The Dark Metro
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Content warning

This article contains minor descriptions of body horror and gore.

It also details instances of death, blood, and sacrificial rituals.

Viewer discretion is advised.

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SURVIVAL DIFFICULTY:

Class Lambda

  • Unsafe and Unsecure
  • Constant Human Hostility
  • Presence of Hostile, Sentient Entities

Description

DarkMetroMoreEditinglol

One of the neighborhoods.

The Dark Metro is an old industrial town stuck in a permanent nighttime. The Dark Metro is a strange level, unofficially considered by most as an “opposite level” — similar to The Whiteout and The Blackout — given its connections to the enigmatic level of a similar name, The Metro. The levels share various parallels and opposite traits. The most obvious of these is that The Metro is full of lights and The Dark Metro is borderline pitch-black; in addition, The Metro is inside and The Dark Metro is outside. Both levels are also the home of heavily misunderstood entities with anomalous abilities. The strongest piece of evidence to this theory is the inability to enter The Dark Metro without first being in The Metro. There are some more details regarding these parallels in Log DM-003.

The method of entry into The Dark Metro is heavily debated due to inconsistency of accounts, but one recurring detail among them is that it’s always done via The Metro level. A few descriptions include accidentally no-clipping through one of the ads, the lights suddenly going out in the subway station and the noise being replaced by bloodcurdling screams before they appeared in The Dark Metro, gravity in the level flipping for the wanderer as the level faded into The Dark Metro, and a loud breathing sound echoing through the whole level before the wanderer fell through the floor — just to name a few. All of these methods of entry have never been replicated, nor have any witnesses to the original events been documented at this time. Underseer Thomas Verne believes this is deliberate on the part of The Dark Metro entity in order to retrieve more sacrifices for the rituals.1 Many of them also reported hearing sounds of a heartbeat during the shift.

The level itself takes the appearance of a small suburban area, seemingly built in the early 1700s, yet still relatively modern. The level has not been thoroughly explored due to the borderline total absence of light, hostile inhabitants of the level, and unpredictable method of entry. Despite this, a few research missions have been successfully conducted, and all known information comes from the live camera feeds and commentary from said researchers. Information such as level size, population, objects, entity presence, and reality stability is either unknown or subject to change at any time and without major notice.

DarkMetroRailroadMidwritingretcon

Its point of entry.

All of the neighborhoods are lined with houses of suburban architecture. The air is frigid, and wearing a jacket is heavily advised. Operatives who explored gave vague guesses of 30-50ºF2 judging off of experience, but nothing is confirmed as of yet.3 The roads and sidewalks are often cracked and bumpy, sometimes even having objects like scrap metal or loose wires scattered across. A noteworthy feature is that no sources of bright light are present anywhere: no streetlights, no light emitting from the houses, excluding red candles that line each house. There is one exception; large red streetlights that shine directly onto the railroad tracks, which are further detailed in The Railroad section.

To the benefit of the M.E.G., operatives who managed to enter the mysterious level have been able to eavesdrop loose bits of information. The most notable of these pieces of information was the discovery of the name “The Central Plaza,” which is the name of a large parking lot with a small strip mall of stores, none of which are ever open or lit. For anyone visiting the level, this area is incredibly unsafe due to the amount of people there at almost all times. For inhabitants, it’s where most people commune, trade, and perform community activities.

DarkMetroPlaza

The Central Plaza.

The Central Plaza is also where the level’s infamous sacrificial ceremonies occur. Every three days, two large, red bells at the top of the main building ring as to signify that The Dark Metro is on the way. The noise of a loud train echoes throughout the entire level during this time. The inhabitants of the level gather at the plaza to perform a ceremony where they sacrifice someone to it. They appear to meekly worship it as a deity of sorts, and perform sacrifices to keep it satiated. Proof of the ceremonies were first discovered when loose, bloodstained piece of paper was found in a mailbox of a house near the plaza’s parking lot upon initial discovery, which has been attached below in the Supplementary Documents section.

The neighborhoods themselves can sometimes hold various loose items of value, as many of the houses are inhabited by the residents of the level. Cars are sometimes possible to find but usually require major hot-wiring in order to work. Car headlights are always non-functional or shattered. Attempting to enter the houses will almost always result in capture and transferring to the Central Plaza. The roads are usually cracked and sometimes even riddled with sinkholes. Additionally, a lot of the grass is either dead or ripped out of the ground in certain places, almost as if a vehicle travelled across it. It’s recommended you use flashlights and light sources as sparingly as possible, as light could attract the attention of the hostile inhabitants.

The trees have been documented to be similar to the ones on Level 129: tall, rough, smelling of charcoal, and sometimes dead on the inside. The broken streetlights and power lines create a low hum of electricity that can be heard all throughout the level, except for when The Dark Metro arrives to drown it all out. Occasionally, distant sounds of breathing can be heard throughout the neighborhoods, but this is relatively rare. Despite this, no life has been documented in the level beyond the human inhabitants, the level’s 4 unique entities, and The Dark Metro, but studies are still ongoing.

SpoopyCathedral

The interior of the main building.

The Central Plaza is almost always heavily populated, however many choose to hide in their houses until the twelfth hour on sacrifice day. During these times, the Central Plaza will have the least amount of people. It is recommended that if one is to explore this area, this is when it should be done. The abandoned stores can be broken into for resource gathering, but this can also be dangerous if any of the level’s inhabitants are in the asphalt parking lots. The stores are sometimes covered with rubble or flooded with fluids like water, sludge, or even blood.

The main building resembles an old church cathedral, and has many large signs with words in Latin. Translations appear to be talking about a glorious lord of power and darkness, talking about “serving the greatest savior we could have asked for.” It’s presumed the inscriptions are referring to The Dark Metro.

The cathedral itself has various pews and royal carpets with a pulpit in the very center. This is where the sacrifices take place. Other typical church objects such as pews, various religious texts such as The Bible and the Quran, writing utensils, and hymn books in Latin can be found throughout. A lot of these objects, especially the ones near the pulpit, are stained with blood. There is also a playable church organ on the pulpit with connected pipes that surround the cathedral, but playing it is obviously not advised, as it would attract attention due to the noise. The cathedral can sometimes have people sitting in the pews, presumably doing some sort of praying or meditation to The Dark Metro, but more often than not it is devoid of people.

CrimsonBells

The Crimson Bells.

On the top of the cathedral is a set of two church bells that are colored a crimson red. The bells can be seen overlooking the entire neighborhood and can be seen up close if you climb the exterior of the Main Building, which one operative was able to do. These bells ring loudly and echo throughout the entire level every 3 days. The bells ring thrice every hour and 12 times during the day with a low, ominous tone of D. The 1st ring signifies when The Dark Metro has successfully arrived in the level, and by the twelfth ring, it has made its landing.

The Bells are allegedly not made of the orthodox bronze that regular bells are made out of, instead being composed of the crimson-red, metallic material displayed in the picture. Due to the previously mentioned inability to enter on purpose, no official sample studies have been possible at the current time. The operative who took the picture was able to relay a few general descriptions, however. She described the metal as cold, rough, and dimly glowing red. She described it as feeling incredibly similar to the bronze which typically makes up bells, but with very slight differences. Additionally, how the bells themselves are rung is unknown. No strings or ropes have been documented at the moment, and the bells seem to just move on their own when the time comes. The bells are also documented to ring every time someone new is registered. Other than this, the bells are entirely stationary. The exact makeup of the bells’ material is not known as no formal studies have been performed due to lack of resources on the part of the operatives.

It is imperative that any wanderer who ends up in the level keep their presence unknown to the population, or else their life will be in severe danger. Any person who is in the level that is not from it will be forcibly taken to the main building by whoever finds them. The exact process of what happens during this time is based solely off of live camera footage that was broadcasting to Base Gamma on Level 3 during the few exploration missions that occurred. The wanderer appears to be dragged against their will all the way to the main building. Attempts to escape will result in a chase that will not stop until the wanderer is caught. Upon arrival to the main building, they will be dragged into the main aisle.

What happens after this is mostly unknown due to lack of clear video angles, but one consistent detail is that this will result in the summoning of the three entities known by The M.E.G. as “The Dark Priest” and “The Shadows.” At the moment, they appear to be the only known presumably non-human life in the level. A log is attached in the Supplementary Documents section that describes the Priest’s “registration” in further detail.

DarkMetroFog

It.

The Railroad

The railroad is one of the most unsettling areas of the level. Going to this area of the level at any point is not a feat to take lightly. The operatives who explored the level reported hearing sounds of whispering, heartbeats, breathing, and train sounds. Additionally, prolonged exposure to the red light seems to cause 1st, possibly even 2nd degree burns. Streaks of blood and sometimes even entrails can be found on the floor sometimes.

The railroad is a set of train tracks that lie behind the Central Plaza. The tracks lead into a tunnel on the left, and discontinue on the right. The entire area is lit up by the previously mentioned red streetlights. Upon the first set of Crimson Bell rings, The Dark Metro can be seen soaring across the sky and slowly descending to the railroad. During this time, sounds of screeching and wailing of its wheels, its horn, and its engine are audible no matter how close or far one is from the tracks. With each bell ring, it gets closer and closer until finally reaching the ground, phasing through the tunnel effortlessly and approaching through the pitch black pit that the tunnel is. During this time, the Ritual will have commenced, and the townspeople will have gathered around the railroad.

The Ritual

Being “registered” by The Dark Priest seals your fate as a possible candidate to become the sacrifice to The Dark Metro. During the ritual, The Dark Priest and The Shadows stand at the doors of the Main Building. On the twelfth set of rings from The Crimson Bells, The Shadows will bring out a red and black box. A name is drawn at random, and The Dark Priest calls the name of whoever is drawn. The Shadows will move into the crowd, and forcibly take the person to the railroad. The rest of the inhabitants follow to witness the event.

When it reaches the ground, the doors will open, almost inviting the person in. The Priest will lead the chosen person to the train and place them inside. At this point, The Dark Priest seems to say a prayer to The Dark Metro in Latin. Then, the train will close its doors and begin riding across the ground as if there were tracks, destroying any grass or objects in its way. The Priest then dismisses everyone until the next ritual. A transcript of an excerpt from the video feed is attached below in the Supplementary Documents Section.

The ritual itself is still undergoing much study. Thomas Verne, one of the 10 members of M.E.G. team “The Underseers,” has been overseeing most of the studies regarding The Dark Metro. At the moment, he advises all people to report any and all anomalies found on The Metro to The M.E.G. immediately in hopes of finding a reliable entrance for proper study missions.

Entities

Only four entities have ever been documented on this level: The Dark Priest, 2 entities known collectively as “The Shadows,” and The Dark Metro. For more information about the former three, please view the Supplementary Documents section below.

The Dark Metro

It

A screenshot of Galena’s video feed while attempting to focus on The Dark Metro.

The Dark Metro as an entity is the most mysterious thing on the level. The being goes by many names in the level, including but not limited to: The Dark Deity, The Savior, The Crimson Shadow, The Train, and It, with the last being the most common of the names. Most of these names have been uttered by The Dark Priest, but some have been picked up via eavesdropping. Thomas came up with the name “The Dark Metro” after discovering its connection to The Metro, and is now The M.E.G.’s official designation for it.

Exact descriptions of The Dark Metro vary due to a strange property of semi-censorship. Attempts to photograph or record the entity in any fashion results in a false appearance. The appearance it takes in photos and videos resembles a metro car with vantablack paint, red headlights, and no ads or graffiti of any sort. The inside looks nearly identical to that of the regular Metro. Verne believes this to be an illusion in order to hide its true appearance, which has only been seen by the eye itself. Eyewitness descriptions have been difficult to obtain due to both the lack of consistent entry methods and trauma from survivors, but a consistent detail is that it is undoubtedly alive. Other relayed details include black eyes with red pupils instead of headlights, a black substance that makes up its interior which is similar to that which makes up The Shadows, seats and walls made of screaming human faces, various entrails and organs across the ground and along the walls, and even teeth.

Whether or not this is a hallucination that takes place in the level or a property of self-censorship is unknown. Verne personally believes the latter due to Galena’s body camera becoming glitched and blurry after prolonged recording of The Dark Metro. The Dark Metro, like The Metro, appears to be able to fly, however, The Dark Metro does not do so as cleanly as The Metro. While the latter moves as if it were on invisible train tracks, the former moves sporadically and chaotically, almost as if it were looking down upon the townspeople or looking for where to land. Most of the day-to-day business in The Central Plaza pauses during this time so people can hide indoors, likely out of fear.

It is incredibly noisy when it arrives, and can be heard from any point in the level during its descent. The cacophony of moving train wheels, engine noises, wheel screeching, a train horn, and other noises of the sort drown out most other noises in the level. Some operatives also reported hearing screaming and crying during this time. Galena and other operatives described it like a shooting star but only about 100 feet in the sky. The being also seems to frequently drip bodily fluids onto the level as it descends, including but not limited to blood, spinal fluid, urine, fecal matter, seminal fluid, and saliva — these are the most common. There have also been documented instances of falling chunks of bone, tufts of hair, and clothing fabric falling from it. One operative even reported overhearing whispers about an entire head falling from it. It is unknown if these are remnants of The Dark Metro’s victims or parts of itself, as Galena did report seeing various body innards lining the entirety of the train’s interior.

Bases, Outposts, and Communities

Currently, The M.E.G. is striving to form an outpost on the level, but due to the hostility of the Townspeople and unreliable entry methods, this is not in the near future.

The Townspeople

CentralPlaza

One of the Trading tents in the Central Plaza, brightened slightly for viewing convenience.

The Townspeople seem to reside in the houses of the neighborhoods, which as of yet have an unidentified number. They are rarely seen outside of their houses if not at the Central Plaza. When at the Central Plaza, many of them partake in trading and mingling in the parking lots of the plaza. Others choose to sit in the pews of the Main Building, likely praying to either The Dark Metro or a different deity for salvation. The amount of Townspeople is unknown due to the previously mentioned lack of ability to perform a census.

The Townspeople are incredibly hostile if you have not yet been registered by The Dark Priest, and will do anything necessary to get you into The Main Building. Notable documented examples include: a 5 hour and 37 minute chase through the neighborhoods before eventual capture, critical fracturing of the knees and feet via hammers to immobilize the victim, burning legs with a lighter, and binding the person to the roof of a hot-wired car and driving them to The Central Plaza. Other examples of attempts that were unsuccessful included a 9 hour and 54 minute chase that included the use of bear-traps, bloodhounds, Burmese tiger pits, flare traps, and even human net traps, a high-speed car chase through backyards and neighborhood roads that ended in the Townsperson’s car failing last minute due to poor hot-wiring, and demolition of a building by the bare hands of an estimated 128 people to get the operative off of the roof.

If the target is captured, the Townspeople become passive, but have not yet been open to any sort of formal interviews, trading, or shelter provision. Only one resident has ever agreed to a formal interview, which is attached in the Supplementary Documents. Other very loose pieces of information have been picked up through eavesdropping, but not any major revelations or noteworthy details. It is of utmost priority that if one is to find themselves in the level that they allude capture by any means necessary. This means using any and all scavenged resources to one’s advantage, staying out of bright areas, concealment with as much clothing as possible, intelligent use of the environment to gain advantages, and even murder if the time calls for it.

Entrances and Exits

Entrances

As mentioned earlier, the only known information about how to enter The Dark Metro is that it can only happen by accident on The Metro. Other possible ways of traveling here have proven to be fruitless such as usage of Level 797, The Mountain King Ritual, and most especially requesting a trip here through The Metro itself.

Exits

Exiting the Dark Metro is complicated, to say the least. If one is to exit, their best chance is to do so before they are captured. After one is captured, this method of exiting below becomes impossible. One operative who fell into the level named James Clay was able to escape the level by walking through the tunnel that the train enters through on the day of sacrifice. He emerged on Level 0 with minor burns and various injuries. This method was tried again with a different operative, which had already been captured at the time, but instead of escaping, the operative’s body camera suddenly lost broadcast. Since then, he has not been seen or heard from. This method of exiting is extremely difficult due to the amount of people in the Central Plaza, which must be passed through to reach The Railroad. Galena was also mysteriously found in a state of psychosis on Level 3, as mentioned in Log DM-002, but she said she has no recollection of how she was able to escape. This is the only documented instance of someone escaping after capture.

Currently, there is no known way to escape if one has already been captured. Even methods such as no-clipping and summoning of Entity 51 have been unsuccessful. Any information regarding someone who has escaped The Dark Metro should be reported to The M.E.G. immediately. Verne has even personally offered a reward of 50 Royal Rations for anyone who supplies the information that leads to a reliable exit.

Supplementary Documents

I’m not sure how much longer I have left. What’s clear to me is that I will not escape this wretched place. I’m sorry I couldn’t say goodbye to you, mi corazón.

Every three days when the crimson bells chime, we awake to the wail of Its whistle and the screech of Its wheels as It begins its journey into our home. Where It goes, where It comes from, we are not sure.

When the thunderous percussion of Its departure is far off in the distance, we must then choose an individual to carry our ticket. This is chosen at random; we would not wish upon our worst enemies a fate such as this. The rest of our day is filled with tension and unease as we wait for It to arrive under the red lights. Some have asked why we have not destroyed or subdued It yet. The answer is always the same. We have tried.

At sunset, we hear the whistle finally reach Its destination. It screeches through the skies and descends on us like an angel of death. Upon Its landing, Its doors open. The rider, chosen randomly by lottery, enters with their ticket in hand. Its doors close, and it is done. Nobody who It takes ever comes back. This is the sacrifice we must make for our safety, for Its pleasure. This is the cycle we must endure, for we fear what may happen otherwise.

I’m not sure I will ever see you again, mi vida. I have gazed upon Its hideous stature. I have heard its abominable heart. It has whispered its animosity into my mind to turn my brain into dust. This beast cannot be defeated, and my destiny is set in stone. Whatever happens, whatever my fate shall be, know that I will always love you for as long as I live.

Hasta que nos veamos de nuevo, mi amor.
- Marco

A thousand years of screams and tears.
The Darkness never stops its terror.
It knows our screams, our names, our fears.
The Light slowly fades to its scarer.

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page revision: 22, last edited: 19 Nov 2023 12:11
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