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Michael walked through the twisting halls, a toothy grin splitting his face. The way these rooms warped and spiralled made him feel perfectly at home, just as his own hallways did with their fractals and switchbacks.
He noticed after a brief moment that two neighbouring doors each had a plaque like the ones before, similar but each with a completely different number. He laughed, delighting in the deception the sight was sure to cause for those making their way through the hotel.
A harsh noise like laboured breathing startled him from his thoughts, and he turned, looking for its source. Perhaps whoever was behind the sound was also behind these hallways—he’d quite like to meet them, whoever they were.
Unfazed, he approached the source of the sound—one of the doors with the near-identical plaques. He opened it, surprised but remaining perfectly calm when a creature unlike he’d ever seen before came springing out, smile wide and large hands gripping the wooden door.
Michael laughed, and the creature paused, its smile faltering and eventually falling. Michael couldn’t help the amusement—the thing looked so ridiculous like that.
The creature paused, before slowly backing away, expression vaguely concerned.
“Oh, stay a bit longer!” Michael exclaimed. “Did you put these hallways together?”
“Are you… talking to me?” The creature asked, its voice high-pitched and distorted.
“Am I?” Michael asked, smile widening.
The creature stared at him in confusion. “Uh…no, I didn’t make this place.”
“A shame,” Michael replied, his smile wavering a bit.
“So, what the hell are you?”
“That’s rather blunt,” Michael replied, though he was hardly offended. “What are you? ”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
Michael laughed again, the sound echoing through the halls.
“Are you on something?”
“I’m on the ground.”
“Uh huh…well, um, you can call me Dupe, I guess.”
“ Dupe? ” Michael repeated. “Well, that’s an odd name.”
“Yeah, well, I bet your name is just as dumb.”
“And what makes you think I have a name?”
“Uh, well, I don’t know. Most people have names.”
Michael smiled. “Do tell me, what is it you do here, Dupe?”
Dupe's face immediately soured at the question. “Whatever that one-eyed asshole tells me to do,” it grumbled bitterly.
“An Eye avatar?”
“A who in the what now?”
“I suppose not, then. And do you use these doors to deceive people?”
“Well, yeah, duh. It’s literally in my name.” Dupe hesitated for a moment. “No offense, but seriously, what’s your deal anyway?”
“Lies,” Michael said simply. “Delusions. Not unlike your own deceptions.”
“So you hide behind fake doors all day?”
“Something like that,” Michael replied.
The creature stared at him for a long, delightfully awkward moment.
“That’s cool I guess. Can I go now?”
“Well, why would you do that?” Michael asked. “We’ve only just begun talking.”
“Because you’re weird, and also I’m just not supposed to talk to you.”
“Whyever not?”
“Cause you’re…human?” They seemed unsure, even as they said it. “Are you human?”
Michael laughed again, throwing his head back as the sound grew even more unsettling.
“I’m gonna take that as a no,” Dupe said. “But still, they didn’t give the ‘okay’ on you being here, so I’m gonna go.” And with that, the door slammed shut, cutting off any chance Michael might have had to reply.
He stared at the space, continuing to smile even after Dupe left. “What a pleasant creature.”
And with that he moved on, continuing to make his way through the hotel’s twisting and spiralling hallways.