly. His eyes are a glowing green in color that flare brighter when angered (Guess which team discovered that?).

But this form seems to be the one it chooses when it wishes to interact on a more personal level. Its true form is unknown. As are its intentions. If, for some reason, Rook takes an interest in a wanderer, it will attempt to communicate with them; in physical form or not. It seems possessed of a ravenous curiosity, especially for information from the Frontrooms. The Entity doesn’t seem hostile but it does demand a high level of respect and answers to the questions that it asks. It is best to keep your answers as short as possible. Prolonged conversation with the Entity has been proven to cause severe changes in a person’s personality that are permanent. It has been claimed that these changes result from being awakened by the knowledge that Rook imparts to those who take the risk of talking to it at length. Another common theory is that Rook somehow feeds on a person’s sanity as it talks to them. This theory suggests that the ‘uncomfortable’ parts of this level are deliberately made to wear down a person’s mental fortitude. Once they are vulnerable, the Entity appears.
Rook seems possessed of an endless wealth of knowledge and trivia and is willing to share this knowledge in an equal exchange, though his answers can be very vague or cryptic. There have been a handful of previously undiscovered levels that were found with information provided by Entity Nether.
One M.E.G. group member asked Entity Nether if it knew how to escape The Backrooms. This was its response:

“All that is finite seeks a finite world. But the mixing of finite and infinite is like the lovely blending of blues and reds revealing a cascade of indigo beauty. In that pristine state, both are one, to be streaked across the canvas by the Master’s brush. The color melts and swirls, guided by the tiny hairs of the skillfully handled brush until canvas and paint are one. All three. Three, three, three. Three are one. Can you see it? No? Perhaps you are looking at the wrong side of the painting? If you do see it in future, you will let me know, won’t you? It’s been so long, even by the standards by which I judge time. So very long. I always liked the indigo. Such a shame to have lost it.”

There is much debate about what this cryptic message is meant to convey. Some feel that it is mostly literal and that Rook once owned a means of traveling to the Frontrooms. They feel that somewhere in The Gallery there is a painting of solid indigo that will noclip a person back to where they came from. Others are quick to point out that Rook seems to be able to move about the zones of the Painted Nether at will and clearly has an incredible memory so it is unlikely that the Entity would have forgotten where this painting was. Especially if it was one of his favorites.
There is one school of thought that says Rook’s words are a philosophical riddle with the blue (finite) paint representing The Frontrooms and the red (infinite) paint symbolizing The Backrooms and that escaping is a matter of changing one’s perspective or “looking at the painting from the right side.”. They claim we exist in both places at once, but we can only feel and experience one of them at a time. NOTE: The majority of those who believe this are those who have had extended conversations with the Entity and have returned completely changed. One hesitates to use the word ‘insane’ but it wouldn’t be completely inappropriate.
If Rook speaks to you, it is best to respond, as it has shown flashes of aggression when angered. Always, always be honest. Rook has the uncanny ability to detect a lie, no matter what form it takes. If you lie, Rook will demand that you leave immediately as you are no longer a reliable source of knowledge. Those who return after being exiled have never been seen again. If you refuse to answer, it will also tell you to leave; though it will allow you a temporary stay if you tell it that you wish to view the art on the level. It will also allow you to return again if you wish but it will never attempt to speak to you again.
If you ask Rook questions, it will usually answer them in an elaborate way with many different metaphors but it will answer them (provided the entity knows the answers). Its knowledge of the Backrooms is thought to be quite extensive and it protects its level from all malevolent Entities (There are unconfirmed reports of adult Facelings being seen in The Legion area) which makes The Painted Nether one of the safer levels to stumble upon, albeit only for a short time.

To date, the only way to escape Level 119119 is to noclip out or ask Rook to send you to another level (which it seems content to do, so long as the request is presented politely).