The falls

chapter 41

In the depths of an old, forgotten tunnel, Bill Cipher had finally gotten what he wanted—a physical form, thanks to an unsuspecting tourist who had wandered too far into places he shouldn't have. Bill had struck his deal swiftly, without giving the man a chance to even consider the consequences. Possession was second nature to Bill at this point, and as he settled into the man's body, his glowing eyes blinked open, casting an eerie light on the tunnel walls.

"Ah, back in the saddle again!" Bill stretched, cracking the knuckles of the man's hands. His body felt sluggish, mortal, but it would do for now.

The tunnel around him was ancient, damp with age and decay. Shadows clung to every corner, but Bill knew better than to ignore them. This place held secrets. The last interdimensional rip was somewhere in these crumbling walls, waiting to be exploited.

His fingers trailed along the stone as he moved deeper into the tunnel. Bill's glowing eye scanned the area, focusing on faint distortions in the air—pockets where reality itself thinned. A smirk crossed his stolen face. These old rips had been created years ago during the events of the first Weirdmageddon, long forgotten by the mortals. But Bill remembered. He had left them there, festering like wounds in the fabric of existence.

"Almost... there," he muttered to himself, licking his lips. The nightmare realm was so close he could practically taste it. He could already imagine the chaos he would unleash, the twisted landscape of his design, breaking the human world apart, one dimension at a time. But then, his thoughts drifted back to something that hadn't crossed his mind until now.

The angel.

The memory of her clear as day. Noemi had trapped Bill and the angel in her dreamscape. But that wasn't the part that bothered him. What gnawed at him was the idea of what might happen if he used rips this old, rips that had been stewing and growing unstable for years.

Bill paused, his fingers freezing midair as he considered the implications.

The old rips could certainly connect to the Nightmare Realm, but the laws of the multiverse were slippery. Time had eroded the borders between worlds. Could those rips accidentally lead to something else—places beyond even his understanding? He knew dimensions like heaven and hell existed; their connection to the mortal plane was fragile, but they were there. What if he unleashed more than just his Nightmare Realm?

A more troubling thought surfaced.

What if he accidentally freed an alternate version of himself?

Bill clenched his stolen hands into fists. He knew how the multiverse worked—there were infinite versions of everything. Infinite versions of him. Some weaker, some stronger. A second Bill, or even worse, a stronger Bill, could pose a threat to his plans. One Bill was more than enough for any universe.

"Damn it," he muttered, tapping his chin. "Do I risk it?"

For the first time in eons, doubt crept into his thoughts. If he opened these ancient rips, he could plunge the world into a new Weirdmageddon, but he might also invite forces beyond his control—angels, demons, other dimensions he wasn't prepared for. He could accidentally release something far worse than even his wildest nightmares.

But then again, the idea of total chaos was tempting.

"Decisions, decisions..." Bill whispered, his glowing eyes flickering as he looked down the endless dark tunnel ahead of him. Whatever happened next, he would have to be careful. Even if he wasn't afraid of heaven or hell, the thought of another Bill roaming free was enough to make him reconsider. For now, he would find the rip, study it, and make his move once he was sure.

Grinning, he continued down the tunnel, his thoughts racing with possibilities.