Corrupted Souls

**Corrupted Souls** are beings that roam around Rusty Lake. They are shown as shadowy phantoms with white glowing eyes. The Souls are tied to the black cubes; the process of extracting negative memories into black cubes corrupts the body if the victim learns about it.

## Cube Escape: The Lake

One is caught with a fishing rod in 1969, with the shrimp's head as bait, with one of its hands not yet the corrupted black colour. The player can use a knife to cut an apple out of its back while the soul screeches at them.

The Fish, when cut open, grows into a tree which can hold five objects. If the player places a blue gem on the top, it will shoot a pentagram beam. A soul will climb out of the Lake and attack the player. However, if the player places a green gem on the top, it will shoot a pentagon beam. When the soul attempts to enter the cabin the pentagon will stop it, and it will eventually disappear and leave a black cube.

## Cube Escape: Seasons

During the Summer in 1971, Laura can use her telescope to get a close-up of the moon outside her window. Upon closer inspection, her own window is seen on the moon's surface, and the Woman looking through it. A Corrupted Soul slits her throat from behind, coating the window with blood and highlighting the code for the safe back in her room. Inside the safe is a shrimp, which is cooked in the oven. When the oven door is reopened, the Lake is revealed inside. Laura stands in the water, and turns into a Corrupted Soul before disappearing and becoming a black cube.

During the Fall of 1971, Laura will have to switch through her television channels by the numbers that appear on each station. The second-to-last channel features a Corrupted Soul staring at her through the static, which reveals a black cube when switched to the final channel.

During the Winter in 1981, when Laura finally figures out how to open the clock's case, she discovers with the mirror inside that she is also a Corrupted Soul. She remains this way even when going back in time, but activating the machine in the winter does something for her. In the Spring of 1964, picking up the phone will shoot out a beam of light that dissipates her Soul's corruption.

## Cube Escape: Arles

When Van Gogh cuts off his ear in 1888 and places it into a bowl, he is able to travel into it through a long tunnel that leads to two doors. The door on the right leads back to his room, but the mirror on the wall appears to be flickering. With a closer look, it is shown that van Gogh's reflection is that of a Corrupted Soul. If he shoots it in the head with his pistol it disappears, leaving behind a white cube.

## Cube Escape: Harvey's Box

A Soul stares down at Harvey in 1969 as he opens up the top of the box to try and escape. When it begins to reach to grab him, Harvey can send out three fireflies, which cause the Soul to stretch out its wings and dissipate, leaving a black cube behind.

## Cube Escape: Case 23

In the office of Dale Vandermeer in 1972, there is a man in handcuffs outside his window, who is guarded by a policeman. When the code 247 is entered into the TV to the right of the window, the man will appear on screen, but with a corrupted head. Looking back at the window will reveal that the man is gone and the policeman has been hanged. The man's Soul will then suddenly lunge at Dale, cracking the window with its hand, before disappearing and leaving a black cube.

After Mr. Crow has left Dale at the Cabin, he must figure out by himself how to activate the elevator inside. At first all seems normal, but the longer Dale spends in the Cabin, the deer outside will be decapitated and replaced by a Corrupted Soul with antlers. If he takes too long, the Soul will attack him, but if he gets into the elevator, it will watch as he descends into the Lake.

## Cube Escape: The Mill

Mr. Crow is tasked with taking the dead body of Laura in 1972, and extracting her memories to create cubes. He is successful in making both a white and black cube, but the creation of the black cube corrupts her. Once the black cube is placed into the Lake, all goes dark as the Corrupted Soul breaks free. It kills the Old Woman, decapitates the Cow, and captures Harvey as Mr. Crow confronts her. It lets Harvey go and disappears.

Also, Mr. Owl has left two letters to Mr. Crow on the walls of the Mill. One tells about how the Souls are still wandering the Lake, but that he may have found the one to stop them, referring to Dale. The other message explains how extracting painful, or negative, memories can cause corruption of the body, as is what happened with Laura.

## Rusty Lake Hotel

Harvey is sent out by Mr. Owl in 1893 to kill the five guests staying at the Hotel, as he requires their bodies to extract their memories and create black cubes. After they are all dead, he will bring the final dinner to Mr. Owl's room. In his room are five large tanks, each with a black cube inside. The tanks also hold the Souls of the deceased guests. Mr. Owl will show Harvey a white cube, which takes him to a foggy Forest surrounded by the guests' Souls. The Souls simply wander aimlessly, as Harvey collects their black cubes. Eventually he will come across the elevator carrying Dale, as it rises up into the Hotel.

## Cube Escape: Birthday

As Dale celebrates his ninth birthday in 1939, there is a knock on the door. Mr. Rabbit's Soul breaks the door down and open fires on the room, killing all but Dale and his cat. Left on the table is a letter from Mr. Rabbit, explaining that this substance from one of his past lives is his only chance of escaping this state.

If the player looks out the kitchen window before the shooting, Mr. Rabbit's Soul can be seen in the distance. It will not be there afterward, though if Dale draws a figure onto the window, it will appear suddenly, causing the window to break, before disappearing.

In the secret scene seen in the snow globe, it is shown that the Corrupted Souls from Rusty Lake Hotel started to roam free in 1894. They were set loose from captivity in the tanks, and went after Harvey, the one who killed them. As they attacked, a beam of light comes down onto the Hotel, causing Harvey to transform into a bird and fly away.

## Cube Escape: Theatre

A lone man, Bob, sits at the bar in 1971. He will say very little to Dale, only accepting drinks he is served. After the fifth play, "*Remember the Seasons*", Bob will leave his seat at the bar to sit in the bathroom. Trying to confront Bob causes him to become corrupted, and he closes the door. Back at the bar on one of the coasters at his seat, Bob has written, "*I feel dead inside, why did you take my memory?*".

As he is introducing the sixth play, "*The Mill*", Mr. Owl explains that extracting Bob's memories caused his Corrupted Soul, which is also one of the six stages of the wheel. After solving the final play's puzzle, the elevator comes forth. Dale watches Bob's Soul creep towards him as the elevator gates closes and continues upwards.

As well, in the bathroom, if the mirror is touched, it will split Dale's reflection into five horizontal pieces. Realigning these pieces causes the mirror to show Dale as a Corrupted Soul, before breaking it into shards.

## Rusty Lake: Roots

In 1859, after creating the Elixir successfully, William dies after drinking it and becomes a Corrupted Soul. There is also a seed inside of his corpse. Although he is dead, he knows that he can be reborn, with ten sacrifices from his relatives, as well as three timepieces to open the gate for the resurrection. With his nephew James inheriting his house and planting the seed, the tree and the Vanderboom clan begin to grow. William's Soul follows his family's progress as James is married and has three children, who in turn have three more children. After a member of the family dies, he takes a piece of their body to use as a sacrifice.

Eventually in 1935, he has collected all ten sacrifices and his grandchildren have found the three timepieces. Inside of William's secret laboratory, the timepieces are used to open the gate to place the sacrifices on a scale. His granddaughter Rose gets locked into the clock, wrapped by the tree's roots. Once the sacrifices are balanced equally, they are drawn into the tree's roots and absorbed by William's Soul. He is resurrected as a newborn baby, held by Rose as she stands in Rusty Lake.

## Cube Escape: The Cave

Mr. Crow goes into the Cave with the intent to retrieve cubes from the Lake in 1972. While he is working in the Cave to open the door to the Submarine, the shadows of the Hotel guests' Souls can be seen creeping by. There are also Corrupted Souls featured in the puzzles on the walls. During the first puzzle, William drinks the Elixir, dying and turning into a Corrupted Soul. His Soul is enveloped by the Vanderboom tree, reincarnating him as the Woman; she also becomes a Corrupted Soul, and produces a black cube. For the second puzzle, the diver Mr. Owl hovers over the black cubes of the Hotel guests, allowing Dale to walk past the guests' Souls.

In the Submarine, Mr. Crow finds the white and black cubes containing Laura's memories. Although the white cube features a pleasant memory, the black cube is of a more ominous nature. Standing in front of a blood-soaked wall, Laura holds a knife. She commits suicide by slitting her throat, creating her Soul. After the blue cube is found, Mr. Crow begins searching for the golden cube. Reaching the location, one of the machines in the Submarine breaks allowing him to take back the three cubes. The Soul of Mr. Boar attacks the craft, breaking the porthole glass, and continues attacking until it shatters. Mr. Crow leaves the Sub, and walks through the Forest passing by the Hotel guests' Souls to reach a large white cube. Inside the cube, Dale and Laura's Soul are strapped to seats attached to a big machine, and contraptions are lowered onto their heads. Flicking the switch to the contraption briefly corrupts Dale, while Laura's Soul briefly uncorrupts. The big machine creates a golden cube from the other three cubes, and Dale takes it with him as he leaves in the elevator. He continues to flicker briefly with corruption.

## Rusty Lake Paradise

In order to save her son Jakob from being sacrificed, Caroline takes his place and is burned at the stake. The circumstances of her death cause her to become a Corrupted Soul, spawning ten black cubes from her memories. As a Soul, she helps her son collect the black cubes in 1796, and place them in the Lake in order to stop the ten plagues cursing the island. During the final plague, Jakob meets his mother's Soul, who reveals that the black cubes hold elements for the Elixir of Life. He places the final black cube into the Lake, and is burned alive by his family. As the elements of the Elixir surround Jakob, he absorbs his mother's Corrupted Soul and ascends as Mr. Owl.

## Cube Escape: Paradox

In 1972, Dale wakes in the Paradox Room. After placing glass eyes into the deer skull on the wall, black flies come out of its nasal cavity. He touches the flies on the mirror, causing him to see his Corrupted Soul and fall unconscious. Waking back up, Dale solves puzzles and escapes the room into the Forest. A Corrupted Soul follows him, and decapitates a deer leaving a bloody trail. The trail leads to the deer's head and the Soul that killed it. The Soul will attack him unless he fights back first. Eventually, Dale comes up to the edge of Rusty Lake and watches Laura be killed by a Corrupted Soul, which slits her throat with a knife. She leaves a black cube, where looking inside Dale sees himself lying in the room as before.

He reawakens in the room, and drinks from the blue vial which turns him into a Corrupted Soul. Escaping the room again, he travels through the Forest and to the Lake. He goes behind Laura and slits her throat with a knife, as another Dale watches. He looks into the black cube left by Laura and sees himself inside the real-life room.

## The White Door

Mr. Owl runs a mental health facility known as The White Door, with its true purpose to extract the patients' memories into black cubes. While the patients are asleep and dreaming, the doctors hook them up to a machine connected to a television to extract the memories. However, if the patient wakes up during the operation, it can corrupt the memories and turn them into a Corrupted Soul.

During Bob's stay in 1972, he attempts to escape his room and is locked in a padded cell. On the fifth day, he finds his Corrupted Soul inside a pill, which tells him to face his dark soul. Upon touching its hand, Bob switches places with the Soul and goes to sleep. In his fifth dream, he goes to The Lost Soul nightclub, having lost his memory after shooting himself in the head. He puts his finger into the hole in his head from the bullet wound which causes him to gain his memories back. He realizes he lost it all, causing his soul to become corrupted. On the sixth day, Bob remains a Corrupted Soul but he has been placed back into his room. He finds a miniature Soul hiding in his coffee mug, and follows it around the room until it is squished by the coin. When he opens the recreation box there is a miniature version of the room with the small Soul inside, whose shadow hovers above the real room when it stands in front of the miniature recreation box. On the seventh day, Bob reenters his room and sees his Corrupted Soul lying in the bed. After bringing colour into the room, Bob sees his shadow approaching the shadow of the Woman sitting on the bench. The Soul in the bed stands up, telling Bob to take its place and they switch again. Bob goes to bed and dreams of the first time he met Laura, which was seen through the window that day.

On the seventh day, while Bob is still stuck as a Corrupted Soul, Sarah enters his room. She accesses Bob's memories and removes all traces of Laura from his mind, and puts his Soul back to sleep. However, instead of Bob dreaming about his first meeting with Laura, she is no longer there and he instead goes through a white door. Opening the door, Sarah is standing with Bob in his room, who is no longer corrupted.

## Samsara Room

The circle of life is represented as six transformations of the Corrupted Soul which create a white cube. These transformations are depicted as items, which are the heart, fish, gecko, worm, bird, and finally the baby. After his death, William Vanderboom finds himself in the Samsara Room appearing in the mirror as a Corrupted Soul. By activating the window portal he travels to four alternate versions of the room, causing his Soul to transform into various creatures. Once William is in the Bird Room, he feeds the transformation items to a stork which regurgitates a baby, his reincarnation. Placing it on the window portal causes the baby to break free from the white cube and float to the surface of the Lake, allowing William to be reborn as Laura Vanderboom.

## The Past Within

In 1926 during Albert's wake, Rose lays two coins over his eyes, turning him into a Corrupted Soul that creates a golden cube for her to place inside the Cubical Device 002C. Later on, his Soul retrieves the cube and merges both time periods together.

58 years later, in 1984, Albert's Corrupted Soul is seen again inside a water tank. Rose utilizes his bone, flesh and blood sent from the past in order to resurrect him, reverting his Corrupted state.

## Underground Blossom

When taking the train from Child Lane at the end of Chapter 2, Albert's Corrupted Soul can be seen wearing a deer skull behind Young Laura.

## Known Corrupted Souls

* Albert Vanderboom (Resurrected)
* Caroline Eilander (Ascended with Jakob as Mr. Owl)
* Dale Vandermeer (Partially)
* Laura Vanderboom (Partially)
* Mr. Boar
* Mr. Deer
* Mr. Rabbit
* Ms. Pheasant
* Mrs. Pigeon
* Robert Hill (Purified after his time at The White Door)
* Vincent van Gogh
* William Vanderboom (Reborn as Laura Vanderboom)

## Trivia

* So far, there have been five ways to defeat a Corrupted Soul:
	+ The pentagon light beam emanating from the green gemstone. (The Lake)
	+ Being shot by the light beam from the phone. (Seasons)
	+ Being shot by a pistol. (Arles and Birthday)
	+ The light of three fireflies. (Harvey's Box)
	+ Being reborn. (Roots and Samsara Room)
* The Corrupted Soul is played by Robin Ras in the short film.
* The Corrupted Soul with the uncorrupted hand in Cube Escape: The Lake, and half-corrupted Dale in Cube Escape: Paradox are the only Souls known to be partly corrupted.
* In Cube Escape: The Mill, a Corrupted Soul appears in the negative memories of Laura.
* Cube Escape: The Mill marked the first official mention of "Corrupted Souls", on what they are and how they are created.
* Corrupted Souls can be seen randomly outside the window of Cube Escape: Seasons. Also, Mr. Rabbit's soul can randomly appear in the window in Mr. Rabbit's room in Rusty Lake Hotel.
* In Cube Escape: Paradox, Mr. Deer's Corrupted Soul can be seen on channel 749.
* In The White Door, it is shown that a Corrupted Soul can be restored back to their normal state, should the specific memories that were extracted be erased from their mind completely.