Archive of Our Own

[ARCHIVED FILE]

This file is restricted to individuals possessing Classification Level ◼◼◼ or higher with a Reinforced Cognition Barrier rating of ◼◼◼ and above. The following file may also cause serious interference with real-world narrative perception. If you experience any of the following symptoms post-viewing, please contact the Security Team immediately. Symptoms include:

• Detection of implanted and/or altered memories;
• Compulsive repetition of specific words, phrases and/or hallucinations;
• Prolonged time blindness;
• Identification or newfound attraction to religious symbols;
• Confusion/Blending between reality and imagination.

Due to its potential for memetic contamination, duplication, editing, or redistribution of this record for non-archival purposes is strictly prohibited.

Daydream Inc. / Internal Protocol No. 7-2 (Caution Notice for Psychogenic Contamination Media)

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Archival Authority granted to Research Team 1 under Senior Researcher Kwak Jegang

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Author: Lee Yeonhwa

Primary Overview

On 09.09.20◼◼, an anonymous digital forum received an unsolicited image upload. The photograph depicted a standardized white hotel-grade door featuring a gold nameplate etched with the digits "999." Present in an odd location, at the middle of an empty subway platform, the digital clock above at a distance read 03:33 hours, a time period at which the facility does not operate. Considering this to be some sort of scam, users began mass reporting the post until it was taken down from the forum. All attempts to retrieve that image have ended in failure and is now regarded to be impossible. Any downloads of the image that had been made seem to now only remain as corrupted, irreparable image files.

Within 168 hours of the initial deletion, secondary manifestations occurred across various diverse locations, including public lavatories, libraries, and remote campsites. Each instance featured the identical white door, though the nameplate designations varied between numbers of a seemingly specific numerological significance (e.g., "1", "333", "7"). These 'angelic' designations align with traditional biblical sequences. In every instance, timestamps confirm the images were captured during hours when the locations were strictly closed to the public and/or would be deserted. As with the primary post, these images were purged within one hour, leaving only corrupted data remnants.

The Darkness is confirmed not be an isolated system. The doors appear to be connected by some sort of internal pathway. Upon opening any door, the person is faced with the exact same view, a small landing followed by a set of stairs that seem to go upwards, stretching what appears to be infinitely. There are lights on most landings although some do have malfunctioning ones, however, no two consecutive landings are shrouded in the dark as far as it's been tested.

First responders on the second site attempted the safest possible method of mapping out the Darkness after their testing—as typical of the Disaster Management Bureau. Two agents were paired up and one agent held the door open while the other stepped within QTERW-?-999 to assess and record. All photos taken digitally failed and were corrupted however a method was soon devised where the picture would be taken in analog and then converted to digital, this led to the image having, almost eerily, the exact same quality of picture as the motion-sensing security camera outside. A low-resolution, high-contrast security still with heavy VHS-style chromatic aberration and digital noise. There were no supernatural phenomena discovered except for the staircase and the door itself.

The Darkness transitioned from digital sightings to a series of localized fatalities. While initially suppressed by government-influenced media as "missing persons" cases, immediate Bureau investigations confirmed a 100% mortality rate. Victims were discovered to have been brutally processed (murdered?)and immolated beyond biological recognition. Any exposure to the remains, including even mere viewing, has been noted to induce acute psychological trauma, characterized by intense clinical despair and a fervent, pathological need for "repentance" in witnesses.

Furthermore, G̴̢̛̬̯͎̪̭͍̺̳̈̀̌̈́͐͆̄̃̿̓̉̾̋̔͆͌̌͑̿̐͆̓̃͊̔̕͘̚͝ǒ̷̢̳͓̞͙̩̗̘̥͉͎̻͈̝̫͓̓̿̋͗͗̿̾́̉̔̎͛̍̊̃͑͋͝d̵̢̧̛͓̙̪̯̪̦̤̯̗̠̗̘̮̑̅̓̆̋̋́̆̒̐͌̉͋̏̈́̉̆͊̈́̓̈́̔̊̏͒̋̇̏͝͝͝͠ ̶̡͕̮͇͈̜̹̪̬̥͔̜͓̣͖̫͇̙̹͔͎̲͙̎̍̈̕i̶͕͚̋̎̑̍̔̈́͛̿͋͊͛̃͐̔̀́̇͌̑̈̾̔̀̃͛̚s̸̳̤͉̳̱͚̹̜̞͎̠̠̃̀̂͐̂̐̑̍̍͊̎̂͊̚̕̕̚̚͝͝ ̶̨̙̫̻͉̘̪͕̟́͋̓̂̈́̌͂̈̋̍̂̑̈́̑͋̈́͌̌̔̚ͅc̶̡̢̞̼̰͈̤̰̲̪͔̗̬̩͚͓͓̳̘̃͊̉̒̓̊̆͂͗̊͂͜͝ͅo̴̡͚̥̖̦̦͕̞̩̼̣̫̬͖̲̦͍̤̩͓̠͐̌̉͗̐͛̕͜m̸̛̻̜͇̎͂̒́̂̀̐̐̉̑́̀̕͝͝í̵̢͚̯̦͕̤̖͎͙̩̘͎̱̋̿̇̀̇̽̏̚͘͝n̶̡̤̬͈̻͚͙̭̗̣͚͇͐́͑͆̉̃g̴͙̙̠̙̩̪͖̖̲̱͚̞̠͈͈̮̳̖̦̯̝͈͓̲̈́͑̑͗̊͛̈́̀͌̾̐̀̉̈̌̾͘͜ and ◼◼◼◼◼◼ locks ◼◼◼◼◼◼ seemingly infinite ◼◼◼◼◼◼◼◼◼◼◼◼ doors ◼◼◼◼ Ĥ̶̢̡̳̦̣̦̫̤̝̲̘̩̔̈̃ơ̴̭̺̭̟̜̻͕͍̪͇̳̥̰̫͍̻͕̭̯̻̹̮̲̜̣͐͛̽̓̄͐̑͛̽̿̇̎͆͛̾̒̆̊͗̑̽̈́̕̕͘͘̕͘͜͜͠͝͠͠͝͠ͅͅl̸̨̡͓̗̰̠̩̝̞̟̯̻͓̩̜͓͙͒̋̒͌̍̇͋͆͐̈́̍̈́͛̄̽̈́̆̓͘͠ͅy̷̡̧̛̮̦̹̱͓͎̘͕̫͓̺̤͇̥͍͙̼̌̄͒̃̀͒̾́̽̑̉̊̋̓̇̌͊̒̇͛̇̾̅̾́̿̈́̍͘͝͠͝͝ͅͅ Ĥ̶̢̡̳̦̣̦̫̤̝̲̘̩̔̈̃ơ̴̭̺̭̟̜̻͕͍̪͇̳̥̰̫͍̻͕̭̯̻̹̮̲̜̣͐͛̽̓̄͐̑͛̽̿̇̎͆͛̾̒̆̊͗̑̽̈́̕̕͘͘̕͘͜͜͠͝͠͠͝͠ͅͅl̸̨̡͓̗̰̠̩̝̞̟̯̻͓̩̜͓͙͒̋̒͌̍̇͋͆͐̈́̍̈́͛̄̽̈́̆̓͘͠ͅy̷̡̧̛̮̦̹̱͓͎̘͕̫͓̺̤͇̥͍͙̼̌̄͒̃̀͒̾́̽̑̉̊̋̓̇̌͊̒̇͛̇̾̅̾́̿̈́̍͘͝͠͝͝ͅͅ Ĥ̶̢̡̳̦̣̦̫̤̝̲̘̩̔̈̃ơ̴̭̺̭̟̜̻͕͍̪͇̳̥̰̫͍̻͕̭̯̻̹̮̲̜̣͐͛̽̓̄͐̑͛̽̿̇̎͆͛̾̒̆̊͗̑̽̈́̕̕͘͘̕͘͜͜͠͝͠͠͝͠ͅͅl̸̨̡͓̗̰̠̩̝̞̟̯̻͓̩̜͓͙͒̋̒͌̍̇͋͆͐̈́̍̈́͛̄̽̈́̆̓͘͠ͅy̷̡̧̛̮̦̹̱͓͎̘͕̫͓̺̤͇̥͍͙̼̌̄͒̃̀͒̾́̽̑̉̊̋̓̇̌͊̒̇͛̇̾̅̾́̿̈́̍͘͝͠͝͝ͅͅ Ĥ̶̢̡̳̦̣̦̫̤̝̲̘̩̔̈̃ơ̴̭̺̭̟̜̻͕͍̪͇̳̥̰̫͍̻͕̭̯̻̹̮̲̜̣͐͛̽̓̄͐̑͛̽̿̇̎͆͛̾̒̆̊͗̑̽̈́̕̕͘͘̕͘͜͜͠͝͠͠͝͠ͅͅl̸̨̡͓̗̰̠̩̝̞̟̯̻͓̩̜͓͙͒̋̒͌̍̇͋͆͐̈́̍̈́͛̄̽̈́̆̓͘͠ͅy̷̡̧̛̮̦̹̱͓͎̘͕̫͓̺̤͇̥͍͙̼̌̄͒̃̀͒̾́̽̑̉̊̋̓̇̌͊̒̇͛̇̾̅̾́̿̈́̍͘͝͠͝͝ͅͅ Ĥ̶̢̡̳̦̣̦̫̤̝̲̘̩̔̈̃ơ̴̭̺̭̟̜̻͕͍̪͇̳̥̰̫͍̻͕̭̯̻̹̮̲̜̣͐͛̽̓̄͐̑͛̽̿̇̎͆͛̾̒̆̊͗̑̽̈́̕̕͘͘̕͘͜͜͠͝͠͠͝͠ͅͅl̸̨̡͓̗̰̠̩̝̞̟̯̻͓̩̜͓͙͒̋̒͌̍̇͋͆͐̈́̍̈́͛̄̽̈́̆̓͘͠ͅy̷̡̧̛̮̦̹̱͓͎̘͕̫͓̺̤͇̥͍͙̼̌̄͒̃̀͒̾́̽̑̉̊̋̓̇̌͊̒̇͛̇̾̅̾́̿̈́̍͘͝͠͝͝ͅͅ Ĥ̶̢̡̳̦̣̦̫̤̝̲̘̩̔̈̃ơ̴̭̺̭̟̜̻͕͍̪͇̳̥̰̫͍̻͕̭̯̻̹̮̲̜̣͐͛̽̓̄͐̑͛̽̿̇̎͆͛̾̒̆̊͗̑̽̈́̕̕͘͘̕͘͜͜͠͝͠͠͝͠ͅͅl̸̨̡͓̗̰̠̩̝̞̟̯̻͓̩̜͓͙͒̋̒͌̍̇͋͆͐̈́̍̈́͛̄̽̈́̆̓͘͠ͅy̷̡̧̛̮̦̹̱͓͎̘͕̫͓̺̤͇̥͍͙̼̌̄͒̃̀͒̾́̽̑̉̊̋̓̇̌͊̒̇͛̇̾̅̾́̿̈́̍͘͝͠͝͝ͅͅ Ĥ̶̢̡̳̦̣̦̫̤̝̲̘̩̔̈̃ơ̴̭̺̭̟̜̻͕͍̪͇̳̥̰̫͍̻͕̭̯̻̹̮̲̜̣͐͛̽̓̄͐̑͛̽̿̇̎͆͛̾̒̆̊͗̑̽̈́̕̕͘͘̕͘͜͜͠͝͠͠͝͠ͅͅl̸̨̡͓̗̰̠̩̝̞̟̯̻͓̩̜͓͙͒̋̒͌̍̇͋͆͐̈́̍̈́͛̄̽̈́̆̓͘͠ͅy̷̡̧̛̮̦̹̱͓͎̘͕̫͓̺̤͇̥͍͙̼̌̄͒̃̀͒̾́̽̑̉̊̋̓̇̌͊̒̇͛̇̾̅̾́̿̈́̍͘͝͠͝͝ͅͅ◼◼

All affected geographical sectors were promptly quarantined by the Disaster Management Bureau. The phenomenon was logged as an Unknown Type, designation 3969PSYA.20◼◼.NA33, and registered to the Daydream Inc. database as QTERW-?-999. As of this writing, the Darkness is considered resolved, with no further incidents reported. There are no longer any methods to access QTERW-?-999.

For all intents and purposes QTERW-?-999 will henceforth be referred to as "Asphodel".

Administrative Note

This report utilizes data recovered by an operative formerly of the Field Exploration Department, Elite Team A. Due to sensitive mission parameters involving a secret directive commissioned by Director ◼◼, this individual is hereafter designated Subject 103 ("Agent Mango"). The subject was dispatched to the Disaster Management Bureau as an insider under instructions. Director ◼◼ has formally clarified that the following events were entirely divergent from the intended directive of the Subject's project. Subject 103 is currently considered deceased; consequently, their employment contract with Daydream Inc. has been terminated and all accumulated points have been nullified.

This report was constructed by Assistant Manager Lee Yeonwha of Research Team 1, under the direct supervision of Team Manager and Senior Researcher Kwak Jegang. Viewers of this file are advised to proceed with caution. Following this point is the complete and unredacted research records regarding the anomalous occurrence named as Asphodel.

Transcript: Session 999-A

Data Recovery: Subject 103 - Communication Logs