Homewinter

Author's Note: This is my submission for the sixth writing contest event, and is best experienced in Dark Mode.
Wake up.
You're back home. You're still lying on the ground, your half-closed eyes weakly gazing into the cloudy, mint-blue sky. Everything is quiet. No doubt, the season is winter. Snow coats the trees as heavily as it coats the ground. Rolling on your side, you slide your hand through it... it's soft. That beautiful sound... birdsong. You almost forgot how it sounded like... you've spent quite some time here, haven't you?
Despite the magnificence of this familiar view, you still don't feel like you're really back home. Is this yet another cruel facade? Who knows...?
You gently caress the snow again... to your surprise... it's warm.
==Description==
===Warmth===
Homewinter is essentially a linear, euclidean space stretching out to fifteen (15) kilometers in length, resembling a path of flattened teal grass - or in some cases, synthetic fiber - covered by a typically soft sort of snow. Although said snow is always present on the surface of the Level, its exact amount is heavily inconsistent, ranging from numerous thick layers superimposed on the ground to meager quantities forming stripes and puddles scattered across Homewinter's earth. Superficial features of the Level include numerous sculptures heavily matching the appearance of spruce or pine trees on the roadsides, often garbed in a variety of random decorations, worn pieces of clothes, and in rare cases, human viscera. It's worthy to note these "trees" can also be found drenched in watercolor paint or spray paint of multiple colors that has seemingly dried on the sculptures.The materials these structures are made out of are yet to be precisely determined. Commonly, sets of peculiar, red/orange flames - that seem to produce no heat at all and are generally not harmful - can be found dispersed on Homewinter's surface. A familiar noise of birds chirping can be heard echoing throughout the Level, which is peculiar considering that any sort of contact with other entities/wanderers has proven impossible when in Homewinter.
Research concluded that the width of Homewinter is limited on both ends by two seemingly indestructible walls of decrepit, dusty oak wood. Researchers have speculated that there is no limit to the height of each of these barriers, as both seem to stretch out above cloud level, although this cannot be properly confirmed due to the nature of the complex. While the superficial specifics of the Level vary from wanderer to wanderer, every "portion" of Homewinter (limited by a wanderer's field of view at their spawn point) appears to loop continuously as one progresses through the Level, meaning that the same features will proceed to appear as perfect replicas of each other no matter how far a wanderer walks, and in any direction.
Despite the cold climate this Level is known for, wanderers report feeling a sense of warmth "shielding" them from the freezing temperatures of Homewinter when first appearing within. At times, physical contact with snow may even mildly increase its temperature to match the sense of warmth one feels when in Homewinter. However, as comfortable as it may sound, this out-of-place solace is never a good sign. 
===Hell===
It may take hours, or even days for some wanderers. However, slowly but surely, Homewinter's birdsong will begin to fade away, and the atmospheric comfort will promptly disappear as temperatures of the Level will begin to gradually rise up to intolerable heights. Every feature of the Level will either darken, or have its tint switched from a calm turquoise to a fiery, bright red. The scenery of once harmless flames will begin to engulf the complex's trees, and the thick, mint-blue clouds will dissipate, being replaced with a dreadful red smoke completely blocking the sky from view. This marks the final hours of one's stay in Homewinter, and therefore, The Backrooms as a whole.
Homewinter's barriers will begin to slowly approach the wanderer, each from their respective directions, ravaging anything in their way, as the unfortunate individual is forced to handle the painful temperature of this time. Due to the substantially large distance between the two barricades, it is not impossible that one may die from the sheer heat of the now hellish landscape before being crushed in between the two walls. Notes written by previous wanderers who have met their demise can still be found by future wanderers who no-clip into the Level, in which some write that Homewinter will begin to slowly return to its initial state shortly before the inevitable death of the unlucky travelers.
==Colonies & Outposts==
Due to the nature of Homewinter, establishment of a colony or outpost within is infeasible.
==Entrances & Exits==
===Entrances===
*One has a slim chance of entering Homewinter when sleeping in almost any Level. This is the only confirmed entrance to the Level.
===Exits===
*There are no exits. One has to simply embrace their death.
==Addendum==
A recovered note found buried within one of Homewinter's artificial trees. Title implies that the writer was in the "Hell" period of the complex while writing this note, and therefore, had died shortly after finishing. The writer's name has been redacted for the sake of protecting their identity :
Day 56 - "Winter" is The Final Season
Hello. Whoever is reading this, I am most likely not alive anymore. Before long, you won't be either.
What I mean by this is that you have been lured into an illusion, a facade. Something put together to evoke the sense of familiarity, only to deconstruct itself and reveal its true nature. I have been here for a rough, grueling fifty-six days, and in that period of time, I began to realize what The Backrooms really is, albeit a bit too late. To tell you the truth, I do not fully comprehend the nature of the place I am in right now... I thought I was back home, the season was winter. Oh, graceful winter, just like in my dream, or should I say, my "vision". A dress of snow covering the earth, the spruce trees on the roadsides garbed in Christmas decoration. I gazed into the large, colorful sky above me, and it gazed back into my soul, welcoming me... back? No, had I actually been back home, none of this would have felt off... something is missing, I thought to myself.
I walked a few... thousands of meters forth, twitching every now and then, thinking that I should go back, my shoes sinking deep into the snow as I walked, ducked, and slid my hand through it... to my surprise, it was warm. Oh, so warm. Oh, so comforting. Oh, so soft. Warm snow? The irony. I wasn't really back home, was I? I heard the birds sing, but there were no birds around, no people either, nothing. As I write this note to God knows who.. or what... I am now almost gasping for air, dying under the boiling temperature of this hellish landscape. Not very long ago, the comforting coat of snow was blown away by the hot, raging storm of wind that suddenly struck through the whole complex... the sky and clouds are now red, the trees are all black now, just like in my vision, from a couple... years ago? I don't recall. Rage. Agony. If I'm dying here, I won't die until I finish writing. I'm sure this place would be polite enough to give me more time, no?
My son, my dear son. ████ ███████. I am not even certain if you are still alive, but if you're the one reading this, please know that even if you go, I'll be watching you, I'll be with you, I'll let you cry in my arms, you'll be okay as long as I'm with you. Just be patient. Do you remember back when you were younger, when you were still in your real home? The season was winter. Oh, how scared you were whenever I forgot to check for monsters under your bed... the snow outside frosting the glass of your bedroom windows. You could have almost sworn that they were right beside you, but when you turned the light on... nothing was there. Be brave, I know you can do this. I know that you can overcome your fear of death, and just embrace it like I am doing now. I am certain and praying to God that I will see you on the other side, son. This message also goes out to you, wanderer. Your final season is... "winter".
A happy end is never guaranteed, there's only just... the end.
- ████ ███████
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Image AI-Generated with Midjourney, Concept and Writing by NexnapThePhilsophist/Nexnap.
Thank you for reading, wanderer. See you soon.
Category:Levels
Category:Anomalous Levels
Category:Unconfirmed Levels