The portal opens up without any fanfare, and the armored figure of the Red Knight comes tumbling out, unceremoniously hitting the sandy ground as he makes his entrance. Cursing, the knight slowly gets to his feet, using his sword to prop himself up as he looks around.
The cool blue evening sky greets him, as do the distant floating isles and the distinct silhouette of palm trees on them. He sighs. Of course I end up on this 'paradise'.
He wonders why deposit him in this level specifically. What reason would there be, to leave him here and let him figure things out? Does the universe want him to rest? Because he'd love to do so, unfortunately permanent near-sunset temperatures do not mix well with hot and heavy steel armor.
"Claudius?"
The knight freezes, slowly turning around to face the source of the voice. "…Shani?" he quietly mumbles, slowly walking towards her as the curly-haired woman does the same. "Shani!" Now breaking into a sprint, he rushes at her… realizes how stupid it is to do so in a full suit of armor, and slows to a grinding halt as she crashes into his breastplate.
"Ow!" she exclaims, stumbling back and nursing her face.
Alarmed, the knight quickly searches through his inventory for anything to help her with when her hand unexpectedly grabs his arm and holds it still. "Claudius," she laughs, slowly getting up. "I'm fine, don't worry about it."
Now that he's looking at her more closely, he realizes she's right. She's almost completely unharmed.
"Fine," he mutters, protectively wrapping an arm around her waist. "What were you even doing in here?" Last time I checked, this level is incredibly difficult to leave… did she do something while I was gone? The thought nearly makes his anxiety flare before he stamps it down. She's a fully grown adult, she can handle herself.
"Mmm…" Shani trails off, looking around nervously. "May have gotten caught up in an adventure and went along with some people, split up, and uh… yeah! Anyways, you? How've you been? Haven't seen you in a long while-"
The constant barrage of questions nearly makes him miss her answer. "Please don't do that again," he firmly says, before reluctantly addressing her other questions. "I've been… good. I was traveling, and went along my usual duties."
Despite his helmet concealing his expression, she seems to sense something is wrong and frowns. "What happened?" she asks, her voice losing its chipper tone.
He sighs. "I may have encountered two consequences of my actions," he tersely replies. "Namely, my sister and my brother-in-law." He immediately regrets being honest when she grabs him by the sides of his head and stares at him with a horrified expression.
"You met your sister!?" she shouts, blanching at the thought of that woman getting her marble hands on her husband. "And your brother-in-law, too?! What happened? You have to tell me, Claudius!"
"It was fine," he quickly says. "My sister let me leave…" After tackling me into a tree, he thinks but doesn't say, although some part of her still does seem to love me. Why else wouldn't she be able to muster the will to truly kill me?
"AND YOUR BROTHER-IN-LAW!?" she exclaims, panting heavily at the thought of what was probably an epic duel between the two gods. "The same one you killed!?"
He flinches at the reminder. Almost immediately, she grits her teeth and lowers her hands. "Damn it, sorry Claudius, I knew it was a sore subject, I was just worried about…"
"It's alright," he says. "I… Icarus was…" His brother-in-law's mocking laughter echoes in his mind. Still, he can't find it in him to wish any harm upon the other, not after everything. "He was alright, I spoke with him, and… we parted ways." Behind his helmet, he glances down at the container on his belt, hidden beneath his cape.
This is no place to bury this poor soul. I'll have to find a different level later…
Shani still doesn't look convinced. "No grudges? No attempts to rip you to pieces or anything like that?"
Claudius swallows, brought out of his thoughts by her constant worrying. "He was angry at me, but he didn't do anything particularly noteworthy about it." Even though he's the one who deserves to have their revenge the most. "He also seemed… grateful to just have someone to talk to, after being alone for so long." Nevermind the fact that he threw all my flaws and shortcomings in my face, but I deserved that.
The woman sighs, relieved. "Good, good good good. Okay, so, er…" she trails off. "Wanna walk around for a bit?"
The islands are literally teetering on the edge of falling into an endless abyss. The people here have no way of leaving. Despite that, he finds himself inclined to accept the request. After so long fighting, why shouldn't he unwind and rest for a bit?
"Sure," he replies. We could even use the opportunity to find anyone who wants to leave and send them on their way. In the meantime though, he'd rest here with his wife and catch up on things. It has been a long, exhausting journey, and he's finally earned his reprieve from his duties.
As they walk through the peaceful island in the sky, he can't help but think about his former loved ones. One wants nothing to do with him, but the other… Perhaps it isn't too late to mend some bridges.
Maybe I could visit Icarus again. Have a nice game of chess with him, even though he despises me… I can maybe mend that bridge plank by plank, or at least try to.
He allows his thoughts to wander as he and the one dear to him slowly wander the place. The evening sun feels almost relaxing to him, the atmosphere neither cold nor oppressing, despite the bleak reality of the level and the Backrooms as a whole.
He's safe for now. He can let his guard down.
Although his duties can never be truly ignored, he can take a break from them for now. His eternal fight against the cold and cruel universe is never over, but for now?
For now, he's free.