The floor dissolved under their feet, and Yuni and Saeko collapsed into another drain, which led them to a new level of the Sewer Nexus. This time, the fall lasted longer. The pipes around them seemed to be laughing —creaking, grinding, vibrating like the voice of a madman.
Yuni squeezed his eyes shut, gripping the plunger so tightly that his fingers turned white. "If someone had told me a month ago that I would be fighting the embodiment of KPI in the toilet..."
When he landed, he immediately realized that something had gone wrong.
This place was... clean.
No, it's not like that. It was too clean. The tiles were shining, the air was clear and smelled of mint. The walls are snow-white and smooth. No blockages, no smell of mold, no bubbling whispers in the pipes. Silence. A suspicious silence.
"Where are we?" Yuni whispered.
Saeko frowned.
"This is... level zero. The Nexus archive. They usually don't just come here.
— Is it bad?
—That's...— She didn't finish her sentence.
A muffled voice rang out. Cold, insinuating:
— Flushers. Welcome to the Sanctuary of Purity.
A wide corridor filled with white light opened up in front of them. A tall man in an immaculately ironed white lab coat got out, as if he had just stepped out of an advertisement for sanitizers. His face was smooth, his features perfect. Not a single wrinkle, not a single emotion.
— I Am The Prophet Of The Toilet, The First One To Flush. You've disturbed the Archive. And now... you will either accept Purity. Or you will be washed away.
—Hey, you porcelain bastard,— Saeko stepped forward. "We have orders to clear Level 5. You're not on the list.
The Prophet did not blink.
— The problem is that I am Level 5.
He clapped his hands. The tile beneath his feet trembled, and figures began to rise from under it. They're as white as plaster sculptures. Without faces. Their bodies were smooth and shiny, and instead of eyes, they had drain grates.
— These are my followers. They have achieved a perfect hygienic nirvana. Freed from emotions. From blockages. From the dirt... from the pain.
Yuni felt an icy chill run down his spine from these words. He squeezed the plunger.
"I don't like this,— he whispered.
"You shouldn't like this,— Saeko said through her teeth. "It's a cult. Cleanliness without dirt is not cleanliness. This is death.
The Prophet raised his hand. The adepts took a step forward.
— Your function is outdated. The era of Flushers is over. Accept the Cleansing. Or disappear.
Yuni stepped forward.
"Listen, you. I didn't ask to be a Flushing man. I dropped my phone in the toilet. And now I'm in some fucking plumbing hell. But you know what? I finally feel alive. Dirty. Present. And you're just a porcelain mannequin with a mania for sterility.
The plunger in his hands lit up bright red.
"So go to the... sewer."
"Into battle." Saeko whispered, her mop burst into bluish flames.
They took off.
Yuni slammed into the first adept, plunging the plunger into his chest. There was nothing inside—no blood, no organics. Only white foam, escaping with a terrible hiss.
The adepts moved synchronously, like puppets on the strings of a Prophet. One of them rushed towards Saeko, trying to grab her by the neck. But she was faster. The mop split it in half, leaving two spreading pools of antiseptic on the floor.
"They're empty!" Juni shouted. "They don't have a soul!"
— Exactly! Saeko replied. — They were cleaned to the ground. They killed everything in themselves! Even fear!
"Then we'll give them some... dirt."
He closed his eyes and remembered the evening when a colleague stole his presentation. He remembered how he had suppressed his rage. How he smiled. How he swallowed the insult. And now he's let go.
The flood surged. The plunger lit up with purple light, his blows became heavier, each one caused cracks in the snow-white reality. The tiles were crumbling. The light faded.
The Prophet frowned.
"You're showing... feelings." Danger.
—Oh, yeah. And I have a couple more in stock! Juni shouted.
He jumped, spinning the plunger over his head, and punched the Prophet in the chest.
The impact was so strong that they were thrown back. The prophet fell, his robe parted, and Yuni saw that black worms were writhing inside under his skin — emotions repressed, forgotten, compressed into a lump.
"He's... not clean!" — Understood by Yuni. "He's just a clog pretending to be clean!"
"Strike!" Saeko snapped. "Before he draws us into his cult!"
The prophet jumped up, his face distorted, his lips cracked, black mucus flowed from his eyes.
— I Am the Pinnacle Of Evolution! I am the Absolute! "Stop it!" he yelled, his voice distorted into a hoarse howl.
He hurled a wave of antiseptic energy at them. The walls turned gray. Yuni almost collapsed — it seemed to him that he was back in the office, in front of the boss, trembling, pitiful, silent.
—Not... again...— he gasped. "I'm not going back there!"
And at that moment, his plunger burst into scarlet flames.
— Rule number 4! Saeko shouted. — If they tried to erase you, the blockage itself will die from the memories!
Yuni jumped. His emotions—pain, shame, anger, loneliness—became weapons. He plunged a plunger right into the Prophet's head.
Explosion. Light. The stink. And…
Silence.
The prophet crumbled. His body disappeared, leaving behind only the key. It was black, with an intricate pattern and lettering.:
"The key to Floor 13: The True Blockage."
Saeko picked up the key and looked at Yuni.
—Damn it, man. You've... outdone yourself.
Yuni collapsed to his knees. He was shaking. It was wet. He stank.
But he was smiling.
—I... I cleared the ideal."
— Welcome to the real Nexus.
They went back out into the main corridor. The light was dimmer than before. The pipes were whispering. Someone was crying downstairs. Saeko turned to Yuni:
"Remember, Duckling. This is not the end. Floor 13 is not just a level. This is the core. The center of all sewer pain. All emotions flow there. All the fears. All the failures.
"And we'll go there?"
"We have to. Because if it gets clogged up, the whole world... will start to choke.
She put her hand on his shoulder. A tired but warm grin escaped her lips.:
— In the meantime, take a break. Today you deserve... some hot water. No rust.
Yuni nodded. He didn't know what to expect next.
But he knew one thing.
He was a Flushing Man.
And he will clean this world to the very bottom.