From Madness to mutation to something far, far worse, whispers from the abyss have brought forth something that refuses to remain idle.

Please, ignore the Whispers. They are not the Gods. They are not your saviors. They are not monsters. They are far, far worse.

⚠️☣️ Warning: apocalypse, end-of-the-world, infection, and all it entails.☣️⚠️

Important question: the last few years, I have done a series for either Christmas or Halloween. I've done Haunted Mansion this year. I have three interesting ideas. The first is themed, first of a kind. For this, there would likely be 13 thematic creatures surrounding Halloween or Christmas: a living scarecrow, a first ghost, first Santa, a living snowman, etc. The second is infections again, but for Halloween instead of Christmas, so stuff like pumpkins, candy, etc. Finally, this is the one I thought of first: a branch for the My Rooms series, basically my version of the Backrooms. This would be themed either Halloween or Christmas that or potentially a long one that covers both, like half of it is Halloween, half of it is Christmas, and then just a big one that has all of the themed ones together. This would not be connected to my big butt for all of the levels; this would be its own thing, just like the Mansion when I did that. I would like outside opinions and suggestions if you are willing to give them; it's still a ways away, but I've already started thinking of it, and since that's where my mind is, might as well start planning it out anyway.

(Infection)

1. True origins are unknowable; initial infection can be caused in several ways; the most common is Whispers. Exactly how they work, where they come from, and everything else associated with them is completely unknown. Additionally, closely listening to infected individuals, especially in the later stages, can spread the infection, as can the transfer of fluids, including sweat. For the first few weeks after initial infection, symptoms are very mild; most will notice them, or even if they do, it'll be easily brushed off. Symptoms may include paranoia, muttering or mumbling to oneself, mild headaches, occasional nausea, brief bouts of dizziness, mild hallucinations caring strange whispers, and seeing things out of the corners of your eyes.

2. Stage 2 can begin anywhere from a few days to several months after initial infection. This stage is marked by a shift from mundane symptoms to assign that something is wrong, although physical transformation or external signs of the infection tests, regardless of type, will come back negative. Symptoms include increased paranoia, dizziness, nausea, an overwhelming feeling that something is wrong, seeing creatures or things that are not there, hearing odd whispering, and feeling odd Sensations. Infected individuals will begin hearing, seeing, and feeling sensations from things that are not there or, at the very least, things that are believed to not be there. This causes massive paranoia and greatly negatively affects the psyche.

3. Stage 3 can begin anywhere from 2 to 6 months after initial infection. Upon reaching this stage of the infection, the infected individual experiences physical shifts, although any tests on blood or psyche, regardless of how they are given, will always come out completely normal despite clear signs saying otherwise. Energy tests, however, along with energy- or mystically sensitive individuals, will note an odd shift and odd energy around the individual. At this stage, the infected individual is extremely paranoid, constantly hearing things, constantly seeing things, and constantly feeling things that are not there, or at least believe to not there. Physical symptoms include dizziness, nausea, hair loss, rashes appearing on the skin, strange bumps appearing on the skin, strange lines appearing on the skin, strange scales appearing on the skin, changes in eye color, teeth becoming sharper, and increased nail growth. Due to the massive paranoia combined with the external shifts, many infected individuals are also experiencing drastic shifts in behavior, such as lashing out, locking themselves away, staring at things for hours and most commonly beginning to mutter and Whisper.

4. Stage 4 begins anywhere from 4 months to a year after initial infection. Infected individuals have fully lost their sanity and grip on reality, though they may have brief moments where they pretend to be who they were before or to have their sanity; they are not, and they do not. Infected individuals at this point are not who they were before; they're not the person whose skin they wear. Whatever has taken root inside is merely a very good actor. Infected individuals at this stage begin to experience more physical transformations, but the turning point of the stage is not physical but behavioral, as the body continues to shift and change; infected individuals take on a shift, appearing ordinary. Those closest to them will be the ones to notice that something isn't quite right, but to the outside world they will seem ordinary. To some, the change is gradual; to others, it is as if they suddenly snap from their paranoia to everything being fine. They will not comment on the physical changes; they will not comment on what they went through. They will pretend as if everything is normal, and they're completely fine. At this stage, infected individuals become extremely difficult to differentiate from the non-infectant even with their changes, they will go above and beyond to hide the strange changes happening to their bodies, putting on extra makeup, wearing extra layers, and using body paint or bandages to make any abnormality appear like something mundane or as if they are not there. They become extremely polite, energetic, and social, going out of their way to be around and befriend as many people as possible. Despite their best attempts to appear normal, there are some signs, primarily comments about hearing, seeing, or feeling things that are not there. Should this be pointed out, they will quickly brush it off and agree with you that it was a trick of their mind to further appear ordinary. Physical symptoms and transformation will continue, and you can look for further signs to differentiate those who are infected from those who are not. Physical Transformations can vary drastically; these include, but are not limited to, bumps appearing on the body; tendril-like appendages growing and appearing across the body; scales appearing across the body; skin color changing; eye color changing; hair falling out; hair color changing; teeth becoming sharper; teeth becoming longer; nails becoming sharper; nails quickly growing; limbs growing; how-are-you-doing lines appearing across the body; eyeballs appearing across the body; extra mouths appearing across the body.

5. Stage 5 can begin anywhere from 8 months to 2 years after initial infection. This stage is marked as Total Transformation; the infected individual has fully transformed not just mentally and behaviorally, but physically. Infected individuals can vary drastically, but at the end of their transformation, they are nothing but a mess of Limbs emitting twisted, infectious Whispers to any who listen closely. They have become one with the whispers, The Madness and paranoia, some sitting idly waiting for the unaware; others seeking out other infected for them to absorb together, or seeking out the uninfected to spread. At this point, the body has become a mess of limbs, the most common being tendrils, although these can also include, but are not limited to, tentacles, arms, legs, heads, breasts, feet, hands, wings, and tails. Many infected also have a plethora of additional eyes, mouths, or noses.

Intro 1 blank. Intro 2: strange Whispers. Intro 3: strange test results. Intro 4: odd rumors. Intro 5: picking favorites.