https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RO6MMT-ncQ pretend this is an ambiance button for now okay?
Warning!
For your own safety, before venturing onto Level 5, make sure you have the following items in your backpack:
- Head flashlight
- Spare flashlight
- Batteries (preferably 2 to 4)
- Watch
- Mirror
- Pen and paper
- Notebook
- Spare clothing, including sweat and jacket
- Blanket or plaid
Due to Level 6's unique environment, additional C.L.I.P.P. instructions are just as useless as the protocol itself. If you have accidentally no-clipped onto Level 6, refer to the navigation and mental health advice down below.
The Major Explorer Group wishes you good luck on your travel within the first part of the Dark Highway.
Congratulations on successfully leaving Level 5, Wanderer! Finding your way through the Boiler Room is no easy task, especially with the Beast's scrutiny over it.
However, it isn't time for you to celebrate. With Level 5 behind you, you have officially left the Early Road. Housekeeping was the last reliable outpost you'll see in a long while. Now, you are on the Dark Highway, and therefore on your own.
First Steps
Out of the four levels composing the Dark Highway, Level 6 is often regarded as the worst one, simply because nothing before it can prepare you for its main feature, sensory deprivation.
You probably realized by now that Level 6 is incredibly dark, far more than anything you visited before. By looking over your phone, you might also have realized that any artificial light becomes ineffective here, from your phone screen to the best flashlight you may have in your backpack.
If you wandered around Level 1 during a flickering event, you might know what to do already, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. The entrance between Level 5 and Level 6 being a smooth threshold, it means that the entrance corridor is dimly lit just enough for you to be able to see the start of it.
Notice how quickly the lights of the Boiler Room fade away? Use its presence while you still can.
Notice the brick walls? Its materials are uneven, but the corridors remain logical nonetheless. Before going deeper, touch the air vents, falling cables, and pipes around you, and take notice of where they are. Cables over the floor can easily make you fall over deep inside the level, making you lose your track or even no-clip away.1. Pipes are also one of your greatest enemies around, due to usually being at your head's height. Trust us, the last thing you want over here is to get head trauma, because nobody will ever come to your rescue.
Got all the shapes around you? Good! You can now leave the safety of the Boiler Room light behind you.
Navigation
With no light around, moving around will be a struggle, perhaps the most distressing experience you have had so far in the Backrooms.
Despite your most important sense being cut away from you, you are not powerless inside this labyrinth. Indeed, your flashlight and phone screen light aren't all useless here, as they can still light up to 5 centimeters around them. While this might sound useless at first, remember that this means you can therefore see your hands, meaning you can map this place.
The most important thing to keep in mind is to keep your only trump card for as long as possible. Only use the light to
- Update your map
- Check your map
- Check the wall (only if truly necessary)
Any other use is a waste of battery, as the light won't reach far enough for it to be useful for you.
Even with your light, it's likely you won't see all of your map at once.
To navigate Level 6, use your left hand to follow the wall on your left, and regularly move your right hand in front of you from your head height2 to slighly below your waist3. Maintain a regular walking speed, as it will allow you to make good progress at a regular rate without risking bumping into something without sensing it first.
As soon as your left handle feels the wall ending, immediately stop, and use your light to check the intersection. Whenever possible, take the road forward, since most entrances to Level 7 and 8 have been confirmed to be parallel to the exit from Level 5. If no passage exists in front of you, take the one on your left. Avoid taking paths on your right unless you are going back from a dead end.4, as the labyrinthic nature of Level 6 can quickly throw you off track if you start taking random paths.
As mentioned above, if you see a dead end, go back to the latest intersection and go right (the left path you would have taken if you didn't take the dead end).
Handling Sanity
If you went through even one flickering event back on Level 1, you might already know that the human mind isn't designed for living without light. Sensory deprivation will break your internal circadian cycle, creating sleeping issues and constant tiredness.
The solid concrete floor won't make it any easier for you either. The level is rough and cold, offering you no natural way to rest well. While you might be tempted to bring a sleeping bag, remember, you wanna spend as little time here as possible, and such a heavy charge will do more harm than good to you, forcing you to travel more slowly. A blanket or a plaid, however, can be of some huge help, acting both as a way to soften the floor and give you more warmth when sleeping. Keep in mind, however, that this will take up a lot of backpack space, so be careful not to accidentally throw away your valuables when you unpack it! Your spare clothes can also act as makeshift pillows if required, helping you get a better rest, and therefore as much energy as possible to keep travelling safely on Level 6.
The biggest danger for wanderers here, however, is the lack of stimulus. Not only is there no light, but there is also no sound. Although not as bad as an anechoic chamber, the lack of noise will make each of your steps and scratches on the wall deeply resonate within your mind. Almost all wanderers who went through Level 6 describe this as having greatly increased their loneliness, a feeling that, more often than not, led to risen levels of anxiety.
If you have a watch, or if your phone still has battery, use one to keep track of time. Take a sleep every 16 hours, with a nap every 8 hours if needed. Each time you wake up, use your flashlight and phone camera to look at yourself. Remember who you are and why you're going through this labyrinth. Remember your goal and never give up hope. Level 6 is deadly, but many have managed to leave it, even without training. As long as you remember yourself, you will be able to do it.
If you wandered through Level 0, you aren't foreign to auditory hallucination. Although they were due to the buzzing overload there, the results are often the same:
- Cracking noises
- Step noises
- Whispers in front of or behind you
- Distant chatter
- Voices from your loved ones
If you hear anything that isn't coming from you, remember that none of it is real. You won't find any other wanderer here. You won't find any entity. You are truly alone, and the only exterior noises you'll hear will come from your mind trying to make sense of your surroundings. Do not listen to them, do not obey them, and keep following the advice of this guide religiously to stay on track.
Other hallucinations might include things such as:
- Taps on your shoulders
- A soft wind blowing in front of you,
- A sudden bite on your leg
Much like the phenomena in Level 5, none of them are real, but if you spent enough time in the Terror Hotel and/or in Housekeeping, you should be trained to ignore them. If not, refer to the advice above about auditory hallucinations.
Further Dangers
This section has been restricted
Exits and Aftermath
The two main exits from Level 6 are to Level 7 and Level 8, respectively, taking the form of a staircase and a cave gallery. They can be recognized from afar by the faint light coming out of them, piercing the darkness.
Although you most likely want to rush towards it, remember that, due to not having seen the light in days, you need to make sure your eyes get reaccustomed to the light. As such, walk slowly towards it, fixing the wall on your right and only looking at the actual exit when your eyes are ready. This is especially true for Level 7, as its entrance room is completely lit.
Other rarer exits exist, the most common being a metal door leadig to Level 129. Taking it is highly discouraged, however, due to the sudden light, high entity presence, as well as the lack of human settlements able to assist you after your painful journey. As mentionned above, you can also enter Level 6.1 by accidentally tripping, although it isn't common enough to be reliable.
Either way, you are bound to suffer consequences from your journey inside Level 6. Insomnia and phantom noises will persist for around a week, and dreams can get perturbed by hallucinations and sleep paralysis for weeks or even months following the end of the exploration. If you require psychological help, you can go through the M.E.G.'s Internal Support Program (I.S.P.) at outpost Hollow Nest on Level 8.
Notes
- https://pixabay.com/photos/corridor-dark-light-tunnel-grim-2353643/ second image, edited on photomosh
- "The easiest way to find this stairwell is to listen for the faint sound of waves" too risky due to audio hallucinations
- "seemingly endless series of tight hallways made of a smooth, cold material (likely concrete.)" should I keep that? or at least make it so that some are smooth?
- Mimicry block too long? also, might be breaking the feeling of being alone? Might need some rebalancing to have both the fear or something being here while not outright invalidating the fear of having nothing here