The Substance represents the continuation of his journey — a utopian city of humans, a counterpoint to the mechanical labyrinth of The Absolute.
It is a metaphor for healing, for finding light after darkness. While The Absolute embodied despair, The Substance reflects acceptance — the realization that both darkness and light are essential parts of one whole.
Here, the character begins to understand that freedom is not the absence of struggle, but the balance between what we have escaped and what we have become.
Visually, the city is built upon the familiar structure of modern metropolises, yet transformed into something brighter, softer, almost weightless — a glimpse of what humanity might be when it finally finds peace within itself.
The Absolute is a city of machines — like an ancient computer, an endless labyrinth of shafts, tunnels, voids, and mechanical chasms. It is a metaphor for the complex mind, a place where joy has been lost. Within this structure, a small remnant of humanity survives, constantly threatened by the very machines that once served them.
From this foundation grew my environment design — inspired by Blame! but gradually evolving its own language and form. I created a scene depicting a massive spaceship docking deep within the structure, connecting to one of the labyrinth’s colossal corridors. The architecture is intentionally inhuman — sharp edges, tilted planes, and monumental masses that create a sense of alien purpose and oppressive silence.
